A middle-aged man walked in from outside the door.

This man was tall and wore a brown robe, black cloth shoes, and also had a string of red colored beads hanging around his neck. The brown cloth turban on his head had been washed until it was pale. His skin was also the rough, dark color typical of locals, and his beard still had some sand particles from outside stuck to it. He looked quite honest and simple.

Dou Niang helped him remove the basket he was carrying on his back. The man was startled to see a room full of people: “Dou Niang, this…”

“Father, these are all my friends!” Dou Niang said with a smile, then walked to Tian Fangfang’s side. “This is the Big Brother Tian who often helped me when we were at the Qian household!”

“So you’re Young Brother Tian.” The man seemed somewhat nervous and vigorously wiped his hands on his clothes. “Dou Niang often tells me about you. Thank you for taking care of Dou Niang before.”

Tian Fangfang smiled. “No need to be polite, Old Man Xu. I consider Dou Niang like a real sister—if I don’t help her, who would I help?”

Dou Niang’s father was called Xu Fu. Xu Fu looked at the other people in the room, his gaze falling on Gu Baiying and Meng Ying, and he was startled: “This…”

These two had particularly outstanding appearances and bearing that made it hard not to notice them. Dou Niang said, “They’re all Big Brother Tian’s fellow disciples. Big Brother Tian is amazing now—he’s become a disciple of a sect!”

“So you are all immortal masters.” Upon hearing this, Xu Fu became even more nervous and said uneasily, “May I ask if you, immortal masters, came here specifically for Dou Niang?”

“Not at all.” Tian Fangfang could see his nervousness. “Old Man Xu, don’t worry. We just got lost in the desert and were passing through when we happened to run into Dou Niang at the city gate.”

“Father,” Dou Niang returned to Xu Fu’s side, tugged at the corner of his clothes, and looked up. “The Wudan Forest Desert has windstorms at night. Just let them rest here for one night.”

“We’re only staying here for one night and will leave tomorrow,” Mu Cengxiao said, looking at him.

“You immortal masters misunderstand,” Xu Fu quickly said. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that our family is poor, and I’m afraid we’ll neglect you all.”

His face was full of nervousness, and it didn’t seem fake.

“It’s nothing, Father,” Dou Niang didn’t mind and spoke with naive innocence. “When Big Brother Tian and I were at the Qian household, we didn’t even have beds to sleep in. Though our house is a bit small, if we squeeze together, there’s still enough room. If the immortal masters don’t mind…”

“Then we’ll respectfully accept your kind offer,” the white-robed young man sitting in the room interrupted her words with a slight smile. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

Upon hearing this, Dou Niang immediately cheered and said, “Then it’s settled! You’ll all stay here tonight. Our house hasn’t been this lively in a long time.”

She went to drag the basket on the floor that was filled with grass: “I’ll go wash these clean first.”

While the father and daughter lifted the curtain to go to the kitchen, Zanxing turned to the side and quietly asked Gu Baiying, who was sitting nearby, “Master Uncle, is there anything wrong with Old Man Xu?”

Gu Baiying’s smile had long since faded. “No demonic aura, he’s not from the demon race. No evil energy, and he’s not a demonic cultivator either.”

“Maybe he’s just good at hiding it.”

“Not necessarily,” Mu Cengxiao looked over. “He has calluses on his hands, traces left from years of cutting grass. His appearance, skin texture, and clothing are indeed those of someone living in the desert.”

“I also can’t see any flaws,” Meng Ying shook her head.

Tian Fangfang said, “Are we overthinking this? Being able to meet Little Bean here—maybe it is just a coincidence? Maybe we’re just lucky?”

“That’s what it is.” Mendong, who had been coldly observing all along, held Mimi and said, “Stop being paranoid. How could Mo Sha live in such a run-down place? Think about it—it’s impossible.”

“But I still feel something’s not right,” Zanxing said. She didn’t know why either. Though the Xiaoyuan Pearl hadn’t given any warning, she just had this intuition.

This city that suddenly appeared in the desert, the fellow villager they hadn’t seen for years, the simple father and daughter… no matter how you looked at it, there was a sense of “strangeness lurking beneath the calm.”

She looked down at her palm. The flower-like red mark showed no change. Ever since encountering Qinghua Xianzi in Li’er Kingdom’s secret realm, the plot had already gone completely off track. Now it was completely unwritten territory.

Zanxing didn’t believe “Heaven’s Way” was that kind-hearted.

“Why do you keep targeting her?” Mendong said indignantly. “She hasn’t offended you, so why are you fixated on her?”

Zanxing: “When have I been fixated on her?”

As they were talking, Dou Niang came out carrying a winnowing basket. Xu Fu was chopping wood in the backyard, and the little girl spread the basket of grass her father had just brought back on the ground and began sorting it.

Mendong asked her, “What are you doing?”

“Some of these wild grasses can be eaten, and some can be dried and used for fuel. I’m separating them.” Dou Niang rolled up her sleeves, her movements quite practiced.

Mendong immediately jumped down from his stool: “I’ll help you!”

Zanxing: “…”

She said, “Already protective of her? I never noticed before that Mendong was someone who values beauty over friendship.”

“What do you know?” Gu Baiying glanced at her. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Zanxing: “But he’s never been this attentive to me.”

“Junior Sister,” Tian Fangfang looked at her earnestly, “you’re a bit older, and Mendong is still a child.”

Zanxing: “…”

Meng Ying finally couldn’t watch anymore and said, “Junior Brother’s enthusiasm toward Xu Dou Niang isn’t born of affection.”

“Then why?”

Meng Ying looked at Mendong, who was squatting on the ground helping Dou Niang sort the medicinal herbs, and sighed, “Probably fellow sufferers sympathizing with each other. Mendong was also separated from his family back then.”

Mendong, the direct disciple of Taiyan Sect’s Yueguang Daoren, though young, was never underestimated by the sect’s disciples, because this child was born with “Immortal Spirit Aperture”—the ability to discover rare treasures and geniuses between heaven and earth. Among a hundred thousand people, there might not be one born with Immortal Spirit Aperture. If a sect gained a disciple with Immortal Spirit Aperture, they would cultivate them well.

But if this child were born into an ordinary family with common parents, then it wouldn’t be a fortunate thing.

When Mendong was three years old, his father carried him in a baby basket up the mountain to chop wood. He grabbed onto a blade of grass and wouldn’t let go. His father thought he wanted to play, so he picked it for him. Later, someone knowledgeable discovered this was an extremely rare spiritual herb and paid a large sum to buy it.

At that time, Mendong’s parents thought it was pure luck.

Later, when Mendong grew a bit older and could run and jump, having learned to express his intentions, every time he went up the mountain, he could always find various spiritual herbs and fruits by pond sides, on cliff faces, and in rock crevices.

The family thus became wealthy, and Mendong’s reputation for “divine power” gradually spread.

The ordinary couple doing small business in the village didn’t realize that “an innocent man becomes guilty when he possesses a treasure.” Having a young son with “Immortal Spirit Aperture” was such a great temptation to outsiders, and such a great disaster for an ordinary family like theirs.