With the little girl in tow, Ji Dantong swiftly left and arrived in an area she considered absolutely safe.

After setting the little girl down, Ji Dantong arranged numerous anti-eavesdropping measures around the perimeter before returning, feeling secure.

"Don't be afraid, little sister!"

Ji Dantong, mimicking Xiao Tian's actions, gently ruffled the little girl's head, but the response she received was entirely different.

Seeing that the little girl remained wary of her, Ji Dantong took a deep breath and said, "I'll teach you a few syllables, can you repeat them for me?"

The little girl blinked her big eyes, noting that Ji Dantong seemed to bear no malice toward her, and nodded lightly.

Full of joy, Ji Dantong carefully wrapped her voice with True Qi and sent it into the girl's ear, her gaze growing expectant.

"..." Upon hearing the syllables Ji Dantong uttered, the little girl instantly frowned, her small mouth opening several times without making any sound, her expression growing anxious.

"Don't rush!"

More anxious than the little girl, Ji Dantong quickly encouraged her upon seeing her state: "Try slowly a few times, sister believes you can do it!" fearing the other might give up due to childish temper. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Encouraged, the little girl listened to the gentle repetition by Ji Dantong by her ear, while attempting to reproduce the syllables herself, failing more than ten times in a row.

"I'm sorry, sister, the syllables you said are too strange, I can't do it!" she said apologetically, lowering her head in embarrassment, "Maybe... I'm just too dumb!"

Ji Dantong, slightly disappointed, shook her head but soon regained her enthusiasm, stubbornly saying: "Then promise sister, we'll try one more time, and if it still doesn't work, we won't try anymore, okay?"

"Okay then!" The little girl agreed, then closed her eyes, her face filled with determination, trying hard to recreate the syllables in her mind...

——

On the other side, Duoduo in the Consciousness Realm suddenly spoke: "When that person just left, I had a very familiar feeling!"

"What kind of feeling?"

Xiao Tian promptly asked, "Be specific."

The little girl looked troubled, uncertainly saying: "I can't remember, but the True Qi fluctuations she just exhibited, I've definitely seen them somewhere!"

Xiao Tian's gaze swept over, knowing the little girl, as the Artifact Spirit of the Life Seal, had existed for unknown hundreds or thousands of years.

Although she seemed somewhat naive in human affairs, her expertise in energy fluctuations and knowledge was unparalleled. If she said she had seen it, it must be that Ji Dantong had some connection with her master sect.

"Can you remember when you saw it?" Xiao Tian continued to ask.

"Hmm... I really can't recall a specific time, but it must have been before I fell into a deep sleep!" The little girl pondered for a moment, touching her chin with one hand: "I initially estimate it to be about eighty years ago!"

After speaking, she added: "This is only calculated based on the last time I fell asleep; many past events are fuzzy in my memory, so this is the shortest estimate. The actual situation might be even longer!"

Xiao Tian grinned, thinking this little girl was the first he'd seen who could casually speak of decades as if they were days.

However, it was understandable. As the Artifact Spirit of the Life Seal, Duoduo could theoretically exist forever, provided the Life Seal itself wasn't destroyed.

"Three... Duoduo!"

Momentarily taken aback, Xiao Tian almost blurted out her nickname but managed to stop in time. He asked, "Since that's the case, can you tell which cultivation technique Ji Dantong practices?"

"What are you planning to do?"

The little girl immediately seized on this and said to Lin Bingxuan, "Master sister, did you hear that? He attracted bees before, and now he really wants to attract butterflies!"

In her heart, she thought, even though you used to call me Du'Er, now you want to give me a nickname. Even if I could remember, I wouldn't tell you, hmph!

The little girl thought angrily, putting on a stubborn look as if she were resolved not to tell, leaving Xiao Tian busy sweet-talking, throwing all his nicest words at her.

After a while, feeling a bit dizzy from the praise, the little girl reluctantly said, "I don't know the mysterious type of cultivation technique she practices, but it probably isn't one focused on fighting."

"But..."

"But what?"

Realizing she had unwittingly said so much, the little girl felt annoyed and resigned at the same time.

Since she had already said this much, she decided she might as well tell all she knew!

"But one thing's for sure, even though she's not adept in combat, in a truly life-or-death battle, you would surely be the one defeated!"

Xiao Tian was startled; although the little girl's remarks were otherwise unreliable, her perception and use of energy were unequivocally strong, almost making her the most advanced expert Xiao Tian had ever seen.

Although Xiao Tian was usually indifferent to so-called experts and professors, the little girl's words couldn't help but affect him!

Just as Xiao Tian was about to continue asking, he saw Ji Dantong suddenly appear before him, with the little girl unsurprisingly by her side.

After standing still, Ji Dantong looked at Xiao Tian seriously: "I want to have a word with you in private!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tian turned his gaze to Lin Bingxuan and Melinda, seeing them exchange a glance before entering a nearby small shop, leaving behind only a quick "Remember to come back for dinner" as they decisively left.

For some reason, this scene made Ji Dantong's heart feel sour, but she quickly suppressed it, clearing her mind of distractions.

...

After giving the sugar-coated haws to the little girl, Xiao Tian strolled through the ancient town with Ji Dantong, wandering aimlessly.

"I want to take her away!"

Ji Dantong suddenly spoke, causing Xiao Tian's momentary confusion, and he then realized that by "her," she meant the little girl.

"Take her to your sect?" Xiao Tian asked.

"That's right!"

Ji Dantong took a deep breath of fresh air, saying, "To be honest, I really have to thank you this time, because the little girl is even more important to my sect than the Proud Snow Evil Shadow Bamboo!"

"It seems that this isn't something you should be telling me!"

Intuitively, Xiao Tian figured Ji Dantong wouldn't reveal anything about her sect, so he said instead, "Even if you want to take her away, you should talk to her parents!"

"No!"

Ji Dantong shook her head decisively: "I've learned about her situation, and her stepfather makes the decisions in her family. Seeing that she's conducting business at such a young age, it seems that offering her stepfather some money could settle it."

"So the key is still her!" Ji Dantong continued: "And it's clear she trusts you very much, so..."

"So, you thought of having me help persuade her to go with you?!"