Feng Aotian And I Are A Match Made In Heaven - Chapter 2

By the time Chen Anqing returned to the Xiao family estate, it was already the following night. She landed on the testing platform, which was now completely deserted.

Reassured, she jumped down from the tree, her figure perfectly concealed within the darkness of the night. The next second, her eyes narrowed, and the space before her was suddenly filled with streams formed from countless colorful specks of light.

These specks of light were the qi that existed everywhere across this continent, as well as the very foundation of cultivation for its people. Different colors of qi represented different affinities, divided into nine types in total: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Wind, Lightning, and Darkness.

Looking at the colorful streams of qi before her, Chen Anqing silently recited a few words, then reached out and lightly flicked her fingertip. A wisp of blue qi separated from the rest and converged toward a certain direction. She glanced roughly toward the end of that stream. It seemed to be quite far from here, but Chen Anqing was in no hurry. As though taking a leisurely stroll, she headed in that direction.

From the information Run Yu had just sent her, Chen Anqing had learned a little about the Xiao family Xiao Yun belonged to. It was located within Efang Kingdom in the northeastern part of the continent and was one of the two great clans of Kundun City, a prestigious family currently at the height of its power.

As a result, the Xiao family estate occupied an enormous area, and its businesses were spread throughout Kundun City.

The layout of the clan grounds resembled an enormous Bagua diagram, divided into eight districts. The younger generation of outer disciples lived in the Kan District at the very bottom.

Naturally, Xiao Yun lived there as well.

“Xiao Moran stole all my thunder today. Grandpa, do you have any more Qi-Gathering Pills? I need to catch up to her quickly and show her what I’m capable of.”

A bright moon hung high in the sky as a cool breeze swept past the tiled, two-story wooden pavilions. From time to time, voices could be heard coming from inside.

Catching a familiar name, Chen Anqing slowed her steps slightly. Following the direction of the voices, she spotted a window glowing with warm light.

“Cultivation requires you to keep your feet firmly on the ground. If you rely on pills this frequently, even if you catch up to her, your foundation will be nothing but a castle in the air. Focus on cultivating properly. I’ll come back in a few days and check your progress then.”

“Oh. Got it.”

From the voice alone, Chen Anqing easily recognized the boy named Xiao Hao. If she remembered correctly, this kid had seemed extremely cocky. One look at him and you could tell he was destined to get slapped in the face by Long Aotian.

With that thought, Chen Anqing slowed for only a few seconds before quickly growing bored and continuing onward.

“Xiao Ran, you shouldn’t associate with Xiao Yun anymore. She’s already eleven this year and is still only Jia Realm Level One. It’s obvious she’ll never amount to anything. She’ll definitely be driven out of the Xiao family next year. Spending time with her will only waste your own time.”

“Father, how can you say that? Xiao Yun’s parents saved my life before. We should repay kindness with kindness. Now that they’re gone, we can’t kick her while she’s down. Xiao Yun is already pitiful enough.”

“Sigh, her father, just let Xiao Ran go. That child is so thin that even I feel sorry for her. Xiao Ran, I made two sets of clothes. Take them over to Xiao Yun later. Autumn has already begun, and that child doesn’t even have a decent piece of clothing.”

“You two… Hmph. Women’s foolish compassion.”

The farther she walked, the more similar the buildings became. Warm candlelight shone brightly through another window, though different voices came from within.

That sounded like Female Lead Number One. She seemed like a pretty decent girl, though her filter toward the Child of Destiny appeared a little too strong, considering how miserably she was describing her.

Feeling sorry for someone was the first step toward falling for them. What a pity the person she had taken an interest in was an Aotian.

After lamenting this for exactly one second, Chen Anqing shook her head and continued onward. Before she realized it, she had already reached the outermost edge of the residential district, where the blue qi had guided her.

The houses at the very edge were built beneath a high wall, and the pavilions in front completely blocked out the moonlight, leaving the area oppressively dark.

A faint damp, moldy smell drifted over, making Chen Anqing frown and hold her breath. She watched as the final wisp of Water qi slipped into a shabby-looking little wooden hut.

It was completely different from the pavilions she had passed earlier. The roof of the small hut was covered in thatch, and the door was made from two wooden planks pieced together. At this late hour, no moonlight reached it, and there was not even a single candle burning inside. It was pitch-black and eerily gloomy.

Chen Anqing blinked repeatedly in disbelief. Generally speaking, protagonists needed to suffer a little hardship, but Xiao Yun’s situation seemed far too miserable. How could this place possibly be fit for a person to live in?

The Xiao family actually let the Child of Destiny live here. It seemed they were not far from decline. There was even a chance their entire clan might get wiped out.

Curling her lips, Chen Anqing teleported inside. The first thing she saw was a frail figure sleeping on a bamboo mat laid directly across the floor, covered only by a thin blanket.

