Xun'er

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Gu Xun'er; commonly called Xun'er (薰儿) 3 187
Alias(es)	Xiao Xun'er; Miss Gu 31 69
Gender	Female 10
Age	Barely past ten around her birthday 81
Affiliation	Gu Clan direct descendant; long-term resident of the Xiao Clan 65 187
Occupation/Role	Cultivator 31 131
Status	Alive; departing for Jia Nan Academy with Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning 188
First Appearance	Chapter 3, “A shadow followed” 3

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Ninth-stage Dou Qi	131	Records a high-ranked result at the Xiao Clan assessment, placing her one step below Dou Zhe. No earlier numerical cultivation rank is provided.

Background / History

Childhood and Gu Clan Background

Xun'er recalls being sickly as a child, with blocked meridians. According to her account, Xiao Yan secretly used his Dou Qi to nourish them at night. She cites this treatment as evidence that he has always cared for her more than anyone else 10.

A direct descendant of the Gu Clan, she lives with the Xiao Clan for many years under Ling Ying's covert protection. Xiao Zhan suspects that her placement concerns the Xiao Clan's Ancient Jade and its secret relating to Dou Di; this is presented as his deduction, not a confirmed explanation from Xun'er 65 85 187.

Supporting Xiao Yan

When Xiao Yan becomes preoccupied with Crazy Ghost, Xun'er grows jealous of the attention he gives this unexplained interest and secretly follows him into Wutan City. After witnessing Crazy Ghost's manure-bucket fighting technique, she asks whether the Gu Clan could recruit him. Ling Ying answers that such a decision belongs to the clan elders 3 5.

After Xiao Yan loses his Dou Qi, she brings him porridge and tries to comfort him, despite his cold dismissal. She later openly defends her right to visit him when Xiao Yi objects to their closeness. Ling Ying nevertheless removes her from the courtyard and repeatedly obstructs their meetings 6 10 11 31 33.

Xun'er continues supporting Xiao Yan through confinement and public humiliation. Almost every three days during his confinement, she slips away to deliver pastries, dried meat, and warming medicinal dishes over his courtyard wall, using kitten-like calls or pebble taps as signals. His punishment after the clan test leaves her distressed, but she remains convinced that he will regain his standing 37 64.

Birthday Gift and Black Sand Alliance Battle

For her birthday, Xiao Zhan gives Xun'er a Spirit-Calming Jade. Xiao Yan sends a handwritten, thread-bound storybook through Xiao Yi to avoid Ling Ying intercepting it. Xun'er initially treats the book casually in public, then retrieves it and reads it privately. Its military-stratagem stories strengthen her belief that Xiao Yan's intelligence alone could give him an extraordinary future, even without cultivation 82.

During the confrontation at the Magnetic Crystal Mine, she stays near Xiao Yan while Ling Ying silently eliminates bandits approaching her. When a Dou Shi attempts to ambush Xiao Yan, she draws her sword and intervenes. Her intended strike at the attacker's heart instead wounds his buttock, and he retaliates against her. Xiao Yan drives him away with Yao Lao's pale flame before Ling Ying separates the pair 109 111 113 116.

Assessment, Estrangement, and Departure

At a later clan assessment, Xun'er encourages Xiao Yan before recording ninth-stage Dou Qi herself. She remains calm despite the crowd's astonishment. After his coming-of-age ceremony, she offers him a cultivation scroll that she says surpasses the Xiao Clan's Dou Qi Pavilion techniques; he declines because he already has a suitable method 130 131 170.

Their relationship changes when Xiao Yan shares instant noodles and Kebi with her and enthusiastically reveals his previous life on Earth. Combining his account with unfamiliar words she has memorized from his arguments with Xiao Yi, Xun'er realizes that his accumulated age exceeds thirty. The thought of “Uncle Xiao Yan” creates emotional distance, and she begins avoiding him while remaining outwardly polite 179 180 181.

Before Xiao Yan leaves to gain experience, Xiao Zhan gives Xun'er the Ancient Jade as a purported token of affection. She accepts it. At their subsequent farewell, she offers only a gentle nod, her feelings unreadable, before leaving with Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning for the teleportation point en route to Jia Nan Academy 187 188.

