Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 367 It depends on God’s will

"Finished talking? Have you decided what to do next?"

In the camp, Black Bear asked in a low voice without opening his eyes.

"Well, the general plan has been finalized. It seems there are quite a few swarms of flies following us this time, so cleaning them up will take some time."

Hu Ming and his brother put themselves back into their sleeping bags and said in a deep voice.

"What does it have to do with me? I'm different from you guys. When we got there, I was with my third uncle. I was just getting paid to protect his safety."

"Oh, I forgot, my third uncle just messaged me, asking me to keep an eye on Wu Xie on the way..."

"Damn it, Hu Ming, this is all your fault, you've doubled my workload for no reason."

Black Bear couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

Originally, in Aning's team, he only needed to do his job as a spy.

Now things are really complicated; we also have to protect Wu Xie along the way.
But for the sake of money.
It smells so good!
After muttering a few ambiguous words, Hei Xiazi ignored Hu Ming and Xiao Ge and fell into a deep sleep.

There are still several hours until dawn, and people with their exceptional physical condition should have enough time to get some rest.

"Heh, I don't believe that Wu Laosan's scheme this time didn't include Wu Xie!"

Seeing this, Hu Ming pursed his lips and whispered, then closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

The convoy set off again early the next morning, while it was still barely light.

After leaving the small village of Lancuo, continuing deeper into the Gobi Desert leads to an uninhabited area that is not marked on any map.

This is a land that no one has reached for decades or even centuries.

The road conditions—or rather, the terrain—are terrible; there are no roads to speak of here.

Everywhere you look, there is flying dust, and the ground conditions are extremely bad.

This is a no-man's-land, a place where life has vanished.

To make matters worse, Dingzhu Zhuoma has to rely on wind-eroded rocks and dried-up riverbeds to find her way forward.

This forced the convoy to approach the steep slopes near the rocky mountains, making for an incredibly bumpy ride.

Under the blazing sun, it took three whole days to walk along the dried-up ancient riverbed.

Three days later, we reached the end of the river, where the Gobi Desert had completely turned into a wasteland.

However, the deserts in the Qaidam Basin are not large; they are like spots scattered in the center of the basin.

The local herders rarely venture into these deserts, believing that demons inhabit them.

"A familiar place, a familiar feeling. To be honest, I never thought I would come to a place twice in a row."

“This desert in front of us, once we go around it, is the mountain pass where Dingzhu Zhuoma parted ways with us back then.”

"Once we get there, all our experience will be useless. From then on, finding Tamutuo will truly depend on fate."

On the front of the bus, Hu Ming looked out at the familiar desert and sighed softly.

“Fate? Hu Ming, you didn’t tell us this before.”

“We have already found your guide from back then, and you even went to Tamutuo back then. Even so, is it impossible to get there? Besides, your Hu family are tomb raiders. Isn't astronomy, feng shui, and tomb raiding your specialty?”

Upon hearing this, Ah Ning's heart skipped a beat, and she asked with surprise and uncertainty.

In her view, as long as she could find the guide from back then and find people who had been to Tamutuo, the trip should be a sure thing.

But now, having come this far, Hu Ming says everything depends on fate?
Screw your destiny!
This is the 21st century, the age of science! You're telling me this?
For a moment, Ah Ning's gaze towards Hu Ming turned somewhat resentful. That old geezer, he's wicked!
"Um, I didn't bring my compass. Even if I did, I might not be able to find the right way. And this journey isn't just about finding the road; you can't just get to your destination. Didn't I tell you all that before we set off?"

Raising an eyebrow, Hu Ming asked in surprise.

He really forgot.
“I’m pretty sure you never said anything like that before or after you left!”

Ah Ning said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, then I guess I forgot?"

Hu Ming scratched his head and said embarrassedly.

He really forgot about that!
Because, in the initial plan, he never intended to take Aning and the others to the Snake Swamp Ghost City!
Since they never intended to include Ah Ning's people in the trip, why would they bring this up?
Right?
This is only natural, and it's understandable.

Upon hearing this, Hei Xiazi covered his mouth and chuckled.

He knew Jiang Huming's plan and understood that A Ning's efforts were all in vain.
Tsk, if that's the case, this young lady is quite pitiful.

Are foreigners really that naive? They get sold out and then help the seller count the money...
Hey, we could totally collaborate with foreigners more often in the future!
Hei Xiazi suddenly felt that Hu Ming had opened the door to a new world for him.

"Then explain yourself clearly now! What do you mean by saying that whether we can find Tamutuo depends on fate!? And are you implying that there's a problem on our journey?"

Ah Ning, of course, had no idea that Hei Xiazi already considered her a rich but foolish idiot, and asked through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.

"Ah, it's actually very simple. Tamutuo is located in a rather special place. For some reasons I don't want to talk about, the magnetic field in a large area around it is special. We can't even distinguish between east, west, south, and north. Even if I bring a compass, it won't be of much use."

"Furthermore, the area surrounding Tamtuo possesses a layer of defense, both natural and man-made..."

"Actually, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. It's an ancient Chinese art, the art of divination and strategy."

"Mr. Hu, I am also Chinese, and I know about Qimen Dunjia!"

Ah Ning interrupted Hu Ming's explanation with an extremely fake smile.

Look at him, black hair, black eyes, yellow skin—isn't he a quintessential Chinese?
"Chinese! You can only be called Chinese. Your nationality is probably American, right? A Chinese-American?"

Hu Ming also said softly with a fake smile.

"In short, Qimen Dunjia is unfathomable and can almost reach the heavens. When it was first created, there were as many as 4,320 formations, but now only about ten have been passed down. And even among these, there are very few who can fully understand it."

"Yes, Wu Xie's second uncle, Wu Erbai, is the most outstanding Qimen Dunjia master in the world. Unfortunately, you can't invite him, and even if he came, it would be useless."

"In short, the outer defenses of Tamtuo are almost impossible for a blind man to break through. Don't look at me, even if I admit that I am very good and know a little about everything, I still can't do this."

"Of course, if you insist on arguing with me about planting mushrooms in that godforsaken place, then just pretend I didn't say anything."

Seeing that Hei Xiazi was also looking at him with a puzzled expression, Hu Ming shrugged.

"So, according to you, doesn't that mean we have absolutely no hope of getting into Tamutuo?"

"But how did your team get in back then?"

Ah Ning's brows furrowed deeply; she realized the seriousness of the problem.

If what Hu Ming said is true, then it is impossible for anyone in this world to break through the defense layer and enter the core of Tamutuo!
"That's not necessarily true. Didn't I say that everything depends on fate?"

“In fact, Aning, even if you hadn’t come to find me, I would have gone to Tamutuo by myself during this time.”

"Because the rainy season is coming soon! If we miss this time, we'll have to wait another year to get to Tamutuo. I can't wait that long!"

Hu Ming leaned out of the car window, his deep eyes gazing at the bright, sunlit sky.

(End of this chapter)