Chapter 5

"I've thought about it."

Xiao Xuan replied offhandedly, feeling a bit helpless.

This teenage version of Mikoto was a bit too lively, wasn't she?

Mikoto looked at the boy in front of her. She wasn't angry at all; instead, she smiled and said, "I received the medicinal bath packet. I used it once, and the results were quite good. Thanks, Xiao Xuan!"

"With this, my speed in getting stronger can increase quite a bit."

She was thirteen this year. The effects of foundation establishment were indeed not as good as when she was younger, but they weren't too bad either.

"Oh?"

Uchiha Yan nodded after hearing this, grinning. "You've already started soaking? As long as it's useful, that's good."

"But this stuff works best for kids under ten. Sister Mikoto, the effects might be slightly discounted for you."

"I happen to be working on a new formula for my brother that's suitable for your age group. Just make do with this for two days, and once I finish the new one, I'll have my dad bring you a copy."

He already had a plan in mind.

With the knowledge he had accumulated lately, plus his decent comprehension, creating a new recipe wasn't actually that difficult.

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, Mikoto's eyes lit up instantly. "Really? That would be great! Xiao Xuan, you're such a good friend! This way, I can improve my strength even faster!"

"Don't mention it."

Uchiha Yan waved his hand and asked with some curiosity, "But Sister Mikoto, seeing you in such a rush to get stronger, is something going on?"

In just a few sentences, she had mentioned it twice; it was hard for him not to notice.

When Mikoto heard this, the good mood she had just built up vanished. Her expression became somewhat complex, and she nodded slightly. "Well... only when I'm strong enough can I truly be the master of my own fate."

"Master of your own fate?"

Uchiha Yan furrowed his brows.

It seemed there were some twists and turns here that he didn't know about.

However, he didn't press Mikoto further.

Since she didn't spell it out, it was clear she didn't want to talk about it. He could just ask his parents later.

But what kind of trouble could a Uchiha Mikoto of this age have that was so hard to talk about?

Could it be about an arranged marriage?

A thought popped into Uchiha Yan's mind.

He figured that was likely the case.

Come to think of it, Mikoto was the granddaughter of the Great Elder. Could it be that Uchiha Tianrong was already trying to play matchmaker between Fugaku and Mikoto, hoping to have his son Fugaku marry her to secure the support of the Great Elder's faction?

A few days later, Xuan learned about Mikoto's situation from his father.

It was exactly as he had guessed. The clan leader, Uchiha Tianrong, had been pulling strings lately, trying to facilitate a marriage between Fugaku and Mikoto.

However, neither Mikoto herself nor the Great Elder had agreed to it.

The Great Elder felt that Mikoto was still young, and since it wasn't certain yet whether Fugaku would successfully take over as clan leader, he wanted to wait a few more years to see.

During this time, the clan leader even brought Fugaku to Xuan's house to introduce them.

In the following days, Fugaku would run over to Xuan's house every few days to chat with him.

Xuan was incredibly annoyed, but he didn't have the heart to kick him out directly, so he could only endure it.

Ten days later.

Xuan finished organizing the prescriptions in his mind. With a smile on his face, he copied all three formulas into a scroll.

The two body-tempering medicinal baths were, simply put, for toughening the body at different ages. The youth version was for those under eighteen, while the young adult version was for those between eighteen and fifty. After soaking, one's tendons and bones would become sturdier, and their physical fitness would become more robust.

The remaining nourishing medicinal bath was specially prepared for the elderly. Those over fifty usually had some old injuries or hidden ailments. Soaking in this could slowly heal them, replenish their vitality, and make their bodies feel lighter, so living a few more years wouldn't be a problem.

At dinner, Xuan handed the three prescriptions to his parents.

"Dad, Mom, take these. The effects are written clearly on them. Give the youth version to Big Brother and Sister Mikoto, and you two can use the young adult version yourselves—once every three days is enough. Send the nourishing one to the Great Elder and the Third Elder first, then hand the recipe over to the clan later."

