"Do not take photos, do not record videos, or you will be cursed. That’s all I have to say." Que Qiu glanced at everyone behind him, then took his backpack off the camel and added, "The camel team will wait for us here. Everyone, travel light and only bring essential items. We have only one hour to cross the Black Death Road."
Everyone obediently followed Que Qiu’s instructions because his warnings were always very accurate.
After putting away their cameras and other equipment, they had no choice but to record everything that happened next using traditional note-taking methods. Under Tianmiao’s command, the camel team stayed put in groups, waiting for them to return.
"If everyone is ready, let’s go." Que Qiu led the way, raising his head and stepping into the Black Death Road first.
The group lined up in a single-file line, slowly following behind Que Qiu. Since he had mentioned avoiding the black quicksand, everyone was so serious they wished they could step directly into his footprints.
This sandy path was not wide, and every step Que Qiu took was carefully considered. After all, no one knew if the path of the Black Death Road changed over time. In the Irel Desert, nothing was impossible.
After walking a bit further, they encountered roughly sixteen or seventeen dry corpses lying haphazardly across the Black Death Road.
They all had their mouths wide open, gazing emptily at one spot. Their clothes had not yet decayed, but judging by the style, they probably hadn’t been there for many years.
Their skin, black with a tinge of blue, and even their hair, had a weird bluish-green hue. The agony of death was apparent, and the manner of their deaths was strange. Their bags and tools like sand shovels were still intact. There were both men and women, almost all facing backward as if they were fleeing.
The hollow eye sockets of the dried corpses stared at the team advancing on the Black Death Road. Even at midday, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.
Professor Wu glanced at these dried corpses and said, "Tomb raiders."
Everyone looked at Professor Wu.
"These are all military uniforms bought on the black market, and the tools sticking out are almost all homemade or black market tomb raiding tools. The broken bags, I think, spilled out explosives." Professor Wu added.
"They were so well-prepared, yet they all died here on the Black Death Road?" Cheng Luo questioned.
"The curse of Irel; among them is the bloodline of the Kingdom’s traitors," Que Qiu said calmly.
"Traitors?"
"Perhaps, the bloodline of that new State Preceptor Miss Tianmiao mentioned?" Que Qiu raised an eyebrow and said.
"But she didn’t marry, did she?" Cheng Luo asked, puzzled.
"Maybe they are descendants of that new State Preceptor’s followers?" Que Qiu continued.
"There’s no scientific basis for this. There’s no record of the State Preceptor in the literature. These people might just be ordinary tomb raiders who encountered unknown dangers and couldn’t escape, dying here," an assistant said. Everyone was mostly regarding Tianmiao’s tales as mere stories. Nobody truly believed it could be the real history of the Ancient Country.
"That seems likely." Professor Wu nodded, his face stern, and said, "We all need to stay alert, be cautious, and follow our guide closely to get out of here first."
Que Qiu lifted his foot, intending to step over them and continue the journey: "Yes, let’s move on and leave them be."
At that moment, the dry corpse at his feet seemed truly cursed by something; its blackened hand seized his ankle.
The lightweight dried corpse was flipped over as Que Qiu coldly glanced at the corpse devoid of any signs of life. With force, he kicked it away.