"Big Sister Xiao Yan!"
The girl rose onto her tiptoes and waved, looking delighted and brimming with youthful energy.
At the sight of Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Yan felt her spirits lift. Even her backside stopped hurting so much... ahem, just kidding, just kidding.
She had soaked in a medicinal bath before coming out, and Apothecary hadn't used much force this time anyway.
"Xun'er, you're here!" Xiao Yan greeted her with a smile.
Xiao Xun'er stepped forward, fluttering to Xiao Yan's side like an agile butterfly, a trace of surprise appearing on her pretty face.
"Big Sister Xiao Yan, you actually broke through to Dou Zhe without saying a word? Is the cultivation technique you switched to the apology gift the Nalan Family gave you, that black tier middle grade technique, the Flame Fire Mantra?"
A black tier middle grade cultivation technique, the Flame Fire Mantra...
The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth twitched slightly.
Still, the technique's name wasn't really the point. The Flame Mantra had actually been nameless back then; Apothecary had named it herself.
Since that name was so "plain," techniques with similar names, or even identical ones, were hardly unusual.
Things like the Flame Mantra, Flame Fire Mantra, Flame Blaze Mantra, Flame Scorch Mantra... ahem.
The crucial point, however, was that Xiao Yan's "off-the-charts" soul power let her sense that Xun'er was clearly stronger than she was.
Xun'er probably needed only a glance to see right through her and notice the impure Dou Qi she had cultivated with that "yellow tier low grade cultivation technique."
-Who knew why this girl kept hiding things day in and day out? The cultivation she publicly displayed was only that of a One-Star Dou Zhe.
So Xun'er was actually "interrogating" Xiao Yan, demanding to know why she had chosen such a "trash" yellow tier cultivation technique.
And for the moment, Xiao Yan genuinely didn't know how to explain it to her.
How to explain it to her Da Dou Shi father, who could likewise tell the grade of her cultivation technique at a glance, also gave Xiao Yan a headache.
The difference between a mystic tier cultivation method and a yellow tier cultivation technique was enormous. There was no hiding this "idiotic" behavior from her father, Xun'er, and the others.
Teacher, big sis, sister, what do I do now? Help me out! Xiao Yan cried to Apothecary in her mind.
A peculiar technique like the Flame Mantra certainly wasn't something she could casually tell others about, not even Xun'er.
And Xun'er was as clever as ice and snow were pure. An ordinary excuse probably wouldn't fool her...
"...Try to bluff your way past her. The fewer people who know about a technique like the Flame Mantra, the better," Apothecary replied.
After all, Apothecary was already more than ninety percent certain of Xiao Xun'er's true identity.
In truth, attracting this young lady's interest with the Flame Mantra wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for Apothecary-this might be the thickest thigh to cling to on the entire continent.
If the Flame Mantra really could evolve by devouring heavenly flames, then Xiao Xun'er was clearly the more suitable candidate.
With her backing, finding heavenly flames would be much easier. She wouldn't even need to search for "wild" ones.
Even if she couldn't lay her hands on the heavenly flames belonging to other factions, buying a wisp of their origin flame seed would hardly be a problem.
So perhaps if Apothecary "presented" the Flame Mantra to this young lady Xun'er, the powerful figures behind her would be pleased, and Apothecary could climb straight onto "safe shores."
For Apothecary, assessing the situation after waking up and then going straight to Xiao Xun'er was clearly the better choice.
Yet Apothecary had never wanted to "expose" herself to Xun'er.
As for why, she couldn't really explain it herself.
Perhaps she didn't want to "discard" this little disciple who had made "offerings" to her for three years and was willing, for her sake, to "gamble" on the Flame Mantra's ability to evolve.
Though that sounded a little too casual, too "rash"-Xiao Yan had earned Apothecary's trust merely by choosing the Flame Mantra.
Someone else might have "never trusted anyone easily again," and at most reached the point of "grudging acceptance."
Still, it wasn't incomprehensible for someone who had suffered severe emotional trauma, especially a more emotional person, to find a new "anchor."
That didn't actually conflict with becoming "wary" after being hurt.
Apothecary might act a little frivolous at times, but she treasured emotional bonds more than anyone.
