Chapter 56: Return To The Capital City, Li Chun Lai Visits Dragon Ridge
After a brief stay in the stone chamber, Su Mo and Xue Li Yang continued forward along this fissure in Zaghrama Mountain, and soon the path ahead became increasingly narrow.
Soon the front was almost impassable, but daylight could already be seen through the fissure.
Su Mo then used the Frost Moon Sword to chop through the rocks, leading Xue Li Yang out through a gap in the mountain rocks.
It turned out that this fissure was not far from the entrance to the underground palace. The two then returned to the temple, where they saw Hu Ba Yi and the others sitting there waiting for them. Everyone was safe and sound, including Ye Yi Xin, who in the original story had died before even leaving the underground palace. At this time, she just looked a bit weak, but her body was fine.
Su Mo felt a wave of relief in his heart. He had promised everyone that he would bring them out safely, and seeing that everyone was unharmed now filled him with great comfort.
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pang Zi were both shocked and delighted to see Su Mo and Xue Li Yang appear from outside the temple.
“Master, how did you appear from outside the temple!”
“We were just worrying about you, but we didn’t expect you to come out from the outside!”
Professor Chen and the others were overjoyed to see Su Mo and Xue Li Yang appear safe and sound:
“Young Master Su, Xue Li, it’s good that you’re both okay!”
“Master Su is truly impressive!”
Su Mo smiled faintly:
“It’s good that everyone is safe. We can’t go back down into the Jing Jue Underground Palace for now; it’s been completely flooded by the snake swarm. Let’s figure out a way to leave quickly!”
Before entering the temple, he had seen that the setting sun in the sky had become very hazy, with a vast expanse of red clouds covering most of the sky, and the wind carrying a lot of fine sand.
Clearly, another black sandstorm was about to arrive.
An Li Man had once said on the road that this kind of wind heralded doomsday, and once it blew, Zaghrama would be destroyed.
Whether Zaghrama would be destroyed or not was hard to say, but if the black sandstorm really hit, the sand dunes would once again bury the Jing Jue Ancient City in Zaghrama Mountain Valley, and it would be trouble if everyone got buried here.
So everyone immediately got up and headed outside. Just as they reached the entrance, they saw An Li Man driving the camels and running outward.
Upon seeing this, Wang Pang Zi immediately cursed angrily:
“An Li Man, you old bastard, everything you said to my master before was just farting, wasn’t it!”
An Li Man turned around and saw the group had come out, quickly forcing a smile on his face:
“Comrade Wang, the black sandstorm is coming, and Zaghrama’s doomsday is about to appear. I’ve waited for you all so long; I can’t just let the black sandstorm bury me!”
Su Mo didn’t bother arguing with him at this point. After all, the signs of the black sandstorm had appeared, so it was understandable that An Li Man wanted to flee.
Everyone quickly climbed onto the camels. Once all were seated on the camel backs, An Li Man drove the camels and started running outward.
After a period of rest and replenishment of water, the camel caravan had nearly recovered their stamina. Now, under An Li Man’s urging, they galloped off with hooves flying, and in no time, they had carried everyone out of the valley.
During the gallop, the wind from behind roared like a thousand armies and horses in pursuit, with overwhelming sand and dust sweeping in. Coupled with the setting sun and darkening light, the entire world had turned pitch black.
An Li Man, Su Mo, and Hu Ba Yi discussed briefly, then dug a sand barrier at the base of a sand dune on the spot. They formed all the camels into a circle, and An Li Man covered the camels’ eyes with blankets to prevent them from getting startled and running off.
Fortunately, the center of this black sandstorm was right at the Zaghrama Mountain Valley location, and after their frantic escape, the group had left the eye of the storm. Though they were still battered in the outskirts of the black sandstorm, the danger of being buried by the wind and sand was gone.
It wasn’t until the morning of the next day that this black sandstorm finally subsided.
Su Mo climbed to the top of a sand dune, but could no longer see the black silhouette of Zaghrama Mountain.
Clearly, this black sandstorm had buried Zaghrama Mountain. If the group hadn’t escaped in time, they would probably all be buried in the sand by now.
To find the Mu Chen Pearl again and return to Zaghrama Mountain, they would likely have to wait for another storm to blow away the sand covering the mountain.
Everyone couldn’t help but sigh.
This archaeological expedition was like a dangerous dream; once they woke up, everything had been buried and vanished.
Everyone then set off, preparing to leave this desert.
On the way back, they encountered no more sandstorms. Though they still endured the hardships of wind, meals, and sleeping outdoors, it was much smoother than the journey there.
More than ten days later, the group finally left the desert and returned to the town.
After a few days of rest in the town, Professor Chen and Ye Yi Xin had mostly recovered. The group then set off again, and after leaving the basin, they took a train back to the Capital City.
Along the way, Xue Li Yang felt even closer to Su Mo. Though the two had not truly been intimate physically, their sense of closeness and tacit understanding had risen to another level.
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pang Zi saw this in their eyes and exchanged knowing smiles with each other.
This master’s wife seemed to be Xue Li Yang for sure.
After returning to the Capital City, Xue Li Yang stayed with Professor Chen and the others at the Archaeological Institute. Su Mo returned to his residence, while Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pang Zi came every day. They truly regarded Su Mo as their master and paid their respects daily.
Seeing their unwavering loyalty, Su Mo often taught them some things. Their cultivation and meditation kung fu gradually deepened, and a few days later, they had reached the martial artist bottleneck, just one step away from advancing to the warrior realm.
That day, with nothing to do, Su Mo followed Hu Ba Yi and Wang Pang Zi to Panjiayuan for a stroll.
After returning to the Capital City, Hu Ba Yi and the others still set up stalls at Panjiayuan every day. Since neither had a formal job, setting up stalls there allowed them to make a living while gaining experience and knowledge, and perhaps even unearth some rare treasures.
Su Mo sat in front of their stall and chatted with them for a while. Just as he was about to turn and check out Da Jin Ya’s shop, he suddenly spotted a man in his thirties with dark skin, dressed in very rustic clothes, holding a tattered bag, looking timidly at them from afar.
The man stood by the wall for a while, seemingly hesitating for a long time, then walked over and asked timidly:
“Masters, do you buy antiques?”
Hu Ba Yi immediately pulled out a cigarette and handed it over, smiling:
“Fellow, what good things do you have? Take them out first so we can see and decide whether to buy!”
After taking the cigarette, the man still seemed very hesitant and timid, clutching his tattered bag without daring to open it.
Watching him, Su Mo felt a stir in his heart and smiled:
“Fellow, what’s your honorable surname?”
The man grinned shyly:
“I’m called Li Chun Lai!”
Hearing his name, Su Mo’s heart skipped a beat.
Good grief, he’d been preparing to go to Dragon Ridge these past days, and here Li Chun Lai had come knocking on his door!
