Being Kept

Being Kept

"Here."

Yao Wan then handed the pill she had just refined to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan did not suspect a thing. He opened his mouth and swallowed that pill into his stomach.

The pill entered his mouth, bringing with it an elegant fragrance that refreshed the heart and lungs, then turned into a cool breath that sank into his belly.

Xiao Yan had once eaten some pills that aided cultivation, but because neither his Dou Qi nor his physical strength had been enough to withstand pills with sufficiently potent medicinal force, those pills had not only tasted unbearably bitter, their effects had also fallen short of expectations.

Unlike those pills he had swallowed before, the pill Wan Guniang refined—setting aside its effects for the moment—was already worlds apart in appearance and scent alone.

Only, when the coolness after swallowing the pill gradually turned into a scorching heat that spread from the inside out, Xiao Yan's mind could no longer hold such idle thoughts.

He immediately sat cross-legged before Wan Guniang, then closed his eyes and focused on circulating the Dou Qi within his body, regulating his qi and blood.

Yao Wan did not slack off at this moment either. She raised her slender jade fingers, then pressed them against Xiao Yan's back, over his heart.

Though she herself had always felt that her Dou Wang realm was still far too weak and lowly, that still depended on who she was comparing herself to.

Within the Yao Clan, someone at her realm was naturally still a young outstanding talent in the midst of growth.

But outside Central State, it was enough for her to run around wherever she pleased.

Vigorous yet incomparably gentle Dou Qi followed the lotus arm with which Yao Wan pressed against Xiao Yan's back and surged into Xiao Yan's body like a tide.

It helped him sort out the Medicinal Property that was gradually spreading within his body, while guiding the sufficiently mild Medicinal Property into Xiao Yan's meridians, repairing as quickly as possible those meridians that had not yet been severely damaged.

"Hoo—"

Xiao Yan's eyes were tightly shut, but he could not help breathing out a mouthful of stale air.

"Focus. Regulate your qi and blood. I will help you nourish your meridians. Do not resist my Dou Qi."

Compared with Xiao Yan, who was nervous but in truth still fairly relaxed, Yao Wan had it much worse. The Medicinal Property all depended on her guidance, while Xiao Yan only needed to circulate it through his body as he usually did when cultivating, so the heavy burden naturally fell on Yao Wan.

As Yao Wan guided the scattered, gentle Medicinal Property with exceptional care, letting it flow naturally into Xiao Yan's meridians, she could not help thinking that fortunately she had just burned away part of the Medicinal Property along with the impurities. Otherwise, with Xiao Yan's current constitution, even eating a slightly qualified pill would probably have placed a tremendous burden on his body.

"...Mm."

Xiao Yan's tightly shut eyes slowly opened a crack, and he only gave a muffled groan in response.

Thinking back, it seemed he had not never done something like nourishing meridians before. Back then, he had done this for Xun'er...

However, having someone else nourish his meridians for him truly was a first.

Since it concerned Xiao Yan's future cultivation, Yao Wan was also exceptionally serious while nourishing Xiao Yan's meridians, so naturally she did not know what Xiao Yan had thought of in that brief daze.

Only when Night Sky was gradually torn open by the morning glow did the broken sunlight illuminate the dim earth once more.

Behind the Xiao Clan guest room, a streak of golden mottled light fell through the window facing east.

Yao Wan then loosened the fingertips pressed against Xiao Yan's back and withdrew the Dou Qi she had been guiding.

"All right. Your meridians have been properly nourished, and the expanded meridians have stabilized as well. I estimate your speed of absorbing Dou Qi should be about thirty percent faster. For you, this can barely be counted as a blessing in disguise."

Xiao Yan stood up while listening to Wan Guniang say this.

"Many thanks, Wan Guniang."

"What is there to thank? Since I chose to help you, it naturally was not merely for that one word of thanks."

Yao Wan shook her head and said.

"Continue cultivating. Perhaps your constitution might just recover one day..."

Xiao Yan nodded.

"Then the Body Tempering Fluid Wan Guniang gave me..."

"Oh, that? There should be about two-thirds of the amount left, right? Divide the remaining Medicinal Liquid over seven days. Just use a little each day when you bathe."

"Although I repaired and strengthened your meridians, so I imagine you can bear a little more of the Medicinal Property inside without much issue, this concerns your body, after all. You cannot be careless. Take it slowly, one step at a time."

Yao Wan explained.

Xiao Yan also felt that Wan Guniang's words were reasonable, but then he heard her continue, "After seven days, I will specially prepare a Spirit Medicine more suited to you. Do not even think about having me directly raise your Dou Qi cultivation. It is best not to do things that force growth like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, but continuing to improve your physical strength should not be a problem."

"...Wan Guniang?"

Xiao Yan froze. He had originally thought that, as an alchemist of lofty status, Wan Guniang helping him clean up the aftermath was already the utmost kindness. He had not expected that his understanding of Wan Guniang seemed to be still far from reaching the limits he had anticipated.

Or to put it more bluntly, Xiao Yan naturally was not so self-absorbed as to take it for granted that Wan Guniang would treat him so well.

If the initial gift of medicine was merely a generous repayment for a light favor like a meal and a night's lodging, and refining the pill could barely be considered the reserve of someone unwilling to see an oversight under her own hands, then what was this promised gift now supposed to be?

"What is it?"

Yao Wan, on the contrary, seemed to think giving him medicine was only natural.

Beneath the bamboo hat, as she lifted her beautiful head, Xiao Yan cupped his fists.

"Xiao Yan understands that there is no free lunch under heaven..."

"You mean you do not understand why I am treating you this way?"

When Yao Wan heard this, she instead answered Xiao Yan's question first, then sighed softly.

"People nowadays are simply too utilitarian. Why must everything be something of value?"

Xiao Yan opened his mouth, but did not know what to say. "This..."

"Some people love visiting brothels. Does that benefit their cultivation in any way?"

Yao Wan asked softly.

Xiao Yan could not answer, and he was too embarrassed to thick-skinnedly say that it did.

"Is it not because it feels comfortable? It is far better than bitter cultivation."

"In other words, helping you is the same to me."

Yao Wan explained, "Although I can refine pills, I do not like refining pills. Instead, I like tinkering with strange things I enjoy or with my own pill formulas. But things like pills are, in the end, used on people."

"...If I am willing, that is the best reason."

Yao Wan's voice was like that of an oriole, pleasant and melodious, yet it brought Xiao Yan a sense of casualness that seemed not to belong to these mountains and waters.

She was like an elusive immortal who had, by chance, come to his side.

"What is it? Are you unwilling?"

All of a sudden, Yao Wan's words pulled Xiao Yan's drifting thoughts back to reality.

"I'm willing! Of course I'm willing!"

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and decisively abandoned that little bit of stingy reserve he had.

Only a fool would pass up a bargain.

Being kept by an alchemist at the Dou Wang realm was the kind of good fortune other people could not even dream of.