Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Professor Chen was in the middle of a passionate lecture.

“As everyone knows, snake fangs have no chewing function. They are only used to secure prey. Then, by moving the left and right jawbones alternately, they swallow the food into their bellies.”

“The idea of a snake that can gnaw an animal down to its bones is pure fantasy. Young man, did you come to Devil City to find the Man-eating Snake as well? How could you believe such a ridiculous rumor? Did you even go to college?”

Professor Chen grabbed Yellow Hair. The young man looked up blankly, a bizarre smile spreading across his face toward the camera.

Professor Chen jumped back in fright.

“Whoa! You’ve got a big mouth, kid.”

Yellow Hair grinned, his smile widening further and further. Gradually, it seemed as if the skin on both sides of his mouth couldn’t hold anymore, and it began to tear open.

“Ah-”

The cameraman screamed repeatedly. Yellow Hair continued to laugh maniacally as he reached out and grabbed Professor Chen’s arm.

Professor Chen was completely stunned.

“Complications from plastic surgery? We need to get him to a doctor immediately!”

“Young man, why would you get surgery to make your mouth that big? It doesn’t even look good. Your body, hair, and skin are gifts from your parents-”

Professor Chen was still rambling on. Seeing Yellow Hair open his bloody maw to bite the professor, I stepped forward at the critical moment and stuffed the Five Emperors Coins into his mouth.

Yellow Hair let out a roar as a large cloud of black smoke erupted from his mouth, and then his body fell straight backward.

Professor Chen leaped back.

“Qiao Moyu! Heavens, what did you just feed him?”

I shot him an impatient glare.

“He isn’t human.”

The ghost had just been revived; its consciousness was weak, and it was wandering around like a headless fly. However, there were bloodstains on Yellow Hair’s teeth. I didn’t know what he had encountered back at Tong Wei’s camp, but once a ghost tastes blood, it will start harming people.

“He’s not human? Is he an animal then? You’ve injured someone, so why are you insulting them too?”

Professor Chen grew even angrier. With a stern face, he began to preach at me frantically. I simply walked over and pulled down Yellow Hair’s pants.

On the yellow sand, two sections of bleached white bone were exposed to the air, emitting a faint, fishy stench.

Jiang Haoyan’s expression immediately turned grim. He looked at me with furrowed brows, appearing as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

I nudged his arm.

“That snake eats quite clean, doesn’t it? Didn’t leave a single scrap behind.”

Jiang Haoyan snapped irritably, “What else did you want it to leave? What exactly were you hoping to see? Huh? You’re a girl-can you please not just strip a man’s pants off like that!”

I had no idea what he was throwing a tantrum about. It was nonsensical.

The others were terrified. Professor Chen let out a cold gasp, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and knelt down to carefully examine Yellow Hair’s leg bones.

“Could he have run into Army Ants? But Army Ants are only active in the Amazon Basin… Strange, truly strange. This requires thorough study.”

“The leg bones have been gnawed clean. What kind of willpower supported this young man to walk all the way here? The human will to survive is truly tragic and moving!”

Professor Chen was deeply moved. After some discussion, the group decided to call the police and provide the coordinates so the local authorities could handle the body.

The Program Team left two people to watch over the corpse while the rest of us continued into the heart of the desert.

The weather was fine today, and the wind was much calmer than yesterday. The Program Team walked all day without encountering another soul. When we set up camp that evening, I stood by the campfire, observing the stars.

“Is that the Big Dipper? It’s so bright.”

Jiang Haoyan pointed toward the north. I shook my head and pointed out two smaller stars nearby.

“In Daoism, it has always been the Nine Stars of the Big Dipper. Besides the seven main stars, there are also the Auxiliary Star and the Assistant Star. The nine stars were part of the astronomical knowledge of the Nine Li Tribe. Later, after Chiyou was defeated in the Battle of Zhuolu, the nine stars were changed to seven.”

I reached out and traced a line between the Right Assistant Star and the Left Auxiliary Star. The point where this line intersected with the Big Dipper was the location of the Great Altar.

However, the desert was vast. That position was only a vague direction; finding the specific coordinates would still take some effort.

Early the next morning, we set off in that direction.

The Program Team walked for a very long time. The desert was a vast, featureless expanse. Aside from the occasional oddly shaped hills, we couldn’t find any sign of the altar.

Professor Chen began to get frustrated.

“I told you Qiao Moyu was unreliable. What could she possibly find?”

“Let’s stop for a moment and have lunch. If we keep going, no one will be able to take it.”

The monotonous scenery always made people feel exceptionally tired. Zhu Tanjian rubbed his eyes, hopped off his camel, and ordered the crew to set up a simple camp and prepare food.

We chose a spot behind a hill that happened to be shielded from the wind. Professor Chen lit a cigarette and wandered behind the hill to smoke.

A moment later, he came rushing out with a look of pleasant surprise.

“I found them!”

“You found the altar?”

Jiang Haoyan and I immediately stood up, looking at him with anticipation.

“I found the other expedition team!”

Professor Chen waved his hand, and Tong Wei walked out from behind the hill with a wicked smirk.

“What a coincidence, Qiao Moyu.”