Art Is Explosion

Boom—!

With a dull bang, the Alchemy Furnace's lid was violently blown off, striking the roof beam in a shower of sparks as wood chips rained down.

Immediately afterward, a scorching blast mixed with black ash erupted outward, exploding through the room like a miniature mushroom cloud.

Xiao Peng reacted swiftly, twisting aside and crossing his arms to shield his face, but the blast still struck him solidly.

When the smoke and dust dispersed slightly, he lowered his head for a look and could not help laughing bitterly.

His once-clean robes were covered in soot, while his cheeks and forehead looked as though they had been smeared with the black grime from the bottom of a pot. Only his eyes remained startlingly bright, with even a few tiny flecks of charcoal clinging to his eyelashes.

The Alchemy Furnace lay tipped over to one side, wisps of green smoke still rising from its mouth. The pills inside had long since vanished, leaving behind only several charred clumps of medicinal residue.

"Tsk, I got carried away." Xiao Peng wiped his face, smearing a patch of soot onto his fingertips. "Looks like I was still too impatient. I didn't control the heat properly."

Xiao Peng felt as though he had just crawled out of a coal mine, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

At the same time, he warned himself that he could not become complacent after a single success. He needed to guard against arrogance and impatience.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Hearing it, Xiao Peng walked over and opened the door, only to find Xiao Xun'er standing outside.

Seeing Xiao Peng's appearance, Xiao Xun'er could not hold back a snort of laughter. "Brother Xiao Peng, what happened to you?"

She had learned the family's etiquette and would not laugh so easily unless she truly could not contain herself.

After wiping at his face just now, Xiao Peng had only made the soot even more blotchy. He looked exactly like a little tabby cat that had just crawled out of a chimney.

Seeing Xiao Xun'er struggling so hard to suppress her laughter that her shoulders trembled, Xiao Peng helplessly touched his nose, rubbing off more soot with his fingertips. "What else? The furnace blew up while I was refining pills."

As he spoke, he stepped aside, revealing the room still emitting green smoke behind him, along with the Alchemy Furnace tipped over on the floor.

The burnt smell drifted out through the doorway. Only then did Xiao Xun'er stop smiling, her eyes gaining a trace of concern. "You weren't hurt, were you? Brother Xiao Peng, who taught you alchemy?"

A little embarrassed, Xiao Peng scratched his head. "I'm fine. I went out to buy some things today and saw someone selling an alchemy book, so I bought it and tried refining on my own."

It was only a matter of time before his alchemy was exposed. He might as well find an excuse to show it now.

Upon hearing that, Xiao Xun'er's gaze fell upon the pitch-black book on the table in the room, and she looked at Xiao Peng with some helplessness.

"Brother Xiao Peng, if you want to learn alchemy, you can come to me."

"Xun'er, you know alchemy?"

Xiao Peng looked at Xiao Xun'er with a deliberately surprised expression as he asked.

But inwardly, he had not expected Xiao Xun'er to offer to let him learn alchemy from her.

Xiao Xun'er shook her head. "No, but I have a friend who does. I can borrow some notes from him for you to study."

Xiao Peng's eyes lit up, and even the soot on his face could not hide his delight. "Really? Thank you so much, Xun'er!"

He needed to put on an act to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Seeing Xiao Peng instantly perk up, Xiao Xun'er's lips curved into a gentle smile. "But don't rush. Alchemy requires steady, gradual progress. Build a solid foundation first. Once you thoroughly understand the basics, such as heat control and identifying Medicinal Herbs, studying those notes will get you twice the result with half the effort."

"Mm, I understand!" Xiao Peng nodded repeatedly, already planning how to adjust his pace moving forward. "I was too impatient just now. I kept wanting to form the pill quickly, and it only ended up ruining everything."

Xiao Xun'er smiled at Xiao Peng's appearance. "All right, go wash up quickly. You really don't look presentable like this."

Xiao Peng rubbed the back of his head and chuckled twice, soot flaking off his face with the movement. "Ah, all right! Thanks for the reminder, Xun'er."

He turned and ran toward the washroom. He really needed a thorough wash.

Xiao Xun'er watched his retreating figure, then glanced at the Alchemy Furnace still smoking in the room and helplessly shook her head.

She walked into the room, bent down to pick up a charred piece of medicinal residue, and rubbed it between her fingertips. Powder sifted down.

His heat control was indeed far from adequate, but that willingness to try was still better than being timid and hesitant.

Xiao Xun'er called three servants over and had them clean Xiao Peng's room.

When the three servants entered and saw the room full of smoke and ash, along with the overturned Alchemy Furnace, they were all briefly stunned. They then immediately began tidying up with practiced efficiency.

One righted the Alchemy Furnace and wiped away the soot with a cloth. Another swept up the charcoal fragments and medicinal residue from the floor, moving gently for fear of stirring up more dust. The third brought water and carefully wiped the stains from the table and windowsill.

Xiao Xun'er stood at the door watching, occasionally reminding them, "Be careful. Don't damage the medicine grinder beside the furnace. Brother Xiao Peng just bought it."

The servants answered and followed her instructions. Before long, most of the smoke and dust in the room had cleared, and the burnt smell had faded somewhat as well.

Once they had finished, the lead servant bowed and asked, "Miss, does this look all right?"

Xiao Xun'er nodded, her gaze sweeping over the Alchemy Furnace returned to its place and the clean tabletop. She said softly, "Mm, you've worked hard. You may leave."

Elsewhere, Xiao Peng had just finished bathing and was heading back toward his room.

As he walked, Xiao Peng pondered what to do next.

He would refine pills at night and practice swordsmanship during the day.

The reason his master had not taught him any spells was probably because he wanted him to first gain an initial grasp of swordsmanship before teaching him anything else.

With that in mind, Xiao Peng resolved to practice diligently.

"Xiao Peng."

Xiao Zhan's voice suddenly came from behind him, pulling Xiao Peng from his thoughts. He turned to look back.

Xiao Zhan approached with a genial smile, arriving beside Xiao Peng in no time.

Seeing Xiao Zhan, Xiao Peng smiled and asked, "Uncle Xiao, is something the matter?"

Xiao Zhan nodded slightly. "Mm, Xiao Peng, come with me to the study."

Xiao Peng's heart stirred faintly, but his expression remained unchanged as he replied with a smile, "All right, Uncle Xiao."

He followed Xiao Zhan toward the study, quietly wondering what Xiao Zhan wanted with him.

The study was simply furnished, its bookshelves filled with yellowed ancient texts. The air was permeated with the scent of ink and faint sandalwood.

Xiao Zhan walked over and sat in the main seat, pointing to the chair opposite him. "Sit."

Xiao Peng obediently sat down, placing his hands on his knees as he waited for Xiao Zhan to speak.

"Xiao Peng, I called you here this time because I want to tell you about your parentage." Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Peng as he spoke.

Hearing Xiao Zhan's words, Xiao Peng was somewhat surprised. Weren't his parents members of the Xiao Family?

Surely his parents could not be members of the Ancient Eight Clans? If that were really the case, it would be a little too absurd.

Xiao Peng took a deep breath and looked at Xiao Zhan. "Uncle Xiao, go ahead. I'm mentally prepared."