“If you saw such an extraordinary Tibetan mastiff puppy, wouldn’t you immediately rush up to grab it, take it home and train it well? Where is it now?” someone laughed.

“Sigh, I wanted to take it, but there was an old lama in that dilapidated temple, so old it was scary, and I couldn’t communicate with him. He wouldn’t let me take it.”

According to Henry Clark, that temple was in ruins, located deep in the desolate plateau, barely visited by anyone all year round, and the monastery was on the verge of collapse.

The old lama was extremely aged, a bit hard of hearing, and communication was very difficult.

In the end, Fat Henry finally understood what the old lama meant: that young mastiff didn’t belong to anyone, and would eventually enter the sacred mountain, where it could one day subdue demons.

“But that little mastiff’s strength was truly frightening. After it bit my pant leg, it threw me to the ground in one go. Really strange.” As Henry Clark recalled the events of those years, his face still showed a peculiar expression.

The others didn’t believe him.

“When did this happen?” William Carter asked.

Because, back on Kunlun Mountain, he had encountered a majestic mastiff that hunted fierce beasts in the mountains with ease, far surpassing its kind—truly extraordinary.

“Around three years ago, I think,” Henry Clark replied.

The train roared on, scenery outside the window flashing by as they headed east, finally leaving the plateau behind.

“You bought so much food?” Fat Henry didn’t stand on ceremony at all, coming over to help William Carter share the load, and even asked which ones tasted good.

“These divine seeds all taste pretty good,” William Carter answered.

“What?” Henry Clark looked completely puzzled.

“Didn’t you say that some figures in mythology might have been grown? I think these might be divine seeds.” William Carter pointed at the orchid beans and some nuts.

Fat Henry looked speechless, stuffing food into his mouth and mumbling, “Divine seeds do taste pretty good.”

Everyone around laughed.

“Ow!” Suddenly, Henry Clark grimaced and cried out in pain, taking a bean out of his mouth.

“Hey, brother, where did you buy these orchid beans? Are they even edible? Harder than iron, my old teeth are about to break.” He bared his teeth, face full of pain.

With a clang, he tossed a seed onto the table.

“Heavens, it’s so hard—listen to that sound! In this day and age, food safety is still unsolved!” Henry Clark complained angrily, holding his cheek.

William Carter was startled, because this wasn’t an orchid bean at all, but rather the still plump, yellowed seed from the stone box.

He had taken it out, wanting to show it to the others and ask what it was, but got caught up in conversation and forgot, leaving it among the nuts and snacks.

“Damn it, have a conscience! This isn’t even a bean—what is this thing?!” When Henry Clark saw its shape clearly, he was instantly furious, shouting that he’d write down the manufacturer on the food packaging and file a complaint when he got home.

William Carter felt a bit guilty, but still admitted honestly that it wasn’t a bean from the snack packaging, but a seed he’d brought back from the plateau.

Fat Henry immediately fell silent, his face turning red, looking extremely uncomfortable.

At first, everyone was quiet, then the whole carriage burst into laughter.

Fat Henry held it in for a long time before saying, “Brother, you really don’t pay attention. Can you just leave this kind of thing lying around? This isn’t a seed, it’s a chunk of iron!”

William Carter laughed too, picking out all sorts of nuts to apologize.

At the same time, he placed all three seeds on the table, asking those around if they could identify what kind of plant they belonged to—of course, he didn’t mention the origins of the three ancient seeds.

“This round one looks like a bean, but it’s not.”

“How come there’s a flat one? Was it crushed?”

“This one is so shriveled and completely black—really rare.”

...

People discussed it, but no one could recognize them or name them. A few guessed they might be seeds from mountain vines.

“I really want to smash it open!” Henry Clark puffed out his cheeks, rubbing them as he stared at one of the seeds.

“Don’t! This is a rare species—I’m planning to plant it. Who knows, maybe a goddess will grow out of it.” William Carter laughed heartily.

“According to Henry Clark’s theory, you never know,” others chimed in, joining the joke.

“Grow a goddess? I think you’ll more likely grow three old lamas, or three old Taoists.” Henry Clark said, covering his mouth, still in pain.

The journey passed quickly.

But when the train reached a certain station, it stopped and didn’t move again.

“What happened?”

The stop lasted so long that many people grew restless and got up from their seats.

Soon, a conductor informed them that there had been an accident on the tracks ahead, and it was being dealt with urgently. The train would be on its way again soon.

People sat down and waited patiently.

“Look, there’s more news! This is big—there are not only floating grasses in the sky, but also trees. This photo is really clear.”

Henry Clark called out, nudging William Carter beside him, signaling him to look at the news on his communicator.

“This is so bizarre. All these things happening lately are unexplainable. Is this still the world I know?” others exclaimed as well.

Clearly, it wasn’t just Henry Clark who saw the breaking news—others had noticed it too.