The sky over Golmud City was especially clear in winter, with a cold wind blowing across the land. More than a hundred miles north of Golmud, near the entrance of a small village called Taji Zi nestled in the mountains, nine Humvees slowly pulled over to the roadside. Shui Miao opened the car door and stepped out, gazing at the blue sky and taking in a few deep breaths of the crisp, cold air before turning his gaze northward.
It had been three days since Shui Miao had comprehended the Dao of Feng Shui and obtained the primordial power hidden within the stone tablet.
During those three days, Shui Miao had spent his time either cultivating or dealing with matters related to the Xuan Group.
Shui Miao had no interest in the affairs of the Xuan Group—his sole focus was on deepening his cultivation and understanding the ultimate Dao.
Therefore, after entrusting the Xuan Group entirely to Old Huang and King Jingang Wang, Shui Miao returned to the hotel with Watson and the Da Da Xiao trio. His grandfather, Xiong Ying, upon learning that Shui Miao’s Daoist cultivation had reached an unfathomable level, abandoned his plan to continue training and decided instead to stubbornly stick with Shui Miao from then on.
Shui Miao also met with Captain Lin and Chu Miaoyi. Watson contacted the relevant authorities, who directly informed Captain Lin that the investigation into the cultural relics case was canceled. They emphasized that Shui Miao was now a key figure in a national secret agency, and local authorities were to cooperate fully with him in the future. Additionally, all events related to Shui Miao were to be kept strictly confidential. Upon receiving these orders, Captain Lin, Chu Miaoyi, and Lin Xue were all shocked. However, the good news was that Captain Lin had been promoted due to the attention from the authorities, while Lin Xue and Chu Miaoyi were reassigned to serve as Shui Miao’s personal bodyguards.
In truth, Shui Miao didn’t need anyone to protect him.
He intentionally kept everyone close to him for a simple reason—he wanted to use his own power to influence his friends’ destinies in some way. When it came to his friends, Shui Miao never hesitated to help them grow stronger if it meant benefiting them. That was his dream.
In the past, he had feared that the thousand-year-old female ghost might harm his loved ones, so he dared not gather his family and friends together.
But now, having obtained the primordial essence of Feng Shui Dao, he was filled with confidence and no longer afraid.
His mindset had changed.
He also understood that continuing his cultivation would leave him little time or energy to care for everyone. Keeping them close was the only thing he could do.
The Dao of Feng Shui encompassed the Dao of nature, concealment, survival, and destruction.
Next, he would face the Dao of nature.
Nature meant all things under heaven and earth, the entire universe.
Of course, the most difficult to grasp was the human heart.
Thus, Shui Miao decided to travel across the land, using the Dao of Feng Shui to uphold justice.
Ever since he had comprehended the Dao of Feng Shui, Shui Miao had been sensing some strange, suffocating energies. He didn’t know what they were, but they made him feel deeply uncomfortable, naturally stirring a strong urge within him to investigate their source and eliminate the oppressive feeling.
So early that morning, everyone had set off in three Humvees, arriving at the entrance of Taji Zi village.
Looking ahead, there was indeed a small village with a few scattered, earth-toned wooden houses built casually among the hills. The structures were entirely wooden, without bricks or tiles, giving them a primitive, untouched appearance.
During the day, the oppressive energy was weaker, but Shui Miao could still sense it.
“That’s the place. If you want to come with me, feel free.”
Shui Miao pointed toward the mountains behind Taji Zi village, where the terrain was steep and impassable by vehicle.
Behind him, one by one, several people stepped out of the cars—Grandfather Xiong Ying, Godfather Wang Yong, Jiang Zhihao and his three apprentices, Chu Miaoyi, Watson, and the Da Da Xiao trio.
Seeing that they would have to cross the mountains, Jiang Zhihao hurriedly smiled nervously and said, “Master, maybe I should rent a few helicopters? The mountains look close, but walking will take forever.”
“No need. Walking is fine.”
Without turning his head, Shui Miao replied, “Cultivation is not just about sitting in meditation. Meditation aims to calm the mind and focus the spirit, to breathe and regulate energy. But true cultivation lies in immersing oneself in nature. To merge with nature, one must deeply experience it, endure countless hardships, and travel thousands of miles to truly understand it. Only then will you gain something new. Of course, this journey is difficult. For ordinary people, it is both a challenge and a test. But if anyone doesn’t wish to go, I won’t force them. After all, those who walk different paths cannot travel together.”
Shui Miao spoke casually, but his final words—”those who walk different paths cannot travel together”—startled everyone.
To be precise, including Chu Miaoyi and Lin Xue, everyone here wanted to follow Shui Miao in his cultivation.
To them, this was a test.
