Chapter Twenty-Four

Hao Aiguo was just about to pick a fight with the Fatty when Yang Xueli walked out.

Shirley Yang wore a red leather jacket, casual white pants with the cuffs rolled up, and a pair of little white sneakers. Her flawless white ankles were showing, and she looked beautiful.

The Fatty stared at Yang Xueli from head to toe. The longer he looked, the more he thought this American woman had a face that grew on you. She was gorgeous, and rich to boot—the goddess in countless men's hearts.

Hu Ming only glanced at her and thought, Not bad.

When Hu Bayi saw the woman come out, he merely furrowed his brow.

When Yang Xueli emerged, Professor Chen introduced her to the others. "This is our financial backer, Miss Yang Xueli."

Hu Ming and Hu Bayi simply stood up, smiled, and nodded at her without saying anything.

Seeing their muted response, Yang Xueli grew a little annoyed. "May I ask what skills the three of you have? If you don't meet our standards, then, regrettable as it is, we'll have to ask you to leave. After all, you aren't the only ones who know feng shui."

Hu Ming and Hu Bayi were both taken aback. They hadn't expected this woman to be so arrogant.

"Old Hu, Fatty, let's go."

Hu Ming called to Hu Bayi and the Fatty, then turned and headed for the door. Outside, he saw Ye Yixin, Sa Dipeng, and Chu Jian standing there, watching the show.

They were enjoying the spectacle.

Over the past few days, the three of them had watched Hao Aiguo chase people away more than once, and they were feeling pretty pleased with themselves.

They were young and arrogant, convinced that anyone who wasn't an archaeologist had no business joining their team.

Hu Ming gave a cold laugh, then said to Professor Chen and the others, "Here's a free tip before we go: Jingjue Ancient City only appears at a fixed time each year.

"Make the most of your time. Good luck.

"Oh, and there's also the Ghost Eye Curse. Be careful you don't end up with it." With that, Hu Ming strode toward the door.

Professor Chen hadn't expected Hu Ming to leave just like that. He froze.

"Well, farewell." The Fatty cupped his fist toward Yang Xueli, turned smartly, and followed Hu Ming. His big brother had said they were leaving. What reason did he have to stay?

"Professor Chen, I'm sorry," Hu Bayi said, glancing at Yang Xueli and sighing. Then he turned and followed Hu Ming.

When Hu Ming told them to leave, they left without the slightest hesitation.

But the moment Hu Ming mentioned the curse, Yang Xueli felt a shock run through her, as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her face turned pale with horror. He knows about the Ghost Eye Curse too?

Professor Chen and Professor Hao Aiguo drew sharp breaths, their hearts shaken.

They had pored over countless records just to find a few scraps of information about Jingjue Ancient City and the Jingjue Queen. They hadn't expected this young man standing before them to know so much.

The information he had found was this: the ruler of Jingjue, one of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, had been a woman known as the Jingjue Queen, who lived in Jingjue Ancient City. Later, the Gumo Kingdom joined forces with several other kingdoms to attack Jingjue. A hurricane had risen, sending yellow sand everywhere, and Jingjue Ancient City had been buried.

Some explorers had later gone searching for Jingjue Ancient City and left behind a few clues, but there weren't many, and they weren't much use.

And since Professor Chen was a friend of Yang Xueli's father, he knew even more about the curse.

Seeing Hu Ming and the others about to leave, Professor Chen quickly came to his senses and hurried over to stop them. "Please don't be angry, young friends. Miss Yang has simply been beset by too many people these past few days, just like Aiguo. That's why she said what she did."

Yang Xueli also came to her senses and hurried forward. "I'm sorry, all three of you. So many people have come by over the past few days that I spoke without thinking. Please forgive me." Then she bowed to them.

Hu Bayi looked at Hu Ming. The way he was looking at him gave Hu Ming goosebumps.

Hu Ming had no choice but to say, "All right. We accept your apology."

"Good. Come inside, you three, and let's talk." Professor Chen was delighted and invited Hu Ming and the others back in.

The three of them sat on the sofa. Hu Ming took out a cigarette and looked at Yang Xueli. "Miss Yang, let me be frank. If you go looking for Jingjue Ancient City, all you'll do is add a few more bodies to the desert."

Hao Aiguo was displeased and was about to say something, but Professor Chen stopped him.

Hu Ming also noticed the defiant looks Ye Yixin and the others were giving him. He turned to them and said, "Don't look down on me. I went to college too. Being a college student doesn't make you anything special.

"You only learn so much in school. There are countless things in the real world you've never studied. Don't think that being a college student puts you above everyone else."

Professor Chen nodded. "Young Comrade Hu is right. You should all remember that."

Ignoring the expressions on Ye Yixin and the others' faces, Hu Ming continued, "There's a good chance you'll all die out there this time."

Hao Aiguo couldn't help saying, "Contributing to the cause of archaeology is our duty."

Hu Bayi and the Fatty both rolled their eyes. Hu Ming replied, "Fine. Then the payment for this trip will be twice what we agreed on before."

Yang Xueli frowned. Hao Aiguo said, "Have you gone crazy thinking about money—" He was about to continue when Professor Chen interrupted him.

"That's enough, Aiguo."

Hu Ming glanced at Professor Chen. "You've never been to the desert, and you know even less about Jingjue Ancient City. I'm asking for so much precisely because I know the place too well.

"You should understand that if I'm asking for this much, then you ought to realize how dangerous this trip will be.

"If Miss Yang agrees, we'll go. If not, then goodbye."

"I agree. How about I pay you three times the amount I offered before?" Yang Xueli said.

But Hu Ming shook his head. "I only want twice as much."

Hu Bayi added, "We only want twice the amount. But if we run into danger, or if anyone refuses to follow orders, we'll have no choice but to leave."

Hao Aiguo stood up. "Absolutely not! If you run away the moment you encounter danger, what do we need you for?"

"Are you expecting us to be your babysitters? It's not up to you to decide whether we're willing," Hu Ming said, looking at Yang Xueli and Professor Chen.

Yang Xueli and Professor Chen exchanged glances, then both nodded. "All right."

Hu Bayi said, "Then it's settled. Don't worry, we all have military backgrounds. We wouldn't stoop to anything dishonorable. As long as you follow our orders, we won't leave anyone behind."

"Right. What Old Hu said is fair. We're saying this because we want there to be only one voice in the team. That'll help keep us united." Hu Ming glanced at Professor Chen and the others.

Professor Chen smiled. "We understand. Would you mind telling us about the Celestial Star Feng Shui Art? It would broaden the horizons of us bookworms."

It was obvious that he was still worried Hu Bayi and Hu Ming were outsiders when it came to the Celestial Star Feng Shui Art.

Seeing everyone watching them intently, Hu Bayi felt a little pressure.

The Celestial Star Feng Shui Art was a profound and mysterious method of observing the stars to locate burial sites. It was indeed mentioned in his family's ancestral Sixteen Character Yin Yang Feng Shui Secret Art, but he'd only learned it by imitation. At best, he knew it in theory.

He'd never put it into practice. What was he supposed to do?

He looked at Hu Ming, his eyes seeming to ask, What should I do?

"Old Hu, just tell them about it. Don't keep it to yourself. These intellectuals have scruples. They won't covet our family's ancestral feng shui secrets."