Xiao Xun'er's Doubts

Yun Shenwei's words truly shocked Xiao Xun'er. She could not understand why people from the Yun Lan Sect, the Gama Empire's foremost Sacred Land, wanted to visit the Xiao Family.

Could news of a Tou She Ancient God Jade fragment have leaked? No, probably not. If they were looking for the Tou She Ancient God Jade, why would they send someone my age?

Xiao Xun'er remained expressionless on the surface, but her mind was filled with countless thoughts.

She came from the Ancient Clan, one of the Ancient Eight Clans, and was the daughter of Gu Yuan, the current Ancient Clan Patriarch. Had the clan not repeatedly instructed her to do so, why would someone of her status come live in a lowly city as barbaric as this?

At first, she had struggled to adapt after arriving. Fortunately, Dou Emperor Ling Ying accompanied her in secret, so she had barely managed to accept it.

Later, she became playmates with Xiao Yan, the third son of the Xiao Family Patriarch. That fellow often used helping her cultivate as an excuse to secretly slip into her bed at night...

At the thought of this, Xiao Xun'er's little face turned bright red.

Little pervert!

Touching people's bodies!

Shameless!

Hmph!

Xiao Xun'er thought of how Xiao Yan usually treated her rather well, and how she still had the mission concerning herself and the Tou She Ancient God Jade. Otherwise, for Xiao Yan's brazen behavior alone, Dou Emperor Ling Ying would have long since torn him to pieces!

The Xiao Family was merely a tiny clan. It had long ceased to be the Xiao Clan that once intimidated the Dou Qi Continent and stood at the head of the Ancient Eight Clans!

Still, Xiao Xun'er had grown attached to this place. After all, she had lived here for so many years. Although that lecher Xiao Yan was lustful, his talent was quite good. It was only a pity that, for some unknown reason, his realm had been steadily declining over the past few years.

Xiao Xun'er had considered asking the Ancient Clan to send someone to help. But upon further thought, she realized she could help Xiao Yan for a while, but not for a lifetime. There was nothing necessarily bad about being unable to cultivate; at the very least, he could live a safe life. Forcing oneself to cultivate was not necessarily a good thing. Over the tens of millions of years in the Dou Qi Continent, had too few people died because of cultivation?

"Esteemed guests of the Yun Lan Sect, I am a guard of the Xiao Family. My name is Pei En, and this is our young lady, Xiao Xun'er. May I ask what brings you here from so far away?"

A word from Knife-Bearing Guard Pei En broke Xiao Xun'er out of her wild thoughts.

"Of course, it is something extremely important. There are too many people here, so it would be inappropriate to speak openly. Let us first go to the Xiao Family and meet your patriarch before discussing it!"

Yun Shenwei swept his gaze around the area and knew this was not a place to talk, so he assumed an authoritative air and made his stance clear.

"Oh! My apologies, sir. I was presumptuous!"

Knife-Bearing Guard Pei En slapped himself hard on the head and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Mm. Young Master Shenwei, you are honored guests of the Yun Lan Sect. Not only have you come from afar, but you also helped us out of trouble. Xun'er is deeply grateful. Why don't we head to the Xiao Family now, so that my Uncle Xiao may fulfill his duties as host?"

Xiao Xun'er was extremely clever. She spoke with a faint smile, never lacking in courtesy, and her beautiful smile made everyone present feel as though they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"Mm."

Yun Shenwei nodded, then gave Ge Ye in the distance a slight signal. Only after receiving confirmation from the other's gaze did he take Nalan Yanran's hand and leave the area under the guidance of Knife-Bearing Guard Pei En, Xiao Xun'er, and the other Xiao Family members.

Not long after the group left, Jia Lie'ao, who had been pretending to be unconscious, hurriedly crawled to his feet. Not only him—even the Jia Lie'ao Family disciples who had come with him did the same. Without prior agreement, they all sprinted toward their family.

People from the Yun Lan Sect had arrived, and they were going to the Xiao Family!

This was huge!

If the Xiao Family and the Yun Lan Sect reached some sort of agreement, then given the conflict between the Jia Lie'ao Family and the Xiao Family, their entire family would likely be exterminated within a month!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Yun Lan Sect is the top sect in our Gama Empire! To think they would send their Chief Disciple here."

