The Thirty-Third Chapter

Fatty had been observing Professor Chen the entire way, wishing the old man would collapse from exhaustion and call for them to turn back. Then they could easily earn US dollars.

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But Professor Chen wasn't about to grant his wish.

Hearing Fatty's words, Hu Ming smiled and shook his head. Fatty was being too naive. The passion these archaeologists had for their field was so intense, they'd crawl out of their coffins to continue working.

"They won't give up," Hu Bayi said seriously to Yang Xueli. "Miss Yang, we can't rest. We need to push hard and cross this mountain in one go, otherwise it's too dangerous here. The wind and snow are too heavy; everyone will be in danger."

He was thinking, however, that he needed to find a way to make Professor Chen and the other archaeologists give up and retreat!

Yang Xueli had already seen through the intentions of Hu Bayi and the others. She said with some helplessness, "Mr. Hu, I'm tired. I need to rest." With that, she turned around and gestured for everyone to sit down and rest.

Finally, they could rest. Professor Chen and Ye Yixin's hearts leaped with joy, and they lay down directly in the snow.

Hu Bayi was helpless. He shot Fatty a resigned look, then took a headcount. No one had fallen behind. He walked up to Professor Chen, squatted down, and saw the old man lying in the snow, gasping for breath.

Hu Bayi couldn't help but say with a wry smile, "Professor Chen, if you can't make it, just give up. You're already at an advanced age. Going back to lie down and sleep is the true path in life. Why come to this harsh, cold place to suffer!"

"Hoo hoo...," Professor Chen gasped, "Comrade Xiao Hu, I don't have much time left. I want to complete this meaningful journey." He then sat down.

Yang Xueli quickly squatted down to help Professor Chen sit up. She took off her small leather backpack, pulled out a bottle of oxygen, twisted open the cap, attached the mask, and placed it over Professor Chen's mouth and nose. "Uncle Chen, take some oxygen," she said.

Professor Chen grabbed the oxygen bottle and inhaled deeply. His complexion immediately improved. After a short ten-minute rest, the group set off again.

As the leader, Hu Bayi still took the lead, but this time he had a change of heart and began to care for Professor Chen and the others. Seeing anyone struggling, he would call for a rest.

Fatty complained to him, pulling him and Hu Ming aside. "Hey, Old Hu, you can't play it like this. We need to find a way to wear them out and make them turn back. Even just taking that tens of thousands of US dollars would be good."

Hu Ming frowned at this. "We should still explore. Don't forget, our main purpose for coming here was to help Old Hu overcome his inner demons."

Hu Bayi looked at the distant snow-capped mountains upon hearing this, and Fatty fell silent.

In the vast snowy mountains, Fatty felt extremely uncomfortable. Not only was there a lack of oxygen, but even peeing was very difficult, as he was wrapped up like a zombie, which was very inconvenient.

Yang Xueli was wearing a red ski suit that was very warm, and a beautiful red woolen hat on her head. She wasn't cold at all in the wind and snow; in fact, she was enjoying the feeling.

She took off her windproof goggles and looked at the beautiful scenery in the distance. Just then, she saw the three of them, Hu Ming, Hu Bayi, and Fatty, whispering to each other. She knew they were plotting something.

She could tell they weren't up to anything good. She had become wary of these three now; she didn't believe they were ordinary people. She was just about to go find them when...

Rustle rustle

The sound of footsteps on the accumulated snow rang out. It was Shirley Yang walking directly towards them, holding a red badge in her hand with a few small characters written on it.

"Mr. Hu, I found this in the snow. I assume it belonged to your comrade?"

She walked up to Hu Ming and the others, pointed to a spot not far away, and then handed the item to Hu Bayi.

"Serve the People!" was written on the red badge. Hu Bayi stared at the item for a long, long time, tears involuntarily streaming from his eyes. Nine years had passed, and seeing his comrade's memento again, his heart was heavy.

"Thank you, Miss Yang." He then stood up and walked over to the spot Shirley Yang had indicated. He squatted down and began digging frantically in the snow.

"Fatty, go persuade him," Hu Ming gently nudged Fatty's shoulder. He had always been bad at comforting people.

Fatty walked over without a word. Instead, he took out a cigarette, shielded it from the wind and snow with his clothes, lit it, and stuck it into the snow before starting to mumble.

This move actually worked. Hu Bayi stood up and called for everyone to start moving. Hu Ming sighed, "As expected, Fatty's way of comforting people is quite effective."

"Mr. Wang seems rough around the edges, but he's actually considerate. Mr. Hu Ming, having a brother like him is truly enviable," Shirley Yang glanced at Hu Ming.

Hu Ming hadn't spoken to anyone other than Hu Bayi and Fatty on this journey, unless someone approached him. Of course, there was also that annoying Sa Dipeng.

Hu Ming could be considered a man of few words. He had also seen Shirley Yang initiate conversations with him, but he understood that she was just trying to extract information and then enlist the three brothers to help her find a way to break the Ghost Eye Curse.