The Eighth Dantian

"Thank goodness Uncle Xiao was sleeping like the dead today... you rotten scoundrel!"

On the rooftop, Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Qian leaned against each other, shoulder to shoulder.

Recalling that perilous, embarrassing moment in the room just now, Xiao Xun'er's little face flushed with anger, and she could not help grumbling indignantly.

She suddenly seized Xiao Qian's hand, poised to bite down hard.

Yet when her pearly teeth were only a hair's breadth from his skin, they stopped, as though blocked by an invisible force.

In the end, she could not bear to do it.

"Hmph."

She could only toss her little head in a huff and turn away.

Her lovely expression seemed to announce to Xiao Qian that what had just happened had seriously crossed her limits, going far beyond anything she could endure.

"Sorry. You're just too irresistible."

Xiao Qian had always spoken frankly, never hiding the feelings in his heart.

With Xiao Xun'er's back turned to him, her two delicate little ears reddened visibly, like a pair of ripe cherries, so fresh and adorable that he could hardly resist pinching them.

Xiao Qian struggled mightily to suppress the impulse, keeping himself from leaning over to kiss her.

This was killing him. How could this little enchantress be so captivating?

She simply stood there quietly, doing nothing, yet seemed to possess an invisible magic that could leave a person dizzy and turn their soul upside down!

At some point, the dark clouds overhead began to disperse, as though an invisible hand were slowly brushing them aside.

The crescent moon, which had been hiding behind the clouds, finally revealed its luminous face.

Moonlight spilled gently over the rooftop like water, draping it in a veil of silver gauze.

A cold wind swept past, bringing a faint chill as it brushed their hair and the hems of their clothes.

Just then, a pair of warm arms suddenly wound around her like nimble snakes. Xiao Xun'er froze briefly, and before she could recover from this unexpected tenderness, Xiao Qian had pulled her tightly into his embrace from behind.

His chest, so warm it was almost scorching, pressed firmly against her back, as though he wanted to draw her entire being into his body.

She could not help lowering her head slightly, her lips curving into a smile as sweetness filled her heart.

Whenever she felt a little cold, he always appeared beside her just in time, like a blazing flame, giving her endless warmth.

"Still cold?"

His voice sounded especially pleasing in the cold, tranquil night, like a mountain spring flowing over stones, as though it possessed a wondrous magic that could dispel the chill deep within a person's heart.

Xiao Xun'er did not know what had come over her. She only felt that, in such a beautiful moment, time itself seemed to have stopped.

How she wished this wonderful moment could last forever, like the stars eternally twinkling in the night sky.

"Not anymore."

She answered softly, her voice as gentle as the ripples raised by a breeze brushing across a lake.

Often, she felt as though her heart had been cleaved in two.

Sometimes, reason was like a stern general, occupying the high ground of her heart and keeping her calm and restrained, unmoved by emotion; at other times, feeling surged like a raging tide, irresistibly drowning her in its emotional whirlpool.

It was as though a bewitching voice kept whispering temptations in her ear: Lay down those heavy responsibilities! Forget the mission resting on your shoulders! Stop worrying about the clan. As long as he's happy, anything is fine!

"You must have slipped me some intoxicating potion..."

The girl's eyes were dreamy, her gaze unfocused as she looked up at the sky, as though she had sunk into a sweet, illusory dream from which she could not escape.

"The same goes for me."

Xiao Qian closed his eyes slightly and deeply inhaled the fragrance drifting from her hair. That delicate scent, like spring flowers, left him intoxicated.

At that moment, a thought actually flashed through his mind: Perhaps surrendering to this wouldn't be so bad. Even if she never lifted the suppression on him, he could still...

At that thought, he suddenly shook his head hard, as though struck by a thunderbolt, and clarity returned to his eyes.

Such was the power of emotion. Like spring rain, it silently nourished all things, yet imperceptibly changed their states of mind and thoughts.

"Once I finish my mission, will you... will you come back to the clan with me?"

Xiao Xun'er lowered her head, her slender fingers unconsciously rubbing the hem of her clothes as she spoke shyly.

"The elders won't let me stay outside forever. I won't tell anyone about our relationship. Once Father approves, we can... we can..."

The girl was too thin-skinned to say the rest aloud. She merely buried her head deeper against his chest, believing he would surely understand what she meant.

Yet Xiao Qian felt as though a bucket of bone-chilling water had been poured over his head, instantly waking him from that sweet atmosphere.

What did that make him? Was he to become her guard? Or a prisoner behind bars? Perhaps even... a pet for someone else's amusement?

Where would that leave his self-respect, his pride, and the goals he had always fought for?

He sank into a deep silence, his brows knitted tightly and his gaze growing complicated and unfathomable.

Xiao Xun'er waited for a while before finally realizing something.

She had always been exceptionally clever, and her mind quickly began working again.

