Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “No problem, as long as no one disturbs me.”

Chen Fengxiao said: “There aren’t any buildings around that small courtyard, so there definitely won’t be anyone bothering you. Oh, right, little brother, how about I come visit you there later? The two of us brothers can talk by candlelight through the night.”

How could Zhang Xiaohua agree? He smiled and said: “This little brother is truly tired. I’ll probably go straight to sleep after returning. If Big Boss Chen has anything to discuss, how about we talk tomorrow morning? Surely there won’t be a gambling match first thing in the morning.”

“Oh, is that so…” Chen Fengxiao felt a bit regretful. After thinking for a moment, he said: “To be honest, little brother, according to past rules, there really is an opening match tomorrow morning. However, since this is your first time participating and your first time at Tianmu Peak, we’ll postpone it to tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright then, many thanks to Big Boss Chen for arranging it. See you tomorrow.”

After speaking, Zhang Xiaohua cupped his hands, took his large bundle, and followed Bai Huan out of the dining hall where so many joys and sorrows had unfolded in just one night. With a wave of his hand, he carried away the greedy gazes of the crowd.

Only Big Boss Chen and Wu Dalang remained, staring at Zhang Xiaohua’s back, each lost in their own thoughts.

This person’s arrival would definitely affect the current situation on Tianmu Peak!

The lights on Tianmu Peak were as brilliant as a sky full of stars, yet the small courtyard Zhang Xiaohua was heading to was absolutely not within this galaxy. After leaving the dining hall, Bai Huan held a torch while Zhang Xiaohua led Huanhuan behind him. They walked for quite a long time until the area ahead grew pitch-black. Around the courtyard, numerous trees swayed in the mountain wind, making constant rustling sounds. Even the torch crackled loudly in the wind. Ahead lay a bamboo grove; as the mountain wind passed through, faint wailing sounds could be heard, frightening Bai Huan so much that he slowed his steps even more.

Zhang Xiaohua had long since released his divine sense. Though it only extended a dozen zhang, it was more than sufficient. He had already scanned the bamboo grove and found nothing unusual. He also saw a small courtyard hidden within the grove, containing only a few rooms.

Bai Huan led Zhang Xiaohua into the courtyard, pushed open the door, and lit the lamp. Looking carefully, everything inside the house was complete, but since no one had lived there for a long time, a thick layer of dust had settled. Bai Huan looked around nervously and asked in a low voice: “Brother Ren, are you really going to stay here? No one has lived here for a long time—it’s quite desolate. Why not stay with us? It’s a bit crowded over there, but at least it’s lively.”

Zhang Xiaohua had already inspected the place with his divine sense and found nothing wrong. He asked: “Why does no one live in this courtyard? Is there something improper about it?”

Bai Huan waved his hand and said: “There’s nothing wrong. It’s just too far from everyone else. In the spring, we often come here during the day… hehe… but at night, there’s basically no one.”

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t quite understand what he meant by “hehe,” and simply smiled: “I prefer quiet places the most, so this will do. It’s just that tonight I offended Brother Cheng from the Pill Division. They wouldn’t try anything sneaky at night, would they?”

Bai Huan smiled and said: “Brother Ren, please rest assured. No matter what, their Pill Division and our Herb Division are all brothers under the Tuodan Hall. Even in open matches, they have to be careful not to strike too heavily—no broken limbs, and certainly no loss of life. As for underhanded methods, you can be even more at ease. The Hall Master has given strict orders: anyone who uses dirty tricks or ambushes will implicate others as well. The Pill Division definitely wouldn’t dare come at night.”

“But what I have here are gold leaves. There’s no guarantee there won’t be a few blind fools?”

“Then, little brother can be even more at ease. You’ve just arrived, so you don’t understand the thinking of us brothers in the Tuodan Hall. Your gold is indeed tempting, but within this Incense Spreading Sect, it simply can’t be spent. And even if someone secretly took your gold, where could they run to? What’s the use of having gold if you don’t have the life to spend it? Besides, in the next few days, they’ll still have chances to win gold from you—why do something foolish? Oh, and even if they wanted to do something foolish, the Ten Great Vajras wouldn’t agree, would they?”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua quite agreed. It made perfect sense. So he cupped his hands and said: “Then many thanks to Senior Brother Bai for escorting me here. Be careful on your way back later—don’t trip in the bamboo grove.”

Bai Huan was already timid. If Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t said anything, he would have slowly made his way back on his own. But now that Zhang Xiaohua had said this casually, how could he move another step? His eyes stared outside, as if he had already seen dark shadows within the bamboo grove.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred, and he asked: “If Senior Brother Bai finds the road too far, this little brother can escort you part of the way. However, I do have something I’d like to ask you.”

Bai Huan said happily: “What is it? Brother Ren, feel free to ask.”

Zhang Xiaohua opened his mouth, but didn’t say a single word. He simply smiled and said: “Forget it, I’ll ask in a few days. I only want to know more about our Incense Spreading Sect.”

Bai Huan didn’t suspect anything and said: “That’s no problem, Brother Ren. Anyone who has just arrived wants to know more. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me.”

As he spoke, he glanced again at the darkness outside the door.

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Come, as the host, I’ll also see my guest off.”

He escorted Bai Huan out of the bamboo grove. Only after reaching a somewhat lit area did Bai Huan repeatedly express his thanks and leave.

