"What are you doing here?"
The next day, Xiao Xun'er still had not stepped out of her room.
Xiao Qian had planned to go out and find some fresh magical beast meat so he could cultivate his final Dantian to ninth stage Dou Qi as soon as possible. But just as he was about to leave, he encountered Nalan Yanran.
Nalan Yanran had fully recovered today. There was no trace of bruising left on her fair, delicate face. Standing at the courtyard entrance, she held a longsword and stood straight as a pine, her expression composed. She seemed utterly unconcerned by the Xiao Clan disciples watching and pointing at her, like a flower on a lofty peak, standing apart from the world.
"What are you staring at!"
Yet the girl who had been so composed suddenly became a powder keg set alight simply because Xiao Qian studied her face a little longer. Her composure shattered in an instant, and a flicker of embarrassment and anger flashed through her eyes.
"The Misty Cloud Sect's healing pills work pretty well," Xiao Qian said casually, his arms folded across his chest.
No sooner had he spoken than several poorly stifled laughs came from nearby.
Those laughs pierced Nalan Yanran's heart like needles, making her face flush even redder.
"I want to challenge you again!" Nalan Yanran lashed out in humiliation and anger, raising her sheathed sword to point at Xiao Qian as she shouted.
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them a little. She had clearly come to ask what Xiao Qian intended to do about joining the Misty Cloud Sect, so why had that impulsive declaration slipped out instead?
"What has you so eager to throw your life away?" Xiao Qian frowned. He was already in a bad mood today and really had no patience to humor her.
Fury blazed inside Nalan Yanran. Without another word, she drew her sword. "Fight me!"
The blade gleaming with cold light seemed to speak of her anger.
"I don't fight pointless battles." Xiao Qian shook his head, his expression indifferent.
"What do you want?" Nalan Yanran pointed at her Storage Ring and declared grandly, "Pills? Cultivation methods? Dou Techniques? I've got everything!"
"If I took your cultivation methods or Dou Techniques, I'd probably have no choice but to join the Misty Cloud Sect, would I? I take back my earlier assessment. You do have some brains, though not much."
Before Nalan Yanran could flare up again, Xiao Qian continued unhurriedly, "You can challenge me. Do you have any magical beast skeletons? That's what I need."
"What do you want those for? Who carries magical beast skeletons around for no reason?" Nalan Yanran frowned deeply, looking utterly baffled. "How about pills? One third-grade pill per fight."
"Th-third-grade pills?!" The youngsters watching were stunned.
Those were treasures that money alone could not buy. Ordinary people could never offer them for trade. A few only appeared at the occasional auction, and their prices were outrageously high.
For a moment, envious gazes converged on Xiao Qian. In their eyes, given his strength, this was practically handing him treasures for free.
"I don't need pills." To their surprise, Xiao Qian showed no interest in the coveted pills.
He possessed a formidable physique and astonishing regenerative abilities. Moreover, his cultivation method was unusual, leaving him immune to most pills unless they were high-grade pills of the sixth grade or above.
"How about this? For each challenge, you owe me one fourth-order magical beast skeleton. Any species will do. Deal?" he proposed.
A huge throbbing vein bulged on Nalan Yanran's forehead as she roared furiously, "Do you think fourth-order magical beasts are cabbages?! Those are magical beasts equivalent to Dou Ling!"
"Fine, fine. A fixed price, then: three fourth-order magical beasts, and I'll fight you to your heart's content." Xiao Qian conceded a step, his expression still calm.
Nalan Yanran drew a deep breath, repeatedly telling herself inwardly, Calm down, calm down. I'm the future young sect master. I need to learn to control my emotions.
Yet no matter what she did, she could not suppress the fury in her heart.
"You bastard! I'll beat you! I will! And when I do, I'll pay you back for every humiliation you've put me through!"
The girl's roar shook everyone present like thunder. This time, her composure had shattered completely.
Bang, bang, bang.
Smack, smack, smack.
Thud, thud, thud.
Half a quarter-hour later, the ground was a mess. Nalan Yanran lay amid it, her face bruised and swollen. Her once-pretty face had become a pitiful sight, with none of its former beauty remaining.
"That Xiao Qian... tsk, he really doesn't pull his punches."
"This is the second time. She's the Misty Cloud Sect Master's successor, and he won't give her even a little face."
"Don't you know he's close to Xiao Yan? It's only natural that he'd take some revenge."
The onlookers buzzed with discussion.
Xiao Qian, however, acted as though nothing had happened. Ignoring Nalan Yanran on the ground, he merely straightened his slightly disheveled clothes, then strolled away contentedly with his hands behind his back. The sight of his carefree retreat made her teeth itch with rage.
