Ancestral Stone
As the little girl spoke, Qing Tan's body trembled more and more violently; this burst of cold air seemed even more intense than before.
"So cold... so cold..."
Qing Tan was curled up on the ground, her face pale, and her hair was covered with ice shards.
Suddenly, Qing Tan felt herself being lifted up, and a large hand covered her head. Qing Tan felt a warm current flowing from the palm of the hand, and the coldness in her body quickly receded under the expulsion of the warm current.
"So warm..."
A hint of joy appeared on Qing Tan's face. She comfortably squinted her eyes slightly, unconsciously hugging that arm, gently moving her little head, and rubbing her cute face against his palm.
"Qing Tan!"
Suddenly, a sound came from the dense forest again, and another man suddenly darted out. But when he saw the scene before him, he stopped in his tracks, stunned and standing still.
The man was around thirty or forty years old. He was somewhat thin, and there was a hint of sharpness between his brows. However, he seemed to be injured, and his face was slightly pale, which concealed most of that sharpness.
As the man fled, Lin Dong, accompanied by a woman, also ran out.
The woman was dressed rather simply, and appeared to be around thirty years old. Her face was delicate and pretty, giving her a gentle and graceful appearance.
"Qing Tan!" The woman couldn't help but exclaim upon seeing this scene.
Qing Tan was startled awake. Looking up, she saw a handsome older brother she had never seen before staring at her, his arm around hers. Qing Tan's cheeks flushed instantly. Without thinking, she quickly got up and ran towards the man, finally throwing herself into his arms.
"Mother..."
The woman carefully examined Qing Tan but found no signs of Qing Tan being affected by the cold energy. She then looked at Lin Dong.
"Qing Tan really did have a cold attack just now." Lin Dong was also a little confused at this point.
"It must have been that gentleman who helped Qing Tan." The thin man realized the truth, and then the family of four stepped forward.
The gaunt man cupped his hands and said, "Sir, I am Lin Xiao, the child's father. My child just suffered a cold attack, and I am grateful for your help. May I ask how I should address you, sir?"
"It's nothing, just a small favor. As for your name, I'm Xiao Ming." Xiao Ming smiled.
"Mr. Xiao, and who is this?" Lin Xiao asked Ying Huanhuan.
"My apprentice."
"Oh, so it's my beloved student. Mr. Xiao, do you have some acquaintance with my Lin Family in bringing your student to the back mountain of the Lin Family?"
"No, I'm looking for something, it has nothing to do with your Lin Family, I have to go." Shaking his head, Xiao Ming took Ying Huanhuan's hand and prepared to leave.
As he passed by Lin Dong and his mother, he suddenly paused and gave Lin Dong's face a strange look.
"May I have your name?"
Hearing this, Ying Huanhuan, who was standing beside him, also looked at Lin Dong with a strange expression. This kid looked ordinary, so why would the teacher suddenly ask his name? Could there be something special about him?
After a careful look, Ying Huanhuan found nothing. (Book 69, new)
Lin Dong felt a chill run down his spine from the stare and quickly bowed to Xiao Ming in gratitude.
"My name is Lin Dong! Thank you, big brother, for saving my sister."
Lin Dong.
Looking at the little boy in front of him, Xiao Ming felt a rather strange feeling. He really hadn't expected that he and the Son of the Plane of the Tian Xuan Continent would meet in this way.
Of course, Xiao Ming didn't plan to do anything at the moment. He nodded and left with Ying Huanhuan.
Lin Xiao watched Xiao Ming disappear into the mountain mist, his smile fading slightly. He went to Qing Tan's side, patted his daughter's head, and found that the cold energy really showed no signs of erupting.
"Qing Tan, what did Mr. Xiao do to you before? How do you feel about it now?"
"Big brother just put his hand on Qing Tan's head. His hand was very warm, like a stove, but not as hot. Qing Tan liked it very much. It was warm and comfortable," Qing Tan answered honestly.
"Yeah?"
Lin Xiao fell into deep thought. To be able to suppress Qing Tan's cold aura so easily meant that the strength was absolutely terrifying. He wondered whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that such a powerful person had suddenly come to the back mountain of their Lin Family.
Looking back at the spot where Xiao Ming and the other man had left, Lin Dong looked up, his bright eyes filled with confusion.
"Father, it's a good thing that Qing Tan's cold energy isn't erupting yet. Why do you seem unhappy? Besides, Big Brother was willing to save Qing Tan; he's a very good person. But I have a feeling that you don't like him!"
"You'll understand when you grow up."
Lin Xiao patted his son's head, not intending to explain his wariness to him. Although Xiao Ming's arrival was suspicious, he hadn't done anything bad after all; on the contrary, he had helped them. It would be inappropriate to speak ill of him.
"But Qing Tan's cold energy will still erupt!" Lin Dong muttered. Although Qing Tan wasn't his biological sister, he still loved Qing Tan very much. Now that a kind person had finally appeared who could suppress his sister's cold energy, why didn't his father say a few more words to the other person? Maybe that could completely solve Qing Tan's problem.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao couldn't help but sigh.
"Hmph, that guy actually dared to interrogate you, teacher, even though you helped them." Ying Huanhuan, following Xiao Ming, recalled what had just happened and suddenly said angrily.
"That's only human nature." Xiao Ming wasn't particularly angry.
Ying Huanhuan didn't accept this explanation and continued, "And those two kids actually called the teacher 'big brother,' even though they don't look any older than me. Doesn't that make them a generation older than me for no reason?"
Xiao Ming chuckled upon hearing this, "Then you should have spoken up in rebuttal just now."
"I didn't realize what was happening just now," Ying Huanhuan said, wrinkling her nose.
Xiao Ming remained noncommittal and continued walking towards the summit. When he reached the end of the stone path deep in the back mountain, a steep cliff appeared before him.
"Arrive."
Xiao Ming glanced around and noticed some protruding rocks along the edge of the cliff. These rocks looked inconspicuous, but they happened to form a dark path.
Picking up Ying Huanhuan, Xiao Ming moved swiftly, following the stone path to the bottom of the cliff, where a cave hidden under several boulders appeared before him.
The cave was extremely well hidden, and with the surrounding protruding boulders providing cover, it would be impossible to find unless someone specifically searched for it. Of course, under normal circumstances, no one would do such a thing.
Xiao Ming leaped into the cave, and a cool breeze immediately rushed towards him, so incongruous with the Dry Heat outside.
The cave was not particularly spacious, and apart from a stone pool about two or three zhang (approximately 6.6-7 meters) in the center, there was nothing special inside.
Approaching the stone pool, one sees it filled with crystal-clear water, with a slight chill emanating from it.
"There doesn't seem to be anything special here!" Ying Huanhuan looked around curiously after being put down by Xiao Ming.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ming didn't say anything. He simply looked up at the top of the cave, where something seemed to be hidden in a crack. With a slight wave of his hand, the object appeared in his palm.
This thing is a stone about the size of two fingers. The stone is only two fingers in size and is a pale grayish-white color. However, when you squeeze it in your palm, it has a strange softness. That texture should not be stone, but it is not like jade, nor is it like wood.
It resembles stone but is not stone, resembles jade but is not jade, resembles wood but is not wood. This object seems to be some kind of strange thing, yet it seems to have no magical properties.
"What I'm looking for is this, the second-ranked divine object on the Heaven and Earth Divine Object Ranking, the Ancestral Stone."