Setting Off

Fatty put his hands in his pockets and said, "Old man, when can we leave? We're all waiting for you!"

"That depends on my camels. When they're full and have had enough to drink."

Hu Bayi sighed helplessly when he heard this, "And when will they be full and have had enough to drink?"

"That depends on you."

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 does that even mean?"

"Why are you all so stupid? How can you buy food and drink without money? And how can my camels be full and have enough to drink without food and drink?" An Liman said earnestly.

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

Yang Xueli smiled. Money was something she never lacked.

"It's fine. Just tell us how much money you want and when we can leave."

"If you have money, then it's easy to talk about. We can leave very soon, in two months!"

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

"That's right. It's the wind season now. Entering the desert during the wind season is a death sentence!" An Liman said with great emotion.

Yang Xueli retorted, "Didn't you say you could enter the desert in any season, and that the wind season was nothing?"

"I said I've entered the desert in every season," An Liman replied. "But I've never encountered the wind season."

"Old man, don't play word games with me. You just want to get out of the police station early. You never intended to take us into the desert, did you!" Fatty said angrily. The old man had come straight to the camel shed after leaving the police station and had been wasting time here, making Fatty extremely impatient.

"Why are you talking like that? Didn't I just say that we can enter the desert after the wind season?" An Liman sat down and started acting like a spoiled child.

To put it plainly, An Liman's stubbornness was due to two things. One was the money issue. The other was that the wind season was indeed very dangerous.

"Since that's the case, let's not waste any more time. It doesn't really matter if we need this old man or not," Hu Ming said. "We have enough camels. Let's apply to the authorities to have these camels confiscated. The country is taking this archaeological expedition so seriously, there's no reason they would refuse." After saying this, Hu Ming turned and was about to lead people back to the police station.

"Yeah, if these camels aren't raised well, they'll be useless in the desert. Let's just try some camel meat, right, Old Hu!" Fatty chuckled.

An Liman almost cried out in fear when he heard this. These camels were his lifeline. These people were actually going to confiscate all his camels and even eat them!

Are you all devils?

An Liman had been caught by the tail. He had no choice but to say, "Okay, okay, I promise, I promise! Please don't take my camels away!"

"Although I've agreed to go into the desert with you, about the money..." An Liman was still somewhat reluctant.

Fatty immediately responded, "Mingzi, maybe we shouldn't use this old man. Let's just ride the camels ourselves!"

Fatty was best at adding fuel to the fire and benefiting himself at the expense of others.

"Okay, okay, just give me the money you think is fair, but don't take my camels..."

An Liman felt like he was being pushed to the brink today. These people were simply devils.

However, Yang Xueli smiled. Although using such tactics to get An Liman to go into the desert with her wasn't exactly honorable, Yang Xueli didn't lack money and wouldn't treat An Liman unfairly.

Hu Ming noticed the Jade Pendant around An Liman's neck and looked at him meaningfully.

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

An Liman's expression also changed after hearing this, and he looked at Hu Bayi with a hint of surprise.

Yang Xueli and Fatty both saw An Liman's face change drastically after hearing Hu Bayi's words, making them curious about what Hu Bayi had said.

Hu Ming, however, knew that Hu Bayi must have also discovered that the old man was a tomb raider!

After Hu Bayi finished talking with him, Yang Xueli discussed the remuneration for this trip with him. Hu Ming brothers didn't care about it.

However, it seemed they had a pleasant conversation. Yang Xueli told An Liman that she would pay the remuneration upfront for entering the desert and pay again upon their return. Seeing how generous the reward was, An Liman immediately agreed.

Soon, a few days later, An Liman carefully selected twenty camels, packed supplies and equipment, and prepared to set off.

"Old Hu, how are the things I asked you and Fatty to prepare coming along?"

"Don't worry, everything is ready."

"Apart from the usual stuff, especially the things you reminded us about, Fatty and I each bought two large portions. It's enough."

"That's good." Before they set off, Hu Ming had asked Hu Bayi and Fatty to go out and buy some materials: the commonly used Realgar Powder, Garlic Powder, Arisaema Powder, and also the common Glutinous Rice Flour and Dried Angelica Dahurica.

"Mingzi, why the hell did you make us buy these things so early in the morning? Are we eating them? Are we going to have a barbecue?" At this moment, Fatty realized that almost everything Hu Ming had asked him and Hu Bayi to buy were medicinal herbs, so he asked.

"Eat your ass! All you think about is eating!"

"Remember, this is a folk remedy I found. If you have time, mix equal amounts of Realgar Powder, Garlic Powder, Arisaema Powder, and Glutinous Rice Flour together, form them into balls, and dry them in the sun. They can repel snakes."

"And for the realgar, you can add Dried Angelica Dahurica, mix them, and then burn them to repel snakes."

"There are many snakes and insects in the desert, so be careful." Hearing Hu Ming say this, Fatty chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his nose.

However, in the past few days, Fatty had really enjoyed the barbecue in Xijiang, and he still felt unsatisfied.

He wanted to eat it again when they returned.

Hu Ming shook his head when he saw this. He had plenty of these things in his spatial dimension, but they weren't prepared correctly, and since someone else was paying for them, he could save some money.

The rewards for going to the Nine-story Demon Tower had also been distributed long ago. Hu Ming's reward this time was a breathing technique called the Marrow Cleansing Scripture. As the name suggests, it cleanses the marrow and has the effect of prolonging life. Hu Ming was quite satisfied with this reward. After cultivating it for just a few days, he felt much stronger than before.

As they walked, An Li Man, following Yang Xueli's route, began to brief everyone on the current desert route, so they would be mentally prepared.

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

"Right now, we need to head from Bosten Lake along the lake road towards the Ruins of the Ancient City of Xiye. This stretch is the easiest to recognize in the desert and not difficult to navigate."

"If we go any deeper and can find the route of the underground river, that will depend on Great Hu's decision."

"As for you guys, you'd best pray to Great Hu and his elders, so they can protect you..."

"If you're scared, pray to Great Hu, and his elders can let you go back too."