Xiao Family Market

"Brother Xiao Yan, are you awake? Xun'er made you breakfast," a sweet voice called from outside the door.

Hearing that Xun'er had come, Xiao Yan immediately sat up from the bed, got dressed, and walked to the door. When he opened it, he saw Xun'er standing there with a food box in her hand, smiling at him.

"You girl, why did you make breakfast for me again? Didn't I tell you not to do this anymore? Come in," Xiao Yan said helplessly, shaking his head.

Every time this girl brought him food so early in the morning, Xiao Yan felt on edge. He was truly afraid that Gu Yuan would see it and come over to slap him to death. He probably would not even need a slap; a sneeze or cough would likely be enough to crush him to pieces.

"Brother Xiao Yan, eat quickly! It won't taste good once it gets cold!" Xun'er said with a smile as she entered the room, opened the food box, and placed several dishes she had carefully prepared on the table.

Seeing Xiao Xun'er's expectant expression, Xiao Yan had no choice but to pick up his chopsticks and eat. As he ate, he kept glancing around, checking for things like spatial fluctuations. After nervously finishing breakfast, he told Xun'er not to bring him food again next time.

"Xun'er, do you have any money on you?" Xiao Yan scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. Those medicinal ingredients would cost quite a few gold coins. With his savings, he could probably only afford a Magic Core.

"Brother Xiao Yan, do you need money?" Seeing Xiao Yan's awkward appearance, Xun'er covered her mouth and smiled.

"Uh, I need some money to buy medicinal ingredients," Xiao Yan said awkwardly.

"There are several hundred thousand gold coins on this card. Is that enough?" Xun'er reached her fair little hand behind her back and lightly flicked her finger. A Five-Mark Purple-Gold Card appeared at her fingertips.

"That's enough! More than enough! I only need a few thousand gold coins." Looking at the Purple-Gold Card now in his hand, Xiao Yan thought that she really was a little rich girl. Only those at the Dou Ling level or above were qualified to possess such a Purple-Gold Card.

"Brother Xiao Yan, keep it all. You'll definitely need it for cultivation in the future," Xun'er said with a radiant smile.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Xiao Yan tucked the Purple-Gold Card into his clothes, feeling rather emotional. Living off a woman really was nice! But if his strength did not improve soon, he would not be able to keep living off her for much longer.

"Brother Xiao Yan, are you going out to buy things later? Can I come with you?" Xun'er looked at Xiao Yan expectantly.

"Of course. I'd be more than happy to have a beauty accompany me," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

The two chatted and laughed as they headed out of the clan. The clan members were not surprised to see Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er together, since the two often went shopping together. They only lamented the unfairness of fate—a swan was actually willing to be with a toad.

Still chatting and laughing, the two finally left the clan and arrived on the streets of Wutan City.

Wutan City truly deserved to be called one of the major cities of the Jia Ma Empire. Because it was backed by the Warcraft Mountains, it was exceptionally bustling. The streets were packed with people, and cries of vendors rang out endlessly. Most of them were mercenaries. Some had hunted Magical Beasts in the Warcraft Mountains and set up stalls to sell their Magic Cores, while others specialized in gathering herbs there and brought them here to sell.

Magic Cores and medicinal ingredients were always popular goods and indispensable to Alchemists. The pills refined by Alchemists not only healed injuries, but some could also increase one's strength and provide other benefits, so they naturally never lacked buyers. Countless people begged Alchemists to refine pills for them, even willing to offer their cultivation techniques and Dou Skills in payment. Thus, Alchemists were also the most respected profession on the Dou Qi Continent.

Lastly, there were the items people found in caves or picked up by chance without knowing what they were, which they brought here to sell. Of course, those vendors might also have forged cheap fakes to sell. Buying such things was purely a gamble. If one was lucky, one might find a good cultivation technique or Dou Skill, but most of the time they were useless junk.

The moment Xiao Xun'er reached the street, she seemed as though she had been injected with stimulants, becoming incredibly excited. She dragged Xiao Yan into one shop after another, buying clothes here, snacks and little trinkets there. From the way she was going, she would not stop until she had toured the entirety of Wutan City.

After visiting several shops in a row, eating plenty of delicious food, and buying many amusing little things, Xiao Yan had gained quite a few items in his hands and on his body.

Holding a candied hawthorn skewer, Xiao Xun'er spun around on the spot and said with a smile, "Xun'er is really happy today!"

"As long as you're happy." Xiao Yan was somewhat tired. Shopping with a woman really was exhausting.

Seeing the faint exhaustion on Xiao Yan's face, Xiao Xun'er secretly covered her mouth and smiled, seeming to enjoy seeing him like this. However, seeing that Xiao Yan was having a hard time, Xun'er directly took the things from him and stored them in her Storage Ring.

With the things on him gone, Xiao Yan finally felt much lighter. Looking at the Storage Ring on Xun'er's hand, it was probably high-grade as well.

"She really is a little rich girl."

