Bosten.
Meaning “standing.”
It is named Lake Bosten because three mountains stand in the middle of the lake.
In ancient times, this lake was also known as Yuhai, the largest freshwater lake in the interior, and the Peacock River originated here.
When the wind blows across the lake, the vast and deep blue surface is dazzling, as if you have reached the end of the world.
Refill the water here.
Continue southwest, along the Peacock River westward, until you find the ancient riverbed. The team entered the desert again.
For five consecutive days, they did not see a single trace of green. Every day they faced sand dunes, and they couldn't find any obvious features. Wang Fatty and the others were simply dumbfounded.
Seventh day, morning.
An Liman spread a mat on the ground and began to pray.
"Lu Feng, what is he doing?" Wang Fatty said.
"Praying to Hu Da for blessings," Lu Feng said.
"Does that work?"
"Who knows?"
At that moment, the sun rose, illuminating the clouds in the sky with red light. The sand dunes in the desert, which rose and fell, were covered in a layer of rosy glow.
An Liman, who was praying, changed his expression slightly and began to pack his things: "Everyone, pack up quickly. We need to leave immediately."
"What's wrong with him?" Wang Fatty said.
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Morning glow doesn't go out, evening glow travels ten thousand miles'? The fiery red clouds in the morning are not a good omen," Lu Feng said.
"The clouds in the sky are bleeding. Hu Da is probably angry. The desert is about to have a windstorm!"
"Isn't this just a normal change in weather? Don't be so superstitious," Sa Di Peng laughed. He thought An Liman was too superstitious.
Lu Feng said to Xue Li Yang, "You go and tell them to get on the camels. Let's leave right away."
With Xue Li Yang leading the way, the team quickly set off again.
Three hours later, the wind in the desert intensified. The sand blew against their faces, causing pain. Ye Yi Xin and the others were no longer as excited as before.
By noon, the sky had darkened.
The wind and sand were terrifying. Even sitting on the camels, they felt like they were going to be blown away. Their glasses were quickly covered in yellow sand, making it impossible to see the road ahead.
Even Professor Chen fell off the camel once. The wind and sand blinded his eyes, and the pain made him unable to open them. Hao Ai Guo and the others went to help him.
"An Liman, Lu Feng, let's take a break," Sa Di Peng said.
"Open your eyes and look. What is that?"
Lu Feng pointed towards the rear. They saw a black cloud of wind and sand rolling towards them, like a scene of destruction: "We're running for our lives, and you want to take a break?"
"But —"
"You want to stay? You can stay."
Lu Feng didn't bother to say more. He urged An Liman to go quickly.
"Let's go!"
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Fatty followed without hesitation.
"You're not going?"
Xue Li Yang shouted at Sa Di Peng.
Even though Sa Di Peng was reluctant, he could only help Professor Chen back onto the camel. Professor Chen lay on his stomach, trying to reduce wind resistance.
Three minutes later.
The black sandstorm came.
Everyone felt like they had entered twilight. Their vision became blurry.
There were no smiles on Sa Di Peng and the others' faces anymore. Only panic.
Lu Feng patted An Liman on the shoulder, pointing at the dimly visible sand dunes: "I think there's a sand dune over there. Let's go there."
"Good!"
An Liman nodded heavily and urged the camels forward.
A few minutes later, they reached the sand dune.
It turned out to be the wall of an ancient city.
An Liman instructed everyone to hide and have the camels form a circle, waiting for the black sandstorm to pass: "All we can do now is this. The rest is up to fate."
"How long will this black sandstorm last?"
"It could be over soon. Or it could last for days."
"Days?"
Ye Yi Xin's face turned white.
If it blew for days, they would be buried alive.
Professor Chen, Sa Di Peng, and the others were all panicking. They looked at An Liman for help.
"Don't look at me. I can't do anything about it," An Liman sat on the ground, regretting his actions. "I told you not to enter the desert at this time, but you insisted on coming. Now you're just waiting to die."
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Fatty were restless and went to Lu Feng's side. "Lu Feng, are we really just going to wait here to die?"
"Search the area for a place to hide."
Lu Feng finished speaking and left the group.
Hu Ba Yi and Wang Fatty quickly followed. Xue Li Yang saw this and also followed.
"Search separately, and be careful," Lu Feng reminded them. "In ten minutes, whether you've found something or not, return to the group."
"Okay."
The three responded in unison and began to search.
Lu Feng found a cave opening at the foot of a small sand dune. He went inside and saw that it was a room, but it was half-buried in sand.
He memorized the location and returned to the group: "An Liman, Professor Chen, I found a room. We can go inside and hide."
"There's a room?"
"Great!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
Lu Feng led them to the room first, then returned to the sand wall. After waiting for a while, he saw Xue Li Yang, Hu Ba Yi, and Wang Fatty returning.
The four exchanged information. Hu Ba Yi had also found the room Lu Feng had discovered and saw Professor Chen and the others inside. They then went in together.
"It's so much better in the room."
Wang Fatty felt like he had been given a new life. He was very grateful: "Hey, why didn't anyone come to care about our safety?"
Shouldn't Professor Chen and the others come to check on them? Instead, they were all huddled together in the corner, not knowing what they were studying.
Lu Feng glanced over and saw a pile of human bones: "I warn you, we are here to rest. Don't dig around."
"What do you mean?"
"There's no sign of injury on these bones, so they probably weren't eaten by large animals. There are man-eating insects in the desert. Don't provoke them."
"Understood."
Professor Chen nodded.
"Got it."
"We'll be careful."
"Why are we studying human bones? We're archaeologists."
"…"
Xue Li Yang stared at the human bones, lost in thought.