Ring

"Ahem... well, what should I call you?"

Xiao Zhan asked carefully, afraid the little girl Father had just dumped on him would start wailing to the heavens.

"My name is Xun Er."

The little girl's tone was very cold, but she was still quite polite. "From now on, I'll take Uncle Xiao Zhan's surname and be called Xiao Xun Er."

"Ah—good, good. Uncle Xiao Zhan will arrange a room for you right away. You get some proper rest first, and tomorrow Uncle will take you around the house, all right?"

Xiao Zhan clumsily coaxed the child.

Though he was the father of three boys, he really did not know much about coaxing children. His usual way of educating them was as simple and rough as possible.

If they were right, he praised them; if they were wrong, he scolded them. If they caused some huge disaster, he whipped them on the spot until they spun like tops.

"Uncle..." Xun Er hesitated for a long while before asking tentatively, "Can we go outside for a walk?"

"Huh? Of course we can. What's wrong?"

Xiao Zhan did not quite catch on for a moment.

In his mind, were children not meant to be raised free-range? Taking Xun Er around was just to let her get familiar with the roads, so she would not get lost and force him to come find her personally.

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Xun Er visibly brightened.

"Ah... no need to thank me... wait, what are you thanking me for?" The more Xiao Zhan listened, the more awkward it sounded. "Aren't we family now? Or at least friends. Would friends be this polite with each other? No!"

So there was no need to say thank you? Xun Er blinked, her eyes turning into little dots. "Then friends are—"

Xiao Zhan:

"You don't have any friends?"

"No."

"Do you talk to your family like this at home too?"

"Yes."

That nameless son of a bitch!

You're about as useful as a lump when it comes to being a father, and you've got the nerve to say this is your daughter...

"Uncle Xiao Zhan, can I go to my room now?"

Xun Er waved her hand.

"Oh, of course you can!"

In the eyes of Xiao Zhan, this middle-aged man, a mysterious, compassionate glow suddenly appeared. He reached out and rubbed Xun Er's little head, unable to speak for a long time. "Child, you really have suffered! I'll get you the best room to stay in right now!"

"Master, then what about Third Young Master..."

Maid bowed slightly.

"Kick him out! He goes three days out of five without returning to his room anyway. I've been sick of it for ages!"

"Yes..." Maid was somewhat speechless.

Just who was it that lay outside the courtyard every day waiting for Third Young Master to return to his room? You're the one who insists on staying up all night, and now you're taking it out on someone else.

Third Young Master? Caught between the two of them, Xun Er looked left and right, but in the end she did not dare ask. She obediently followed Maid away.

What a lively new home.

Bang!

The pond abruptly exploded in a spray of water, and several small fish weakly swayed their tails as they slowly floated up.

"This feeling of power—awesome!"

Xiao Yan stood in the pond water that had only just reached his waist, stretching his body and swinging his arms with all his might. Every strike sent a ring of ripples surging outward. The Dou Qi in his body was mostly squandered after just a few swings.

Dou Qi, fifth stage!

"Too bad it only shot up this once. After this, I'll still have to grind away slowly."

A portion of Dou Qi had merged into his blood and seeped into his body, suddenly opening up quite a bit of space inside him. After being replenished, the total amount of Dou Qi had increased by a lot, directly raising him by one stage.

But only at the start could there be such a major effect. His body had already been filled up, so next he would still have to grind away slowly.

"But at least I've got a passable system now, don't I..."

Breathing and circulation trained his internal organs. The waterfall's pounding trained his flesh and skin. Striking posts trained his tendons and bones.

This counted as the best cultivation method under his current conditions. Any further than this, and rather than puzzling it out himself, he might as well first think of a way to awaken Yao Lao.

"Hm?"

Xiao Yan froze, then pinched the Ring at his chest and examined it carefully.

Just now, the Ring seemed to have flashed for an instant.

It was not an illusion!

The ring pinched in his hand turned terrifyingly cold, and the startled Xiao Yan instinctively loosened his fingers.

Under his gradually horrified gaze, the ring pressed itself against his chest.

Crack—

It was like the thin ice beneath his feet had shattered, and he, walking atop it, had plunged into an icy lake in an instant, his whole body wrapped in a bone-deep chill.

Though that cold only appeared for a moment before swiftly fading away.

