Jun told them that Lanzhou had been an important trading center since ancient times. It was the largest urban area in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and had originally been one of the few towns with a bridge that allowed people to cross the river itself. During the first century BCE, it had been a major stop on the northern Silk Road which transported goods from China as far west as Rome and back again.
A Silk Road caravan was nowhere in evidence as the four made their way through the downtown section of Lanzhou which now consisted of block after block of retail space and high-rises. Although the city was still a mercantile hub, the fabrics on display in storefront windows weren’t embroidered silk goods. Designer clothes and consumer electronics had taken their place.
Because the shopping district didn’t allow motorized traffic, the center of the streets were used as pedestrian walkways. The Arkana group ambled down the broad promenade at a leisurely pace, passing quartets of people seated at card tables playing mahjong.
After strolling for several blocks, Cassie asked, “Where are we going exactly?”
“To the office of the Majiayao trove keeper,” Jun replied. “She’s off at a dig site for the rest of the week but said we could use the place while we’re in town. It isn’t much farther. Another block or two.”
Cassie’s attention was drawn to a gathering in the middle of the promenade just ahead of them. Two dozen middle-aged and elderly women appeared to be staging some kind of demonstration. When she paused to watch, her companions did the same.
Somebody switched on a boom box which blared out a peppy instrumental march. Once the music started, all the women picked up identical green volley balls and began going through a series of choreographed aerobic moves.
“What are they doing?” Cassie murmured in surprise.
“They’re square dancing,” Jun said.
The pythia squinted at him in disbelief. “Square dancing? But nobody’s calling the steps.”
“I don’t believe he means an American-style square dance,” Griffin remarked.
Jun chuckled when he realized Cassie’s confusion. “It’s called square dancing because they find a square and dance in it. This is a new fad in China these days. Every city has troupes of dancing grannies. They show up at all hours, from sunrise to sunset and go into their various routines.”
Cassie was having trouble grasping the concept. “But why?”
Jun shrugged. “Exercise, companionship, patriotism. Not everyone thinks it’s a good thing though. Some people who live near the favorite squares of these grannies complain about the loud music early in the morning or late at night.”
Rou whispered in her grandfather’s ear, and he laughed out loud. She nudged him to repeat her comment for the visitors.
“Rou wanted to remind me about the turf wars.”
“I beg your pardon?” Griffin’s eyebrows shot up.
“You mean to say these grannies slug it out over the best places to dance in?” Cassie asked.
Rou giggled and nodded.
Cassie turned to contemplate the energetic elderly ladies circling their green volley balls in synchronized arcs over their heads. “This is the hottest trend in China?” She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “Now I really have seen everything.”
Jun was already walking ahead. The rest followed him in silence until the echoes of the marching music had receded in the distance. He entered the lobby of a high-rise and made for the elevator where he pressed the button for the 20th floor. The little party was conveyed upwards in a matter of seconds.
When they exited, Jun went directly to a door in the middle of the corridor and unlocked it. “I know my way around, you see, because this used to be my office. My first assignment for the Arkana was to oversee the Majiayao trove.”
“I suppose all the artifacts are stored somewhere else,” Cassie speculated, secretly hoping to get a glimpse of the actual hiding place.
“Oh yes,” Jun agreed. “Deep in the mountains and away from prying eyes.”
He opened the door and switched on the lights. The office windows looked out over the business district.
Cassie peeped through the blinds and caught a glimpse of green volley balls a few blocks away below her. “They’re still at it,” she murmured with amusement.
Jun made no comment. He was reading a note that had been left on the desk. Smiling briefly, he turned to Cassie. “It would seem you’ll get a glimpse of at least one artifact while you’re here. The Majiayao trove keeper left me a message. Her people turned up an object which they can’t identify. Since she knew the pythia would be coming to Lanzhou, she was hoping you might validate it for her.”
Jun unlocked one of the desk drawers and removed a bundle wrapped in white cloth.
The other three drew up chairs around the desk. Jun sat down in the trove keeper’s seat and placed the package before them. He carefully uncovered the object which was about a foot long.
“It’s a horse’s head,” Cassie said matter-of-factly. She peered at it closely but couldn’t see anything particularly unique—a rough wooden carving of the head and neck of a horse.
“I would guess that the mystery lies not in the shape of the object but in its function,” Jun explained. He picked up the artifact and turned it on end to examine the base of the carving. “It looks to me as if this object sat on top of a pole of some sort.”
“Perhaps it was the head of a scepter,” Griffin suggested. “Or a staff?”
“If so, its design is quite different than any we’ve seen before,” the trove keeper replied. “Such ornaments as you’ve mentioned are usually emblems of high rank and are made of more precious materials like gold or jade. They would be ornately carved and set with gems. This horse’s head is crude by comparison.”
“I see your point,”
