"Miss, are you all right?"
The instant Xiao Yan saw the girl, his cursing expression changed faster than the pages of a book could turn, transforming him into the very picture of a warm, caring young man.
The girl sat on the ground, gently rubbing her head. Tears glimmered in her limpid, peach-blossom eyes. Her pale, delicate face turned toward Xiao Yan's rapidly changing expressions, her gaze holding hurt and a trace of fear.
What a frail little girl. She looks like she'd cry for ages if someone punched her. Xiao Yan had already given her a discreet visual once-over.
She's very pretty, and that fragile air really stirs a man's urge to protect her. Mm, eight out of ten.
Slim waist, long legs... fair, delicate skin. A little small, but there's room to grow. Not bad. Fair, slim, and beautiful-the whole package. Worth making a move.
Having made up his mind, Xiao Yan reached out to help the girl up.
"Don't!"
Seeing Xiao Yan reach for her, the girl cried out.
"I'm only helping you up, and you're already this shy? That won't do. How are we supposed to get close without touching?" Pretending he had not heard her, Xiao Yan reached for her wrist.
That wrist was slender and fair, like white jade that begged to be admired.
Before the girl could pull her hand back, Xiao Yan had already caught her wrist.
How am I supposed to pick up girls if I don't even dare act like a rogue? In Xiao Yan's experience from his previous life, picking up girls meant taking the initiative. Once he made his move, it had to be steady, precise, and ruthless.
But the moment he gripped the girl's wrist, his expression abruptly turned horrified.
He discovered that the spiritual power swirling between his brows was showing signs of bursting out and pouring into the girl's body...
Biting down hard on the tip of his tongue, Xiao Yan released her as though he had been shocked.
Thump! The girl, whom he had pulled halfway up, dropped back onto the ground. Her bright peach-blossom eyes instantly brimmed with tears.
"Are you all right?" Nursing her hurt feelings, the girl pushed herself up from the ground and timidly looked at Xiao Yan.
"I'm fine." Xiao Yan put on another gentle smile and looked at her. "What about you? Did that fall hurt?"
With an inexperienced girl like her, he naturally had to win her affection and trust first.
The girl nodded, then shook her head, looking at Xiao Yan at a loss.
"Are you from the Dan Family?" Seeing how awkward she was with words, Xiao Yan took the initiative. He had already noticed the badge on her chest. Yao Lao had once explained that it was the badge of the Dan Family in the Pill Region.
"Yes!"
"Then what's your name?"
"Dan, Dan Chen..." The girl seemed a little socially anxious. She asked timidly, "C-can I go now?"
Fortunately, she was socially anxious, and Xiao Yan was quite good at making people socially anxious himself.
"Who said you could leave?" Xiao Yan suddenly put on a stern face and stared at her.
"Huh?" Dan Chen's pale, fragile little face went blank for a moment, then she stared at Xiao Yan with a wounded look.
Tsk, tsk. If an innocent young boy got stared at with such a hurt look, he'd probably be willing to brave boiling water and raging fire for her on the spot.
Too bad she ran into a big bad wolf like me... heh, heh!
"Where are you going? I'll walk you there."
"N-no, there's no need." The girl looked at Xiao Yan with some fear. His moods changed as fast as the pages of a book turned. Although he was handsome, the faint roguish air about him always made her feel that he was dangerous.
In fact, her instincts were right. Unfortunately, she had already fallen into danger the moment she met Xiao Yan.
"Hmm?" Xiao Yan's brows drew together slightly.
Seeing Xiao Yan frown, the girl grew flustered again. She moved her fair little legs, trying to escape.
To her surprise, the moment she moved, Xiao Yan moved with her.
"C-could you please stop following me?" Dan Chen was on the verge of tears.
"You're so timid. I'm afraid someone might bully you," Xiao Yan said with a smile.
Dan Chen no longer dared speak to the young man. Although he always wore a gentle smile, he was still frightening.
