Chapter 185
Chapter 185: First Meeting with Xiao Zi An
Rong Shu knocked a few times. The door opened from within, and Wu Hua—white-robed, black-haired—appeared in the doorway.
Rong Shu stepped aside to let him out. “Senior Brother, the Alchemy Tournament starts in two days.”
Wu Hua lifted an eyebrow. “What, nervous?”
These past days, Rong Shu had been steadily refining pills, buying spirit herbs, then refining again… Wu Hua hadn’t needed to prod her once. She was disciplined to the point of being frightening.
“Not really.” Rong Shu shook her head, absently rubbing the Little Hamster between her palms. “But when I went to the Alchemist Guild branch to take the qualification exam, I overheard something. They said people from the Central Continent will be coming for this Alchemy Tournament.”
She looked up, eyes bright with curiosity. “Senior Brother, you’re from the Central Continent too. Have you heard any inside gossip?”
Wu Hua answered honestly. “No idea.”
Then he added, flat and practical, “I’m not an alchemist. I don’t pay attention to these things.”
If Zi An were here, Wu Hua thought, he could ask him.
The biggest backer of the Alchemy Tournament was the Alchemist Guild.
And Xiao Zi An—the young proprietor of the Alchemist Guild—would naturally have access to whatever the guild knew.
Rong Shu stroked the Little Hamster by habit. “I just hope nothing unexpected happens.”
She wasn’t truly invested in whatever “lord” might arrive from the Central Continent. She was only here for one thing.
The Pureclear Six-Spirit Flower.
“Even though the tournament hasn’t started,” Wu Hua said, “the host is holding banquets these two days. Want to go take a look?”
“Sure.”
After leaving the inn, the two of them headed straight for the banquet venue.
Because Rong Shu was a contestant, she could bring someone in. At the entrance, they pushed through the packed crowd and entered the lively tavern where the feast was being held.
“So many people… and so much food…” Rong Shu’s gaze swept over dish after dish. She reached out and tapped the Little Hamster’s head. “Want to eat?”
“Gu!” The Little Hamster patted his tiny belly, then nodded enthusiastically.
Rong Shu was just about to find a place to sit when a flash of purple cut in front of them, blocking the way.
She frowned instinctively.
A man stood there, every inch of him dripping with wealth and privilege. His face was pale and striking; his peach-blossom eyes fluttered as if he knew exactly how much attention they drew. In his hand was a ridiculously flamboyant paper fan, snapping open and shut with practiced ease.
His gaze landed on Wu Hua, and his smile exploded into something bright and shameless.
“Third Senior Brother! I caught you!”
“You told me not to come to the Southern Wilderness?” he crowed. “I came anyway!”
Wu Hua stared at him in silence for a beat, then sighed. “Why are you here? You left Gu Chen at home?”
The purple-robed man waved his fan like it was beneath concern. “Isn’t Big Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister there?”
Then he leaned in, grin widening. “You came and didn’t tell me? So cold.”
“I’m giving you a surprise! Unexpected, right? Hahahaha…!”
Rong Shu blinked, caught off guard by the spectacle.
“…Senior Brother?” she said carefully.
Both men turned.
Wu Hua clearly meant to introduce her, but the purple-robed man spoke first, smiling with wicked familiarity.
“So this is Little Junior Sister…”
Wu Hua’s expression shifted—like he wanted to stop him—only it was already too late.
The man strolled up, the jade handle of his fan glinting faintly. His smile was playful, his eyes bright with excitement… and just enough restraint to pass as manners.
He cleared his throat. “Little Junior Sister, hello.”
Rong Shu glanced at Wu Hua, then back at the stranger who acted like they’d known each other for years. She clasped her hands and returned the greeting. “Senior Brother, hello.”
If Wu Hua knew him, he was probably from the Heart-Inquiry Academy too—meaning he might genuinely become her senior brother in the future.
“Hello, hello.” With a crisp snap, the man folded his fan. “My surname is Xiao. My name is Zi An. Little Junior Sister, just call me Fourth Senior Brother.”
Wu Hua added, expression unreadable, “In our sect, he ranks fourth.”
