Chapter 183 Return to the Ground

Under the light of the flashlight, priceless cultural relics were piled up in the corridor, as if they were placed aside casually because they were in a hurry.

The gilded bronze sacred tree was faintly visible in the darkness, lacquer boxes inlaid with Hetian jade were stacked layer by layer, and piles of Han bamboo slips were wrapped in silk.

What was even more shocking was that there were several freshly packaged bronze artifacts piled in the corner, with traces of fresh soil on them indicating that they had been dug out not long ago.

In the tomb-robbing business, there are two types of tombs that people in the industry love the most, Western Zhou tombs and Han tombs, because bronze artifacts and ancient jade are very valuable.

Therefore, the tomb robbers would rather blast a path to take these treasures and take the risk than surrender.

They wanted to blast out an escape route, but were afraid of damaging the cultural relics, so they temporarily hid them in the mechanism.

The tomb robbers opened their mouths wide, as if they had seen a ghost.

They racked their brains but couldn't understand how this young-looking girl could crack their carefully designed treasure trove in such a short time.

At this moment they finally realized that they had really hit a wall this time.

After capturing the three tomb robbers, Xu Ying and his two companions returned along the same route.

Professor Mo and Lou Yiqun are already cleaning up the research site that was destroyed by tomb robbers.

Seeing that Xu Ying and the other two had already captured the tomb robber, Professor Mo opened his eyes wide in surprise: "So fast?"

Xu Ying explained the situation at the scene: "Yes, they were even trying to forcefully blast an exit to escape, but we caught them."

"Professor Mo, you can now go with Qi Xiao to the tomb we just visited."

"There are quite a few cultural relics piled up in the corridor behind the mechanism. These are the ones these three people didn't have time to move out."

Professor Mo and Lou Yiqun became excited upon hearing this. They immediately stood up and walked with Qi Xiao to the place where Xu Ying and the others had just arrived.

Then Xu Ying heard the two people burst into excited exclamations.

She smiled when she heard that, having already anticipated this scene.

When Xu Ying raised the corners of his lips, he suddenly felt his facial muscles stiffen and his temples throbbing and swelling.

She took off her night vision goggles and pressed her fingertips against her brow bone, rubbing it gently.

The catacombs are poorly ventilated and lack oxygen, and staying there for a long time can cause a sense of spatial dislocation similar to seasickness - this is not a place for living people to stay.

"Feeling uncomfortable?" Chen Su's voice came from the side. He hadn't noticed when he stood so close.

His bony hands rested on her side, his body temperature faintly radiating through his combat uniform. "Let's take the men up first."

He lowered his head slightly as he spoke, his breath brushing against her ears.

Xu Ying nodded, said hello to Professor Mo and the others, and drove the three tomb robbers to the ground.

When I returned to the ground, the night wind, filled with the fragrance of grass and trees, blew in my face.

Xu Ying raised her head and took a deep breath, the starlight falling on her trembling eyelashes.

From noon to dusk, seven hours of darkness make the moonlight at this moment seem like a luxury.

"Are you feeling better?" Chen Su took out a bottle of mineral water from somewhere, unscrewed it and handed it to him.

He leaned against the police car and looked at her, with two buttons on the collar of his combat uniform undone, revealing an old scar on his collarbone.

The moonlight made his features sharp, but his eyes were as soft as melted ink.

Colleagues at the police station had already set up their tents, and they were all stunned when they saw them escorting people up.

Stationmaster Wei was adjusting the searchlight's angle when he turned around, his cigarette dropping in shock. "Is that all?"

"Thanks to Stationmaster Xu."

Chen Su chuckled: "Otherwise, according to the old rules, we'd probably have to play mahjong with our ancestors for three days down there."

Stationmaster Wei patted Xu Ying's shoulder vigorously and said, "Girl, you've done something great again! Wait for your bonus!" He turned and yelled at his deputy, "Go talk to Mr. Zhang from the Cultural Relics Bureau and have the subsidy approved according to the highest standards!"

"Thank you, leader!" Xu Ying's eyes suddenly lit up, like a little mouse that stole oil.

She didn't notice that Chen Su was wiping away a little mud on her cheek with his fingertips, his movements as light as brushing away moonlight.

The warmth remained on her face until the three thieves were stuffed into the police car.

The police station had some food left for them in an insulated box, and it was still warm.

Xu Ying ate his hot lunch in big mouthfuls and sat down next to the Bactrian camel. "Shanfeng, any news about your companions?"

[Found it! A guy in uniform drove over to pick me up!]

In order to block the wind and sand, the camel's eyelashes are very long. At this moment, there is joy and excitement in the dark eyes of the mountain peak. The long eyelashes blink, and the smile is harmless, gentle and lovely.

Xu Ying chewed on a large piece of braised pork. After working hard, he had a particularly good appetite for a delicious and warm meal.

While chewing rice, she took out a bag of fresh sea buckthorn berries from her motorcycle. This was the ration she brought to the mountain when she set out in the morning.

She placed the sea buckthorn berries in front of Shanfeng: "Shanfeng, have you eaten?"

Shanfeng nodded: "I've eaten. Your friends were very helpful and found me some camel thorn and calligonum."

Just when Xu Yinghe had almost finished his meal, a police car drove back, followed by a small truck.

Kong Cheng jumped out of the police car, and his combat boots kicked up a cloud of fine sand.

"Stationmaster Xu!"

The young man's clear voice cut through the silence of the desert. He ran over to Xu Ying in two or three steps, beads of sweat still on his forehead. "We've brought the camels back. They're behind the truck. They're not in good condition."

Xu Ying's heart tightened and he walked quickly towards the truck.

Five Bactrian camels huddled in the truck compartment like collapsed sand dunes.

The hump, which should have been towering, was drooping to one side, and the dry hair was covered with salt frost.

The water tank in the carriage had already been emptied, and there were still traces of their frantic licking on the wall.

"These tomb robbers are really..." Xu Ying bit her lower lip.

Shanfeng followed behind Xu Ying, and when he saw the appearance of his companion, his eyes were suddenly filled with tears.

The outermost female camel noticed the movement, her eyelids trembled and lifted up, and the turbid tear gland secretions blurred half of her vision.

That look reminded Xu Ying of the wild animals curled up in cages when they were rescued - not fear, but a numbness on the verge of collapse.

She climbed onto the carriage quietly, and her combat pants rubbed against the dried mud on the camel.

Chen Su was holding the medicine box underneath, his fingertips turning slightly white from the effort. "Do you need help?"

“Check for dehydration first.”

Xu Ying's voice was a few notes lower than usual.

She knelt on one knee on the floor of the carriage and carefully lifted the chin of the nearest camel.

My cracked nose felt like sandpaper, and my breath felt abnormally hot.

As she ran her fingers over her ribs, she could clearly count the outlines of each bone.

As soon as the saline solution handed by Kong Cheng touched the camel's lips, the poor creature began to tremble violently and made a hoarse "gurgling" sound in its throat.

"This hoof is infected."

Chen Su squatted at the other end of the carriage and gently lifted the hind leg of a camel.