Arrival at Hamunaptra

Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun’s story really had nothing moving about it.

The Pharaoh’s mistress and the High Priest got together. After the Pharaoh caught them, they joined forces and hacked him to death, each stabbing him again and again with tremendous gusto. Then Anck-Su-Namun told Imhotep to flee first, while she herself was hacked to death by the Pharaoh’s guards in much the same way.

Unable to accept the death of the woman he loved, Imhotep used his status as High Priest to retrieve the Book of the Dead and prepared to use forbidden power to resurrect Anck-Su-Namun. Unfortunately, he was interrupted at the final moment. The murder of the Pharaoh, the use of forbidden magic, and numerous other crimes were settled all at once, and he was subjected to the cruelest punishment: Scarab Devourment.

Imhotep’s stone sarcophagus, buried alive with ample "seasoning" in the form of scarabs, along with the two Scriptures, were hidden within the legendary Hamunaptra.

"I can understand why you want those two Scriptures that record so much Ancient Egyptian Magic, but why do you want to resurrect Imhotep?"

From Yinsen’s description, Imhotep did not seem like a good person. Of course, he did not sound like some terrifyingly evil villain either. But after suffering such a brutal punishment, would a High Priest like that seek revenge after being resurrected?

"Reading spellbooks and acquiring knowledge from a High Priest who truly mastered those spells are entirely different things." Yinsen briefly explained why he wanted to resurrect Imhotep. "I need to fulfill a promise, so I must master the correct resurrection spell."

Bringing the dead back to life sounded unbelievable. If someone had told them such things before today, they would have suspected that person of being either a lunatic or a con artist.

But now, they did not feel that way at all, because Yinsen had already thoroughly proven that all kinds of unbelievable mystical powers existed in this world.

O’Connell was doing all right. He had witnessed unbelievable things before, and Yinsen’s words instead explained the strange situations he had encountered.

Only Evelyn felt that her worldview had taken a serious blow. At first, she had shown considerable disbelief, but after witnessing Yinsen’s power firsthand, she came to believe his words even more firmly than O’Connell did.

Perhaps it had something to do with her field of study. Archaeology often involved myths and legends, many of which contained unbelievable elements. Now that mystical power had been proven real, the things she had always regarded as mere stories suddenly seemed as though they could all become reality. That mattered far more to her than any mage or High Priest.

"To ensure your safety, it would be best not to wander around after we reach Hamunaptra."

Yinsen roughly introduced the situation within Hamunaptra. There was no need to worry too much about anything else. They all had enough ability to react to traps and mechanisms, but scarabs were particularly troublesome. Warning them beforehand would at least let them know such damned things existed, preventing them from running around and grabbing things at random, then accidentally carrying scarab eggs around as if they were gemstones.

He was not worrying for no reason. Jonathan had done exactly that in the original story. Now that Yinsen had warned him, perhaps this habitual thief would be a little more careful.

The rest of the journey passed without incident. Aside from asking Evelyn to teach him Ancient Egyptian, Yinsen behaved no differently from an ordinary person and did nothing else that made anyone feel nervous or afraid.

However, once they disembarked and began crossing the desert, the American group deliberately widened the distance between themselves and Yinsen’s party, giving Yinsen a headache.

He had been hoping the Americans would charge into Hamunaptra first and get themselves killed, but from the look of it, they intended to hide behind his group and pick up the benefits instead.

"What do we do?"

Logan rode neither horse nor camel. No animal could support his weight, so most of the time, he walked while leading the beasts carrying the massive pile of luggage.

Fortunately, after his body received further enhancement, Logan’s stamina had improved drastically. This distance did not exhaust him, but their pace was already slow enough, and the Americans still refused to overtake them, obediently following behind.

"If there’s no reason to keep them around, why not just drive them away?"

O’Connell and the others all knew Yinsen’s plan. Hamunaptra was filled with danger, and those American archaeologists had clearly been treated as cannon fodder by Yinsen.

But the cannon fodder lacked the necessary awareness. Their refusal to charge ahead made things rather awkward.

"Leave them alone. Once we get to Hamunaptra, I don’t believe they’ll be able to hold themselves back."

Hamunaptra was large enough that they might think they could enter the pyramid from another direction and make a fortune as long as they avoided running into Yinsen’s group.

There were enough treasures in Hamunaptra for every person in both teams to receive an equal share, enough to turn even the hired locals into obscenely wealthy people. If they could truly restrain their greed, they might actually make a huge profit without losing their lives.

Yinsen thought it over. He could not force these people to die just because they refused to court death. That was obviously crossing a line he was unwilling to cross.

"If they can really restrain themselves, that proves they shouldn’t die here."