Understanding dawned. Rong Shu nodded. “Fourth Senior Brother. I’m Rong Shu.”
Xiao Zi An’s eyes curved, pleased. “Good, good.”
Then, as casually as if he were handing over a cup of tea, he yanked a storage bag off his waist and shoved it toward her.
“First meeting. A greeting gift.”
Rong Shu hesitated and looked to Wu Hua.
Wu Hua nodded once. “Take it. Your Fourth Senior Brother doesn’t have much—just spirit stones.”
Rong Shu accepted the storage bag with both hands. “Thank you, Fourth Senior Brother.”
The moment her fingers closed around it, her gaze caught the deep gold edging along the mouth of the bag.
Her breath hitched.
This was… the highest-grade storage bag currently sold by the Alchemist Guild.
The space inside was absurd—big enough to swallow mountains.
She’d assumed Xiao Zi An had simply grabbed some ordinary bag off his belt, nothing too precious. But this alone was worth five hundred thousand spirit stones.
And even if you had the money, you couldn’t buy it without extremely high-level internal permissions in the Alchemist Guild.
Rong Shu kept her face steady, but her thoughts ran fast.
Fourth Senior Brother’s background… was enormous.
Xiao Zi An watched her accept it, and his mood visibly lifted.
Then he narrowed his eyes at her—studying her too carefully, too precisely. His smile didn’t fade.
“Little Junior Sister… you’re disguised, aren’t you?”
Rong Shu’s heart jumped.
How did he see through it?
Wu Hua’s gaze swept the crowded room. “Too many people. Not a place to talk.”
“Fine.” Xiao Zi An snapped his fan open again, fanning himself like this was all a stroll. “Come with me.”
He led them into a private room tucked away from the noise.
“Sit.” The room was already stocked with wine and food. Rong Shu placed the Little Hamster on the table and took a seat.
With no outsiders around, Wu Hua asked directly, “Why are you here?”
Xiao Zi An set his fan along the table’s edge, his grin returning instantly. “Third Senior Brother, what kind of look is that? I’m here for serious business.”
“What business?”
Wu Hua paused, then added, “The Alchemy Tournament? You’re the ‘lord’ from the Central Continent?”
“Yeah.” Xiao Zi An nodded without shame.
Wu Hua’s laugh held no warmth. “For a main-city tournament in the Southern Wilderness? That’s worth you running all the way over?”
Xiao Zi An didn’t even try to deny it once the lie was exposed. “I came to see Little Junior Sister.”
He leaned back, eyes bright. “If I wait on you, Senior Brother—who knows when you’ll finally manage to bring her back.”
Rong Shu’s ears heated. Wu Hua’s expression stayed perfectly blank.
Xiao Zi An turned to her. “There’s no one else here. You can stop disguising.”
Rong Shu swallowed, still uneasy. How could he tell?
Wu Hua answered for her. “The disguise pills I gave you were made by him.”
Xiao Zi An lifted his chin like a peacock.
Wu Hua continued, unmoved. “He always keeps a trick up his sleeve. He probably worried I’d use the disguise pill and fail to recognize him, so he took a seventh-grade reveal-form pill that sees through disguises. He tuned it himself. No one else has it.”
Rong Shu stared. “A seventh-grade… reveal-form pill?”
She had already been shocked enough by the disguise pill. This was something else entirely.
Xiao Zi An waved a hand, false modesty in every motion. “Just seventh-grade. Nothing to mention.”
“True,” Wu Hua said smoothly, “since you’ve been stuck at seventh-grade for years. Not an inch forward. You should work harder.”
Xiao Zi An’s smile cracked.
Wu Hua’s tone stayed calm and merciless. “Little Junior Sister is already fourth-grade. If you keep slacking, she’ll surpass you in a few years.”
Xiao Zi An slumped, wounded. “Third Senior Brother, don’t lecture me! I finally got out—can’t I relax?”
He looked like a man denied his last breath of freedom.
Then he brightened again, turning to Rong Shu with genuine interest. “Little Junior Sister is fourth-grade already? You’ve only entered the cultivation world for three or four years, right? Your talent is ridiculous.”