Zhang Xiaohua smiled, turned around, and slowly walked back into the darkness. Then, with a twist of his waist, his figure vanished from sight. Sigh, fortunately, Bai Huan didn’t dare to look back—otherwise, wouldn’t he have been so frightened that he would have collapsed onto the ground?

When he emerged from the earth, he was already inside the small house. Now that Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense was suppressed, he couldn’t travel far underground—otherwise, he would surely lose his way. This short distance, however, was still manageable.

No one had come to the small courtyard for a long time, and quite a bit of wild grass had grown. The Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth within the Incense Spreading Sect was more abundant than elsewhere, so the wild grass also grew wildly. The Sibu Xiang was not polite at all and began eating directly within the courtyard.

Zhang Xiaohua took the two bundles and the Prajna Heavy Sword down from Huanhuan’s back and casually tossed them onto the floor of the small house. Then he took out more than a dozen jade talismans from his money pouch and threw them into the various corners of the courtyard. With a quick hand seal, he cast a restriction he had only recently learned, covering the entire courtyard.

After everything was arranged, Zhang Xiaohua took out the green cushion, placed it on the ground, and sat down cross-legged. The room was full of dust, and since he hadn’t learned any cleaning incantations, it would be better to wait until tomorrow for Chen Fengxiao to have someone clean it.

After closing his eyes and adjusting his breathing for a moment, Zhang Xiaohua took out the small ring and the black jade slip from his bosom. Ever since obtaining these two items from the cave in the mountain ravine, he had never examined them carefully. Along the way, he had been in the carriage with Qiang Shi—if he suddenly took out something strange, wouldn’t that attract attention? Moreover, that Lady Kongque of the Incense Spreading Sect had also been ahead; if something were noticed, it would be even more inappropriate. Thus, he had only kept the two items in his bosom without inspecting them.

At first, he had wanted to store them in his money pouch, but while the black jade slip could be easily placed inside, the small ring simply wouldn’t respond, no matter how he tried to store it. So Zhang Xiaohua kept both the jade slip and the small ring safely in his bosom.

Holding the black jade slip in his hand, Zhang Xiaohua slowly immersed his divine sense into it. There were also fluctuations of Yuan Qi coming from within the jade slip, but these fluctuations were completely different from what Zhang Xiaohua usually saw. The jade slip also seemed to have a restriction, yet when observed with divine sense, it was different from the restrictions taught by True Person Fire Dragon. There was instead a trace resembling the rabbit talisman, but if he tried to use what he knew from that talisman to examine the restriction within the jade slip, he found himself completely at a loss.

After trying several common methods to break restrictions without success, Zhang Xiaohua carefully stored the black jade slip back into his money pouch, then picked up the small fiery-red ring.

The ring was very small, only as thick as a finger. It looked like it was shaped from flames and seemed to possess a kind of magic, drawing one’s gaze and even attracting one’s spirit. Zhang Xiaohua immersed his divine sense in it again. This ring seemed different from the black jade slip—at times it felt like it contained extremely complex restrictions, and at other times it felt like it had no restrictions at all. Yet the fluctuations of YuanQi it emitted carried a desolate and ancient aura. Anyone sweeping it with divine sense would know it was no ordinary object.

However, Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense simply did not know how to break it, nor how to use the ring. In truth, what Zhang Xiaohua hated most was precisely this kind of situation — something he could only look at but not use!

He almost wanted to throw the ring away, but after thinking about it, the very first ring he had obtained was the same—he hadn’t known what it was either, yet it had brought him unimaginable changes. So he became reluctant again. Hehe, with such a precedent, did one really think Zhang Xiaohua would throw away something already in his hands?

He first placed the small ring on the ground, then, for the first time, removed the mysterious bracelet from his left arm. This time, however, he clearly noticed that the bracelet, which clung tightly to his arm, could actually adjust itself according to the thickness of his arm. It stretched to an exaggerated degree as it slid off over his fist, which was much thicker than his forearm. Zhang Xiaohua gently shook his head—such an obvious abnormality, yet how had he failed to notice it back then? Fortunately, he had stubbornly regarded it as a treasure. If he had listened to his mother back then, who knew where he might have tossed it!

Thinking of his own “keen eye for treasures”, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but feel a bit smug.

Under the lamplight, the bracelet was pitch black. Looking closely, there seemed to be faint points of starlight within it. This starlight was different from what he had seen before in the Meridian-Nourishing Pill—these seemed like actual stars, faintly shimmering, very natural. Zhang Xiaohua could even vaguely perceive traces of the Heavenly Dao within them!

However, when Zhang Xiaohua closed his eyes and released his divine sense, preparing to immerse it within, he discovered that the bracelet did not emit the slightest fluctuation of Yuan Qi. It was no different from an ordinary object!

“What’s going on now?” Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but feel puzzled. “That little ring, at least, though it won’t let me understand it—like a beauty half-hiding her face behind a pipa—it still gives off some obscure, unfamiliar fluctuations. But you—fine, you just hide yourself completely and don’t give me the slightest hint. If I didn’t already know… well, actually, I don’t even know if all these years of changes are truly related to you. It’s just that after I got you, everything slowly began to change. How would I have known you were extraordinary?”

At this moment, within his divine sense, the bracelet suddenly emitted a faint, subtle fluctuation, different from the fluctuation of Yuan Qi…