“N-no problem! I’ll go, I’ll go!”
Jiang Zhihao was startled, paused, then asked, “Should we bring backpacks and food?”
“Of course. I’m responsible for your safety, but not for your meals or daily needs,” Shui Miao replied with a slight frown. Because his grandfather was among them, he didn’t want to say too much, so he simply turned and started walking toward Taji Zi village.
“Wait for me! Wait for us!”
Lin Xue and Chu Miaoyi exchanged glances, quickly ran back to the cars to grab their backpacks, and hurried after Shui Miao.
The night before, Shui Miao had already asked everyone to prepare for wilderness survival, so each person carried their own backpack.
Jiang Zhihao, Jiang Tao, and Sun Hao each had bodyguards, who quickly picked up the large bags and followed behind Shui Miao.
Wang Yong took his backpack from the car, raised an eyebrow, and grinned at Xiong Ying, saying, “Old buddy, it must feel great being a grandpa following your grandson around, huh?”
“…”
Shui Miao had completely changed—he was nothing like his former self. Xiong Ying’s face darkened, feeling speechless and deeply resentful, but he could do nothing. He simply waved at Wang Yong and followed behind Jiang Zhihao’s bodyguards with his small bag.
Bringing up the rear were Watson and the Da Da Xiao trio—Yi Tianwen’s trusted confidants.
Watson pulled the twin sisters aside and whispered, “Da Da Xiao, do you think this Shui Miao is still the same leader we used to have? He doesn’t seem like the leader we knew at all.”
“I don’t think he is either. His tone, his eyes, his actions—they’re completely different from our team leader’s.”
Da Da frowned.
Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement, “I noticed it too.”
Watson furrowed his brows, “I think our team leader might already be dead. This person must really be Shui Miao.”
“T-then what do we do?”
The twins asked in unison, anxiously looking at Watson.
Watson took a deep breath, thinking for a moment before replying, “So far, he’s treated us decently. We don’t really have any other options right now. We’ll just follow him for now and see what he’s up to. If he really isn’t the leader…”
“Okay…”
Xiao Xiao nodded quickly.
Da Da asked, “If he really isn’t the leader, do we kill him and avenge the leader?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Team Leader raised us—how could we not repay him?”
Watson said firmly, then picked up his backpack and walked away.
※※※
About one hundred and seventy li north of Taji Zi village lay the border between the mountains and the desert.
Inside a mountain hollow, two minivans were parked.
The minivans had appeared in the hollow during the night.
At the moment, two young men were sleeping inside each van, while outside, two girls in their early twenties were preparing to wash up. Both wore denim jackets and jeans. One carried a large bucket of water, while the other held a basin and other toiletries.
The two girls looked particularly innocent—neither fat nor thin, neither beautiful nor ugly—just ordinary.
They carried the water bucket twenty meters away to a large rock and began pouring water, washing their faces, and cleaning their bodies.
The slightly taller girl, already starting to undress, complained, “Ugh, I’m so tired, dirty, and smelly—I’m about to explode! Who brought us to this godforsaken place? Three days without a bath! Xiao Fang, why don’t you go get another bucket of water? Let’s have a proper wash. We’re out of the desert now. We can find more water later when they wake up.”
The girl called Xiao Fang had fair skin and a shy personality.
She quickly shook her head and whispered, “No, we don’t have much water left. I’ll just rinse my mouth and wash my face. You can use the rest. If I go get more water and they wake up and can’t find any, they’ll scold us again.”
“Who cares? I’m sick of this already!” Sister Rong waved her hand impatiently, already taking off her top and standing bare-chested as she poured water, grumbling all the while, “Just thinking about it makes me angry. I used to be a normal office worker, and those idiots tricked me into grave robbing and searching for treasures in the western desert city. We wandered in the desert for three days and suffered like hell. If they don’t find any treasure, just wait and see what I do to them.”
Sister Rong had darker skin and had trained in martial arts as a child, giving her excellent physical skills.
Xiao Fang looked at Sister Rong’s chest—wrinkled but with a firm stomach—and sighed softly, “Sigh… we’re just trying to get rich too. Our office salaries aren’t enough to live on, and we’re not pretty enough to do anything else. What else can we do but come treasure hunting with them?”
“Stop talking about money! Just thinking about it makes me even angrier!”
Sister Rong waved her hands in frustration.
Since washing might get her pants wet, and seeing no one around, Sister Rong simply took off her pants and underwear together and began washing herself openly.
Worried, Xiao Fang stood guard, peeking out from behind the rock toward the direction of the vans…
But to her surprise, Xiao Fang suddenly spotted a massive castle emerging from the distant desert!
“The Sand City!”
“Rong Jie, quick! Look—it’s the Sand City?!”
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