Thirty-Two, Repaying the Family

"Father!"

"Three Elders!"

"Did this kid, Xiao Yan, make it in time?"

A clear, bright voice came from outside the door. Then Xiao Yan stepped into the hall, only to find everyone's eyes fixed on him before he even understood what was going on.

The staring made his hair stand on end. He shrank his neck and walked over to Xiao Dongchen, asking in a low voice, "Brother Dongchen, what's going on? Why does everyone seem so strange?"

"Hehehe."

Seeing Xiao Yan's timid appearance, Xiao Dongchen could not help curling his lips into a wicked grin. He raised his brows and pursed his lips slightly. "I wanted you to keep a low profile too, but my strength wouldn't allow it!"

"No more pretending. I exposed you, Pill Refiner Xiao Yan!"

Damn it!

Hearing that, Xiao Yan's eyelids twitched. Gritting his teeth, he secretly gave the other man the middle finger and muttered, "Brother Dongchen, you're really sneaky. You dug up every last bit of my background!"

"Hehe, I'm doing this for your own good. With me around, just be a proud genius out in the open!"

Xiao Dongchen leaned closer and said with a chuckle. Looking at the miserable-looking youth, he sighed faintly inwardly.

Little Yan, wouldn't it be great to openly be a social butterfly? Your vision is still too narrow.

There are so many benefits. Not only will the family dote on you, but all those lovestruck girls will be completely enchanted by you. Stop secretly crushing on my Xun'er already. It'll be better for everyone.

And haven't you always talked about revitalizing the Xiao Household? The opportunity is right here. Just do it!

At this moment, Ya Fei walked over gracefully. Her red lips parted slightly as she blinked her beautiful eyes coquettishly. "Young Master Dongchen, I misspoke just now. See? The real person has arrived, hasn't he?"

Hearing the man and woman speak as though they were playing off each other, Xiao Yan could not help pressing his lips together tightly, his small face looking somewhat aggrieved.

How was he the real person? He was clearly the sucker here!

They had raised him so high. How was he supposed to keep a low profile in the future?

Sigh, this is hard to handle!

Sure enough, as soon as those words fell, Xiao Zhan's eyes lit up from the seat of honor. He stared at Xiao Yan excitedly and asked with some pride, "Yan'er, I heard you found yourself a good teacher. Why didn't you tell your father about something this important earlier?"

Looking at his smug father, Xiao Yan's mouth twitched slightly. Only then did he force out a smile and respectfully say, "Father, I wanted to give you a surprise!"

"Besides, I haven't been learning Pill Refining for long. I was afraid that if I failed to achieve anything, everyone would laugh at me."

"Laugh at you? You are my, Xiao Zhan's, son. Who would dare laugh at you?!"

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan first nodded. Then he slapped the table and rose to his feet, his face filled with restrained anger.

Three years ago, after Xiao Yan's qi developed problems, he often went to comfort him. He had even flown into a rage and wanted to punish those clansmen, but he still could not stop the gossip.

When he turned to Xiao Dongchen for help, the latter merely smiled mysteriously and said that it was nothing more than a little hardship, an ordeal belonging to Xiao Yan. Only then did he let go of his worries—and after that, he completely stopped interfering!

As a result, Xiao Yan truly came to understand the warmth and coldness of human relationships, as well as the fickleness of the world!

But now, Xiao Zhan had more than enough confidence to say such words!

Sure enough, the moment he said this, the three Great Elders fell silent at once. No one dared utter a single objection.

Xiao Yan had already proven himself through his actions. A young man should strive to be strong, and he now even had the capital to be proud!

"Good!"

Looking at the high-spirited Xiao Zhan, Xiao Dongchen could not help lightly clapping his hands. Smiling faintly, he said, "Uncle Xiao, well said. I believe Xiao Yan definitely will not disappoint you!"

Then he turned around and stopped Xiao Zhan's words of thanks. Instead, he leisurely asked the sexy beauty beside him, "Miss Ya Fei, did you bring the money?"

