"I suggest you study some more formidable Dou Techniques."
Xiao Jietian's tone was light, conversational.
"Your performance in the recent battle didn't quite match your status as a Three-Star Dou Zong."
A pause.
"Alright, I'm done. Farewell, Great Elder."
He watched Su Qian's face darken like a storm cloud, then promptly closed the door and transformed into a streak of light—gone.
Su Qian stared at the closed door.
The darkness on his face slowly dissolved into helpless amusement.
He's not wrong.
I was… lacking.
He rose.
It seems I must exercise my privileges and enter the Scripture Collection Pavilion.
This crisis has revealed my shortcomings clearly enough.
Xiao Jietian departed Su Qian's pavilion and made his way toward Pan Gate's headquarters.
Xiao Yu and Hu Jia were absent.
Instead, he found a small white figure.
Upon inquiry, he learned they were handling Pan Gate's affairs.
Especially after my Dou Huang strength was revealed, applications to join have surged.
Pan Gate's workload has increased considerably.
He entered the main hall.
A hand reached out—and ruffled the head of the meditating figure.
"Little Zi Yan. What brings you here?"
Zi Yan's eyes snapped open.
Who dares—
She saw him.
Her angry expression melted into one of pure, unadulterated grievance.
"Xiao Jietian! You're finally back! I've been waiting here for you all day!"
Xiao Jietian chuckled at her expression.
Half-feigned, perhaps. But the distress beneath it was genuine.
"Little Zi Yan. Did you need something from me?"
A pause.
"Surely no one in the Inner Academy dares bully you?"
"Of course not!" She planted her hands on her hips, momentarily majestic. "In the entire Inner Academy, aside from you, who would dare touch me, Zi Yan?"
Then her posture deflated.
She produced her pill bottle.
Inverted it.
Shook it.
Nothing emerged.
"All the pills you refined for me… are gone." Her voice was small. "If you hadn't come back, I'd have to chew on raw medicinal ingredients again."
Xiao Jietian pinched her cheek—plump, elastic, full of youthful collagen.
"Why not ask the Alchemy Department to refine them for you?"
In the original work, she rarely sought them out either.
Curious.
Zi Yan fidgeted. Her small hands rubbed together.
"Well… um…"
A pause.
"I don't like them. They ask for too much compensation. And they secretly take some of my ingredients."
Another pause.
"Old Su is just waiting for me to come to him, so he can make me do hard labour—finding medicinal ingredients for free."
Her voice grew firmer.
"I prefer you. You don't steal my ingredients. Your compensation is reasonable. And you don't try to use me."
A huff.
"Do they think I don't notice? Hmph, hmph."
She swung her short legs cheerfully.
"Most importantly… I can feel that you genuinely care about me."
Xiao Jietian's smile softened.
She's not wrong.
I have no intention of using her.
"That's right." His voice was warm. "Little Zi Yan is so adorable. How could I bear to use you?"
Her earlier fidgeting… there's more to it.
The medicinal ingredient storeroom.
But I won't press.
Zi Yan's face split into a grin, revealing her two little tiger teeth.
"Hehe. Xiao Jietian, you're such a good person."
…Did she just give me a 'good person' card?
Xiao Jietian studied her.
Unknown age. At least a thousand years old.
Yet still a child in personality.
By magical beast lifespan standards, Zi Yan is in her infancy—equivalent to a human girl's adolescence.
In the original work, her growth period begins after breaking through to Dou Huang, then absorbing the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit. Only after reaching Dou Sheng will she mature.
He shook off the thoughts.
"Where are your medicinal ingredients?"
"Already prepared!"
With a wave of her hand, a mountain of medicinal ingredients materialized on the table.
A small portion still bore traces of soil. Most had been harvested long ago.
Xiao Jietian's gaze lingered on the soiled ones.
Zi Yan noticed.
"Old Su gave me those," she explained.
A flicker of emotion passed through her eyes—quickly concealed, but not quickly enough.
Old Su said they were discarded ingredients.
But there is no such thing as 'discarded' medicinal ingredients.
Xiao Jietian saw that flicker.
He said nothing.
Zi Yan is intelligent. She understands many things on her own.
No need to elaborate.
"I'll refine the pills for you now." He surveyed the pile. "There's quite a lot. I won't do it here."
"Okay!" Zi Yan rubbed her stomach. "But you have to be quick. I can't take it anymore."
"Alright, alright." He stroked her twin-tailed hair. "It'll be done soon. Just bear with it a little longer."
Zi Yan looked up at him.
Seven parts anticipation. Three parts pleading.
"Then you really have to be quick." Her voice was earnest. "I've been waiting for so, so long. I can't take it anymore."
He gathered the ingredients and walked toward the cultivation room.
Zi Yan immediately hopped off her chair and followed.
He produced the Purple Heaven Cauldron and began refining.
Zi Yan, bored, surveyed his room.
Simple. Tidy.
"Can I lie down for a bit?" She looked sleepy.
"Yes."
She scampered to his bed and flopped onto it.
Soft.
Comfortable.
Her dark eyes half-closed in enjoyment.
The cauldron reached temperature.
Xiao Jietian's hands moved. Ingredients entered in orderly succession. Clusters of flame enveloped them, each burning separately.
Time passed.
The cauldron lid opened.
Pills of every colour—a veritable rainbow—flew out in succession, each settling into a jade bottle.
Three large bottles. Filled to the brim.
Each pill radiated powerful medicinal energy.
If Zi Yan saw these, she'd probably drool all over the floor and forget how to walk.
He approached his bed.
Zi Yan lay sprawled across it, fast asleep.
A helpless smile touched his lips.
He removed her shoes gently, revealing tiny, sock-clad feet.
He straightened her body. Her serene expression stirred something soft in his chest.
He drew a blanket over her—carefully, so as not to wake her.
He returned to the cultivation area, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate.
The sun set.
Twilight's afterglow filtered through the window like a thin veil, bathing the room in a dreamy, ethereal glow.
Xiao Jietian's eyes snapped open.
Joy—barely contained, almost overflowing—blazed within them.