Curiosity filled the woman's stunning face. "Xu Yan, I'm getting more and more curious about what kind of person you are."
When she had first seen Xu Yan's painting, she had assumed he was a peerless senior whose cultivation was unfathomably deep. But after observing him over the past two days, she had begun to suspect otherwise.
Xu Yan's attitude toward the Demon Race had also piqued her interest.
"I'm just an ordinary mortal. What's there to be curious about?" Xu Yan said irritably. "You, on the other hand, are clearly someone of extraordinary status, so hurry up and leave my little shop. I don't want to get tangled up with you."
The moment he saw this woman, he knew she was trouble.
Otherwise, who would come to someone else's home at night looking as if they were on the brink of death? It would scare the wits out of any coward.
The woman studied Xu Yan for several seconds, then suddenly smiled and asked, "Do you want to know my name?"
"No!" Xu Yan replied without hesitation.
Just seeing this woman made him feel she was trouble. Knowing her name would only make things worse.
Her dreamlike eyes swept over Xu Yan. "My name is Ying Xueying. I'm from the Ying Family."
She normally wouldn't give her name out so casually, but she felt Xu Yan was no ordinary person and didn't mind telling him.
She had a hunch that she and Xu Yan would meet again someday.
"Ying Xueying? That's a nice name. It doesn't quite suit you, though," Xu Yan said lightly.
There was no need to mention the woman's looks; she was a peerless beauty. But in his eyes, she was merely a femme fatale who would bring trouble.
Ying Xueying stepped closer, coming right up to Xu Yan, and demanded, "Are you saying I'm ugly?"
All women liked to be complimented on their looks, and she was no exception.
Even though she knew her beauty was unrivaled, she still cared about what others thought of her appearance.
Xu Yan took a step back and curled his lip. "I didn't say that. You said it yourself."
Then he added, "I've already bought the roast chicken you wanted. Aren't you going to eat it?"
If Ying Xueying hadn't asked him to buy two, he would never have bought two. Usually, one was more than enough for him.
And two cost forty copper coins. For someone who lived frugally, that wasn't an amount he could simply ignore.
Ying Xueying glanced at the roast chicken on the table. "I don't need to eat anymore. You can have it."
With that, she brushed past Xu Yan and headed for the shop's entrance.
Xu Yan didn't turn around. He gazed at the countless calligraphy and paintings hanging on the outer hall's walls and asked, "Are you leaving?"
"What, will you miss me?" Ying Xueying asked.
Xu Yan fell silent for a moment. "No. It's better if you leave quickly, so you don't bring me any unnecessary trouble."
He should have been glad to see Ying Xueying leave. But now that she really was leaving, for some reason, he wasn't as happy as he'd imagined he would be.
Hearing his words, Ying Xueying's stunning face lit up with a smile capable of captivating all living things. "Xu Yan, thank you for saving me. I owe you a favor."
With that, she stepped out of What Are You Looking At Small Shop and soon disappeared from sight.
A long while later, Xu Yan sat in a chair with Su Jiuer in his arms. He looked at the two roast chickens on the table, but had little appetite.
He set Su Jiuer on the table. "Finish your half of the roast chicken. Don't go hungry. I know you can eat it all."
Su Jiuer glanced at Xu Yan, then walked over and continued eating her half of the roast chicken. Before long, she had finished it.
She, too, had been wondering what sort of power the Ying Family was. There was no such lineage in the Southern Domain.
Could Ying Xueying be a direct descendant of some great family from beyond the Southern Domain?
In the end, Xu Yan ate only one and a half roast chickens. He wanted to give the remaining half to Su Jiuer, but she couldn't eat any more either.
He said helplessly, "That woman could've at least finished the roast chicken she asked someone to buy before leaving. Now I can only throw it away."
Xu Yan carried the half chicken out of the shop. He was about to toss it straight into the trash when he happened to notice a tiny golden ant beneath the cherry tree in front of the shop.
It was the first golden ant he had ever seen. It looked quite unusual, and was about half the length of his index finger.
For an ant, this golden one wasn't small.
At that moment, the golden ant was heading forward. It walked right up to Xu Yan, only to be blocked by his foot.
The golden ant looked up at Xu Yan, who was countless times bigger than it, and cursed, "What are you standing there for? You're blocking this lord's way."
As it spoke, it even stretched out a leg and kicked Xu Yan's foot.
Xu Yan heard the golden ant speak and was utterly astonished.
The voice was very quiet, but he had most definitely heard the ant.
To make sure he hadn't imagined it, he crouched down to look at the golden ant and asked, "Are you talking to me?"
If anyone saw him right now, they would surely think he was crazy for talking to an ant.
Could an ant really understand human speech?
Yes, it really could!
Hearing Xu Yan's question, the golden ant cursed, "What a stupid question. Is there anyone here besides this lord who'd talk to you?"
Its tone dripped with disdain, as if it thought very little of Xu Yan.
A look of shock crossed Xu Yan's face. The ant had actually spoken.
Intrigued, he asked, "Are you part of the Demon Race?"
In Tianren City, he'd heard people say that members of the Demon Race could speak human language, and that some demons had the same forms as ordinary animals. So he figured this golden ant might be a demon.
But the golden ant's disdain only grew. "Demon, my foot! You don't even recognize this lord? You're so big, but you know nothing!"
From the way it spoke, it seemed to be someone of great importance. Xu Yan's failure to recognize it apparently proved how ignorant he was.
Naturally, Xu Yan wasn't going to get angry at an ant. Instead, he smiled. "I really don't know who you are. If you're not part of the Demon Race, how can you speak our human language?"
He had never heard of any animals besides demons being able to talk. By rights, once an animal could speak, it had become a demon—and a demon belonged to the Demon Race.
"What an ignorant fool. I'm the Golden Emperor Ant. I could knock you dead with one punch," the golden ant mocked.
As soon as it finished speaking, it caught a whiff of something delicious and followed the scent to the half roast chicken in the bag Xu Yan was carrying.
Xu Yan had never heard of a Golden Emperor Ant, but he thought a talking ant was rather interesting.
At the same time, he noticed that the Golden Emperor Ant seemed to be eyeing the half roast chicken he was about to throw away.
An idea came to him. "Golden Emperor Ant, would you be willing to be my pet?"
The Golden Emperor Ant felt insulted and flew into a rage. "You want this lord to be your pet? You've got some nerve, human brat! Believe it or not, I'll knock you dead with one punch!"