"Who knows? But that young man carries himself extraordinarily. He should be at the Dou Master level; otherwise, he could not have defeated the Jia Lie'ao Family disciples so easily. The young lady beside him is no ordinary person either. She is stunningly beautiful, and her realm is not low."

"Do you think that Chief Disciple called Yun Shenwei came down the mountain to gain experience? To experience the mortal world?"

"Stop dreaming, lovesick fool! He would never be interested in you. Didn't you see him exchanging affectionate looks with Xiao Xun'er of the Xiao Family?"

"If the Xiao Family latches onto the Yun Lan Sect, that will be incredible! The Jia Lie'ao Family will definitely be the first to suffer, hahaha... The other families will not fare much better either."

"Who cares? It has nothing to do with us spectators anyway... You bastard, why are you stealing my Magic Core? Bastard! Stop right there..."

"Awesome! Yahoo! Ji, you're too beautiful..."

The expressions of the passing spectators on the street were even more colorful. Some people even began spreading rumors that the Yun Lan Sect had sent people because it wanted to arrange a marriage alliance with the Xiao Family.

In short, every sort of claim was being made. People had even lost interest in their usual marketplace business, while some petty thieves took the opportunity to make their moves...

Wu Tan City, Xiao Family residence.

After returning to the Xiao Family, Xiao Xun'er immediately told them everything she had encountered and everything that had happened that day.

The entire Xiao Family erupted!

The name Yun Lan Sect was thunderous in their ears!

Patriarch Xiao Zhan and a group of family elders were thrilled, their eyes gleaming!

After meeting Yun Shenwei and the others, they immediately arranged the finest accommodations for them. Then, a group of elders gathered for an impromptu meeting and discussed matters without end.

"Shenwei Senior Brother, why didn't you explain everything directly? If we stay here, won't we waste a lot of time?"

Inside an opulent room in the Xiao Family residence, Nalan Yanran spoke with puffed cheeks, clearly upset.

"Ahem, it's fine. It is rare for us to come out on a trip like this. Staying at the Xiao Family for a few days is no big deal."

Yun Shenwei was rather embarrassed. Sitting beside the girl, he smiled placatingly and said, "We have only just arrived. If we bring up breaking off the engagement the moment we enter, what do you think the Xiao Family will think? If it were you, would you accept it? Besides..."

"Besides what? Shenwei Senior Brother, don't tell me you want to go see Xiao Yan?"

Nalan Yanran interrupted him, her beautiful eyes fixed tightly on Yun Shenwei's face.

"You actually guessed it. Hahaha... As expected of my little darling. You're amazing."

With his thoughts exposed, Yun Shenwei could only scratch the back of his head to ease his embarrassment.

"Hmph! What is this, Shenwei Senior Brother? How can you be like this? Yanran only has you in her heart, yet you are thinking of making friends with your rival in love. Do you not like Yanran anymore?"

Nalan Yanran immediately became unhappy. A mist rose in her eyes, and her voice took on a tearful tone.

"Be good. How could Shenwei Senior Brother hand you over to someone else? If that guy dares marry you, I'll break his dog legs!"

Yun Shenwei stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Nalan Yanran, softly comforting her. "The reason I want to meet him is that I have my own plans. After all, rumor has it that he was an exceptionally rare genius a few years ago, yet now his realm has vanished. That is very strange. Aren't you even a little curious why his realm only declines and never rises?"

"This? It truly is strange."

Hearing this, Nalan Yanran nodded. She was born into the prestigious Nalan Family of the Gama Empire, and her master was Yun Yun, the Yun Lan Sect's Sect Master. She had seen far more than others her age, yet even so, she still could not understand why such bizarre things existed in the world.

"Exactly. Shenwei Senior Brother wants to take this chance to figure it out and get to the bottom of it. If I help Xiao Yan solve his problem, wouldn't breaking off the engagement become a natural matter? Not only would they not be angry, they would instead be overwhelmed with gratitude."

Yun Shenwei smiled smugly and gently stroked the girl's hair. "Don't forget, I have an extraordinary master. Solving this little oddity will not be a problem."