If Life Were Only as When We First Met

If Life Were Only as When We First Met

"Rustle, rustle—"

Under the night sky, Xiao Yan walked out of the Practice Room to get a little air.

He lay on the grass of the Back Mountain, a blade of grass between his teeth.

He did not know how long had passed when he suddenly heard a faint rustling from the bushes.

"...Xun'er is here?"

Xiao Yan did not lift his head, only asked aloud.

But the person who came did not answer.

"Xun'er?"

"...What? Did I come at the wrong time after all? Or did I find the wrong person?"

Xiao Yan froze slightly. This was definitely not Xun'er's voice. Though the voice was soft and melodious, it belonged to someone he had never come into contact with before.

He instinctively raised his lowered gaze, and all he saw was a figure whose body, outline, and face were covered up completely.

"You are...?"

A stranger, but she did not seem hostile.

Xiao Yan instinctively propped himself up, hesitating to speak.

"Me? Just think of me as a passerby. No need to mind me."

Yao Wan looked curiously at the green, black-haired young man before her as she spoke.

"A passerby? Passersby don't just casually walk into other people's homes."

After his initial shock, Xiao Yan came back to his senses. "The people in Wutan City don't have the guts to sneak into the Xiao Clan without permission... You're from out of town?"

"...Heh. Though you don't have much cultivation, your head works well enough."

Yao Wan offered a word of praise.

"Then who are you?"

"I told you, I'm just a passerby."

"I wasn't planning to come to this boring little place in the first place... But I did hear that the Xiao Clan produced a genius a couple of years ago. Sounded somewhat interesting."

At that, Xiao Yan fell silent.

"But it seems I came at the wrong time after all. The flower I wanted to see has already withered."

Xiao Yan paused. He could no longer remain composed and only asked, "You came all the way from out of town just to see a useless cripple?"

"No, I came to laugh at you—"

Yao Wan did not hide it in the slightest, but at the very end, her words took a turn. "If I said that, would it somehow make you feel better?"

"...No, not at all."

Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his eyes threaded with blood.

Seeing Xiao Yan's reaction, Yao Wan could not help shaking her Beautiful Head.

"Not convincing in the slightest. From the looks of you, you probably haven't had a good night's sleep in days, right?"

As she spoke, she raised a fingertip and lightly tapped the spot between Xiao Yan's brows. Xiao Yan's body swayed gently. Then he immediately felt a clear, refreshing force flow through his limbs, bones, and many Meridians, driving away the exhaustion Xiao Yan had accumulated over the past few days.

"Heh..."

Xiao Yan froze, then drew in a deep breath.

Yao Wan then said, "Do you feel as if your body is light and floating, much more comfortable?"

Xiao Yan nodded somewhat woodenly.

"Obviously. What, do you think you can become immortal without getting proper rest?"

Yao Wan's words were mocking. "If one day you feel light and floating even without taking medicine, you'll probably be not far from death."

Only then did Xiao Yan react. "Gu... Senior, are you an alchemist?"

Hearing the respect in Xiao Yan's tone, Yao Wan focused on something very strange. "Senior?"

Realizing that what he had said seemed inappropriate, Xiao Yan hurriedly spoke again. "...Guniang?"

Yao Wan lightly furrowed her Embroidered Eyebrows. Why did this form of address sound stranger the more she heard it?

But forget it. Guniang it was. In any case, she was only about a year older than him, so she would count it as letting him off easy.

"Oh? Just now you kept calling me an outsider, and now it's senior this, Guniang that?"

Yao Wan circled Xiao Yan once, her tone carrying a few traces of blunt teasing.

"Guniang, you jest. On the Dou Qi Continent, the strong are respected. I was too offensive just now."

Xiao Yan answered neither servilely nor arrogantly. It could be seen that his two years of setbacks and hardship had not been entirely a bad thing for him.

"Hmph. If you'd just acted like a turtle with its head tucked in, I wouldn't even have bothered to give you another look. You do have a bit of courage."

After saying that, she raised her head and looked at the young man before her, as though waiting for him to say something.

"Don't you have anything you want to say to me?"

"What does Guniang mean by that?"

"I can tell that the problem preventing your Dou Qi from gathering isn't caused by your body."

Yao Wan said, "An alchemist appears in front of you, and you don't have even the thought of trying anything in a desperate situation? I don't believe that."

Seeing that he could not hide it from her, Xiao Yan could only speak frankly. "Hope is one thing, but reality is another."

"I don't have any treasures or payment that could tempt an alchemist. As for begging Guniang, I don't think there's any hope in that either."

"If you don't beg me, how do you know there's no hope?"

"Guniang isn't the sort of person who enjoys toying with others. Xiao Yan has been silent for two years, but I haven't become so blind that I can't judge people anymore."

Xiao Yan shook his head and said so.

Yao Wan did not speak. She only looked at him quietly. Xiao Yan said nothing more, merely silently meeting her gaze.

"There isn't much I can do to help you. Whether you believe it or not, the fact that your current Dou Qi cannot gather is not necessarily a bad thing, and I have no way to resolve this matter for you."

"It's just that you still need one year. A full year. Can you endure it?"

Yao Wan asked.

Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "To be honest, I don't quite understand what Guniang means by one year. But if it means I'll only be able to cultivate after another year, then I've already made it through two whole years. Would I still be short this one year?"

Yao Wan was silent for a moment before finally nodding her Beautiful Head. "Then I understand. You really are somewhat interesting."

"Guniang... are you planning to leave?"

"I was planning to leave at first, but now that you've put it that way, I'm not in any hurry to go. I've been away for more than a year, and in the end, the outside world is just so-so. I'll just find a place to rest my feet for now. It doesn't matter when I continue my journey."

Xiao Yan's thoughts stirred. "Then what Guniang means is?"

"The Xiao Clan's environment looks pretty good to me. I'll stay here for a few days first."

"...What's wrong? Is that not quite suitable?"

Seeing that Xiao Yan had fallen silent, Yao Wan could not help asking.

"Not at all, not at all... I'm only afraid the Xiao Clan is too small, and Guniang may not be used to living here."

"I'll get used to it later."

She brushed her sleeve and said indifferently.

"Then may I ask how Guniang should be addressed?"

Xiao Yan asked.

"My name is a single character. Just call me Wan Guniang."

After thinking about it, Yao Wan decided it was better not to casually reveal her full name, lest she invite needless trouble later.

"I've told you my name. What about you?"

"Xiao Yan. Just call me Xiao Yan."

The black-haired young man, still green and immature at this moment, answered.

"Xiao Yan, huh... All right. I'll remember that name."