Unexpected Reunion

This aura was extremely faint. If Xiao Yan's soul power had not already entered the initial Heavenly State, granting him exceptionally detailed perception of everything around him, he might have missed it entirely.

The source of that aura was one of the women captured by the Three Scorpion Demons!

Xiao Yan flickered and immediately appeared before her.

The woman looked to be just over twenty. Though trapped in such peril, her face haggard and her clothes somewhat disheveled from captivity, with strength only around that of a Dou Ling, her eyes were entirely different from those of the other rescued victims.

Though her eyes held the joyous light of being granted a new life, there was neither hysterical ecstasy nor the limp weakness of exhaustion. Instead, they revealed a resilience she was striving to maintain.

When Xiao Yan appeared before her like a ghost, a trace of surprise flashed through her wary eyes. Once she saw that he was Xiao Yan, the one who had rescued them, that wariness turned into gratitude.

The woman was briefly startled, then quickly came to her senses. She dipped slightly and bowed to Xiao Yan with respect but without servility. "Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life!"

The woman's composure added a hint of scrutiny to Xiao Yan's gaze. The moment their eyes met, the strange sense of familiarity in his heart was confirmed!

A remarkably faint aura was lingering about this woman—yet it belonged to his eldest brother, Xiao Ding. It was a peculiar aura, not a direct imprint of Dou Qi, but more like a unique scent left upon clothing or skin after people had spent day and night together. Only the perception of a Heavenly State Soul could possibly detect such a thing.

However, Xiao Yan had been separated from