"Scram, scram, scram!" Hu Jia glared at Xiao Tian, then changed the subject. "What were you doing in there to end up like this?"
"My alchemy cauldron exploded," Xiao Tian said, shrugging helplessly.
"No—when other people's cauldrons explode, black smoke billows out. Why did yours look like a full‑blown detonation? What were you refining?"
"I don't know. I was refining a peak seventh‑grade medicinal pill." Xiao Tian answered simply.
Hu Jia's eyes shot open. "What did you say?" She leapt back as if struck. "You were refining a peak seventh‑grade pill? So you're already a high‑grade seventh‑grade alchemist? Are you even human?"
She was stunned. In two years he had jumped from sixth‑grade to high‑grade seventh‑grade—an absurdly fast rise. Elder Huo of the Alchemy Department had lingered at fifth‑grade for most of his life; advancement in alchemy was not like improving cultivation. It required rare talent, insight, and countless painstaking experiments. Yet here stood Xiao Tian, who had crossed tiers in a blink. Hu Jia stared at him, equal parts awe and alarm.
"Isn't this something anyone with hands can do?" Xiao Tian said, as if it were the most ordinary thing.
Hu Jia's jaw tightened. Hearing his casual tone made her want to throttle him. "You're impossible," she muttered, half amused, half furious.
"Besides," Xiao Tian added with a teasing smile, "isn't this your masterpiece? How can you laugh at me now?"
"You started it. I was just returning the favor. Don't slander me." He grabbed her collar and steered her toward the washing area.
"Let go of me! I can walk by myself!" Hu Jia kicked and flailed, indignant at being manhandled.
"Don't move. If your clothes tear, don't blame me."
Her protests died down; her face flushed with anger, but she fell silent. Xiao Tian carried her to the washing pool and set her down.
The washing area was simple: a shallow pool fed by a steady stream of clear water—enough for faces and hands, not for full baths. Xiao Tian shoved her toward the water. "Hurry up and wash, little charcoal."
"I know, big charcoal," she shot back, then bent to scrub the soot from her face.
They cleaned in companionable silence. Xiao Tian rinsed his hair and used Dou Qi to dry it; Hu Jia washed her handkerchief, wiped her face, and began to scrub the ash from her legs. When she finished, she offered the handkerchief to him.
"Here—wipe your face. You still have soot." She handed it over, then reflexively tried to pull it back when she remembered she'd used it on her legs.
Too late. Xiao Tian had already taken it and began to dab at his own face. He noticed Hu Jia's shifting expression and asked, curious, "What's wrong? You feeling unwell?"
"Nothing—maybe the water was too cold," she lied, cheeks coloring.
"Don't move." He pressed her head gently and wiped a stubborn smudge from the corner of her brow. Then he returned the handkerchief to her. Hu Jia's blush deepened at the unexpected intimacy.
"You can go out now," he said.
She looked up, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I need to change. Want to peek?" He flicked her forehead playfully.
"Oh—oh—" Hu Jia touched her brow, glanced at him, then hurried out.
Xiao Tian changed quickly, cleaned himself, and put on fresh clothes. Outside, Hu Jia lingered by the doorway, staring at the handkerchief in her hand as if it were a talisman. When he stepped out, he found her still dazed.
"What are you doing here? Leaving or continuing to cultivate?" he asked.
"I'll leave. I finished cultivating and was about to head back," she said, snapping back to herself.
"Let's go then." They walked side by side.
"Xiao Tian, when will Xun'er return?" Hu Jia asked after a moment.
"Soon. I'll go pick Xun'er up when the time's right." Xiao Tian wasn't in a hurry to bring her back; Xun'er still needed to complete her baptism. Bringing her home prematurely could harm her prospects. They kept in touch through sound transmission stones.
"You're still thinking about Xun'er?" Hu Jia's tone was half teasing, half possessive. "Be careful, I'll throw you out, you know."
Xiao Tian blinked, then remembered something with a grin. "Oh right—Tiger Girl, you're a lesbian. No wonder I always felt something was off."
"No! I just miss Xun'er—she's my good friend." Hu Jia's voice wavered; a strange flutter had taken root inside her.
Xiao Tian glanced at her, amused. Hu Jia scolded herself inwardly for being fickle. 'Greedy, fickle scumbag, heartless betrayer!' she thought, imagining the beautiful women in Xiao Tian's orbit.
"Are you cursing me?" he asked, reading her expression.
She froze. "No—well, maybe. You're so promiscuous!"
"I'm not the one with the big opinion here," he teased.
"I'd go through fire and water for my friends," Hu Jia declared, hands on her hips, chest thrust forward.
"Ah yes, Tiger Girl is the most loyal," Xiao Tian said, shaking his head. "Also—stop puffing out your chest. It's small; puffing it higher won't help."
Hu Jia blinked, then followed his gaze downward and exploded. "You call this small? Are you blind?"
It wasn't enormous, but it certainly wasn't tiny—more like dragon fruit size, she thought indignantly. She crossed her arms and glared, determined to win this argument by sheer force of will.