The Fourth Chapter

Walking in the vast desert is actually very boring. It's novel at first, but once it drags on, everyone loses that initial excitement and wilts like a flower scorched by the sun.

Everyone sat listlessly on their camels, drowsy.

"Hoo hoo!" An Liman patted his lead camel, signaling it to stop and lie down.

The camel train followed the lead camel, lying down, stretching their necks long to rest on the ground.

Perhaps it was the thought of getting closer to Jingjue Ancient City, but Yang Xueli remained in good spirits.

While everyone else was resting, she was busy taking pictures with her camera.

Click!

Holding her camera, she photographed two sand dunes a hundred meters away. She glanced at the photos on her camera and nodded with satisfaction.

An Liman sat on a rug and glanced at the energetic Yang Xueli. "Those are the Sacred Tomb Mountains, with two wind-eroded mushrooms over five meters tall," he said. Then, he changed his tone, speaking with a hint of sarcasm, "Keep taking pictures, keep taking pictures. While you're still alive, take as many as you can."

Yang Xueli stopped taking pictures and turned her head, looking at An Liman in confusion.

"Uncle An Liman, why would you say that?"

Why would he say it like that?

An Liman glanced at Yang Xueli and Professor Chen. He found it somewhat amusing. These people were coming to the desert to find Jingjue Ancient City; weren't they just looking for death?

"Miss Yang, when you go back, being able to get this far means you're the most persistent," it was quite a struggle to understand An Liman's speech, as he habitually ended his sentences with "ma." Yang Xueli frowned slightly, sensing hidden meaning in his words, especially the disdain in his eyes as he spoke.

It was a look of contempt that ran deep into his bones.

He was nearly sixty and had lived through turbulent times. He hadn't studied much, so he had a profound misunderstanding of archaeology, believing it was simply digging up graves, no different from grave robbers. He himself had been one, but he had long since retired and settled here, finding his own faith.

Therefore, he disdained Shirley Yang and her companions. What was amusing, however, was that he needed money. It wasn't easy to make money these days, and being older, he couldn't do the heavy labor. He could only make a living by guiding people into the desert for a fee.

But those who hired him at high prices to enter the desert were almost always involved in grave robbing.

"This place, it's not the real desert. After passing the Sacred Tomb Mountains and traveling for two or three days, that's the real desert, and it's a black desert. Countless corpses are buried there, all of people like you!"

Having said what he wanted to say, An Liman picked up his water skin, opened the stopper, and took a drink of the maotai wine inside.

Yang Xueli fell silent. An Liman wasn't exaggerating; in fact, he was downplaying it. But could this stop her? Impossible. She wasn't someone who accepted fate.

She turned, her beautiful eyes looking towards Hu Bayi and his two brothers sitting on the sand. Suddenly, she felt a surge of confidence. No matter what, with these three men around, she had enough security.

After all, none of these three were ordinary people. Even Fatty, Yang Xueli wouldn't dare say she could defeat him, considering she had undergone traditional training and wasn't easily comparable.

The other two were even more extraordinary. Could soldiers who survived on the battlefield be ordinary? And they both knew Qimen Dunjia and Feng Shui.

Therefore, with these three brothers present, Yang Xueli felt quite confident about finding Jingjue Ancient City.

"Professor Chen, is what Uncle An Liman saying true?" An Liman was not far from Ye Yixin. She had heard An Liman's words and her face instantly turned grim. She wanted to find some security from Professor Chen, an elder.

Professor Chen looked at Ye Yixin's face, flushed red by the sun, and a look of doting appeared in his eyes.

He said softly, "Little Ye, life is only a few decades, fleeting like a blink of an eye, and then nothing is left. So, if what we want to do is right, we should do it without fear of danger. That is the spirit of archaeology."

Hu Ming was only a few meters away from the two. Hearing Professor Chen's words, he twitched the corner of his mouth. This old man really knew how to talk, indirectly brainwashing!

A single sentence caused Ye Yixin to nod vigorously, and the timid look in his eyes reignited with fearlessness.

Seeing Ye Yixin like this, Hu Ming couldn't help but think: Brainwashing successful.

The group had clear divisions of labor. Sa Dipeng and Chu Jian were responsible for checking supplies. When the camels rested, they unloaded the supplies from their backs. They would then tie the supplies back onto the camels before departure, a laborious task.

At night, Hu Bayi, Fatty, and Hu Ming took turns on watch, with Hu Bayi usually leading the team.

Yang Xueli and Ye Yixin took care of everyone's meals, while An Liman led the way, going wherever he pleased; they had to listen to him.

Professor Chen, being elderly, was treated like royalty, enjoying everyone's care. However, no one complained, as Professor Chen was very old, a scholar, and quite frail.

Hu Ming had resigned himself to fate. With the current attitude of Hu Bayi and Fatty, he knew these two were determined to enter Jingjue Ancient City.

Fatty was thinking about the treasures in Jingjue Ancient City every day, while Hu Bayi was so smitten with Yang Xueli that he constantly hovered around her.