"Brother Xiao Yan! Whatever you need to buy, Xun'er will accompany you. Xun'er was so focused on herself that she forgot all about you," Xun'er said with a smile, holding Xiao Yan's arm as her small chest brushed against it.

Feeling the softness against his arm, a strange curve appeared on Xiao Yan's lips. He touched his nose and said, "Let's head deeper into the market. That's where the things I need are."

The goods sold in the deeper parts of the market were generally much more precious than those outside. Therefore, customers who could afford to shop there were considered somewhat influential in Wutan City.

Once they entered the depths of the market, Xiao Yan indeed found what he needed. Accompanied by Xiao Xun'er, he began picking through and buying items.

Unfortunately, after shopping for most of the day, he had only managed to gather enough ingredients for five batches. Although there were only five batches, they were enough. After all, one batch could last nearly a month.

The sky gradually darkened, and the sun was about to set. Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er were both tired from shopping and were about to head back when they discovered that the market had suddenly fallen quiet, with far fewer people around. Just as they were feeling puzzled—

A clear laugh suddenly came from behind them.

"Oh? Isn't this Miss Xun'er? Hehe, I didn't expect to meet you here. What a coincidence. If Miss Xun'er wants to buy anything, I can be of service! I know this market better than anyone."

The two turned around and saw a group of people surging toward them. At the center of the crowd, like stars surrounding the moon, stood a luxuriously dressed young man.

The young man looked to be around twenty years old and was rather handsome, though his face was slightly pale.

"Hehe, Young Master Jia Lie Ao, shouldn't you be chasing girls? What are you doing looking for my Xun'er? Let me tell you, she's still young, so stay away from her," Xiao Yan said, immediately feeling unlucky upon seeing Jia Lie Ao.

When Xun'er heard Xiao Yan call her his, a blush appeared on her cheeks. However, when she heard him say that she was young, she wrinkled her cute nose and muttered softly, "Xun'er isn't that young anymore!"

Seeing Xun'er like this, Jia Lie Ao felt as though his heart had been stolen away. But when he saw Xiao Yan beside her, he frowned and mocked, "How many stages of Dou Qi did the young master test at this year? Don't tell me it was only three stages? Ha! Ha! Ha!" The attendants who had come with him also burst into laughter.

Seeing Brother Xiao Yan being humiliated, Xun'er's little face reddened with anger, and she wanted to teach them a lesson herself. But just as she took a step forward, she felt her little hand being grabbed.

"Brother Xiao Yan, don't stop me. Let me teach them a lesson," Xun'er said angrily.

"Hehe, Xun'er, if a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back? Just let him bark like a mad dog. Ignore him. Let's go," Xiao Yan said lightly, narrowing his eyes.

"Did I say you could leave? You actually dared to call me a dog?" Jia Lie Ao ordered his men to surround the two of them, clearly unwilling to let the matter rest.

Seeing what the group was doing, Xiao Yan raised his brows. A teasing smile appeared on his youthful face as he slightly turned his head toward one corner of the market and let out a soft whistle.

Under everyone's puzzled gazes, they saw the market's guard squad rushing over aggressively under their captain's lead.

The large group of guards quickly surrounded Jia Lie Ao and his men instead. For a moment, the atmosphere between both sides became tense and hostile.

"Third Young Master, my name is Payne. I am the captain of the guard squad personally appointed by the clan leader, responsible for protecting the market's safety. Did something happen?" After arriving behind Xiao Yan, the captain first glanced at Jia Lie Ao and the others before respectfully asking with a smile.

Xiao Yan smiled and turned his head toward Jia Lie Ao, whose expression had become somewhat ugly. He said casually, "Young Master Jia Lie Ao, are you planning to make a move in my Xiao Clan's market?"

Jia Lie Ao glanced at Payne with some wariness, then turned to Xiao Yan and sneered, "Do you only know how to rely on your clan's power? Do you dare to have a duel between men?"

"Hehe, Young Master Jia Lie Ao, you're already twenty, while I'm not even an adult yet! You actually want to duel me. Aren't you ashamed?" Xiao Yan said helplessly.

"Hahaha."

Seeing that Jia Lie Ao actually wanted to challenge an immature teenager to a duel, the other people in the market shook their heads and laughed with contempt.

The mocking looks around him were like a basin of cold water, sobering Jia Lie Ao somewhat. Only then did he realize that the person in front of him was still a teenager.

This was understandable. Xiao Yan was already over forty when both lifetimes were counted together, so some of his usual words and mannerisms inevitably seemed rather mature.

Jia Lie Ao gritted his teeth viciously and glanced at the guards glaring at him from behind Xiao Yan. Knowing that he had no chance to teach Xiao Yan a lesson today, he could only force down the anger in his heart. With a cold snort and a wave of his hand, he led his men away through the crowd.

"Are we just letting him go like that?" Xun'er said indignantly.

"Hehe, if I'm going to teach him a lesson, I naturally have to do it myself. I don't think that day will be too far away." Watching Jia Lie Ao leave, Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and said with a cold smile.