“In a way, so am I,” he said.

“在某种程度上，我也是，”他说道。

“I don’t even know what alchemy is,” the boy was saying, when the warehouse boss called to them to come outside.

“我甚至不知道什么是炼金术”男孩正说道，这时仓库老板正叫他们出去。

“I’m the leader of the caravan,” said a dark-eyed, bearded man.

“我是旅行队的领导”一个黑眼睛留胡须的男人说道。

“I hold the power of life and death for every person I take with me.

“对于每一个我带的人，我掌控着他们的生与死”

The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy.”

沙漠是变化莫测的女人，有时她会让男人疯狂。

There were almost two hundred people gathered there, and four hundred animals — camels, horses, mules, and fowl.

大概有两百来号人在那聚集，还有四百个动物——骆驼，马，骡子还有鸟。

In the crowd were women, children, and a number of men with swords at their belts and rifles slung on their shoulders.

人群中是妇女、儿童还有大量的腰间配刀，肩挂来复枪的男人。

The Englishman had several suitcases filled with books.

英格兰人有几个手提箱里都装满了书。

There was a babble of noise, and the leader had to repeat himself several times for everyone to understand what he was saying.

咕呖咕噜的不知道在吵什么，领导人为了让每一个都理解他说的话，他不得不一句话讲三遍。

“There are a lot of different people here, and each has his own God.

“这里有许多不同的人，每一位都有他自己信奉的神明”

But the only God I serve is TaiYi, and in his name I swear that I will do everything possible once again to win out over the desert.

但是我唯一信奉的神是太乙救苦天尊，我以它的圣号发誓我会尽可能的做任何事情让我们战胜这沙漠。

But I want each and every one of you to swear by the God you believe in that you will follow my orders no matter what. In the desert, disobedience means death.”

但是我想你们每一个人都向你所信奉的神发誓你会听从我的命令无论这命令是啥。在沙漠之中，不服从命令意味着死亡。”

There was a murmur from the crowd. Each was swearing quietly to his or her own God.

人群中传来窸窸窣窣的细语。他们中的每一个人正安静的向他或者她信奉的神明发誓。

The boy swore to Jesus Christ. The Englishman said nothing. And the murmur lasted longer than a simple vow would have. The people were also praying to heaven for protection.

男孩向耶稣基督发誓。英格兰人一言不语。窸窸窣窣的声音持续了很长，至少比一个简易的宣誓长。人群也向天神祈求护佑。

A long note was sounded on a bugle, and everyone mounted up.

军号吹起长长的音声，每个人都站了起来。

The boy and the Englishman had bought camels, and climbed uncertainly onto their backs.

男孩还有那英格兰人此前买了骆驼，他们犹豫的爬上骆驼背。

The boy felt sorry for the Englishman’s camel, loaded down as he was with the cases of books.

男孩对英格兰人的骆驼感到抱歉，因为他顺带在骆驼上放上了一大叠书。

“There’s no such thing as coincidence,” said the Englishman, picking up the conversation where it had been interrupted in the warehouse.

“这世上绝对没有偶然之事”英格兰人说道，捡起在仓库里被打断的话。

“I’m here because a friend of mine heard of an Arab who…”

“我在这里是因为我的一个朋友听到了一个阿拉伯人他……”

But the caravan began to move, and it was impossible to hear what the Englishman was saying.

但是这旅行团开始移动了，这样的话根本听不清这个英格兰男人在说些什么。

The boy knew what he was about to describe, though: the mysterious chain that links one thing to another, the same chain that had caused him to become a shepherd, that had caused his recurring dream, that had brought him to a city near Africa, to find a king, and to be robbed in order to meet a crystal merchant, and…

男孩知道他想要去描述些什么，尽管：迷一样的锁链将事物一个个联系起来，同样的锁链让他成为牧羊人，让他反复做同样的梦，带他到靠近南非的城市，去寻找国王，以及为了遇到国王而被偷窃，还有……

The closer one gets to realizing his Personal Legend, the more that Personal Legend becomes his true reason for being, thought the boy.

一个人越接近实现他的天命，天命就越发成为他存在的理由，男孩心想。

The caravan moved toward the east.

旅行队往着东方前进。

It traveled during the morning, halted when the sun was at its strongest, and resumed late in the afternoon.

旅行队在早晨前进，在太阳正猛烈时停下，再到下午重新开始。

The boy spoke very little with the Englishman, who spent most of his time with his books.

男孩与英格兰人小声的说着，那英格兰人整天抱着书啃。