Xun'er? You're here too?" Xiao Yan said casually, though he felt a strange guilt deep inside.
His countless years of experience kept his expression steady...but inwardly, it felt like he'd just been caught cheating.
"This is even more thrilling… what's going on with me?"
"Brother Xiao Yan," Xun'er said softly, her small face showing a hint of hurt. "Has that vixen already charmed you too?"
"Of course not."
Xiao Yan shook his head. "I just met with Sister Ya Fei to discuss something that'll help me recover my strength."
"You've only met her once, yet you're already calling her Sister Ya Fei?"
"Xun'er, that's a small-minded way of thinking," Xiao Yan said, suddenly straight-faced. "Sister Ya Fei is helping me find several rare herbs—she's doing me a big favor."
Hearing that, Xun'er's eyes dimmed further. A misty sheen formed over them.
She had only made one small comment, yet he'd already gotten angry with her.
Just as she was about to look away, a warm hand suddenly took hers.
When she looked up, the stern expression on Xiao Yan's face had softened into something gentle.
"Ya Fei is indeed beautiful," he said softly, "but when you grow up, Xun'er, you'll be even more stunning. In my heart, you'll always come first."
His warm gaze met hers, and Xun'er's face instantly turned crimson.
"B-Brother Xiao Yan… you've definitely damaged your brain from too much training.
Ever since you woke up, you've been doing nothing but… weird, pervy things! You're such a pighead!"
Flustered, she yanked her hand free and ran off, her face bright red.
"Phew… that was close."
Watching her retreating figure, Xiao Yan sighed in relief.
Good thing she's still a little girl. If it were the Xun'er from tens of thousands of years later, this trick wouldn't have worked.
"Still… why does this feel more nerve-wracking than fighting those ancient demon emperors?"
He shook his head, glancing faintly toward the deeper shadows of the bamboo grove.
After a moment, feeling the cool breeze brush past him, Xiao Yan turned and headed back to his room.
Not long after he left, a faint whisper rose from within the shadows.
"Oh no… could the young lady actually be developing feelings for that boy?"
Over the next two days, Xiao Yan mostly rested, occasionally exercising his body.
On one hand, he was enjoying the rare innocence of childhood.
On the other, he was steadily adjusting his physical state....after all, this body was still far too weak.
Finally, on the third day, Ya Fei sent someone to deliver five full sets of medicinal ingredients.
"They actually gathered all five?"
Seeing the neatly packed herbs before him, the calmness in Xiao Yan's eyes finally rippled.
He tapped his black ring lightly. A wisp of phantom energy rose, and an elderly figure slowly emerged from within.
Seeing that familiar form, Xiao Yan smirked.
"Teacher," he said with a grin, "time to get to work!"
Go ahead—tell me what you need this old man to do. But I'll say this first… with my current condition, even refining a sixth-grade pill would be quite taxing."
Yawning lazily, Yao Lao looked like he had just woken from a deep sleep.
Because he had only absorbed Xiao Yan's Dou Qi once, his soul power had merely recovered to about the level of a Dou Wang. Without using the Bone-Chilling Flame, even facing a Dou Huang expert would be a serious challenge.
"Hehe, I know exactly what state you're in, Teacher. But this pill shouldn't be difficult for you."
Xiao Yan chuckled, pointing toward a small mountain of boxes beside him.
From among them, he drew out five with special markings.
Those boxes were delivered by Ya Fei's trusted subordinates.
On the surface, they contained assorted snacks....candied fruit, crisp pastries, and the like—sent as gifts for the Xiao family's young master.
Their total "value" was only a few hundred gold coins, so no one in the Xiao family suspected anything.
They simply assumed Ya Fei was fond of Xiao Yan.
In reality, however, hidden among these boxes were precious herbs worth fifty thousand gold coins.
Xiao Yan wasn't ready to let the family know too much about his affairs just yet.
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