It's so hard being a hero!

"Oh dear! How are we going to get through this?"

She turned over, buried her face in the pillow, but her mind was on something else.

That's Xiangyun.

"We need to find a way to get the materials for the life-saving potion."

Sophia muttered something to herself, then closed her eyes and began to mentally calculate which materials were easy to obtain, which were difficult, and which could be acquired through the academy's channels.

As she pondered, her consciousness gradually faded, and she unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

At the same time, far away in Tianfeng City.

Night had completely enveloped the city of adventurers, and the number of pedestrians on the streets gradually thinned out.

Xiangyun and her disciples were tidying up the clinic, putting the instruments used that day into a wooden basin to wash them.

Their place is always a mess, and it takes a long time to clean it up.

Moreover, the sudden fainting during the day left her with lingering fear. Although she was saved by the silver-haired girl, she knew her own body was nearing its end, with at most two or three years left.

She put the last medicine bottle away and was about to close the door when...

Then, she froze.

Because there was a woman standing outside the door.

She was a noblewoman wearing a burgundy dress.

The two looked at each other for a while, but neither of them spoke first.

Xiangyun could feel that the other person's gaze lingered on her face for a long time, as if confirming something.

In the end, it was the woman who made the first move.

The other party greeted him politely.

"You must be Sister Xiangyun."

Xiangyun was slightly taken aback.

The title stirred something within her, but she showed no reaction on her face, simply nodding.

"I am, are you?"

The woman pursed her lips, as if carefully choosing her words, and then said softly, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Frey, and I am Su Lan's wife."

Xiangyun's fingers trembled slightly.

Su Lan's wife.

Of course she knew the name.

When Su Lan was declared dead in battle, the Delos Empire held a grand state funeral for him, and the news spread throughout the entire continent.

The widow who presided over the funeral was Frey.

At that time, Xiangyun was sitting in the clinic, listening to passing adventurers recount the grandeur of the funeral. They said that Lady Frey, dressed in black, stood in front of the coffin and did not shed a single tear from beginning to end. She simply stood quietly for the entire day until the ceremony ended.

At that time, Xiangyun thought to herself, "This woman is really strong. If it were her, she probably would have burst into tears long ago."

Moreover, she did cry on the day Su Lan died in battle.

Unexpectedly, more than 20 years later, the other party was standing in front of me.

"Oh."

Xiangyun opened her mouth, wanting to say something polite, but then felt that the words were superfluous.

After a moment of silence, she quickly turned to the side and gestured towards the room.

"Come in and have a seat."

Frey did not refuse, nodded slightly, and stepped into the clinic.

Xiangyun led Fulei to the inner room, pulled out a chair for her to sit down, and then went to the stove to boil a pot of water.

Neither of them spoke at first.

After the water boiled, Xiangyun poured two cups of hot tea and brought them over. She placed one cup in front of Fulei and held the other in her own hands before sitting down opposite her.

In the small room, two women looked at each other through the steam of the tea.

In the end, Frey spoke first.

"Sister Xiangyun, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Please speak."

Frey picked up her teacup and took a sip, her gaze falling on the tea leaves floating in the cup, as if she were organizing her thoughts.

“After I got to know Su Lan, he often mentioned someone to me.”

She raised her head and looked into Xiangyun's eyes.

He said he knew a very gentle older sister when he was young, and that he would be very grateful if I had half her gentleness.

Xiangyun paused slightly in her hand holding the teacup.

"I didn't pay much attention at the time, thinking he was just trying to annoy me."

Frey continued, her face filled with reminiscence.

"Later I found out that the gentle older sister he was talking about was indeed a real person."

Upon hearing this, Xiangyun trembled slightly, lowered her head, and looked at her reflection in the cup.

"Did he... did he tell you that?"

Xiangyun finally spoke, her voice a little hoarse.

"You say I'm gentle?"

"The exact words."

Frey nodded, a hint of helpless smile in her voice.

“Every time we argue, he brings up this phrase to shut me up, which makes me so angry that I want to hit him.”

Xiangyun couldn't help but smile when she heard this.

The smile was faint, but it was a genuine smile from the heart.

"That's just his personality."

She shook her head, as if recalling something from the past.

Frey listened and smiled, but the smile quickly faded.

She put down her teacup, sat up straight, and looked intently at Xiangyun.

"Sister Xiangyun, I've come today because I want to give you something."

Xiangyun was stunned for a moment, and just as she was about to say something, Frey took out a crystal bottle about the thickness of a little finger from her sleeve.

The bottle is completely transparent, containing a pale pink liquid that gleams softly in the candlelight.

"This is a potion that reverses aging."

Frey gently placed the crystal bottle on the table and pushed it in front of Xiangyun.

Xiangyun looked down at the crystal bottle, not reacting for a moment.

"Rejuvenation?"

"Correct."

Frey nodded.

"While it cannot solve the problem of your depleted vitality or extend your lifespan, it can help restore your body to its best condition when you were young for the rest of your life."

She paused, as if considering what to say next.

"Your hair will turn black, your wrinkles will disappear, your back will straighten, your hands and feet will regain strength, you will no longer be out of breath when you bend over, and your knees will no longer hurt after walking a few steps."

Xiangyun stared at the crystal bottle, her fingers tightening slightly on the side of the teacup.

Of course she knew what it was.

The potion of rejuvenation is an extremely high-grade magical potion that requires dozens of rare materials to make, and each bottle is incredibly expensive.

Moreover, the refining process is extremely difficult; the number of people on the entire continent who can refine this potion can be counted on one hand.

"Madame Frey, this is far too precious."

Xiangyun raised her head and looked at Frey with a complicated expression.

“I’m just an old woman who runs a clinic, I don’t need such precious things.”

"It will be useful."

Frey's tone was calm, but firm.

She didn't explain why, but just looked into Xiangyun's eyes, as if waiting for an answer.

Xiangyun remained silent for a long time.

As she watched the pink liquid in the crystal bottle shimmer gently in the candlelight, she suddenly understood something.

The woman in front of her wasn't there to show off or make any announcement; she simply wanted to be kind to her for some reason that the man couldn't fully understand.

"Why are you so good to me?" Xiangyun couldn't help but ask.

Frey paused for a moment, then gave Xiangyun an answer she hadn't expected.

"Because I don't want to see anyone sad."

"Someone?"

Frey didn't offer any further explanation.

She stood up, straightened her skirt, and smiled slightly at Xiangyun.

"Keep the medicine for yourself. Don't feel guilty. I came here tonight for this. I should go back now."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the door.

Xiangyun sat in the chair, watching Frey's back, her throat feeling as if something was blocking it.