Xiao Clan, Age 3 – One Month After Ranyu's Breakthrough to Dou Master
Rumors traveled fast in the Xiao clan— an important guest arrived.
Ranyu sat on top of a giant roasted melon (which he'd accidentally set on fire and now used as a throne), nibbling a stick of spicy candy.
He wondered, "who's the new girl?"
"could it be gu xuner ?"
---
That night…
Xiao Yan, now age 4, tiptoed down the corridor like a very short ninja.
He held a flower. A very ugly one.
"She's sooo pretty… and so mysterious… and she's already talking better than me!"
He reached for her door—
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
"…Eh?"
He turned.
Xiao Ranyu stood behind him, dressed in toddler night robes, expression blank and full of judgment.
"What are you doing brother?"
"I—I was just… making sure the window was… sealed. Against wind. Spirit wind. Or bandits."
"Really?"Xiao Ranyu deadpanned. " Your flower has a heart drawn on it."
Xiao Yan:
Ranyu slowly said. "Go back or I tell Mother you tried to court at age four."
Xiao Yan whimpered and fled.
---
Deep within the Xiao Clan estate, hidden in the folds of shadow and flowing robes, a silent presence watched over a certain golden-eyed girl as she skipped through the gardens.
Gu Xun'er, adopted daughter of the Gu Clan's main bloodline, giggled as she chased butterflies with childish glee. To the untrained eye, she was a normal girl—sweet, spirited, and harmless.
But the man in the shadows knew better. He was her secret guardian—an peak Dou Emperor-class expert assigned by the Gu Clan to watch over her in this backwater Wutan City.
He had guarded her from assassination attempts, wild beasts, and even Xiao Clan elders who got too curious. He had survived blood battles.
Nothing shocked him anymore.
Until now.
His sharp gaze flicked briefly toward the nearby training courtyard—then froze.
A small boy, maybe three years old, was sitting cross-legged beneath a tree. No one else paid him much mind. His elder brothers were sparring. Servants bustled about. But the boy… he was still. Focused.
And burning.
Subtle flames danced around his form.
The hidden guard narrowed his senses. His spiritual perception pierced the boy's body—
And recoiled.
> "What...?"
His breath caught.
> "Dou Qi... condensed already? No—refined. That's a solid core. A stable meridian flow. His flame qi is harmonized. That's... a Dou Shi. A One-Star Dou Master At three?!"
His pulse spiked despite years of assassin training. He almost revealed his position.
> "Even in the Gu Clan, geniuses don't reach this level until age seven or eight—and that's with Heavenly Flames and spirit pills."
He double-checked. Same result. A calm, contained inferno resting in that tiny frame.
> "Who is this child…?"
> "No. What is this child?"
---
Night draped the Xiao Clan estate in velvet quiet. Lanterns flickered softly, casting long shadows against the stone paths and paper walls.
Gu Xun'er sat by her window in silence, a little talisman glowing faintly in her lap. She was only seven, but her expression was far older in the moonlight. In her hand, a stone she picked up earlier from the courtyard — warm, like it had soaked in flame, though no sun had touched it that day.
She frowned, just a little.
A faint ripple in the air behind her.
She didn't jump. She was used to this presence.
"Uncle Ling," she said without turning around.
A man stepped from the shadows of her room. His black robes didn't rustle. His voice, low and weathered, carried authority and unease.
"You noticed it too," he said.
She looked up at him.
"The warmth? It's not natural."
He nodded. "You're young, but your bloodline is still Gu. Your instincts are waking up."
He walked toward the window, his gaze falling on the far courtyard — where a certain boy often sat and meditated beneath a flame-kissed tree.
"There is someone here you must be cautious of."
Xun'er tilted her head. "You mean…the rumored flame child?"
Uncle Ling didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took out a talisman scroll and activated it silently. A glowing silhouette of Xiao Ranyu appeared, along with a flickering flame aura surrounding him.
"Yesterday, I sensed something strange in this estate," he said. "I thought it was a mistake. But I monitored him. Watched his breathing. Watched the way flame qi responded to his presence even in sleep."
He looked directly at her.
"At three years old, he had already formed a Dou Qi core. I confirmed it myself. He is a 1-Star Dou Master."
"HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? HE IS ONLY THREE"
Gu xun'er is shocked and doubtful.She decided to investigate it herself tomorrow.
---
The sky had barely lightened. The servants were still yawning and lighting incense, and birds chirped sleepily from the trees.
But Gu Xun'er was wide awake—her hair perfectly combed, her ribbon tied like a miniature empress.
She marched to Xiao Ranyu's door, paused… then knocked sharply.
Knock knock knock.
Nothing.
She knocked again—louder this time.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
From inside came a muffled groan. Then—
> "If this isn't a flaming crisis, I swear I'm going to set someone's pants on fire…"
The door creaked open.
There stood Xiao Ranyu, three years old, hair sticking up like he'd been electrocuted by lightning, half-asleep, dragging his tiny blanket like a war banner.
He blinked at her.
> [Target identified: Gu Xun'er, adopted under alias "Xiao Xun'er"]
[Significance: Extremely high. Optional sign-in target – LOCKED (Too young)]
"…It's too early to be royalty. Come back after breakfast."
He moved to close the door.
She kicked it open (with very little force) and marched inside, arms crossed.
"I have questions."
Ranyu yawned. "And I have dreams. Of hot buns and eternal sleep. What do you want?"
---
Xun'er plopped down in front of his bedroll like a tiny interrogator.
"You're not normal."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment!"
Ranyu scratched his head. "So? You're not normal either. You wear golden socks."
"They're ceremonial!"
"They have phoenixes on them."
"They were custom made!"
"They squeak when you walk."
"…Unrelated!"
Ranyu yawned again and dropped onto the bed face-first. "Is this about yesterday?"
"Yes," she said, scooting closer. "I heard you're a Dou Master."
He grunted.
"You're THREE."
"Yup."
"How?!"
"…You're going to keep asking until I give you a mysterious answer, aren't you?"
Xun'er nodded solemnly.
Ranyu sat up with a heavy sigh and looked at her very seriously.
"I was forged in a volcano by a thousand phoenixes."
"…Really?"
"No."
She slapped his arm.
---
After a few more failed interrogation tactics (and a bribe attempt involving candy), Xun'er finally huffed and lay down beside him.
They stared at the ceiling in silence.
"I wanted to be the strongest person in the Xiao Clan," she muttered.
"You still can be," he said.
"But you're…"
"A flamey cheat code?" he offered.
She glared sideways. "You're annoying."
"You're loud."
"…Wanna go set something on fire later?"
He turned and grinned. "Now that's a royal invitation."
---
And from a nearby rooftop, Uncle Ling sighed as he sipped tea.
> "He treats her like a rival, not a Gu Clan heiress."
> "…Good. She needs that."
---