Nalan Yanran lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky, her heart filled with confusion.
She simply could not understand how someone who had not even broken through to Dou Zhe could pin her down and beat her so thoroughly. And did this fellow have no tenderness for a delicate flower at all? Didn't he know to go easy on a beautiful girl?!
"Hiss." In her anger, she let her expression shift a little too dramatically, immediately tugging at the bruised, swollen parts of her face. The pain made her suck in a sharp breath.
Just then, soft footsteps gradually drew closer.
Nalan Yanran assumed it was a passing onlooker and paid no attention. She had already lost all the face she could yesterday, anyway. Today's situation hardly mattered to her anymore.
"Are you all right?" A girl's clear, elegant voice sounded beside her. Like wind chimes drifting over from afar, it was crisp and pleasing, carrying a hint of sweetness, as though it possessed a magic that could leave someone enchanted.
She struggled to open one eye and saw an elegant garment fluttering gently in the breeze, dreamlike and illusory.
The graceful girl crouched beside her, her gaze deep and serene, like a bottomless lake, or as though she were pondering some profound question.
The expression on her face was complex and subtle. Her faintly knitted brows seemed to reveal the struggle and conflict within her, making her look like a beautiful, sorrowful painting.
What an enviably exceptional girl. No wonder Xiao Qian doesn't spare me a glance. Anyone with a girl like this beside him would never look at anyone else...
Nalan Yanran mocked herself inwardly, a flicker of gloom passing through her eyes.
"I'm fine. Leave me alone." She closed her eyes again and turned her head aside, unwilling to let Xiao Xun'er see her in such a wretched state.
But Xiao Xun'er reached out, gently took hold of her, and slowly helped her up. "Come rest in the courtyard for a while. You should have some healing pills. Take one, and you'll be better soon."
Her voice was gentle yet firm, carrying a force that allowed no refusal.
Dazed, Nalan Yanran followed her, limping as she was helped into the courtyard and seated beside the stone table.
In truth, her injuries were not as severe as they looked. As though deliberately humiliating her, Xiao Qian had left her with mostly superficial wounds, without any real internal injuries at all.
It was simply that she had never been in such a wretched state before. For a while, she did not want to move, as though all her strength had been drained away.
"Thank you." She accepted the tea Xiao Xun'er handed her and used it to swallow a healing pill, offering her thanks softly.
Xiao Xun'er merely shook her head, then sat quietly to one side without a word.
The breeze brushed gently past, outlining two slender girls, one in purple and the other in jade green. The sight was breathtakingly beautiful, like a lovely painting swaying in the wind. Unfortunately, no one had the leisure or inclination to appreciate this rare scene.
"I'm fine now. Thank you." Nalan Yanran really could not sit comfortably in Xiao Qian's home. Before long, she rose, intending to say goodbye and leave.
"Did he agree?" Just then, Xiao Xun'er's voice abruptly reached Nalan Yanran's ears, like a sound from beyond the heavens.
"What?" Nalan Yanran froze, unable to react for a moment.
Xiao Xun'er let out a quiet sigh, then glanced toward Nalan Yanran and met her eyes.
The emotions hidden in those eyes were deep and complex. Nalan Yanran could not decipher them. She only felt that the gaze resembled a bottomless, secluded pool, mysterious and captivating.
"Didn't you invite him to the Misty Cloud Sect?" Xiao Xun'er asked softly.
Nalan Yanran blinked. "But he didn't agree."
This time, it was Xiao Xun'er's turn to freeze. "Is that so..."
A complicated look flashed through her eyes: surprise, confusion, and a trace of joy that was difficult to detect.
"What is your relationship?" Nalan Yanran suddenly asked curiously. Looking at the beautiful, mysterious girl before her, she was filled with curiosity.
Xiao Xun'er pressed her lips together. "In name, we're brother and sister."
Nalan Yanran blinked again, her curiosity growing. "And in reality?"
"In reality..." Xiao Xun'er froze.
Yes, what were they to each other in reality? Lovers? But they had never acknowledged that.
Could it be master and pet?
Xiao Xun'er shook her head instinctively. What kind of master-and-pet relationship was like theirs?
"I don't know..." She looked bewildered, a flicker of confusion passing through her eyes.
"But I..." She suddenly looked straight at Nalan Yanran. The determination in her eyes was startling, her gaze like a burning flame, fierce and unwavering. "I won't allow anyone to take him away from me!"
Her tone was decisive as cut iron, as though she were proclaiming her resolve to the entire world.
Before you continue