Just as Qin You was in dire straits, Xu Qian's new bounty target landed on the plane.
The time was 4 a.m. local time in Ulan.
Xu Qian, in stealth mode, followed the bald boy named Neil into a car. The car was there specifically to pick up the bald boy. Besides the driver, there was a man named Southton in the car. Unfortunately, the two were talking in a language that Xu Qian couldn't understand at all.
Although he couldn't understand what they were saying, it didn't stop Xu Qian from recording their conversation on his phone. High technology is high technology, after all; he recorded it and then checked what they said.
But as they were talking, Xu Qian saw Neil take out a small, dark red box from his chest. The box was glowing with a faint red light. Xu Qian was stunned for a moment, and upon closer inspection, he realized that the red light was actually from red firefly powder (red fireflies have also appeared in the desert). Looking at the box itself, there was a series of strange patterns engraved around it.
Is that a person? Or something else? Does it use some kind of unknown script?
Xu Qian thought for a while but had no answer, because the box itself was just a box.
At this moment, Neil handed the box to Hampton with a fawning smile on his face and said something to him in a language that was still incomprehensible to others.
Hampton replied after hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged.
A little while later, the car stopped at an intersection. Neil opened the car door and got out. He went to the trunk and took out a suitcase that had been prepared beforehand. It was pure black and not very big.
Neil took the box, closed the trunk, waved to the people in the car, and then watched the car drive away.
Xu Qian observed their actions and guessed that this might be a deal.
Soon, Neil's conjecture was confirmed.
The black suitcase was full of cash. Xu Qian didn't know exactly how much, but money that filled the entire suitcase must have been a considerable sum.
...Is this money the price of that red box?
Xu Qian wasn't entirely sure, but he was certain that he was more interested in this man named Neil.
Neil's camp sign reads "Sanzhen Temple," which is clearly the name of a temple, and it wouldn't be wrong to say he's a bald monk.
However, this monk was somewhat different from what he had in mind. At least he was a very wealthy monk. For example, the house Neil was currently living in was located in the city center, with a good environment and greenery. It was obviously not cheap, whether it was rented or bought.
Both are monks, but Xu Qian's own pseudonym, Master, is dirt poor. It's truly infuriating when monks are compared.
"Squeak—"
Hearing the sound, Xu Qian turned around, only to meet a pair of bright green eyes. He instinctively took a step back.
Suddenly, a small, pale golden monkey leaped out of the darkness!
Xu Qian breathed a slight sigh of relief. After Neil returned to the house, he didn't turn on the living room light, only the light in the entrance hall. So Xu Qian didn't notice anything inside at first, let alone the little monkey.
His gaze fell again, and he found that the little monkey was only up to his calf, with light golden fur, round eyes, and a slightly lighter face.
These are relatively cute-looking monkeys, at least much cuter than the monkeys in the fighting mountain.
This difference is roughly equivalent to the difference between wild monkeys on Mount Emei and golden snub-nosed monkeys, which are first-class protected animals.
"Little Qian, come here—"
Xu Qian raised an eyebrow as he watched the little monkey named 'Xiao Qian' hop and skip into the bedroom. How much does it love money? Even its name is related to money.
Neil smiled and ruffled the little monkey's hair, then took out a few banknotes, folded them into a small ball, and stuffed them into the bell hanging around the little monkey's neck. Well... strictly speaking, it wasn't really a bell, because the bell didn't make a sound.
Ignoring the little monkey incident, Xu Qian looked at Neil's bedroom again. It was a bedroom with a very Chinese style, not at all like the local style in Ulan.
Xu Qian's gaze suddenly stopped as he looked at the portrait hanging on the wall—it was a little monkey wearing a golden jacket, with a red cape tied behind its back, two small black and white whiskers on its head, and a red flag on its shoulder, looking very spirited and cute.
Is this... the Great Sage?
These clothes, this cloak, and these two unique whiskers—this must be the Great Sage! It's a pity Xu Qian can't switch accounts right now, otherwise he really wanted to switch accounts to compare.
But how come this person has a picture of the Great Sage?
Xu Qian turned to the young bald man again, his eyes full of doubt.
Just then, Neil, having finished his small sum of money, walked up to the portrait again. He took out three incense sticks from the cabinet in front of the portrait, lit them, and then respectfully bowed.
And so Xu Qian watched as Neil, like a devout believer, began to worship the image of the Great Sage.
...
When Xu Qian returned to China using his divine speed, it was already afternoon there. Once home, he immediately switched to his main account, summoned his pet, the Great Sage, and compared the image with the one on his phone. He finally concluded—the person in the portrait was indeed the Great Sage!
"Hey, when did you become someone's faith? Didn't you sneak off to play again while I wasn't around?" Xu Qian asked the bewildered Great Sage beside him.
