Farewell

Prologue

One year after the Battle of the Twin Emperors, in Wu Tan City of the Jia Ma Empire on the Battle Qi Continent.

To the people of the Jia Ma Empire, Wu Tan City was nothing short of sacred ground. It was the headquarters of the Xiao Clan, and the clan had none other than the Flame Emperor, Xiao Yan, watching over it.

A manor stood in the center of Wu Tan City, powerful auras faintly radiating from within.

A young man lay on a patch of grass in the manor, a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. With his hands pillowed behind his head, he leisurely basked in the sunlight.

Beside him, a girl in pale blue-green robes deftly peeled a piece of fruit with her slender, jade-like hands, then gently slipped it into his mouth. Just as she was about to rise, an arm wrapped around her slender waist. With a startled cry, she was pulled into his embrace, and he planted a firm kiss on her cheek, making her blush scarlet.

The young woman struggled feebly for a moment, then stopped resisting and let him hold her.

"Xun'er, there's something I need to discuss with you." Still holding her, the young man buried his face in her hair. Its faint fragrance left him a little intoxicated. This was the woman he would protect for the rest of his life.

"What is it, Brother Xiao Yan? You seem a little strange today!" Xun'er asked softly.

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk about whether we should have a child!" That one sentence from Xiao Yan made Xun'er blush shyly.

"Don't we already have Xiao Xiao?" Xun'er paused. How could she not long to experience motherhood herself? Yet she still thought of Xiao Xiao, that adorable little girl.

"That girl stays with Teacher all the time. I reckon she's almost forgotten her own father." Though Xiao Yan appeared displeased with Xiao Xiao, anyone could hear the affection in his voice.

Xiao Xiao was now an eight-star Dou Sheng, a rank higher than even Xun'er and Cai Lin, and could stride unchallenged across the entire Battle Qi Continent. But her formidable strength came from the power of her Dou Di Bloodline, which had both advantages and drawbacks. After the Battle of the Twin Emperors, Xiao Yan had brought his loved ones back to Wu Tan City, but Yao Lao, who demanded perfection in one's foundation, had insisted that Xiao Xiao remain at the Starfall Pavilion so he could personally guide her in stabilizing hers. Reluctant though Xiao Yan was, he had agreed to the request of this teacher whose kindness weighed as heavily as a mountain. He knew Yao Lao loved Xiao Xiao no less than he did, and with his strength, seeing her would take no more than the blink of an eye.

"Hehe, how come I don't see anything fatherly about you?" Xun'er looked at Xiao Yan and giggled.

Xiao Yan naturally understood what she meant: she was teasing him for failing to fulfill his duties as a father. Cai Lin had raised Xiao Xiao from birth. After he brought mother and daughter to the Starfall Pavilion, he had busied himself with cultivation, leaving Xiao Xiao with Yao Lao. Later, Cai Lin had entered seclusion while he was trapped in the Demonic Flame Space, and Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin had looked after Xiao Xiao. In truth, he really was an inadequate father.

After a long silence, Xiao Yan spoke to Xun'er again. "All right, let's leave that aside. Xun'er, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you all for a little while." His eyes were filled with reluctance. Xun'er's delicate hands trembled slightly; she did not understand what he meant. Only after a long while did she seem to grasp something. With a soft sigh, she said, "If you still can't let them go, Brother Xiao Yan, then bring them to the Xiao Clan. Sister Cai Lin and I will accept them." There was a helplessness in her voice as she spoke. She did not know how much of what she had said was sincere and how much was not.

Xiao Yan froze briefly at her words, then flicked her forehead lightly. "Silly girl, what are you thinking? Is your Brother Xiao Yan nothing but a lecher in your eyes?"

"Ah, I... I..." Xun'er's face burned, and for a moment she had no idea how to answer. Finally, she said petulantly, "Isn't Brother Xiao Yan a lecher?"

Xiao Yan was not annoyed. He merely tightened his arms around Xun'er, as though he wanted to draw her into his very body.

