Home at Last, an Unexplained Chill

Wutan City, Mittel Auction House.

After a busy day, Ya Fei returned to her quarters exhausted.

Her maid had already prepared hot water. As Ya Fei walked toward the bathroom, she peeled off her sweat-dampened qipao and black stockings, dropping them in a heap at her feet.

By the time she reached the bathroom, the last piece of clothing had slipped away, leaving her soft, curvaceous body bare amid the rising steam.

She dipped a pale foot into the water, sending faint ripples across the surface and gently stirring the floating petals.

Satisfied with the temperature, she slowly sank into the pool.

Warm water and the scent of flowers washed over her skin, easing away the day's fatigue. At last, a contented, languid smile touched Ya Fei's lips.

She glanced down at her reflection in the water, but her thoughts drifted to the young man who had looked her up and down without a trace of restraint the first time they met.

He had been gone an entire year without a word. Ya Fei's expression turned aggrieved, and she muttered under her breath:

"That scoundrel. He's been away so long, and he hasn't even sent a letter... And here I am, running myself ragged looking after the Xiao Clan for him."

Ever since she and Xiao Yan had agreed to work together, Ya Fei had dealt with him often.

They might not have been inseparable, but they had certainly become close friends.

She had never imagined he would leave without seeing her or writing a single letter. He had simply sent someone to pass along a message—"Please look after the Xiao Clan"—and then gone.

She had cursed him in her heart plenty of times over that.

But complaints aside, Ya Fei had not neglected the Xiao Clan in the slightest.

To keep every aspect of their partnership running smoothly, she handled nearly everything herself, reviewing accounts and correspondence large and small.

The work was exhausting. Almost every night, she came home feeling as though she might fall apart.

She worked so hard partly to prove herself to her family. But she also did it because of the request that young man had left behind.

Even if it had been nothing more than a simple message.

The Xiao Clan.

The clan had changed beyond recognition in the past year and a half.

After Xiao Yan brought the two sides together, the Xiao Clan established close business ties with the Mittel Auction House.

Before leaving, Xiao Yan had given his clan a substantial supply of pills of various grades, enough to sustain their pill trade for some time.

Their partnership had since expanded beyond pills into other fields.

Ya Fei's exceptional business sense had been decisive in that growth.

Without her planning behind the scenes, the Xiao Clan could never have become so powerful in less than two years.

With the pills Xiao Yan had left him, Xiao Zhan had also successfully advanced to Dou Ling.

The Xiao Clan now had a Dou Ling powerhouse openly standing guard, and many of those watching from the shadows had withdrawn their attention.

With Little Purple, a sixth-rank Magical Beast, secretly protecting them as well, the Xiao Clan's business in Wutan City flourished. Its reach had even spread to several nearby cities.

Not long ago, the Xiao Clan had also paid handsomely to recruit several First-Rank Alchemists.

The pills they refined could not match Xiao Yan's, but they had been enough to keep the pill business going during his year away.

At the Xiao Clan's Training Ground...

With the help of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, the clan's younger generation had been making rapid progress through the Dou Qi stage.

The clan's enthusiasm for cultivation had reached an all-time high. Every young Xiao Clan member trained tirelessly, unwilling to fall behind.

But cultivation alone was not enough. They could not neglect real combat.

So after training each day, the younger members gathered at the Training Ground to spar in pairs.

Amid the shouts and bustle, two girls walking arm in arm drew particular attention.

Everyone who passed them could not help looking twice.

One was Xun'er. The other was Xiao Yi Xian, who had come to the Xiao Clan with Little Purple.

Because Xiao Yan had suppressed her Woeful Poison Body, Xiao Yi Xian could now touch others without fear of harming them.

After spending so much time together, the two had become very close friends.

Their first meeting, however, had hardly been pleasant.

Xun'er had heard from Ling Ying that Xiao Yan had met a girl while he was away, and she had not been happy about it.

If not for her clan duties and her young age, she would have followed Brother Xiao Yan everywhere. She would never have given another woman a chance to get close to him.

So when Xiao Yi Xian first arrived at the Xiao Clan, their frequent encounters had been awkward.

Over time, though, they had come to see the good in each other.

The more they talked, the better they got along, until they became close friends.

Xun'er had eventually made peace with it. One day, she would have to return to the Gu Clan, and she could not stay by Xiao Yan's side forever.

If a kind girl like Xiao Yi Xian could look after Brother Xiao Yan, Xun'er would feel more at ease.

Today, though, news about Xiao Yan had left Xun'er in a poor mood.

She was only eleven, and Xiao Yan had doted on her since she was little. Around people she knew well, she made no effort to hide her feelings.

"Is something bothering you, Xun'er?" Xiao Yi Xian noticed her gloomy expression and tilted her head as she asked gently.

"Who else but Brother Xiao Yan?" Xun'er said with a resentful huff.

"Xiao Yan? What happened? Is he in danger?" At the sound of his name, Xiao Yi Xian's heart tightened, and she hurried to ask.

"No, it's like this..." Xun'er told Xiao Yi Xian what she had just learned.

Ling Ying had only just informed her that Xiao Yan had taken up with a mother and daughter, as well as a Snake-People maid.

At first, she had thought she must have misheard.

Since when had her Brother Xiao Yan started carrying on like that? A mother and daughter? And a Snake-People maid?

After confirming it again and again, Xun'er had no choice but to accept that it really was her Brother Xiao Yan.

The thought left her stifled and upset.

She had sent Ling Ying out to protect Brother Xiao Yan in secret. Instead, he kept bringing back news more outrageous than the last.

In the end, she had decided she would rather not hear any more and summoned Ling Ying back.

"Don't worry, Xun'er. When Xiao Yan gets back, we'll ask him about it!" Xiao Yi Xian clenched her fist, her cheeks puffing up.

She had barely finished speaking when startled cries erupted across the Training Ground.

"Look up there! What—what a huge Magical Beast!" a young Xiao Clan member shouted, pointing toward the sky.

Everyone looked up, including Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian.

Ling Ying's voice reached Xun'er's ears. She immediately knew Brother Xiao Yan had returned.

Joy rose in her heart, only to give way to resentment as she remembered the infuriating news she had just heard.

Aboard the Flying Magical Beast, Xiao Yan stood at its side with his hands behind his back, looking down at Wutan City, where he had spent more than a decade of his life.

Coming home should have filled him with warmth. Instead, for some reason, a faint chill crept up his back.

It came out of nowhere.

Suspicious, he turned toward Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, who stood respectfully behind him, and asked:

"Elder Hai, did you just fart?"