The two men just smiled knowingly at Xu Lang’s teasing, which was a very fair assessment.
“So you are Xiao Jin’s friends, Comrade Xiao Wang and Comrade Xiao Hu. This very young man must be Comrade Xiao Xu, right?”
Professor Chen saw the people arriving and walked over to greet them with a smile.
Professor Chen was in his sixties and looked quite healthy, but the fact that he was going to the Western Regions for an investigation at his age made Xu Lang’s eyelids twitch.
Lao Hu extended his hand and said with a smile, “That’s right, it’s us. Who are you?”
“I’m Chen Jiu Ren.”
“Hello Professor Chen. Da Jin Ya mentioned you yesterday.”
They shook hands with each other, and all three of them showed their respect, after all, Professor Chen was so old, this was the most basic etiquette.
Professor Chen said with a smile, “I believe Comrade Xiao Jin has explained everything to you. He also introduced the situation of the three of you to us. He spoke highly of all of you, especially Comrade Xiao Hu, you were a company commander in the army, you have been to the desert, you have been to the glaciers, you have even been on the battlefield, quite an impressive resume!”
Lao Hu laughed, “You flatter me. Those are just some experiences from my younger days, but I did go deep into the desert twice with the army.”
Professor Chen said, “With such rich experience, you’re more than qualified to be our leader, us bookworms. However, the situation is a bit special this time, we’re making an exception and hiring a leader, and we have a special requirement, which is the need to be proficient in celestial star geomancy, do any of the three of you understand this?”
Celestial star geomancy? The fatty looked at Lao Hu with a puzzled face.
Lao Hu replied, “Professor Chen, I do have a basic understanding of the celestial star geomancy you mentioned. Celestial star geomancy is also called the Azure Dragon and Yellow Snake Technique of the Celestial Sphere, it is the Celestial Scroll of the Sixteen-character Yin-Yang Feng Shui secret techniques, and it’s also a very obscure and difficult chapter.”
“Geomancy is considered the pinnacle of earth science. Geomancy simply means hiding in the wind, and obtaining the water. In later generations, geomancy was gradually extended into the art of divination, to put it bluntly, it’s a study of the relationship between the three of heaven, earth, and man.”
“Today, let’s talk about this celestial star geomancy. Ancient emperors and nobles, most of them attached great importance to their afterlife. They believed that the treatment they enjoyed during their lifetime should also be enjoyed after their death, which led to the different standards of tombs from ancient times to the present.”
“Ancient people believed that the rise and fall of the world all originated from the dragon vein, so the tomb must be located in a geomantic treasure land, and the theory of dragon veins also varies.”
“Ancient people pursued the state of harmony between man and nature. They not only sought the celestial vein and water method, but also the sun, moon, and stars. Since ancient times, people have been observing the celestial phenomena and studying the changes of the stars to predict good and bad fortune.”
“When choosing a geomantic treasure land, naturally, they would also use the essence of astronomy. The distance between heaven and earth is 84,000 li, the distance between a person’s heart and kidney is eight inches and four minutes. The human body has gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, corresponding to the five celestial stars, and there are 24 stars, corresponding to the mountains and rivers of the world...”
As Lao Hu explained, the members of the archaeological team gathered around, including Professor Hao, who had been missing before.
Looking at the eager faces of the team members, Xu Lang couldn’t help but sigh, interest really is the best teacher.
Lao Hu didn’t mind, instead, he was even more proud and continued, “The key to celestial star geomancy is how to use it. Understanding it is one thing, but how to use a compass to deduce and calculate, and then accurately locate the target, that’s the most crucial step.”
“The celestial star arrangement is more difficult to fathom than the terrain, after all, there are many types of star constellation arrangements. How to connect and echo with the terrain is the most difficult part.”
“Moreover, with the changes of time, the world has changed dramatically, the terrain has already changed with the passage of time, plus the fact that there are many different schools of this celestial star geomancy, each with its own rules, and some even contradict each other, so to be honest, no one can guarantee that they can definitely find the place they want to find.”