Appearance

• Build and features: Petite in her early appearances, with fair skin and bright eyes repeatedly compared to clear autumn water 3 38.
• Hair: Long, dark hair described as cascading like a waterfall; later loosely tied with a purple silk ribbon 61 130.
• Clothing: Frequently wears pale-green dresses; also appears in an elegant pale-purple dress 38 61 130.
• Winter attire: A snowy-white fox-fur cloak worn over a pale-green dress 38.
• Voice: Clear, sweet, and gentle 3 61 130.

Personality

Xun'er is affectionate and stubbornly loyal to Xiao Yan during his decline. She refuses to let Xiao Yi dictate their meetings and quietly circumvents Ling Ying's restrictions to care for him. Her attachment also makes her jealous when Xiao Yan becomes absorbed in someone or something he will not explain to her 3 10 37.

She prefers peace to noisy celebrations and ostentatious gifts. Xiao Yan's plainly bound collection of strategic stories moves her more deeply than the other birthday presents, reinforcing her admiration for his mind rather than his cultivation rank 81 82.

Her compassion is evident when she gives silver to a disabled child begging in the snow. She is also capable of guarded, pragmatic conduct: after Ling Ying deals with figures approaching her residence, she thanks him and instructs him to leave no traces. Her later withdrawal from Xiao Yan shows that her earlier devotion does not prevent her from reassessing their relationship 38 99 180 181.

Abilities & Skills

Dou Qi Cultivation

• Reaches ninth-stage Dou Qi at the Xiao Clan assessment, earning a high-ranked result 131.
• Is regarded by Xiao Zhan as a Gu Clan descendant with peerless talent 65.
• Remains composed after demonstrating a cultivation level that astonishes the assembled clan 131.

Swordsmanship

• Carries a longsword and reacts immediately to a sneak attack against Xiao Yan 116.
• Moves quickly enough to wound the attacking Dou Shi before he turns on her 116.
• Lacks practical combat experience; her youth, short stature, and the opponent's movement cause her thrust to miss its intended vital point 116.

Observation and Memory

• Notices Xiao Yan's distraction and concealed worries even when he tries to dismiss them 3 38.
• Memorizes unfamiliar Earth-related words overheard in Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi's arguments 180.
• Connects those remembered terms to Xiao Yan's explanations of cars, computers, phones, and the internet, then calculates the implications of his previous-life age 180.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Longsword — Used against the Black Sand Alliance Dou Shi attempting to ambush Xiao Yan 116.
• Storage Ring — Holds the cultivation scroll she offers Xiao Yan 170.
• Cultivation scroll — An antique, dark-yellow scroll described by Xun'er as better than the techniques available in the Xiao Clan's Dou Qi Pavilion; Xiao Yan declines it 170.
• Spirit-Calming Jade — Birthday gift from Xiao Zhan 82.
• Handwritten strategy storybook — Xiao Yan's birthday gift, delivered by Xiao Yi and treasured privately 82.
• Ancient Jade — Given to her by Xiao Zhan before Xiao Yan's departure 187.
• Orchid-embroidered handkerchief — A white handkerchief she offers to use to clean Xiao Yan's muddy face 61.

Relationships

• Xiao Yan — Childhood companion and early romantic attachment. She supports him through his loss of cultivation, but becomes distant after learning about his previous life and accumulated age 10 37 82 180 181.
• Ling Ying / Elder Ling — Gu Clan-appointed protector. She trusts his protection, but resists his efforts to restrict her contact with Xiao Yan 3 11 37 69.
• Xiao Zhan — Respected elder whom she calls “Uncle Xiao Zhan.” He considers the political advantages of her marrying Xiao Yan and later entrusts her with the Ancient Jade 82 187.
• Xiao Yi / Crazy Ghost — Initially interests her as a possible Gu Clan recruit, but earns her irritation by criticizing her closeness to Xiao Yan. He later delivers Xiao Yan's birthday gift 5 10 61 82.
• Nalan Yanran — Xun'er confronts her and warns that she may regret her decision; Nalan insists she does not regret her choices 146.
• Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning — Traveling companions when she sets out for Jia Nan Academy 188.

Notable Quotes

“So what? I like being here with Brother Xiao Yan, and nobody gets a say!” 10

“Hmph! Of course Brother Xiao Yan's affairs matter most to me!” 10