Daoqi sighed, "For an 'assassin,' the less he cares about fame and fortune, and the more singular his interests, the easier it is for him to succeed. An Wenshan is such a person. In times of peace, these people are conscientious cogs in the machine, but in times of chaos, they may emerge out of nowhere and turn the tide."

I saw a trace of regret flash across Daoqi's face. I thought, if Daoqi hadn't been trapped in the rainforest for those two years, perhaps he would have been the one to turn the tide.

From another perspective, if Daoqi hadn't been trapped in the rainforest, then Strange might not have died, and Han Yu might not have taken over Strange's scepter and stood against us.

Perhaps it was all destined.

At noon in the desert, there was no wind, and the scorching sun was overhead, almost melting us all. We relied on our ample supplies to replenish our water frequently.

In just ten days, we went from the ocean to the land and now to the desert. The environment went from extremely humid to extremely dry; it was simply two extremes.

"Don't drink water too quickly; slowly adapt to the desert's dry environment."

I rode my camel at the front of the caravan and said to the people behind me.

Everyone had a thin veil draped over them, just the right size to block the scorching sun.

Traveling in the desert is very monotonous. After riding a camel for an hour, you look up and see sand in front of you, sand behind you, and sand all around you. You have no idea where you are. If it weren't for the long line of hoof prints the camels left in the sand, I would have even thought I was standing still.

The sun rose in the east and set in the west, and as dusk approached, the temperature in the desert plummeted. Although we had made some preparations, the chill came somewhat unexpectedly.

When the wind rises in the desert, it's time for us to seek shelter.

Seeing that the sun was getting late, Fatty questioned, "We've been walking for most of the day; haven't we arrived yet? I remember when I was with Rouyi, we only walked in the desert for half a day before coming out. It stands to reason we should be there by now."

I replied, "It's probably because too much time has passed, and the terrain in the desert has changed. Returning along the same route we took out will have some deviations. Besides, the road An Wenshan took you out on wasn't a straight line. He most likely led you in a big circle."

Hearing my explanation, Fatty nodded slightly, as if acknowledging what I said.

I continued, "However, there's no need to worry too much. The location of the military base won't change easily. We're walking along this direction, and we won't deviate too much. If we recalibrate the direction tomorrow, we should be able to reach our target location."

This wasn't me being blindly optimistic, but rather because I was too familiar with the desert.

But I didn't know why I was so familiar with the desert. This familiar scene was like a memory point rooted in my nerves being activated.

I felt like I had a feeling of coming home.

It soon got dark, and we found a place to camp and started a fire.

The campfire we lit used solid fuel that we brought with us. It's difficult to find burnable plant roots in the desert. Generally, only those who are lucky or experienced guides can find them based on experience.

The fumes released by burning solid fuel are somewhat toxic, so we didn't dare use this fire to roast food and had to make do with eating dry naan bread.

The naan bread had meat inside, so it had a bit of salty meat aroma, making it relatively easy to swallow.

While eating, Fatty complained extensively about the food he had when he entered the desert with the security team with Rouyi, especially the naan bread, which was as hard as a rock, with no meat inside, dry and rough, and no different from gnawing on a rock.

Rouyi, reminded by Fatty, seemed to recall her experience at the time and sighed along with him.

Judging by their expressions, this experience seemed like a nightmare for them.

…

While eating the naan bread, I fell into deep thought.

From the time I woke up to the time I walked out of the desert, a part of my memory was blurred. Along with this blurred memory was a secret in my heart, but I didn't mention this secret to anyone.

This secret involved my origin and background, and involved the ultimate secret of the meteorite.

After returning to the desert again, a part of my blurred memory seemed to be awakened. Some hidden information reappeared in my mind.

In these memories that I recalled, there was a source that led to all of this—Kunlun Mountain.

At this moment, I realized Han Yu's approximate destination (Kunlun Mountain), but I didn't know her specific goal at the moment.

The poems that Rouyi translated then became particularly important signposts—in the depths of my mind, Kunlun Mountain was a celestial mountain, the place where the deities in my dreams were, only to be viewed from afar, not to be touched.

…I can't mention any of this to anyone, because Zhao Chenguang wouldn't have these memories. The one who has these memories is actually another existence…