Dawn was just breaking outside the gates of Xiao Mansion in Heaven Dou City.
A carriage stood quietly beside the stone lions.
Uncle Fu sat on the carriage shaft, holding the reins and smiling as he watched the family saying their goodbyes on the steps.
A month-long vacation had flown by in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Xiao's eyes were red. She clung tightly to her mother, Qing Wan, wrapping both arms around her waist and rubbing her head against the crook of her neck. Her voice was unmistakably choked with tears. "Mother, I'll miss you. I'll miss your osmanthus cakes even more."
Qing Wan patted her daughter's back, threading her fingers through her blue-green hair, her eyes full of affection.
Over the past month, to accompany Xiao Yan's torturous Bone-Forging Marrow-Cleansing Melody, Qing Wan had personally played the Nine Phoenix Flute, filling the air with its clear, ringing notes.
The energy tempered her bones and marrow, leaving Xiao Xiao so exhausted every day that she could barely crawl out of bed. It was a trial that brought her to the brink of bliss and agony.
But Xiao Xiao knew full well that it was all genuine love from her mother.
Besides, after every round of tempering, Qing Wan would bring her a steaming plate of osmanthus cakes. Their sweet, chewy texture was enough to soothe every ache.
Her tears came half from the sadness of parting and half from her craving for those treats.
On the other side of the steps, Xiao Yan and his father, Xiao Zhan, stood facing each other in an atmosphere that felt somewhat stiff.
Xiao Zhan cleared his throat twice, put on the dignified air of an old father, and gave Xiao Yan's shoulder two hearty pats. He then offered his earnest advice. "Yan'er, when you get back to the academy, study hard and keep improving every day!"
Xiao Yan's relatively calm expression instantly fell, and his forehead was covered in black lines.
Hearing those eight words come from a dignified Level 96 Super Douluo was simply too jarring.
"Father, if you have nothing to say, you don't have to say anything."
Caught out so bluntly by his son, Xiao Zhan's old face reddened.
He hastily tried a different tack, hoping to salvage his dignity as a father. "Ahem, I mean, get along with your classmates at the academy. Don't go beating them up at the drop of a hat. You're all there to study, so peace should come first."
The corner of Xiao Yan's eye twitched twice. He caught Xiao Zhan's hand before it could come down for another pat.
"You'd better stop. The more you say, the worse it gets." Xiao Yan took half a step back and steered the conversation back on track.
"Once we've left, you'll be taking Mother to hunt for her ninth Spirit Ring, right?"
During the month-long hellish training, Xiao Xiao had made rapid progress, and Qing Wan had also drawn on years of accumulated strength to cross the final threshold, breaking through to Level 90 in Soul Power.
With her current physical strength and the foundation she had built over years at the peak of Level 89, absorbing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring would be no problem at all.
Once she filled in this final piece of the puzzle, Qing Wan would become a true Titled Douluo, and the Xiao Clan would enjoy the glory of having two Douluo in one family.
"There are many Ferocious Beasts in the core region of Star Dou Forest. Be careful when you get there, and don't underestimate the danger." Xiao Yan looked at his father and gave him a solemn reminder.
Xiao Zhan put aside his joking manner and laughed heartily.
"Don't worry. Your mother and I know what we're doing. We'll be careful. We're only going to get a Spirit Ring. Nothing will go wrong."
It was getting late.
Xiao Yan pulled Xiao Xiao away from where she was still clinging to Qing Wan, and the two of them turned and climbed into the carriage.
Uncle Fu raised his whip and cupped his hands toward Xiao Zhan and Qing Wan on the steps. "Master, Madam, we're off!"
The crisp crack of the whip echoed through the morning streets.
The carriage wheels began to roll, carrying the siblings steadily toward Shrek City.
The scenery along the way slipped past them. After several days of travel, the outline of Shrek City finally appeared in the distance.
The midday sun beat down fiercely on the ground. Outside Shrek Academy's imposing eastern gate, returning new and returning students streamed in, and the area buzzed with noise.
The Xiao family's carriage came to a stop at the edge of the square.
Xiao Yan pushed open the door and hopped down from the carriage shaft first, then turned and helped Xiao Xiao down.