The space was cramped. In one corner was a pile of medicinal herbs that still had dirt clinging to them. In another stood a small stove, though there was no spark of fire in it. Aside from that, there was only a wooden rack with two pieces of clothing hanging from it.

There were also a few cups, basins, and bowls, plus a small stool. Beneath the window were tools such as a shovel and a dagger. The window itself was covered in paper, and even that only covered half of it.

The little hut was filled with a strong handmade feel. It was obvious that more than half of the things inside had probably been made by Xiao Yun herself.

After just a rough glance around, Chen Anqing had already reached a conclusion. There was no need for “probably” anymore. The Xiao family was absolutely, one hundred percent about to go downhill.

The wooden hut was truly tiny. Chen Anqing had only stood there for a short while before beginning to feel cramped. There was barely even room for her to move, so she decided to leave and find somewhere outside with a good view from which she could monitor the kid inside.

Just as she was about to leave, a low rumbling sound suddenly broke the silence.

The muffled sound made Chen Anqing turn back in confusion before she realized it was Xiao Yun’s stomach growling with hunger. And as the rumbling grew louder, the figure on the floor curled up even more tightly.

Chen Anqing frowned and narrowed her eyes. Looking more closely, she finally realized that the Child of Destiny seemed far too small and thin, nothing more than a tiny bundle curled up on the floor.

A normal boy at this age, no matter what, shouldn’t be two sizes smaller than a girl of the same age. Yet, thinking back to the test, Xiao Yun had barely seemed to reach Xiao Moran’s shoulder.

Looking down at the tiny figure not far from her feet, the crease between Chen Anqing’s brows deepened. She reached out to feel the temperature inside the hut. There was a faint chill in the air. Then her gaze fell on the bamboo mat beneath Xiao Yun, and an indescribably complicated feeling suddenly rose in her heart.

“Xiao Yun, are you asleep?” Before Chen Anqing could pull herself out of those emotions, a voice came from outside. It was Xiao Moran.

The instant the voice sounded, Chen Anqing saw Xiao Yun’s eyes fly open. At the same time, she had already sat upright, moving so quickly it was astonishing.

“No! What is it?” Xiao Yun looked toward the door, her voice cold and distant, with a faint trace of weakness. What surprised Chen Anqing was that the Child of Destiny’s voice was soft and melodious. Although it sounded slightly weak, judging from the timbre alone, it was no different from a girl’s voice.

Was it because she was still a long way from puberty and her voice changing? Chen Anqing wondered, though she did not think much more about it.

“My mother made two sets of clothes for you and asked me to bring them over. I’m leaving them outside your door!” Xiao Moran’s voice remained as clear and pleasant as ever, full of a young girl’s brightness. Just hearing it was enough to lift one’s mood.

“Thank Aunt Liu for me, but take them back. I don’t need them.”

Chen Anqing glanced at Xiao Yun in surprise. Her half-long hair covered half her face, preventing Chen Anqing from seeing her expression clearly, but even from her tone alone, the coldness and reclusiveness within it were obvious.

But there was already no response from outside. Xiao Moran did not answer, prompting Xiao Yun to call her name twice more in that same chilly tone.

In the end, she could only helplessly open the door. But Xiao Moran was already nowhere to be seen. Only the two sets of clothing had been left outside.

Upon seeing the clothes, Chen Anqing heard Xiao Yun let out what sounded like a rather troubled sigh. She eventually brought them inside, but instead of hanging them on the rack, she placed them neatly on the small stool exactly as they were.

It looked like she still intended to return them.

Chen Anqing was a little speechless. Wasn’t this Child of Destiny’s pride a bit too strong? And was that any way to speak to your future wife? Cold, emotionless, not even a hint of warmth. What a waste of how well she treated you.

Bad personality, no manners. One look and you could tell she was a scumbag.

Then again, wasn’t she literally supposed to be a scumbag? A male protagonist from a wish-fulfillment progression novel with a harem scattered everywhere—what kind of decent person could she possibly be?

The moment Chen Anqing thought of this, her disgust surged. That tiny bit of complicated sympathy that had risen in her heart earlier vanished without a trace.

After silently spitting in disdain, Chen Anqing stopped lingering and disappeared in a flash.

But just after she left, Xiao Yun suddenly and inexplicably looked toward the exact spot where she had vanished. Her nose twitched as though she had smelled something, her face full of confusion.

“Was there… someone here just now?”

In the darkness, Xiao Yun murmured softly. Endless silence was her only answer.

She shook her head. Her face showed little emotion as she slowly lay back down, fingers tightly clutching the thin blanket before gradually curling into a ball again as though she lacked any sense of security.

Chen Anqing stayed around the Xiao family estate for roughly ten days, and over those ten days, she gained a crystal-clear understanding of exactly what a protagonist’s life of suffering looked like.

The Xiao family was a genuinely great clan. Aside from providing cultivation resources to its descendants, it also gave them a certain amount of support for daily living. At the very least, none of them should have lacked food, clothing, housing, or other basic necessities.

