Hearing Ning Qianqian's shout, Chu Xingchen stopped in his tracks. He slightly turned his head and looked at Ning Qianqian with a conflicted expression. Although the Ning Qianqian in front of him had called him to stop, her wariness probably hadn't lessened. Only by handling it properly could he get her to tell the real situation more easily.
"What's the matter?" Chu Xingchen asked and then turned around, looking at Ning Qianqian calmly.
Ning Qianqian showed a conflicted look and then asked cautiously:
"Great Immortal, which sect are you from?"
Chu Xingchen didn't hesitate to reply: "The Wanfa Immortal Sect in Zhongzhou."
Chu Xingchen didn't feel any embarrassment about lying. After all, the girl in front of him had never told him the truth, right? Deception was mutual. Especially since he still didn't know the details of the thin girl in front of him. Moreover, the name of the Tiandao League was too imposing, and he was also afraid that the girl would be too scared after hearing it.
Ning Qianqian put on an expression as if she had long heard of its great reputation. But in fact, as a mortal, Ning Qianqian had never stepped into the world of cultivating immortals. How could she know anything about Zhongzhou or not? This world was so vast that it was even a bit of an exaggeration to describe it as boundless. Even the small border countries had territories stretching thousands of miles. The southern Zhanzhou was already a large region. The Qingfeng Sect was in a remote place, but it was also quite famous here. As for the places where spiritual veins converged in the southern Zhanzhou, there were even more sects. Zhongzhou was actually like a world away from here. If Ning Qianqian's father hadn't told her to go to the Qingfeng Sect, as a girl from a mountain farmer's family, she wouldn't have known the name of the Qingfeng Sect. Ning Qianqian asked this question just to subtly tell the masked man in front of her that she wasn't as ignorant as she seemed. Don't try to fool her. Although it might not be useful, it was better than doing nothing, right?
However... Zhongzhou, she had heard her father mention it. It was a legendary holy land for cultivating immortals. What's more, the name of the Wanfa Immortal Sect sounded really powerful. The Wanfa Immortal Sect! And then think about the Qingfeng Sect! Which one was stronger was obvious at a listen. Moreover, the Wanfa Immortal Sect sounded more like a famous and upright sect. However, she had heard that when dealing with such famous and upright sects, one had to first learn to play the pity card. Only by winning the sympathy of these great immortals would they think she was pitiful and then offer a helping hand. It was just like the beggars on the street. Although Ning Qianqian didn't want to do such a thing because her father said it was a disgrace to the ancestors. But between disgracing the ancestors and losing her life, Ning Qianqian thought... her father would probably choose to be disgraced. Anyway, she would definitely choose this way herself. Moreover, judging from the current situation, relying solely on her own ability was completely insufficient to save her father. At this moment, she could only take a gamble.
Ning Qianqian adjusted her emotions over the past few days. Tears suddenly flowed out. At the same time, she recalled the expressions of the beggars she had seen and referred to them appropriately. Then she said with a somewhat tragic look: "Great Immortal! Do you know that the Qingfeng Sect..." As if choked up, Ning Qianqian let out a wail.
However, facing Ning Qianqian's self-immersed crying, Chu Xingchen's face behind the mask couldn't help twitching... Because at this moment, Ning Qianqian's expression was so distorted that it seemed to curl up together. From time to time, her choking seemed very much like convulsions, and it looked really exaggerated. And her crying seemed full of the marks of acting. Especially when she looked at him with her eyes, she gave a rather sneaky look. Snot and tears were mixed together on her dirty face. Perhaps... she thought she looked pitiful like this? Didn't this girl know that her acting skills were bad? Who could cry so ridiculously?
However, since Ning Qianqian was taking this approach, should he cooperate? Suppressing the urge to complain, Chu Xingchen took a deep breath and said in a shocked and puzzled tone:
"What's wrong with them?"
Ning Qianqian let out a miserable howl and started talking like pouring beans:
"My father and I lived in Ningjiatun. My mother was in poor health and passed away early. It was all thanks to my father's hard work that he brought me up."
