After the people from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group left, Xiao Yi Xian handed the neatly prepared medicine packet to him.
She gently instructed him:
"All right, here's your medicine. Go home, brew it into a decoction, take it, and get some sleep."
"And don't worry. There's nothing wrong with your body, and there are no signs of poisoning. You just need to go home and get some proper rest."
"But now the Wolf Head Mercenary Group has their eyes on you. I suggest you leave Qingshan Town tonight."
Xiao Yuan took the medicine packet. As Xiao Yi Xian went on and on, he blinked at the woman in white before him, as if he'd just seen some strange new creature.
Interesting. Someone's protecting me. I think this is the first time?
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Hearing Xiao Yuan's thoughts, Xiao Yi Xian furrowed her brows and urged him softly:
"Leave as soon as you can. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's leader is a two-star Dou Shi, and he has countless Dou Zhe under him. You're no match for them."
"Th-this scary?"
Xiao Yuan wanted to tease Xiao Yi Xian, who was like an older sister from next door.
So he put on just the right look of timidness and said quietly:
"But... but I can't leave Qingshan Town right now. I still need to stay here for a while... What should I do?"
He acted as if he were truly afraid of the Wolf Head leader, who was said to be a two-star Dou Shi.
He was only fourteen, not yet fifteen, and with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's fearsome reputation, no one would suspect he was putting on an act.
Even Xiao Yi Xian believed him. She anxiously stamped her foot.
"You..."
She had wanted to scold him, but when she saw his dejected expression, her soft spot was touched.
Her gaze softened, and she was no longer so impatient.
She was also a little less wary.
Looking at him, she seemed to see the little boy from next door who used to run after her all day, back when her mother had raised her in the village.
Sadly, after her Woeful Poison Body awakened, that little boy had been left behind forever in the desolate village.
At the thought, Xiao Yi Xian pressed her lips together, seeming to make up her mind.
She reached out and patted his head, saying gently:
"All right. For now, you can stay with big sister."
"Really?"
"Mm. My name is Xiao Yi Xian. You can call me Big Sister Xiao Yi Xian. What's your name, little brother?"
"My name is Xiao Yuan. Thank you, Big Sister Xiao Yi Xian!"
Seeing Xiao Yuan's gloom turn to joy, Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help smiling too.
It was as if she really were seeing that little boy from back then.
At first, she'd been astonished, curious, bewildered, and even frightened that she could hear Xiao Yuan's thoughts.
She'd also been all the more eager to find out how to cure her condition.
But now she finally realized it.
The Xiao Yuan before her was just a child, much younger than she was.
"All right, Lifei, please take him to the back courtyard and get an empty room ready."
Xiao Yi Xian spoke to her assistant, who was busy behind the counter.
As her assistant, Lifei had naturally heard the conversation between Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yi Xian. She had also witnessed the entire earlier confrontation with Mu Li, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's young deputy leader.
So she looked hesitant and troubled.
"Miss, are you sure this is all right? Mr. Yao, the shopkeeper, probably won't agree, will he?"
"I'll talk to Mr. Yao. Lifei, just do as I said."
Xiao Yi Xian gave her assistant a reassuring smile.
Her relationship with Myriad Medicine Pavilion wasn't just that of an employee and employer. Xiao Yi Xian was especially well-known in Qingshan Town, and the two were more like partners.
So as long as it didn't cross a line, they could discuss anything.
Lifei understood that well. She didn't refuse again, but came out from behind the counter and led him toward the back courtyard.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuan carefully sized up the assistant named Lifei.
She had a gentle air about her. She wasn't as pretty as Xiao Yi Xian, but in Qingshan Town, she could still be considered a beauty.
I just didn't expect that even though Lifei had a good life working for Xiao Yi Xian, she'd end up selling Xiao Yi Xian's whereabouts to Mu Li.
Heh. You really can't judge a book by its cover. I feel so bad for Big Sister Xiao Yi Xian.
Xiao Yi Xian happened to hear those thoughts. She had just been about to resume seeing patients, but froze and instinctively looked toward the figure disappearing behind the curtain.
"Lifei... would sell me out?"
Xiao Yi Xian furrowed her willow brows again.
To be honest, she didn't quite believe Xiao Yuan's thoughts this time.
After all, Lifei had been with her for many years. They were as close as sisters. How could Lifei betray her?
Still, having lived in Qingshan Town for so many years, Xiao Yi Xian had developed a sense of caution of her own.
She quietly made a note of the matter.
Meanwhile, Lifei settled Xiao Yuan in a tidy little room in the back courtyard.
After Lifei left, Xiao Yuan first used his soul power to inspect the room and courtyard.
Once he was sure there was nothing wrong, he sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the reward he'd just received from the system.
"So this is the so-called Emperor-Grade Alchemist Insights?"
The moment it touched his hand, he felt a warm, jade-green pendant. A faint glow seemed to flow across it, making it clear at a glance that it was no ordinary object.
It was simple to use, too.
He only had to press it to his forehead and silently think, "Use."
But the instant he did—
The pendant in his hand turned into a streak of light and shot into his brow. Xiao Yuan immediately felt a wrenching pain in his forehead.
In a daze, he seemed to see a woman in white standing atop a mountain peak.
A roaring blaze burned beneath the pill cauldron before her, while thunderclouds gathered overhead.
As bolts of Pill Lightning struck down one after another, the cauldron grew more restless with each hit. Yet the woman remained calm, using her soul power to suppress it.
She was refining pills while braving a tribulation!
And every time the pill was tempered by Pill Lightning, its quality improved, until it was perfectly round and utterly flawless.
It was practically on par with the pills produced by the system!
But the most important thing was that this was a female alchemist!
On second thought, it made sense. The Dou Qi Continent had no shortage of talented and gifted women.
For example, Xuan Yi, one of the Pill Tower's Three Giants.
Or Han Shanshan, Yao Chen's teacher.
Or the Cao Family's wicked girl Cao Ying from the Central Plains, and Dan Chen, head of the Pill Tower's Five Great Families.
At that moment, the woman in white finished refining the pill.
As soon as the lid lifted, a figure shot out.
But in the next second, the woman reached out her jade hand and casually grabbed at the sky. The figure instantly burst apart, turning into a round, scorching-hot pill that landed in her palm.
Is this woman really that terrifying?!
If he remembered correctly, even the embryo pill in Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion had the strength of a nine-star Dou Sheng, enough to withstand attacks from Hun Tiandi, Gu Yuan, and the others!
So wouldn't the finished pill have the strength of a Dou Di?!
And this woman had crushed a pill with Dou Di cultivation with nothing more than a casual grab?!
Was she far beyond Dou Di in strength?
Could she be an Immortal-Grade Heavenly Sovereign?
Gasp... that's utterly terrifying!