The Misty Cloud Sect Breaks Off the Engagement? First, Let Xiao Yan and Me, the "Sleeping Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix," Fight for a Seat

But the little stool was far too low. An Yi, who stood over five-foot-seven, looked both ridiculous and oddly well-behaved folded onto it.

Xiao Xun'er took one look at him and burst out laughing. Her smile bloomed like a hundred flowers, leaving the Xiao Household's young men around her dizzy.

"Brother An Yi, come sit up here. This chair is big enough. We won't touch." Mischief flashed through Xun'er's eyes, clear as autumn water.

"No. Not even if you beat me to death." An Yi stared straight at the floor with a solemn expression. "I'm afraid someone will throw a sack over my head."

Xiao Xun'er was one of the greatest opportunities in the Xiao Household—no, on the entire Battle Qi Continent.

To tell the truth, An Yi had considered getting in ahead of Xiao Yan when they were children.

After all, the pavilion nearest the water caught the moonlight first.

Unfortunately, the gears of fate had turned in an absurd direction.

On a dark and windy night, An Yi had sneaked into Xiao Xun'er's courtyard, ready to put on his own little "nurturing her meridians" performance...

Only to run smack into Xiao Yan on top of the wall. The boy had been sneaking in too.

As the saying went, when two met on a narrow road, the brave one won!

Without a word, An Yi threw Xiao Yan over his shoulder, pinned him down, and gave him a merciless beating.

All the while, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Someone come quick! Catch the thief! A creep's climbing over little sister Xun'er's wall in the middle of the night!"

That shout roused the entire Xiao Household.

The result was easy to imagine.

From then on, several guards took round-the-clock shifts outside Xiao Xun'er's courtyard.

Xiao Yan could no longer get in. Naturally, neither could An Yi.

The incident made Xiao Yan the Xiao Household's laughingstock once and for all, and left the two of them with a grudge neither could let go.

As a father fiercely protective of his son, Xiao Zhan disliked An Yi, the instigator, even more.

Later, though, Xiao Yan's cultivation soared and he became Wutan City's foremost genius in a hundred years, while An Yi remained a wastrel advancing one stage every two years. They gradually ended up in different worlds and had little to do with each other.

As for Xiao Xun'er, An Yi's plan to climb her wall at night might have failed, but his exceedingly likable face served him well. Since he spent his days roaming outdoors, he often took little Xun'er into the hills to catch birds and fish.

That kicked another hornets' nest among the Xiao Household's youngsters.

The entire younger generation erupted in unprecedented "public outrage." They submitted a joint petition fiercely condemning An Yi for leading the family's precious jewel astray.

A few particularly stubborn ones even gathered a group and cornered An Yi in an alley, demanding a one-on-one fight.

In the end, the elders intervened and ordered An Yi confined for months. They called it urging him to cultivate diligently, out of respect for his late parents.

In truth, they had expressly forbidden him from spending time with Xiao Xun'er.

Seeing how much trouble courting a wealthy girl brought—and that he had even lost the time he used to spend outside the city pounding waterfalls to temper his body—An Yi reflected on the pain and decisively gave up that shortcut.

What if those jealous old fossils lost their heads and struck at him from the shadows?

Living off a wealthy girl sounded sweet, but staying alive mattered more!

Especially over the past two years, as Xiao Xun'er had grown older, her thoughts had become deeper and her mind sharper. Those autumn-water eyes seemed able to see straight through people.

An Yi had sensed that she was no longer easy to fool. If he kept forcing his way closer, he might well draw the fire onto himself.

So An Yi's attitude toward Xiao Xun'er was perfectly clear: keep his distance and admire her from afar.

While An Yi sat on his little stool with his mind wandering beyond the heavens, a commotion rose outside the hall. Then a somewhat thin boy in black, his back ramrod straight, walked slowly inside.

It was Xiao Yan.

The show was starting. An Yi quietly shifted into a more comfortable position on his stool, ready to watch.

