Candle in the Tomb (鬼吹灯之精绝古城)

Candle in the Tomb

Episode 12

The desert is vast and endless, if not for these long trail of footsteps,

you wouldn't even feel like you're moving forward.

I really admire those explorers who come to the deserts alone.

Perhaps only when you're alone travelling between this heaven and earth,

will you be able to better understand the meaning of life.

You can also be an explorer and travel across the world.

I don't think I'll be doing that in this lifetime. Group activities suit me better.

Sister Yang, Sister Yang!

I want to ask you a question.

What are desert army ants?

I'd never seen them in person either.

Previously, I'd seen them in a nature studies textbook.

But I'd seen before villages that had been ravaged by them.

Man and animals have been eaten by them until all that was left were bones.

It was horrifying.

The reason why these ant colonies are called desert army ants

is because they have strong organization and discipline.

Even for well-trained human armies,

their organizational abilities cannot be compared to those of the ants'.

No wonder, their battle prowess was so scary.

They have an acid in their mouth, when tens of thousands of them bite together,

even if it was an elephant, it wouldn't be able to take it.

Okay, Sister Yang. Thank you. I don't have any other questions.

I think I was bitten once.

I won't get corroded, will I?

Nothing will happen if you just get bitten once.

Then I would like to ask you,

how did you know that gas would be useful against those ants?

I didn't know.

You didn't know, and you dared to go and save me?

I just knew that ants are scared of chilli powder,

and the teargas had components of chili and pepper.

So I could only give it a try.

Then what if it didn't work, have you thought of that?

I still had a flare.

You're good.

Heroine, thank you for coming to my rescue.

It's nothing much, Hero Hu.

What are you looking at?

Haven't you realised that there's been a big change in yourself?

In the past, you didn't like to smile that much.

That's because you didn't understand me.

That's true too.

I see it! I see it!

That thing, that's the ruins of the city!

Below those yellow sands, there lies a buried ancient city!

- Do you see it? - We found it. - I see it.

- It's there. - There!

- Do you see it? - I see it! I see it!

Old Hu, it's just there!

Then let's hurry and go then.

Although it looks very near, it will still require a long time to get there.

Everyone, follow me!

The light is just ahead!

Hurry!

Teacher, are you okay?

I'm okay. We're al-almost there.

Old master, what's wrong? Is there a problem again?

It can't be that you're hiding something from us, are you?

It's different from how it was in the past.

The change has been too drastic.

What do you mean?

I can't confirm whether or not there's still water inside,

it was something that happened many years ago.

All these years, there hasn't been anyone else who'd mentioned it.

That means, even if we get there, we may not necessarily find water there?

That... it was a place the white camel brought me to.

Twenty plus years ago, there was water there.

God's protection, I guess?

Chu Jian, I still have water here.

It's okay, I will persevere on.

When will we be able to get there?

This is the place where I'd been revived.

Master, where is the water?

There's a well inside.

Old Hu, where's the water?

He said that there's a well in there.

- Professor, how are you? - I'm fine, I'm fine.

Look at that old man. He's at it again!

Just leave him to pray.

If the well inside has already dried up,

this might be the last journey of our lives.

What do you mean?

Everyone,

let's all rest here for a while, don't get separated from each other,

Fatty and I will go inside and have a look.

I'll go with you guys.

Be careful.

Chu Jian, Sa Dipeng, go take a look.

What happened?

What happened? What happened?

What happened?

Little Wang?

Hurry and speak!

Hurry and tell us!

Little Hu! What happened?

Fatty, enough, stop playing a fool.

Tell us! What happened?

There's water inside. More than enough water!

Scared me to death. Then why did you still fire the gun?

This is great!

There was a rabbit inside that gave this person a shock.

Rubbish! I was just helping to improve our food provisions.

- Did you get it? - What did he get?

He was on his knees in fright the moment he saw the rabbit. We were lucky not to be shot.

Old Hu, how could you poke fun of me in front of everyone?

In future, don't waste your bullets.

Okay, everyone go and fill your water.

Go, go.

God bless us. God bless us.

Teacher.

Everything's all right now. There's water here.

