Chapter 228: I am only grateful to Professor Trelawney (Edited)

"Mmm~" Hermione smiled with satisfaction. Although it was just a common lunch meat that could be found anywhere in the world and not even worth taking a bite, it tasted as delicious as high-quality beef in the desert.

Seeing Hermione's expression, the rest of the team couldn't help but salivate. Tonight's dinner consisted of snake meat, dehydrated vegetables, crushed compressed dry food, jerky, and pickles mixed with salt, a somewhat more substantial meal than the previous days thanks to the extra pieces of snake meat.

But compared to the stone-roasted meat nearby, the bowl of dough in his hands was inedible. It's a dish that even the British, accustomed to dark cuisine, would struggle to digest. But in the desert, what else can you do? It was good to have something to eat.

Unlike the others, he and Hermione shared a camel because they were lighter and, therefore, carried fewer personal provisions on their camels than the others, and they could enjoy a variety of canned food thanks to the Undetectable Extension Charm.

When Tom looked around and saw his teammates' faces turning into cold cuts, he hesitated and took out some canned meat from his bag.

He distributed them among his companions.

"Oh?" Alan, one of Dr. Hunter's students, exclaimed excitedly, "This is great!"

"It's very generous of you, little brother!" Sara, sitting next to Tom, winked at him. But Tom wasn't moved; the harsh desert trek was enough to kill all unreasonable thoughts.

Tom took out his own stash, and the others made sure not to keep it to themselves as each pulled out their own snacks. The old Yushadu had prepared a jar of sour juice for everyone, Peter had brought a few cans of beef, and most shocking of all was Dr. Hunter, who had brought a few cans of Coca-Cola!

The atmosphere instantly brightened.

In the background, Alyosha opened a bag of rum; it's not that he didn't want vodka, but the little he had brought had long been consumed, so Alyosha took a sip and passed the bag to the next person, letting each take their turn.

After a few sips, Alyosha began to sing.

"Late at night, the garden is silent all around, the leaves no longer rustle; What a beautiful night, what an enchanting night, what a peaceful night..."

The singing continued outside until Tom and Hermione returned to their tent, only it changed from "Evening Outside Moscow" to "Katyusha" and "A Lovely Rose"...

Tom's tent, from the outside, didn't look any different from the others, except for the fact that there was something inside. Hermione entered, threw her robe on the stool, took off her boots, and hurried into the bathroom. After a long day of walking outdoors, even though her robes kept the sand out, Hermione still felt dirty. At that moment, there was nothing more pleasurable and luxurious than a bath.

Yes, even in the desert, Tom and Hermione could take baths.

Filling the bathtub with hot water, Hermione got in and let out a moan...

The next day, before sunrise, the old Yushadu awakened the group and set them on their way. Awakened from their sleep, the minds of the group were a bit foggy, the stress from the previous night's fun around the campfire had been released, but too much energy had been expended.

Sara came out of the tent wearing nothing but her undershirt, crossing her legs and extending her arms to the wind, trying to let the excess odor be carried away. Yesterday, she had taken a sand bath following Will's advice, and the result was that she felt as if she were covered in sand in every crack and crevice. Although she had wiped it off with a damp towel afterward, she still didn't feel well.

Just then, Hermione, who had slept in the neighboring tent, came out.

The early riser hadn't put on her big white robe, so Sarah could see her clearly. She looked like a male peacock who had seen others of its species and unconsciously puffed up her chest to show her power, but soon she felt that she was being imprudent: she was just a little girl, so why compete with her?

Recalling Hermione's figure, Sara frowned. She didn't seem to have had deep communication with others, at most it could have been hesitant verbal discussions.

And why was her skin so smooth and white? It was as if she had bathed every day.

Hermione was brushing her teeth, unaware of the drama unfolding in Sara's mind not far away.

When the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, the camel caravan was ready to depart. But old Yushadu froze: he saw the sunlight rising on the horizon, reddening the clouds in the sky, and the sand dunes, still shrouded in darkness a little further, were enveloped in a haze. It was like ink on rice paper, and it quickly dissipated.

The morning sun doesn't extinguish, the evening sun travels a thousand kilometers.

What happens when you see the evening sun at night and the morning sun in the morning?

The camel caravan was mesmerized by the majestic spectacle. Dr. Hunter took out his camera and snapped a few quick photos, then set it on the ground and took a group photo with the desert sunset as the backdrop.

As he gazed upon the beauty of the scene, Tom felt a little uneasy, a sense of heaviness weighing on his mind.

"Elder, is there any sand shelter around here?" he asked without reason.

Yushadu shook his head, "Maybe there is, but I don't know," he looked at the sun at mid-height in the sky, Tom's words he understood naturally, "It all depends on the gods..."

The camels were much more diligent than usual, and the wind was so strong that they covered as much ground in half a day as they would in a normal day.

But nothing happened.

Old Yushadu and the camels thought it was a false alarm.

"It seems the gods still favor them!" the elder said cheerfully, patting the camels beneath him.

The midday sun was scorching, and he sought a shaded spot for the camels to rest, but the men, with their strength pushed to the limit, dismounted the camels and lay on the ground.

Tom was no exception, as he was so exhausted from the morning's exertion that he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the ground.

...

A massive yellow dragon approached, and in an instant, there was nothing around him but yellow sand, and Tom opened his mouth to scream Hermione's name, but instead, he received a mouthful of sand...

...

"Tom, Tom!"

Tom woke up startled and found himself lying in Hermione's lap, her robe soaked with sweat from his forehead.

"Are you okay? Just now... you were calling my name..." Hermione looked at him with concern and a hint of shyness on her face.

Tom didn't care about that, he jumped up and shouted, "Get on the camel, a sandstorm is approaching!"