Rong Shu smiled shyly. “I’ve just been lucky.”
Since he’d already seen through her disguise—and there were no outsiders—Rong Shu dispelled the disguise pill’s effect.
It was winter. Cultivators didn’t need heavy clothing the way mortals did, but Rong Shu wore padded layers anyway, keeping herself from standing out. A soft, snow-white scarf wrapped her neck. Her hair, once tied in two buns, had been let down and gathered behind her with a red ribbon, the ends knotted into a neat bow.
The thick green dress suited her—fifteen, bright-eyed, and clean as fresh snow. When she smiled, it softened her whole face, making her look both gentle and lively.
Xiao Zi An’s eyes gleamed.
So this was the Little Junior Sister he’d imagined.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Then Wu Hua’s voice cut through the moment. “You came at the right time.”
Xiao Zi An looked over.
“When Little Junior Sister was seven,” Wu Hua said, “someone may have dug out her spirit root. Check if it’s true—and whether there are any aftereffects.”
Xiao Zi An’s smile vanished. His mouth flattened, sharp and cold.
“What?” he said, voice suddenly dangerous. “Little Junior Sister had her spirit root dug out?”
“It’s only a suspicion,” Rong Shu hurried to add. “Nothing confirmed.”
Xiao Zi An’s expression softened, just a fraction, and he turned to her. “Don’t be afraid.”
His voice dropped, steady and reassuring. “From now on, if anyone dares touch you again, Senior Brother will beat them until they remember their place.”
He pulled a spirit-suppressing stone from his storage bag and set it on the table. It was only the size of a fist.
“Test your spirit root.”
Rong Shu placed her right hand on it.
Less than two breaths later, the stone reacted.
Green and red light burst forth—so bright it swallowed the outline of her hand.
Xiao Zi An’s eyes narrowed. “Wind-fire spirit root… Heaven-grade spirit root?”
Wu Hua frowned. “I thought her wind-fire spirit root was mid-grade.”
Both men looked at Rong Shu at the same time.
Rong Shu blinked and withdrew her hand. “It… might be because I ate a Feng Ling Tribulation Fruit and a Huo Ling Tribulation Fruit. So my spirit root quality improved.”
Xiao Zi An’s shock hit like a slap.
“Damn—Feng Ling Tribulation Fruit and Huo Ling Tribulation Fruit?” He leaned forward, animated. “You ate both? Where did you find them? If I go now, can I still snag one?”
Rong Shu shook her head. “The Feng Ling Tribulation Fruit is gone. The Huo Ling one… I’m not sure. I found it in the herb garden in the Liao Huo Secret Realm. Maybe there’s another. Maybe not.”
But she already suspected the answer.
She had asked Huo Ling about it privately. The herb garden hadn’t produced another one.
Huo Ling had said that in all these years, it had only seen a single fruit—and it had been taken by another cultivator.
Xiao Zi An’s face fell for a heartbeat. Then his gaze sharpened, and his tone turned serious.
“Little Junior Sister, you can’t tell anyone about that. Not anyone.”
Even if she told them she had no Spirit Tribulation Fruit left, they wouldn’t believe her.
Rong Shu nodded quickly. “I understand.”
She wasn’t the type to run her mouth.
And because Xiao Zi An and Wu Hua were close—because she trusted Wu Hua—she found herself trusting Xiao Zi An too, by association.
Wu Hua glanced at Xiao Zi An, warning in his look. “Don’t scare her.”
Then, without pause, he added, “And you don’t even have a wind-fire spirit root. Even if you had one, you couldn’t use it.”
Xiao Zi An huffed. “I’m just curious.”
“Curious?” Wu Hua said, unimpressed. “Like you’ve never seen Spirit Tribulation Fruit before. Like you’ve never eaten it.”
Xiao Zi An coughed, abruptly dignified. “Ahem. Back to the point.”
He looked at Rong Shu again, the playfulness stripped away. “Little Junior Sister has a spirit root now, but it still doesn’t rule out that someone dug it out before.”
“There’s an old record—someone had their spirit root dug out, and years later, a new spirit root grew back.”