"Let's go back and discuss it."
Qin Wanwan closed the picture and called everyone to go back together.
Back in the guest room, Jian Xingzhi opened the barrier, and everyone gathered around to watch Qin Wanwan spread out the map. There was only a big mountain on the map, and at the foot of the mountain was a square. The square was blank, with the word "maze" written on it. There was an exit drawn right above the square, and outside the exit was a normal map. At the end of the winding mountain road, "Snow God Cave" was written on it.
"Merge all the levels together, pass through the maze, and enter Xuanshan. Whoever gets the ice lotus in the Snow God Cave will win."
Jian Xingzhi understood the rules of the game. He clapped his hands and said, "It should have been so simple a long time ago. Why do we still need to do tests based on personal relationships?"
"So do we need to prepare anything?"
Qin Wanwan thought about it and looked at Cuilu and Xie Gutang: "Sister Cuilu and Brother Xie, do you know anything about Xuanshan?"
"Xuanshan is a forbidden place of Wuxiang Sect, and I don't know too much about it," Cuilu shook her head, "Just take it one step at a time."
"That's it." Qin Wanwan put away her things and smiled at everyone, "Everyone, have a good rest. We will set off together tomorrow."
"Okay!" Nan Feng said happily, "I'll prepare more food."
"What are you preparing to eat? We're not going on a spring outing," Jian Xingzhi tapped his head, "bring some sugar and nuts with you."
"Jian Daojun," Nan Feng rubbed his forehead helplessly, "Please stop hitting my head. What if I become stupid?"
Jian Xingzhi laughed when he heard this and leaned against the pillar next to him: "If you are stupid, let your master raise you."
"What if the master thinks I'm stupid?" Nan Feng was full of worry, "I still need to follow the master to ascend."
"Then I will raise him," Jian Xingzhi smiled and picked him up, walking out, "Come on, I'll take you to take a bath. If she doesn't want to raise him, I'll help her raise him."
After hearing this, Nanfeng finally felt relieved. Jian Xingzhi took Nanfeng out. They looked at each other, and after confirming what was going on, they said goodbye to Qin Wanwan and went their separate ways.
Jian Xingzhi carried Nanfeng out. It was sunset and the sun made the courtyard warm. Jian Xingzhi fetched a basin of water and went out. He put Nanfeng in the basin and started to brush its shell with a small brush.
Nan Feng lay beside the basin and muttered softly, "Jian Daojun, please be gentle."
"I'm brushing you, yet you still ask for so much," Jian Xingzhi splashed some water on him, using less force, "Is that enough?"
Nan Feng stopped talking and soaked in the warm water, closing his eyes and enjoying it.
Qin Wanwan packed up her things and walked out the door. She saw Jian Xingzhi helping Nanfeng take a bath. She sat on the steps and watched Jian Xingzhi clean Nanfeng.
During their journey, although Nanfeng was Qin Wanwan's pet, he was also a male demon, and was usually taken care of by Jian Xingzhi. Qin Wanwan looked at Nanfeng who was being washed in the wooden basin, propped up her chin and asked, "Why are you giving him a bath all of a sudden?"
"He doesn't like to wash himself," Jian Xingzhi complained, "Aren't you going to see your parents tomorrow?"
Qin Wanwan was stunned when she heard this. Jian Xingzhi brushed Nanfeng seriously, seeming a little embarrassed: "Brush him clean, and it will make you proud."
Hearing this, Nan Feng secretly glanced back at Qin Wanwan and whispered, "Master, are you going to meet your parents tomorrow?"
"Who knows?" Qin Wanwan didn't finish her words. Seeing that Nanfeng was almost cleaned, Jian Xingzhi wrapped him up with a handkerchief, wiped him clean and put him on the bed, warning him, "Don't make it dirty again, or I'll beat you up."
"I know." Nanfeng was unhappy. He shook his head and crawled back to his room.
Qin Wanwan watched Nanfeng leave, and then she saw Jian Xingzhi get up to pour the water. After handling it, he sat next to her. After thinking for a while, he felt a little embarrassed: "Well, Wanwan, do you think I should prepare some gifts?"
Qin Wanwan turned around in surprise when she heard this and looked at Jian Xingzhi: "Why are you preparing a gift?"
"Meeting your parents for the first time..."
Jian Xingzhi was embarrassed to finish his words, and Qin Wanwan laughed out loud: "It's still uncertain whether we can see each other, are you so confident? What if we still can't see each other tomorrow?"
"If I can't find them, I'll look for another one," Jian Xingzhi said seriously, "If I meet them, I'll leave a good impression on them, then..." Jian Xingzhi was not confident enough, "What if they don't like me?"
Qin Wanwan saw that Jian Xingzhi had no confidence at all, so she couldn't help but laugh: "What are you afraid of? Don't they like you to beat them?"
