"How is the clan?" Yoriichi asked, looking at the Elder over the rim of the bowl. "You look tired, Grandfather."
Xiao Lu paused. He hadn't expected Xiao Ning to notice, or to care. Usually, the boy only asked for money or complained about Xiao Yan.
"The clan is... the clan is fine," Xiao Lu lied smoothly, though he felt a warmth in his chest at the question. "Just the usual bickering. The Jia Lie clan is trying to undercut our prices in the herbal market, but we will manage. Nothing for you to worry about."
Yoriichi nodded, sensing the truth behind the evasion, but he didn't press. He finished the porridge, scraping the bowl clean. The simple food settled easily in his stomach, unlike the meat from yesterday.
"I am full. Thank you."
Xiao Lu took the empty bowl. He hesitated for a moment, his hand disappearing into his wide sleeve.
"Ning'er," Xiao Lu said, his tone turning serious. "I brought you something."
He opened his palm.
Resting on his calloused hand was a small, white jade bottle. Even sealed, a distinct, refreshing medicinal fragrance drifted from it, smelling of mint and crushed bone powder.
Yoriichi's eyes narrowed slightly. He recognized the energy signature immediately. It was potent, but stable.
"This is..."
"A Jade Marrow Pill," Xiao Lu said softly. "It is a High-Tier 1 recovery pill."
Yoriichi looked at the bottle. A High-Tier 1 pill was perfect for his current level. A Tier 2 pill would have been too violent for an 8-Star Dou Disciple to absorb safely, likely causing more damage than healing. But a High-Tier 1 pill? That was the absolute peak of what his body could handle. It was expensive—likely costing several hundred gold coins—but not an impossible treasure that would bankrupt the family.
"Grandfather," Yoriichi started, his voice steady. "This is still a heavy expense. The herbal market is tight right now."
"Hush," Xiao Lu interrupted gently. He took Yoriichi's hand and pressed the cool jade bottle into it. "Your health is the foundation of your future. Besides... I didn't get this alone."
He smiled proudly. "Your sister, Xiao Yu. She sent some of her own savings from the Academy. We pooled our resources to get a high-quality one. She was very insistent that you don't use the cheap healing powder that leaves scars."
Yoriichi looked at the small bottle. It wasn't just medicine. It was the crystallized care of the only two people in this world who stood by him.
He didn't reject it. To reject it would be to insult their effort.
"Thank you," Yoriichi whispered, gripping the bottle tight. "I will not waste it."
"Good," Xiao Lu nodded, but his expression turned stern. "Listen to me, Ning'er. Although it is only Tier 1, the medicinal efficacy is thick. Your meridians are currently clogged from the injury. Do not rush the absorption."
The First Elder pointed a finger at Yoriichi's chest. "Take it slowly. Use the basic dou qi method to guide the energy. If you try to swallow all the efficacy at once, you'll just vomit blood. Understand?"
Yoriichi bowed his head respectfully. "I understand, Grandfather. I will be careful."
"Good lad." Xiao Lu stood up, smoothing his robes. "I must return to the Council Hall. The Clan Leader is holding a meeting about the upcoming market inspection. Rest, Ning'er."
"Work hard, Grandfather," Yoriichi said.
Xiao Lu chuckled, "Cheeky brat," and left the room, closing the door softly.
Yoriichi was alone again.
He uncorked the jade bottle. A rich, herbal aroma filled the room, clearing his sinuses instantly. He tipped the bottle, and a round, pale green pill rolled into his palm. It hummed with a gentle, restorative energy that felt compatible with his current biology.
"High-Tier 1," Yoriichi analyzed. "Strong enough to accelerate healing, weak enough to not burst my veins. A wise choice."
He popped the pill into his mouth. It dissolved instantly, turning into a warm, thick liquid that slid down his throat.
Immediately, a heat spread through his body. Unlike the violent heat of the Smithy or the burning exhaustion of TCB, this heat was soft and viscous. It sought out the cracks in his ribs, the fractures in his shin, wrapping them in a soothing energy.
"Now, to guide it."
Yoriichi adjusted his position on the bed, sitting cross-legged with difficulty.
He did not use Total Concentration Breathing.
TCB was an engine of consumption. It burned energy to create power. Right now, his body was a dry well. Using TCB would burn through the pill's medicinal energy too fast, using it for stamina rather than healing. He needed absorption, not combustion.
Instead, he recalled the memories of the original Xiao Ning—the basic clan meditation technique.
"Passive Cultivation. Return to the source."
He closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply, slowly. Not a vacuum, but a rhythmic tide.
He visualized the energy of the pill as a green river. He guided it carefully through his meridians, directing it away from his muscles and focusing it entirely into his damaged bones. He felt the marrow absorb the energy. He felt the microscopic knitting of calcium and tissue.
It was a slow, meditative process.
One hour passed. Then two.
The sun began to dip lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the room.
Yoriichi opened his eyes. He exhaled a breath of turbid, gray air—the impurities expelled from his healing wounds.
He moved his left leg.
The sharp, stabbing pain was gone, replaced by a dull, manageable ache. The bone had set firmly. The ribs felt tighter, stronger.
He swung his legs off the bed and stood up.
He wobbled, but he stood. He took a step. Then another.
"I can walk," he whispered.
The pill had done in hours what natural healing would have taken days to achieve. It wasn't a miracle—he wasn't fully healed—but he was functional.
He looked at the window. The sky was turning a bruised purple, signaling the arrival of twilight.
He considered training again. His spirit, forged in the fires of demon hunting, wanted to go back to the courtyard, to do pushups, to practice sword swings.
"No," Yoriichi decided, exercising a discipline harder than iron. "The body is a field. I have plowed it, seeded it, and watered it. Now, I must let the sun set so the crop can grow. To till the soil again tonight would be to kill the harvest."
He was not in a rush. The three-day deadline for the "trap" meeting was still two days away.
He sat back on the bed, feeling the newfound stability in his frame.
"Tomorrow morning," Yoriichi promised the darkness gathering in the corners of the room. "Tomorrow, we start again."
He lay back down, pulling the blanket up to his chin. The exhaustion was still there, but it was a good exhaustion now—the feeling of a body rebuilding itself.
Outside, the sun vanished below the horizon. The chirping of crickets began, and the darkness loomed over the Xiao Clan compound.
The Dragon slept, but his bones were hardening.