Over the days that followed, Xiao Yan practically made it a daily routine to visit the herbal shop run by Ye Lingyu. It was almost as if he were clocking in for work—same time, same place, every day. With his frequent visits, the two naturally grew more familiar. Truth be told, Ye Lingyu's laziness meant she rarely made an effort to run the shop seriously. As a result, her place had next to no customers. Apart from Xiao Yan, virtually no one came in.
And for reasons she couldn't quite explain, Ye Lingyu found herself oddly drawn to Xiao Yan. There was a mysterious sense of comfort about him that made her instinctively want to get closer. Over time, she finally worked up the courage to ask his name, narrowing the distance between them.
"Brother Xiao Yan, since you're buying herbs every day, you must be an alchemist, right?" Ye Lingyu asked casually while wrapping up his purchase for the day.
"Mhm." Xiao Yan nodded. While striking up conversation with her was part of the plan to get closer, he wasn't just here for socializing. The herbs grown in the same field as the Life Spirit Flame naturally retained traces of its aura. If he could refine them into a medicinal solution, it might help him mask his own Heavenly Flame aura—just as Xiao Yao had suggested.
"Then, Brother Xiao Yan, what tier alchemist are you?" Ye Lingyu's curiosity was piqued now that he'd confirmed her suspicion.
"Fifth-tier, more or less." Xiao Yan answered offhandedly. It wasn't that he was trying to hide his real level—after all, he was a true ninth-tier alchemist—but if he claimed that, she would probably just think he was joking. Fifth-tier sounded impressive but believable.
"Fifth-tier… That's amazing!" Ye Lingyu gasped in awe. Although she didn't have much passion for alchemy, she understood how difficult it was to improve in rank. In Ye City, fifth-tier alchemists were already considered elite. And considering how young Xiao Yan appeared, it wasn't hard to imagine him eventually becoming a seventh or even eighth-tier master.
"It's nothing, really. Besides, you're an alchemist too. With your talent, it shouldn't be too hard for you to reach fifth-tier," Xiao Yan said with a smile.
"Huh? How'd you know I was an alchemist?" she blinked in surprise.
"Don't forget—alchemists are especially sensitive to soul power. Your soul aura is stronger than the average person's. It's not difficult to tell," he explained with a chuckle.
"Oh, that makes sense." Ye Lingyu nodded thoughtfully. Then she sighed. "Still, becoming a fifth-tier alchemist isn't that easy. I'm not even a first-tier yet. At best, I'm an apprentice. To reach your level... I'd have to wait until the next era!"
Xiao Yan furrowed his brows. That didn't add up. He could sense that her soul power was equivalent to at least a second-tier alchemist. As the daughter of the Ye Family—one of the five Pill Tower clans—she would've had all the necessary support: skilled mentors, access to cauldrons, medicinal materials, and training environments. How could she still be stuck at apprentice level?
"Um... Actually, I'm just not that into alchemy. It's too exhausting. I never really trained hard," she scratched her head sheepishly, as if realizing what Xiao Yan was puzzled about.
Hearing that, Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. No wonder—he'd met her in his past life too. Her Dou Qi cultivation had reached the Dou Ling level, yet her alchemy skills barely scraped by at second-tier. Back then, he'd assumed it was because she lacked a proper teacher. But now? It was just her being lazy.
"You mentioned before that you were kicked out of your family. I'm guessing it had something to do with this?" he asked with a sigh. "If you improve your alchemy skills, they might let you back."
"Well... technically, yes. But improving my alchemy feels like climbing a mountain blindfolded," she muttered.
"Then let me teach you," Xiao Yan said with a gentle smile.
After all, as a ninth-tier alchemist, teaching a fledgling apprentice to reach first or even second-tier would be a breeze. More importantly, teaching her would give him a legitimate excuse to stay close and absorb the Life Spirit Flame's aura without raising suspicion.
Ye Lingyu blinked, stunned by his offer. But thinking about how this would let her spend more time with Xiao Yan, her eyes lit up and she eagerly agreed. When she called him "teacher" for the first time, Xiao Yan felt a strange sense of déjà vu—like a memory echoing from another life. His thoughts drifted to the past.
Nearby, Xiao Yao tilted her head in confusion. 'Wait... I told him to get closer to the girl, sure. But why is he getting this close? Could he really have a thing for young girls? Come to think of it... most of the girls around him have been this type. Is my small body part of his... preferences?'
Xiao Yan, naturally, had no idea his moment of compassion—shaped by past-life memories—was being turned into more "evidence" that he might be a loli-con. But it wasn't long before he realized something that truly shocked him.
Ye Lingyu… really wasn't suited to be an alchemist.
He never imagined that someone could screw up brewing a basic blood-coagulating potion badly enough to blow up the cauldron.
In just a few minutes, she had violated almost every known rule of alchemy. After generating flame, she threw the herbs in without channeling any wood-type Dou Qi. That alone was risky. But then she messed up the order of herbs—despite there being only a few—and misunderstood their properties. He told her to control the heat, but she cranked the temperature until her cauldron became a furnace.
She somehow managed to extract a potion, only to spill half of it while bottling it. Even worse, the black liquid she did collect had no coagulating effect—it nearly corroded the jade bottle itself.
Xiao Yan stared at the half-melted bottle, dumbfounded. 'This girl might actually have more talent for poison than alchemy. Even Xiao Yixian and her Woeful Poison Body never turned healing herbs into a lethal compound…'
"Teacher, how did I do?" Ye Lingyu beamed as she carried over the scorched remains of her cauldron. Inside it lay a few blackened pills that looked more like charcoal than medicine. "I finally managed to form pills! Does this mean I'm now a first-tier alchemist?"
"Don't call me teacher," Xiao Yan said with a weary sigh. "I'm not worthy of being your teacher."
Then he added dryly, "Just do me one favor—when you go out, don't tell anyone you're my disciple."
He vaguely remembered that in his past life, he had taught this girl mostly out of self-interest, barely putting in effort. Even so, her Dou Qi cultivation had skyrocketed. Yet now, with him patiently guiding her step by step in this life, her alchemy was a trainwreck.
'Maybe… just maybe the problem isn't with her. Maybe… it's me?'
(End of Chapter)
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