Professor Chen was surprised, “Comrade Xiao Hu, you’ve said it perfectly. The desert has been around for thousands of years, the green oasis cities of the past have long since become a sea of sand, the ancient course of the Peacock River has already dried up and is difficult to find, let alone those ruins and ancient tombs in the desert.”
“Since the ancients based their burials on the mountains, water, and the sun, moon, and stars, if we want to find those tombs that have been buried in the ancient Silk Road, relying on celestial star geomancy is the most effective and concise method.”
“Comrade Xiao Hu, didn’t I say it right?”
Lao Hu smiled and gave a thumbs up. Professor Chen was right, but the longer the time gap, the more difficult it would be to find it, of course.
Shirley Yang had appeared at some point and walked up to say, “Mr. Hu, you’re very knowledgeable. Welcome to the archaeological team.”
Professor Chen said, “Let me introduce you. This is Miss Yang, she is the investor for this operation, and she’s also a famous geographical magazine photographer. She will be going with us this time, she is a member of our expedition team.”
“Mr. Hu, just call me Shirley Yang.”
Shirley turned and asked, “Mr. Hu’s skills I’ve already witnessed, but what kind of skills do the two of you have? This trip to the desert is very important. Our team doesn’t need people without special skills.”
Lao Hu said, “Xiao Xu is very young, but he has a wide range of knowledge, and he’s very good with guns and his martial arts skills.”
Xu Lang raised his hand to stop Lao Hu from introducing him further, and took the initiative to say, “To be honest, I’m not optimistic about your archaeological team at all. You all seem to have no experience surviving in the desert, so forget about the cruelty of the desert.”
“Professor Chen just said that the purpose of this trip is to find the tombs buried in the ancient Silk Road. Miss Yang, can you be more specific?”
“Since cooperation is mutual, Miss Yang has already seen our sincerity, now it’s your turn.”
Shirley Yang hesitated for a moment and said, “The goal of our operation this time is to find the lost city of Jingjue, which disappeared a thousand years ago in the desert.”
Hearing Shirley Yang openly admit it, Xu Lang said with a smile, “Looking for the lost city of Jingjue in the desert. I don’t know whether to say you are brave, or to laugh at you for being unrealistic.”
Shirley Yang asked, “Why does Mr. Xu say that?”
Xu Lang replied, “The Jingjue ancient city is the site of Jingjue, one of the 36 kingdoms in the Western Regions. The location of Jingjue ancient city is in the deepest part of the Taklamakan Desert, which is also known as the Black Desert. You have to know that the real Black Desert, even finding a sand pit with water is a fantasy.”
“As far as I know, it is only possible to find Jingjue ancient city during the wind season, and what the wind season in the desert means, you may not all be clear.”
“In the Black Desert, natural disasters can easily wipe out the entire archaeological team, their bones forever buried in the desert.”
“Even if you’re lucky enough, but the temperature difference between day and night in the desert is extremely large, even healthy people can hardly bear it, let alone with Professor Chen along, even a slight illness is enough to kill you.”
“To survive in the desert, you can only rely on unwavering willpower and good physical fitness. Having determination and perseverance alone is not enough.”
“The Sea of Death in the desert, you all know how this name came about, many people have gone to the desert looking for the Jingjue ancient city, but even more have died in the desert.”
Shirley Yang remained silent for a moment and asked, “Mr. Xu seems to know a lot about the desert, and seems to know something about Jingjue ancient city.”
Xu Lang replied, “That’s not important. If you are determined to go to the desert to find Jingjue ancient city, I suggest you reduce your archaeological team by at least half. Of course, if you are prepared to sacrifice, then I didn’t say anything.”
“To be honest, I’m also interested in the Jingjue ancient city in the desert, if Miss Yang decides to hire the three of us, then we can talk further.”
“If you don’t think much of us, then we’ll leave. We don’t want to waste your precious time.”
The reason why Xu Lang said so much was to hope that the archaeological team would back down. On the one hand, he didn’t want them to die in the desert. On the other hand, he knew the archaeological team’s principles, they would never allow anyone to take the treasures from there.
However, Xu Lang’s main goal for this trip was to get the Kunlun Divine Tree, which contained the body of the Queen of Jingjue. It was something he had to get. If he didn’t let them go to Jingjue ancient city with him, there would be no conflict.