Chapter 368: Xue’Er

Chapter 368 -313: Xue’Er

Xiong Anling lightly tapped his forehead, his brows furrowed, revealing a subtle hint of helplessness and affection.

Although Xiaojiu was incredibly skilled in battle, lively and cute, everyone usually doted on her, treating her like a real little sister.

But this innocence and straightforwardness also came with a trait that gave everyone a headache.

She was prone to acting impulsively, without considering the consequences.

Xiaojiu’s heart was as pure as crystal. She didn’t know how to hide her feelings; all her joys and sorrows were displayed without reservation. This sincerity and candor were especially precious in the treacherous and deceitful Cultivation Realm.

But it was precisely this personality that often made her lack foresight when dealing with problems, frequently causing those around her to worry sick about her.

To put it bluntly, she was a bit air-headed.

In Xiong Anling’s eyes, perhaps it was this pure, untainted heart that allowed Xiaojiu to unleash her talents without any burden, displaying a combat prowess that surpassed ordinary people.

Over time, the team members had grown accustomed to Xiaojiu’s “straight-line” way of thinking.

To some extent, they even began to enjoy the fun and warmth that came with this simple directness.

Whenever Xiaojiu’s straightforward personality led her to do something that made them not know whether to laugh or cry, a wave of helpless yet tolerant laughter would always ripple through the team.

Despite this, Xiong Anling couldn’t help but feel a little worried whenever Xiaojiu had one of her occasional lapses in judgment.

“After all these years, why didn’t he come back on his own?” Xiong Anling said calmly, composing himself.

After his father disappeared, his mother grew thinner by the day, but for Xiong Anling’s sake, she gritted her teeth and held on.

It wasn’t until Xiong Anling came of age that she finally laid down her burden and passed away peacefully.

In the years since his mother’s death, Xiong Anling had been braving the Youxian Sea all by himself.

Every day was a desperate struggle, every day was filled with confusion. He felt at every moment that he could die in the next second.

On countless nights, when all was still and silent, Xiong Anling would lie on his cold, hard bed, his heart filled with endless fantasies and sorrow.

‘If only my mother were still alive… if only my father hadn’t just vanished without a trace.’

‘What would my life be like?’

It would have been a warm and harmonious picture, with his father’s kind guidance and his mother’s gentle care, not the loneliness and wandering he knew now.

Faced with the unfairness of fate, he should have been filled with rage.

Rage at his father for leaving without a word, rage at his mother for wasting away from longing until her death, rage at all the suffering he had been forced to endure.

But ironically, the resentment and pain that had once burned like a wildfire were mercilessly worn away by time through year after year, day after day of solitude.

Now, what remained in Xiong Anling’s heart was mostly an unnatural calm, an acceptance of his fate.

It was a tranquility born from experiencing despair and rebirth countless times, a sense of relief that came from seeing through life and death.

Of course, Jiang Xu had no idea what Xiong Anling had been through, nor could he know how arduously he had walked step by step to get to where he was today.

Jiang Xu only knew that Xiong Anling’s current status was extraordinary. He only saw that Xiong Anling was surrounded and supported by a group of powerful experts, cutting a very impressive figure.

“Brother Xiong has been blacklisted by the Seven Stars Association. He cannot set foot in the Youxian Sea, so there’s no hope of him coming here,” Jiang Xu said. This was the truth.

“Blacklisted? Why?” Xiong Anling frowned.

“Because Brother Xiong broke a taboo on Lu Cun Island, which is why the Seven Stars Association is hunting him.”

“Brother Xiong didn’t want to involve you and your mother, so he fled and has never returned.”

After hearing this, Xiong Anling fell into a long silence. The air around them seemed to freeze.

For a moment, the scene became quiet.

“Wait!” Xiong Anling suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, “If Xiong Liangsheng isn’t in the Youxian Sea, then where is he now?”

“In Dinghai State,” Jiang Xu replied.

“Dinghai State? He’s that far away?” Xiong Anling was a little surprised. “If he’s in Dinghai State, doesn’t that mean you came from Dinghai State as well?”

“Correct.” Jiang Xu nodded.

“So you’re saying that to repay Xiong Liangsheng for saving your life, you came all the way from Dinghai State to the Youxian Sea, and then, in this vast sea of people, you managed to find me specifically?” The look in Xiong Anling’s eyes changed.

Jiang Xu nodded again.

“Do you really take me for a fool? You expect me to believe something like that?”

“Then how do you explain how I know about your father?” Jiang Xu retorted.

“Who knows where you might have heard that I have a father who’s been gone for many years. You could have just made up a story to come and deceive me.”

“Unless you can provide proof of how you did it, I won’t believe you.”

In truth, Xiong Anling already half-believed Jiang Xu’s words. But in order to learn more about Jiang Xu’s methods, he continued to feign disbelief.

“Proof?”

Jiang Xu looked troubled.

When it came to proof, he certainly had it, and it was irrefutable.

If Jiang Xu just handed Xiong Liangsheng’s belongings to Xiong Anling right now, no one would be able to object.

He believed that no one would casually use a Golden Core Realm Cultivation Technique to deceive a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

But the problem was, Jiang Xu still wasn’t sure about Xiong Anling’s character and temperament.

Moreover, there were three of them, and only one of him. In such a situation, Jiang Xu was even more hesitant to rashly hand over the item.