Outside the alchemy room, Valley Master Nie had already told Nie Qianyu about Zhang Xiaohua's unreasonable demand. Yet Nie Qianyu was not as shocked or surprised as Elder Zhang. Along the way back to Mochou City with Zhang Xiaohua, she had discovered far too many strange things about him. Though Zhang Xiaohua had tried every possible way to hide them, the three of them had spent every day together, and Nie Qianyu cared about his every movement. Even if he merely frowned or showed an unusual expression, she would do her utmost to guess what it meant. How could she fail to notice some clues?
But Nie Qianyu was clever. She had always seen such things with her eyes, yet never kept them in her heart, much less told Xiao Juzi about them.
Now, hearing her father put it that way, she merely nodded slightly and glanced toward the alchemy room. Worriedly, she asked, "Brother Ren won't be in any danger, will he? He has to keep refining for fourteen days straight. Can he endure it alone?"
Elder Zhang's eyes widened. Looking at the girl, who still seemed like a tiny child in his eyes, he shook his head and said to Valley Master Nie with deep sympathy, "Marshal Nie, Marshal Nie, you've suffered quite a loss. This girl's heart is turned outward. You had three daughters and raised them all this big, yet not one of them thinks for you. What a pity, what a pity."
Covering her mouth, Nie Qianyu laughed. "That's still better than certain elders who have neither sons nor daughters."
Valley Master Nie scolded, "Xiao Yu, don't be so disrespectful."
Elder Zhang did not mind. "That depends on how one sees it. If they are like you, never considering their own father, then having them