But Xiao Yun was clearly suffering from severe bullying. A small clique led by Xiao Hao would frequently steal the monthly provisions distributed to her by the clan. Whenever she went to the dining hall to eat, someone would often dump her meal over her head halfway through. Sometimes she could not even eat half of it before the entire meal was ruined.

Only when Xiao Moran was around would Xiao Hao’s group refrain from being too blatant. As the strongest person among the outer disciples, Xiao Moran was still someone Xiao Hao did not dare openly confront.

Unfortunately, Xiao Moran could not stay beside Xiao Yun every moment of the day. The previous level assessment had already shown that she was fully qualified to enter the inner sect, and her talent was even better than that of the new generation of inner disciples.

Naturally, the clan would devote everything it had to nurturing such a promising seedling. They had assigned her quite a few additional cultivation tasks and had even granted her permission to use the inner sect’s cultivation tower.

As for Xiao Yun, the useless Jia Realm Level One weakling, without Xiao Moran by her side, anyone who wanted to bully her could do so. Even when the outer elders witnessed it, they would only offer a few verbal admonishments without imposing any real punishment.

After all, this was a world where strength reigned supreme. Weakness itself was the original sin. On top of that, Xiao Yun’s parents had met with misfortune several years ago, leaving her completely without anyone who would protect her. It was a double blow.

That was why Xiao Yun spent most of her time in the Wilderness Forest outside Kundun City. She would search the outskirts for spiritual plants or other valuable items, then take them to the apothecaries in the city and exchange them for money so she would not starve. At the same time, it allowed her to avoid Xiao Hao and his group.

In the end, she never did return the two sets of clothes Xiao Moran had given her. After a rainstorm the next day, the temperature dropped sharply. Xiao Yun failed to find Xiao Moran for several days and was too embarrassed to go directly to her home. Eventually, unable to bear the cold any longer, she had no choice but to put the clothes on.

Still, she certainly knew how to repay kindness. After accepting someone else’s clothing, she found a fairly valuable spiritual plant in the Wilderness Forest the following day and secretly left it outside Xiao Moran’s home. She waited until Xiao Moran’s mother picked it up before returning to her little wooden hut.

Chen Anqing witnessed all of this. Overall, Aotian’s nature was not bad. She was somewhat withdrawn, but at least she knew right from wrong and understood gratitude.

Over the next few days, Chen Anqing remembered what had happened to Xiao Yun’s parents. Afraid there might be some hidden plotline involved that could drag her into trouble, she had Run Yu secretly investigate the cause of their deaths and check whether it had anything to do with her or any forces connected to her.

That investigation turned up something significant. Strictly speaking, there really was a faint connection.

Chen Anqing’s forces were mainly entrenched in the central territories of the continent, where nearly all the powers were ancient sects with histories spanning thousands of years or venerable clans. The factions and kingdoms of the other regions all had ties of one kind or another to the central territories. Put another way, everyone had their own powerful backer.

Efang Kingdom’s backer was the Tang Clan, an aristocratic clan hostile to the Fu Pavilion under Chen Anqing’s command.

Several years ago, a mysterious Wu Realm secret realm had been discovered deep within the Wilderness Forest. It was located quite close to Kundun City. A member of the Tang Clan who had just advanced to the Wu Realm happened to take an interest in it and wanted to enter. The Tang Clan ordered Efang Kingdom to ensure his safety, so the king commanded the clans surrounding Kundun City to each send two cultivators at or above the Wu Realm to protect this young master.

The two people the Xiao family sent happened to be Xiao Yun’s parents. Both had already reached the Ji Realm. They were husband and wife as well as battle partners who had fought together for many years. A pair like them not only guaranteed security but also showed the Tang Clan considerable respect.

Unfortunately, no one could have expected that not only the two of them, but also the Tang Clan’s young master and every expert sent by the other clans would lose contact inside the secret realm.

The people outside immediately realized something was wrong and requested support from the Tang Clan. However, the rescue team encountered members of the Fu Pavilion halfway there. Old enemies meeting were bound to see red, and the moment the two sides crossed paths, they started fighting without another word.

By the time the fighting ended and they finally reached the secret realm, it was already far too late. The entrance closed beyond anyone’s ability to stop it, and the entire secret realm subsequently vanished from where it had been. A year later, the Tang Clan officially declared that disciple dead, which also meant there was no possibility that anyone else who had entered was still alive.

Naturally, the Tang Clan had no reason to explain themselves to the minor clans beneath them. The Efang royal family, which had stepped forward to handle the matter, gave the following explanation: if the Fu Pavilion had not interfered, the Tang Clan would certainly have arrived in time to resolve the problem with the secret realm and rescue the members of the various clans.

When Chen Anqing heard Run Yu explain all this, she genuinely felt as though an enormous pot of blame had dropped straight out of the sky and landed on her head with a resounding clang.