True Fragrance Warning

Hearing another talented youth step forward to persuade her, Ruo Lin lightly pursed her rosy lips and considered it carefully before finally nodding.

"All right, sorry for the trouble."

"Elder Long's injuries will have to trouble the Xiao Household as well."

"Great!"

Seeing that Ruo Lin, both her teacher and friend, had agreed, Xiao Yu immediately beamed with joy and happily reached out to hug her soft waist.

"Elder Long, can you still stand?"

At that moment, Xiao Dongchen walked toward the fallen figure with a smile on his face, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Worthy of a Dou Wang expert. That palm strike was truly domineering. Too bad you ran into me."

As the ominous youth drew closer, Long Aotian finally stopped playing dead. He forced himself upright, his eyes filled with deep wariness.

Don't come any closer!

Damn it, why does that smile look so evil?!

Seeing Elder Long's cowardly appearance, Xiao Dongchen found it boring and could not be bothered teasing him. He merely curled his lips and said blandly, "Someone help Elder Long up. He looks seriously injured."

"I'm fine!"

Hearing the youth's words, Long Aotian clutched his chest and stubbornly insisted, but blood honestly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"If you're fine, take a few steps. You're coughing up blood, so stop forcing yourself."

Xiao Dongchen looked deeply concerned. Then he beckoned several male students over and waved a hand, taking out a stretcher and tossing it to them.

The male students caught the stretcher and could not help swallowing. Then they carefully walked over and helped the despairing Long Aotian onto it.

Humiliation!

How hateful!

Lying on the stretcher, Long Aotian stared at the sky in utter dejection. He felt that once he lay down like this, his reputation would be ruined for life.

Not far away, Ruo Lin could not help twitching the corner of her mouth. She chose to remain silent. After all, he really was too injured to walk, so this was the only way.

After arranging for several male students to take the new students to the reception area, Ruo Lin and her group headed toward the Xiao Household together with Xiao Dongchen and the others.

Among them, the one being carried on a stretcher was especially eye-catching.

After hearing that a Jia Nan Academy instructor had entered the Xiao Household, Xiao Zhan and the three elders in the meeting hall were all startled. A moment later, their faces filled with delight.

After all, befriending such a massive power would bring tremendous benefits.

The group hurried to the main gate. Seeing a flock of lovely female students in uniforms led by an elegant woman, with Xiao Dongchen and the others behind them, they exchanged glances before smiling and going forward to greet them.

"This must be an instructor from Jia Nan Academy. May I ask how to address you?"

Xiao Zhan stepped forward with a polite smile.

"My name is Ruo Lin. Thank you for the Xiao Household's invitation. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you for the next few days."

Ruo Lin clasped her hands together and smiled faintly, her long, beautiful eyes curving into a charming arc.

"Not at all, not at all. Your arrival truly honors our humble Xiao Household. Please, come in!"

Worthy of being the clan head, Xiao Zhan handled matters flawlessly. After the pleasantries, he waved someone over to prepare guest rooms.

However, the Great Elder had sharp eyes and spotted the stretcher surrounded by the crowd. He frowned and asked, "Instructor Ruo Lin, is someone among you injured?"

"In Wu Tan City, does anyone dare lay hands on people from Jia Nan Academy?"

That question left everyone stunned. Their expressions turned strange, and they awkwardly fell silent.

Old man, rubbing salt in the wound—you really deserve to die!

Long Aotian shut his eyes at once and chose to continue playing dead.

"Ahem, Grandpa, you'd better stop asking. It's a long story."

At that moment, Xiao Ning coughed twice and stepped forward to pull the old man back.

"You brat, why are you butting into this?"

The Great Elder lightly knocked Xiao Ning on the head. Then, still frowning, he said seriously, "If the academy needs any help, the Xiao Household will naturally not refuse."

"Uh..."

Hearing that, Ruo Lin was even more bewildered. Her rosy lips moved, but she did not know what to say.

"Hehe, Great Elder, stop making things difficult for them."

Xiao Dongchen, standing in the back, could not stand the awkward atmosphere any longer and stepped forward. With a teasing smile, he said leisurely, "I caused that patient's injuries, so stop making wild guesses."

