Living Together in the Valley

Xiao Yan shrugged and smiled. "You're my friend. Of course I'd come if you were in danger."

A mischievous gleam appeared in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes.

"Then how did you know I was in danger?"

"Do you think it might be because our hearts beat as one?" Xiao Yan raised a sharp brow and teased.

At his words, a lovely blush suddenly spread across Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face. She changed the subject. "All right, let's leave that aside. Did you run into Mr. Yao on your way here?"

"Why? Want to get revenge on him?"

"Yes. That old bastard actually dared to set his sights on me. Since that's the case, I'll turn him into a eunuch so he can never get it up again."

Xiao Yi Xian puffed out her cheeks slightly, disgust practically written all over her face.

Still, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion had taken her in when she needed it most, so even now, she had no intention of killing Mr. Yao.

After hearing that, however, Xiao Yan spread his hands.

"Then there's no need to look for him. I happened to run into him on my way here, and once I learned what he'd done, I killed him while I was at it."

"K-killed him?"

"Fine, what's done is done. I was going to spare his life, but I guess he was unlucky enough to run into a killing star like you."

Xiao Yi Xian grumbled.

Although she hadn't intended to kill Mr. Yao, since Xiao Yan had already done it, so be it. She felt no guilt whatsoever.

Xiao Yan looked Xiao Yi Xian over. Seeing how spirited she looked, he teased, "Looks like I came all this way for nothing. Even without me, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion couldn't have done anything to you."

Xiao Yi Xian lifted her pretty face and smiled brightly. "But saving myself wouldn't feel nearly as wonderful as having a hero rescue a beauty, would it? Don't you agree, my... great hero Xiao?"

"Hahaha! Then, Miss Xiao Yi Xian, since I saved you, shouldn't you offer yourself to me according to tradition?" Xiao Yan joked.

Just then, Yao Lao's teasing voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.

"Well, well, Little Yanzi. And you still dare say you have no designs on Xiao Yi Xian."

Ignoring Yao Lao's voice, Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yi Xian's faintly flushed face.

"Come on, let's head back to Little Mountain Valley together. There are medicinal herbs growing everywhere there. You can study whatever you like."

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes curved into crescents, her smile radiant.

"Since my benefactor has put it that way, this humble girl can only obey rather than stand on ceremony."

With that, Xiao Yi Xian blew a whistle.

Before long, Little Lan's enormous figure appeared above them.

"Let's go!"

As she spoke, Xiao Yi Xian lightly pushed off the ground with her toes and leaped effortlessly onto Little Lan's back.

"Little Yanzi, this young lady doesn't seem quite so simple either. In just one short month, she's advanced from ninth stage Dou Qi to a Three-Star Dou Zhe."

Yao Lao's voice grew slightly grave.

Without Qi Gathering Powder, advancing from ninth stage Dou Qi to a Dou Zhe was already fraught with countless difficulties, let alone advancing all the way to a Three-Star Dou Zhe in a single month.

As the saying went, when something strayed from the ordinary, a demon must be at work!

Something must have happened to Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yan nodded in agreement, though he had already guessed the reason.

It looks like Xiao Yi Xian has already started cultivating by consuming poison.

Still, I'm growing faster than in the original story, not slower. I'll definitely be able to resolve the hidden danger before her Woeful Poison Body erupts.

Before long, the two returned to Little Mountain Valley.

Meanwhile, all of Qingshan Town erupted into an uproar.

In just one month, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had been wiped out, and now even the Myriad Medicine Pavilion had suffered disaster. Its owner, Mr. Yao, had also died at the hands of a mysterious stranger.

For a time, panic gripped all of Qingshan Town. For a long while afterward, even the streets saw far fewer pedestrians.

On top of that, Xiao Yi Xian, whom the mercenaries worshipped as a goddess, had mysteriously disappeared.

A member of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion revealed that the mysterious stranger had taken her away.

Countless mercenaries were left heartbroken and dejected.

They might never see their goddess again.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, the culprit behind it all, had already arrived in Little Mountain Valley with Xiao Yi Xian.