"Having you and Cai Lin in this life is the greatest blessing heaven has given me. With you both, I'm content. I admit I'm a lecher, but only for you and Cai Lin," Xiao Yan told her.

To clear up her misunderstanding, he continued, "What I mean is that I'm afraid I'll be leaving the Battle Qi Continent. All the Dou Emperors on this continent eventually vanished. It's an unsolved mystery. Wiping out an entire group of Dou Emperors would be impossible, so I suspect they left the Battle Qi Continent. And I have a feeling that something will change here in the next few days. When that happens, I'll probably have to leave." As he spoke, his arms held Xun'er tightly, filled with reluctance to part.

After hearing his explanation, Xun'er blushed faintly, both ashamed of misunderstanding him and reluctant to let him go. She wrapped her arms around him in return, and the two lay embracing on the grass, their love witnessed by the sun and moon.

"Xun'er, in this life, you are the person I love most. There is no other. Wherever and whenever it may be, my love for you will never change. I'll only say this once. From now on, I'll keep these words in my heart and engrave them in my mind. Nothing will ever erase them," Xiao Yan told her.

Xun'er said nothing and only held him. She feared this was his way of entrusting those he would leave behind to her. Xiao Yan would venture alone into an unknown world, and no one knew what might happen to him. She did not want to say that she was afraid of losing him. She would support her man's decisions, even if they were wrong.

Late night came, and the lights in the Xiao Clan began to go out one by one. Yet one room remained lit.

A table was piled high with scrolls, letters, and similar things, and someone sat before it.

She was a woman of utterly bewitching beauty, dressed in an elegant purple brocade robe. Beneath it, her voluptuous figure was like a ripe honey peach, exuding a subtle allure. Her long black hair fell loosely from her fragrant shoulders to her slender waist, and her uncanny eyes could steal souls. She seemed a little tired now, propping her forehead on one delicate hand as she leafed through various documents. Her graceful curves stirred the imagination. Who else could she be but the former Queen Medusa, now Cai Lin?

Just then, a young man in black robes appeared behind her. His arrival was utterly soundless; even with her strength as a five-star Dou Sheng, she had not noticed him. He took off his black robe and draped it over her shoulders, saying softly, "If you're tired, get some rest early. Don't push yourself so hard."

Cai Lin was startled by the sudden voice, then relaxed. Without turning her head, she said, "Hmph, you have the nerve to say that? You're certainly doing a fine job as a hands-off boss, dumping all the work on me while you run off on dates with Xun'er." She made no effort to hide her complaints. Bold in love and hatred alike-that was Cai Lin's nature.

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose awkwardly, at a loss for words. Everything Cai Lin had said was true.

The Xiao Clan was no longer the weak little family it had once been, without even a single Dou Ling. Its affairs were now as numerous as the hairs on an ox, not to mention the Flame Alliance's pile of business. Someone had to handle it all. But Xiao Yan, both clan head and alliance leader, had run off, so naturally everything fell to Cai Lin. Fortunately, Yao Lao oversaw the Heavenly Mansion Alliance; otherwise, capable as Cai Lin was, she would never have been able to manage it all.

Helpless, Xiao Yan could only wrap his arms around her slender waist from behind and whisper, "I'm sorry. Thank you for all your hard work." Those few words held his boundless love for her. He had never been good at coaxing girls with flowery words, but that was also one of his strengths: his brief words carried endless sincerity.

Even the stubborn Cai Lin could not help being moved. Though Xiao Yan had said the same thing countless times, she never tired of hearing it. She liked having him owe her. Just as in the beginning, when she had been a queen high above him and Xiao Yan merely a Da Dou Shi, she had helped him, and he, in turn, had helped her. Their relationship had unfolded like a drama. Once, she had ground her teeth and wanted to tear him into ten thousand pieces, but Xiao Xiao's arrival had changed her mind.

