Chapter 8: Where Does the Karma Begin?

"Dagan! The day is already late. There's no harm in waiting until tomorrow to dress and adorn her. For a matter this great, surely we must find an auspicious day?" Wiping the cold sweat from his head, Qi Xiahu stepped out to smooth things over.

The atmosphere in the stronghold had frozen to the extreme. Zhang Chao shielded Lady Cao behind him, his face as still as an ancient well. Old Zhong and Yin Yaozi pressed close to Zhang Chao as well, their hands already on their waists. On Ge Duo Dagan's side, the group of Uyghurs who had entered were looking at Zhang Chao and the others with equal contempt.

At that moment, Sha Gou'er, who had quietly slipped back, leaned in close to Ge Duo Dagan's ear and whispered. Zhang Chao did not need to listen carefully to know that Sha Gou'er was surely telling Ge Duo Dagan how Zhang Chao had killed three men, including Zhai Tongjin, in the cave in the time it took a single stick of incense to burn.

Sure enough, once Sha Gou'er finished speaking, Zhang Chao clearly sensed Ge Duo Dagan's momentum drop a few degrees. Those viper-like triangular eyes swept back and forth over Zhang Chao several times, clearly hesitant.

Apart from some wariness of Zhang Chao's martial prowess, after all, though they looked down on the few people before them, they still wanted to use the Zhang family to enter Shazhou.

"Dagan! Qi has prepared some wine and food for you all. I beg the Dagan to do me the honor!" This time Qi Xiahu walked to the middle, between Zhang Chao and Ge Duo Dagan, and once more cupped his hands to smooth things over.

The Zhang family master and servants could be ignored, since they had hardly any men, but Qi Xiahu still had a few dozen able-bodied fighters, so some face had to be given. Seeing the situation, Ge Duo slowly walked up to Zhang Chao.

"Tomorrow it is, then. Since we are allied, there will be time enough. But I must tell the young lord this: without the support of us Kucha men, it is absolutely impossible for the young lord to restore the Zhang family.

Though I, Ge Duo, have only a few hundred riders today, are there not tens of thousands of warriors on the Qilian Mountains? To lose a powerful ally over a mere side branch would be a loss not worth the gain!"

As he spoke, the bald Uyghur did not forget to fix his gaze hard on the peerlessly beautiful face of Lady Cao behind Zhang Chao.

"Let's go! Have the lads make camp right here in the stronghold, and eat meat and drink wine!"

After speaking these meaningful words, Ge Duo let out a strange cry and led his band of Uyghurs, reeking heavily of mutton, out the door. Dense footsteps sounded from outside; clearly he had brought no small number of men.

"The dog of a barbarian dares show such contempt for my Zhang family!" Zhang Chao said nothing. He kept telling himself to stay calm, because among the dozen or so men behind Ge Duo, several wore armor — clearly they had come prepared.

Anyone who plays full-contact armored combat knows that armor versus no armor is a complete rout. It is like in a game where every hit they land on you is a critical strike, and every hit you land on them is blocked — what's the point of fighting? But Old Zhong clearly could not hold back. Red-faced, he cursed without pause.

Zhang Chao looked around. Lady Cao and her servants had tears glistening in their eyes, their faces full of despair. The rest hung their heads and stole glances at Zhang Chao. Even Qi Xiahu wore a dejected, crestfallen look.

The Uyghurs were too powerful. It seemed that if Zhang Chao offered Lady Cao up with both hands, none of them would object in the least. But if Zhang Chao refused, it was hard to say how they would react.

"Brother Qi! I am utterly exhausted. Please find us a quiet place where we few can rest for the night!" Zhang Chao said softly, looking at the troubled expression on Qi Xiahu's face.

Since the Uyghurs had not pressed him relentlessly, he still had some time to think of a way. He could not count on anyone else, but he would absolutely never hand Lady Cao over with both hands, and even less would he help the Uyghurs destroy the Guiyi Army — the only Han regime in the northwest! Never!