Uchiha Senichi and Meixin were both stunned.

"You finished them so quickly?"

Senichi reached out to take the recipes, and he and Meixin looked them over carefully together.

After reading, Meixin nodded. "I've gone through them; there are no problems."

She smiled and reached out to rub Xuan's head. "Xiao Xuan is truly amazing."

Uchiha Hao sat to the side, his eyes fixed on those prescriptions, unable to look away. He felt a surge of excitement, thinking that with these, he could get stronger much faster and would definitely have to protect his younger brother well in the future.

After reading the formulas, Senichi was puzzled and looked at his youngest son. "Son, why did you only say to hand the nourishing one over to the clan? Why not the other two?"

Meixin glared at him the moment she heard that. "What are you saying? Of course we can't hand them all over. Xiao Xuan has already done enough for the clan; our family needs to keep some foundation for ourselves, doesn't it? If we hand everything over, what benefits will we get?"

She paused, then lowered her voice. "Xiao Xuan's reputation in the village has been too prominent lately. Every day, people talk about how much of a monster he is. I'm happy to hear it, but I'm also afraid. Do you understand that too much of a good thing can be bad? The top brass in the village have never looked favorably upon our Uchiha family; we can't keep drawing this much attention."

"Uh..."

Uchiha Senichi's face fell, and he spread his hands helplessly. "Honey, I was just asking, I didn't mean anything by it!"

"I was just thinking about contributing to the clan so everyone could get stronger!"

But then again, his son really shouldn't be in the spotlight anymore. Not handing over the recipes was fine.

"Hmph!"

Uchiha Meixin gave him a cold, mocking look. "Is our Uchiha Clan really doing so poorly that we have to rely on these two recipes from Xiao Xuan to turn things around?"

"Are you blind? The clan leader has been paving the way for Fugaku for these past few years, clearly wanting him to take over. Do you believe that if Xiao Xuan keeps standing out, that old man will start targeting him and our family?"

The Uchiha Clan was a united front to the outside world, but once power became involved, no one hesitated to turn against each other.

If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Xuan was only a year old, Uchiha Tianrong would have already treated him as a stumbling block to Fugaku's ascent.

"This..."

Uchiha Senichi's gaze sharpened, his brows knitted together, and he whispered to his wife, "Have you heard some rumors?"

Uchiha Meixin rolled her eyes at him. "Do you need to hear rumors for something like this? Is that thing on your neck a head or just a decoration?"

"In any case, do as Xiao Xuan says. Just hand over the nourishing medicinal bath recipe to the clan."

"You're at your age and you don't see things as clearly as a one-year-old child. I think you should read more books in the future. Don't be so careless all day long; what does that look like?"

Uchiha Senichi: "..."

Could you please leave me some dignity in front of the child?

That night, Uchiha Senichi visited the homes of the Third Elder and the Great Elder, delivering the nourishing medicinal bath formula along with a copy of the youth body-tempering recipe, bringing their relationships closer.

"Xiao Xuan is truly a monster! To come up with even better formulas so quickly—it seems giving him all the medical books in the clan was the right choice."

The Third Elder held the two recipes, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Heh heh!"

Uchiha Senichi grinned as he replied, "It's not as miraculous as you say, Uncle Qiuye; this is just the extent of the child's ability."

"Don't be humble with me!"

The Third Elder waved his hand. "Good is good; there's no need to hide anything here. He is my grandnephew, after all, isn't he?"

"Give my thanks to Xiao Xuan. At this week's clan meeting, I will make sure his contribution is recognized. Additionally, I'll find a way to get him more medical books."

"I want to see just how far this little boy can go."

He was looking forward to it.

"By the way! What do you think about the position of clan leader? And what about that boy, Fugaku?"

The Third Elder suddenly changed the subject.