Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

Xiao Nian did not answer and continued walking forward.

"Master, Master!" Qian Yukun quickly stopped them.

Why did Qian Yukun stop them?

He stared at the doorway where Xiao Nian had disappeared, his teeth grinding together.

Upon seeing the girl who had led Xiao Nian there, he flew into a rage.

"What kind of receptionist are you, letting in a wretched old man like me?" He stormed off, angrily turning away. "Just wait for your union's evaluation!"

The girl wept, tears streaming down her face, and murmured to herself, "He just asked you if the Fire Marrow Pill tasted good, and then I wasn't paying attention, and he just rushed right over here."

Qian Yukun froze as soon as he stepped onto the third step and turned around abruptly.

"What did you say? Fire Marrow Pill? He knows about Fire Marrow Pill?"

Qian Yukun instinctively tried to stop the two of them.

"What is it?" Xiao Nian asked with a sneer when Qian Yukun blocked her way.

"What do you mean by the Fire Marrow Pill?" Qian Yukun asked tentatively.

Why don't you ask yourself why your Guanyuan acupoint feels like it's being cut with a knife every day at noon?

Qian Yukun's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Every day around 5 PM, the Shaoshang acupoint on your right hand will feel numb, from your fingertips all the way to your elbow. Around 9 PM, your lower abdomen will feel cold in waves. You toss and turn every night, unable to sleep, and need the Chiyang Pill to fall asleep."

Qian Yukun's face turned pale. This old man was right!

"Old Immortal, let's go inside and talk properly." Seeing that there were too many people in the hall, Qian Yukun invited Xiao Nian and the other person to the second floor, where he had a private room.

A quiet discussion was taking place in the hall.

"Is Master Qian sick?"

"Judging from the symptoms he described, it sounds quite serious."

"How does this old man know so much?"

"Can't a doctor heal himself?"

Upon entering the private room, Qian Yukun greeted everyone with a broad smile.

"Master, how did you figure that out?"

"You, a second-tier alchemist, advanced in the last few days, didn't you? And you even used a forbidden drug—the Replenishing Essence Pill."

Upon hearing the words "Replenishing Vitality Pill," Qian Yukun's expression immediately changed.

"A second-tier alchemist needs a certain level of mental strength, which is your weakness. That's why you took the Replenishing Essence Pill, also known as the Fire Marrow Pill, to temporarily allow you to perform at your best. But what you don't know is that the side effects of the Replenishing Essence Pill are unimaginable."

"So you've discovered that the elixir made from a 500-year-old Crimson Sun Fungus can cure your illness. But let me tell you, even the best Crimson Sun Fungus can't save your life."

Qian Yukun was completely stunned. He never imagined that using this thing would cost him his life.

He immediately flew into a rage: "You old geezer, you're spreading alarmist rumors here."

Xiao Nian patted his head and sighed, "I remembered wrong. Using this thing will only turn you into an idiot. The temporary boost to your mental strength will cause irreversible damage to your brain."

"In his thirties, he should have had a bright future ahead of him. What a pity." Xiao Nian shook his head, looking regretful.

Qian Yukun's body trembled uncontrollably: "How could eating just a few pills turn me into an idiot? You old codger, don't try to fool me."

"Fine, just take it as me trying to coax you." Xiao Nian made a move to stand up and walk out. "Oh dear, I was saying I had a way to resolve this."

"Thump!" Qian Yukun leaped high from behind, knelt down, and hugged Xiao Nian's legs.

"If the palace does not abandon me, I, Kun, am willing to become its godfather!"

"Please save me! Please save me!"

He did indeed consume the Fire Marrow Pill. Half a year ago, before his alchemist upgrade assessment, he had someone obtain it from the black market. After consuming a few, he passed the assessment smoothly, and ever since, he has been inseparable from it.

Before each assessment or before taking on a heavy task, I would eat one pill, and I kept eating more and more until I had eaten more than a dozen pills.

He never told anyone these things!

Recently, however, he felt his health was deteriorating and he needed to take the Red Sun Pill to stop it. Just then, the gullible Lin Mumu arrived, bringing his sister Lin Xueci to him.

The girl had a strange illness; her body was always covered in ice that wouldn't melt.

Qian Yukun couldn't understand, which showed that Lin Mumu had a kind of obsession. Why didn't he take advantage of it? So he falsely claimed that the five-hundred-year-old Chiyangzhi could save his sister.

Xiao Nian kicked him in disgust, "Get lost. I have someone else to be my adopted son."

Lin Mumu looked completely bewildered.

Master Qian, who was usually aloof and whose consultation fees started at three hundred taels, was now kneeling before an eighty-year-old white-haired man, tears streaming down his face.

With just a few words, Master Qian knelt before him, and Lin Mumu silently gave him a thumbs up in his heart.

Xiao Nian stopped, turned to the side, and glanced down at him.

"Will you refund the money for the Lin family girl's medicine?"

"Refund! Refund double! No, refund triple! I'll apologize!"

"What about the three thousand taels of silver for the Red Sun Ganoderma?"

Qian Yukun's face turned deathly pale: "I'll pay! I'll pay! I'll pay everything!"

Xiao Nian nodded and took out a pill formula.

This is a prescription for a high-grade Spirit Nourishing Pill, and he wants Qian Yukun to collect the medicinal materials; the prescription for a Foundation Establishment Pill is for the Zeng family to help collect.

"Following this prescription, prepare ten portions for me. Remember, the year must be correct! Once you have them, come to the Martial Arts Academy and find Meng Chenhai."

"This pill formula?" Qian Yukun looked at the pill formula and was completely bewildered. There were some medicinal herbs in it that he had never heard of before, such as Hundred-Year Spirit-Nourishing Grass, Hundred-Year Morning Dew Ganoderma, and Jade Heart Flower.

"Too expensive?"

"No, no, no!" Qian Yukun quickly kowtowed, "It's not expensive at all! Thank you so much, Mr. Meng! Thank you so much, Mr. Meng!"

"I won't take advantage of you. Just help me find it, and I'll pay for it."

Xiao Nian didn't say anything more, turned around and walked out.

"Godfather, please take care!" Qian Yukun knelt there, prostrating himself on the ground.

Lin Mumu stayed by her side the whole time, her mouth never closing.

Only after he stepped out of the Pill Refining Guild did he come to his senses, stammering, "Uncle, you're amazing! Who exactly are you?"

"Just an eighty-year-old man."

"I'm going back now." Xiao Nian found a piece of animal hide today. His only regret was not seeing his old classmates. He asked Qian Yukun to help him find materials. This trip away from home was quite successful.

I wonder if Jiang Youwei will lose her temper. She's alright looking, but her temper is too fiery. She's not as good-looking as Liu Wan'er!

……

Xiao Nian returned to the academy in the evening.

As soon as Xiao Nian arrived at the door, she saw three burly men staring at her menacingly.

Xiao Niancai didn't care where they were from; he walked past them, leaning on his cane.

The burly man at the head of the group stopped Xiao Nian.

It was Zhang Hu. He had been waiting for Meng Chenhai for ages, and finally, he got to see him.

"Stop right there, you old man," Zhang Hu asked arrogantly.

"So your name is Meng Chenhai, right?"

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't?"

"Damn, old man, look how arrogant you are." Zhou Meng next to him rolled up his sleeves and showed off his muscles. "Do you want to die or are you tired of living?"