Chapter 59

The moon gradually rose to the high sky; the night was already deep. Although today's banquet was grand, it ultimately had a moment to end.

Until the banquet ended, Bai Ye did not wait for that figure to appear again. Somewhat disappointed, he followed the servants hosting for the Xiao family and left the hall where the banquet was held.

The interaction between Xiao Yan and Ya Fei naturally could not have lasted that long; in fact, the exchange ended not long after Xiao Yan and Ya Fei came out. Ya Fei directly used an excuse to return to the Mittel Auction House, while Xiao Yan simply found a room outside to enter and cultivate.

It was not that Xiao Yan was particularly diligent, unwilling to let even such a small amount of time slip by, but that the alchemy during the day had indeed consumed too much of him; forcing himself to hold on until now was truly becoming unsustainable.

After secluding himself for a full two hours, and even as the moon began to descend, Xiao Yan finally opened his eyes again. Although the recovery of his soul power still required some time, it no longer affected Xiao Yan's normal movements.

At this time, except for the firelight still shining in the windows of a few rooms, most of the Xiao family had already fallen asleep. Xiao Yan bathed in the moonlight and returned to his own courtyard.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Xiao Yan walked gently into the room.

"You're back." A crisp, melodious voice sounded from the darkness. The moonlight entering from the open door shone upon a face as beautiful as a flower.

Seeing this pretty face, Xiao Yan's expression immediately softened. Closing the door behind him, Xiao Yan said gently, "It's so late, you haven't slept yet?"

At this moment, the Little Fairy Doctor was sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs pressed together. Seeing this, Xiao Yan curled his lips, walked straight to the edge of the bed, and lay down on it.

The Little Fairy Doctor did not refuse; she naturally pulled Xiao Yan's head over. Although he wouldn't have fallen off even if she hadn't, the Little Fairy Doctor still habitually used her hand to cradle him every time.

"What did you talk about with that person named Ya Fei today? Why so late?" The Little Fairy Doctor asked softly while helping Xiao Yan smooth out his somewhat messy hair.

"Nothing much, just establishing some deep cooperation. To put it simply, I help her rise to power at the Mittel headquarters, and then after she rises, she helps me collect alchemy materials through Mittel's channels." Xiao Yan closed his eyes slightly, enjoying the Little Fairy Doctor's gentle caress.

"Oh, I didn't expect you to think so highly of her ability. But aren't you going to the Black-Corner Region's Canaan Academy before long? If I remember correctly, the Mittel faction's influence is mainly in the Jia Ma Empire, right?" Although the Little Fairy Doctor's tone was as flat as possible, Xiao Yan still detected that trace of jealousy.

Opening his eyes and looking at the little face that was actually already pouting, he reached out to stroke her beautiful face, and Xiao Yan chuckled, "What, my dear Xian'er is jealous today?"

The Little Fairy Doctor acted as if she were throwing a tantrum, directly slapping Xiao Yan's hand away, and huffed, "Hmph! Who knows? Seeing that I'm about to leave, it wouldn't be impossible for a certain lecherous guy to start getting restless and go looking for someone new."

Heh, Xiao Yan chuckled. To be honest, it was his first time seeing the Little Fairy Doctor look jealous. That flushed, pouting little face was truly quite cute, making Xiao Yan unable to resist pinching it. This time, the Little Fairy Doctor did not refuse, though she still looked at him with dissatisfaction.

Xiao Yan knew he couldn't just leave it at that and try to brush it off, so he said, "You're right, the Mittel Auction House's influence is indeed almost entirely in the Jia Ma Empire. But you should have heard of a place like the Black-Corner Region; it's not easy to find a faction you can trust there, and I also need a channel to stay in contact with home. Although Mittel's current strength is still a bit lacking to step into the Black-Corner Region, that is only for now. Let me tell you a little secret: do you remember Old Hai, whom we met in the Tagor Desert?"

"Old Hai?" The sudden name made the Little Fairy Doctor pause, "The one from the map shop?"

"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded, "Old Hai has always had a very good relationship with Mittel. In fact, if you consider that Old Hai has no other factions under his name, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Mittel is Old Hai's faction."

"Now that Old Hai has returned from Tagor, Mittel's strength will naturally see a significant increase. With a Dou Huang-level expert backing them, Mittel stepping into the Black-Corner Region won't be a problem."

"So that's how it is. So you actually started planning this back in Desert City? That's why you had to show your strength to Old Hai?" The Little Fairy Doctor said with a sudden realization.

Xiao Yan nodded and said, "That was indeed one of the reasons."

Since that was the case, the Little Fairy Doctor had nothing more to say. After all, once explained, Xiao Yan's plan was easy to understand: supporting Ya Fei was to have her preside over Mittel's expansion into the Black-Corner Region, thereby facilitating contact between Xiao Yan and Mittel. After all, one couldn't rely on Hai Bo Dong for this, right?

