Xiao Hua smiled faintly and raised a hand. "Elders, there is no need to say more. I already understand what you mean. I was merely passing through this place and happened to have some affinity with this child Nuo Yeqing, so I casually lent a hand to help her out. If you fellow Daoists do not believe me, then so be it..."
Who would have thought that just as he said this, Nuo Yeqing suddenly stepped out from the crowd, knelt before Xiao Hua, and kowtowed. "Senior, this junior knows that you are an extraordinary expert! The Sect Leader and the others... may have too many misgivings and do not dare to speak plainly. This junior previously heard Senior say that you can alter cultivation techniques to adapt to the aberration in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Therefore, this junior begs Senior—could you help my Chan He Sect... no, even if it is merely to help some pitiful little girl, do not let her aptitude be buried in the mortal world. Please alter a cultivation technique for her?"
"Master..." That little girl was truly clever. Though she was only about five years old, she had already understood. She hurriedly knelt as well, crawling over on her knees as she called out, "Please take pity on Xi'er, Master..."
"Xi'er?" Xiao Hua froze, then asked in surprise, "Your name is Xi'er? What is your surname?"
The little girl was equally stunned. She immediately kowtowed respectfully and said, "Master, my surname is Zhu, and my name is Zhu Xi'er!"
"Hiss..." Xiao Hua drew in a sharp breath. Unbidden, he thought of that remnant branch of the Zhu family in Jingbo City on the Xiaoyu Continent—that pitiful Xi'er.
However, Xiao Hua carefully examined the little girl's unusually delicate features again, then slowly shook