"Tsk." Jian Xingzhi knew that Qin Wanwan was joking and turned his head away. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Don't worry," Qin Wanwan put her hand on his shoulder and comforted him, "They will definitely like you."
"That's not necessarily true," Jian Xingzhi was self-aware, and he took out a wine gourd from his Qiankun bag, saying nonchalantly, "I'm used to being unpopular. No one cared about me when I was in the sect before."
Qin Wanwan listened to Jian Xingzhi's words and thought for a while: "Don't worry, if they don't like you, I will tell them."
"You said it." Jian Xingzhi said happily, and pointed at Qin Wanwan with his fingers holding the wine gourd, "Don't lie to me."
"Why would I lie to you?"
Qin Wanwan took his wine gourd, and Jian Xingzhi murmured in dissatisfaction: "You make it sound like you've been cheated before."
"What did you say?" Qin Wanwan took a sip of the wine in the gourd and turned to look at him.
Jian Xingzhi immediately cleared his throat: "I, I don't have anything to say, I just want to ask... ask what kind of people your parents are?"
"My mother," Qin Wanwan recalled, "She was arrogant and domineering, beautiful, and fierce. No one dared to offend her. My father had a good temper. I have never seen him blush since I was a child."
Qin Wanwan spoke, recalling her parents and chattering with Jian Xingzhi.
Jian Xingzhi listened quietly to her talking about her parents, his mind constantly sketching the image of this person. Qin Wanwan talked for a while before she remembered: "Where is your master? What kind of person is he?"
"Him?" Jian Xingzhi frowned as he recalled the elder who raised him. "I don't really remember. Every time I saw him getting beaten, I remembered his sword."
"He's very strong?"
"Strong." Jian Xingzhi nodded, "Very strong."
Seeing Jian Xingzhi's praise, Qin Wanwan knew that this man was definitely not an ordinary person. She couldn't help but feel a little yearning: "If there is a chance in the future, let's go back and pay our respects to your master."
"Now's the chance," Jian Xingzhi took the wine gourd, took a sip, and said in a steady voice, "When I was eighteen years old, I was out training and heard that he had passed away. He didn't even inform me when he died, so I never went back. My master said that the fate of the path of cultivation is shallow, and you never know when someone you know will die. If you are too close to them, it will only increase your sadness. He taught me how to cultivate. If I want to repay him in the future, I should cultivate well, make a name for the sect, and contribute my own life to the way of heaven."
"Your master..." Qin Wanwan didn't know how to persuade him, so she just murmured, "He is indeed a free and easy person."
"But if you marry me," Jian Xingzhi raised his eyebrows and turned to look at her, "it would be my duty to take you to the grave to see him."
"Who wants to marry you?" Qin Wanwan rolled her eyes. "Shameless."
"Hey, don't change your mind."
When Jian Xingzhi heard her denial, he started to quarrel with her.
While the people were playing and fighting, Xie Gutang sat on the roof and looked at Xuanshan Mountain in the distance.
Cui Lu passed by with some rice wine and noticed Xie Gutang was above her. After thinking for a moment, she jumped and landed on the roof.
"Alone?"
Cui Lu was curious. Xie Gutang nodded. Cui Lu handed him the extra wine jug in her hand and said, "Drink one?"
"Thank you very much."
Xie Gutang took the wine from Cuilu's hand. They sat on the roof, looking at the distant mountain that formed a majestic black shadow in the night. Cuilu took a sip of the wine and said, "I heard that you have been in the realm of life and death before."
"yes."
"Don't you think that the Sword of the Heart must become a god before entering the realm of life and death to guard the seal?"
"Once you become a guardian, you will never go out again." Xie Gutang explained, "But now it is still my master who is guarding the seal, and I am just practicing."
"You have already achieved spiritual enlightenment, right?" Cuilu turned to look at him.
Xie Gutang said in a steady voice: "Master said, we should press it down a little more to make it more stable."
"The Realm of Life and Death is a good place for you to practice. How could your sect be willing to let you go out and follow Jian Xingzhi and the others around when you have cultivated such a good seedling with so much difficulty?"
Cui Lu asked casually. Xie Gutang was silent for a moment and then asked, "Why would the Lord of Ghost City condescend to accompany them everywhere?"
Cui Lu heard this and smiled softly, turning to look at him: "Your leader told me that the Sword of Questioning the Heart is extremely indifferent to love, but now I don't feel the same."
Hearing this, Xie Gutang froze. Cui Lu saw a figure walking not far away, so she stood up and said, "Luo Bufan is gone, I'll go first."
Having said that, Cui Lu jumped off the roof and turned away.
Xie Gutang drank the last bit of wine, came down from his high place, and after waiting for a while, he saw Luo Bufan walking up to him.
He looked at Xie Gutang, and Xie Gutang's expression changed slightly.
After a long while, he raised his hand and bowed to him: "Master."