Breathing in the faint medicinal fragrance drifting through the valley and taking in its tranquil, verdant surroundings, Xiao Yi Xian exclaimed in wonder, "This really is a wonderful place to live in seclusion!"

Xiao Yan smiled. "Then settle down here without a worry. I'll build you a wooden cabin."

With that, Xiao Yan walked toward a grove of trees, felling a thick trunk with a single chop.

Quietly watching this seemingly ordinary scene unfold, Xiao Yi Xian felt ripples spreading across the lake of her heart, and unknowingly sank into them.

In a little over two hours, Xiao Yan had built another simple cabin beside his own.

"Done!"

Clapping his hands clean, Xiao Yan looked at his handiwork with considerable satisfaction.

By then, Xiao Yi Xian had prepared dinner for them both.

There was a medicinal dish, a pot of wild mushroom soup, and a platter of roasted meat.

The meat came from a young deer Xiao Yi Xian had sent Little Lan to hunt, and it was fresh and tender.

"Thanks for all your hard work. Come try my cooking."

Xiao Yi Xian ladled a bowl of soup for Xiao Yan and spoke gently.

Xiao Yan didn't stand on ceremony. He took the bowl and dug in. The food tasted unexpectedly good.

"One word: amazing!"

Xiao Yan gave her a thumbs-up in praise.

To be honest, even in his previous life, he had felt that, among all of Xiao Yan's female confidantes, Xiao Yi Xian was actually the best suited to be his wife.

The two had also weathered the most hardships together.

Seeing his reaction, Xiao Yi Xian smiled.

"If you like it, I'll cook for you again."

"Haha, that sounds wonderful!"

For a while afterward, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian settled into a life of sharing their days together.

Xiao Yan spent most of his time taking pills and cultivating. Aside from the three Fifth-Grade Energy-Gathering Pills left over from before, he had bought several dozen First-Rank Magic Cores and one Second-Rank Magic Core on his last visit to Qingshan Town, just right for refining Energy-Gathering Pills.

Three First-Rank Magic Cores needed only a few common low-grade medicinal herbs to produce a single Second-Grade Energy-Gathering Pill.

Although Second-Grade Energy-Gathering Pills were now something of a chicken rib to Xiao Yan, offering little nourishment yet hardly worth discarding, he might need to take three to five just to advance one stage of Dou Qi.

Still, having pills to take was better than having none.

After all, low-rank Magical Beasts had only a slim chance of forming magic cores within their bodies.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yi Xian spent her days studying the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, and her strength kept shooting upward as well.

In just one short month, she advanced another two stars. This time, even Yao Lao could no longer remain calm.

Then, one day, a month after Xiao Yi Xian came to Little Mountain Valley, Xiao Yan "accidentally" discovered her secret.

Inside the wooden cabin!

Xiao Yi Xian slowly awoke on her bed and immediately saw Xiao Yan standing beside it with a complicated expression.

She scrambled upright in panic, her voice trembling slightly.

"You... you didn't touch my body just now, did you?"

Xiao Yan shook his head.

Only then did Xiao Yi Xian breathe a sigh of relief.

Cultivating by consuming poison allowed her strength to increase at an astonishing rate, but if she failed to properly gauge the dosage and potency, she could fall unconscious.

At such times, the uncontrolled poisonous Dou Qi would seep out of her body, poisoning anyone who touched her.

After this incident, Xiao Yan also "learned" that Xiao Yi Xian possessed the Woeful Poison Body, yet he showed no intention whatsoever of keeping his distance from her.

To Xiao Yan, this was naturally a trivial matter, but Xiao Yi Xian felt a warmth in her heart unlike anything she had ever known.

Upon learning that Xiao Yi Xian possessed the Woeful Poison Body, Yao Lao finally understood, and couldn't help marveling sincerely.

Little Yanzi really does have a peculiar sort of luck.

First he won the favor of a woman from the Gu Clan, and now he's won the heart of the Calamity Poison Girl.

Honestly, he's a little like me when I was young.

Sure enough, this boy takes after me!