104: Glimmer of Memory 1

Dawn at the old site of the Xiao Family in Utan City was exceptionally quiet.

Xiao Yan awoke from a nightmare, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his pillow soaked.

He sat up, his fingers unconsciously tracing his cheeks—it was tears.

But no matter how he tried to recall, he couldn't remember the content of the dream, only a heart-wrenching sense of loss lingered.

"It's happening again..." Xiao Yan murmured to himself.

Outside the window, the morning light had just begun to climb the distant mountains.

He dressed and walked towards the courtyard, his steps involuntarily turning towards the east wing—where his two younger brothers lived.

This action was so natural, as if repeated thousands of times, but when he stood before the door, he suddenly felt confused: Why was he here?

Just as he hesitated, the door opened from within.

Xiao Bing, holding a long ice crystal sword, was clearly preparing for his morning practice.

Seeing Xiao Yan, he paused slightly, then nodded in greeting: "Big Brother, good morning."

"Morning," Xiao Yan replied, his gaze going over Xiao Bing's shoulder to see three portions of breakfast on the table inside the room, "Do we have guests?"

Xiao Bing turned to look at the table, his brows slowly furrowing: "I... I don't remember."

He walked back to the table, his finger lightly touching the third bowl of porridge, which was still steaming, "It seems... there should be one more person..."

The two men exchanged silent glances, both seeing the same confusion and unease in each other's eyes.

Since the battle at Xingyun Pavilion, such scenes had occurred too many times—they remembered each other as brothers, remembered the general course of their shared battles, but had lost countless details.

Most unsettlingly, whenever they tried to recall certain specific moments, their minds were simply blank.

"Where is Ling Xiao?" Xiao Yan asked.

"The training ground," Xiao Bing put away his ice crystal sword, "He always goes there before dawn these days."

The training ground in the Xiao Family's back mountain was rebuilt after the disaster, much simpler than the original.

When Xiao Yan and Xiao Bing arrived, Ling Xiao was practicing a complex set of footwork, his silver hair shimmering like flowing water in the morning light.

Strangely, he would occasionally turn to the empty space on his left, as if an invisible person stood there.

"Ling Xiao," Xiao Yan called out.

Ling Xiao stopped his movements, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes as he turned, only to quickly dim when he saw only the two of them: "Big Brother, Second Brother."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I always feel... that there should be three of us when we train..."

Xiao Bing walked to the center of the training ground and suddenly assumed a starting stance: "Burning Decisive First Form, I remember Old Man Yao taught it to us."

"Us?" Xiao Yan instinctively stood to Xiao Bing's right, while Ling Xiao naturally stood to his left.

The three stood in a triangle formation, their movements synchronized as they began to practice—this was a combined attack skill that Old Man Yao had specially designed for them back then.

But when they practiced to the Third Form, a problem arose.

Xiao Bing's ice crystal sword, which should have intertwined with Xiao Yan's flames, was half a beat too slow at the critical moment; Ling Xiao's Spirit of the Plane power, which should have harmonized the center, caused an energy collision due to a directional deviation.

After a loud bang, the three were sent flying several feet by the recoil!

"What happened?" Xiao Yan climbed up from the ground, a sharp pain suddenly came from his right eye, and a few streaks of black light flashed at the edge of his vision, "We used to clearly..."

"Cooperate flawlessly," Xiao Bing finished his sentence, dusting off his clothes, "But now we can't even grasp the most basic rhythm."

Ling Xiao sat on the ground in frustration: "I always feel like something is missing... something that once connected us..."

A series of hurried footsteps interrupted their thoughts.

Xuan Yu, the Ancient Clan's envoy, rushed over, holding an exquisite jade box: "Emperor Yan, this was found in the ruins of Xingyun Pavilion!"

Xiao Yan took the jade box and, upon opening it, his breathing hitched—inside was a crystal-clear bead, with three colored light points slowly rotating within: cyan-silver, dark blue, and silver-white.

"This is..." Xiao Yan's fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Ling Xiao suddenly stood up, his silver eyes fixed on the crystal bead: "I know it!"

He reached out to touch it, and the crystal bead immediately burst forth with dazzling light!