Chapter 90

Du Qian rushed into the cave again, this time escaping even faster, with fewer than ten people trailing behind him. As he burst out of the cave entrance, he flicked the spider silk, which flashed a barely visible light in the sunlight, twisting and writhing as if it had a life of its own, quickly binding the twenty-odd people on the ground who had yet to recover.

Then he took off running into the depths of the desert without looking back. Du Qian only had time to glance up at the sun to ensure he was heading north.

Less than a minute after Du Qian fled, a disturbing 'rustling' sound came from the cave. Countless spiderlings burst out, quickly covering the sandy ground at the cave entrance.

At least a thousand spiderlings, hissing as if communicating, emerged from the cave in minutes. More spiderlings poured out, forming several streams that spread in all directions.

The food left by their mother was far too little to sustain tens of thousands of spiderlings. Driven by the instinct for survival, they naturally formed dozens of groups, heading towards areas with energy fluctuations.

Everything was for survival, whether for humans or lightning spiders.

Du Qian plopped down on the ground, casually shaking off the spider silk, which he had come to love deeply after using it just twice. It was incredibly versatile, almost at his command, and not only convenient for daily use but also invaluable for life-saving in critical moments. Could anything that could save your life be measured by money?

Looking at the bound people on the ground, Du Qian felt a headache. Except for the initial four who had managed to cut the spider silk using the spiderlings' legs, the others were still bound. Without the spiderlings, Du Qian had no way to deal with the spider silk. His spirit gun was sharp enough, but it was useless against the silk.

Forget it, he thought, let's rest for a while. With more people, they could figure something out. Du Qian directly passed the responsibility to the disgusting man, who, despite his repulsive appearance, had a sharp mind.

"Thank you..." A muscular man struggled to his feet, thanked Du Qian, and turned to help his companion.

His companion seemed to have recovered a bit, and the two supported each other, walking to the side of the alluring woman to help her into a more comfortable position.

"You're welcome," Du Qian replied casually. At this moment, he wasn't thinking about rewards but whether they could survive the endless desert.

He dragged the disgusting man, who had poor physical condition. It had been about fifteen to sixteen minutes, and the stronger martial cultivators were already able to move, with some even standing up. The disgusting man, however, was still like a lump of meat. Even after another ten minutes, he probably wouldn't recover.

"Without the spiderlings, I can't untie the spider silk. Do you have any ideas?" Du Qian asked.

"There's no way here," the disgusting man said, his eyes darting around, making Du Qian feel he was lying.

"Hey, you idiot, this is the endless desert. The more people, the higher the chances of survival, got it?" Du Qian said softly.

"No, the more people, the lower the chances of survival," the disgusting man clearly had a completely different idea from Du Qian.

"Explain?"

"People are selfish and will do anything to survive. I know the endless desert well and can guarantee to bring you safely back to Pingchuan City."

"Oh... I see." Du Qian hesitated. The disgusting man didn't seem very reliable, but his plan had been mostly good initially. The problems that arose later couldn't be entirely blamed on him.

Du Qian didn't have any good ideas anyway. A thought struck him: the winter melon contained food and water, not much, but enough for a few people for ten days. If there were more people, it would be a problem.

It had to be said that the bald guy was quite experienced. If it were Du Qian, he wouldn't have put food and water in the winter melon. A cubic meter of space wasn't large, and with things like spirit essence and spirit horns, who would want to store cheap food and water?

Now it came in handy. In the endless desert, water was even more valuable than spirit essence. Without spirit essence, one could still survive, but without food and water, one couldn't last long.

"Two of us?"

"Five people..." the disgusting man said with a bitter face. Originally, he only wanted to save the woman, but she seemed inseparable from her bodyguards. It was clear that in such an environment, the woman would trust her bodyguards more, even if Du Qian had saved her, he couldn't gain her complete trust.

"Alright, five it is." Du Qian calculated in his mind. The supplies in the winter melon should be enough for five people for five days, but they would have to be frugal.

Could they cross the desert in five days? Du Qian was skeptical. The lightning spider hadn't run for long, but its speed was incredibly fast, comparable to a lightning boat. He had no idea how far they were from the edge of the desert.

