Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 163 Crack
Upon hearing this, Hu Bayi and Fatty exchanged a glance, both seeing the bewilderment in each other's eyes.

It seems, perhaps, probably that they never actually asked?
However, it's really not a big deal. Since Ah Xiang has such eyes, it's not incomprehensible that Hu Ming also has such eyes.

After all, Hu Ming has always been a rather unique person since childhood. He didn't have any friends except for his family and Fatty's family when he was young, and things only started to improve after he went to high school.

The two didn't delve into it further, but silently smoked, still feeling a bit scared.

By the time the three of them calmed down and returned to the camp, it was already late at night.

The sky was already faintly brightening with the first light of dawn; it wouldn't be long before it was fully light.

The three of them had no desire to take a nap. Fortunately, the camp was located on the outermost edge of the ancient city, in a remote area, so the terrifying scene at midnight did not affect them.

No one seemed to notice anything amiss, and the camp was filled with the sound of snoring.

Before long, the sky was completely bright.

Lei Xianming was the first to wake up, perhaps because he was getting old and needed less sleep.

When everyone got up and started preparing breakfast, Lei Xianming noticed something amiss and asked Hu Ming and the others if they had seen that scoundrel Dongzi.

"Maybe he felt that carrying oxygen tanks on the plateau was too hard, and he couldn't stand the hardship, so he just ran away?"

Hu Bayi calmly sipped his butter tea, speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Dongzi? Wasn't he supposed to stay in Beijing? How did he end up here? Are you getting senile? Are you hallucinating from lack of oxygen? Get him intubated right now."

The fat man... was blatantly lying through his teeth.

Do you really think everyone is blind? Does Dongzi's journey along the way really feel like an illusion?

"Sigh..." Hu Ming sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead.

Helpless, Lei Xianming could only send Peter Huang to search for Dongzi. When that proved fruitless, he stopped asking, figuring Dongzi was just a follower and his fate was irrelevant. Lei Xianming's ancestors were in the business of "carrying corpses," and although he hadn't inherited the craft, he had certainly mastered their ruthlessness.

A dispensable scoundrel's henchman might be less important to him than a few tens of thousands of dollars.

After all, tens of thousands of yuan might alleviate the predicament of his two "precious sons."

"Bosses, we probably can't leave today. The clouds are too thick. There must have been a strong wind last night. It's bound to rain heavily today."

“There are too many yaks in our team. Our yaks on the plateau are not afraid of wolves or Tibetan bears, but they are most afraid of thunder. If there is lightning and thunder on the road, the yaks will definitely run around in chaos.”

Just as the group was full and in high spirits, Hu Bayi's friend brought them bad news.

Upon hearing this, Hu Ming looked up at the sky and, sure enough, the clouds on the horizon were extremely thick, and he could still see some rosy dawn, which was indeed a sign that it was about to rain.

"But Akiko, if we stay another night, then..."

Hu Bayi hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. He was a veteran who had served for many years and was usually fearless, but last night had really scared him.

The fat man was so startled that he almost choked on the naan bread in his mouth. He quickly drank several mouthfuls of cold water before he recovered.

But that face... was a bit pale, and a bit green, and its complexion was quite unpleasant.

We're not leaving until tomorrow, which means we'll have to stay overnight in this ancient city, just in case...

Thinking of this, the fat man suddenly felt that the naan and butter tea in his hand no longer tasted good.

"It's alright, let's leave tomorrow. If the yaks go crazy on the way, it will be a big problem." Hu Ming shook his head, not saying much, just calmly shaking his head.

"By the way, Yang Xueli, after you finish breakfast, come with me for a bit. There's something I really need you to take a look at."

Aside from Yang Xueli, probably no one else in this group could decipher what was on that skull.

"Old Hu, did Mingzi and Fatty instigate you to go out and cause trouble last night?"

Inside one of the rooms of the watchtower, several people gathered together.

Yang Xueli leaned against Hu Bayi, sitting gracefully on the ground, looking at Hu Ming and the fat man with an unfriendly expression.

In Yang Xueli's memory, Hu Bayi would never do such a "reckless" thing.

So... Fatty and Hu Ming have to take the blame.

After breakfast, Yang Xueli followed Hu Bayi to Hu Ming's room as instructed. Hu Ming and Hu Bayi told Yang Xueli everything that had happened the night before.

To be honest, if Yang Xueli hadn't been in a room with the other women last night, she probably would have been taken along on the mission.

After all, she is quite capable, and in some aspects she is even stronger than the Hu brothers.

The skull covered in writing about grapes was now lying quietly in Yang Xueli's hands.

"No, Staff Officer Yang, you're going too far in protecting your husband. What do you mean we instigated it? I was clearly woken up by Lao Hu and Mingzi," the fat man grumbled unhappily.

That's true, the fat guy was indeed woken up by these two, and he felt very wronged.

"Ahem, Yang Xueli, well, it was indeed me who called Lao Hu and Fatty to go."

"Let's not talk about that for now. Look at this thing, it has grapes written on it. Can you translate it for me?"

Hu Ming coughed lightly, bringing the topic back on track.

"Fine……"

Yang Xueli glanced at him, then saw Hu Bayi also waving at her. Somewhat helplessly, she could only do as he said and carefully examine the skull.

"This is... the Bible? However, there seems to be something hidden inside the pages."

Upon closer inspection, Yang Xueli's expression turned somewhat surprised! A Bible had been found inside the temple…

Hopefully, Buddha and Yahweh won't fight over the believers? The skull is covered with layers of paper.

Yang Xueli carefully peeled away the dried pages one by one.

Starting from the second page, these pages with the Bible written on them are covered with many curved black lines.

After carefully removing all the pages, upon closer inspection, the lines turned out to form a complete map.

Waterways, mountains, city walls, fortresses, and more—it has everything.

Based on the content of this map, it seems to refer to the land of the Garuda, the ancient Zhangzhung Dynasty, and the Phoenix Palace in Kunlun Mountain. According to the lama, the Jigge Dynasty is indeed mentioned.

Seeing this, Hu Ming's eyes flickered, and he felt relieved. At least this matter was in line with the plot, and nothing unexpected happened.

(End of this chapter)