"Excuse me, young kidney brother!"
"Where did you get this Heavenly Flame crystal!?"
An elderly man with white temples and a hunched back asked excitedly.
"It was passed down in my family," Xiao Yan said, making up an excuse.
"Passed down?" The deputy hall master took a long look at Xiao Yan.
His clothes were tattered, and his whole outfit made him look as though he had just come from a village.
"Please, come inside!"
The old man cupped his hands and led Xiao Yan into an inner room.
Deep inside the Spirit Hall,
was a study reserved for the deputy hall master.
On the bookshelves
sat all manner of rare treasures.
Several young ornamental Soul Beasts were even kept in a corner of the room.
"Little brother, do you know what this Heavenly Flame crystal is?"
Xiao Yan paused slightly.
Inside the ring, Yao Lao hurriedly reminded him:
"Heavenly Flames are the hardest to preserve. Every Heavenly Flame crystal can save a life!"
"What's more, if the immense power contained within one can be refined, it can greatly increase a person's strength!"
Xiao Yan repeated his words verbatim, looking quite mature.
The deputy hall master nodded hurriedly. "It seems you really do know your treasures, little brother."
He took several items he had prepared from his robes.
Three crystals of different colors.
They contained three kinds of unknown flames.
"I paid a great price to obtain these three crystals, yet the Heavenly Flames inside them cannot compare to yours even when put together, little brother!"
The deputy hall master had no intention of swindling Xiao Yan just because he was young.
Instead, he treated him as an equal and told him how precious it was!
"Then, Lord Hall Master, how many gold coins are you willing to pay for it!?"
The deputy hall master was briefly taken aback. He shook his head and smiled helplessly. "I'm afraid your crystal is too precious for me to afford."
"Little brother, do you know that your Heavenly Flame is a Child Flame!?"
Xiao Yan shook his head.
He knew nothing about Heavenly Flames; Yao Lao was the one driving everything.
"A Child Flame is separated from a Mother Flame and retains the purest source of the flame!"
"In my opinion, your Heavenly Flame must be a flame of an extremely high grade!"
"Such a powerful Heavenly Flame could even lend us a hand when we make a breakthrough, should the need arise!"
"It's even more valuable than some heavenly treasures!"
Hearing the deputy hall master praise Yao Lao's Heavenly Flame so highly,
Xiao Yan finally understood. His master, whom he had gotten so cheaply, really was quite impressive, huh?
"Sell it to him cheaply and do him a favor while you're at it," Yao Lao reminded him through a mental message.
"Sell it to him cheaply? Wouldn't we be losing out?"
"This is a Child Flame!"
"The Mother Flame is right here with me."
With a grand wave of his hand, Xiao Yan placed the Heavenly Flame crystal directly into the deputy hall master's hand, leaving him staring in shock.
"This..." The old man's mouth fell open.
"You only need to help me find the medicinal ingredients I need, and I'll give this crystal to you, Hall Master!"
"Consider it my way of making a friend across the generations!"
The old man's eyes filled with tears, and he was deeply moved.
"Brother Yan! From now on, you're my big brother!"
"Huh?" This time, it was Xiao Yan's turn to be dumbfounded.
An old man who looked to be in his sixties or seventies was calling him big brother.
Wasn't that throwing their seniority into complete chaos!?
"Sir, please don't shorten my life like that. I want to live to a hundred!" Xiao Yan hurriedly refused, adamantly unwilling to let the old man call him that.
The old man quickly shook his head. "Brother Yan, there's something you don't know. You have no idea how much this crystal means to me."
"When I was young, I suffered a poisonous injury, and my strength has never been the same since."
"Not only was I demoted to this little backwater, but my life was also at risk."
"Every year, I could only stay alive by relying on Heavenly Flame crystals."
The old man's eyes suddenly shone!
"Now that I have this Heavenly Flame crystal of... what was that flame called again?"
"Bone Spirit Cold Flame."
Looking at the frantic old man, Xiao Yan quietly reminded him.
"Right! With this Bone Spirit Cold Flame Child Flame crystal, not only is my life no longer in danger, but I also have a chance to regain my former strength!"
"The day I take my revenge is just around the corner!"
The old man clasped Xiao Yan's small hands in both of his. "From now on, you're my big brother!"
Xiao Yan: "..."
Beside them, the old man from the reception desk walked over.
He helped the old man and the boy to their feet.
The old man took a deep breath. "Little brother, don't think our deputy hall master is joking with you."
"If you knew everything the hall master had been through, you would understand that what you gave him today was more than just a Child Flame crystal."
"It was hope!"
"Hope of avenging his dead children!"
The old man recalled, "The hall master once said that whoever helped him take revenge would be like parents who gave him a second life."
"Now you've given him hope... surely you don't want to be his father?"
Xiao Yan was going a little crazy.
How had he suddenly become a father now?
The two old men, whose combined ages had to be ten or so times Xiao Yan's, insisted again and again.
Xiao Yan gave it serious thought.
Rather than be a father, he would be a big brother.
"Brother Yan!"
"Little brother, sir, what was your name again?"
"Yu Tianming!"
"Brother Yu!"
"Brother Yan!"
The old man laughed heartily. "Today I have gained a brother. What great fortune!"
He took out a jade-and-gold bracelet and placed it in Xiao Yan's hand.
The bracelet seemed to shimmer with flashes of lightning.
Tiny dragon-shaped patterns were engraved on it; a single glance showed it was no ordinary item!
"This Soul Tool can store about ten square meters' worth of items!"
Xiao Yan shook his head. "A Space Soul Tool is far too valuable."
Even on the Dou Qi Continent, such things were few and far between!
"Hmph! Surely you aren't going to stand on ceremony with me, Brother Yan? You could give me a Child Flame crystal, so why can't I give you this Soul Tool!?"
"Besides, I no longer have the face to use this Soul Tool."
"Then it would be impolite to refuse!"
"Brother Yan!"
"Brother Yu!"
After walking out of the Spirit Hall Branch,
Xiao Yan still felt as though he were walking through clouds and mist.
Not only had he obtained the medicinal ingredients he needed,
but he had also somehow gained a little brother.
"If the people of Nuoding City knew their deputy hall master was an eight-year-old child's little brother, they'd kill me, wouldn't they?" Xiao Yan murmured.
Strolling along the street,
Xiao Yan carried a large bundle of medicinal ingredients and a pouch of gold coins that Yu Tianming had insisted on giving him.
There were just enough for Xiao Yan to carry.
There had to be a few hundred at least.
Of course, he put them all into the bracelet, the Space Soul Tool Yu Tianming had given him.
Yao Lao said with a smile, "That bracelet is a fine thing. That fellow is sincere toward you."
"Of course! We're blood brothers with different fathers and mothers!"
"Find a place to stay, and we can refine medicine tonight!" Yao Lao said softly.
Xiao Yan nodded, a warmth rising in his heart.
Yao Lao cared about him from the bottom of his heart; as soon as they had the medicinal ingredients, he was thinking of curing his poison.
Xiao Yan found an ordinary inn at random,
and checked in simply and quickly.
Just as he was about to head upstairs,
a clamor came from the floor above.