Then Let Them Step Over My Corpse First

Qian Xunji looked at Qian San, whose Soul Power fluctuations had already crossed the threshold of level forty, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Pack up. Bring Xiao Qing. I'll take you somewhere good."

Qian San did not waste any words. He quickly brought over the utterly bewildered Xiao Qing. Without explaining anything, Qian Xunji enveloped the two children in his vast Soul Power and turned into an elusive golden meteor, shooting toward the depths of Falling Moon Forest.

Before long, the three of them landed steadily outside a valley shrouded in thick, blood-red poisonous clouds.

"Senior, you've arrived!"

Dugu Bo, who had been guarding the valley entrance, sensed that familiar holy aura and immediately dismissed his martial soul before stepping forward respectfully. When he saw Qian San and Xiao Qing behind Qian Xunji, his gaze lingered on Xiao Qing for an extra second. But recalling Qian Xunji's previous death threat, he promptly looked at his nose and then at his heart, pretending he had seen nothing.

Strange. Why can't I make out her true form? Dugu Bo muttered inwardly.

As the poisonous miasma parted, the Light and Dark Yin-Yang Eye at the center of the valley, its twin-colored spring water boiling, was revealed completely before the two children. Qian San's previously calm expression froze the instant he saw the dense spread of exotic flowers and strange herbs radiating the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The Purple Demon Eye in his gaze even began operating on its own from sheer shock, purple light flashing wildly.

But... why was this different from the records in the Tang Sect texts from his previous life? Why had it become black and white? Still, he did not dwell on it. This was a different world, after all. Some differences were perfectly normal.

"Enough. Stop looking like you've never seen the world before." Qian Xunji lightly smacked the back of Qian San's head.

"You know these flowers and plants better than I do. Go on. Pick the most suitable immortal herb for yourself and Xiao Qing from this Herb Garden. Remember, don't damage the roots."

Qian San trembled with excitement from head to toe. He nodded hard, grabbed Xiao Qing, and burrowed into the Herb Garden, already chattering away as he explained the wondrous properties of the immortal herbs to her.

After sending off the two youngsters, Qian Xunji turned to Dugu Bo, who was waiting respectfully nearby. With a flick of his wrist, a strange herb burning with golden flames floated before Dugu Bo.

"This is the Dragon Flame Spirit Vine. Give it to your granddaughter, Dugu Yan. It will not only completely eradicate the inherited fire poison in her body, but also allow her martial soul to undergo a qualitative leap. Protect her well over the next few days."

Dugu Bo was so moved that tears streamed down his aged face. Cradling the immortal herb in both hands, he bent his knees to kneel. "Thank you for your great kindness, Senior! This old man—"

"Enough with the empty formalities. I'm not even as old as you, yet you keep calling me Senior..." Qian Xunji waved a hand and interrupted him, his gaze turning toward the distant east.

"I'll be gone for around half a month, heading to the sea. I need to find him a fourth soul ring in the ocean."

Qian Xunji turned and called out to Qian San, who was still picking through the Herb Garden. "Tang San, I'm going to get you something good from the sea. You and Xiao Qing stay here, refine the immortal herbs in peace, and consolidate your cultivation until I return!"

"Got it, Dad! Be careful!" Qian San poked his head out from a pile of immortal herbs and shouted back.

Qian Xunji nodded. The phantom of the Eight-Winged Angel flashed behind him before vanishing, and he shot into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

When Qian Xunji, carrying a faint scent of the sea and dragging a half-dead gigantic whale, returned to the Light and Dark Yin-Yang Eye in Falling Moon Forest, the sight inside the valley made him pause.

On an open patch of ground not far away, two girls sat together, chatting and laughing. One was Xiao Qing, dressed in fitted blue-green clothing, while the other was Dugu Yan, with short fiery-red hair and an air of wildness and boldness about her.

What surprised Qian Xunji was not Dugu Yan's presence, but the fact that the two looked like inseparable best friends with nothing they could not talk about. Dugu Yan was holding Xiao Qing's hand and excitedly showing off her newly evolved martial soul—a Red-Scaled Flood Dragon covered in crimson scales and emanating draconic might!

Although Xiao Qing did not speak much, a soft smile had appeared on her usually expressionless, cool face. From time to time, she even nodded and offered a few words in agreement.

"Friendship between women really is an unsolved mystery..." Qian Xunji stroked his chin. Rather than reveal himself immediately, he concealed his aura and silently landed in the crown of a towering tree at the edge of the valley.

His gaze shifted, and he soon found Qian San on a high slope on the other side of the valley.

Qian San sat quietly at the edge of a cliff. Xiao Qing, who had just been talking with Dugu Yan, had somehow already walked over and naturally sat beside him. Their shoulders rested against each other, and the atmosphere was brimming with youthful warmth.

"These two kids..." Qian Xunji raised an eyebrow from the tree, forcing himself not to make a sound as he decided to see what they usually talked about.

Below, Xiao Qing looked toward the distant sunset, a trace of uncertainty about the future flashing through her eyes. As a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form, even with the Breath-Concealing Phantom Lotus shielding her now, the unease deep in her heart could never be completely erased. What if Qian San's father had been lying to her?

She suddenly turned toward Qian San, looked at his profile, and asked softly:

"Little San... if one day, many people wanted to kill me, and they were very, very strong—so strong that you couldn't resist them at all... what would you do?"

Hearing those words, Qian Xunji, sprawled on the tree, nearly fell headfirst out of it.

He covered his face, his toes already digging an awkward three-bedroom apartment into the soles of his shoes.

Is this right? Wasn't this the kind of question she was supposed to ask when they became sworn siblings? Qian Xunji ranted inwardly.

He stared at Qian San below and prayed frantically in his heart:

My good son, you're usually so calm and wise, with your head full of Tang Sect hidden weapons and Metal Storm. Don't you dare say that cheesy line. Your father really can't handle this kind of sugary assault...

However, the gears of fate had clearly not heard Qian Xunji's prayer.

At the cliff's edge, Qian San did not hesitate in the slightest. He slowly turned his head and looked directly into Xiao Qing's eyes, with not a hint of jest in his gaze. He spoke each word distinctly, his voice so firm that it seemed capable of cleaving through metal and stone:

"Big Sister Qing... then let them step over my corpse first."

"..."

Qian Xunji instantly broke out in dense goosebumps atop the tree. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to dig out a two-bedroom tomb with his toes and bury himself on the spot.

"That line... was far too lethal." Qian Xunji helplessly accepted reality. The truth had proven that eavesdropping was harmful to mental health.

But don't worry, Xiao Qing. As long as I'm here, you won't sacrifice yourself for Tang San... You won't!