Zi Yan

Zi Yan stood there in a daze for a few seconds, then came back to her senses. She touched the spot on her forehead where she had just been flicked, relaxed her tense body, and then sized up the young man before her with an inexplicable look. After calming down, she could feel that the young man before her was strangely friendly toward her.

"Who are you? Why haven't I seen you before?" The relaxed Zi Yan plopped down on the spot and asked the young man in front of her.

"Lin Yuan, a little alchemist who just came to the Inner Academy. And you? Little girl?" After answering Zi Yan's question, Lin Yuan knowingly counter-questioned.

"I am Zi Yan, so don't call me little girl!" Zi Yan said irritably.

"Is that so?" Taking advantage of Zi Yan's lack of guard, he quickly moved in front of her and pressed his hand onto her little head. "At such a young age, don't keep calling yourself that. You clearly have such a nice name, Zi Yan!"

Looking at Lin Yuan's gentle smile and feeling the tone in his words that was completely different from how others treated her, Zi Yan, who looked carefree on the outside but was somewhat lonely inside, did not rush to shake off the hand on her head. She only turned her head to the side and said in a muffled voice, "Then don't call me little girl either."

"Though she's a magical beast, and though she's a Dou Wang, her personality really is the same as her appearance—a little girl!" Lin Yuan thought to himself. The smile on his face deepened. He took his hand down from Zi Yan's head, bent slightly, placed his hand in front of her, and said with a smile, "Then I'll be in your care, Little Zi Yan!"

Zi Yan looked at the hand in front of her. For some reason, she felt a little happy. Proudly, she stretched out her own hand and shook Lin Yuan's. Then she stood on tiptoe, patted Lin Yuan's shoulder, and said, "Little Lin, I think highly of you. If anyone bullies you in the future, just use my name!"

"Little Lin? What the hell is that?" As if thinking of something unpleasant, Lin Yuan felt both amused and exasperated, but he did not fuss over it. In any case, she would change how she addressed him on her own in a while.

"Speaking of which, Zi Yan, you were trying to steal my Spirit Pulp Fruit just now, right? Why?" Lin Yuan still knowingly asked.

Perhaps because a bit of friendship had formed through her brief and friendly exchange with Lin Yuan, Zi Yan now felt slightly embarrassed and said honestly, "I could feel that this fruit has a lot of energy. To grow up, I need to eat it."

"Grow up? Eat it? Not refine it into a pill? Aren't you afraid the energy will make you burst?" Lin Yuan put on a puzzled expression.

Hearing this, Zi Yan put her hands on her waist, lifted her nose, and said rather proudly, "I can eat it directly with no problem. It's you humans whose bodies are too weak."

"You humans? Zi Yan, could you be a shape-shifting magical beast? But doesn't magical beast transformation require the seventh rank? You're so weak, you can't even beat me. No matter how I look at you, you don't seem like the seventh rank." Lin Yuan displayed his confusion at the right moment, but the friendliness in his tone did not change at all because of Zi Yan's identity as a magical beast.

After hearing the first two sentences, Zi Yan had still been a little worried that Lin Yuan's attitude toward her would change because of her magical beast identity, just like some people before. But when she heard Lin Yuan call her weak afterward, she immediately became unconvinced. "What do you mean I can't beat you? I didn't use any strength just now. If you don't believe me, let's compete again."

Lin Yuan comforted Zi Yan as if soothing a child. "All right, all right, Zi Yan really is very strong. I'm just confused. Your cultivation is still far from transformation, so how did you transform so early?"

"I accidentally ate an extremely rare Shape-Shifting Grass, and then I became like this and could never change back. I eat these medicinal herbs because I want to grow up quickly. Then I'll be able to freely change between my beast form and human body." Zi Yan frowned. When this was brought up, she did not seem very interested, so even her voice carried a buzzing tone.

"Shape-Shifting Grass? No wonder." Hearing this, Lin Yuan nodded.

"What about your parents?" Lin Yuan asked casually.

"None." Zi Yan lowered her head, curled her legs, wrapped her arms around her knees, and bit her lip tightly with her neat, snow-white teeth. A bit of moisture appeared in her large black eyes. "Ever since I gained awareness, I lived alone deep in the mountains. When I was little, if I was bullied by other guys, I could only run away in disgrace by myself. It wasn't until later, after I ate the Shape-Shifting Grass, that I met the Great Elder of the Inner Academy. He brought me to the Inner Academy, and I stayed here."

