"Growing Taller and Stronger": Ya Fei's Thoughtful Inspection Draws Little Fairy's Secret Attention!

After quite a while, Ya Fei finally finished handing over all the complicated affairs in the auction house's front hall and returned to her private courtyard with slightly weary steps.

The moment she pushed open the door, Ya Fei froze for a moment. Then she hurried over, yanked off the half of the silver mask An Yi wore to look cool, cupped his cheeks in both hands, and carefully examined him from every angle.

"Oh, damn..."

Ya Fei's beautiful eyes widened round as she cried out in disbelief, "Little An? How did you suddenly get so big?!"

With his cheeks pinched between her hands, An Yi's eye twitched as he protested indistinctly, "No, didn't I just grow a little taller? The way you put it makes it sound like I was a three-year-old yesterday and suddenly became an adult today."

"You call this growing a little taller?!"

Ya Fei released him and pulled An Yi to his feet.

She tilted her head back slightly, looking at the tall young man whom she now had to look up at. She gestured at the difference in their heights, her tone brimming with disbelief.

"When you left Wutan City last year, you were only about as tall as me! It's only been one year—how did you grow so fast? You're almost 1.9 meters tall now, aren't you?!"

An Yi shrugged. "I'm a boy. I'm at the age where I'm still growing. Plus, I eat well and exercise a lot. Isn't it normal for me to grow quickly?"

Ya Fei rolled her eyes at him, reached out to pinch his firm arm, then curled her fingers and patted his broad, solid chest twice.

Feeling the explosive contours of muscle beneath his clothes, Ya Fei nodded in satisfaction. A trace of admiration flickered in her beautiful eyes. "Not bad, not bad. You haven't just grown taller—your body has gotten stronger too. Looks like you didn't slack off while training outside this past year."

Little Fairy, who sat obediently nearby, watched the scene with an odd expression.

Watching Ya Fei's natural movements and concerned gaze, Little Fairy muttered to herself inwardly.

Why does it feel... like the way these two get along isn't the ambiguous, flirtatious relationship I imagined? It feels more like a worried mother—or older sister—checking over her troublesome little brother after he returned home from running away for a year?

At that thought, the faint jealousy Little Fairy had felt over "eating, drinking, and sleeping on someone else's dime" inexplicably faded quite a bit.

Ya Fei pulled An Yi around for two turns and examined him thoroughly. Only after confirming that he had no missing limbs, disabilities, or hidden injuries did the worry in her heart finally ease.

She sat down again, lifted her teacup to moisten her throat, and naturally turned her gaze toward the white-dressed girl beside them, who had remained unusually quiet the whole time.

"And this young lady is?" Ya Fei smiled faintly, her innate charm and shrewdness fully revealing themselves at that moment.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce her." An Yi put his mask back on and pointed at Little Fairy. "Little Fairy."

Ya Fei generously extended her long, fair hands. "Hello. I'm Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer of the Mittel Auction House."

Little Fairy politely reached out and lightly shook her hand, her voice as cool and clear as spring water. "Hello, Sister Ya Fei."

The two women's hands parted as soon as they touched. Ya Fei discreetly sized Little Fairy up, then turned to An Yi with a raised brow, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.

"Weren't you living like a savage in the deep forests of the Magic Beast Mountain Range? How did you meet such a pretty little girl with such an ethereal temperament in those mountains? You heartless little brat, don't tell me you made up some nonsense to fool your sister?"

An Yi spread his hands. "I didn't fool you. I picked her up in the Magic Beast Mountain Range."

"Picked her up?" Ya Fei was stunned.

Little Fairy's cheeks reddened. She shot An Yi an embarrassed, annoyed glare before hurriedly explaining to Ya Fei, "Sister Ya Fei, don't listen to his nonsense. I'm a physician from the Ten Thousand Medicine Hall in Qingshan Town. Half a year ago, I went to gather herbs at the edge of the Magic Beast Mountain Range and accidentally encountered a magic beast attack. He happened to pass by and saved me."

"I see. A hero saving a beauty." Ya Fei nodded in realization, her gaze toward An Yi gaining a more meaningful look.

After the pleasantries, Ya Fei put away her teasing expression and began discussing serious matters.

