Herding sheep may seem simple, but there is actually a lot to do.

Sheep cannot eat fresh grass with sufficient moisture, which can easily cause diarrhea, so the children would go out to cut the grass with sickles early in the morning and then hang it on tall wooden racks to dry.

At night, the sheep must be driven into the sheepfold to prevent them from being taken away by passing wolves.

The children worked hard, and Chen Guanshui watched the whole process. Every day he would sit on the hedge with a grass stem in his mouth, looking at the vast mountains and grasslands in the distance, which made the children complain about him.

However, the sheepdog thought otherwise.

For some unknown reason, perhaps it was the canine instinct to identify the strong that had been there for thousands of years that came into play, they scrambled to surround Chen Guanshui and have fun, even if the latter didn't feed them at all.

In addition to wild wolves and wild horses, there are also caravans passing by from time to time. They are characterized by carrying many fully loaded pack horses, and most of the people accompanying them also carry swords and look alert.

These people would not disturb the children, but when they saw that Chen Guanshui had no weapon, most of them would come back to bother him, ask for directions, or ask for some tea.

Chen Guanshui agreed lazily, pointing out the location of the nearby small town, or going to the tent to pour them butter tea, without any airs of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

A few days passed like this, and most of the people I met were mortals, and no cultivators passed by here.

One day, he was taking a nap on the hedge when he heard someone next to him ask:

"Excuse me……"

Chen Guanshui half opened his eyes, turned around to look at the face of the person who came, and was so frightened that he almost couldn't stand.

Although the other person was wearing a veil, how could Chen Guanshui not recognize that it was Xu Yinglian?

And how come you are dressed in white, spotless? How can you come here cleanly in this vast grassland, under the endless wind and sand? Are you afraid that others don't know that you can fly a sword?

"Excuse me, which way is Baicheng?" Xu Yinglian asked politely.

Chen Guanshui was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and pointed in a direction.

For cultivators, there is no need to ask for directions to famous cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang, as they can find them by flying along the rivers with swords. However, Baicheng is just a small city built along the Xiushui River nearby, where Han and Qiang ethnic groups live together. It is normal for cultivators to come and ask for directions if they don't know the city.

The question is, with so many nomadic tribes nearby, why did they choose to find me?

Xu Yinglian on the opposite side was actually a little confused and bewildered.

She suspected that she might have been under some kind of illusion. In recent days, whenever she was free and quiet, she would suddenly have an indescribable feeling that her senior brother seemed to be in a certain direction.

This feeling came out of nowhere. In the words of Senior Feng Lan in the Sea of ​​Consciousness, "It's either your illusion or it's an illusion of a very high level." So after thinking it over, Xu Yinglian decided to follow the direction guided by his intuition.

Even if it was an illusion and he failed, at least he didn't suffer any loss; but if it was really an illusion, and the person who cast the illusion on him was the same person who kidnapped his brother, then this intuition was his only clue now.

Soon, she quietly left the Kunlun Mountains and followed the instructions to the grasslands outside the Great Wall. The intuition in her heart was becoming stronger and stronger, as if she was getting closer and closer to her goal.

Nearby...she only remembered there was a White City, a very small human settlement.

She flew towards Baicheng on the sword, and the feeling was also pointing straight ahead, and slowly began to descend until she found the herdsmen's tent where Chen Guanshui was.

Xu Yinglian, pretending to ask for directions, looked at Chen Guanshui's facial features carefully.

No impression.

If one were to use advanced computers to scan the facial structures of Qiu Changtian and Chen Guanshui simultaneously, one would inevitably discover that they actually look exactly the same.

However, the area of ​​the human brain responsible for recognizing and remembering facial features does not rely on comparing data such as nose size and eye distance. Instead, it relies on combining the distribution of the target's facial features, combined with temperament, expression, habits, etc., to ultimately form a general impression.

The Kunlun Mirror's illusion of flowers in the mirror and moons in the water directly disrupts this final impression.

Therefore, although he saw Chen Guanshui's true appearance, Xu Yinglian was unable to associate him with Qiu Changtian in his memory.

Seeing that Xu Yinglian was not unusual, Chen Guanshui secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but continued to point in the direction of Baicheng, deliberately lowering his voice and saying hoarsely:

"The White City is right there."

Xu Yinglian was extremely disappointed. After all, this intuition pointed to an ordinary herdsman and had nothing to do with her senior brother Qiu Changtian.