Fortunately, martial cultivators had extremely strong physical conditions and could move much faster in the desert than ordinary people, at least ten times faster...

But Du Qian's face turned green. His and the two bodyguards' speed would be fine, but the disgusting man and the woman were in trouble. Their physical conditions were too ordinary, and they couldn't move fast even if they wanted to.

Worse still, Du Qian knew almost nothing about the endless desert and would have to rely on the disgusting man to find the way out, otherwise, he wouldn't even know which direction to go.

Forget about looking at the sun during the day or the stars at night. Du Qian had learned the basics, but could he really rely on a fresh graduate from school?

"What's your name?" Only now did Du Qian realize he had been calling the man 'disgusting man' without knowing his name.

"My name is Lu Yi, and I'm an archaeologist," the disgusting man said.

"An archaeologist?" Du Qian was taken aback. Was there such a profession? There probably was, as there were many scholars studying various fields. Archaeology was likely a niche field.

Regardless, scholars were supposed to be knowledgeable. In the current social environment, scholars weren't as popular, but they were still considered upper-class. How could someone in such a position look like this?

"Yes, I have deep expertise in history, species, mechanisms, and ancient architecture. I am an expert in this field," Lu Yi said boastfully.

"Oh, an expert." Du Qian felt a sense of respect. Although his goal was to become a powerful martial cultivator, being knowledgeable meant having a sharp mind, and he admired extremely intelligent people, even if their combat abilities were weak.

Du Qian knew that for a society to progress, it needed various talents. Martial cultivators and talisman gatherers were important, but they were just the foundation for survival and the existence of society. To promote social development and human progress, scholars played a more significant role.

A soft, bone-chilling laugh echoed, and Du Qian knew it was the alluring woman. She had been supported by her two bodyguards and had come over. Du Qian didn't pay much attention, thinking she was coming to thank him.

"Grave robbers have nothing to hide, so just say it. Talking about being an archaeologist, you're really funny."

"Is your job any better?" Lu Yi retorted irritably.

"True, we both work in the shadows," the woman admitted, agreeing with Lu Yi.

"Are you a grave robber too?" Du Qian asked casually.

He had heard of grave robbers, a rare and somewhat secretive profession.

Actually, it wasn't that impressive. In the Zhou Shan Empire's laws, grave robbers weren't illegal, and many people hadn't even heard of the term. This wasn't surprising, as humans had long abandoned earth burials in favor of cremation, which was more civilized and hygienic.

Without earth burials, there were no graves to rob. Even in so-called cemeteries, there were only urns containing ashes. Stealing those wooden or metal boxes would be pointless, and no one would buy them.

For this reason, with human progress, the profession of grave robbers had long disappeared. Du Qian knew that there were no true grave robbers in the world, and if there were, they would have starved to death.

The woman's grave robbers were more like scholars, studying history and often talking about obscure things like复古 (retro). They made ancient tools, tomb artifacts, and mechanisms, selling them for money, and could also be called artisans.

In short, grave robbers were a messy profession, involving a lot of information and complex work.

One thing was certain: to be called a grave robber, one had to be highly knowledgeable, and not just anyone could do it.

"She? She's not a grave robber," Lu Yi said with a sneer.

"Do you know each other?" Du Qian realized they were bickering. It seemed he had misunderstood; Lu Yi wasn't asking for a reward but trying to save an old lover?

Looking at the lecherous Lu Yi and the alluring woman, Du Qian's mind was in chaos. The contrast was too great.

"I don't know her, but we've crossed paths a few times. Thank you for saving me. My name is Feng Ya, and I'm pleased to meet you," the woman turned and smiled at Du Qian.

Her smile made the sun seem dim. Du Qian quickly looked down and mumbled a few polite words. Damn, this woman was a demon, not to be looked at, or she would bewitch you.

Du Qian didn't know how others felt, but her smile had a noticeable effect on him. It was really troublesome.

The woman didn't mind; she had seen various reactions from men before. One guy had even lunged at her the first time they met, regardless of the fact that they were on a street, trying to do something indecent in public.