Before the Farewell

"But he has hands and feet. Where he goes is his own decision."

Although Xiao Xun'er spoke calmly, Nalan Yanran's sixth sense keenly detected the intense hostility this girl felt toward her. Especially when she uttered those words that sounded like a declaration of ownership, that hostility struck her like something tangible.

When have I ever been afraid of something like this? Nalan Yanran thought. It's one thing that I can't beat Xiao Qian, but am I supposed to let his sister in name provoke me like this too? Hmph, absolutely not!

"If he decides to leave with me in the end, can you really stop him?"

Nalan Yanran met her challenge head-on, refusing to back down. The little goodwill she had felt toward Xiao Xun'er vanished without a trace, replaced by a heart full of defiance.

"Miss of the Nalan Family, believe me, if I don't want him to go to the Misty Cloud Sect, I have plenty of ways to prevent it. The simplest is," Xiao Xun'er said, her voice as calm and unruffled as ever, as though stating the most ordinary fact in the world, "to make the Misty Cloud Sect disappear from the Jia Ma Empire."

Nalan Yanran's willow-shaped brows shot up, her eyes brimming with anger. "What shameless boasting!"

She simply could not believe that this seemingly delicate girl possessed such tremendous power.

Yet the girl merely rested her hands lightly over her abdomen, her bearing natural and graceful, her expression as still as water. She showed no intention of explaining or defending herself.

Nalan Yanran's sixth sense stirred again. For some reason, she had a faint feeling that the girl before her was telling the truth, and it startled her.

"Who exactly are you? What are your identities?" Realization suddenly struck her, and she frowned deeply, lost in thought. "No wonder his strength is so strange. Could you not be members of the Xiao Clan at all, but from the center of the continent?"

She stared intently at Xiao Xun'er, trying to find an answer in her expression. But Xiao Xun'er did not respond, merely standing there quietly like a mysterious statue.

"Perhaps I'll give him a little freedom for a while."

With those words, Xiao Xun'er turned away.

Her slender, willow-like silhouette seemed to veil Nalan Yanran's heart in a mysterious mist, leaving her increasingly curious and confused.

"But no one may covet him. I hope you remember those words forever." With that, the girl slowly departed, leaving only her quiet warning lingering in Nalan Yanran's ears, keeping her silent for a long time.

"Hmph, what a strange girl! Making it sound like Xiao Qian is some irresistible delicacy! Who wants to covet that bastard?" Nalan Yanran stamped her foot in anger, then stormed out of the Xiao Clan's grounds, her retreating figure looking rather bedraggled.

I'll defeat him! Nalan Yanran silently swore, fighting spirit blazing in her eyes.

But although Xiao Xun'er was exceptionally clever, she understood too little about matters of the heart.

Especially the thousand winding turns of a young girl's tender heart.

Without today's warning, things might have been fine. But once spoken, it was like a seed planted in Nalan Yanran's heart, ready to take root and sprout when she least expected it.

Early the next morning, Xiao Qian once again found a fully recovered Nalan Yanran outside his door.

"Are you a masochist or something?"

Xiao Qian narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down, his gaze full of curiosity at such peculiar behavior, as though studying a rare species.

"Cut the chatter. We had an agreement. Fight me!"

Nalan Yanran's face was set with stubborn determination.

Seven or eight minutes later, the girl who served as a punching bag lay sprawled on the ground again, looking even more bedraggled than before. Yet the stubbornness in her eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

Xiao Qian went out as usual to find fresh magical beast meat, then returned to cultivate.

And so, day after day, half a month passed in this same repeating pattern.

"Not bad. You can last fifteen minutes now."

Xiao Qian looked at the bruised and swollen Nalan Yanran, a rare glimmer of approval in his eyes. Then he dusted off his backside and prepared to leave as usual.

Come to think of it, these daily morning workouts really were effective. Not only did they whet his appetite, but his cultivation had also been progressing considerably faster lately.

"I've broken through to four-star Dou Zhe." Nalan Yanran suddenly flipped up from the ground and calmly addressed Xiao Qian's retreating back. "This round of training is nearly over. It's time I returned to the Misty Cloud Sect."

"You're ruthless enough to squeeze every last drop out of yourself with this kind of training. I'm suddenly a little worried about my brother." Xiao Qian turned around, regarding Nalan Yanran with a hint of seriousness.

After all, even he would not so crazily throw himself into battles he was certain to lose. Such perseverance and determination forced him to reassess the girl before him.

