The Little Rich Woman (Please Vote)

The two guards on duty hurriedly bowed and greeted the white-robed youth walking toward them.

"Young Master Xiao Ling."

"Mm."

Xiao Ling merely nodded indifferently and walked past them. His voice reached their ears as he went by.

"You two, go to the Second Elder and the Third Elder. Have them visit the Aoba Family and the Jialie Family and order them to hand over the two Marketplaces within three days. Otherwise, they can face the consequences."

"Yes, sir."

The two guards on duty replied excitedly.

They had no doubts about what Young Master Xiao Ling said. He had always kept every promise he made to them; he had never once failed to deliver.

Just then, one of the guards, who was a little younger, watched Xiao Ling's retreating figure and turned to whisper.

"Xiang Ge, if I went to ask Young Master Xiao Ling for an autograph, do you think I'd have a chance?"

"Smack!"

The older guard slapped him. Seeing the younger man's aggrieved expression, he couldn't help but sigh.

"What good is talking all day without doing anything? Just go ask him.

Didn't I tell you? Young Master Xiao Ling is easy to talk to, and he's especially friendly to us guards.

You just got recruited, so you don't know yet. Give it some time, and you'll understand."

The younger guard: "..."

Meanwhile, Xiao Ling heard the two discussing him behind his back, and an awkward smile crossed his youthful face.

He knew how much influence he had in the Xiao Clan, but he hadn't expected it to be this great.

They wanted his autograph?

When had he gotten so impressive? Even his Yan Di couldn't pull that off, could he?

All he could say was that he'd already been keeping a low profile. Unfortunately, his strength wouldn't let him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

With that thought, Xiao Ling composed himself and headed toward his courtyard.

All along the way, every Xiao Clan youth he encountered froze for a moment, then hurriedly bowed and greeted him.

"Big Brother Xiao Ling..."

"Mm."

Xiao Ling's expression returned to its usual calm. He paid them little attention, but news of his return spread through the entire Xiao Clan at astonishing speed...

"Miss, Young Master Xiao Ling is back."

Meanwhile, in Xiao Ling's courtyard, Ling Ying turned to the girl before him and respectfully informed her.

At that, the little girl in the purple dress looked toward the door with her large, expressive eyes.

She planned to make a certain someone realize just how formidable she was as soon as he returned. He seemed to do nothing but charm girls every day.

Under the little girl's eager gaze, Xiao Ling pushed the door open and stepped inside. Their eyes met in midair.

He froze for a moment. The girl had her elbows on the table and her cheeks resting in her hands. Her snow-white feet, as smooth as jade, swung back and forth as she stared at him.

When he came to, a gentle smile appeared on Xiao Ling's face. He said softly,

"Xun'er, come here and let Brother Xiao Ling give you a hug."

Xun'er smiled. "Brother Xiao Ling, what did you gain from your training trip?" She didn't immediately agree to his request for a hug, instead smiling at him.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through Xiao Ling's mind. He discreetly glanced at Ling Ying and instantly understood what had happened.

So that old man had tattled on him. No wonder this girl seemed a little jealous the moment he got back. It was definitely because of Xiao Yi Xian and Yao Wan'er.

Xiao Ling had a bit of a headache over it. He simply gazed at the girl with a gentle expression. Seeing him like that, Xun'er pursed her lips and mumbled something. Then she stood and walked over to him.

Looking at the girl now standing in front of him, Xiao Ling gave an utterly shameless grin.

Then, as Xun'er cried out in surprise, he swept her into his arms and carried her over to the reclining chair, where he sat down.

Only then did he look at the girl resting in his embrace, her cheeks flushed with shyness, and speak gently.

"Xun'er, come take a look at what I brought back and tell Brother Xiao Ling what you think."

With that, Xiao Ling took out all the medicinal herbs he had gathered. A flash of light, and nearly a hundred jade boxes covered the large wooden table.

He hadn't taken out everything he'd found. It wasn't that he didn't trust Xun'er; there was simply a third wheel present.

With a rare treasure like Earth Core Life Pulse Marrow, the fewer people who knew about it, the lower the risk of exposing it.

He needed more life span, but only as long as he was alive to use it.

Xun'er sat in his arms, watching the scene. The blush gradually faded from her cheeks, replaced by a gentleness that seemed out of place for her age. She already knew what he had brought back.

But knowing about it was one thing. His showing her everything himself was a sign of trust.

Of course, she wouldn't refuse. She examined the collection closely. There weren't any especially rare herbs, just a single Ice Spirit Flame Grass that barely caught her eye. She smiled, pointed at the jade box containing it, and said,

"Brother Xiao Ling, these herbs are all quite good, but the rarest one is the Ice Spirit Flame Grass. The others should fetch a decent price too."

"Xun'er thinks you should keep the Ice Spirit Flame Grass, Brother Xiao Ling... You have a fire attribute physique, so it should help with your cultivation."

"Oh? You know about medicinal herbs too, Xun'er?"

Xiao Ling looked at the girl in surprise. He hadn't expected her to know so much at such a young age.

Could the God-Tier Bloodline really be that powerful?

"Of course~"

Xun'er raised her little chin proudly and smiled at him with her expressive eyes.

"If Brother Xiao Ling needs help, take Xun'er along on your next training trip. I can help you tell the real ones from the fakes."

Xiao Ling saw that Xun'er wasn't joking and hurriedly changed the subject.

Xun'er could only roll her eyes at him for being such a bad influence. Then she looked back at the medicinal herbs in the jade boxes, shook her head, and wore a regretful expression.

"These herbs look like they're full of medicinal energy. If we were back at the clan, I could have someone refine them into pills for you, Brother Xiao Ling. It's a shame we can only sell them now."

Hearing this, Xiao Ling looked at the girl before him, wondering whether he should reveal that he was an Alchemist...

As he thought it over, his eyes lit up. He seemed to have overlooked one thing: the girl in front of him was a little rich woman.

With Xun'er's support, wouldn't the huge sum of gold coins he needed to advance from Third-grade Alchemist to Fourth-grade Alchemist be taken care of?

It might sound bad to use a girl's money, but he wouldn't be taking it for nothing. He could offer her Earth Core Life Pulse Marrow and some treasures for self-defense...

"B-Brother Xiao Ling... W-what are you thinking about?"

Xun'er saw him staring at her with burning eyes and waved a small hand in front of his face, her voice shy.