Xiao Yan took a spare set of clothes from his storage pouch and changed into them, then returned to the Mittel Auction House with a calm expression. An attendant led him to the VIP area.
As agreed, Xiao Yi Xian had not left. She had stayed at the auction house, waiting for Xiao Yan to finish his business and come back for her.
In fact, another headache had now occurred to Xiao Yan: how exactly was he supposed to introduce Xiao Yi Xian to his father and Xiao Xun'er?
Xiao Yi Xian was a beautiful young girl, after all. Bringing a girl like her home was bound to set tongues wagging.
It would be troublesome if his father and Xiao Xun'er got the wrong idea.
And if he told the truth, would anyone actually believe him? Being taken on as a disciple by a legendary Dou Sheng sounded like utter nonsense, no matter how he thought about it.
"You took forever." Xiao Yi Xian, who was eating in the VIP area, looked at Xiao Yan with some displeasure. Her cheeks bulged, her mouth stuffed with Wutan City's local delicacies.
Two people sat beside Xiao Yi Xian. One was Ya Fei, the Mittel Auction House's chief auctioneer, and the other was a little girl dressed in plain clothes.
"Who's this?" Xiao Yan looked at the little girl in confusion. He knew Ya Fei, but where had this little girl come from?
Besides...
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and studied the girl through the veil of his bamboo hat. A white, coarse linen garment hung over her thin frame. Her face was young, and she was probably only eleven or twelve. The most unusual things about her were her wrists and her emerald-green eyes.
A few green scales grew from the skin around the little girl's wrists, faintly visible. As for her eyes, they were not merely emerald green: three petal-shaped markings slowly circled each pupil.
"The Snake-People Tribe?" Xiao Yan was rather surprised. The Snake-People Tribe was a nonhuman race that lived in the desert beside the Jia Ma Empire. They constantly fought wars with the surrounding nations, but lost more often than they won. He had heard that some border nobles kept slaves from the Snake-People Tribe in their homes, but seeing one this far inland was certainly strange.
"She's half human and half snake-person, Young Master Xiao Yan." Ya Fei covered her mouth and chuckled.
"So you recognized me after all." Xiao Yan helplessly removed his bamboo hat, revealing his handsome face.
"Other than Liu Xi of the Jia Lie Family, what other Alchemist in Wutan City would need beast flame? Unfortunately, the Jia Lie Family came very well prepared today. Now that you've missed this opportunity, Young Master Xiao Yan, who knows how many years it'll be before another beast flame turns up?" Ya Fei folded her arms across her chest, looking regretful.
"Haha." Xiao Yan gave a laugh and brushed the matter aside. What Ya Fei did not know was that the Divine Crow Flame was now lying in his Storage Ring, while that so-called Alchemist of the Jia Lie Family already lay dead in a dark alley.
"You still haven't told me where this half-human, half-snake girl came from." Xiao Yan pointed at the little girl, who was too frightened to lift her head.
"She was the grand finale of this auction, a rare mixed-blood slave. Whether you want a maid or a cultivation vessel, she has plenty of potential~" Ya Fei gave Xiao Yan a knowing look. Any ordinary man standing here would probably have found his heart turning into a restless monkey and his thoughts into a galloping horse.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yan was an upstanding young man who had received a twenty-first-century education, so...
Death to kiddie creeps!
Except when it came to Xiao Xun'er...
We were both little back then. What's the point of harping on it like this?
"I felt sorry for her, so I bought her," Xiao Yi Xian said as she peeled a lobster.
A small dish sat in front of Xiao Yi Xian, with several peeled lobster tails arranged on it. Once she had peeled ten, she placed the dish in front of the little girl.
"Here, Qing Lin. Fresh lake food from Wutan City. You've never had this in the desert, have you?"
The mixed-blood girl named Qing Lin timidly raised her head and glanced at Xiao Yi Xian. Then, under everyone's expectant gazes, she hesitantly picked up a lobster tail and pushed it into her mouth with both hands.
Qing Lin's eyes visibly lit up. She had gone hungry plenty of times while being transported from the empire's border to its interior.
"Is it good?" Xiao Yi Xian asked with a smile.
"Yummy." Qing Lin grabbed another lobster tail at lightning speed, her words muffled as she chewed.
"So cute." Xiao Yi Xian stroked Qing Lin's head. This little girl really brought out her protective instincts. "From now on, you're my little herbal assistant~ Understand?"
"Mm-hmm." Qing Lin desperately swallowed her food while looking up at Xiao Yi Xian with her big, watery eyes.
This new master didn't seem too bad.
Watching the two girls getting along so happily, Xiao Yan took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
Was he going to bring two girls home at once? He could already imagine how excited his old father would be.
"But if slaves from the Snake-People Tribe are being auctioned even this far inland, another war must have broken out at the border, right?" Xiao Yan turned to Ya Fei.
"You haven't heard, Young Master Xiao Yan?" Ya Fei looked surprised instead.
"I really haven't." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed.
"Perhaps you've been too focused on your cultivation this past year, Young Master Xiao Yan? Seven months ago, something major happened in the desert. I heard that a Dou Sheng Expert arrived at one of the empire's border cities. After resting there briefly, he ventured deep into the desert to search for the legendary heavenly flames. In the end, a heavenly flame appeared, but the Dou Sheng Expert vanished without a trace." Ya Fei recounted the story at a leisurely pace, explaining the major incident that had changed the situation around the Jia Ma Empire.
"Who got the heavenly flame?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
"The Snake-People Tribe." A trace of mockery flashed through Ya Fei's eyes.
"So the Jia Ma Empire launched a war against the Snake-People Tribe in the desert to seize the heavenly flame?" Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile. He had a rough idea now of how Qing Lin had ended up being sold as a slave.
"Yes. An ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a precious jade makes him guilty. The Snake-People Tribe is weak, yet they stole the heavenly flame left behind by a Dou Sheng Expert. Naturally, that made them a target. This time, it wasn't just the Jia Ma Empire. Even Yun Shan, the former sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect, was stirred into action and emerged from his secluded cultivation. Rumor has it that Yun Shan has already advanced to Dou Zong, so the destruction of the Snake-People Tribe is only a matter of time." Ya Fei shrugged, her lovely face betraying her contempt for the Snake-People Tribe.
"There will probably be more and more slaves from the Snake-People Tribe in the future. If you ever need a maid to warm your bed, Young Master Xiao Yan, you're welcome to visit our Mittel Auction House~"
Xiao Yan shook his head. Looking at Qing Lin, who was only eleven or twelve, he sighed softly. "Women would only slow down my cultivation."
Xiao Yi Xian rolled her eyes at Xiao Yan, lifted her chopsticks, and picked up a pan-fried dumpling. She took a gentle bite, then wore an expression of pure bliss.
Men would only slow down her sword draw, but delicious food wouldn't.
"Hey, junior brother, take us home!" With her little belly stuffed round, Xiao Yi Xian slumped into her chair and called out loudly.
"All right, all right." Xiao Yan pressed a hand to his forehead and looked out the window. It was already late at night. How was he supposed to arrange rooms for the two girls?!
Before you continue