"You mean that worth-Xiao Yan..." Nalan Yanran stopped herself, then snorted coldly. "Even if his talent hadn't disappeared, I still wouldn't lose to him! And I certainly wouldn't marry someone I don't know at all!" Pride and confidence gleamed in her eyes.

"I think he'll surpass you, though. You'll probably lose miserably. Just don't lose your heart along with the fight." Xiao Qian smiled nonchalantly, his confidence in Xiao Yan absolute.

Nalan Yanran rolled her eyes, picked up her fallen sword, and slid it back into its sheath. "I, Nalan Yanran, won't fall for any man. Keep dreaming. Hmph!"

"What about you? Have you made up your mind?" She stared at Xiao Qian's handsome, refined face. Somehow, she found herself thinking that having him return to the Misty Cloud Sect with her might not be so bad. At least she could keep challenging him!

At that thought, Nalan Yanran suddenly felt a flicker of anticipation for the future.

"I'll go to the Misty Cloud Sect, but not just yet," Xiao Qian said after a moment's thought.

"How long?" Nalan Yanran's eyes lit up, and she asked impatiently.

Xiao Qian considered it. "Three more days."

"All right, three more days, then. I'll still come find you every morning," Nalan Yanran said at once.

But Xiao Qian looked at her and slowly shook his head. "No. I'll come find you in three days. Don't come here in the meantime."

Nalan Yanran froze, then glanced inside the courtyard and nodded, seeming to understand something. "Then it's settled!"

Xiao Qian watched her leave. This time, instead of hurrying off to eat as usual, he stood quietly where he was, deep in thought.

Over the past half month, he had cultivated his ninth dantian to three-stage Dou Qi.

After ten years of effort, he had already laid the foundation for his meridians. Now, at the Dou Qi stage, he could cultivate as freely as he wished.

"You're leaving?" At last, the girl emerged through the courtyard gate and came up behind him.

A trace of reluctance lingered in her soft voice.

Xiao Qian turned around and saw the girl's faintly forlorn face. Her expression was like a little flower trembling in a cold wind, enough to make his heart ache.

"Will you allow it?" he asked softly, his voice gentle as a spring breeze.

Xiao Xun'er's chest rose and fell slightly, a hint of struggle flashing through her eyes. Finally, she gently closed them. "You're free."

Xiao Qian remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly. He stepped forward and gently gathered the girl's slender body into his arms. A faint fragrance from her hair lingered around his nose, a familiar scent that seemed to soothe his soul.

The girl rested her head against his chest and listened to his strong heartbeat. That sound was so familiar it seemed engraved in the depths of her soul, each beat speaking of the complicated yet profound feelings between them.

"I'll come back," Xiao Qian whispered into her ear, his tone firm.

"When?" Xiao Xun'er raised her head, her eyes filled with a tangled mixture of hope and reluctance.

Xiao Qian fell silent for a moment, then drew a deep breath and said each word distinctly. "When I can stand before you as an equal."

Xiao Xun'er stared blankly into his eyes for a long, long time.

She realized that perhaps she had never truly understood the boy before her. She knew nothing of the blazing power hidden within his eyes.

What more do I have to be dissatisfied with? He's already promised to come back, hasn't he?

"Xiao Qian, what exactly are we to each other?" The girl looked bewildered, conflicted, and a little apprehensive.

Such complicated feelings, such emotions winding through a tender heart, could never be captured accurately in words.

She had not called him her brother, because that had merely been the product of their initial need for reassurance and compromise. Now, the feelings between them had long since surpassed such a simple relationship.

She truly felt lost. Too many things that should never have been there had become tangled between them: her father taking advantage of his vulnerability at the beginning, Xiao Qian later attempting to break his shackles through violence, and her own choice to bind him through emotional coercion... All of it had been far too calculating.

And calculation was the greatest taboo in matters of the heart.

"I don't know either."

Xiao Qian's voice was low and deep, but his arms held her willow-slender waist tightly, as though that gesture could convey the feelings he could not put into words.

He seemed to have said nothing, yet also to have said everything.

"Then let me ask you, in the future, will you stay with me forever and ever?" The girl buried her face against his chest, clearly sensing both their heartbeats suddenly quicken.

Those heartbeats were like drumbeats, pounding against their hearts.

Xiao Qian's arms tightened slightly. Just as Xiao Xun'er was almost unable to breathe, he slowly loosened his hold and gradually released her.

"I'm willing to remain your companion forever, but only your companion."

He heard his own voice utter those words, distant and unsteady. At the same time, he felt his heart contracting wildly, the pain like a knife, every touch bringing another stab of agony.