A motel in the desert.

This was Xu Qian's second trip to the desert, and it was no easier than the last. His mind was now filled with questions.

He reorganized everything he knew, starting with the first question: why did Chu Qingxia ask him where he was at that time?

Didn't she know that Xu Qian failed his tribulation? No, that's impossible. She couldn't possibly not know about such a major event as failing his tribulation.

But if she knew, why would she ask him such a question?

Xu Qian drew a circle around the matter of his 'failed tribulation'. He now had reason to suspect that there might be something hidden behind his 'failure'. In other words, his master must have done something; either his failure was fake, or she had kept it a secret.

Of the two possibilities, Xu Qian leans more towards the former. The latter is too difficult to conceal. Once a tribulation occurs, the entire mountain will know. In comparison, it is easier for Xu Qian to accept that his failure to transcend the tribulation was fake.

If we follow the former line of thought, then what role did his thirteenth senior brother play in it? Xu Qian remembered that besides his master, his thirteenth senior brother also contributed a lot when he was stuffed into the ice coffin.

After thinking for a while, Xu Qian circled his master and thirteenth senior brother, as both of them needed to be given serious consideration.

Putting away his notebook, Xu Qian took out a bottle of Turkic spring water from his backpack. The refreshing and sweet spring water tasted much better than bottled spring water.

Xu Qian checked the time; it was past nine o'clock at night. He decided to send Meng Ziqiu a WeChat message to let him know he was safe and then go to sleep!

As soon as he sent the WeChat message, Meng Ziqiu replied immediately.

Meng Ziqiu:

﹋o﹋Little ancestor, say something! Are you alright over there?

Xu Qian:

It's all good. There should be medicine for infectious diseases in a few days, but Xiao Liang is allergic to half-dried sesame seeds. So you'd better not go out and wait until things calm down.

After replying to Meng Ziqiu, Xu Qian thought of Meng Liangchen's allergy to Banluoshi. This... shouldn't be related, right?

Xu Qian tried hard to recall anything about his thirteenth senior brother, but he didn't seem to have any allergies to anything. He was probably overthinking it...

Soon after, Meng Ziqiu sent another WeChat message, saying that he had almost finished eating the lettuce he had planted before, and he didn't know where Xu Qian had put the seeds when he wanted to plant more, so several of the pots at home were empty.

Xu Qian told him where to put the seeds, then tidied up, took a shower, and went to bed. He was really tired these past two days, and the thought of having to continue flying with his great lightness skill tomorrow made him want to close his eyes and take a nap.

...

On the other side, Meng Ziqiu shook his head at Meng Liangchen, "He didn't reply. He just said he was going to sleep. He's probably tired."

"Alright," Meng Liangchen could only sigh.

Meng Ziqiu suggested, "Oh, right, he said the lettuce seeds are in the cupboard. Let's plant them so he can eat them when he gets back."

Meng Liangchen nodded. "Should we plant some potatoes too? They've already sprouted."

"Hey, has it sprouted yet?"

Meng Liangchen rolled his eyes at him, "They've sprouted, haven't they? You bought so many at once, the three of us can't possibly finish them all. We can't eat potatoes every meal, can we?"

Meng Ziqiu rubbed his stomach, saying, "Of course, I don't want to eat potatoes every meal."

Thinking of this, Meng Ziqiu missed Xu Qian even more, thinking, "If there's nothing else, hurry home, so many people are waiting for you, brother..."

The next day, feeling refreshed, Xu Qiantian set off before dawn.

Although Xu Qian's use of the Ming Cult's great lightness skill was not as smooth as that of the Chunyang and Wanhua, practice makes perfect, and with a little practice, he became proficient. In addition, this time he was traveling alone, without any burdens or interference, and he arrived at his destination in half a day.

But the scene before him made it seem as if all his efforts had been in vain.

The palace of the Hidden Moon Sect is gone, turned into quicksand, truly proving Xiao Qing's words—she will never be disturbed again.

Yes, and Xiaoqing too!

Xu Qian snapped out of his daze and immediately used his teleportation ability to return to Weicheng.

...

"...Xiao Mao? Oh no, you're back?"

"Where's Xiaoqing? Find me some alcohol to spray on." Xu Qian asked Meng Ziqiu to find alcohol as soon as he entered the room.

Meng Ziqiu replied while still spitting out the words, "The three of them went out to get groceries, and I'm the only one at home."

Meng Liangchen, Peng Fei, and Xiao Qing, three people in total. Xu Qian nodded, changed his shoes, washed his hands on the balcony, and then entered the house clean. Although he himself would not be infected by the virus, there were several ordinary people in the house, and he was just afraid of the worst-case scenario.

Meng Ziqiu looked at him, put down the alcohol in his hand, and asked, "What did you gain from this trip?"

Xu Qian thought for a while, "It's not bad, although we haven't found the pit yet, and the more we dig, the more we find."

"...?" Meng Ziqiu was momentarily confused.

"Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry," Xu Qian said.

"Stir-fried tomatoes with tomatoes, want some? Ugh, stir-fried tomatoes with eggs!" Meng Ziqiu's mouth slipped! "Sure." Xu Qian said and went back to his bedroom. He wanted to take a shower and change his vest back while he was at it.

