God of Pets

"Why is Qinghua here and boarding the Spirit King Ship?" Chen Guan was surprised.

The last time he went to Holy Lamp Mountain wasn't that long ago, yet Qinghua, who hasn't even graduated, ran to the Beimang Mountain Secret Realm, wanting to go to such a dangerous place.

Chen Guan checked the time; there were still several hours until his shift changed. He then took out two bottles of high-quality Qi Replenishing Pills, throwing one to Old Mo and the other to Lian Jiuyue.

"Cover my shift for me. I spotted an acquaintance and want to go over to take a look," Chen Guan said as he climbed down from the watchtower.

As he walked, he started taking off his uniform, went inside to change into his own clothes, put on a hat and mask, and headed towards the Spirit King Ship.

Seeing that the Qi Replenishing Pills Chen Guan gave were from the Primordial Energy Hall, Jiuyue was overjoyed: "Consider it done, leave it to me."

By the time Chen Guan reached the Spirit King Ship, Qinghua had already boarded, and she was out of sight.

Chen Guan looked around, noticing that most of the people who hadn't boarded yet covered their faces, so it was hard to tell who was who.

"I haven't seen Fenghua, Xueyue, or the others. I wonder if they came with Qinghua," Chen Guan thought with a frown.

Chen Guan waited nearby for a while, and when he no longer saw Qinghua come out, almost everyone had boarded.

"It's your turn," a crew member dressed in black with a black gauze hat said to Chen Guan in a low voice.

Chen Guan hesitated for a moment and handed over a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills to the crew member, speaking softly, "I have a friend who just boarded. I just want to say goodbye. Could you call her for me? She doesn't need to come down; I just want to say a few words to her from here. Please."

The crew member glanced at the bottle Chen Guan handed over, opened the stopper to sniff, then directly pocketed it, but he coldly said, "That's not under my jurisdiction. If you want to board, accept the test; if not, you can leave now."

"Brother, do me this favor." Chen Guan offered another bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills to the crew member.

This time, the crew member didn't accept it, only repeated coldly, "I don't have the authority to call anyone. I can't help."

"Can I at least go up and say a few words to her?" Chen Guan didn't retract the Qi Replenishing Pills but pushed them towards the crew member.

The crew member unemotionally accepted the bottle, "Go ahead."

Chen Guan quickly boarded the ship, worried if Qinghua had been lured here by someone. Otherwise, why did she come to such a dangerous place alone?

Once inside the cabin, he indeed spotted Qinghua standing alone, just as he thought. Neither Fenghua, Xueyue nor the Lotus Temple Master were there, which made Chen Guan's heart sink.

"Qinghua, it's me." Chen Guan approached Qinghua, speaking softly to her.

"Brother Guan..." Qinghua immediately recognized Chen Guan's voice, despite him wearing a hat and mask.

Chen Guan stopped her, pulling her to a corner with no one around, and asked quietly, "Why are you here?"

"Master asked me to come here and gamble with a Secret Spirit called the Eighth King to win something from it and bring it back," Qinghua replied.

Chen Guan thought, "The Eighth King must be that Secret Spirit that loves to gamble."

"Who brought you here?" Chen Guan frowned slightly. Since the Lotus Temple Master instructed Qinghua to come here, he must have his reasons and wouldn't send Qinghua to venture here without cause.

"I came by myself. Master said I've been cultivating under him for a while and that I should go out and gain experience on my own," said Qinghua.

"He asked you to come alone? Do you know how to gamble?" Chen Guan was taken aback. He didn't know Qinghua could gamble.

The gambling here isn't easy to participate in. If she loses, wouldn't Qinghua be unable to leave?

Does the Lotus Temple Master have so much confidence, assuming that even if Qinghua gets detained, he can rescue her?

"I don't," Qinghua shook her head.

Chen Guan's expression became even more perplexed. Sending Qinghua, who doesn't even know how to gamble, to partake in the Eighth King's gamble, what is the Lotus Temple Master thinking?

"You know that if you engage in this gamble and lose, you won't be able to leave, right?" Chen Guan frowned.

"I don't know; Master didn't say anything," Qinghua looked equally surprised.

"Then what exactly did your master tell you?" With no other choice, Chen Guan asked Qinghua to speak for herself.

"He didn't say much, just that there's a Secret Spirit called the Eighth King here and that it has something for me to win and take back," Qinghua explained everything she knew.

Chen Guan realized she genuinely didn't know anything.

Seeing the innocent look on Qinghua's face, Chen Guan was at a loss for words. She really wasn't wary of others, or else she wouldn't have taken the blame for Chen Guan so many times when she was little.

"Brother Guan, don't worry. Since Master asked me to come, there should be no problem," Qinghua reassured Chen Guan upon seeing his worry.

Chen Guan had no choice but to hope the Lotus Temple Master had made arrangements. If Qinghua lost, he really lacked the capability to free her.

The disparity in power is evident. The Eighth King, reigning over the Yellow Springs River, must be among the top forces of the Third Awakening, maybe even along the lines of a Secret God. Chen Guan's strength is only enough for escape on land—who knows where the Spirit King Ship might take them?

If they got surrounded by a group of Third Awakening Secret Spirits and cultivators in the river, there's no guarantee he could escape.

"Just be extra careful," Chen Guan said, planning to disembark and reconsider his plans.

He stood guard at the watch post here, waiting for the Spirit King Ship to return. If Qinghua didn't come back, he could report to the Lotus Temple Master, who should have a way to rescue her.

As Chen Guan approached the edge of the ship ready to disembark, a crew member stopped him.

"I told the crew below that I only came up to say a few words to a friend. I'm heading down now," Chen Guan said, handing over another bottle of elixir.

"Once on the ship, no one is allowed to disembark. That's the rule," the crew member said icily, ignoring the elixir Chen Guan offered.

Chen Guan looked for the crew member who let him board but couldn't find them.

All the crew members dressed the same and were all human cultivators, making it hard to distinguish anyone in the darkness.

Chen Guan originally thought, since they were human, they'd be reasonable. Who knew the crew would be indifferent?

"It's time to set sail, head into the cabin. Leaving the cabin is prohibited after setting sail," a crew member said, giving Chen Guan a shove. The force was surprisingly strong, pushing Chen Guan, with his physique, back several steps.

"Such physical strength... could these crew members all be Third Awakening cultivators too..." Chen Guan thought with shock.

"Brother Guan..." Qinghua came to support Chen Guan.

"I'm fine," Chen Guan stopped Qinghua from reasoning with the crew, taking her towards the cabin.