"Oh ho."

Xu Qian spread his hands and simply sat down cross-legged.

Sang Ge took the camera and first handed it to Fifth Master, but Fifth Master raised his chin at him, so the camera ended up in the hands of Boss Shen.

Without saying a word, Boss Shen immediately arranged for someone to inspect the camera.

While waiting for news, Fifth Master told the others to go down and rest, as the desert was getting colder and colder, and no one could endure staying there for too long.

Xu Qian patted his bottom and was about to get up when he noticed that Meng Ziqiu's expression was a little strange, with an indescribable oddness, as if he had seen something unbelievable. Xu Qian followed his gaze and saw that Meng Ziqiu was looking at... the inscription on the stone tablet?

"Alright, everyone, let's go back now. We have a lot to do tomorrow," Fifth Master said.

Xu Qian walked over to Meng Ziqiu and tugged at his sleeve. Meng Ziqiu then came to his senses and looked at Xu Qian in a daze. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but said nothing.

"Let's go, Uncle."

That "Uncle" snapped Meng Ziqiu out of his daze, and he realized that this was no time to daydream.

The two hurried back to their tent, but the young man called Fox still hadn't returned. Uncle Shui, however, had returned to his tent a little earlier and had already slipped into his sleeping bag. He greeted them when he saw them return.

"Get some rest early."

"Eh eh."

Meng Ziqiu watched as Uncle Shui turned his back before rolling up his sleeves, revealing a section of his strong arm to Xu Qian.

Xu Qian tilted his head: ...? What do you mean? Showing off your good figure?

Meng Ziqiu sighed and mouthed: My brother has that inscription on his arm.

Xu Qian blinked, feeling that things were getting increasingly complicated. His brain was starting to overload. What exactly was the background of this Meng family...?

This is a question that not only Xu Qian wants to know, but even Meng Ziqiu himself doesn't understand. What is all this about?!

...

The wind outside the tent was getting stronger, and the fox, who had disappeared somewhere, returned covered in cold air.

Nestled in his sleeping bag, Xu Qian closed his eyes and opened the large map of the desert. He had roughly calculated the distance between the two sides that afternoon; in about half a day, they should reach the first building on the map. If all went well, it would likely be the place these people were looking for… the Ancient Ruins Rock? That location was very close to Yan Jiudu's location. He could use his light-footed skill to get there while setting up camp, partly to retrieve his powerful orange-tier weapon, and partly to bring Meng Ziqiu's younger brother back…

Just then, a buzzing sound came from outside the tent. It wasn't loud, almost faint. Xu Qian paused, feeling as if he'd heard it somewhere before…

Oh no!

He abruptly threw off his sleeping bag, quickly grabbed his sword, and roused Meng Ziqiu beside him, his voice urgent, "Get up! Something's happened! Get out of here! Hurry!"

Without saying a word, Meng Ziqiu crawled out of his sleeping bag, having complete faith in Xu Qian's judgment.

As for the other two people in the tent, Fox had already lifted the tent flap and gone out. Uncle Shui was a little slower, but he also got up quickly.

"What's going on, Brother Sang! Brother Sang—"

"What are you yelling about! Aren't you all going to sleep?!"

"Look outside! Outside! Something's happened! Everyone get out here right now!"

"Holy crap, what is this thing...?"

Everyone rushed out of the tents. Under the beams of countless flashlights, the bottomless stone tablet slowly cracked. No one knew why it was cracking, but the instant the tablet shattered, the sand around it seemed to lose its support and began to sink, first in small patches, then in large ones, and at an increasingly rapid pace—

"Quicksand! It's quicksand!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Damn it! I've been left behind! Qiangzi, hurry up and pull me out!"

My feet—

"Calm down! Those who are left behind should not struggle excessively. Stay calm and do not pull them forcefully! Pulling them forcefully will only make them sink deeper!" The speaker was the middle-aged man who had been studying the stone tablet earlier.

After a moment of panic, the extent of the quicksand was roughly determined, circling the stone tablet for about thirty meters—in other words, half of their camp, including three vehicles loaded with supplies. Those who weren't caught in the quicksand weren't much better off; the desert night was extremely cold, especially with the wind blowing, and within moments, some had their lips turn purple from the cold.

"Damn it! What bad luck! To run into quicksand, especially at night!"

"Alright, stop muttering and get everyone up here quickly. That car will be the real trouble tomorrow."

"Sigh, this is the first time I've ever longed for daylight to come..."

"Absolutely! It's freezing cold..."

"Sure, you have good hearing."

Xu Qian turned his gaze to the side and saw that the person speaking was Uncle Shui. He gave a naive smile and said, "Of course, my dad has super hearing, it's hereditary."

Uncle Shui laughed again and said, "Alright, it seems you really can handle this job."

Meng Ziqiu raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He genuinely felt that this little darling was addicted to acting, and in a few more days he might even be able to complete the family tree.

"A few of you, please lend a hand!"

