Chapter 19: Lifespan
"I'm here to pick up a girl!" Xiao Bai raised his eyebrows. He would never admit he was here to punch in.
When the girl heard what Xiao Bai said, her smile grew even bigger. She said playfully, "Who are you here to pick up, Brother Xiao Bai?"
"You're asking even though you know the answer!" Xiao Bai scratched her nose unhappily.
"Hehe... let's go!" Xiao Xun'er smiled happily and hugged his arm.
Xiao Bai felt the smoothness on his arm, and his whole body stiffened, then relaxed. The girl didn't seem to mind. If he overreacted, it would only hurt her feelings.
Xiao Bai felt a little emotional. The little girl from back then had grown up.
Xiao Xun'er felt Xiao Bai's reaction and a blush rose to her cheeks, but she didn't let go. Instead, she leaned her head against his arm.
Looking up, Xiao Xun'er seemed to have just noticed the two people beside her. She wasn't shy and greeted them openly.
"Cousin Xiao Yan, Cousin Xiao Mei!"
Xiao Yan and Xiao Mei looked at the couple next to them, speechless. Suddenly, they were force-fed dog food.
Pah... so sweet!
Xiao Mei hid her jealousy and said with a smile, "Cousin Xun'er!"
Xiao Yan only nodded. He didn't want to think about love or relationships. He just wanted to become stronger.
Xiao Bai looked at Xun'er, the drama queen. This girl was definitely doing it on purpose.
He didn't bother pointing it out. His attitude was clear: he had no interest in girls from the Xiao clan. In that case, it was perfect for Xun'er to step in.
He tilted his head toward Xiao Yan and asked,
"Are you staying or leaving together?"
Xiao Yan waved his hand and said,
"Brother Bai, you go ahead. I'm heading to the back mountain to relax."
Xiao Bai nodded, gave a slight nod to Xiao Mei, and left with Xiao Xun'er.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Mei watched the pair leave with different expressions.
After a moment, they looked at each other, seeing strangeness in each other's eyes. The atmosphere turned awkward.
Xiao Mei felt like she and Xiao Yan no longer belonged to the same world. At the coming-of-age ceremony next year, he would likely be assigned to manage the clan's businesses.
Even if Xiao Yan's father was the clan leader, it wouldn't change anything.
Thinking of this, Xiao Mei said directly,
"Cousin Xiao Yan, my companions are waiting for me over there. I'll go first!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she was already a meter away.
Xiao Yan's eyes twitched. Was he really that unpopular?
Ha~, women… tui…!
...
"Brother Xiao Bai, are you feeling better?"
On the way back, Xiao Xun'er was in a good mood. Xiao Bai had said he would pick her up today, which surprised her a bit.
"I should be thanking you for the pills. Aside from my hair, everything else is basically back to normal."
Xiao Xun'er tilted her head and looked at him carefully for a moment, then nodded.
"That's good. By the way, do you still have enough pills? If not, I'll prepare more for you!"
Xiao Bai waved his hand and said, "No need. I still have all the ones you gave me last time, and honestly, they're almost useless now."
After seeing how scary he looked last time, Xiao Xun'er had given him several healing pills—third-grade and fourth-grade—and left in a hurry. The next morning, she returned with a few bottles of higher-grade pills.
Wujindan, a fifth-grade elixir, increases qi and blood. It's used for body refinement and especially effective for those suffering severe qi and blood loss.
Mulingdan, also a fifth-grade elixir, restores vitality. This rare elixir can prolong life, but only for those below the Dou Wang level. Because of this, powerful cultivators don't value it, and weaker ones don't understand its worth.
Qingming Shoudan, a sixth-grade elixir, can extend the user's life by ten years—but only once in a lifetime.
In reality, Xiao Bai had just been trying to comfort Xun'er. Those healing pills were useless—he wasn't actually injured. Xiao Bai felt no effect from taking even one.
The Wujindan had some effect, but it wasn't much. Now there was a trace of undetectable silver in his blood—the power of thunder. It seemed only Wood Thunder could stimulate the growth of this new blood.
As for the Mulingdan and Qingming Shoudan, Xiao Bai really didn't know what to say. As soon as he took them, the wood spirit vitality in the pills was swallowed by the Wood Thunder. Xiao Bai recalled that the forces wreaking havoc inside him were just thunder seeds.
What is a thunder seed? A thunder seed is a thunder seed.
This made Xiao Bai feel a bit bitter. These weren't allies—they were more like ancestors. For now, it was still manageable, but once he reached the level of Dou Wang or Dou Huang, he'd have to find ways to grow all five of them.
"Can your hair return to normal?" Xiao Xun'er looked at Xiao Bai's gray hair. She didn't dislike it—sudden graying in a cultivator often represented a loss in lifespan.
What concerned her most was how much lifespan Xiao Bai had left.
"It should be fine!" Xiao Bai smiled calmly. He didn't mind the color of his hair—as long as it wasn't the color of Wood Thunder.
"What realm is Brother Xiao Bai in now?" Xiao Xun'er asked with a curious tone.
Xiao Bai was a little surprised. This girl never asked about that sort of thing. Why now?
But he didn't think much of it. He used to hide his realm just to avoid drawing attention for crossing multiple levels at once. Now that some time had passed, there was no harm in revealing it.
"Five-star Dou Shi!" Xiao Bai said truthfully. He had already refined more than half of the Binghuo Yanglei in his body. The rest would allow him to break through another one or two stars at most.
After months of torment, Xiao Bai now appeared stern. Anyone who experienced constant pain and couldn't sleep for months would look worse than him. Smiling was impossible.
Xiao Xun'er's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected Xiao Bai to reach five-star Dou Shi just one year after becoming a Dou Zhe. An idea suddenly popped into her mind.
If Xiao Bai really had a short lifespan, she could first help him become a Da Dou Shi, then give him a Life Devouring Pill, and finally provide him with resources to break through to Dou Huang as soon as possible to extend his lifespan. Wouldn't that solve everything? Perfect!
"Xun'er, you're such a little genius!" Xiao Xun'er praised herself in her heart.
Xiao Bai had no idea that the cute girl clinging to his arm was planning to feed him a Life Devouring Pill. Otherwise, he might've packed up and run away that night.
"What are you thinking about, Xun'er?"
Xiao Bai looked at the girl who suddenly looked smug and asked, puzzled.
Even if she broke through from the ninth stage of Dou Zhe to Dou Shi in a year, it shouldn't be a big deal for someone from an ancient clan. Why was she so proud?
"Nothing, nothing!" Xiao Xun'er's eyes darted away.
She couldn't let Brother Xiao Bai know her plan. Given the rarity of the Life Devouring Pill, he probably didn't know about it. She could just lie and say it was a vitality-recovering pill and have him take it.
What to do after taking it? Just listen to her.
Xiao Xun'er squinted her eyes like a little fox who had just stolen a chicken. Thinking of Xiao Bai's helpless expression at that time, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"Why does this girl seem a little off today?" Xiao Bai thought silently as he looked at her expression.
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[ end of the chapter ]