"—Squeak?"
"Never mind, I'll go change my clothes first. Master's Snowfall set is incredibly hot."
After a while, Xu Qian changed into a baggy T-shirt and casual shorts—a must-have for any otaku—and came out with his head completely bald. To be honest, it felt pretty good to the touch; he'd wear this vest in the summer from now on! It'll save him some money on haircuts! How clever of him!
When the Great Sage saw him come out, he grabbed his calves and then his arms, and jumped directly onto his shoulders. His movements were so practiced that he had obviously done it many times before.
Xu Qian didn't poke at it, but instead asked, "Want some ice cream?" Back in the mountains, Xu Qian would share any good food he had with them. Plus, they were all data avatars, so they had never gotten sick or had any problems. You could say they were living a pretty happy life.
"Squeak—" (nods)
However, when Xu Qian got to the refrigerator, he realized that he had eaten all the ice cream inside. Because of the power outage last time, he was afraid that the ice cream would melt, so he ate it all by himself.
"I'm going downstairs to buy something. You wait for me here, okay?" Xu Qian lifted Dasheng off his shoulder and placed him on the floor.
"Squeak?" The Great Sage seemed confused as to why it couldn't go along. Didn't it always go together before?
"...It seems that keeping monkeys as pets is not allowed in China. You just wait for me here, I'll be back soon."
And so, Xu Qian, with a handsome face despite being bald, walked downstairs, attracting quite a few glances along the way.
He went to the convenience store and bought half a case of ice cream and two bottles of mint water.
After paying, Xu Qian was carrying his things back home, eating a snack, when he ran into Meng Ziqiu, who had just returned, downstairs.
"Hey, you're back."
Meng Ziqiu paused for a moment, clearly not recognizing the person. "Hello, who are you...?"
"It's me." Xu Qian wasn't surprised. This was the first time he had seen Meng Ziqiu under this alias, so it was normal that he didn't recognize him.
"...Brother Xu?" Meng Ziqiu asked tentatively.
Xu Qian nodded and handed him an ice pop. "Want some?"
Before Meng Ziqiu could speak, his hand had already reached out involuntarily. As he walked, he asked Xu Qian if he had gone somewhere again and why he had changed his face again.
"I went outside for a stroll." Xu Qian quickly finished his first popsicle and then opened a second one.
"But when did you leave? Weren't you at home this morning?"
"I went out as soon as you left," Xu Qian explained.
"Did you find anything?" Meng Ziqiu thought it was the same old story.
"No, not really, but I discovered something interesting." Xu Qian realized the existence of the 'butterfly effect' for the first time. Although he didn't know what he had discovered or why the Great Sage was worshipped by humans, he had to admit that the feeling was quite peculiar.
"What's interesting?"
"Hmm... I'll tell you after I find out. Oh, by the way, do you know about the Sanzhen Temple?"
“Sanzhen Temple?” Meng Ziqiu pressed the elevator button, then turned to Xu Qian. “Is that a temple?”
“It should be.” Xu Qian nodded, but he couldn’t find the name of the temple online, nor any information about it. If he hadn’t seen the name ‘Sanzhen Temple’ with his own eyes, he would have doubted whether he had made a mistake.
"Never heard of it. Didn't you find it online?" Meng Ziqiu knew that the other person must not have found any information to ask him.
"No."
"Ding—" The elevator has arrived.
"Okay, I'll have my friend check it out."
"Oh right, there's something inside..."
Before Xu Qian could finish speaking, Meng Ziqiu had already opened his front door. Before he could even look up, a pair of hands grabbed his feet, almost startling him.
“…There’s a little monkey,” Xu Qian finished his sentence, then nodded his chin toward the Great Sage at Meng Ziqiu’s feet, “Come here, but don’t scare him.”
"Squeak—" The Great Sage released Meng Ziqiu's leg and climbed onto Xu Qian's shoulder in a few quick movements, squatting steadily.
Xu Qian opened an ice pop and handed it to the Great Sage on his shoulder, saying, "Eat this, it's delicious."
Looking at the scene of 'filial piety and parental love' before him, Meng Ziqiu suddenly felt somewhat superfluous.
However, as he watched, Meng Ziqiu noticed something different: Xu Qian seemed to have a different kind of affection for this monkey, a completely different kind of affection from the others.
Out of curiosity, Meng Ziqiu asked the question.
"...Maybe it's because the Great Sage stayed with me the longest."
Xu Qian spoke with a very gentle expression. Although he was speaking to a little monkey, the intimacy in his words was obvious.
Author's note: No update tomorrow, see you the day after tomorrow!
P.S. April has begun, and the schedule is six days on, one day off!
(I update every six days and rest every one day. The daily updates on Saturdays and weekends... are gone too. I've been just too busy since work resumed.)
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