Being Kept

"Here."

Yao Wan handed Xiao Yan the pill she had just refined.

Xiao Yan did not question it. He opened his mouth and swallowed the pill.

The moment it entered his mouth, a refreshing, elegant fragrance filled his senses before turning into a cool current that sank into his abdomen.

Xiao Yan had taken pills that aided cultivation before, but since neither his Dou Qi nor physical strength was enough to withstand medicines with potent effects, those pills had been unbearably bitter and their results far from satisfactory.

Compared to the pills he had taken in the past, regardless of their actual effects, the pills Miss Wan refined were already worlds apart in both appearance and fragrance.

But when the coolness after swallowing the pill gradually turned into scorching heat that spread from within, Xiao Yan no longer had room in his mind for such stray thoughts.

He immediately sat cross-legged before Miss Wan, closed his eyes, and focused on circulating the Dou Qi within his body to regulate his blood and Qi.

Yao Wan did not slacken either. She raised her slender jade-like fingers and pressed them against the center of Xiao Yan's back.

Though she had always felt that her Dou Wang realm was still too weak and insignificant, that depended on whom she was being compared to.

Within the Yao Clan, someone at her level was naturally still a young prodigy in the midst of growth.

But outside Zhongzhou, it was enough for her to roam wherever she pleased.

Vigorous yet incomparably gentle Dou Qi flowed from Yao Wan's lotus-white arm, through the hand pressed against Xiao Yan's back, and surged into Xiao Yan's body like a tide.

It helped him sort through the medicinal effects gradually dispersing within him, while guiding the sufficiently mild medicinal power into Xiao Yan's meridians and swiftly repairing the meridians that had not yet suffered severe damage.

"Hu—"

Xiao Yan's eyes remained tightly shut, yet he could not stop himself from exhaling a breath of stale air.

"Focus. Regulate your blood and Qi. I'll help nourish your meridians. Do not resist my Dou Qi."

Compared to the tense yet relatively relaxed Xiao Yan, Yao Wan was having a much harder time. She had to guide all the medicinal power herself, while Xiao Yan merely needed to circulate it through his body as he normally did in cultivation. Naturally, the burden fell entirely upon Yao Wan.

As Yao Wan carefully guided the scattered, gentle medicinal power into Xiao Yan's meridians, she could not help thinking that it was fortunate she had burned away part of the medicinal effects along with the impurities earlier. Otherwise, with Xiao Yan's current physique, even taking a slightly decent pill would likely have placed an enormous burden on his body.

"...Mm."

Xiao Yan's tightly shut eyes slowly opened to a narrow slit, but he merely let out a muffled groan in response.

Come to think of it, it was not as though he had never nourished someone's meridians before. He had done the same for Xun Er back then...

But having someone else nourish his meridians was truly a first.

Since this concerned Xiao Yan's future cultivation, Yao Wan was exceptionally focused as she nourished his meridians. Naturally, she had no idea what had distracted Xiao Yan's thoughts for a moment.

Only when the dawn tore a gap through the night sky and the broken sunlight lit the dim earth once more did it come to an end.

Behind the Xiao Family's guest quarters, a streak of mottled golden light spilled through the east-facing window.

Yao Wan then lifted her fingertips from Xiao Yan's back and withdrew the Dou Qi she had been guiding.

"All right. Your meridians have been properly nourished, and the newly opened pathways have stabilized. I estimate your speed of absorbing Dou Qi should increase by another thirty percent. For you, this can barely be considered a blessing in disguise."

Xiao Yan rose to his feet as he listened to Miss Wan speak.

"Thank you, Miss Wan."

"What are you thanking me for? Since I chose to help you, it naturally was not just for a word of thanks."

Yao Wan shook her head.

"Keep cultivating. Who knows? Perhaps your physique will recover one day..."

Xiao Yan nodded.

"Then, the Body Tempering Fluid Miss Wan gave me..."

"Oh, that? There should be about two-thirds left. Divide the remaining medicinal liquid over seven days. Just use a little each day when you bathe."

"Although I repaired and strengthened your meridians, so you should be able to endure a little more of its medicinal power without issue, this concerns your body. You cannot be careless. Take it slowly, one step at a time."

Yao Wan explained.

Xiao Yan also felt that Miss Wan's words made sense, but then he heard her continue, "After seven days, I'll specially prepare Spiritual Medicine better suited to you. Don't even think about directly improving your Dou Qi cultivation. It's best not to do something so reckless as forcing growth, but there should be no problem continuing to improve your physical strength."

"...Miss Wan?"

Xiao Yan froze. He had thought that, as a highly esteemed alchemist, Miss Wan had already done more than enough by helping him clean up the aftermath. Yet he had not expected that his understanding of her had not even come close to its limits.

To put it more plainly, Xiao Yan was not so self-indulgent as to naturally assume Miss Wan would treat him this well.

If the initial gift of medicine had merely been a generous repayment for the small favor of a meal and lodging, and refining the pill could be considered her unwillingness to leave an oversight in her own work, then what was this promise of further aid?

"What is it?"

Yao Wan, on the other hand, seemed to find giving him medicine rather natural.

Xiao Yan raised his head beneath the Bamboo Hat and cupped his fists.

"Xiao Yan knows there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world..."

"You mean you don't understand why I'm treating you this way?"

Yao Wan answered Xiao Yan's question before he could finish, then sighed softly.

"People these days are far too utilitarian. Why must everything have some sort of value?"

Xiao Yan opened his mouth, but found it difficult to say anything. "This..."

"Some people enjoy visiting brothels. Does that benefit their cultivation in any way?"

Yao Wan asked softly.

Xiao Yan had no answer, nor did he have the nerve to shamelessly say that it did.

"Isn't it simply because it feels good? It is far better than bitter cultivation."

"In other words, helping you is the same for me."

Yao Wan explained, "I can refine pills, but I do not particularly enjoy refining them. Instead, I like tinkering with strange things I enjoy, or with my own Pill Recipes. But pills, in the end, are meant to be used on people."

"...If I want to, that is the best reason."

Yao Wan's voice was as sweet and pleasant as a songbird's, yet it gave Xiao Yan a sense of casual freedom that seemed to belong nowhere in this world.

Like a drifting immortal who had happened to come to his side.

"What is it? You don't want to?"

Yao Wan's sudden question pulled Xiao Yan's wandering thoughts back to reality.

"I do! Of course I do!"

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and decisively cast aside his petty restraint.

Only an idiot would refuse a free advantage.

Being kept by an alchemist at the Dou Wang realm was the kind of good fortune others could not even dream of.