"Ah..." She sighed softly, seemingly trying to break the awkward silence, then abruptly changed the subject. "Do you want to know what mission the clan gave me?"

The corner of Xiao Qian's mouth twitched. "Wasn't it to bring me under your control?"

Xiao Xun'er trembled all over, as though he had touched the most sensitive nerve in her heart.

She slowly lowered her eyes and said softly, "You really are clever. But that's what Father hoped I would accomplish, not the clan's mission. Besides, who can say which of us has brought the other under their control..."

"Oh? What is the Gu Clan's mission?" After a brief silence, Xiao Qian followed her lead and asked.

Xiao Xun'er remained silent for a long time, as though a fierce battle were raging within her. Only after another long while did she seem to make up her mind, uttering each word with the utmost solemnity: "Tou. She. Ancient. God. Jade!"

Xiao Qian's heart jolted, and the records in the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's ancient texts immediately surfaced in his mind. "Something left behind by Tou She Ancient God, the continent's last Dou Di a thousand years ago?"

Now that Xiao Xun'er had said it, she did not intend to hide anything else from him.

At that very moment, with a hum, Xiao Qian noticed an eighth golden chain appear on her body.

Just like before, the chain shot into his body like lightning, and then his eighth dantian opened.

Was this because she had been honest with him, or because her feelings for him had deepened again...?

There was not the slightest joy in Xiao Qian's heart. Instead, an indescribably complicated emotion filled it, tangling around his heart like a snarl of hemp.

"Legend has it that the Tou She Ancient God Jade holds the secret of how Tou She Ancient God became a Dou Di. It is truly the continent's supreme treasure!" Xiao Xun'er said slowly. "There are eight pieces in total, held by the Ancient Eight Clans, with one piece in each clan's possession."

"The Soul Clan, the Gu Clan, the Lei Clan, the Spirit Clan, the Yao Clan, the Yan Clan, the Stone Clan, and the Xiao Clan!"

"The other six clans still exist. You should have heard of them. Of the remaining two, the Spirit Clan specialized in summoning sacred spirits to refine puppets. They were once a very powerful clan, but they disappeared several hundred years ago. As for the Xiao Clan..."

A strange look flashed through Xiao Qian's eyes as he turned his gaze toward the seemingly unremarkable Xiao Clan grounds. "Could the Xiao Clan here actually be descended from the Xiao Clan that once stood first on the continent?"

Xiao Qian could not help twitching the corner of his mouth. "You've looked after them all the way into a third-rate little city on the border of the Jia Ma Empire, on the Northwest Continent? And the result of all that care is that the strongest person in their clan is only a Da Dou Shi?"

Xiao Xun'er touched a finger to the space between her brows and said softly, "An innocent man commits no crime, but carrying precious jade makes him guilty. After the Xiao Clan declined, if no one grew powerful, that would be fine. Better to let dust return to dust and earth to earth. The Gu Clan would naturally ensure their line continued normally. But if the Soul Clan noticed them..."

"Besides, Xiao Xuan is no longer around, after all," Xiao Qian added flatly.

Xiao Xun'er's words caught in her throat, and she had no answer.

"A piece of the Tou She Ancient God Jade is actually still in the Xiao Clan's hands?" Xiao Qian looked utterly incredulous. "After all these years, with the Xiao Clan reduced to this state, no one has ever stolen it?"

Xiao Xun'er straightened her chest, as though she had regained her confidence. "Because we've always sent people to look after them. Out of respect for the Gu Clan, the other ancient races won't make a move lightly either."

"That's truly a child carrying gold through a bustling marketplace..." Xiao Qian frowned in thought. "During these ten years you've spent in the Xiao Clan, you've been providing them protection on one hand. On the other, as their guardian, the Gu Clan also believes the Xiao Clan has lost the right to hold the Tou She Ancient God Jade, so you have another mission: to quietly take it away."

In the chilly night, Xiao Xun'er breathed out a faint wisp of white mist and nodded slightly. "It isn't that the clan thinks the Xiao Clan has lost that right. Father said the Gu Clan would only keep it on their behalf. Once the Xiao Clan rises again, the Gu Clan will return the Tou She Ancient God Jade."

"Hah! Such lofty, righteous words! The Xiao Clan doesn't even know the Tou She Ancient God Jade exists, so who would ever go to retrieve it? In the end, wouldn't the Gu Clan still have the final say? Gu Yuan is just that hypocritical!" Xiao Qian said disdainfully.

"You're prejudiced against Father!"

The girl protested angrily, unable to keep her little hand from tapping his chest.

"You've always been prejudiced against him..."

She suddenly lowered her head, her voice sinking as moisture welled in her eyes, as though she had suffered a terrible injustice.

Xiao Qian said nothing, merely lifting his head to gaze at the cold crescent moon.

How could he possibly forgive him? That man had dared to suppress him and force him to remain here!

That was a humiliation he could never erase from his heart, etched deep into his soul like a brand.