Disguise Technique

The mountain forest where Hun Ruoruo lived was quite far from Wutan City. Even with Xiao Yan's speed, and by circulating a little Dou Qi, the journey still took nearly half an hour.

He returned to the Xiao Family before dusk fell. As usual, he took a slight detour and did not draw anyone's attention.

He got a still-warm dinner from the old Steward. Under the latter's puzzled gaze, Xiao Yan slurped down every last noodle. Without even bothering to wipe the sauce from the corner of his mouth, he set down the bowl and chopsticks and rushed back to his room without stopping.

"Teacher." After tightly shutting the door, Xiao Yan impatiently called for Old Man Yao.

"What, are you that concerned about Girl Ruoruo?" A warm, magnetic voice sounded, and the old man in blue-and-white robes appeared in the room.

"Uh, was it that obvious?"

"You brat, you're still far behind that girl when it comes to scheming. Your whole face gave you away." Old Man Yao shook his head helplessly and shot him a glare. "Did seeing her attitude today scare you?"

"A little." Xiao Yan admitted frankly, "I'd actually guessed at her true personality long ago. What happened earlier merely happened to confirm my suspicions. But there wasn't the slightest killing intent in the way she looked at me. I think it might have been because I said something wrong..."

Seeing the gloom in Xiao Yan's eyes, Old Man Yao's expression tightened slightly. He slowly floated toward the distant window and watched the rosy clouds on the horizon.

He sighed. "You can't be blamed entirely for this either. After all, you're completely in the dark right now. You don't even know her full name. Still, there's no need to be so anxious. You're too weak at present, and many matters are simply too heavy for you to bear."

Old Man Yao knew that neither Hun Ruoruo's identity, background, nor past were things the current Xiao Yan could comprehend.

Curiosity was certainly a good thing, but too vast a gap would instead crush a once-vigorous youth.

And that was not what Old Man Yao wished to see.

"Teacher, didn't you just say nothing at all?" Xiao Yan looked rather baffled. If not for his lacking enough trendy vocabulary, he would definitely have mocked the old man for spouting empty nonsense.

"...Ahem, ahem. You little brat, still tearing me down."

His mood abruptly ruined, Old Man Yao glared at him and said irritably, "All I can tell you is that whether it was her earlier bewitching manner or today's coldness, both are parts of her personality. So stop looking so lost and dejected. Once you break through to Dou Zhe, you'll be qualified to learn many things."

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Man Yao floated to Xiao Yan's side. Under the latter's somewhat confused gaze, he fiercely knocked a lump onto Xiao Yan's head before swiftly drilling back into the Storage Ring.

"Cultivate properly!"

That really did knock some sense into Xiao Yan.

The youth's expression shifted several times before he quickly climbed into bed and resumed the cultivation he had not finished that day.

Over the next half year or so, breaking through to the Seventh stage of Dou Qi was practically guaranteed for him. Thus, he had long stopped caring about the family's Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

Dou Zhe was the goal he should strive toward now.

As he continuously guided the Dou Qi within his body through his meridians, Xiao Yan could not help sinking into thought.

As for Hun Ruoruo, he had once entertained some romantic thoughts about her. After all, every trait she had displayed was simply too alluring.

Mysterious, powerful, and possessed of that eccentric, mischievous personality.

Yet those fleeting romantic thoughts had long been buried deep in his heart after the matter of Jia Lie Ao. Given the cunning and calculation she had displayed, along with her callous nature toward killing, the wariness in Xiao Yan's heart had unknowingly risen to the extreme.

He had carried those mixed feelings of fondness and fear until today, when things suddenly took a turn—

Old Man Yao's words finally made Xiao Yan understand that Hun Ruoruo had not been entirely acting or toying with him, and that the personality she displayed came from the heart.

That was enough, wasn't it?

"If I can get her to lower her guard someday and become a friend I can truly confide in, that should be pretty nice too."

With a soft sigh, Xiao Yan said this to himself.

Over the next few days, Xiao Yan stopped worrying about the Jia Lie Family. With Hun Ruoruo's promise, he had no doubt that someone with her strength could accomplish it.

Thinking that worrying would be useless anyway, Xiao Yan simply gave himself a few days off. He paused the alternating cultivation of Soul Force and his physical body, taking time to listen to Xiao Zhan's complaints after his busy days and, incidentally, massage his old man's tired shoulders and neck.

And somehow, his cultivation actually broke through.

Xiao Yan found this both amusing and bewildering. Only after hearing Old Man Yao's analysis did he finally understand—

His previously overwrought state of mind had not been beneficial to his cultivation.

His cultivation had already been just one step away from the Sixth stage of Dou Qi. It was not that massages aided cultivation at all; rather, with a better state of mind, his breakthrough had naturally fallen into place.

Remaining calm in the face of major events was also a form of tempering one's disposition.

Xiao Family, Xiao Manor

"Knock, knock."

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but on the very night Xiao Yan broke through, someone lightly knocked on his door.

"Ruoruo?" With a creak, Xiao Yan pushed open the door, his deliberately lowered voice carrying a trace of barely perceptible excitement.

Yet before he could even see a figure, a crumpled mass of something black slammed into his face.

"Shh. Hurry up, Third Young Master. Remember to put out the lamp." The familiar sweet voice came from outside. Clearly, Hun Ruoruo had returned to her usual mischievous self.

For some reason, Xiao Yan felt a little disappointed. He silently cursed himself for being a masochist, then swiftly began making preparations.

Change clothes, put out the lamp, close the door, and then...

On a dark, windy night, it was time to kill.

They skillfully made their way along a side path. In the tranquil night, only the figures of the two of them moved through the darkness.

To avoid being noticed by the Guards standing watch at night, Xiao Yan experienced Hun Ruoruo's miraculous Soul Dou Technique, one that was practically a cheat, for the first time.

Because of the angle, he looked no different from before when viewed from the outside. Thus, Xiao Yan was somewhat uneasy during his first attempt, until he passed right before a stern-faced Guard—

Seeing that the man showed no reaction, he first cautiously shifted his body, then walked normally. Finally, he did not even bother pretending anymore and walked straight up to the Guard, curiously observing his every movement.

Xiao Yan could not even see his own reflection in the light reflected from the man's eyes. Such an effect, turning the mundane into the miraculous, left him utterly amazed.

Naturally, it made his heart itch a little.

But what Xiao Yan could not understand was that when he curiously asked Hun Ruoruo whether he could learn it, she gave him an exceedingly strange expression, as though she were hiding a smile.

Recalling all the pranks from when they had first met, he felt a chill run down his spine and could not help asking in a low voice, "Ruoruo, does this Dou Technique have some special requirement?"

"Third Young Master wants to learn it?"

Hun Ruoruo giggled, formed a hand blade, and brought it down with a sharp chopping motion.

"You only need to cut off that thing. With Third Young Master's talent, you'll certainly be able to master this Disguise Dou Technique with ease."