One person ascends to the Pure Huang Court

Not knowing what he remembered, Sha Zhu's eyes suddenly lit up:

"Oh, now I remember there is a caravan in the city that is considered to be quite experienced."

Chapter 118 Gao Family Caravan

"There are caravans going to the Western Regions to pan for gold every year, but the most experienced ones are the Gao family's. In the few years I've been a county lieutenant, I can see their caravans in Xiaofangpan City almost every year."

(Not related to the Gao family, one of the four families.)

Sha Zhu has been the county lieutenant of Xiaofangpan City for more than ten years. He knows all the affairs of this small border city, big and small. He knows everything about any caravan that has been to the Western Regions twice.

He talked to Hu Xiuwu:

"This Gao family is a bit strange. If other caravans were to go to the Western Regions, they would want to bring all the helpers and goods they could find, so as to earn enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives."

"But their caravan is different. Each time they go, there are only about fifty people, and they are all from the same tribe. That's fine. At most, they are acting cautiously and are worried that outsiders may have bad intentions."

"What's strange about them is that every time they take such a big risk to go to the Western Regions, they take much less goods than other caravans, so they earn far less money than other caravans."

"They risked their lives to make only a tiny amount of money. Don't you think they are weird?"

Sha Zhu pointed out the strange things about the Gao Family Chamber of Commerce to Hu Xiuwu, which gave Hu Xiuwu a general impression of the Gao Family. Then he changed the subject:

"But if you want to find a guide who knows the Western Regions very well, it must be them. No other caravan is as fearless as them and goes to the Western Regions every year."

Finally, Sha Zhu complained: "If they like the Western Regions so much, why don't they stay there? Why do they have to travel and come back every year?"

"This round trip will take at least half a year, what's the point?"

Hu Xiuwu was very curious about this caravan: "Oh, then can my sister and I join their caravan and go to the Western Regions with them?"

Sha Zhu waved his hand and said, "You and the fairy joining the caravan is giving them face. They dare to say no. I guess they are looking forward to your joining."

"Besides, none of the caravans in the city have prepared their supplies yet, including the Gao family caravan. I guess they are in a state of panic right now."

"The typhoon season is only two months away, and you can't return once you travel during the typhoon season, so if they don't set out now, they'll have to wait until next year."

Hu Xiuwu asked Sha Zhu: "How much supplies do you think they still need?"

Sha Zhu smiled and pointed to a corner of the warehouse:

"Envoy Zhang has left you enough for ten people to use for a month, plus the food and fodder of the Gao family. Although this amount of food cannot reach Dayuezhi like you and your men, it is definitely more than enough to get to Qiuci."

"As long as we reach Kucha, we can easily solve the problem of material supply with the connections of the Gao family."

"If you want to go with them, it just solves their urgent need and we can set off right away."

Zhang Qian actually left me so much food and fodder. It seems that he had long anticipated that I would need a guide, and a caravan was the best choice.

He gave me this food to help me impress the caravan.

Hu Xiuwu pondered for a moment and decided to go to the Gao family caravan to check the situation first: "I'd like to trouble County Lieutenant Sha to take me to see the situation of the Gao family caravan first."

"Easy to say."

Sha Zhu readily agreed, handed the work here to his deputy to take charge temporarily, and then immediately took Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo to the Gao family caravan’s base.

Unlike other caravans, the Gao family often came to Xiaoshipan City, so the Gao family caravan specially bought a large house in this remote place for the tribesmen to rest and recuperate, and also bought a few local servants to take care of the house.

The Gao family's mansion is very large. Sha Zhu said that the Gao family did not earn much each time they went to the Western Regions, but that was compared with other caravans. In fact, every time the Gao family caravan successfully returned from the Western Regions, the profit was extremely considerable, which was definitely a huge profit.

hiss!hiss!hiss!

The sound of horses neighing could be heard from the Gao family courtyard. Just as Sha Zhu said, the Gao family caravan had already made other preparations, except for food and fodder.

Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo followed behind Sha Zhu, who walked up to the door carelessly and knocked on it, shouting:

"Gao Gu! Gao Gu! Open the door!"

"Who is it?"

Sha Zhu banged the door several times, and finally a young man holding a ring-handled sword came over and opened the door.

This young man looked solid, with powerful eyes and prominent joints on his hands. He was obviously a martial artist, but he did not have Qi after all. He was just an ordinary person with a strong physique.