"Yes! Yes! Please follow me, young lord! There is a temple on the mountaintop. It was originally the place for offering sacrifices to your great-grandfather, the Grand Guardian. I have already had it swept clean. The young lord will stay up on the mountain, while Ge Duo camps in the valley below. It will be absolutely quiet."

"I beg you! Save them! I beg you! Save them!"

Zhang Chao heard shouts coming from afar, a voice like a cuckoo weeping blood, utterly piercing and mournful. He had just soothed Lady Cao and fallen asleep when he felt himself arrive in a pitch-black, eerie place.

Just as Zhang Chao was at a loss, a faint light appeared in the distance. That sliver of light was swaying ceaselessly, and beside it a human-shaped figure was walking about. This mournful weeping was coming from "him."

Zhang Chao strode quickly over. The light turned out to be an old-fashioned lantern, quite exquisitely made, with what seemed to be an oil lamp inside, giving off a faint glow.

And this lantern was held in the hand of a black-robed figure with his back to him. Zhang Chao compared them: this person's build was roughly the same as his own — both tall and sturdy types.

The black-robed man's clothes seemed to be the same dark-colored monk's robe he had found when he transmigrated, except that the man had a luo headwrap on his head.

"This gentle... uh... brother... uh, young master, is there something you need help with? What is this place? Why is it so dark?"

After a long silence — Zhang Chao even stamped his feet behind the black-robed man — the other party acted as if he had heard nothing, still weeping to himself.

Finally Zhang Chao could not hold back, and he called out softly. To his surprise, after he spoke, the other party still gave no response.

This...! Bold as he was, Zhang Chao still felt a numb, icy-cold sensation shoot from his tailbone to the top of his head, and countless horror movie scenes flashed through his mind.

Wasn't this exactly the formula for encountering ghosts in movies? The piercing weeping, the figure with his back to you — the moment you can't resist walking over, he suddenly turns around and scares you half to death!

Never mind that. Better to ask clearly where this place is.

Summoning his courage, Zhang Chao reached out and patted the black-robed man's shoulder. The fabric was icy to the touch, slightly damp, and beneath it the body felt especially hard, without the slightest softness — perfectly matching every ghost and monster Zhang Chao had imagined.

He had already braced himself for the other party to suddenly whirl around with a piercing shriek, or reveal a face mangled beyond recognition with eyeballs drooping out.

"Is it you who has come? You've finally come? Wonderful. I've finally waited for you."

Beyond Zhang Chao's expectations, there was no sudden howl, no mangled face. The lantern-bearing black-robed man slowly turned around, his left hand seizing Zhang Chao's arm, his right hand still holding the glowing lantern, his voice brimming with irrepressible joy.

"This...! What the hell! What the fuck is this?" Zhang Chao could not help shouting. Anyone who suddenly saw before them a person identical to themselves would let out the same cry as Zhang Chao.

The black-robed man before him actually looked exactly like Zhang Chao — even the mole at the corner of his eye and the thin scar on his forehead were identical.

The only difference was that this black-robed man had no ears. Not that his ears had fallen off — he simply had no ears at all. The sides of his head were smooth, as if ears had never grown there. His eyes had neither whites nor pupils; they were entirely pitch-black.

"We're saved! Everyone is saved!" The black-robed man kept saying words that left Zhang Chao baffled, and he pressed the lantern into Zhang Chao's hand.

By the lantern's light, Zhang Chao saw a mighty, awe-inspiring divine statue standing right before him and the black-robed man. That armor — why did it look so familiar? Wasn't it the mingguang armor he had worn for his selfies?

"Thank you!" At that moment, the black-robed man said softly, then abruptly shoved Zhang Chao hard.

Zhang Chao, who had seemed to be standing firmly on the ground, suddenly felt as though he were plummeting from the clouds. In the boundless darkness, only the lantern still glowed, as if guiding his way.

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