By coincidence, another ornate carriage bearing the emblem of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had stopped nearby at the same moment.
The carriage door opened, and Ning Tian and Wu Feng stepped down one after the other.
The four of them met one another's eyes and paused in surprise.
"Brother Yan! Xiao Xiao!"
Ning Tian's eyes lit up, and a radiant smile bloomed across her face. Lifting her skirt, she hurried over.
Wu Feng followed beside her, carrying two heavy bags. When she saw Xiao Yan, she slowed for a moment, but then continued forward.
"Sister Ning Tian! Wu Feng!"
Xiao Xiao cried out cheerfully and rushed toward them.
The three girls immediately embraced, chattering away as they shared stories from their vacations.
The joy of seeing one another again after a whole vacation apart washed away their travel-worn fatigue.
The girls looked each other over, noting how they had changed. Their cheerful laughter drew frequent glances from students returning to the academy.
After hugging Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian turned toward Xiao Yan, who stood nearby with a gentle expression.
Overcome by the excitement of their long-awaited reunion—and with a hint of a private impulse she herself had not even noticed—Ning Tian opened her arms and naturally gave Xiao Yan a hug.
Their bodies touched.
Xiao Yan had only meant to return the embrace politely and then let go, but he quickly sensed that something was wrong.
Ning Tian, resting against his chest, suddenly began breathing faster.
Through the thin fabric of their summer clothes, he could clearly feel the heart in her chest pounding at a frantic pace far beyond normal.
Ning Tian herself was bewildered.
The moment she hugged Xiao Yan, the clean, fresh scent of grass and trees slipped into her nose. It was the distinctive fragrance Xiao Yan carried from years of playing the qin and cultivating the Art of the Fuxi Emperor.
Her nose brushed his broad shoulder. She felt his calm, steady warmth, and a sensation she had never experienced before struck her in an instant.
It was a young and powerful flutter of the heart, spreading through her body with her blood. Her hands and feet stopped obeying her, her whole body went limp, and a blush swiftly crept across her cheeks.
Xiao Yan was remarkably perceptive.
The rapid heartbeat and sudden rise in body temperature were obvious signs that a young girl had just begun to fall in love, her heart racing wildly.
He was most afraid of getting entangled in these unbreakable ties of affection. A cultivator had no time to indulge a young girl's romantic feelings.
Without a moment's hesitation, Xiao Yan put his hands on Ning Tian's shoulders and, with a subtle push, eased her half a step away, neatly widening the distance between them.
"It looks like Ning Tian is a little tired." Xiao Yan kept his expression neutral and his voice warm and calm, smoothly offering an excuse.
"Long journeys are exhausting. We should head to the dorms and rest first."
Ning Tian's cheeks burned, the blush spreading all the way to her ears.
After he pushed her away, she lowered her head and twisted her hands together, unsure what to do with them. She didn't even have the courage to look Xiao Yan in the eye. She could only nod at random, her heart still pounding furiously in her chest.
Wu Feng, standing behind them with the luggage, was rather oblivious.
Hearing Xiao Yan and seeing Ning Tian's bowed head, silence, flushed cheeks, and listless appearance, she never suspected anything else. She simply assumed her young mistress really had been worn out by the journey.
After all, everyone knew that auxiliary Soul Masters tended to have weaker constitutions.
"Sister Tian, are you all right? Was the carriage too bumpy?" Wu Feng hurriedly dropped one of the bags and stepped forward, firmly supporting Ning Tian by the arm, her face full of concern.
"Lean on me. I'll help you back to the dorm so you can lie down!"
Watching Wu Feng's loyal, dutiful care for her mistress, Xiao Yan stood where he was and unconsciously rubbed his nose.
The whole scene looked strange no matter how he saw it.
Wu Feng seemed like a devoted husband, tending attentively to his frail wife.
And after that embrace of his, combined with Ning Tian's current reaction, he seemed like the secretive neighbor from some melodramatic tale—the other man.
The whole thing was a perfect picture of an impotent husband and his ill-fated wife.
Xiao Yan shook his head, casting those ridiculous ideas from his mind.
His conscience was clear. He was a man of excellent conduct and noble character.