But for some reason, when he suddenly saw this young man from the Gao family, whom he had never met before, Hu Xiuwu always had a sense of déjà vu, which lingered in his mind and could not be shaken off.

"It's the County Magistrate of Sha! What brings you here today?"

Seeing that it was Shazhu who knocked on the door, the young man bowed to Shazhu and asked respectfully.

Even though Sha Zhu was very polite and respectful in front of Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo, that was only his attitude towards his superiors. In front of these businessmen, he was still quite dignified.

Xiaoshipan City is close to the border and is very far away from the prosperous area of ​​Jiuquan County. The emperor is far away, so the powers of these officials are much greater.

The so-called Baili Hou is not called that for nothing, and although Sha Zhu does not have as much power as Xu Yuanjin, he is in charge of the city gate, and if one wants to enter the city safely, one has to deal with him.

In addition, if they are truly businessmen with deep backgrounds, they would have their own lucrative ways to make money and would not come here to risk their lives in the quest for wealth and fame.

The wealthy merchants who could come to Xiaoshipan City were all people with moderate wealth and power, or those who were unsuccessful in large families.

Therefore, the managers of these caravans were quite polite to Sha Zhu. This young man was so respectful to Sha Zhu, it was obvious that he had been instructed by the elders of the tribe.

"It's Lin Heng. Where's your uncle? I have something to talk to him about!"

After saying something to Gao Lu, Sha Zhu turned around and introduced him to Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo: "This is Gao Lu, also known as Lin Heng, the young master of the Gao Family Chamber of Commerce."

Sha Zhu is indeed a local boss, he knows everyone who comes.

Gao Lu said, "My uncle is trying to find a way to collect supplies. I wonder what the Sha County Magistrate has come for this time?"

Shazhu grinned: "Ha, I am here to help you solve this matter, open the door quickly and take me to find your uncle."

Seeing that Sha Zhu seemed to have no ill intentions in coming to the mansion this time, Gao Lu retracted his right hand holding the knife hidden behind the door, opened the door and welcomed Sha Zhu.

However, Sha Zhu did not enter Gao's mansion first. Instead, he stood at the door and asked Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo to go in first.

This small action represents Sha Zhu's attitude. He believes that Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo are of higher status than him, so he should go first to show respect.

Gao Lu who was watching this scene from the side was a little surprised. Everyone in Xiaoshipan City knew that Sha Zhu was very concerned about his reputation, but there was actually a pair of young men who could make Sha Zhu voluntarily follow him as his servants.

Who are these two people?

While Gao Lu led Hu Xiuwu and the other two to find his uncle Gao Gu, he was secretly thinking about the identities of Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo.

Although the Gao family's courtyard covers a large area, the decoration inside is not luxurious. It is far from the garden mansions of the famous families in Chang'an in Hu Xiuwu's memory. Even the decoration in the courtyard reveals a rustic atmosphere.

The Gao family members who came and went gave Hu Xiuwu a familiar feeling, but he had obviously never seen these people before. Hu Xiuwu racked his brains to think about what was so familiar about these people.

Comparing the Gao family with the acquaintances in his mind, Hu Xiuwu's face subconsciously showed a heavy expression, which scared Sha Zhu, who thought that there was something wrong with the Gao family.

Suddenly, the corner of his clothes was gently pulled. Hu Xiuwu turned his head and saw that it was Chen Duo who reached out to hold him. Although her expression was calm and nothing could be seen, there was still a hint of concern in her eyes.

It turned out that Chen Duo saw that Hu Xiuwu looked a little serious, so she thought of asking him what was wrong to see if she could help.

Hu Xiuwu whispered his question to her. Chen Duo tilted her head to think, looking very cute.

There's nothing you can do about it. If you're good-looking, you'll look cute no matter what you do.

Chen Duo thought for a moment and whispered to Hu Xiuwu: "I once heard Uncle Liao say that when a person with a high level of cultivation looks at people or things, they no longer focus on the appearance of things or people, but pay more attention to the expression of their inner Qi."

A word awakened the dreamer, and Hu Xiuwu knew why he felt that the Gao family looked familiar.

"Thank you, Chen Duo."

Chen Duo's eyes were curved like crescent moons and she was in a good mood. She was very happy that she could help Hu Xiuwu, just like she became a temporary worker to help Liao Zhong.

He was clearly not an alien nor possessed by evil spirits, but the yang energy in his body was constantly dissipating, as if it had been sucked away by some invisible demon.

