Terrified

Xiao Tian looked at the petite young woman before him and thought that this must be Qing Lin.

The girl set the copper basin in her hands on the wooden stand beside her, placed the handkerchief into the basin to soak it, wrung it dry, then held it nervously as she stood to the side and said, "Young Master Xiao Tian, I-I was arranged by Leader Xiao Ding to help you wash up."

"I'll do it myself." Xiao Tian stood up, walked over to the girl, and asked gently, "What's your name?"

"Ah! I-I'm called Qing Lin." Qing Lin froze for a moment, then stammered out her name.

Xiao Tian took the wrung-dry handkerchief from Qing Lin's hand, briefly wiped his face with it, and was about to put it back into the copper basin.

"Young Master Xiao Tian, just give the handkerchief to me." Seeing that Xiao Tian had finished wiping his face, Qing Lin, who was standing to the side, reached out to take the handkerchief.

Xiao Tian lowered his head slightly and saw that, because Qing Lin had raised her hand, her sleeve had slipped down a little, revealing her wrist. On that wrist were a few greenish scales that looked like snake scales.

When Qing Lin saw Xiao Tian's gaze fall on her exposed wrist, her face turned deathly pale. She hurriedly backed away a few steps and crouched down.

"I-I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean to scare you." Qing Lin wrapped both arms around her delicate body, trembling nonstop as she spoke in a timid voice.

Xiao Tian walked over to Qing Lin. Sensing Xiao Tian approaching, her expression filled with terror, and she said with a sob in her voice, "I-I really didn't mean it. Please don't hit me, okay?"

Xiao Tian crouched down, gently stroked Qing Lin's head with his palm, and said with a warm smile, "Qing Lin, can you let me look at your scales?"

Qing Lin froze at his words, then slowly raised her head, revealing a tear-streaked little face that still held lingering fear. "Young Master Xiao Tian isn't scared?"

"Why would I be scared?" Xiao Tian carefully pulled back the sleeve on Qing Lin's arm, looking gently at the scales on her wrist. He reached out and touched them. "Such beautiful scales."

The fear on Qing Lin's face froze. Her heart went hazy for a moment. Ever since she had been born, everyone who saw the scales on her body had looked at her with disgust, as if they could not avoid her fast enough.

No one had ever said her scales were pretty. Xiao Tian was the first.

"They're pretty?" Qing Lin looked at her own scales, then raised her head again to look at Xiao Tian, whose face was gentle and showed not the slightest disgust as he stroked her scales. Qing Lin's small, wounded, battered heart seemed to have been illuminated by a beam of light, continuously healing the countless holes inside it. A strange feeling also rose faintly in her heart.

"They really are very pretty. And you don't need to care about other people's eyes. You live for yourself, not for others."

Hearing Xiao Tian's words, Qing Lin froze. She kept looking at Xiao Tian without speaking for a long, long time, an indescribable light appearing on her face as she stared at him in a daze.

Seeing the three extremely tiny green dots appear in Qing Lin's pupils, Xiao Tian glanced at them with slight interest. While Xiao Tian was observing them, the little green dots slowly faded and disappeared.

"Thank you, Young Master Xiao Tian." Qing Lin stood up, sniffled with her delicate nose, and murmured softly.

"Young Master Xiao Tian, during this period, I'll be your personal maid. If you need anything, you can tell me to do it for you."

"All right." Xiao Tian nodded lightly and stroked Qing Lin's head. "Then take me out for a stroll around here now. While we're at it, we'll look for the people who came with me."

"Okay. Young Master Xiao Tian, please wait a moment. I'll go pour out the water first."

Qing Lin carried the water basin from the stand, trotted out the door to the place where water was poured away, emptied it, and returned to the room.

Seeing that Qing Lin had come back, Xiao Tian walked out of the room with his hands clasped behind his back.

Qing Lin hurriedly followed, staying one step behind Xiao Tian as she carefully introduced the situation of the courtyard to him.

When they arrived at Xiao Yi Xian's Room in the neighboring courtyard, Xiao Tian was just about to knock when Xiao Yi Xian's door suddenly opened, and Xiao Yi Xian walked out. "Oh, why are you up so early? I was just about to go find you."

"If I waited for you to get up, the sun would already be shining on your backside."

Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian rolled her eyes at Xiao Tian. Seeing Qing Lin behind Xiao Tian, she asked, "Who is she?"

"Her name is Qing Lin. My eldest brother arranged for her to be my personal maid."

Xiao Tian also introduced Xiao Yi Xian to Qing Lin.

"Miss Xiao Yi Xian." Qing Lin gave a polite bow.

Looking at the petite Qing Lin before her, Xiao Yi Xian seemed to see her former lonely, helpless self in her. "You don't need to call me Miss. From now on, just call me Sister Xiao Yi Xian."

Qing Lin turned to look at Xiao Tian, asking for his opinion. Xiao Tian nodded with a smile.

"Sister Xiao Yi Xian." Sensing Xiao Yi Xian's kindness, Qing Lin was no longer so timid and called out happily.

"Does Hai Lao have any plans to take a stroll?" Xiao Tian sensed that Hai Lao was nearby and spoke toward one side of the wall.

"As it happens, I've got nothing to do, so I'll walk around with you. It's been a long time since I relaxed like this."

Hai Bo Dong crossed over the wall and came to Xiao Tian's side.

He gave Qing Lin and Hai Bo Dong a simple introduction to each other.

The four of them headed outside. As they walked along the road, they occasionally saw members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group passing by. When those people saw Xiao Tian's group, they greeted them kindly, but when they saw Qing Lin behind Xiao Tian, a faint trace of disgust would appear.

When they reached a place where there were not many people, Xiao Tian looked at Qing Lin beside him, whose mood was low and whose body was even trembling a little. "Do you still remember what I told you earlier?"

"I..."

Qing Lin nervously clenched her small hands.

"Raise your head and look straight ahead. With me here, there's no need for you to be afraid of anything."

Xiao Tian knew that she had been in this state for a long time. It would not be easy to change, and there were still shadows in her heart, so they had to take it step by step. First, he had to give her enough of a sense of safety.

Although Xiao Yi Xian, standing beside them, did not know why Qing Lin was like this, she cast Xiao Tian a questioning look. Xiao Tian quietly gave Xiao Yi Xian a rough explanation.

After understanding the general cause and effect, Xiao Yi Xian looked at the little girl before her with heartache.

"Qing Lin, since you called me sister, then you're my little sister. I'll protect you too, and I won't let anyone bully you."

Under Xiao Yi Xian's comforting, Qing Lin gradually calmed down. When she realized the two of them truly did not despise her, she became a little more cheerful.

After the four of them had wandered around for a while, they learned that Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had yet to wake up, so they left Desert Iron and headed toward the streets outside.

Near dusk, after Xiao Tian and the others had finished touring all of Stone Desert City, they returned to the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. During that time, because of Xiao Tian's Alchemist robe and Hai Bo Dong's cold, intimidating aura, no fool had come looking for trouble.

Xiao Tian returned to his room alone, while Qing Lin was taken away by Xiao Yi Xian. The reason was that the two of them wanted to whisper secrets to each other.

Inside the room, Xiao Tian was refining the Thunder Origin. The Gengjin Thunder within his body continued to increase, and by the time Xiao Tian finished refining the Thunder Origin, the Gengjin Thunder inside him had reached five strands.

Just as Xiao Tian was about to stretch his body, he sensed that the Dou Qi within him had reached a critical point and was about to break through.

Xiao Tian called out, and from outside, an old man with white hair and a youthful face, dressed in a dark robe, flashed inside.