Steward Yang's words saddened Nie Qianyu somewhat, but he had watched her grow up and had come from the Incense-Passing Cult as well. She regarded him as an elder and could only force a smile. "Perhaps the next time Uncle Yang comes, your niece will have grown up."
Steward Yang smiled bitterly. "If there is a next time, then when this uncle returns to the Incense-Passing Cult, I will certainly help Xiao Yu look for some good pills. Alas, this is already my last time coming down the mountain. You may never see me again after this."
"Ah???" Not only Nie Qianyu, but even Valley Master Nie was greatly startled. "Young Brother Yang, why is that?"
Steward Yang forced himself to keep his spirits up. "There is no particular reason. I am simply getting old, and some things are beyond my strength. It is also time for the younger generation to come out and gain experience. Elder Brother Nie, I hinted at this again and again just now, yet you did not catch it. It seems you truly were absent-minded."
Valley Master Nie said awkwardly, "Young Brother is quite right. This is the first time—oh, also the last time—that this old man has asked you to handle something. I am terribly uneasy."
Nie Qianyu also pleaded from the side, "This is your niece's wish as well. I ask Uncle Yang to grant it."
Steward Yang looked at Nie Qianyu and smiled. "Xiao Yu, do not forget: if your ideal husband does not go to the Incense-Passing Cult, then in two or three years, even if I cannot obtain miraculous pills for you, the two of you can still enter the bridal chamber beneath candlelight and live days where one envies mandarin ducks but not immortals. But if I take him