Prepare before the storm! Strengthen the clan!

In the little building by the street, Xiao Yan pushed the last dish toward Xun'er and lifted his teacup, looking thoroughly satisfied.

For the first time, he had earned money through alchemy and treated someone to a meal. Even looking at the bill gave him more confidence than before.

Xun'er took a bite and looked up at him.

"How long will the medicinal ingredients you bought today last?"

"This batch should last a while. Two ingredients haven't arrived yet. Once the auction house gets them in, I'll have everything." Xiao Yan answered casually, then shifted the money pouch at his waist.

Xun'er glanced at it, then suddenly took another little money pouch from her sleeve and gently set it beside the table.

Xiao Yan paused, puzzled.

"What's this for?"

"I prepared it a couple of days ago. I meant to give it to you before you went out, but you left in such a hurry." The girl pushed the pouch closer, her tone natural.

"You've bought your ingredients and repaid Uncle Xiao's initial investment. If you suddenly need money later, this will save you from worrying."

Looking at the pouch embroidered with tiny flowers, Xiao Yan felt his heart soften. While he had been holding his medicine bottles and thinking of nothing but how much they would sell for, she had already prepared a fallback for him.

Of course, the young lady of the Gu Clan did not lack such a small sum. But having money and being willing to keep these things in mind for someone were two different matters.

He reached out and gently pushed the pouch back.

"Xun'er, put your money pouch away for now."

The girl was about to say something, but Xiao Yan added with a smile:

"I kept some money for myself. If I really run short one day, I won't stand on ceremony with you."

"Really?"

"Really."

Xiao Yan nodded, then deliberately sighed. "I don't want to finish treating you to a meal, only to turn around and take the money for it from you."

Xun'er froze for a moment, then could not help laughing.

"I never said that."

"But I'm afraid I might actually do it."

They exchanged smiles, and the polite back-and-forth over the table faded away.

After eating, they walked slowly back along the street.

This time, Xiao Yan truly did not stop in front of any medicinal shops. Instead, when they passed a stall selling little trinkets, he browsed with Xun'er for a while, waiting until she had chosen a tiny wooden carving before continuing.

The evening breeze brushed past, gently swaying the lanterns along the street.

Holding the wooden carving, Xun'er suddenly said, "Brother Xiao Yan, you seem to have been in such a hurry with your cultivation lately."

Xiao Yan turned his head.

The girl did not look at him, keeping her gaze ahead.

"I'm not saying cultivating is bad. It's just that sometimes you're clearly happy, but a moment later, you seem to remember something, and even your smile disappears so quickly."

Xiao Yan slowed slightly. He had not expected her to notice those tiny changes in him so clearly.

The Soul Hall, the Xiao Clan, the Tou She Ancient God Jade, his father, and the troubles with the Misty Cloud Sect that had yet to surface—all of them weighed on him.

The events in the book had once been nothing more than pages of words he turned past. Now that Xiao Zhan sat at the table putting food in his bowl, and the clan guards recognized his face, he could no longer treat those things as merely a story.

He was silent for a moment before saying softly:

"I just want to grow stronger sooner."

Xun'er looked puzzled.

"Why?"

Xiao Yan explained:

"There are people I don't want to see get into trouble, only to regret that I don't have the strength to help them."

Xun'er turned to look at him.

The boy had said little, but unlike before, he had not brushed it aside with a joke.

She did not press him further, either, and simply nodded.

"Then when you move forward, Brother Xiao Yan, you can look at the people beside you, too."

Xiao Yan was taken aback.

Xun'er put away the wooden carving, a smile returning to the corners of her eyes. "At least, there are some things we can figure out together."

Xiao Yan gazed at her, then answered earnestly after a moment.

"All right."

The following day, Xiao Yan refined an extra bottle of medicine.

He neither took it to be sold on consignment nor kept it for his own Medicinal Bath. Instead, he poured it into a small white Jade Bottle and gave it to Xun'er.

"Origin-Warming Dew."

He handed over the instructions he had written as well.

"It gently nourishes the meridians and eases fatigue after cultivation. Its medicinal properties are mild, so it won't interfere with your usual cultivation."

