Torn between my curiosity and my promise to Karma, my mind’s stalling and so are my feet—but only until Lanying’s men stride in. With their broad shoulders and burly frames, their very presence erases my hesitation at once. My eyes glide to their side. If needed, they won’t hesitate to swing the daunting long knifes hanging from their hips, for sure.
“We’re only going to see today,” Lanying says. “Making sure we’ve got the right snakes and sniff out their lair.” Her words clear the last lingering trace of qualm. Sure, this sounds sensible.
With Palmo nowhere to be found, I leave a quick notice with Jomo and step out into the streets of Lhasa, in the wake of Lanying and her guards.
As soon as the gate closes behind me, I pull my hood over my eyes. A brisk dust swirls on the late after