When Hu Xiuwu was in the secret bunker and the tomb of King Xian, he met a person whose physical condition was exactly the same as those of the Gao family.

Shirley Yang, who has not yet freed herself from the curse.

In other words, these people are from the Zakramah tribe.

Chapter 119: Zaklama Tribe

The Zaklama tribe is the alien tribe that once discovered the ghost cave. Hu Xiuwu’s sister-in-law Shirley Yang is also a member of the Zaklama tribe.

After discovering the ghost cave, the sage of the Zaklama tribe created a jade eye to spy on the ghost cave. However, due to a misunderstanding of the power of the ghost cave and his own strength, this spying not only failed, but also caused the entire Zaklama tribe to become sacrifices to the snake god.

From then on, the yang energy in the bodies of the Zaklama people would be sucked away by the snake god. As long as one of the parents was from the Zaklama tribe, the children born would not be able to escape the curse of the ghost cave, and eyeball-shaped red spots would appear on their backs.

As the yang energy in their bodies continues to dissipate, the people of the Zaklama tribe will become more and more miserable, until their life is worse than death. Most of the Zaklama people do not live past the age of forty.

Only by staying away from the ghost cave can the loss of yang energy in the Zaklama people be weakened, and the farther away, the slower the loss. Shirley Yang's grandfather, Partridge Whistle, ran away to a foreign country, to the other side of the planet, and only then lived to the age of sixty.

These are what Shirley Yang told Hu Xiuwu when they were in Sijiu City after she left the bunker.

Knowing that the people in the Gao family caravan were actually from the Zaklama tribe, their unusual behavior became explainable.

According to Shirley Yang's understanding, after the appearance of the Queen of Jingjue, the people of the Zaklama tribe were given hope. The Queen of Jingjue was able to utilize the power of the ghost cave, which showed that her understanding of the ghost cave far exceeded that of the former saints of the Zaklama tribe.

If they could sneak into the palace of the Queen of Jingjue and find some clues about the ghost cave, maybe they could solve the ghost cave curse on them.

Therefore, every year the Zaklama tribe organizes people to go to the Western Regions, to the Jingjue Kingdom, and to the Jingjue Palace, trying to find any clues about the ghost cave.

But they cannot live in Jingjue Kingdom permanently. If they get too close to the ghost cave, the people of the Zaklama tribe will not even live to the age of twenty, let alone find a way to lift the curse.

Most of the Zaklama people can only live in Dahan, and organize a small group to go to Jingjue every year.

Every year, after the caravan arrived in the Western Regions from Xiaoshipan City, it would split into two teams. One team would stay in Qiuci to conduct normal caravan transactions, and the other team would secretly rush to Jingjue and try to break into the palace.

But this is easier said than done. The people of the Zaklama tribe are just a group of ordinary people. They have nothing but a courageous heart. How can they break into the bedroom of the Queen of Jingjue, which is guarded by aliens, and then get out again?

When facing extraordinary people, their martial arts, which are considered advanced among ordinary people, seem as weak and powerless as dancing.

But they still went to the Kingdom of Jingjue year after year, and returned disappointed year after year, but they kept repeating this futile behavior.

Because once they stop, there will be no hope, and despair will devour the Zaklama people. Only by maintaining this caravan and keeping a glimmer of hope can they prevent other members of the tribe from committing suicide in despair.

After finding out the details of the Gao family caravan, Hu Xiuwu felt that the Gao family caravan was the best choice for him and Chen Duo.

Due to the existence of the ghost cave curse, even if Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo accidentally revealed their true destination during their journey, given their relationship with Jingjue, they would not inform the Jingjue Kingdom.

When Hu Xiuwu made up his mind to hitch a ride on the Gao family caravan, Gao Lu had already taken them to find Gao Gu.

Gao Gu was leading his tribesmen to check the condition of the goods and horses. When he looked up inadvertently and saw Gao Lin and Sha Zhu, he came over and greeted Sha Zhu enthusiastically.

Even though Gao Lin calls Gao Gu uncle, and Gao Gu is the leader of the entire Gao family caravan, he is not very old. He looks to be only in his thirties, in his prime, and looks very capable.

But what was strange was that he was still wearing thick fox fur on a sunny day with good weather. His movements were a little stiff and his face was a little pale, as if he was in the coldest days of winter.

Hu Xiuwu understood that this was caused by a serious loss of Yang Qi. If he went to Jingjue in this condition, he might not be able to come back.