"The Sixth Miss of the Gu Family? Gu Qingli, that prodigious little lass?"
Bai Ling gazed at Gu Qingli in astonishment, her eyes now alight as if beholding some rare marvel.
Chen Yihan was equally taken aback.
Having only just arrived in Loulan City, they had already heard tales of the Gu Family's sixth daughter, Gu Qingli. Never did they expect to encounter her here.
"Heh."
Gu Qingli offered an awkward chuckle.
"My, what a stunningly beautiful young lady!"
Bai Ling exclaimed in admiration, her eyes brimming with warmth as she regarded Gu Qingli.
The girl returned her smile with equal grace.
"But if Yihan is already here, why has Bai Ling come as well? Surely the imperial capital isn't lacking in matters demanding her attention?"
"Can't I simply miss you?"
Bai Ling smirked, casting Shao Yan a sultry glance, even extending a delicate finger to beckon him with playful allure.
Watching from the side, Gu Qingli mused that had she been a man, she, too, would have been utterly enchanted. Bai Ling's every gesture flowed with effortless grace, her coquetry neither garish nor contrived.
In both her past and present life, Gu Qingli had never encountered a woman of such a style—one whose charm carried an uncanny naturalness.
Alas, Shao Yan remained unmoved, merely arching a brow at Bai Ling with an amused half-smile, a testament to their long-standing familiarity.
"Come now, can't I jest with you? Today, a batch of spirit technique scrolls arrived from the imperial capital. Given their importance, we couldn't risk them being intercepted, so naturally, we both escorted them. Besides," she added with a grin, "I truly did wish to see an old friend."
Bai Ling shrugged lightly, her laughter like tinkling bells.
"Indeed," Chen Yihan affirmed.
"By the way, why have you brought this young lady along?"
Bai Ling took Gu Qingli's hand, leading her into the room to sit. With each step, the tantalizing sway of her bosom was impossible to ignore.
Gu Qingli wondered the same—just what business did Shao Yan have with her?
"Ah, you never change," Shao Yan sighed, shaking his head with a resigned smile.
"I brought Xiao Li here because she, too, is an alchemist."
Clearly, Shao Yan shared a bond of deep trust with both Chen Yihan and Bai Ling, speaking without reservation.
Gu Qingli listened in silence.
"Xiao Li, there are things you may not know. Chen Yihan and Bai Ling are comrades with whom I've faced life and death. In our youth, we ventured together, sharing trials and triumphs…"
Shao Yan's voice carried a nostalgic weight, tinged with emotion—until Bai Ling cut in.
"What do you mean, 'in our youth'? I'm still as youthful as ever, thank you very much!"
Women could be utterly unreasonable, especially when age was mentioned.
The solemnity on Shao Yan's face shattered instantly, replaced by exasperated amusement. This woman had a talent for ruining the moment.
Gu Qingli stifled a giggle.
"Fine, fine! What I meant was, over a decade ago, we traveled together, forging a bond through shared peril. That's why there are no secrets between us. Xiao Li, tell me—what do you think of Xiao Lan?"
Gu Qingli was puzzled. Shao Lan? Though introverted, with those striking silver eyes, he seemed no different from any other youth.
Her blank expression made it clear she had noticed nothing amiss.
Noticing the sudden heaviness in Bai Ling's demeanor, Gu Qingli's heart clenched. What hidden affliction plagued Shao Lan?
That solitary boy, locking away his heart—those ethereal silver eyes masking untold suffering.
"We found Shao Lan during our travels. In truth, all three of us discovered him together."
As Shao Yan spoke, his gaze grew distant, and even Chen Yihan and Bai Ling fell silent, lost in memory.
"When we first saw him, he was too weak to even cry, his breathing faint. We had just slain a Black-Eyed Viper—a creature steeped in lethal venom, yet its gallbladder held the power to revive the dying."
Sorrow and helplessness flickered across Shao Yan's face.
Chen Yihan and Bai Ling exhaled softly, their expressions somber.
Gu Qingli parted her lips, momentarily speechless.
From Shao Yan's words, she could envision it—the infant Shao Lan, abandoned in the wilderness, clinging to life by a thread when they found him.
That such a babe had survived long enough to be rescued was nothing short of miraculous.
And with the viper's gallbladder at hand, they had used it without hesitation.
"Thus, after saving A'Lan, I brought him to Loulan City, while Yihan and Bai Ling returned to the capital."
As one versed in medicine, Gu Qingli understood: though the viper's gallbladder had spared Shao Lan's life, its venom would have left lasting scars. A poison so potent—it was a wonder it hadn't claimed him a second time.
"Back then, we were reckless. Seeing Xiao Lan on the brink, we gambled on the viper's gallbladder, desperate to save him. Thankfully, it worked."
Bai Ling's voice was thick with reminiscence.
Gu Qingli didn't fault their choice—yet the audacity of it! A newborn, enduring such toxicity.
"Uncle Shao Yan, are you saying remnants of that poison still linger in Xiao Lan's body?"
She searched her memory but recalled no signs of poison in Shao Lan.
Given his sensitivity, she had never probed him with her Phoenix Flame soul force, unlike with Elder Tian's parasitic gu, which had been detectable as a living entity.
"Indeed. The venom mutated within him. Most days, it lies dormant, but on the fifteenth of each month, Xiao Lan is left debilitated—racked with agony as though flayed alive, his cultivation utterly sapped."
Shao Yan's voice trembled with suppressed grief.
From infancy to now, he had raised Shao Lan as his own—no, loved him even more dearly than flesh and blood.
To witness him endure such torment month after month—as a child, he would scream and weep; now, he bore it in silence, teeth clenched behind closed doors—was a blade to Shao Yan's heart.
Years had been spent seeking a cure.
Gu Qingli bit her lip. She had never imagined the depth of Shao Lan's suffering—not only a tragic past but ceaseless physical torment.
That solitary boy, retreating into shadows—was it not to spare his master's heart, bearing his anguish alone?