Tomb raiding: Trying to become a little painter

At the front of the group, Huo Youxue, wearing light clothing and holding binoculars, observed the changes around the desert every half hour.

Unfortunately, she was also helpless in the face of the endless desert, and in the end, she had no choice but to turn her attention to the guide and camel leader she had found this time.

"Zamajie, your family has lived on the edge of the desert for many years. Have you ever seen an oasis in the desert?"

The guide Huo Youxue hired this time was not very old, only about fourteen or fifteen years old, but there was no other way, he was the best she could find.

The young guide's name is Zhamajie. He lives with his elderly grandparents, as his parents are not in their hometown. From a young age, he followed his grandfather into the desert to herd camels and traveled through many parts of the desert.

When asked a question, Zamajie looked up at Huo Youxue, his little face, which had been tanned since childhood, showing a strange expression as he shook his head and replied.

“An oasis? I think I’ve seen it once, but that was when I was very young. My grandfather took me to look for camels and we found it by chance. But strangely, the oasis was gone the next time I went to look for camels. My grandfather said it was a mirage! Not a real oasis!”

"Mirage?"

"Since there are mirages, it means that the oasis is not far away, because the principle behind the formation of mirages is the refraction of sunlight."

Huo Youxue took over Zhamajie's words and had a general idea in mind, then continued speaking to the person.

"Zamajie, take us to the place where you saw the mirage before. Then we'll use a compass to determine the direction we're going. Try to recall which direction the mirage was facing and what was inside it. The more detailed your recollection, the better!"

While Huo Youxue was chatting with Zhamajie, Wu Xie and Xie Yuchen, who were nearby, seemed to be deep in thought as they overheard their conversation...

Under the scorching sun, the team continued their journey through the desert for about an hour before Huo Youxue called a halt and set up camp at a sheltered sand dune that Zhamajie had found...

Click!

Snap...

The sound of the tent frame being connected rang out. Qin Henian held one section in each hand and connected them, then pulled the tent fabric over and tied it up. After a series of operations, a white tent was set up.

Looking over to the next tent, Qin Henian saw Hei Xiazi, who had already set up his own tent, leaning against the doorway. He was wearing sunglasses and seemed to be lost in thought, but Qin Henian had a feeling that the blind man had discovered something...

This guy's perception is really quite good!

Da da da...

I walked over, put my hand on his shoulder, and prepared to whisper something.

Qin Henian: "What did you discover?"

Hei Xiazi: "Dumb Zhang left a coded message saying that many eyes were on them, and one pair of eyes was the most intense. It was the physician that the Huo family had invited on this trip."

Qin Henian: "Received!"

After eating dry rations and drinking water, and resting for half an hour with the rest of the group, team leader Huo Youxue called on everyone to follow Zhamajie.

Under the blue sky, the interplay of light and shadow creates a scene where the green forest, the blue lake, and the black goats drinking water by the lake are blurred yet clearly visible.

Is there an oasis ahead?

Wearing a short-sleeved shirt and covered in sweat, Wu Xie slumped against the camel. After walking for a long time, he noticed an oasis lake not far ahead, a meter or two above the ground, and murmured to himself.

"No...it's a mirage. There's no oasis in the sky!"

Xie Yuchen interrupted Wu Xie's thoughts, which were blurred with confusion and whose IQ seemed to have dropped. He adjusted his breathing, took a moment to observe carefully, and replied, "The hot wind caresses me in the desert, the yellow sand slaps my face..."

"Mirage! The principle of light refraction is..."

Wu rambled on for a while, analyzing this and that.

Huo Youxue, who had been listening and observing silently, beckoned to one of her trusted confidants, and the camel leaned in and whispered a few words in her ear.

A short while later, a burly servant of Huo arrived beside Huo Youxue, driving a camel. He held a compass in one hand and a north compass in the other, looking at the sky and the surroundings...

At the back of the group, Hei Xiazi observed the situation in front of the leader and reached out to pat Qin Henian, who was lying dead.

"He Nian~ Baby~ Look, there's a guy doing feng shui in the desert ahead. Do you think he'll find the direction first or Wu Xie will?"

One relies on computational science, the other on the metaphysics of the compass.

This is going to be very interesting!

Awakened, Qin Henian's mind finally began to work, a shrewd glint flashing in his phoenix eyes. He sat up, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on the mirage.

"Do you think we can't find a real Qilin and a real Pixiu in our team?"

After surveying his surroundings, Qin Henian turned his gaze back to himself and spoke lazily.

"That's true!"

"After all, the blind man is so amazing, he must be incredibly lucky!"

Hei Xiazi wasn't just bragging. It's just that after becoming a beast, every time he did some side jobs, although he didn't get the final payment, he would always make up for it elsewhere.

And now that he doesn't need to buy medicine anymore, his savings are skyrocketing. When he saw the few digits in his bank account, Hei Xiazi's face beamed with a smile wider than a blooming chrysanthemum!

As the sun was setting, just before it disappeared behind the mountains, Huo Youxue led her team to a sheltered spot to set up camp.

Gululu...

Six or seven tents were clustered together, with a sand dune in the middle. On the dunes were the pots, pans, and bowls that the group had brought, filled with bottled water and rice. The logistics personnel had also added canned meat and other fast food, anything that could be cooked with the porridge…

After simmering for more than ten minutes, everyone in the team received a bowl, and after finishing their meal, they rested.

As night fell and the stars twinkled, the temperature in the desert was extremely low. It wasn't Wu Xie's turn to take turns keeping watch, but it was Qin Henian and Hei Xiazi's turn.

The night watch was assigned on a rotating basis among the men, and Qin Henian was chosen for the period from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. In the quiet night, one or two large bags appeared at the entrance of one of the tents…

Tear it apart!

The sound of a zipper being pulled open rang out, and two furtive-looking people with their backs bent emerged from the tent, followed by two others with their arms crossed.

After passing through the encirclement and walking past one or two sandbags, the group reunited about 100 meters from the camp.

"Hey! Flower Master, Dumb Zhang, and Fatty the little apprentice, you've arrived!"

"How was it? A dark and stormy night, wasn't it exciting?!"

Black Bear's shrewish voice rang out from behind the sandbag.

Looking at the two people slumped against the sandbag wall at a 70-degree angle, they both turned to look at the group of people who had come at night.

"Master, can you stop being so irresponsible? We're already in the desert, have you noticed anything?"

Let's exchange information!

Wu Xie draped his elbow over Wang Pangzi's broad shoulder, looking helplessly at the two people lying on the sandbags.

After a month and a half of wits and courage with Hei Xiazi, Wu Xie has become basically immune to his cheap master's incessant chatter.