Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 76 Seeing the Spine of the Black Dragon
There hasn't been a breath of wind in the desert these past few days, and the sun has been hanging in the sky for an unusually long time. In order to save water, everyone has already switched back to the mode of traveling in the early morning and late evening, but even so, the consumption is still very high.

If we can't find the ancient city of Jingjue within seven days, we'll have to slaughter a camel on our way back.

Hu Ming suddenly laughed upon hearing this and said to Yang Xueli, "Yang Xueli, look at your notebook. It seems we've arrived at our destination."

Everyone perked up at this, and Anliman shook his head in disbelief. This vast expanse—where was there any information about the ancient city of Jingjue? Even he couldn't find anything; how could anyone else possibly find a trace?
Yang Xueli had no doubts. Under the tent, she quickly flipped through her diary, carefully searching for clues about the disappearance of the Zidu Dark River.

Since the wind stopped blowing, Ye Yixin's condition has not been very good. Now that such an exciting thing has happened, Ye Yixin did not go to Yang Xueli's side.

After Hu Ming approached Ye Yixin, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Ye Yixin felt a little weak at this moment, but she managed to cheer up when she saw Hu Ming.

"Brother Hu Ming, I'm alright!"

"You seem alright? Did you take your medicine?" Hu Ming asked, reaching out to touch Ye Yixin's forehead, but couldn't find anything wrong. The temperature was too high; touching anyone made her feel feverish.

Hu Ming frowned, then took a bottle of medicine out of his bag and tossed it to Ye Yixin. He had prepared this medicine before coming, knowing that someone would get sick.

Sadipeng has also caught a bad cold, but he is in good health and only has a runny nose.

On the other side, Yang Xueli also found the clue. After glancing at the malfunctioning compass, everyone became even more certain that the ancient city of Jingjue was nearby. Unfortunately, the endless desert made it difficult to find.

After Hu Ming arrived, Yang Xueli said to him, "The notebook says there are two black magnetic mountains here, standing opposite each other in the afterglow of the setting sun. The legendary city is located beyond a valley that resembles a gate. So, what are your thoughts?"

"Since the notebook says so, then we'll look towards the sun when it's almost setting. That sand dune over there is the highest in the vicinity, so we'll go up there and look west before the sun goes down."

"it is good!"

Two hours later, Hu Ming brought Yang Xueli over again. Ye Yixin's condition was much better; her energy and spirit were noticeably better than before.

About two and a half hours later, the sun was already setting in the west. Seeing this, Hu Ming said to Hu Bayi and the others beside him, "Let's go to that sand dune."

Upon hearing this, everyone followed, their hopes so close, and they wanted to witness it with their own eyes.

Everyone's gaze fell upon the setting sun when suddenly Yang Shirley excitedly pointed ahead and shouted, "It's the Black Dragon! The Black Dragon's Spine!"

It was a faintly visible black line, not very clear from a distance. Upon hearing this, Hu Bayi immediately picked up his binoculars and looked. The black line was indeed a black mountain range, lying there like a black dragon.

The black dragon is severed in the middle, with a mountain pass in between—isn't this the black dragon's spine?
The Black Dragon's Spine, where the sun sets, should not be a mirage.

“This must be Magnet Mountain!” Professor Chen’s old eyes almost welled up with tears after he took off his binoculars.

Ye Yixin had completely lost her previous sickly appearance, and Sadi Peng had a smile on his face, his eyes practically popping out with joy.

"The Long March has finally reached its final step," Professor Hao Aiguo remarked, deeply moved. Hu Bayi looked at the group and asked, "Shall we set off before dark, or now?"

Upon seeing this, Hu Bayi suddenly thought of Yang Xueli's father. What exactly had kept them in the Jingjue Ancient City? Was it the snakes Hu Ming mentioned, or a curse? To be honest, he had always been preoccupied with the Jingjue Ancient City, as if it held a mystery that attracted him. But when the Jingjue Ancient City appeared, he felt a little hesitant.

Hu Ming glanced at the setting sun. Although the sun hadn't gone down yet, it wasn't so hot anymore, and a cooler day was about to begin.

"Pack your things, eat some dry rations, and we're off!" Hu Ming's heart was filled with both trepidation and excitement. He was trepidated because he didn't know in what form the Queen of Jingjue would appear—a ghost? A corpse? Or a human?
To his delight, he had finally found the legendary Jingjue Ancient City, and once inside, he could expect to receive a system reward.

However, to receive the system reward, he had to take a funerary object from inside. He didn't take anything from the stone tomb that someone had visited last time, but he did manage to take a jade bottle from the Gusu Prince's Tomb.

Therefore, Hu Ming did not receive any system rewards in the tomb that was being tended by others.

"Then let's hurry up and set off!" Yang Xueli said impatiently after everyone had eaten something.

"Whether or not we find the ancient city of Jingjue, I want to thank everyone in advance, thank you everyone."

At this moment, Professor Chen bowed to everyone, especially to Hu Ming, saying, "Comrades Hu Bayi and the other two, I, Chen, truly have too many thanks for this trip..."

"No need for formalities, Professor Chen," Hu Bayi said with a slight smile.

Let's go, everyone.

Then Hu Bayi urged everyone to set off.

"Miss Yang, if we really want to find that Jingjue Ancient City you mentioned, we'll have to offer you a higher price!" The fat man was still thinking about the money.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely give you a satisfactory number," Yang Xueli said with a smile.

Upon hearing that Miss Yang had indeed kept her word, the fat man was overjoyed. Riding their camels, the group galloped towards the black mountain range.

The camels galloped by, and everyone's face was filled with anticipation.

It was completely dark when the group finally arrived at Cishan.

"It's like looking at a mountain and running yourself to death! I thought we'd get there before dark, but now it's past midnight," the fat man said wearily.

"Anyway, it's good that we've arrived!" Professor Chen said.

Without stopping, the group continued their journey towards Mount Zaglama.

(End of this chapter)