"No more, let me rest for a bit."
From the room in the Bamboo Building came Cao Ying's slightly breathless plea for mercy.
Chen Xiao nodded with a smile, very thoughtfully handing over a Qi Recovery Pill that was still warm.
Cao Ying glared at him irritably, snatched the Qi Recovery Pill she had refined, and swallowed it. As the Dou Qi rapidly surged through her meridians, her pearly teeth bit down hard on her lower lip, looking as if she wanted to grind her teeth in anger.
Half a month had passed since she refined the Sea Heart Flame.
And in this half a month, Chen Xiao hadn't been polite with her at all.
From low-grade two-star Amplification Pills to high-grade five-star Qing Yuan Pills, he had her help refine twenty to thirty types of the most common pills on the market.
His excuse was that the medicinal ingredients would just gather dust if left unused, and whatever they didn't use could be counted as income for Maple City.
As bottle after bottle of pills were refined, Chen Xiao was beaming with joy, but Cao Ying herself was exhausted. For the entire half month, except for the time spent recovering her Dou Qi, she had spent almost all of it in this room, practically becoming a pill-refining machine.
"Let's stop here for today. This batch of pills is enough for us for a long time. Besides, I promised the Fourth Elder that I would only use you for half a month this time. After I send you off later, I also need to go into seclusion."
Saying this, Chen Xiao took out a piece of parchment from his Storage Ring and handed it to Cao Ying.
This genius Alchemist was indeed useful. He didn't feel bad giving her some information that was useless to him, or even some of Han Feng'sleft behind.
After all, at this point, the two of them were bound to be entangled in the future.
Cao Ying's fingertips lightly took the parchment. The moment she unfolded it, a look of pleasant surprise suddenly lit up in her eyes, and the corners of her lips unconsciously lifted.
"Thank you."
"No need for verbal thanks. I'll give you the other things when we meet next time."
Hearing this, the corner of Cao Ying's lips curved into a playful arc. She gracefully stood up and walked a few steps to Chen Xiao. Suddenly, she leaned in close, their noses almost touching, her voice carrying a seductive lilt: "I have a method that's not just verbal. Want to try it?"
Chen Xiao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he subtly retreated half an inch, only to see the amusement in her eyes grow even stronger.
Immediately, Chen Xiao's heart stirred. He stopped his retreating movement, and his long arm suddenly shot out, firmly wrapping around her soft waist. Taking advantage of the moment Cao Ying lowered her head, he forcefully covered her lips, swallowing all that unrestrained teasing.
Cao Ying's body stiffened. Her fingertips subconsciously clutched Chen Xiao's clothes. Her wide-open apricot eyes were filled with astonishment, and a large patch of confusion bloomed in her pupils. After a few breaths, her chaotic consciousness had just returned when the warmth on her lips receded like a tide.
Meeting Chen Xiao's gaze again, Cao Ying's cheeks instantly flushed a brilliant red like the evening glow. Even her earlobes were transparently red, as if one could see the boiling heat in her blood vessels.
Looking at Cao Ying's appearance, the corner of Chen Xiao's mouth curved into a mischievous arc, and the smile in his eyes flowed: "Where's that sharp-tongued, imposing demeanor you usually have? Turns out you're just a paper tiger."
Cao Ying's cheeks were burning hot. She wanted to retort a few more words, but she lacked confidence. She could only glare fiercely at Chen Xiao, her eyes, however, showing a hint of guilt. Not daring to meet his gaze, she turned and stumbled towards the door, almost tripping over her skirt in her haste, and fled out the door in a panic.
...
At noon.
Amidst the waiting of the group, Cao Ying finally walked out of the Bamboo Building and calmly stepped onto the back of the Flying Eagle.
"Chen Xiao, Ice Emperor, Zi Yan, no need to see us off. We'll meet again in the Central State. Once I find the Transformation Grass, I will have someone bring the Transformation Pill over."
Cao Xi faced the three of them, cupping his fists slightly in farewell.
With a Dou Zong expert showing such an attitude, Chen Xiao and Hai Bo Dong naturally couldn't be impolite. Even Zi Yan, who was heavy with sleepiness, imitated them by hitting her fist against her palm.
"See you in the Central State. Thank you for the Fourth Elder's help during this time."