"Little An, now that you've returned to Wutan City, you don't need to hide your identity so carefully anymore." Ya Fei pointed to An Yi's mask. "The matter of that Cloud Mist Sect inner disciple dying outside the city a year ago has basically blown over."

"It has?" An Yi raised a brow, somewhat surprised.

"Yes." Ya Fei picked up her teacup and took a light sip, calmly recounting what had happened over the past year. "After you fled overnight, the Cloud Mist Sect did exactly as I expected—they refused to let the matter rest. They sent several groups of people afterward. One outer sect elder even personally led a team to investigate Wutan City for a full two months."

"However, because the scene had been too thoroughly destroyed by magic beasts, and because the false rumor you spread about treasure hidden behind a waterfall had muddied the waters, they ultimately found no useful clues."

"But what kind of place is the Cloud Mist Sect? It's the largest sect in the Gama Empire! To preserve the sect's reputation, they could never publicly admit that one of their dignified Five-Star Dou Practitioner inner disciples had come to Wutan City, gone treasure hunting in the mountains in the middle of the night out of greed, and ended up being miserably devoured by a pack of low-level magic beasts."

"So after the Cloud Mist Sect's higher-ups failed to find anything, they gave their disciples and the outside world a reasonable explanation by publicly announcing—"

Ya Fei lowered her voice. "That inner disciple, Wang Teng, had accidentally discovered a vicious bandit mercenary group outside the city and tragically died while fighting them. Furthermore, the Cloud Mist Sect had already identified those mercenaries and sent people to wipe them all out, avenging Wang Teng!"

After hearing that, An Yi was utterly floored by the maneuver.

"Damn, that actually works? For the sake of face, the Cloud Mist Sect just found some unlucky unregistered mercenary group, wiped them out, and forcibly closed the case!"

"That is simply how powerful people conduct themselves." Ya Fei shook her head indifferently. "Since the Cloud Mist Sect has officially reached a conclusion and defined the matter that way, the case is completely over."

"I imagine they would never continue pursuing trouble with a child who was only a Sixth-Stage Qi Disciple back then over one dead man."

An Yi stroked his chin and shook his head. "Not necessarily."

"Don't forget, that old man named Ge Ye said it himself. Wang Teng's parents were both outer sect stewards of the Cloud Mist Sect!"

"The Cloud Mist Sect can forcefully close the case for the sake of its reputation. But who can guarantee that his parents won't bear a grudge against me? Who can guarantee they don't have even more powerful backers within the Cloud Mist Sect?"

"Didn't you personally teach me before? Before those massive powers, things like this don't require conclusive evidence at all! As long as there's even the slightest suspicion, they'd rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go!"

"So I'd better keep wearing this thing and lie low for a few more years. Once I'm strong enough that I don't need to fear the Cloud Mist Sect anymore, I'll take off the mask and show my face openly."

Ya Fei was momentarily speechless. After a long while, she sighed helplessly.

"Honestly, what am I supposed to make of you? If I say you act recklessly without considering the consequences, you're being so meticulous and cautious now. But if I say you're steady and mature, how did you dare to kill that Cloud Mist Sect disciple outside the city without the slightest hesitation back then?"

"Ahem... I was young and hot-blooded. I acted on impulse. Impulse is the devil." An Yi coughed twice and forcibly changed the subject. "It happened a year ago. Let's not talk about it anymore."

"By the way, Sister Ya Fei, how has business at your auction house been this past year while I was gone?"

When An Yi mentioned business, a radiant smile instantly blossomed across Ya Fei's face.

"Very well!"

Ya Fei gave An Yi a meaningful look. "Just a couple of days after you left, that mysterious old man in black robes who was sitting in the hall earlier really did come to us on his own initiative. The miraculous medicinal liquid he put up for auction, called the Foundation-Building Elixir, had remarkable effects and truly brought the Mittel Auction House enormous customer traffic and prestige."

"However... Little An, that mysterious black-robed man who refined the Foundation-Building Elixir... was he really Xiao Yan, the third young master of the Xiao Household?"

An Yi spread his hands. "The secrets involved in this matter are a little complicated, so it's not convenient for me to explain them to you in detail."

Seeing that An Yi was unwilling to say more, Ya Fei, being an intelligent woman, naturally did not press the matter further.