Chapter 1: Farewell

And so she had become his wife, and he her husband. Though she had initially married him for Xiao Xiao's sake, she later discovered that she truly could not refuse him. Even knowing that he deliberately handed her mountains of work while he went off to whisper sweet nothings with someone else, she merely got angry for a moment, then let it go and diligently finished the work in her hands. For that girl was her sister, and also the one he loved most.

Cai Lin buried her face in Xiao Yan's chest, her red lips parting slightly. "Tell me. What do you need from me this time?"

"Huh? What do you mean? Can't I come talk to you without needing something?" Xiao Yan tried hard to maintain a serious expression as he spoke.

"Hmph, whenever you want to exchange sweet words or secrets, you go to Xun'er. You only come to me when you need something." Strong dissatisfaction filled Cai Lin's voice.

Xiao Yan was helpless. How could he possibly match Her Majesty the Queen in a battle of words?

"If I owe you a little more, you'll remember to come collect your debts. You're so beautiful-what would I do if you decided you didn't want me anymore?" Holding Cai Lin, Xiao Yan argued his case.

Cai Lin blushed faintly, a trace of sweetness rising in her heart. Xiao Yan still cared about her.

"All right, since I already owe you so much, can I owe you one more thing?" Xiao Yan's embrace seemed to keep tightening. Holding someone so beautiful and enchanting would not tire him even after an entire day.

"Tell me what it is first." Cai Lin also felt his arms tightening, but paid it little mind, merely thinking that he was being a little greedy.

"Lately, I've had a feeling that I may have to leave the Battle Qi Continent, so..." Xiao Yan had grown wiser this time and did not say he was leaving them. With Cai Lin's temperament, if she misunderstood him, the entire Xiao Clan would get no sleep tonight. But before he could finish, she cut him off.

Cai Lin broke free of his embrace and stood, her face covered in frost as she stared coldly at him. At that moment, she seemed to have become the lofty, coldly beautiful Queen Medusa of old once more.

"You're leaving again? How long have we even been together? I don't mind you spending every day with Xun'er. At least I know you're safe. Wasn't the whole point of becoming a Dou Emperor to be with your family? Do you know that in the Chu Yun Empire, you left me with nothing but the sight of your retreating back, and I waited for more than ten years? Yet now you're telling me you're leaving again. No. I absolutely refuse. I will never let Xiao Xiao and myself suffer through that worry and waiting for you again. There is nothing to discuss." Her tone was as decisive as a blade striking iron, her regal bearing especially overwhelming. Yet beneath that firmness lay a deep sense of hurt, making Xiao Yan desperately want to pull her into his arms and reassure her, "All right, I won't leave. I'll stay with you all for the rest of my life." But this was not something he could change. Every Dou Emperor on the Battle Qi Continent had vanished. Perhaps it was a law of heaven and earth, something he could not alter even with ten thousand reasons to refuse.

Xiao Yan stood and walked over to Cai Lin, drawing her into his arms again as he comforted her. "Cai Lin, sometimes I'm truly thankful that we forged an inseparable bond in that underground world. You are the wife heaven bestowed upon me. I can never repay your kindness in this lifetime, but for this, all I can do is apologize. A Dou Emperor cannot remain on the Battle Qi Continent forever. I have to leave."

Cai Lin's eyes reddened. She understood now that this was Xiao Yan's farewell, and there was no way to change it.

"Come to the Starfall Pavilion with me tomorrow. Put everything here on hold for a while."

"All right."

The room fell silent, leaving only two people locked in a tight embrace.

The next day, in the main hall of the Starfall Pavilion in the Central Plains.

"Daddy, Mommy, Mommy Xun'er, what brings you here?" A girl in a red dress threw herself into Xiao Yan's arms. She had a peerlessly beautiful face capable of enchanting countless people, and despite her young age, her figure was already developing remarkably well. Once grown, she would naturally be a beauty who could bring disaster in her wake.

Seeing her, Xiao Yan smiled and picked up the little girl, who was only five. He pinched her cheek and said with a laugh, "Little girl, have you been working too hard every day? You've gotten thinner."