"This year, our village suffered a disaster. We couldn't even have a meal every two days. At this time, people from the Qingfeng Sect came and cheated my father into cultivating immortals."
"They said that as long as one cultivated immortals, one could have everything one wanted. My father was stupid and thought what they said was true. He only asked them for food for me and then left with them."
"My father just abandoned me like this. Many elder brothers in the village were also cheated away."
Chu Xingchen looked at the dirty and thin Ning Qianqian in front of him and sighed slightly. This father wasn't stupid. Perhaps he just wanted to leave a hope for his daughter.
"Then how did you know they were liars?"
Hearing the question, Ning Qianqian quickly took out a tightly wrapped cloth ball from her tattered and holey clothes. Her trembling little hands quickly unwrapped the cloth ball. What was wrapped inside wasn't any precious thing, but a handful of dry loess.
Chu Xingchen frowned slightly when looking at this handful of loess.
Ning Qianqian held this handful of loess with her trembling hands. At this moment, it seemed that true feelings were revealed, and she looked grief-stricken:
"Not long after those immortals left... all the food they left behind turned into loess."
"Auntie next door and Niuzi ate the white steamed buns given by these immortals and were soon choked to death by this loess."
"Many, many people died in the village."
"Daddy was cheated. Elder brothers were also cheated."
"They can't cultivate immortals at all. Those people from the Qingfeng Sect are not good people at all. They will also die... I only have my father left. My father can abandon me, but I can't not save my father."
"I want to show this to my father, and then he will believe me."
Chu Xingchen didn't reply. He just reached out his hand and pinched the loess in front of him. At this moment, there was still some spiritual power that hadn't dissipated on the loess. He didn't expect that the Qingfeng Sect didn't even give real food in exchange for lives.
Facing Ning Qianqian's expectant eyes, Chu Xingchen just felt a bit helpless. At this moment, if he said that he would get some spirit stones from the mine and then slip away, it probably wouldn't be a big problem. But if he said that he would rescue people under the siege of the Golden Core True Person and the support of the Qingfeng Sect, it was actually not easy. Or rather, he probably couldn't protect a mortal with a high probability. However, nothing was absolute. Blindly taking action would surely lead to failure.
Chu Xingchen sighed and looked sincerely at the thin little girl in front of him. The girl didn't even have real shoes on her feet. There were only a few vines tied around her feet. There was also dried dark red blood on the vines. Ning Qianqian, who had endured hardships outdoors, had a blackened face, and her slender and thin figure seemed as if it could be blown down by a gust of wind. This mountain range was very rugged and difficult to travel through, and there were also many cliffs. He didn't know what kind of arduous journey the little girl in front of him had gone through, what difficulties she had faced to get here, or how long she had been trapped in the maze array. Moreover, there were wild beasts roaming around in this mountain range.
Looking at the Ning Qianqian in front of him, Chu Xingchen said seriously: "The matter of saving your father can't be rushed now. I have to go back and make a plan first. Are you willing to come with me now?" Anyway, Chu Xingchen still needed spirit stones. As long as the plan was proper, Ning Qianqian's father should also be able to be rescued along the way.
Ning Qianqian hesitated slightly when she heard this. She wanted to stay here to see if there was a chance to find her father again. Although she knew the chance was slim, she didn't even want to miss such a slim chance.
"Can I wait for you here? I..."
Before she could finish speaking, Chu Xingchen raised his hand to interrupt her: "You're not stupid. You should understand that staying here may not be good for your father."
Ning Qianqian was slightly silent and then nodded, but pleaded in a tone:
"Then if you don't want to save my father anymore, can you bring me back here?"
"I don't travel on this road as easily as you do, Great Immortal. I actually had a hard time walking here."
Chu Xingchen lowered his eyes to look at the Ning Qianqian in front of him. At this moment, it seemed that she had shed all the marks of acting. Only her eyes were filled with endless pleading.