Xiao Xueman really couldn’t accept this whole Empress thing, and he was pretty sure Shen Guan had exaggerated at least a little.

In his understanding, given Qin Lou’s personality, a bit of reluctance and regret was normal. 

Naming him Empress? Maybe just as a half-hearted memorial—after all, they’d been through a lot together, wind and rain, even shared a bed. There were definitely some feelings there. But being so heartbroken that he shut himself away and made a big deal out of it for so long? 

No way. Qin Lou just wasn’t that sentimental. Not to mention he was already the number one Wang Tian Dijun in the world—what was there to be nostalgic about?

Probably just one of those rumors that got blown out of proportion. People in the Spirit Realm Continent loved watching drama and had a tendency to exaggerate everything.

Still, it had been almost a month since Shen Guan got the news about Qin Lou coming out of seclusion, and there hadn’t been any unusual movement in the Seventeenth Heaven so far.

“I think maybe he just found a tiny clue—like he confirmed you’re not dead, but still doesn’t know where you are. Otherwise, he would’ve come already,” Shen Guan guessed. “And normally, he’d start looking in the Upper Realm. No one would ever think you’d run all the way down to the Seventeenth Heaven.”

Xiao Xueman frowned slightly but didn’t say anything.

He couldn’t help but think of Xiao Wan’s upcoming trip to the Sixteenth Heaven, and felt a flicker of unease.

The Sixteenth Heaven had better spiritual power than here, so the natural suppression effect was weaker—though not by too much. Xiao Xueman had gone out a few nights recently looking for the Ghost Wolf King again, but came up empty. 

None of them were as useful as that one on the first night. So he stopped trying and just used the spine he’d gotten to refine an artifact. After some thought, he decided to add a small seal to the bone artifact as well.

With that seal, there shouldn’t be any issues. It was more than enough to keep Xiao Wan’s spiritual power stable for a week, and there was no way anyone would notice anything odd about him.

Compared to him, Shen Guan was actually the more worried one.

“He’s only four, and his condition’s this complicated. You really feel okay letting him go alone?”

“I already promised him. I can’t go back on my word and disappoint him,” Xiao Xueman said seriously. “I do want to protect him, but kids have their own thoughts and dreams. I just want Xiao Wan to be happy.”

Shen Guan suddenly thought of something else.

The Sixteenth Heaven… also had something to do with Qin Lou.

Everyone knew Wang Tian Dijun had a rough past—he rose up from rock bottom, climbing step by step from the Sixteenth Heaven. Xiao Xueman had been with him since the very beginning. They had lived in the Sixteenth Heaven for a while.

Of course Xiao Xueman remembered that too. He’d already considered it seriously.

Each Heaven was huge. Back then, he and Qin Lou had lived in a tiny village near Qingye City in the north, while Xiao Wan was heading to Baixue City in the south. One at the top, one at the bottom—super far apart. Just the journey would take half a day.

Plus, they hadn’t known many people in the Sixteenth Heaven back then, and with the talent and lifespans of people there, those folks were probably long gone after over a hundred years. No unnecessary memories would be stirred up.

That evening, Xiao Wan came home carrying a bag full of books, wearing a serious little face.

He’d had some basic orientation that afternoon. The teacher had explained the plan in detail, which got him kind of excited about the trip. As soon as he got home, he eagerly shared everything with Xiao Xueman.

“We’ll be at that elementary school for four days, learning some cultivation methods. The other three days are for sightseeing,” Xiao Wan said, counting on his fingers. “There’s this really famous big market, and an arena, and a mercenary guild—it all sounds really fun!”

A week wasn’t long enough to learn anything major. The whole trip was just the school’s way of giving the top students a glimpse of the wider world—help them build confidence and motivation to cultivate more seriously.

The Sixteenth Heaven might be only one step above the Seventeenth, but that one step made all the difference. Becoming a spiritualist was the first major hurdle in cultivation. In the Seventeenth Heaven, nearly half the people could never cross that line—unable to convert spiritual force into proper spiritual power.

But in the Sixteenth Heaven, aside from the younger kids still learning, most adults were already spiritualists and had mastered using spiritual power. That’s why it had a complete cultivation system—with arenas for sparring, mercenary guilds for taking on missions, and big markets for trading artifacts and spiritual medicines. To kids from the Seventeenth Heaven, this stuff was fresh and exciting.

Xiao Wan seemed super interested in all of it, so of course Xiao Xueman wasn’t going to stop him from going.

“That’s great,” Xiao Xueman said, patting his head. “As long as Xiao Wan has fun, Daddy will be waiting at home for you.”

“Mm!”

The three of them started eating dinner. Xiao Wan had already gotten used to having an extra person in the house. When setting the table, he grabbed three pairs of bowls and chopsticks. Seeing that Shen Guan was still recovering, he even helped support him.

“Uncle Shen,” Xiao Wan called out in his soft, fluffy little voice. Then he curiously added, “Your ears are gone today too!”

He sounded a little disappointed as he said it.

Fluffy things were always a hit with kids. Now that they were gone, he couldn’t help but feel a bit let down.

As Shen Guan’s injuries gradually healed, and with the loophole in the Heaven’s suppression rules, he was now able to control his ears and tail again—they could be hidden away.

Xiao Xueman’s sealing was essentially a concealment technique. Shen Guan’s abilities hadn’t disappeared. Shape-shifting didn’t require using spiritual power—it was just something that happened naturally once your spiritual power reached a certain level.