Although he had quite a few calculations hidden in his heart, looking at the stubborn little girl before him biting her lip, Lin Yuan could not help but feel a little pity deep down. He sat beside her, gently stroked Zi Yan's little head, and comforted her. "It's all in the past. From now on, you have the Great Elder as family and me as a friend. Life will get better and better."

After a pause, Lin Yuan looked at Zi Yan with great interest and continued, "I'm also alone. I have no blood relatives left in this world. Mm, I always feel like I'm missing a little sister. Zi Yan, do you want to be my little sister?"

Zi Yan, who had originally been a little sad, heard Lin Yuan's words, and her competitive heart instantly drove the sadness away. She stood up, looked down at the sitting Lin Yuan, and said boldly, "Who wants to be your little sister? It's more like you should be my little follower!"

"Oh?" Lin Yuan laughed playfully. He also stood up, took out the Spirit Pulp Fruit, tossed it in his hand, and said regretfully, "Ah, I had originally planned to give this spirit fruit and some medicinal herbs to my little sister as a greeting gift. Since my little sister is gone, I'll keep them for myself."

"Brother!" Zi Yan, whose eyes were fixed on the Spirit Pulp Fruit, instantly changed her expression when she heard this and sweetly called out to Lin Yuan.

"Mm? Why is Young Lady Zi Yan addressing me like this? This little brother cannot bear it." Looking at Zi Yan, Lin Yuan teased.

"Brother, my dear brother, I was joking just now. Don't take it seriously!" Zi Yan shook Lin Yuan's arm coquettishly, her gaze constantly drifting toward the spirit fruit in his hand.

Looking at the obedient Zi Yan before him at this moment, Lin Yuan shook his head. "Forget it, I won't tease you anymore. Catch."

Having said that, Lin Yuan threw the Spirit Pulp Fruit in his hand to Zi Yan. After Zi Yan caught it, a brilliant smile appeared on her cute little face, and her eyes curved into slits from smiling. She looked very happy.

Lin Yuan looked at the happy Zi Yan. Perhaps infected by the little girl's pure smile, his own heart became a little happier too. He smiled and asked Zi Yan, "Zi Yan, let me ask you a question. Are these medicinal herbs tasty when eaten directly? How are the flavor and texture? I've never tried it, so I'm rather curious."

At this, the smile on Zi Yan's face faded, and she complained, "They taste awful, but there's no helping it. If I want to grow up quickly, I have to eat these medicinal herbs that contain powerful energy."

"They taste awful? Then how about processing them like this?" As he spoke, under Zi Yan's slightly puzzled gaze, Lin Yuan waved his sleeve and drew over several medicinal herbs not far away. He transformed his Dou Qi into Azure Spirit Flame and quickly melted them at a suitable temperature. Then he took out a few seasonings from his storage ring and sprinkled them into the pill liquid formed from the melted herbs, before controlling the liquid to split into several portions and condense into more than ten pills.

"Try them!" Lin Yuan handed the fragrant pills in his hand to the waiting Zi Yan.

After receiving them, Zi Yan could not wait to throw one pill into her mouth. Her mouth began to chew, and her eyes narrowed into lines. She looked very satisfied with the taste and texture. After chewing for a while, she swallowed it down, opened her eyes, and looked somewhat unsatisfied. "Delicious!"

Hearing this, Lin Yuan smiled in satisfaction and thought, Of course they're delicious. For this moment, I specifically studied cooking for a period of time. In terms of cooking skill, there should be few alchemists who can compare to me.

Looking at Zi Yan, who had thrown another pill into her mouth, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "In that case, from now on, if you have medicinal herbs, don't eat them raw directly. Bring them to me, and I'll help you process them and make them taste better. I'm quite good at this. In addition, only you can eat these pills yourself. Don't give them to others. Ordinary people can't directly withstand this kind of violent medicinal power."

Zi Yan, who was chewing the pill, made an indistinct sound. "Go-got it."

"Swallow what's in your mouth before speaking!" Lin Yuan rubbed Zi Yan's little head.

Thank you, book friends, for your recommendation votes. A new book has set sail and doesn't have much exposure, so I'll have to trouble everyone to bookmark it and vote. If you have any opinions or suggestions, you're welcome to come to the review section to discuss them.