But she really didn't have any other clues, so she could only ask desperately:

"What's wrong with your voice?"

"I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm a little hoarse." Chen Guanshui said perfunctorily.

"Oh." Xu Yinglian took out a pill bottle, "I have some pills here, you can take them and you will be fine."

"I don't dare to bother you with your concern." Chen Guanshui didn't dare to eat it. He just pretended to be flattered and said, "This is just a minor illness. It will be healed in a few days."

"You are not surprised at all knowing that I am an immortal?" Xu Yinglian asked with a frown.

Another suspicious point was found: If an ordinary mortal encounters an elixir given by an immortal, shouldn’t he immediately accept it with ecstasy, and kowtow three times and nine times to show his sincerity?

How come there are still people who refuse to accept the offer?

"Hahaha." Chen Guanshui laughed carefreely, "Amid the vast grasslands and the wind and sand, the immortal is actually wearing white clothes without any dust. If he is not an immortal, then could he be an ordinary person who does laundry every day?"

"You have a good eye." Xu Yinglian said lightly.

Although the other party's words were well-reasoned and could not be refuted, this suffocating feeling was too reminiscent of déjà vu.

Considering that there are many disguise illusions that can change one's appearance these days, Xu Yinglian's original feeling of frustration and discouragement also disappeared. He looked at Chen Guanshui meaningfully, and then left.

Chen Guanshui just breathed a sigh of relief, but he saw that Xu Yinglian did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he came to the flock of sheep and greeted the orphans who were herding shepherds in dirty robes.

The children were obviously all creatures who loved appearance. They were very fond of this sister who looked extremely beautiful even though she was wearing a veil. They all stared at her with wide eyes and wanted to talk to her.

"Tell me." Xu Yinglian took out another pill bottle, "Tell me about that brother, and I'll give you candy."

What kind of candy is needed? The children have already started to speak out:

"Lazy!"

"Sleep all day!"

"Always not working!"

"Even Da Huang is more diligent than him!"

Dahuang is one of the sheepdogs responsible for driving the flock of sheep.

Hearing so many familiar adjectives, Xu Yinglian's sense of déjà vu became stronger and stronger.

Of course, these do not constitute conclusive evidence, because there are lazy people everywhere in this world, and you can't just say that every one you see is related to Qiu Changtian.

But women never need any evidence. Xu Yinglian relied on her intuition... no, it should be said that it was her clever mind that determined that this herdsman must have some relationship with Qiu Changtian.

She returned to Chen Guanshui gracefully and said:

"I'm new here, I need a guide to go to White City."

"I've never been to Baicheng." Chen Guanshui said quickly.

"It's okay. Locals are always better than outsiders like me." Xu Yinglian naturally refused to let him go.

"I'm from another place too." Chen Guanshui said quickly.

"Oh?" Xu Yinglian asked immediately, "Where are you from?"

"Yangzhou." Chen Guanshui knew that he must not hesitate at this moment, otherwise the probability of being suspected of lying would increase rapidly, so he said decisively, "I am from Guangling County, Yangzhou."

"Yangzhou?" Xu Yinglian thought for a moment and said, "I won't let you lead the way for nothing."

She took out a bottle of elixir and said:

"The pills in here... taking one can extend your life by one year, up to ten pills. How much is your reward?"

According to the logic of ordinary people, if you see a pill that can prolong life, let alone being grateful, it would not be excessive to kneel down and lick the recipient's boots immediately.

However, Chen Guanshui neither wanted to be grateful nor to kowtow to Xu Yinglian.

On the one hand, he really didn't need any life-extending elixir, and on the other hand, after pretending for so many years, Chen Guanshui really didn't want to continue his exaggerated acting.

The reason why I am willing to stay in the nomadic tent is because there is no need to disguise myself here and I can be myself freely - no one can force me, not even Xu Yinglian!

"I don't need it. Thank you, Immortal." Chen Guanshui sighed and said, "I have always felt that living that long is actually meaningless... Immortal, you see, we nomads rely on the weather for our livelihood, and every winter is like passing through the gates of hell. Whether our life span is 100 or 90, we may not even see the next spring, so what is the point of extending our life span?"

Xu Yinglian thought for a moment and said again:

"If you want to practice Taoism, I can teach you the breathing technique. As long as you can learn the spell, it shouldn't be difficult to resist the cold."

"Does Immortal think that I am suitable for practicing Taoism?" Chen Guanshui laughed.