Foxes from the fox clan were never ugly in their human forms. The stronger the bloodline, the more beautiful the transformation. Shen Guan, being a Samadhi True Fox—the highest-level fire-type bloodline in the clan—was naturally very attractive. In fact, he was almost too pretty, a different kind of beauty from Xiao Xueman.

But because of that extremely recognizable face, he didn’t dare go out. His wanted posters were plastered all over the place. The bounty might have cooled down, but expecting everyone to forget in just a few days was wishful thinking.

“Good thing I can hide them now. Just need to find a way to cover up this face, and I can go out,” Shen Guan muttered, touching his own head. Now that he knew about Xiao Xueman’s situation, he felt like he should help out too. “Then I can lend you and your dad a hand. Can’t just eat and live here for free, right?”

Shen Guan was feeling pretty disillusioned with the fox clan. Given his current one-man-against-the-world status, revenge wasn’t happening anytime soon. Might as well stay here for now.

Xiao Xueman actually hoped he’d stick around. One, his friend was in trouble—he couldn’t just not help. And two, it wasn’t safe for Shen Guan to be out there. Plus, he was fire-type—top-tier fire-type. He’d spent years in the Upper Realm and had seen and learned a lot. Maybe he could actually help with Xiao Wan’s situation—or even find a solution.

So now the three of them were having cozy dinners together, and it was kind of nice.

Two days later, school started, and Xiao Wan’s trip to the Sixteenth Heaven was finally beginning.

That morning, both Xiao Xueman and Shen Guan prepared a bunch of stuff for him.

As a former patriarch of the fox clan, Shen Guan’s clothes weren’t ordinary. Most were torn from his escape, but a few pieces of fabric were still usable. Not enough for adult clothes, but perfect for a kid.

Shen Guan couldn’t do much in his current state, so he asked Xiao Xueman for help.

Xiao Xueman looked at the material and made an inner shirt that covered Xiao Wan’s vital spots. The spiritual power here wasn’t great for artifact refining, and the cloth was damaged, but it’d still be useful in the Sixteenth Heaven. At least normal spiritualists wouldn’t be able to break through it.

Xiao Wan had a sharp memory. He recognized the fabric, and even though it was Daddy who dressed him, he still pitter-pattered over to the bedside to thank Shen Guan.

“Thank you, Uncle Shen. I really like this shirt,” he said seriously. “I’ll take care of myself out there so you and Daddy don’t have to worry.”

What a sweet kid.

Shen Guan’s heart melted. He reached out and gave Xiao Wan’s chubby cheek a pat. “As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

So soft, so sweet—there’s no way this kid belonged to that ungrateful bastard Qin Lou.

He mentally added that last part to himself.

Xiao Xueman put a bone pendant around his neck. Of course, the bone had been disguised—carved into a little white bunny. Couldn’t tell it was bone at all. With the lack of spiritual power in the Seventeenth Heaven, even simple things took forever. Something that should’ve been easy for Xiao Xueman had taken a month of on-and-off effort to finish.

“A little gift,” he said. “It looks cute on Xiao Wan.”

Xiao Wan didn’t think too much. Anything from Daddy was precious, so he carefully tucked the necklace under his shirt.

Since Shen Guan couldn’t leave the house yet, Xiao Xueman personally took Xiao Wan to the school gate.

A strange-looking carriage was parked out front, shaped like a giant flower bud. It was a special vehicle, capable of transporting the kids to the Upper Realm. Borrowed from a Sixteenth Heaven school, it drew a crowd of curious onlookers.

The school only selected the top three students from each grade—six grades total in elementary school, so there should’ve been just eighteen kids. But some pushy parents didn’t want to miss the opportunity, pulled strings, and got their kids in. In the end, the travel group ballooned to nearly thirty children. The school had to send seven or eight teachers to keep an eye on them. The gate was packed.

Xiao Wan took his small backpack from Daddy—it had his essentials inside. The bigger suitcase was handed to the lead teacher.

Nearby, he heard a parent giving instructions.

“You better study hard, you hear me?” a man told his five-year-old daughter, again and again. The girl looked confused and dazed, but the dad’s face was twisted with intensity. “Sweetheart, you have to work hard. Don’t stay stuck in this dump forever—be someone important, got it?”

The girl sniffled and nodded.

Most of the other parents were saying the same kinds of things.

Xiao Wan turned and looked at his own daddy.

Xiao Xueman was squatting in front of him, slipping a small milk cake into his hand.

“You can eat this on the way,” he said, a bit more talkative than usual. “There’s more snacks in your suitcase. If you don’t like the food up there, just eat what you brought, okay?”

Xiao Wan nodded, then suddenly asked, “Daddy doesn’t have any expectations for me?”

Like the other parents did.

Xiao Xueman thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “I just hope you stay safe… and have fun.”

Xiao Wan beamed at him, leaned in, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll bring Daddy a gift! Mm, and I’ll bring one for Uncle Shen too!”

That was the last thing he said before he left—waving as he went.

Xiao Wan had never been away from Xiao Xueman since he was born. Watching the flower-carriage rise into the air and slowly ascend toward the sky, Xiao Xueman suddenly started to feel a bit out of sorts.

He stood there, let out a long sigh, like an old father seeing his child off.