He had specifically consulted the Grandmaster and chosen a different formula.

With Ling Ying beside her and the Gu Clan behind her, Xun'er naturally had no shortage of cultivation resources. Xiao Yan did not think some random bottle of medicine from him would make her cultivation soar.

It was just that she had brought him food, lent him a medicinal handbook, and helped inquire about ingredients lately. He ought to give her something he had made with his own hands.

The girl accepted the little bottle, gently brushing her fingertips over it.

"You made it just for me?"

"Yes."

Xiao Yan answered without hesitation, then rubbed his nose.

"The quality is decent. I hope you don't mind it."

Xun'er looked up at him, the smile on her lips deepening considerably. "Why would I mind it?"

She put the bottle away and carefully folded even the sheet of instructions.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan felt his little worry melt away.

That night, Xun'er tried a small amount according to the instructions. The cool, soothing medicinal power spread through her meridians, gentle as a slowly flowing thread of spring water.

The effect was hardly earth-shattering, but the properties of several ingredients blended together beautifully, gently smoothing away even the trace of heat left after circulating her energy.

The girl opened her eyes and picked up the little bottle again.

When Ling Ying appeared, he happened to see her carefully pressing the stopper into place.

"A gift from Young Master Xiao Yan?"

"Yes."

Xun'er nodded, her voice carrying a lightness she herself had not noticed.

Ling Ying glanced at it and asked no more.

The young lady had been less worried lately, which put him considerably more at ease as well. As for whom the boy had learned alchemy from, so long as there was no harm in it, he would find out in time.

Over the following weeks, Xiao Yan's cultivation gradually picked up speed.

The Grandmaster incorporated the newly arrived ingredients into the Medicinal Bath, adjusting the heat and dosage to suit his physique. During the day, Xiao Yan walked the stone paths of the rear mountain with his sword in hand, his steps steadier than before. The streak of clear light accompanying his strikes gradually gained a crisp sharpness as well.

His cultivation climbed beyond four stars, yet the soreness after sword practice was no longer so difficult to endure.

Sometimes, when he finished training, Xiao Yan even felt as though an inexhaustible strength lay hidden in his bones.

He did not devote all his time to selling medicine. Only when he had time to spare from training did he refine a few batches of familiar spiritual liquids to sell on consignment.

Mittel settled the payments as agreed and prepared his next batch of ingredients. As things gradually fell into place, he no longer had to oversee everything from scratch each time.

One evening, Xiao Yan returned from the rear mountain and happened upon the clan guards changing shifts.

Two men helped their companion sit on the stone steps. One of them rolled up his trouser leg, revealing swelling beside his knee, and gritted his teeth as he massaged it.

"Twisted it again?"

Xiao Yan approached and asked.

Seeing him, the guard quickly lowered his trouser leg and smiled. "Third Young Master, it's nothing. I missed my footing while traveling with the caravan. A few days' rest will fix it."

Xiao Yan looked at the backs of his hands. Old scars overlapped with fresh marks, his knuckles were thick, and heavy calluses from weapon practice covered the webs between his thumbs and forefingers.

Another guard sighed.

"He was hoping to push for a breakthrough these next couple of days. He's afraid that resting will make him lose that little spark of insight again."

The injured man hurriedly waved his hand, urging his companion to say less.

But Xiao Yan remembered it. Back in his room, he placed the medicinal liquid he had freshly refined that day on the table. Looking at the pale blue-green gleam inside the bottle, he remained silent for a long while.

He had a Medicinal Bath to nourish his body. No matter how exhausted training left him, he recovered quickly.

But these men guarded caravans, patrolled the Marketplace, and still had to squeeze in time to cultivate. Even a minor injury often delayed them for a long time.

It was certainly good for his father alone to become stronger, but only if the Xiao Clan's guards grew stronger as well would his father have fewer burdens to shoulder personally.

Xiao Yan raised his head and looked toward the Grandmaster by the window. "Master, could we modify this Azure Origin Body-Tempering Liquid?"

Bodhi looked over, puzzlement on his face.

The boy recounted what he had seen that day, then said earnestly, "I want to help the clan's guards improve their strength. That way, the Xiao Clan can develop quickly and gradually grow stronger!"