Xiao Yan crossed the threshold and swept his gaze around the hall.

His father, Xiao Zhan, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the three elders who had always disliked him sat high above everyone else. The chairs on either side of the hall were packed with Xiao Household youngsters, without even one seat left for their former "young master."

A familiar, bitter sense of desolation and self-mockery had barely risen in his heart when—

"Well, if it isn't Flame Brother!"

A clear voice, half teasing and half lazy, drifted over from the corner. "We haven't seen each other in days. How did you get even more haggard?"

Xiao Yan stiffened. The sorrow he had been working up caught instantly in his throat.

He looked toward the voice and saw An Yi curled up on a palm-sized stool in the corner, smiling at him.

Beside him sat Xiao Xun'er, trying not to laugh.

As it happened, An Yi had been born a month before Xiao Yan.

By rights, Xiao Yan should have called him "Brother An Yi" every time they met.

Of course, Xiao Yan had the pride of a man who had lived two lives. He would sooner die than say it.

"So you do remember how to come back?" Xiao Yan's eye twitched as he snapped back.

"What's this?" An Yi raised an eyebrow, his voice brimming with pained regret. "Did you stand alone in the spotlight at yesterday's annual test because your big brother wasn't there to keep you company at the bottom? Ah, why didn't you say so earlier? If you had, I'd have come straight back to embarrass myself with you!"

Xiao Yan's face darkened at once. Through gritted teeth, he said, "...No need!"

Seeing Xiao Yan look ready to hit him but unable to do a thing, An Yi chuckled.

He brushed a hand over his Storage Ring, and light flashed.

Clack.

He took out another small wooden stool and set it firmly beside his own.

An Yi patted the little backless stool and beckoned with brotherly generosity. "Come on, Flame Brother. Stop standing there like a pillar. Come sit. Your big brother will keep you company."

The sight of that absurdly low stool sent Xiao Yan's mouth twitching wildly.

But since none of the snobs in the hall showed any intention of giving him a seat, he took a deep breath, strode over, and plopped down.

Unlike An Yi, who sat like a well-behaved kindergartener with his knees together and hands resting flat, Xiao Yan spread his legs and folded his arms. Even on a little stool, he somehow managed to look defiantly miserable.

The two of them huddled side by side on their stools in the corner. At the bizarre sight, Xiao Xun'er covered her mouth and laughed again.

The moment Xiao Yan sat down, An Yi leaned over and nudged him with an elbow.

"Hey, Flame Brother, tell your big brother the truth. How did it go yesterday? Still Three-Stage Dou Qi?"

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and gave a speechless "Mm."

"Ah..." An Yi heaved a long sigh, then patted Xiao Yan's shoulder with the grave tenderness of an old father. "Don't worry. Your big brother will be with you through it all."

"Oh, wait."

An Yi changed tack and shook his head with deep regret. "I can't keep you company anymore. To tell you the truth, your big brother has reached the Sixth-Stage Qi Disciple level! A quick calculation means that right now... I'm worth two of you!"

"..."

Xiao Yan's fists clenched at once. He took a deep breath and forced a few words through his teeth. "Can you shut up?"

Looking at An Yi's face, which practically begged for a punch, Xiao Yan felt a jumble of emotions.

In the Xiao Household these days, the two of them were widely known as the "Sleeping Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix"—a pair of good-for-nothings.

Xiao Yan had suffered a sudden setback. His cultivation had fallen and stalled at Three-Stage Dou Qi, making him a laughingstock everyone took a turn kicking. The mockery aimed at him was genuine.

An Yi, on the other hand, spent his days idling and running all over the place. Worse, he had a face girls seemed to love, provoking the outrage of his peers. Their scorn was jealousy laid bare.

In that sense, the two were brothers in misfortune.

Strictly speaking, An Yi had been scolded since childhood. On the "path of the good-for-nothing," he was even the great senior to Xiao Yan, who had only endured it for three years.

And the grudge between them went back a long, long way.