Twenty minutes later, when Xu Qian came out, the other two had already returned. They were sitting on the sofa, looking at him with starry eyes, which surprised Xu Qian quite a bit, and he was even a little flattered. What was going on? Why were they so eager?

"Brother Xu—" Meng Liangchen grabbed Xu Qian's waist and started complaining, "My brother feeds me tomatoes every day, or potatoes. I'm turning into a potato!"

Xu Qian chuckled, patted the dog's head, and told the child to go play somewhere else while he ate something.

"Then you eat first! I'll go get you a glass of water, do you want ice?" Meng Liangchen seemed very eager, probably because he was really tired of eating potatoes.

Xu Qian shook his head; he didn't drink ice water.

"Brother Xu," Peng Fei seized the opportunity to speak, "You must have been working hard these past few days. Is there anything you'd like to eat? I can go out and buy it..."

"Alright, alright, I've received all the 'filial piety,' it's so cloying..."

Xu Qian picked at the scrambled eggs with tomatoes that Meng Ziqiu had brought over. There was too much oil, making it a bit greasy, and the tomatoes were cut into too small pieces, so they had no flavor. But he wouldn't say any of this. He wanted to give the young man confidence!

After finishing his meal, Xu Qian sent the two little tails away and called Xiao Qing into his room.

"I just returned from the desert. Is there anywhere else your master can go?" Xu Qian asked her.

"Hiss—" (If she doesn't want to be found, then it's impossible for her to be found, including me.)

"And what do you know about the Hidden God Valley from back then?"

"Hiss—" (If you're talking about the war between immortals and demons, I can tell you something.)

"What do you mean?" Xu Qian turned to look at her.

"Hiss—" (Your master has betrayed Jiuyue.)

"Impossible!" Xu Qian retorted without hesitation. His master would never betray Jiuyue, no matter who he betrayed.

Xiaoqing seemed to have anticipated this scene and was not surprised at all, because at first she, like Xu Qian, was unwilling to believe that Changliu Zhenren would betray Jiuyue. After all, he was Changliu Zhenren... However, her master told her personally that it was true.

"Hiss—" (The master said that everyone was tricked into going to Hidden God Valley by her, and they were all annihilated in Hidden God Valley. She saw it with her own eyes.)

"I don't believe it, she has no reason!" Xu Qian was unusually firm on this matter, without the slightest wavering.

"Hiss—" (That's all I know)

Xu Qian's mind raced. He knew his master well; she upheld the sect's principles as her moral code and would never do anything to harm Wuqi or Jiuyue. "Impossible. She has no reason; she must have her reasons..."

If she really tricked everyone into coming to Hidden God Valley, then there must be a reason, it's just that he doesn't know that reason yet. Yes, that's it.

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Xiaoqing didn't disturb him. Acceptance takes time, and she needed to give him some time.

...

At eight o'clock in the evening, Meng Ziqiu knocked on Xu Qian's door.

"Dinner's ready!"

After a while, Xu Qian finally came out to open the door, his expression seemingly...sad?

"Dinner's ready," Meng Ziqiu repeated.

Xu Qian looked up at him and said, "I might... have to go to Changshai Mountain again."

Meng Ziqiu was stunned for a moment, but as he looked on, for some reason, a thought that he shouldn't have had popped into his head—

"Take me with you this time, I'll go with you."

Xu Qian curled his lips into a genuine smile, "Okay, you'll come with me this time."

"Okay, let's eat first," Meng Ziqiu said with a smile.

"Come on, try your cooking." Xu Qian patted his shoulder.

"Hehehe, actually I didn't make all of them, Xiao Liang made one too..."

After the four of them had eaten a few bites, they saw Xu Qian get up and go to the kitchen under the watchful eyes of everyone. In any case, while encouraging him, they also had to consider a transition period.

A few minutes later, Xu Qian served a plate of stir-fried lettuce. Although it was just a simple plate of stir-fried greens, it was the first dish to be completely finished.

After dinner, Meng Ziqiu calmly announced that he would be going out with Xu Qian the next day, and told Meng Liangchen and Peng Fei to take good care of the family.

"Going out again..." Meng Liangchen sensed something unusual.

"Stay home and don't go out unless you have to. Your health is special, remember that," Xu Qian carefully instructed the youngest member of the family.

Peng Fei had a gossipy expression on his face, but he didn't dare to ask any questions and just watched.

"Alright, that's settled then. I'll go pack some clothes, and we'll drive there tomorrow." It's June now, the temperature is high, and it's not like the last time it snowed heavily, so the road up the mountain will be much easier to travel, and it will be more convenient to drive there.

Xu Qian had no objection. He went to the balcony to water the lettuce he had just planted. Looking at the seeds that hadn't sprouted yet, he was surprisingly calm. It was precisely because things had come to this point that he had to remain calm.

He needed to understand why it was Hidden God Valley, and why his master... wouldn't let him participate.

So many questions lay before him, awaiting a final answer.

Author's Note: The third update will be at 6 PM or 9 PM. I couldn't finish writing yesterday~~~

P.S., the adventure in this story doesn't end here; it's just come to a temporary halt. The next chapter will be half adventure and half leisure.