Leaving the auction house behind, Xiao Yan lingered around the surrounding streets for some time before finally ducking into a quiet alley where foot traffic was light.
With practiced speed, he stripped off the oversized black cloak and muttered, "Master, you nearly exposed me."
"Heh heh — what I did is precisely what you were thinking yourself." Yao Lao's amused voice drifted from the ancient black ring.
Shaking his head helplessly, Xiao Yan felt a pang of guilt toward his father. Twice now he had ventured out to auction elixirs, and twice he had indirectly fleeced the man without his knowledge. He kicked the discarded cloak into a storm drain and murmured, "I'll find a chance to work something out with the Xiao Clan. Consider it a bit of compensation for Father."
Clutching the medicinal ingredients to his chest, Xiao Yan tucked them securely into his robes and slipped cautiously out of the alley. He made his way back to the Xiao residence at a brisk run.
Since Xiao Zhan and the others had not yet returned, the clan compound felt unusually empty. The guards at the gate recognized the young master — whose reputation had once again surged within the household — and made no attempt to offer the slightest hindrance. They offered respectful smiles as he darted past.
Xiao Yan burst into his room with characteristic urgency and laid the ingredients on the table with the delicacy one would afford a priceless treasure.
The Ink-Leaf Lotus was a withered, brown thing with five leaves that gleamed like fresh ink. Each leaf represented a decade of growth.
The Serpent Saliva Fruit was a round, jade-green berry the size of half a fist. Holding it beneath his nose, Xiao Yan caught a whiff of its cloying, sour-sweet fragrance. This fruit grew only in the nests of fifth-tier serpentine magical beasts and was exceedingly rare. Being serpentine in nature, it leaned toward the yin-cold spectrum — an ideal ingredient for tempering the fiercer herbs in alchemical recipes.
The Spirit Gathering Grass looked no different from ordinary blades of grass, save for the faint, luminous glow that pulsed at the tip of each stalk. The brighter the glow, the more potent the purifying energy contained within.
The second-tier water-attribute magic core was a deep cerulean sphere. Resting on the table, its ambient moisture had already begun to seep into the wood, a testament to the rich reservoir of water-attribute energy it held.
Running his eyes slowly over each ingredient, Xiao Yan asked with barely contained eagerness, "Master, the materials are all here. Can we begin refining now?"
"What's the rush?" Yao Lao's voice carried a mild scolding. "The herbs aren't going anywhere. Alchemy requires an uninterrupted environment — it's still too early in the day. If someone disturbs me midway, you'll lose your materials at best, and expose me at worst. Wait until later tonight."
Deflated, Xiao Yan sighed and carefully placed the ingredients into the cabinet in the corner of his room. Then he flopped onto the bed and waited for nightfall.
A little over half an hour later, his bedroom door burst open with a violent crash.
Long, slender legs carried their owner into the room. Xiao Yu surveyed the space with cold, appraising eyes, then fixed her gaze on the dazed Xiao Yan who had been startled awake. "Young Master — does someone need to come fetch you just to get you to a meal?"
The sudden intrusion yanked Xiao Yan from his haze. He sat bolt upright and stared at Xiao Yu — arms crossed over her ample chest, standing at the center of the room. After a long moment, a chill raced down his spine.
*Damn it... damn it — thank the heavens I didn't let Master start refining just now. This idiot woman...*
The thought of what would have happened had the alchemy process been interrupted sent a tremor of dread through him. His eyes began to smolder with rising fury.
His jaw tightened. Xiao Yan drew in a slow, controlled breath, and the fear coiled in his chest transformed instantaneously into a white-hot rage. "You idiot woman — do you have no manners? Can't you knock? You uneducated — you have no upbringing whatsoever!"
Xiao Yu stared, momentarily stunned. She had never seen Xiao Yan display such unbridled indignation before. But the torrent of insults quickly wiped the surprise from her face, replacing it with a hard, furious flush. She clenched her teeth, took two long strides on those slender legs, and lunged straight toward him. "Little brat — you think I can't kick your door whenever I please? I'll kick it every single day!"
Watching her bear down on him, teeth bared, Xiao Yan returned her glare with one equally cold. He raised his palm and gave a sharp clench.
"Suction Palm."
A fierce, invisible pull erupted from his palm. Xiao Yu, who had just reached the edge of the bed, pitched forward — her body yanked off its feet and dragged directly onto the mattress.
Since breaking through to the ninth rank of Dou Qi, the suction force of his palm had grown considerably stronger. In the past, moving an entire person's weight with such ease would have been unthinkable.
Even as he registered a flicker of surprise at the increase, it was quickly smothered by indignation. Xiao Yan rolled over, pinned Xiao Yu's long legs beneath him, and planted his backside firmly on her flat, smooth stomach. Leaning forward, he pressed both hands over her wrists and held them fast.
Pinned beneath him in such a humiliating posture, Xiao Yu's head spun. A flush of crimson crept across her pale cheeks. She began to struggle violently, her teeth bared. "Get off me, you little bastard!"
Xiao Yan's hands clamped tighter around her wrists. Her frantic thrashing left him slightly winded. After a tense stalemate, he suddenly released one hand, seized her by the wrist, and flipped her over.
Xiao Yu's body turned, and the elegant curve of her back, the pert swell of her hips, and those long, shapely legs extended into an almost artfully sculpted line.
Xiao Yan had no heart to admire the sight. Clenching his teeth, he raised his palm and brought it down hard — without the slightest hesitation — upon her upturned backside.
*Crack.*
The crisp sound hung in the air, tinged with a strange, ambiguous resonance that seemed to linger in the quiet of the room.
"That's for not knocking before you barge in, Young Master says."
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