Never mind, never mind. I'll be safe once I reach the Dan Family's lounge.
Thinking this, Dan Chen could not help quickening her little steps.
"Hey, why are you running?" Xiao Yan's voice came from behind her, making her stiffen.
"Why are you staying so far away? Are you afraid I'll eat you...?"
For the first time, Dan Chen felt that such a short stretch of road was unbearably long. Fortunately, although the young man was rather shameless, he did not do anything improper.
In truth, if not for the strange suction coming from her body, Xiao Yan might very well have taken an inch and demanded a mile.
The Dan Family's lounge was not far from the Pill Tower Headquarters.
By the time Dan Chen reached it at something close to a run, she almost felt as though she had finally reached the finish line.
"Hehe, Miss Dan Chen, you're back." A Dou Wang at the entrance greeted Dan Chen with a smile.
At that moment, Dan Chen felt she was about to be free. Yet the next instant, she heard the Dou Wang speaking to Xiao Yan.
"Young man, this is the Dan Family's rest area. Outsiders are not permitted inside."
"I'm no outsider. I'm the disciple of Venerable Yao, Yao Chen. Go inform your elders that I'm here to pay a visit on my master's behalf."
"Venerable Yao's disciple?" The Dou Wang froze for a moment, then eyed Xiao Yan suspiciously. "Do you have any proof?"
"This is the identity token of Starfall Pavilion's young pavilion master. You can take it to your elders." Xiao Yan casually tossed him a token.
On his very first day staying at Starfall Pavilion, Xiao Yan had forced Yao Lao to give him the position of young pavilion master. Otherwise, he would kill that damned Han Feng and seize his sea heart flame.
Venerable Yao's disciple? Looking at the dashing, rakish young man, Dan Chen was first startled, then her little face fell again. Why would this young man not stop following her?
She had never expected that she would be unable to shake him off even after reaching home.
A moment later, the Dou Wang came back out with the token.
"Young pavilion master, please come in. The elders are already waiting for you in the hall." The young pavilion master of Starfall Pavilion still deserved some respect.
Of the four pavilions in the Central Plains, Starfall Pavilion was the only one that could make the Dan Family, foremost in the Pill Region, wary.
There was no other reason than that Starfall Pavilion had a Venerable Yao.
"Come on. What are you still staring at?" Xiao Yan walked through the entrance and glanced with a cheerful smile at Dan Chen's miserable little face.
The Dan Family stood foremost among the Pill Region's five great families. Not only did it have dozens of seventh-rank alchemists, it also had three eighth-tier alchemists.
In the Dan Family's reception room, the family patriarch, Danyang Zi, was holding a cup of goji berry and spirit ginseng tea and sipping from it. Seated to his left was the Cao Family's patriarch.
"Your Cao Family has produced an extraordinary genius!" Danyang Zi smiled as he looked at the red-clad girl seated below the Cao Family's patriarch.
The girl was only fourteen or fifteen, yet her alluring little face, still touched with childish innocence, was already stunning.
Her delicate figure was wrapped in a fiery red dress, like a rosebud waiting to bloom.
At such a young age, she already had the makings of a beauty who could topple kingdoms and bring nations to ruin.
She was none other than the Cao Family's enchantress, Cao Ying!
"Hehe, your Dan Chen is no ordinary girl either. She was born with a primordial spiritual body. She could become an eighth-tier alchemist with her eyes closed."
The Cao Family's patriarch chuckled, then changed the subject. "Still, I'm rather curious about that new disciple Yao Chen has taken."
"Now that you mention it, I'm curious too. Yao Chen has always had a discerning eye, no less so than Xuan Yi. For him to think enough of this boy to appoint him young pavilion master of Starfall Pavilion, could his aptitude be even greater than your Cao Ying's?"
Danyang Zi smiled faintly. Just as his words fell, he saw his family's little princess walk in with a white-robed young man.
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