Xiao Qing's Heart

"Tang San had been precocious since childhood. He carried heavy thoughts and was far steadier than children his age." Qian Xunji withdrew his hand, looked at Xiao Qing, and spoke earnestly.

"But deep down, he has an extremely stubborn and extreme side. Whoever touches his bottom line will face his thunderous retaliation. He will show no mercy. Since childhood, other than me, he has had no one else to talk to."

Xiao Qing froze. She recalled the calm look in Qian San's eyes during their sparring sessions. Though Qian San usually seemed easygoing, the ruthlessness hidden in his bones truly did not seem like something a child should possess.

But as for calling him stubborn and extreme? Xiao Qing had not seen that yet.

"You are a good girl. I can tell. You and Tang San are alike—you both keep your thoughts buried in your hearts."

"So I hope you will not feel burdened. At the academy, if you can, keep an eye on him for me. Do not let that extreme temperament of his lead him down the wrong path. Consider it a small request from me as his father. Can you do that?"

A powerful expert was actually speaking to her in such an equal manner, even with a hint of pleading.

Thinking of that boy she had already accepted as her little brother, Xiao Qing's heart inexplicably skipped a beat. She lowered her head, a faint blush rising at the roots of her fair ears, and nodded almost imperceptibly. "Mm... I promise you."

"Thank you." Qian Xunji smiled, then changed the subject and asked softly,

"And what about you? Why did you not stay safely at the Lake of Life? Why risk being hunted at any moment and come to take human form and cultivate anew in this perilous human world?"

At the mention of this, Xiao Qing suddenly raised her head. Her eyes instantly filled with blood-red hatred. Her body trembled slightly, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug deep into her flesh.

"Because... of my mother." Xiao Qing's voice turned hoarse with grief and fury.

"The pope of Haotian Hall, Bibi Yin! She forcibly killed my mother and took her soul ring and Spirit Bone!"

Large tears finally broke through the disguise she had desperately maintained all this time and rolled down her cheeks.

"I swear! I will take human form and cultivate anew. I will kill Bibi Yin with my own hands!"

Watching the girl before him sob uncontrollably while still wearing such a stubborn expression, Qian Xunji sighed inwardly. In this upside-down world, everyone seemed to bear a blood-deep vendetta of their own.

He stepped forward and gently wiped the tears from Xiao Qing's face with his sleeve.

"Stop crying. The day you avenge yourself may yet come."

"Because my beloved, A-Dong... she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Spider Emperor. Haotian Hall forced her to death as well. To save me, she had no choice but to sacrifice herself."

Sacrifice!

Xiao Qing abruptly stopped crying and stared fixedly at Qian Xunji. As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she understood better than anyone the weight carried by those two words.

What was even harder for her to imagine was that this man's beloved had actually been a Soul Beast? Then... Qian San was a human-Soul Beast hybrid...

Was that... really alright?

Qian Xunji patted Xiao Qing's shoulder, pulling her back from her sorrow.

Before Xiao Qing could recover from the tremendous shock, Qian Xunji flipped his wrist. A jade box appeared out of thin air and slowly floated before her.

"Though you have concealed your aura well, before a Titled Douluo—or certain special eye techniques—you still cannot hide." Qian Xunji pointed to the dark purple flower inside the jade box.

"This flower is called the Hidden Orchid. Wear it close to your body or incorporate it into your hair ornament. It can perfectly conceal the source aura that belongs to a Soul Beast, enough to help you evade the detection of most Titled Douluo in this world."

Xiao Qing looked at the floating jade box before her with a complicated expression. She could sense the lingering aura of a high-level Soul Beast on that flower. It belonged to another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast like herself.

She hesitated for a full ten seconds. Finally, she slowly reached out with both hands and accepted the jade box, clutching it tightly to her chest. She raised her head, looked at Qian Xunji's masked face, and gave him a deep bow.

"Thank you for saving my life, Senior."

"Alright, enough of these heavy topics. Since Qian San has acknowledged you as his older sister, we are family now. If you run into any trouble, remember to tell me. It is late. You should go back and rest."

As he spoke, a golden feather identical to the one he had given Qian San gently drifted into Xiao Qing's palm.

"Keep this. If you encounter any trouble in the human world that you cannot resolve, or if someone intends to harm you, inject Soul Power into it." Qian Xunji gave her a deep look.

"Since I have entrusted Tang San to you, I will naturally keep you safe as well. I promise you, I do not covet your soul ring or Spirit Bone. Tang San does not know your identity yet either, so do not feel pressured..."

Xiao Qing stared blankly at the golden feather in her palm, which gave off a gentle glow. An unprecedented warmth flowed through her entire body. Since her mother's death, no one had ever said words like "keep you safe" to her again.

Before Xiao Qing could say thank you, Qian Xunji's figure had already slowly dissipated where he stood, turning into specks of golden light and vanishing completely into the night sky.

Xiao Qing clenched the feather in her hand and carefully tucked it away close to her body.

She turned and looked at the path leading to the dormitory building, but then stopped.

She could not go back now. Qian San was far too sharp. If she returned right after him, he would definitely realize that she had followed him. By then, not only would she be unable to explain herself, but the trust between them might even be completely destroyed.

Xiao Qing sighed, walked to a huge bluish stone at the edge of the forest, lightly leaped onto it, and sat down cross-legged.

The night breeze brushed across her face. She raised her head and gazed at the bright full moon in the sky, while every moment she had spent with Qian San over the years replayed endlessly in her mind.

At first, it had only been mutual admiration of strength. He was clearly such a weak Blue Silver Spider, yet she could never defeat him. Later, she discovered that he seemed very lonely, and they gradually began attending class and eating together, becoming inseparable. Until that time she went to his home, when the two of them somehow ended up acknowledging each other as siblings...

Qian San's sharp hidden weapon techniques, along with that mysterious masked father of his, left her feeling terribly confused. Yet when she looked at the Hidden Orchid and that sacred feather in her hands, she inexplicably felt at ease again.

Without realizing it, a crack had quietly been torn open in the heart of Xiao Qing, who had originally intended only to watch the human world with cold eyes and avenge her mother.

She sat quietly atop the stone, thinking about revenge, thinking about promises, thinking about the future, until the eastern sky turned pale with dawn. She had sat alone on the back mountain for the entire night.