"Then what about resurrecting Imhotep?"

"As long as I can awaken Imhotep, the worst-case scenario is that I help resurrect him myself."

Imhotep’s resurrection required a fixed ritual, but to a mage, rituals were merely aids. What truly mattered was the conversion of energy—in other words, consuming the appropriate energy to achieve the desired result.

He could completely substitute other forms of energy for the power needed to resurrect Imhotep. Imhotep was a High Priest with formidable magical power and extensive knowledge. Yinsen simply did not believe Imhotep would have no way to solve such a minor problem.

Perhaps Imhotep, who possessed only knowledge but lacked the magical power of his prime, could not solve it himself. But with Yinsen’s help, that little trouble would no longer count as trouble.

"I always feel like we’re doing something very bad."

After spending some time together, O’Connell had gradually become familiar with everyone’s personalities. Jonathan aside, Evelyn was a little scatterbrained, but she was actually extremely intelligent.

Logan wore a cold expression most of the time and looked as though he cared about nothing, but O’Connell had noticed that whenever someone was in trouble, Logan would basically lend a hand—for example, when Jonathan had nearly been attacked by a scorpion earlier, Logan had saved him.

He was cold on the outside but warm at heart. Combined with the faint sense that Logan had once served in the military, O’Connell felt that he and Logan should have plenty in common.

"You don’t need to worry. Yinsen is pretty reliable most of the time."

Although Logan gave off an unapproachable air, he was not antisocial and did not mind people talking to him.

"Most of the time?"

"Sometimes he suddenly does things that leave people speechless, but he’s reliable when it matters."

O’Connell relaxed a little. As long as Yinsen was reliable when it mattered, that was enough.

He was somewhat curious about Yinsen and the others’ origins, but without Yinsen casually "spoiling" things, Logan never simply told people everything. He would normally say what he could say, and when something could not be said, he would shut his mouth decisively. O’Connell understood that such matters were not to be discussed.

After a period of arduous travel, O’Connell finally led everyone to Hamunaptra. Watching a pyramid appear out of nowhere, even Yinsen found it deeply shocking.

"Was this spell powered by divine power?"

The Ancient Egyptians alone could not possibly have hidden such an enormous pyramid between reality and illusion for more than three thousand years. Yinsen could faintly sense fluctuations of divine power.

He was now considered a demigod. Although he did not possess divine power of his own, that did not mean he could not recognize this kind of energy with unique properties.

"We’re finally here."

The Americans finally could not restrain themselves. They moved closer to the front, and the cries of astonishment from among them could even be heard clearly.

Yinsen glanced in their direction, then looked into the distance.

He discovered a group of people hidden beyond the far side of a sand dune. If nothing unexpected happened, they were the Medjai led by Ardeth Bay. It seemed Ardeth Bay had no intention of meeting with him, especially now that Yinsen had already found Hamunaptra.

To the Medjai, the only way to truly protect this secret was for everyone who had discovered and found Hamunaptra to die.

"What should we do next?"

Evelyn desperately wanted to rush straight inside, but she remembered how Yinsen had repeatedly emphasized that they should follow his instructions and not act recklessly. She forcibly suppressed her urge and turned to look at him.

Everyone in the group was looking at him now. Yinsen did not keep them in suspense and simply pointed at Hamunaptra in the distance. "We go in directly and find the two Scriptures first."

Unlike the original story, where the larger American expedition had occupied the area where the Book of the Dead was stored, Evelyn had relied on her exceptional professional knowledge to discover something unusual about the pyramid’s structure. Avoiding the Americans, she had accidentally found Imhotep’s sarcophagus.

Now, however, the situation had reversed. The Americans were avoiding Yinsen, while Evelyn could freely display her expertise. Before long, she helped Yinsen find what he was looking for.

The moment Yinsen obtained the Book of the Dead, Imhotep’s Resurrection Ritual was completely thrown into disarray.

There was nothing else to be done. The Americans had deliberately taken a detour, searching for treasure from another direction and refusing to come anywhere near this place. Yinsen could hardly wait around for them or personally invite them to dig this thing out.

Even the stupidest person would know something was wrong, so Yinsen could only act himself and retrieve the Book of the Dead.

At the same time, he obtained several jars resembling Canopic Jars. They seemed to contain Anck-Su-Namun’s internal organs. These were important bargaining chips for negotiating with Imhotep.

Looking at the black leather-bound Scripture in his hand, Yinsen did not hurriedly open it to read.

He could sense mystical power within this Scripture and understood why even Jonathan could use the spells within the Book of Amun-Ra by reading its incantations. Holding the Scripture and reciting the spell was merely a key; the energy required to cast the spell was provided by a higher existence.

"Divine magic?"