"Here you are." Meng Ziqiu adjusted his hat again before walking towards the person who had spoken earlier.

The rescue operation last night continued until sunrise the next day. The warm sunlight illuminated the entire desert, and that moment of magnificence was special, a beauty that can only be seen in the desert.

Xu Qian lay sprawled on the sand, taking advantage of the moderate temperature to rest for a while and soak up some sun.

Meng Ziqiu saw it from afar, holding a pot of porridge, which was still warm. Strangely enough, even though he knew that the other party was really an ancestor-level figure, every time he looked at his little ancestor's tender and innocent face, Meng Ziqiu always felt like he had become an elder. It was really strange.

"Have some, we'll be on our way soon." He handed over the porridge.

"Does Fifth Master know about your brother's situation?" Xu Qian opened one eye. "You should have told him, shouldn't you?"

Meng Ziqiu sat down, looked ahead, and nodded. "Not only did I speak up, but I also got a scolding."

"Well said! Unruly kids need to be disciplined!"

Meng Ziqiu glanced at him and said, "You're insulting me, brother."

Xu Qian waved his hand and said, "It's you! Aren't you a brat?"

Meng Ziqiu paused for a moment: "...You may be the first person to say that about me."

"It's alright," Xu Qian comforted him instead, "there will be more in the future."

Meng Ziqiu smiled helplessly.

“I thought you came to ask about your brother.” Xu Qian looked at him again. After all, Meng Ziqiu hadn’t asked about the next steps since they entered the desert, as if it had never happened.

"Hey, I just trust you." Although he said that, there was still some worry in Meng Ziqiu's eyes.

“Just wait,” Xu Qian sat up, “we’ll find it.”

“Oh, right,” Meng Ziqiu suddenly remembered something, “So your vocabulary was already this sophisticated back then? You even had ‘bratty kids’?”

Xu Qian chuckled twice, opened the can, took a bite, and found it tasted alright.

While the two were chatting, the people brought by Boss Shen finally recovered the data from the camera. It was indeed the archaeological team that had lost contact. However, judging from the photos, they seemed to have already been to the ancient site.

"It seems that something happened to Teacher Shen on her way back?"

Mr. Shen remained silent for a long time before finally saying that they should continue on their way, as there should be clues left behind at the ancient rock if something really happened.

Since the boss who was paying them had said so, everyone regrouped and set off again.

...

Led by the team leader, the group finally arrived at the Ancient Rock at 12:30 pm. It was a stone building that looked very dilapidated, and could not even be called a building. It was just big stones. The only thing worth seeing was the unknown inscription on the stones, which was basically the same as the stone tablet found last night.

Xu Qian grabbed a telescope and climbed to the top of the highest rock. Yan Jiudu's coordinates hadn't changed since yesterday, so they should be nearby...

"Brother Sang, Fifth Master, we've found something—"

"Fifth Master, yes, that's it."

Fifth Master responded with only one word – Dig.

Xu Qian held up his binoculars and looked toward the source of the sound. It was a stone pier, also covered with inscriptions.

He jumped down, hung the binoculars around his neck, and walked towards the crowd.

After digging for nearly twenty minutes, the young men found a stone slab. At the leader's signal, they worked together to move the slab, revealing a narrow stone path underneath. The path was so narrow that only one person could go down at a time.

This stone path is not the first time it has been discovered; in fact, it is considered one of the fixed 'landscapes' of the ancient site. The altar beneath the stone path is the same.

But since we're already here, there's no harm in taking a look around. After all, some of us are here for the first time, and there might be some clues inside.

Xu Qian and Meng Ziqiu both fall within the scope of this 'first time'.

"I'll go first." Xu Qian said, and then stepped off the stone path ahead of Meng Ziqiu.

Be careful.

As Xu Qian descended the stone path, he felt as if he had returned to his old lair... no, no, not his lair, but his old grave. It was not only crowded but also incredibly hot, like a giant furnace.

"It's so hot! I don't remember it being this hot before..."

"Right, you also feel something's not right, right? I knew it was weird, last time we almost froze to death..."

Xu Qian reached out and touched it; it was indeed warm. Seeing this, he became more cautious and took out a healing potion from his backpack, just in case.

The stone path wasn't very long. After a few minutes, everyone's view gradually opened up, and they saw a stone gate in front of them. On either side of the gate stood a stone pillar, and the gate was engraved with inscriptions similar to those on the stone tablet. However, compared to the stone tablet, the inscriptions on the gate seemed to follow certain patterns.

The team leader clearly knew how to open the stone door. He stepped forward and pressed the inscription on the door several times. Soon, a dull sound rang out, a clicking sound, somewhat like the turning of gears. Just when everyone thought the stone door was about to open, the team leader let out a strange "Eh."

"How could this be? Why can't I open it? This is really strange..."

The team leader reached out again, but before he could even touch the stone door, he was immediately burned and pulled his hand back.

"Retreat! Retreat! Get out of here right now! Something's not right here—"