Her heart had already "died" once when her previous disciple stabbed her in the back. The blow that incident dealt her was anything but small.
And Apothecary had secretly observed Xiao Yan for quite some time, coming to understand her fairly well.
Who wouldn't like an obedient, sensible, filial child like Xiao Yan?
Wasn't she better than that ungrateful wolf?
No, the two weren't even comparable.
People weren't grass or trees, without feelings, and women tended to be more emotional than men.
Xiao Yan's disposition and personality also suited Apothecary's tastes, and she had appeared at just the right moment, inadvertently "slipping through the gap in her defenses."
So perhaps it was "transference," or perhaps something else.
Without even realizing it, Apothecary had already made Xiao Yan, her new disciple, an emotional anchor and was raising her as her own "goddaughter."
Raising this girl was just like raising a daughter.
She had said before that she would make this girl the finest alchemist on the continent.
And apart from the subjective influence of her "emotions," Apothecary had plenty of rational reasons too-
Apothecary also knew that the people behind Xun'er might genuinely think nothing of the Flame Mantra, because they might... definitely had heaven tier cultivation methods.
True powerhouses couldn't possibly disperse their cultivation and start over, nor could they let their juniors "gamble" with their lives.
Even if someone else served as a test subject, who knew when the Flame Mantra would evolve to heaven tier?
In that case, why take the risk of practicing a technique that might not even be able to evolve?
Besides, she had probably been "exposed" long ago, and even her identity "in life" had been dug up.
But even knowing that, they couldn't be bothered with her-those ancient races possessed heaven tier cultivation methods and soul cultivation methods, and could easily raise their own eighth-tier alchemists.
They weren't short of living eighth-tier alchemists, much less interested in a "dead" one.
Probably only a Ninth Grade Alchemist would earn a glance from them.
So, since she couldn't cling to the powerful thigh behind Xiao Xun'er anyway, it was better not to stir up extra trouble. They just needed to bluff their way through this.
Apothecary had always disliked restrictions. They thought nothing of her, and she had no desire to work under some faction either.
There was no need to reach for connections beyond her grasp. She could properly guide this little disciple, and once she was resurrected, registering herself with the Pill Tower would be quite nice too.
(Xiao Yan: Thank you, Teacher. I nearly got Gu Clan Backing and saved myself twenty years of detours.) [Note]
Faced with Apothecary's "answer," Xiao Yan felt her teeth ache.
Still, what needed to be "dealt with" had to be... ahem.
Looking at Xun'er, who bit her lip and stubbornly demanded an answer, Xiao Yan shook her head helplessly. "Xun'er, we've lived together for over ten years. Don't you know me by now?"
"Do you really think I'm the kind of idiot who would leave a high-end cultivation technique untouched and practice the lowest-grade one instead?"
[Note]: An alternate route in which Gu Yuan took a liking to Xiao Yan's talent and brought her back to the Ancient Realm to train alongside Xun'er.
Of course, if things went that way, Xiao Yan probably wouldn't be able to leave the Ancient Realm and travel the continent until she broke through to Dou Emperor, or even Dou Zong.
After all, to the Gu Clan, a Dou Wang was only beginning to amount to something. Even the Gu Clan's Coming-of-Age Ceremony was held for juniors at the Dou Zun level.
So without some strength, there would be no continent storyline.
And that would mean missing out on a lot of content. Xiao Yi Xian, Medusa, Zi Yan, and the others would have no scenes with our protagonist, nor any connection to her.
Medusa would remain stuck at Peak Dou Emperor, Zi Yan would spend every day stealing medicinal herbs in the Inner Academy, and Xiao Yi Xian would die from her poison body's backlash... only Gu Xun'er would have a storyline.
If we set everyone else aside and focused only on Xiao Yan and Gu Xun'er, it could make a pretty good little "1V1" short story.
But then, without the dragon, the snake, or Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Yan's "daily" life would become very monotonous.
I'm sure none of you would want to see that either (lol).
Besides, everything else is negotiable, but I can't stomach not saving Xiao Yi Xian.
So I won't write this alternate route for now. It simply occurred to me, and I wanted to mention it here first. I'll see how things go and arrange it later.
That's all. Coo, coo, coo~~
Before you continue