Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ninety-five percent of Egypt was desert, and there were plenty of dunes around Luxor as well. Whenever the wind blew, a fine layer of yellow sand would cover the roads, making tire tracks from just a few minutes ago stand out clearly.

We followed them the whole way. After driving for a little over an hour, a massive, hazy triangle appeared ahead in the glow of the headlights.

“It’s a pyramid. Looks like they’re right there.”

Several black pickup trucks crouched at the foot of the pyramid, shrunken down to a handful of tiny black dots.

Jiang Haoyan and I parked the car. We had only just snuck out when we saw a man in a black robe walking toward us, rifle in hand. As he approached, he asked, “Hey-what are you doing here?”

A long barrel, a triangular stock-this was nothing like the tranquilizer gun from before. This was a real rifle.

My entire body went rigid in an instant.

Jiang Haoyan stammered out an answer in French.

“We’re just passing by. I got out to take a leak. Sorry, we’ll leave right away.”

Luckily, these people weren’t the ones we’d run into at the museum earlier. The man stared at us suspiciously, one hand clenched tightly around his gun.

“We’re leaving now-”

Jiang Haoyan gave me a look. I immediately behaved myself, opened the car door, and got in. The man in black didn’t seem to suspect anything. He just stood there, watching as our car drove forward.

“Jiang Haoyan, go faster. If he goes back and says he ran into two Asians, the men in black who saw us at the museum are definitely going to get suspicious!”

“Got it. We’ll drive up ahead, loop around from the side, and come back on foot-ah-”

Before Jiang Haoyan could finish, a burst of gunfire erupted behind us. The tires were hit, and since we were driving fast, the car instantly slammed into a nearby dune and flipped onto its side.

For a few seconds, my mind went completely blank. When I came to, I found myself tightly restrained by my seat belt, my chest aching so badly I could hardly breathe.

I forced my eyes open. In the rearview mirror, I saw several dark figures approaching us.

I couldn’t help cursing Lu Lingzhu in my head. It was all that troublemaker’s fault. Why did she have to go and pretend to be a mummy? Ghosts, I could handle. But now I was up against relic smugglers with guns-what the hell was I supposed to do about that?

“Jiang Haoyan, are you okay?”

I struggled to lift my hand and patted Jiang Haoyan’s face a few times. The car had flipped onto his side, pinning him underneath. His situation looked worse than mine.

“Hiss-I’m fine.”

Jiang Haoyan shook his head.

“Good thing we both had our seat belts on. Before they catch up, Qiao Moyu, you climb out first.”

I glanced at the rearview mirror. Those people were already very close to the car. If I got out now, they’d definitely shoot me full of holes. But if we stayed trapped here doing nothing, once they reached the car, the two of us would still get shot full of holes.

My upper body was wedged tightly in place. I watched helplessly as they drew closer and closer, sweat beading all over my forehead from panic.

I forced myself to calm down and turned my head, scanning the inside of the car for a way out. When my gaze swept over the wisps of black smoke rising from the rear of the car, an idea came to me.

I hurriedly formed a hand seal and recited the Incense Offering Divine Mantra.

“The Dao is learned through the heart; the heart is conveyed by incense. Incense burns in the jade censer; the heart stands before the Sovereign. True spirits look down; immortal banners descend to the hall. This disciple makes her petition, sending it straight to the Ninth Heaven.”

The Incense Offering Divine Mantra was used when praying and offering incense, carrying the message up to the heavens. As soon as I finished chanting, the black smoke at the rear of the car suddenly shot upward, shrouding the entire vehicle in a thick haze.

The men in black immediately stopped and cautiously backed away.

“Looks like the car’s about to explode-”

Seizing the opportunity, I took a deep breath, braced one hand against the car door, and crawled out with difficulty. Then I dragged Jiang Haoyan out as well. The two of us kept our heads low, bent over, and climbed up the dune.

The smoke had come quickly and dispersed just as quickly. The men in black stood in place for a moment, and when they saw the smoke clear, they immediately raised their guns and rushed over to check.

“Fuck, they ran! After them!”

“I see them! They’re over there!”