Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 203 The Sacrifice – “Eyes”

"Mingzi, who exactly is this young man? And what's the deal with the Zhang family?"

"I feel like you were quite polite to him, and... Qilin..."

Hu Baya pulled Hu Ming aside and asked in confusion.

This mysterious young man, I wonder what kind of background the Zhang family has.

In short, every time Hu Bayi looked at Xiao Ge, he would feel a sense of danger from the bottom of his heart.

This made him very uneasy.

In the past, apart from encountering danger on the battlefield, this feeling was only felt by Hu Ming.

"Don't worry, our goals shouldn't conflict with his. Just as he said, he probably just wandered in here by mistake."

"The Zhang family, Zhang Qiling, 81... That's interesting..."

"Alright, Lao Hu, and Yang Xueli, Fatty, Chu Yi and A Xiang, you guys too, stop thinking about this. Just pretend Xiao Ge doesn't exist."

Hu Ming gave the young man a meaningful look, a subtle smile curving his lips, and patted Hu Bayi on the shoulder.

If it weren't for the guy's natural charisma, everyone would probably unconsciously ignore him.

After all, the guy was really, really, really silent...

He was so silent that he wouldn't utter a single word all day if no one paid attention to him.

The young man was ultimately not one of Hu Ming's group, and he only had the most basic curiosity about the sacrificial site in front of him.

Perhaps, they lack even the most basic curiosity about things that are unrelated to them.

Hu Ming swore that while he was pretending to look at the murals, the young man's eyes kept lingering on him.

If he hadn't known about the guy's situation, he probably would have suspected that the guy might have some unspeakable feelings for him.

After all, it seems that the young man's favorite character, the innocent and naive comrade, was the type who was constantly being bullied at the beginning of the story.

"Hu Ming, Lao Hu, I've figured out this ceremony."

"According to what they said, if they want to sever our connection with the Ghost Cave and stop it from absorbing hemoglobin, they just need to reverse the ritual..."

"but."

As she spoke, Yang Xueli pursed her lips and said hesitantly.

"But a pair of eyeballs is also needed as a sacrifice, to be thrown into the 'Dragon Pill' along with the Muchen Pearl, in order to end this sacrificial ritual, right?"

Hu Ming shrugged and voiced what Yang Xueli couldn't let go of.

"Yes! There's no other way... I'll just have to use my eyes. After all, if I hadn't insisted on going to the Jingjue Ancient City to investigate, Lao Hu and the others wouldn't have been tainted by this vicious curse!"

"If I have to cause you to lose your eyes to break the curse, I'm afraid I'll never be able to forgive myself in this lifetime."

Yang Xueli gave a wry smile and said.

The mural clearly states that by binding a slave cursed by the Ghost Cave to a large, T-shaped indentation on the ground, gouging out his eyes, and throwing him into the Dragon Pill along with the Muchen Pearl, everything can be ended.

But here's the question: whose eyes should be gouged out?
Hu Ming?
Although Hu Ming also had problems, it didn't have a particularly big impact on him. It didn't comply with the rules, and Hu Bayi and Fatty would definitely not allow it.

Yang Xueli? Hu Bayi absolutely wouldn't allow it. Old Hu? Fatty? First Year of Middle School? Ah Xiang?
"Mingzi, how about we..."

The fat man bit down hard, a fierce glint in his eyes, and glared menacingly at the expressionless young man with his arms crossed.

In this sacrificial space, apart from the young man whose intentions were unclear, everyone else was an acquaintance.

For a fat person, choosing the right option is not a difficult decision.

"Give up. Let's not even talk about how difficult it is to gouge out the guy's eyes..."

"The young man and I are in the same special situation, so the mere Ghost Eye Curse has little effect on him."

Hu Ming shook his head, reached into his backpack with one hand, and took out a pair of crystal-clear beads from the system space.

"What can we do then? We can't just turn on our own people, can we? That doesn't make sense!"

Upon hearing this, the fat man grimaced and became somewhat restless, feeling a bit irritated.

They built a mountain nine ren high, but failed at the last basket of earth, stumped by this final hurdle. This was not what they wanted.

At this moment, Ah Xiang was startled by the fat man and instinctively darted behind Hu Ming for protection.

Ah Xiang understood this in her heart. Although Chu Yi and Hu Ming hadn't known each other for long, they had a really good relationship.

If there is truly no other way out, then she is probably the only option.
"Fatty!" Hu Bayi glared at the fat man.

Listen, is this human language?
No wonder the fat man, who's over thirty, can't find a wife and remains a bachelor; there's a reason for it.

"I spent quite a bit of time in the Western Xinjiang region and heard some rumors about it, such as the ancient demon kingdom and the glacial crystal corpse. I know a little about them."

"Hu Ming, those beads in your hand, I think they must be the eyes of the Glacier Crystal Corpse, right?"

"According to rumors, the glacial crystal corpse buried in the nine-story demon tower of Kunlun Glacier is the first Ghost Mother of the Demon Kingdom. Her eyes will definitely satisfy your sacrificial rituals."

Looking at the pair of beads in Hu Ming's hand that looked like works of art, the young man surprisingly spoke up and said a lot in one breath.

Everyone was completely dumbfounded.

I'm not surprised that this young man knows so much.

Instead, since the young man appeared, he had given the impression of being taciturn and indifferent. So when he suddenly said so much in one breath, they were really not used to it.

"I'm very curious about you. Perhaps I'll have some unexpected gains during my trip to Kunlun. I'd like to talk to you after you're done with your work."

"Let's talk about something about me. You seem to know something about me."

The young man ignored the astonishment of others and looked at Hu Ming with indifference.

"Ha! I thought you'd stay silent forever... but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I don't know much about your past."

"But buddy, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. You'll probably have to lend a hand to the monster that's about to appear."

Upon hearing this, Hu Ming grinned, tossing the two glasses in his hand up and down.

"Mahakala Thunder Mountain? I've heard legends about it before. Judging from your expression, you must have already confirmed its existence? Sure! I can definitely help you deal with it."

Without the slightest hesitation, the young man simply thought for a moment, glanced back at the passage where Hu Ming and the others had come from, and nodded expressionlessly…

(End of this chapter)