An old man in a crimson robe stood respectfully behind another old man with fiery red hair and simple linen clothes, reporting the situation. He held a scroll in his hands.
The old man's face was always filled with a smile, and it seemed genuine, not the kind worn by a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Valley Master, that is how things stand. Your subordinate wouldn't dare conceal anything."
The old man in the crimson robe was Elder Chihuo, who had returned from Tianhuang City. The person he addressed as Valley Master was naturally the current Valley Master of the Burning Flame Valley, Tang Zhen.
Valley Master Tang Zhen took the scroll from Elder Chihuo's hand and said calmly, "Your actions this time were rash, but you ultimately resolved the matter. It balances out, so I won't punish you. From now on, you no longer need to concern yourself with Tianhuang City's affairs, nor should you. If there is nothing else, you may withdraw."
The intelligence Elder Chihuo reported naturally included the relationship between Xiao Jietian and Liu Qing. He had roughly guessed Valley Master Tang Zhen's intentions. In that case, it was better to do him a favor. A mere medium-sized city was insignificant.
Hearing Valley Master Tang Zhen's words, Elder Chihuo breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, Valley Master. Your subordinate will take his leave now."
After bowing respectfully, Elder Chihuo hurriedly departed.
Once Elder Chihuo left, Valley Master Tang Zhen opened the scroll and looked at the man and woman depicted within.
His attention was mainly drawn to the woman. When he had heard Elder Chihuo mention her name earlier, he had already formed a guess.
Now, seeing the scroll, even though the woman wore a veil, Valley Master Tang Zhen still recognized her identity based on his past impressions.
As the leader of the Burning Flame Valley, he had naturally met the three giants of the Pill Tower, though he had only encountered Xuan Yi two or three times.
However, from her appearance and the look in her eyes, he had confirmed her identity.
"I never expected the esteemed President Xuan Yi to appear in Tianhuang City," Valley Master Tang Zhen murmured, narrowing his eyes. "According to Elder Chihuo, everything revolves around the man beside her, and their relationship appears to be very intimate. They even have two little girls with them."
Suddenly, as if he had discovered some great secret, his eyes widened. "Could those two little girls be the children of President Xuan Yi and that man named Xiao Jietian?!"
This piece of gossip seemed far too significant. Valley Master Tang Zhen immediately cut off his thoughts. Such matters could not be casually speculated about. If word leaked and turned out to be false, the Burning Flame Valley would face disaster. One could offend anyone, but never an alchemist.
He thought of Xuan Yi's identity as an alchemist, then of his daughter's health problems, and let out a deep sigh.
If she were willing to act, she could easily solve his current headache. But he also knew he could not afford to ask for her help.
Even requesting a high-level seventh-grade or early eighth-grade elder from the Pill Tower would require an extremely high reward.
For Xuan Yi—one of the three great Presidents of the Pill Tower and a peak eighth-grade alchemist—the reward would be astronomical. And even if one could provide the compensation for refining a high-level seventh-grade pill, whether the other party was willing to refine it was another matter entirely.
"Alas~~ Time is running out," Valley Master Tang Zhen sighed softly. Even now, he had not gathered enough of the required medicinal ingredients, mainly because they were too obscure.
"Daddy, why are you sighing here?" A slightly questioning female voice came from afar.
A woman in a red dress approached with a mysterious gait. A dark red long whip adorned her slender waist. She had an extraordinary appearance, with a hint of heroism between her delicate willow-leaf eyebrows that matched her attire, making her look valiant and spirited.
"Nothing, just thinking about some matters," Valley Master Tang Zhen replied, looking at the woman beside him with eyes full of fatherly love. "Huo'er, why have you come here?"
He knew very well that when his daughter had nothing to do, she loved to supervise and spar with the other disciples.
The woman was Valley Master Tang Zhen's only daughter, Tang Huo'er—the acknowledged senior sister of the entire Burning Flame Valley and the famous "Spicy Pepper" within the valley.
"Daddy, I heard there was trouble in Tianhuang City this time, and even a disciple died," Tang Huo'er said, looking at her father with burning eyes as a flicker of fire passed through them.
"Don't worry about this matter. It has already been handled," Valley Master Tang Zhen said softly.
Upon hearing her father's words, Tang Huo'er immediately placed her hands on her hips. "How can I not care? I am their senior sister!"
Valley Master Tang Zhen briefly explained the actions and words of those who had gone, then looked at her. "After hearing all this, do you still want to 'seek revenge'?"
After listening, the anger on Tang Huo'er's face remained, but its target had completely changed.
She couldn't help gritting her teeth. Her fists clenched with a creaking sound as her whole body trembled with rage. "So there are such scoundrels in the valley. It seems they haven't done this only once or twice in the past. Good, very good! It looks like they've all hidden themselves perfectly."
With that, she turned and left without even bidding farewell to her father, storming down the mountain with a furious aura.
Valley Master Tang Zhen watched his straightforward, expressive, and emotional daughter and couldn't help shaking his head. He had no intention of changing her. Letting her maintain this genuine nature was precisely his responsibility as a father.
Moreover, although his daughter was headstrong, she was not unreasonable. She was clear-headed about important matters and was not a brainless second-generation heir.
However, in his heart, he silently mourned for the disciples in the valley. The current Huo'er was already a ticking time bomb, and even he, her father, had to temporarily avoid her wrath.
...
Two days later.
A silver halo appeared before the four of them.
It was the exit of the spatial wormhole. Xiao Jietian injected Dou Qi into the energy source, and the spatial ship transformed into a silver streak, shooting into the silver halo and disappearing.
On a hundred-meter-high stone platform, space twisted as four figures—two adults and two children—slowly emerged from within.
It was Xiao Jietian, Xuan Yi, and the two girls.
Xuan Yi's spatial ship was an eighth-grade vessel, faster and safer than ordinary ones, so they had only taken a little over two days to reach the end of the spatial wormhole.
Xiao Ling and Xiao Meng were held by Xuan Yi. Their eyes were wide as they curiously looked at everything around them. "Mother Xuan Yi, is this the Pill Domain?"
Xuan Yi's relationship with Xiao Jietian had already been made clear. Their bond had warmed significantly during this time. Besides being completely honest with each other, they now fully understood every aspect of one another.