While Xiao Yan desperately refined the netherworld poison flame, Xiao Yi Xian was running her little Medical Hall as usual in Wutan City, thousands of miles away. Running it had not been as easy as she had imagined. Over the past six months, people had come to cause trouble practically every few days. If not for the guards Xiao Yan had left behind, the Medical Hall would probably have been forced to close long ago.
At that thought, Xiao Yi Xian missed Xiao Yan terribly. If he were here, those fellows would never dare come knocking to make trouble again and again. She gazed at the ring he had given her, her expression growing distant. "Half a year... I wonder how things are going with that matter he went to handle."
"Excuse me, is Miss Xiao Yi Xian here?" Just as Xiao Yi Xian was becoming lost in thought, a clear, slightly youthful voice sounded at the entrance. She turned to look and saw a girl in green slowly walk in.
The girl was about ten years old. Though still young, she was exceptionally beautiful, and her air of serene, otherworldly elegance resembled a green lotus. It was easy to imagine what a beauty she would become once she grew up-one capable of toppling cities and kingdoms. Even Xiao Yi Xian, a girl herself, was momentarily dazed at first sight, let alone anyone else.
"I'm Xiao Yi Xian. What can I do for you, miss?" Xiao Yi Xian came back to her senses. On the one hand, she was amazed by the girl's looks and bearing; on the other, she found this rather strange. Her Medical Hall ordinarily only sold healing medicine to mercenaries, yet today such an unusual visitor had appeared.
"I heard Brother Xiao Yan brought a friend home a while ago and even helped her open a Medical Hall, so I was a little curious." The girl in green looked at Xiao Yi Xian, who had a somewhat ethereal air herself, and gave her a friendly smile. "Now that I've met you, Sister Xiao Yi Xian, I can see how pretty you really are. No wonder Brother Xiao Yan took such an interest."
"You know Xiao Yan?" Xiao Yi Xian blinked. Although she had lived with Xiao Yan for a time in the Small Valley, he had rarely told her about his past. She had no idea that a girl with such a distinctive bearing was among his acquaintances.
"I'm also from the Xiao Clan. Just call me Xun'er. As for our relationship, I suppose you could say I'm his younger sister?" As she said this, the girl in green's expression grew visibly awkward. Xiao Yi Xian assumed she was merely feeling shy, never realizing that the little girl had thought of something else entirely.
"So you're Miss Xun'er." Xiao Yi Xian immediately became warmer toward her and brought out the tea set she had treasured for so long to entertain her guest. Since this was Xiao Yan's younger sister, that made her Xiao Yi Xian's younger sister too. With Xiao Yan away, she ought to take good care of his little sister. It would count as doing something for him.
"Miss Xiao Yi Xian, how did you and Brother Xiao Yan meet?"
"Well... that's a long story." Xiao Yi Xian paused in what she was doing. Recalling their meeting a year ago, she began, "He saved me when I was being chased by a magical beast..."
"So it was a hero rescuing a beauty." In all fairness, Xiao Yi Xian was not much of a storyteller, nor did she embellish her account with fancy words, so it actually sounded rather dry. Yet Xun'er listened with relish to these stories that anyone else might have found old and worn-out.
From Xiao Yi Xian's stories, Xun'er learned that her Brother Xiao Yan was actually a chivalrous hero who liked to draw his blade and lend a hand whenever he encountered injustice. He was also gentle, witty, and patient with everyone. Little did she know that what she was hearing was worlds apart from Xiao Yan's actual behavior.
Xiao Yi Xian already had considerable affection for Xiao Yan. Moreover, people often beautified things when recalling them. As a result, some of Xiao Yan's originally rather strange actions were polished in her stories until they became something else entirely.
For instance, in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan had once stood indifferent to the villagers' deaths. In Xiao Yi Xian's telling, however, he had desperately tried to save them all, only managing to rescue half because the He Family's executioners were too savage. The incident in which Xiao Yan had knocked her unconscious with a chop of his hand also became a tale of him detecting the villagers' malicious intentions and rescuing her...
Of course, Xiao Yi Xian's embellishments did not stop there. Xiao Yan had grown impatient at one point while escorting her, but she recast this as him caring for her attentively, tending to her every need. And when he had stuffed her into a sack and carried her away, that became him carrying the unconscious Xiao Yi Xian in his arms like a princess as he evaded pursuit by the He Family and the others.
Even if Xiao Yan himself had been there to hear her account, he would probably have spent a while wondering whether the protagonist of this story had anything whatsoever in common with him besides his name.
In fact, Xiao Yan had done more than that, including quite a few things that could not bear the light of day. But Xiao Yi Xian knew nothing of his covert deeds, so naturally she could not tell Xun'er about them. Through this unwittingly selective account, combined with her own embellishments, Xiao Yan's image grew ever more lofty in both girls' hearts...
The two girls spent the day chatting happily, and their relationship grew much closer. By the time Xun'er was about to leave, they were already calling each other sisters. Just before departing, Xun'er suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Sister Xiao Yi Xian, I heard people have been coming here to cause trouble lately. Would you like me to take care of them for you?"
"There's no need." Xiao Yi Xian froze for a moment, then firmly shook her head.
"Why?"
"Xiao Yan left me a group of helpers. They're more than enough to handle those fellows. Besides..." Xiao Yi Xian took a small pouch from inside her clothes and said, "I don't want to rely on other people for everything."
"What's this?"
"A medicinal powder I've been developing lately. It isn't very potent, but it's more than enough to teach those little thugs a lesson," Xiao Yi Xian said with a smile.
"So that's how it is..." Xun'er suddenly understood. According to the information she had uncovered earlier, those little thugs had been coming to stir up trouble on Xiao Yan's orders. She had been somewhat disappointed in him, thinking he was just another spoiled young wastrel. Originally, she had come to warn Xiao Yi Xian, but after hearing her stories about the past, she had felt there might be some misunderstanding. Brother Xiao Yan was certainly not that sort of person.
Only now, seeing Xiao Yi Xian like this, did she understand. Xiao Yan had done this because he wanted Xiao Yi Xian to become more independent!
"Brother Xiao Yan really has gone to such pains..."
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