Faced with Wang Dong'er's strange question, Jiang Ci'an was used to it and replied casually:
"If it weren't proper, I wouldn't have told you."
"Fair enough."
Wang Dong'er gave a soft snort and reached out to take the cup, looking to be in a pretty good mood.
She suddenly felt that this guy was actually pretty decent.
The thought surfaced in her mind unbidden. Wang Dong'er cupped the drink and took a couple of small sips, then suddenly paused.
A warm, soothing sensation spread from the tip of her tongue, seeping deep into her body. She felt more alert all over, as if even her soul had been nourished.
Wang Dong'er's eyes lit up. Unable to resist, she tipped her head back and gulped down the supplement in a few big swallows.
Her throat bobbed as she drank, and the cup was empty in no time.
"Ah—"
Wang Dong'er let out a long breath, set the cup down with a thump, and licked the corner of her lips with her pink tongue, feeling like she hadn't had quite enough.
She turned to Jiang Ci'an, her blue-and-pink eyes sparkling.
"Got any more? Give me another bottle!"
"You think it's water? Just give you another bottle."
Jiang Ci'an shot Wang Dong'er an exasperated look and explained casually:
"This is a mental supplement I just formulated to help with practicing the Concentration Meditation Method. It's still in the experimental stage, so I don't have much stock."
That wasn't a lie.
The mental supplement was essentially a blend of several herbs that nourished the mind. After Tang San tested it personally, its effects had proven decent so far, but there was still plenty of room for improvement. Both its ingredients and their proportions were still being adjusted.
Thanks to the knowledge from his previous life and the things he'd picked up growing up in this life, he had an inexplicable knack for this. Developing it hadn't taken him much time.
Wang Dong'er paused, then replied without hesitation, "Then can't you make more?"
"I can, but you'll have to wait."
Jiang Ci'an took the cup beside her and explained slowly:
"Don't let the fact that you finished one serving in a few gulps fool you. Each serving takes quite a lot of medicinal herbs.
"Buying the herbs takes time, and since I'll need a lot, I'll have to work out the budget too.
"I've nearly used up this month's cultivation budget, so I'll have to set aside some more funds next month to buy them.
"But since I'll be buying in bulk, I might be able to get a discount."
"Is that so..."
Wang Dong'er murmured softly, pressing her lips together. She didn't say anything more, but quietly made a note of it.
Evening.
Dusk spilled in from the west, dyeing the horizon a somber orange-red.
In the main room in the back courtyard of the apothecary, they'd just finished dinner. Wang Dong'er stood up, wiping her mouth as she said, "I'll head back for today. You can take your time eating."
Xiao Xiao was sitting across from her, still holding her chopsticks. Seeing how quickly Wang Dong'er had finished, she blinked in surprise.
"You're not staying here tonight?"
"No, not tonight."
Wang Dong'er replied earnestly, "I'm going back to look for something. I'll come by again tomorrow."
Xiao Xiao didn't ask any more questions. She just nodded and continued eating.
Jiang Ci'an, sitting nearby, didn't pay it much mind either.
Since Wang Dong'er visited the apothecary so often, they had grown closer over time, and eventually she had gotten a room of her own there.
After all, the two households were close by—only a minute or two away on foot—so staying over wasn't a big deal.
Sometimes, if she and Xiao Xiao talked late into the night, she'd even share Xiao Xiao's room. That was probably one reason the two had grown so close.
Of course, Wang Dong'er couldn't stay at the apothecary all the time, so every now and then she'd go back to Da Ming and Er Ming's place. There was no set pattern to it, though; it all depended on her mood.
Today, presumably, she was in a good mood.
After Wang Dong'er left, Xiao Xiao finished her meal but didn't rest. While the effects of the medicinal meal were still fresh, she headed to the training ground as usual to practice the Body Tempering Method.
Jiang Ci'an, meanwhile, went back to his room. As usual, he sat upright on the bed, closed his eyes, meditated, entered the Virtual World, and then sacrificed Xiao Wu.
Elsewhere.
In the main room of the back courtyard of a shop specializing in all kinds of finely forged metals, Da Ming and Er Ming were holding a map of Shrek City and planning where to search tomorrow.
They had never forgotten why they'd come to Shrek. Every day, they went out and searched every inch of Shrek City, all to find the source of that special Concealment Domain.
Unfortunately, to this day, they still hadn't found a thing.
Da Ming and Er Ming were in the middle of planning when they caught sight of Wang Dong'er hurrying into the main room from the corner of their eyes.
"Dong'er, you're back?"
Er Ming looked a little surprised and was about to say something, but Wang Dong'er didn't even stop. She hurriedly called out, "Mm-hmm! Hi, Big Daddy and Second Daddy! Bye, Big Daddy and Second Daddy!"
With that, the blue-and-pink figure hurried out of the main room again and headed toward the back courtyard.
"..."
Da Ming and Er Ming fell silent for a moment, exchanged glances, then both set down what they were holding and followed her.
When they reached Wang Dong'er's room, they found the door wide open and Wang Dong'er rummaging through everything inside.
The wardrobe door stood open, the vanity drawers had been pulled out, and even the drawers in the bedside table hadn't been spared.
Wang Dong'er was half-kneeling on the floor, her upper body stretched into the bottom drawer as she searched for something inside.
Soon, she had a thick stack of cards in her hands.
Standing in the doorway, Da Ming recognized the cards in Wang Dong'er's hands.
They were all Gold Soul Coin Cards, and judging by appearances, they were the pocket money he and Er Ming had given Dong'er over the past few months.
After all, the circumstances were different now.
Back in the mountains, there had been nowhere to spend money. If Dong'er wanted something, she only had to ask.
But now they were in Shrek City, where she'd need money whenever she went out. Naturally, they couldn't let Dong'er go without. What if some pig suddenly showed up and made off with their cabbage?
So he and Er Ming had never stopped giving her pocket money.
But what was going on now?
Watching Wang Dong'er start counting the stack of Gold Soul Coin Cards in her hands, Da Ming couldn't help asking, "Dong'er, why are you suddenly looking for Gold Soul Coins? Is there something you want to buy?"
"No."
Wang Dong'er shook her head without looking up. She sorted the Gold Soul Coin Cards by denomination so she could count them more easily and answered matter-of-factly.
"I'm just getting ready to give all this money to Jiang Ci'an."
Da Ming and Er Ming: ???
Wait, what? Give it to who?!
Er Ming's expression changed at once. His mouth opened and shut, and he looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't decide what. For a moment, he was at a loss.
He instinctively looked at Da Ming, only to see that even the usually composed Da Ming had lost his composure.
After a long moment, Da Ming pulled himself together.
He took a deep breath, his expression settling back into calm, and was about to ask what was going on,
when Wang Dong'er suddenly seemed to remember something and jerked her head up.
Her blue-and-pink eyes sparkled as she looked at Da Ming and Er Ming, as if she'd discovered a treasure. She seemed to come alive with excitement.
"Oh, right, Big Daddy, Second Daddy—could you give me some Gold Soul Coins too? I want to take them to that guy."
Da Ming and Er Ming: ???
Da Ming nearly choked.
He slowly raised a hand to his forehead, yet somehow still had a splitting headache.
What in the world... was going on?
Before you continue