Xiao Xiao blinked and said, "Daddy, I'm growing up. Of course I need to be a little slimmer to look prettier."

Just then, an old man seated at the head of the hall spoke. "You little brat, are you calling me abusive to Xiao Xiao in a roundabout way?" Though his words sounded reproachful, everyone could hear the excitement in his voice.

Xiao Yan looked up at the old man, his own eyes reddening slightly. The fledgling eagle of those days had now spread his wings and soared high, while the old man had grown aged.

Carrying Xiao Xiao, Xiao Yan approached Yao Lao and knelt straight down, then had Xiao Xiao kneel with him. Xun'er and Cai Lin also knelt of their own accord before Yao Lao, one on either side.

Yao Lao hurriedly rose to help Xiao Yan up, but Xiao Yan said, "Teacher, your kindness to your disciple weighs as heavily as a mountain. I can never repay it in my lifetime. Now I must leave the Battle Qi Continent, and I won't be able to stay by your side and fulfill my filial duties. I can only bow to express my gratitude."

Yao Lao seemed to understand something. He did not stop them, allowing all four to kowtow three times before stepping forward to help them up.

"Little fellow, the world outside won't be like the Battle Qi Continent. Learn patience in all things, and don't act on impulse," Yao Lao told Xiao Yan as he held Xiao Xiao's hand.

"Yes. I know my limits." They stayed together and talked for a good while longer.

On Twin Emperor Mountain in the Central Plains.

A cylindrical pillar of light had appeared here, and nearly all the powerful experts of the Battle Qi Continent had gathered beside it. The man at the very front, dressed in black robes, was Xiao Yan. Behind him stood Gu Yuan, Zhu Kun, and the other powerful experts.

"Brother Xiao Yan, is this the passage out of the Battle Qi Continent?" asked a woman in blue-green robes beside him.

"It should be." Xiao Yan gazed at the pillar of light, equally curious.

Just then, a great quantity of qi poured out of the pillar.

"Emperor-Origin Qi! It's actually Emperor-Origin Qi!" Gu Yuan and the other experts exclaimed in shock.

Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised as well. He began collecting the Emperor-Origin Qi, and seeing this, the other experts did the same.

Before long, they had divided up all the Emperor-Origin Qi that had emerged. Xiao Yan handed what he had collected to Xun'er and said softly, "With Emperor-Origin Qi, you can also break through to Dou Emperor. By the way, where's Cai Lin?" He glanced around but saw no sign of her.

"Sister Cai Lin said she didn't want to see your retreating back again, so she didn't come," Xun'er explained.

Xiao Yan gave a helpless, bitter smile, then hugged Xun'er. "Take care." Afterward, he cupped his hands toward the gathered experts and prepared to enter the pillar of light.

Just then, a voice that sent a tingling sensation through the listener rang out. "Wait." An enchanting woman appeared behind Xiao Yan. It was Cai Lin.

Hearing Cai Lin's voice, Xiao Yan hastily stopped and turned to look at her.

Cai Lin walked up to him and embraced him of her own accord. "We've been married so long, but this seems to be the first time I've taken the initiative to hug you."

Xiao Yan said nothing, merely wrapping his arms around her in return.

Cai Lin brought her red lips to his ear. "This queen came to tell you a few things. First, if you dare find another woman out there, I'll cripple you with my own hands. Second, your life belongs to me. Don't lose it, or even if you're dead, I'll skin you and tear out your tendons. Third, if one day I come to collect your debts, I'll kill you myself, and then..."

"Then what?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

"Are you leaving or not? I'll tell you the next time I see you," Cai Lin snapped.

Helpless, Xiao Yan rushed into the pillar of light with Cai Lin's three warnings.

"Farewell, Alliance Leader!"

"Farewell, Flame Emperor!"

What exactly lay in that unknown world, and what would the Flame Emperor, Xiao Yan, experience there?