"Huh?"

As soon as those words came out, the elders froze. After a long while, Xiao Zhan rubbed his nose and asked with an awkward smile, "Nephew, what exactly happened?"

"Do you have some grievance with Jia Nan Academy?"

Faced with those questions, Xiao Dongchen was speechless. He waved a hand, looking completely innocent.

"I'll explain..."

Seeing that the matter could no longer be hidden, Ruo Lin stepped forward, pursed her lips, and said with a conflicted expression, "Actually, the person on the stretcher is Elder Long from our academy. He originally wanted to test Xiao Dongchen's strength, but he lost."

An elder? Lost?

A legendary Dou Wang expert?!

From that brief answer, Xiao Zhan picked out the extraordinary implications. He swept his gaze across the students' strange expressions, then looked at the smiling youth. He was instantly dumbfounded.

Seeing the clan head's expression, the other three elders thought it over carefully and immediately froze as well.

A Dou Wang expert had been beaten so badly that he could not even walk?

By a mere youth? That had to be fake, right?

Xiao Dongchen was not even an adult yet. What kind of joke was this?!

Fortunately, they did not know that Elder Long had been defeated in a single move. Otherwise, their jaws would have dropped!

For a moment, everyone fell into awkward silence. The most embarrassed of all was undoubtedly the tragic Long Aotian.

Without asking further, Xiao Zhan arranged rooms for everyone from Jia Nan Academy, and they all settled in.

Long Aotian was also assigned a fine room, where he sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing.

Night gradually descended. The moon hung high, and the sky was filled with stars.

"Elder Long, it's time to take your medicine."

Ruo Lin walked gracefully into the room, holding a jade bottle in her hand.

"I've already taken Recovery Pills. The results weren't ideal."

Elder Long fixed his gaze on his nose and his mind on his heart as he answered blandly, without even looking at Ruo Lin.

He had already taken several of the Third-Grade Pills he had brought with him, but they had not done much. The areas scorched by the Heavenly Flames still burned painfully, while a strange searing force tried to penetrate deeper and wreak havoc, only to be suppressed by his powerful Dou Qi.

"This pill was given to me by Xiao Dongchen. He said it specifically treats injuries caused by Heavenly Flames. Once you take it, your injuries should naturally improve."

Looking at Elder Long forcing himself to endure, Ruo Lin's face showed a trace of worry. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she spoke gently.

"That hateful brat? Hmph, even if I, Long Aotian, die outside, even if these injuries never heal, I will never accept his charity!"

The moment he heard that, Long Aotian flared up, glaring furiously.

If not for that brat, how could he have ended up like this, reduced to a laughingstock?

How had he, a dignified Dou Wang expert, become such a tragedy?!

"Sigh, when all is said and done, it's my fault too."

Her brows knitting together, Ruo Lin pursed her lips and began blaming herself. "If I hadn't overestimated myself and used vacation time as a bargaining chip, then this wouldn't have..."

"Sigh, this can't all be blamed on you..."

Seeing Ruo Lin's pitiful appearance, Long Aotian softened as well. He sighed before saying indignantly, "Who could have expected that brat to be so monstrous? At such a young age, he possesses not one but two kinds of Heavenly Flames, and he even created a fusion technique himself. I didn't lose unfairly!"

Thinking it over like that, he felt much better. After all, a youth like that was rare in the entire world!

"Well, no fight, no friendship. Since he has already given you medicine as an apology, can you forgive him?"

Smiling softly, Ruo Lin looked at the somewhat relieved Long Aotian and asked quietly, handing him the jade bottle.

Since Ruo Lin had said so much, Long Aotian took the offered way out. He accepted the pill, poured it into his palm, and caught a whiff of its rich fragrance. The purple pill looked exceptionally extraordinary.

"This is actually a sixth-grade pill—the Clear Heart Fire-Dispelling Pill!"

Long Aotian's eyes widened in shock. Then he coughed lightly as though he did not care and quietly swallowed the pill.

The pill melted upon entering his mouth. A strange, cool energy quickly spread through all four limbs and every bone in his body, sweeping away the searing energy that had plagued him and leaving him feeling refreshed all over.

Ah, so comfortable. It smells amazing!