Although the initial contact was in the form of a transaction, Chen Xiao had to admit that Cao Xi had helped a lot.
For example, the matter of Han Feng, and the Gold Silver Two Elders whose corpses were displayed outside the city. And each time he acted, this Fourth Elder did not take any spoils of war.
Hearing Chen Xiao's words, Cao Xi smiled and shook his head.
"Goodbye, Fourth Elder, goodbye, Sister Cao Ying!"
Zi Yan forced herself to be energetic and waved her small hand.
Standing on the broad back of the Flying Eagle, Cao Ying originally wanted to maintain the dignified posture of a 'mascot', but hearing Zi Yan's voice, she couldn't help but let the corners of her lips curl up.
She smiled and waved gently at Zi Yan, then her gaze fell on Chen Xiao, her eyes slightly raised, and she gave him a roll of her eyes.
"See you in Central State."
"May you both have a smooth journey."
After Chen Xiao's words fell, Hai Bo Dong also spoke up.
Without saying anything else, Cao Xi and Cao Ying nodded, and immediately, without hesitation, soared into the air and left.
In just a few breaths, they had completely disappeared from the sight of Chen Xiao and the other two.
Withdrawing his gaze, Chen Xiao looked at Zi Yan, who couldn't help but yawn again.
"You don't need to be in such a hurry. If you damage your body, it won't be worth it."
Zi Yan's speed at consuming pills was much faster than her speed at gnawing on medicinal herbs.
Since meeting this girl and letting her experience the wonders of pills, the energy she consumed on average per day was several times what it used to be.
Especially after returning to the Jia Ma Empire with him, the supply of pills was unlimited, which made her advancement much faster than Chen Xiao had expected.
Seeing her binge eating every day, Chen Xiao couldn't help but worry about her body, although for a Void Ancient Dragon, this worry might be a bit redundant.
"Must be in a hurry! Sister Little Fairy Doctor has already gone into seclusion, and when she comes out, she will definitely be a Dou Huang expert. You are also going into seclusion now, I can't fall behind!"
Zi Yan shook her head vigorously, very opinionated.
Chen Xiao rubbed her head and didn't say anything more. He turned to look at Hai Bo Dong and took out the intelligence that had been prepared in advance and could be used for transactions, handing it over.
"Elder Hai, for the next period of time, Maple City will have to rely on you to hold the fort. When our people are in place, the auction house should also be able to be put into use. Keep this intelligence for backup. I have noted the value of each piece of intelligence, and we do not bargain."
"Little Fairy Doctor will most likely come out of seclusion earlier than Zi Yan and I. You can make decisions on ordinary matters. If there are uninvited guests, you can forcefully wake me up. There is no need to lose face. Although Fourth Elder and Medusa Queen are not here, we are not without usable Dou Zong combat power!"
Just in case, Chen Xiao gave Hai Bo Dong a heads-up.
With the Heavenly Demon Puppet that could be advanced at any time, in this Black-Corner Region, even if that Earth Demon Old Ghost came, there was no need to give him too much face.
Hai Bo Dong took the stack of letters and just glanced at them, his face showing undisguised surprise.
They were all good things!
Among them, there were quite a few that made his heart pound.
But upon closer inspection, seeing the locations of those things and the difficulty of obtaining them, Hai Bo Dong shook his head.
Not worth it! Far from worth it!
These things simply weren't worth the effort of going there personally.
"Don't worry, with me and the Little Fairy Doctor here, nothing will happen to Maple City. However, before you go into seclusion, there's a small matter you need to decide on. What should we rename Maple City?"
Hearing this, Chen Xiao looked at Zi Yan.
A name was just a title; he didn't place much importance on it.
But this girl, Zi Yan, had been quite enthusiastic about it before.
Meeting their gazes, Zi Yan's expression froze for a moment.
Soon, she returned to normal, revealing an expression that showed she had already thought it through.
"Zi Xiao City!"
"The auction house will be called Zi Xiao Pavilion!"
As she spoke, she even gestured a few times in the air with her finger.
This name, as the name suggested, took one character from Chen Xiao and one from her. It couldn't be simpler.
Chen Xiao chuckled, but he didn't completely reject it.
"Change the 'Xiao' to the 'Xiao' from Ling Xiao, Purple Firmament Pavilion!"
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