Uncle, thank you.

Thank you, old brother.

We're friends. This is heaven showing kindness.

Let's go.

Old master, you were worried about your camel, won't you?

If there really wasn't water in there, your camel would have been in for it.

Comrade Hu, the gods will like you. They will like you.

Of course, if there was anyone among us, even if there was just one person that the gods didn't like.

We'd have been done for. Done for.

All of us are blessed by the gods.

Old master,

I really must thank you for today.

From now on, we're brothers.

After breaking your bones, you're joined by tendons* (*even if there were disagreements between both parties, the bond is still unbreakable)

Friends. We're friends!

Okay.

How is it? Has it been filled?

Almost.

Brother Hu said, let's not do it first.

We'll fill it when we leave tomorrow.

Okay, the last one.

Forget it? How could I have seen such a thing before?

Hurry come and take a look! American people are full of western curiousities.

These are vegetables?

Yes, that's right.

This is so convenient!

Not only can you store it long-term, it's also convenient to bring along.

Great. Great.

Lass, are these the vegetables we usually eat?

That's right. These dehydrated vegetables are made by removing the moisture in them,

yet they're still able to maintain the colour and nutrients of the vegetables. These are very suitable for outdoor work.

Old brother, this is very suitable for you. In future, once you have this,

you won't have to just eat dried food and drink cold stuff when you come to the desert.

Is this expensive?

The technology used to make these vegetables was invented by the American NASA,

so as to enable astronauts to eat vegetables even in space,

and be able to replenish their vitamins. That's why the price is considerably higher than normal.

What did you say just now? I wasn't able to understand.

- That what American- - Old master.

What she meant to say was that it's true, these things really are expensive.

I understand.

Missy Yang really hid it well. She didn't take it out for so many days.

It's precisely to be brought out at such difficult times.

Only then would I be able to better show its value.

That's right, Sister Yang. It's really great that we're able to drink vegetable soup in such a desolated place.

I haven't seasoned it to taste yet. Later, once I add the condiments, not only will it be good to look at, it will taste delicious too.

In my opinion, Northeast is still the best.

There's game in the forests. Not only is it plentiful, it's delicious too.

Compared to here, where there's nothing else but sand.

Even if you shoot a Mongolian gazelle and eat it, your mouth will be filled with bits of sand.

Back then when the both of us were in Inner Mongolia, wasn't there this saying?

They say, "Hit a roe deer with a stick;

ladle a fish; the wild chickens fly into your rice pot on its own accord."

Right now, it's pretty good that we have food to eat.

Who'd have thought that half a day ago, we didn't know if we'd make it out alive or not.

Right now, we'll be able to drink soup anytime soon.

Brother Wang,

what does that "hit a roe deer with a stick" mean?

Are you using a stick to hit it?

Spectacles, you're very eager to learn, aren't you? Fine, then I'll tell you.

If you go into the forest and take a stick to randomly hit,

you'll be able to hit a roe deer.

In the river, just take a ladle,

and just randomly draw up the ladle, you'll be able to catch a big fat fish.

This is a metaphor to say that there are abundant natural resources.

- I get it. I get it. - Comrade Wang,

the Western Regions also has its own pros.

The Western Regions are like a mystery that you'll never be able to get to finish exploring.

This place is the world's treasure, the source of culture.

I don't like what you're saying.

Does the Northeast not have culture?

Do you think that there's only forest there? There's also treasure underground there.

Just a while back, the two of us-

Miss Yang, when will this soup of yours be ready? It's too dry and is making me choke.

We still have to wait a while.

Brother Fatty, what happened a while back? Continue with what you were saying.

A while back, we went to our hometown to see friends.

How did you know that there's treasure underground by just visiting your hometown friends?

That's right! Visiting hometown friends... that is...

Old Hu.

At that time, when we went back,

that is, Old Branch Secretary told us that there was a national archaeology team

that'd gone to Mount Niuxin for an archaeology dig.

- Isn't that right? - That's right. That's right.

Is that Dowager Hsiao's tomb that they found there?

Whatever it is, they said that it was some tomb, didn't they?