"Hehe, of course. But when Young Master Dongchen sees me, is money all he can think about?"

Pouting her red lips, Ya Fei's pretty face showed a trace of grievance. Then she took out a Black Gold Card, glared at him somewhat indignantly, and offered it to him with both hands.

"Hand it over!"

Xiao Dongchen could not be bothered to show tenderness toward a beauty. He snatched the Black Gold Card, glanced at both sides, and casually stuffed it into Xiao Yan's hand.

Holy crap!

Everyone's eyelids twitched violently at that action. That was Ya Fei, the unrivaled beauty of Wu Tan City. Was he really going to be so rude?

And that was twelve million gold coins. Why did it seem utterly insignificant in his eyes?

Just how terrifying was his wealth?

Then again, it made sense. A youth who possessed both Heavenly Flames and a high-tier Dou Technique naturally had unfathomable wealth!

As Xiao Yan looked at the Black Gold Card in his hand, it felt like a hot potato. Keeping it all for himself right in front of his father and the three Great Elders? What kind of joke was that?

Some money might belong to you, but once certain people saw it, it might not necessarily remain yours!

"Ahem!"

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yan endured the gazes of those seated above him. He swallowed and spoke with difficulty. "Of these twelve million, I'll take ten million. As for the remaining two million, I choose to donate them to the family without compensation!"

Damn it, this was basically like paying taxes after winning the lottery!

Besides, he also hoped the family could soar, so he was willing to do this!

Any more than that would affect the cultivation plan his teacher had made for him. He hoped his father and the elders could understand.

As soon as he said this, silence fell. Then the eyes of the three Great Elders turned red.

There was no other reason. Those two million gold coins were equivalent to more than three years of the Xiao Household's net profits. If they used that money to purchase resources, how many more Dou Zhes could the Xiao Household produce each year?

They had already been deeply moved that Xiao Yan was willing to donate money. After all, it was his money; asking for more would simply be greed. Moreover, Xiao Zhan's position was now unshakable. Even if Xiao Yan donated nothing, they could not say much, at most grumbling inwardly.

"Good! As expected of my son—what spirit!"

Xiao Zhan nodded repeatedly, his tone full of praise. He did not think Xiao Yan had donated too little at all.

As a father, he naturally understood his son!

He knew that every Pill Refiner was not only a gold-coin printing machine, but also a bottomless money pit. Xiao Yan definitely needed this money!

So, he had handled it perfectly!

"What spirit, what spirit."

Xiao Dongchen patted Xiao Yan's shoulder and nodded in agreement. Then a hint of amusement flashed through his black eyes as he drawled leisurely, "Xiao Yan, where are the pills you refined yourself? Aren't you going to let everyone have a look?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan first froze, then shook his head with a helpless laugh.

Fine, you've already said everything. I just have to do it, right?

Brother, can you give me a chance next time? I don't want things to get this inexplicably weird.

With a faint smile, he walked forward. Looking at the massive conference table, Xiao Yan let out a soft breath and flicked the black-and-red ring on his finger. Light flashed instantly.

The next moment, a dense mass of jade bottles appeared across the table. In the blink of an eye, they were piled so tightly that there was barely any space between them.

Looking at the jade bottles that had appeared out of thin air, even Xiao Zhan and the others, though mentally prepared, sucked in a sharp breath at such a quantity.

"There are over a thousand bottles of Blood-Coagulating Powder for treating injuries, over a thousand bottles of Qi-Recovery Liquid for restoring qi, and over a thousand bottles of Heart-Clearing Liquid for detoxification. These are all my results from the past few months!"

Xiao Yan spread his hands, too lazy to even glance at the pills. After being surrounded by these things every day, he had grown a little sick of them.

What was a surprise?

This was a damn surprise!

Looking at the utterly calm Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan smiled in satisfaction, his eyes filled with pride!