As for why it was Ya Fei, that was even easier to understand, because she was right there in Wu Tan City. And as far as the Little Fairy Doctor knew, Ya Fei had come to Wu Tan City during the time Xiao Yan was away. It could be said that Xiao Yan hadn't even met this person named Ya Fei when he formulated the plan, so the suspicion of Xiao Yan hunting for beauty was naturally cleared.

However, today's matters were not over so quickly. The Little Fairy Doctor raised a new question: "Speaking of which, what's the deal with that person named Bai Ye?"

"Bai Ye? What's wrong with Bai Ye?" Xiao Yan asked, feeling a bit strange.

"Don't you think the way she looks at you is a bit strange?"

"Uh, it is a bit strange. I don't know why a man would have such a look; could it be that he's a cut-sleeve!" Xiao Yan suddenly thought, and his whole body shivered.

A man? The Little Fairy Doctor was a bit surprised, then realized that Bai Ye did indeed always appear in men's clothing and with a man's appearance; under normal circumstances, it was truly hard to tell.

"Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about you first." Xiao Yan was clearly trying to avoid the topic of Bai Ye and hurriedly changed the subject, "Do you have any plans after you reach the Chu Yun Empire?"

"Mm, I plan to find a sect or similar faction to join once I reach the Chu Yun Empire. After all, fighting alone can't last forever." The Little Fairy Doctor stated her plans.

"I see." Xiao Yan frowned, "But aren't you worried that someone in the sect might be detrimental to you? After all, you are so beautiful, so young, and your cultivation is so strong."

"What, are you jealous?" The Little Fairy Doctor also chuckled, looking at Xiao Yan with a playful expression.

"Mm, yes, I just can't accept anyone else having designs on you." Xiao Yan looked into the Little Fairy Doctor's eyes and said earnestly.

The Little Fairy Doctor's face turned red, and she said with a coquettish pout, "Hateful, what are you saying! And if you say that, then what should I do?"

Xiao Yan smiled slightly and said, "Hehe, I have a way. Look."

With a sweep of his palm, a mask as white as jade and thin as a cicada's wing appeared in Xiao Yan's hand.

"This is?" The Little Fairy Doctor asked curiously, reaching out to take the mask; it was cool and felt very comfortable.

"This is a treasure I scavenged from Mittel, an Ice Silkworm Mask. Wearing it allows one to change into someone else's appearance. Although the specific features haven't been carved out yet, you can mold one yourself. How is it, do you like it?"

"Mm."

"Then how about I help you mold one now?" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he said with some excitement.

"In your dreams. You wouldn't be trying to take the opportunity to mold a face full of pockmarks, would you?" The Little Fairy Doctor directly stopped Xiao Yan, looking at him with suspicion.

"Cough, cough, how could that be? I would definitely mold it properly." Xiao Yan said, feeling a bit awkward after his intentions were exposed by the Little Fairy Doctor.

However, the Little Fairy Doctor wouldn't believe a single word of Xiao Yan's, and she hurriedly put the Ice Silkworm Mask away.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. Hurry up and go take a bath; you stink to death."

"No, Xian'er, you weren't like this just a moment ago."

"Just now was just now, and now is now. Hurry up and go!"

"Fine." Xiao Yan curled his lips and got up to head toward the bathroom.

Watching Xiao Yan's disappearing back, the Little Fairy Doctor took the Ice Silkworm Mask out of her storage ring again, examined it carefully in her hand, and a charming smile appeared on her face.

After another long while, the Little Fairy Doctor put the mask away and began to change her clothes.

When Xiao Yan came out of the bathroom, the Little Fairy Doctor had just fastened the last button.

"This is—" Xiao Yan looked at the Little Fairy Doctor in shock.

At this moment, the Little Fairy Doctor was wearing a white top paired with a red skirt; the top was embellished with exquisite cloud patterns and toggle buttons, and the black stockings underneath outlined the fleshiness of her legs—

"Didn't you return this outfit?" Xiao Yan swallowed the saliva in his mouth.

"I originally returned it, but the shop assistant added it back on their own initiative." The Little Fairy Doctor said, covering her chest with one hand and supporting the hem of her skirt with the other, looking very shy.

Seeing the Little Fairy Doctor like this, Xiao Yan completely lost his composure, walked up, directly scooped the Little Fairy Doctor up by the waist, and threw her fiercely onto the bed.

"Mm! Wait, the light is still—mm!"

"Just leave it on like this." Xiao Yan said in a muffled voice.

"The clothes, the clothes haven't—mm! Ah~"

"That is fine."

"Ah!"

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