Xiao Yan, who had been thoroughly frozen by it, stood rooted to the spot, motionless as a statue.

"Hah..."

Only after a very, very long time did the first puff of white mist leave his mouth and nose, slowly sinking through the air toward the water's surface.

This chill... it's the Bone Chilling Flame!

Xiao Yan moved his body with difficulty, stiffly flopping onto the bank as he gasped in pain. He felt as if his body, inside and out, was filled with shards of ice, stabbing him with a dull, freezing ache.

Just one incredibly tiny wisp of cold had nearly frozen him to death here.

What had just happened? Had Yao Lao awakened? Lying on the ground as his thoughts raced, Xiao Yan suddenly remembered something. "Xun Er came to the Xiao Clan when she was four, didn't she... That means it's this year!"

Could it be because someone from the Ancient Clan had appeared?

"Xun Er? Xun Er! How are you?"

Xiao Zhan crouched down and gathered Xun Er into his arms. The little girl, who had been cool and quiet just moments ago, had now become scorching hot in the most literal sense.

Hiss—

Even with a layer of Dou Qi wrapped around his hand, Xiao Zhan still kept sucking in cold breaths through his teeth.

It hurt. It hurt too much! This strange heat that had appeared on Xun Er's body seemed completely impossible to block with Dou Qi!

Scorching waves, as if they would burn his bones to ash, washed over him one after another, scraping inward layer by layer like they were flaying the ground, gradually sinking into his muscles and bones. Even a tough man like him felt an impulse to chop off his own hand.

It really feels like my hand's been set on fire. What the hell is this thing?

"Uncle Xiao Zhan..."

Xun Er's entire face was deathly pale now, and the ball of fire inside her body charged with all its might as if it had discovered prey. "I'm fine."

Though she had the protection of her bloodline, that extreme, agonizing burning sensation could not be offset.

"You—sigh..."

Like hell you're fine! You're like the damn sun right now, do you know that, little ancestor? Xiao Zhan's heart was in chaos, and his hands kept trembling. "Someone, hurry and bring a bucket of water! Is my damn voice not loud enough? Where's the water?!"

"Water won't help."

Xun Er muttered softly, her consciousness already beginning to blur. She lifted her hand and waved it weakly twice, slapping Xiao Zhan on the face.

It was like a branding iron pressing into flesh, making the skin on his face twitch several times. Who knew whether it had even started to sizzle and smoke.

"Master! Water, water..."

A maid led the guards in carrying over a bathing tub, water splashing all along the way.

Splash—

Xun Er was directly tossed whole into the water tub by Xiao Zhan. Two seconds later, with a whoosh, a cloud of steam exploded out, and then there was no further unusual movement.

Maid: ...

Xiao Zhan: ...

Xun Er: Glug glug glug...

Then came a sudden strange cry, and the astonishingly wise Xiao Clan Leader flung himself to the side of the tub at practically teleporting speed and reached in to fish her out.

The writhing shadow in the corner of the room writhed a little more.

Ling Ying: 9 Suddenly kind of want to kill someone. What should I do?...

"Father?"

Xiao Yan, who had hurried back before nightfall, entered the room and saw water everywhere, along with a messy heap of towels, bowls, and basins scattered all over the place.

Green Dou Qi wrapped around Xiao Zhan, surging and stirring up a breeze.

The girl in his arms was sleeping peacefully, enjoying the service of the Xiao Zhan-brand human-powered blower.

"Little one, you're back?"

Xiao Zhan turned his head, his beard and hair disheveled, his eyes full of bloodstreaks, looking rather haggard. "Oh, no! From now on, she's the little one. You're going to be the older brother."

"She's my little sister?"

Xiao Yan rummaged around on the table, poured a bowl of water, and brought it to Xiao Zhan. "Do I have a new mother?"

"Pfft! Cough, cough..." Xiao Zhan nearly choked to death. "She calls me uncle!"

"Oh, so you gave all three of us brothers away?"

"Get the hell out!"

Just a tiny bit of setting clarification, since the original's whole "slipping into the room" thing was too abstract.

Here, it's set as Xun Er having taken over his room.

Which works out perfectly—since in the original, he didn't know, went in by accident, and just happened to find Xun Er being tormented by the fire energy...

Uh...

Forget it. Better not clarify after all. How the hell did that make it even more abstract...