"No." Xu Yinglian said bluntly, "But I think you look like a liar... the kind of person who can tell lies as naturally as eating and drinking."

Chen Guanshui's heart moved, and he realized that Junior Sister Xu had begun to doubt him.

No matter how he refused, Xu Yinglian would grab him as if he was holding a life-saving straw and would never let him go easily.

It would be better to go with her first, find a chance to escape along the way, and never stay here again.

With this in mind, Chen Guanshui said readily:

"Okay, but put the pill bottle away, I really don't need it."

Seeing him give in so quickly, Xu Yinglian was a little surprised. But she soon stopped dwelling on it and just said:

"Arrange a mount and take me to White City."

"No mounts." Chen Guanshui shook his head. "These herds are not mine. I can't take their horses."

"No wonder." Xu Yinglian said tentatively, "I don't think these kids like you very much."

"I told you I'm from outside. It's normal for children not to like outsiders," Chen Guanshui said calmly. "The owner of the herd got along well with me and asked me to help look after them for a while."

"So it's okay for you to leave with me now?" Xu Yinglian asked in surprise.

"It's okay. I'll be back after I lead the way for the immortal." Chen Guanshui replied.

There was nothing wrong with this answer, so Xu Yinglian felt a little depressed. He thought that although this man had an open-minded personality, he was not arrogant at all, which was far from his senior brother.

I couldn't have really made a mistake...

She quickly suppressed the random thoughts in her mind and continued to probe:

"The kids say you're lazy."

"If it's not my mount, why should I work hard?" Chen Guanshui asked her back.

Xu Yinglian fell silent.

Although she was intelligent, she was still far inferior to Chen Guanshui in the art of talking nonsense, so she was soon speechless and asked again after a long while:

"How are we going to get there without a mount? We can't just walk there."

If Chen Guanshui asked back, "Don't you know how to control the sword?", then he would have given away the secret. Even though the sword-controlling technique was well known among the monks, how could ordinary people possibly be exposed to this concept?

Chen Guanshui certainly didn't fall for it, he tilted his head and said:

"Go to the Baishui River over there and take a ride on a passing fishing boat...Does the Immortal have any silver?"

"I have it." Xu Yinglian certainly didn't have any earthly currency on her, but she still knew some basic sleight of hand.

Chen Guanshui called the eldest child and told him that he would be away for a few days. Then he took Xu Yinglian to the river.

The Baishui River is not very wide, but the water is quite fast. We waited for a long time before a lone boat passed by. There were several bundles of firewood on it, and the waterline was very deep.

The boatman originally did not intend to let the two people on board, but after seeing the silver and money that Xu Yinglian had conjured up, he decisively threw some firewood to free up weight for the two people to board.

As a cultivator, Xu Yinglian only jumped lightly and landed steadily on the fishing boat.

Chen Guanshui was relatively clumsy. He waited until the boat came to the shore before he jumped over and grabbed hold of the side of the boat - he almost miscalculated the distance and fell into the water.

Xu Yinglian watched coldly, thinking that this man was at the level of a mortal being in both skill and physique.

But none of these count, because her senior brother is also an expert in disguise... Thinking of this, her heart began to ache again.

The lone boat sailed down the river, and all I could see on both sides was yellow and brown, with occasional herds of cattle visible.

Xu Yinglian stood at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery on both sides of the river, pondering in silence.

Chen Guanshui chatted with the boatman for a few words, and somehow he borrowed the boatman's fishing rod and started fishing on the river.

"Fishing in flowing water?" Xu Yinglian asked in surprise. "The boat moves with the water, and the hook and bait move with it. How is it possible to catch a big fish?"

"It doesn't matter." Chen Guanshui didn't care. "It's just a matter of willingness."

Those who are willing to take the bait are welcome... Xu Yinglian muttered to himself, thinking that he really was the one who was willing to take the bait.

He was unwilling to give up any clues related to his brother, so even if it was just a slight illusion, he would chase after the bait like an eager big fish.

Thinking of this, her mood quickly became depressed, and for a moment she lost interest in talking.

The boat drifted for about half a day and finally arrived at Baicheng.

The city wall is old and built by the water. Smoke rises from inside the wall and there are a large number of markets outside the wall. Countless Han people, Qiang people, herdsmen, and traveling merchants are talking loudly to each other, and the surroundings are extremely noisy and bustling.

Xu Yinglian finally calmed down and said to Chen Guanshui:

"Come with me to the White City. I need to do something."