Chapter Forty-Five: Setting Out

The Fatty had his hands in his pockets. "Old man, when can we leave? We're all waiting for you!"

"That depends on when my camels have had enough to eat and drink."

Hu Bayi couldn't help asking, "So when will they have had enough to eat and drink?"

"That depends on you lot."

Yang Xueli slung her leather bag over her shoulder. "We wait for him, he waits for the camels, and the camels wait for us. What's that supposed to mean?"

"How can you people be so dense? How can I buy food and drink without money? And how can my camels eat and drink their fill without food and drink?" An Liman said with all seriousness.

"What did I tell you? This old man only cares about money!" the Fatty said helplessly.

Yang Xueli smiled. Money was the one thing she had plenty of.

"No problem. Just tell us how much you want and when we can leave."

"With money, it's easy to talk! We can leave soon. In two months!"

Yang Xueli's expression turned displeased. "If we wait two months, the windy season will be over!"

"That's right. It's the windy season now. When the wind picks up, going into the desert means death!" An Liman said with great conviction.

Yang Xueli said, "Wasn't it you who said that you could enter the desert at any time of year, and that the windy season was no big deal?"

"I said I've gone into the desert at every time of year," An Liman replied. "But I've never run into the windy season."

"Old man, quit messing around! You just wanted to get out of the police station early. You never intended to take us into the desert at all, did you?" the Fatty snapped. After getting out of the station, the old man had come straight to the camel pen and spent all his time dawdling there. It was driving the Fatty up the wall.

"How can you talk like that? Didn't I just say we could go into the desert once the windy season was over?" An Liman stubbornly dug in his heels.

In the end, An Liman was just being difficult for two reasons. One was the money. The other was that the windy season really was dangerous.

"If that's how it is, then there's no need to waste our breath. We don't really need this old man anyway," Hu Ming said. "These camels are enough. We can apply to the authorities and have them confiscated for public use. The country has placed so much importance on this archaeological expedition, there's no reason they'd refuse." With that, Hu Ming turned and started leading the others toward the police station.

"Exactly. If these camels aren't looked after properly, they'll be useless in the desert. We might as well try some camel meat, right, Old Hu?" the Fatty chuckled.

An Liman nearly cried when he heard that. His camels were his lifeblood, and these people were talking about confiscating every last one of them—and even eating them!

Were they all demons?

With his weakness exposed, An Liman had no choice but to say, "All right, all right! I agree, I agree! Just don't take my camels!"

"I've agreed to go into the desert with you, but as for the money..." An Liman sounded reluctant.

The Fatty immediately replied, "Mingzi, why don't we just forget about this old man and ride the camels ourselves?"

The Fatty was an expert at this sort of thing: adding insult to injury while looking out for himself.

"All right, all right. Just pay whatever you think is fair, but don't take my camels..."

An Liman felt like he'd been thoroughly screwed over. These people were just demons.

Yang Xueli, however, smiled. It wasn't exactly fair to make An Liman go into the desert with her this way, but she had money to spare and wouldn't shortchange him.

Hu Ming noticed the Jade Pendant around An Liman's neck and gave him a meaningful look.

Hu Bayi followed Hu Ming's gaze. His expression changed, and he walked over to An Liman and whispered something in his ear.

An Liman's expression changed too. He looked at Hu Bayi with surprise in his eyes.

Yang Xueli and the Fatty both saw An Liman's face change at Hu Bayi's words. They wondered what Hu Bayi had said.

Hu Ming knew, though. Hu Bayi must have realized that the old man was a tomb raider too!

After Hu Bayi finished talking with him, Yang Xueli discussed the payment for the expedition with An Liman. The Hu brothers weren't concerned about it.

They seemed to reach a pleasant agreement. Yang Xueli told An Liman she would pay him once before they entered the desert, then pay him again when they returned. Seeing how generous the payment was, An Liman agreed at once.

A few days later, An Liman carefully selected twenty camels, loaded them with supplies and equipment, and got ready to set out.

"Old Hu, did you and the Fatty get everything I asked you to prepare?"

"Don't worry. We've got it all."

"Besides the usual stuff, we bought two big batches each of those things you mentioned. It's more than enough."

"Good." Before they set out, Hu Ming had sent Hu Bayi and the Fatty to buy some supplies: the usual Realgar Powder, Garlic Powder, Arisaema Powder, as well as Glutinous Rice Flour and Dried Angelica Dahurica.

"Hey, Mingzi, why'd you make us buy all this stuff so early in the morning? Is it food? Are we making barbecue?" At that moment, the Fatty realized that nearly everything Hu Ming had sent him and Hu Bayi to buy was medicinal. He had to ask.

"Food, my ass! That's all you ever think about!"

"Remember, this is a folk remedy I found. When you have time, grind equal amounts of Realgar Powder, Garlic Powder, Arisaema Powder, and Glutinous Rice Flour together, shape the mixture into balls, and dry them in the sun. They'll keep snakes away."

"As for the realgar, mix it with Dried Angelica Dahurica and burn the two together. That'll drive snakes away too."

"There are lots of snakes, bugs, and ants in the desert, so watch yourself." After Hu Ming told him that, the Fatty chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his nose.

Still, the barbecue in Xinjiang these past few days had been delicious. The Fatty couldn't get enough of it.

He wanted another meal when they got back.

Hu Ming shook his head at that. He already had plenty of these things in his space, but he hadn't prepared them in the right way. Besides, someone else was reimbursing them, so he could save a little more money.

The reward for their trip to the Nine-story Demon Tower had also arrived. This time, Hu Ming had received a breathing technique called the Marrow Cleansing Scripture. As the name suggested, it cleansed and strengthened the body, and could extend one's lifespan. Hu Ming was quite satisfied with the reward. After practicing it for only a few days, he already felt much stronger than before.

As they traveled, An Liman followed Yang Xueli's route and began explaining the current conditions along their path through the desert, so everyone could be prepared.

"Everyone, this is the most dangerous time in the desert, so we need to be careful."

"Now we need to follow the lakeshore from Bosten Lake to the Ruins of the Ancient City of Xiye. This is the easiest route to recognize in the desert, so it shouldn't be hard to find."

"If we go any farther in and try to find the underground river, that'll depend on Great Hu."

"You'd all better pray to Great Hu, the old master. He can protect you..."

"If you're scared, pray to Great Hu. The old master can even send you back."