Old Man

Old Man

After returning to his room, Xiao Yan called for a servant to heat water.

Once the bath barrel had been filled with hot water, Xiao Yan dripped the Spirit Medicine refined by Miss Wan into the rising steam.

Then he stripped off his clothes and sat naked in the bath with a plop.

"Hiss—"

Although he had been using Dou Qi to treat his injuries the whole way back, the moment his body soaked into the bath barrel, Xiao Yan still hurt so badly that he could not help drawing in sharp breaths.

"Miss... Wan—"

While gritting his teeth and enduring the pain all over his body, he struggled to circulate what little Dou Qi he had left, absorbing the Medicinal Property in the hot water to heal his wounds and temper his body. In the end, Xiao Yan could only clench his teeth and call out Yao Wan's name.

Of course he knew he could not blame Miss Wan, but Miss Wan had been far too ruthless—

She was clearly a girl, so how could her attacks be so vicious? She had nearly gone straight for the lower three roads.

"Heh heh... that little girl is quite something. You brat, to have the fortune to receive her favor, you should be laughing in secret."

Originally, Xiao Yan had been alone in the bath barrel, hissing in pain while complaining. Who would have thought a deep laugh would suddenly ring out, followed by an aged voice, startling Xiao Yan badly.

"Who?!"

Xiao Yan immediately raised his head. It was the voice of a stranger he had never heard before, and alarm bells instantly rang in his heart.

But when he turned his head and searched all around, there was not a single figure in the room.

"Stop looking. I'm on your finger."

Just as Xiao Yan thought that aged voice had only been his imagination, it sounded again.

Xiao Yan subconsciously looked at his hands, then realized.

"You're inside my ring?"

"Heh heh, exactly. Little doll, your composure isn't bad. You actually weren't scared senseless on the spot."

The aged voice chuckled.

"Who are you? Why are you in my ring? What do you want?"

Alarm bells rang in Xiao Yan's heart. Another inexplicable existence had actually been by his side all this time, and he had been completely unaware of it. How could anyone stay calm after something like this?

"Who I am isn't important. In any case, I won't harm you... sigh, after so many years, I've finally met someone whose soul strength passes muster. How fortunate... heh heh, speaking of which, I still have to thank you, little doll, for your offerings over the past two-plus years. Otherwise, who knows how long I would have slept."

"Offerings...?"

Xiao Yan froze, then suddenly understood. What followed was a raging fury that surged into his heart.

"The Dou Qi I lost over the past two-plus years was all sucked away by you?!"

"Heh heh, I had no choice either. Little doll, don't blame me."

"Fuck your mother!!!"

Even Xiao Yan was burning with rage at that moment. He raised his hand, pulled the ring off his finger, and threw it out the window.

Although the instant the ring left his hand, Xiao Yan came back to himself from that hotheaded impulse just now, on second thought, it had only landed in his own courtyard anyway. He could just pick it up again later.

"You little doll, why so impatient? Didn't I only absorb a little over two years of your Dou Qi? Is it worth getting this angry?"

Unexpectedly, that simple black ring flew back in through the window. What shook Xiao Yan even more was the aged illusory figure quietly floating above the ring.

But despite the shock in his heart, he could not lose an inch of momentum. Xiao Yan said angrily, "If you hadn't absorbed my Dou Qi over these two years, would I have fallen to such a state today?!"

"But without these two years of tempering, would your temperament have settled to where it is today?"

The old man smiled, and Xiao Yan just happened to have no way to answer.

"Forget it. I'm too lazy to waste words with you. Since I know now that you were the one absorbing my Dou Qi, then go find someone else. A small fry like me, who isn't even a Dou Zhe, can't afford to support a great Buddha like you."

Seeing Xiao Yan's attitude, the old man could not help laughing. "You little doll, don't you want to become stronger?"

"Heh. Since I now know that my inability to accumulate Dou Qi was all thanks to you, then my talent has returned. Do I still need you to help me?"

"Since I've already shown myself, I naturally intend to make things clear with you. Without your permission, I won't arbitrarily absorb your Dou Qi again."

But the old man's explanation only made Xiao Yan laugh mockingly.

"I think it's because you're probably no longer able to hide in front of Wan Guniang, right?"

Xiao Yan folded his arms and said.

After hearing Xiao Yan mention that mysterious young girl, the old man's face more or less stiffened, and he could only say helplessly, "Ahem, that can also be considered one of the reasons."

"That little girl has extraordinary talent, and her soul strength is even more unusual than ordinary people's. I'm afraid she discovered my existence long ago. The reason I chose to show myself now is also because I'm worried that if she really exposes me one day, I won't be able to explain myself no matter how many mouths I have."

"Hmph. In the end, you're still afraid of Wan Guniang."

Xiao Yan snorted. However, after coming back to his senses, he thought it over for a moment. According to this old fellow, Wan Guniang must have known long ago that this old fellow was on him, yet she had never once spoken up to remind him...

After more than half a year together, Xiao Yan already trusted that young girl—who had always been unwilling to take off her bamboo hat and reveal her true appearance—especially deeply. Naturally, he would not wonder whether Wan Guniang would harm him. Instead, he felt that since Wan Guniang had chosen to hide it and say nothing, there was probably some intention in it to let matters take their natural course.

The old man shook his head and smiled. "Silly boy, that little girl is formidable. It's just that you treat her like an ordinary person."

"Enough nonsense. As for how to deal with you, it seems I'll still have to ask Wan Guniang."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yan jumped out of the bath barrel. After drying himself, he casually put on a couple pieces of clothing and hurried out the door.

"You really mean to ask her?"

The old man asked.

"Could it be that you're afraid of her?"

Xiao Yan changed tack and asked in return.

"Heh heh... you brat... forget it. I did use your Dou Qi for these two-plus years, so I'll count it as karmic retribution in this life."

The old man was helpless. Then his illusory form burrowed into the ring and disappeared.

Xiao Yan did not think too much along the way. He only kept pondering what Wan Guniang's intention had been in hiding it and saying nothing.

Surely she did not want him to take this strange Old Man, who had sucked away three years of his Dou Qi, as his master, right?

Xiao Yan shook his head. It should not go that far...

Although he subconsciously denied that possibility, he still quickened his pace and hurried toward the Xiao Clan's guest rooms.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Is Wan Guniang asleep? There are some things I'd like to discuss with Wan Guniang."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the guest room opened.

"Mm, then come in."