The Show Begins!

Qian Renxue's sudden cry of "Brother" nearly melted Jiang Xuan's heart.

After all, the contrast between this woman's before and after was simply too great.

But after taking a moment to recover, he came to his senses, and his mindset instantly changed:

This wicked woman!

They were clearly her guards, yet instead of thinking about how to deal with them herself, she dumped the entire problem on him.

Did she really take Jiang Xuan for some cheap laborer she could order around at will?

Watching Qian Renxue's sly smile beneath her conical hat, Jiang Xuan suddenly began to wonder whether he should find an opportunity to increase the dosage and keep this wicked woman in this form for the rest of her life.

But after thinking it over, Jiang Xuan decided he could not be too impulsive.

Wouldn't that be indirectly helping this wicked woman preserve her youth forever?

That would be letting her off far too easily!

As for how exactly he would collect interest from Qian Renxue afterward, he would think it over carefully once the current crisis was resolved...

Pushing that thought aside for the moment, Jiang Xuan put on an innocent, clueless expression as he faced the cold Snake Spear and Porcupinefish.

"You mean the young master? That big brother who helped me?"

"Yes! That person. Did you see where he went?"

"I don't know. After you two uncles took those bad people away, I thanked that big brother. I wanted to invite him to sit in my room for a while, but he seemed to have something urgent to do. He hurriedly said goodbye and vanished without a trace. I thought he had already met up with you two uncles."

After saying that, Jiang Xuan suddenly had an idea. He grabbed Qian Renxue's little hand and forcibly pulled her to his side.

"This is my younger sister. Although she stayed in the room and never came out, she knows what happened too. If you don't believe me, you can ask her."

At those words, Snake Spear and Porcupinefish exchanged doubtful looks and quietly discussed the matter.

Meanwhile, Qian Renxue was nearly exploding again!

The only reason she had endured the awkwardness and called him "Brother" was because she clearly did not want to get involved in this matter.

Yet Jiang Xuan had gone ahead and dragged her over to take the fall without even warning her.

At that moment, she truly felt like biting Jiang Xuan to death.

But now that things had come to this, they had to carry the act through to the end. To keep the secret of her shrunken body hidden, she could only endure it for now.

"Brother, those two uncles look so scary. Didn't you say you were going to take me to catch fireflies? Let's leave quickly, okay?"

Qian Renxue's voice was soft and delicate, exactly like that of a little girl next door.

Hearing her voice, everyone present felt as though their souls had nearly been cleansed.

Snake Spear and Porcupinefish spoke again.

"It seems the young master's disappearance truly has nothing to do with these two children!"

"According to what the boy said, for the young master to leave in such a hurry, either something happened to the Heaven Dou Empire or something happened to Martial Soul Hall. We shouldn't waste any more time. You go to Heaven Dou Capital, and I'll return to Martial Soul Hall. We'll split up and make sure to find the young master as soon as possible!"

"Good, let's do that!"

After reaching an agreement, Snake Spear and Porcupinefish gave Jiang Xuan and Qian Renxue kind smiles.

"Thank you for telling us. We won't disturb you any longer. Go have fun."

After saying that, the two of them vanished from the spot in a flash, disappearing without a trace.

Yet Qian Renxue did not relax her guard.

She kept up her act, swaying Jiang Xuan's arm as she spoke in an almost coquettish tone.

"Brother, where are we going next?"

Sunset Forest.

After traveling almost without rest for an entire day and night, Jiang Xuan finally arrived here with Qian Renxue.

Certain that no outsiders were following them, Qian Renxue, who was currently lying on Jiang Xuan's back, stopped acting. She casually pinched his ear and asked irritably, "Jiang Xuan, are you sure Sunset Forest has the medicinal herbs you need?"

Although shrinking had not affected the soul power within Qian Renxue's body, it made her tire more easily than usual when walking. Even suppressing it with soul power did not have much effect.

Furthermore, because her body had become smaller, her mentality had also changed without her realizing it.

No outsiders had seen her current appearance, and it was almost impossible for anyone to recognize what she originally looked like. She might as well be a little bolder and properly experience the things she had never experienced as a child.

For example, being carried on Jiang Xuan's back allowed her to make up, to some extent, for the regret of never having been carried by her parents when she was little.

Messing around with Jiang Xuan so freely allowed her to vent the repression she had forcibly endured ever since childhood.

She might have been having fun, but Jiang Xuan was genuinely unhappy.

After being pinched painfully, he cried out at once. Then he raised the hand supporting her body and, without indulging her in the slightest, gave her a hard slap.

"Qian Renxue! Can't you behave yourself? If you don't trust me, then go find a way to solve the side effects yourself! If you don't have that ability, then shut your mouth and stop pulling all these little stunts that make me unhappy!"

For some reason, although her strength could easily crush the youth carrying her on his back, Qian Renxue had no intention of doing so. Instead, she released Jiang Xuan's ear with a wronged expression and replied in a coquettish tone.

"How hateful! You were the one who shrank my body, yet now you're acting so righteous while being so fierce with me. Aren't you afraid of making me angry and getting beaten up badly?"

After spending a day and night in close contact with Qian Renxue, Jiang Xuan had more or less figured out her current limits. Thus, he was completely unafraid of her coquettish threat and immediately stopped walking.

"Damn! You still have the nerve to blame me? Get this straight—I was clearly about to warn you that the pill had side effects, but you were too impatient to listen and swallowed it immediately!"

"But..."

"Don't give me any 'buts'! To put it bluntly, what does it have to do with me how much these side effects affect your life? All I know is that this pill of mine made you young again and greatly increased your strength!"

Jiang Xuan's sudden outburst left Qian Renxue speechless, and for a moment, she did not know how to refute him.

But that was far from over.

"Those were clearly two enormous benefits, yet you turned around and claimed I harmed you! You've nagged me about it so many times along the way—I've had enough! Since you truly think I harmed you, then just kill me! There's no one around here. Even if you kill me, my family won't be able to trouble you. Consider it the price I paid for trusting the wrong person and being too young to distinguish good hearts from bad ones!"

After roaring those words, Jiang Xuan violently shook his body and flung Qian Renxue straight off his back onto the ground.

Then he calmly closed his eyes, looking as though he were fully prepared to die.

Qian Renxue was completely dumbfounded by the sight.

Everything had been fine on the way here. Why had he suddenly exploded?