Hearing someone call her by her name directly, Nalan Yanran's slender willow eyebrows furrowed, but after seeing who was speaking, her brows instantly relaxed, and she stood frozen on the spot, a look of disbelief appearing in her eyes.
"Are you... Big Brother Xiao Huohuo?" she asked in a soft, beautiful voice, rubbing her eyes in disbelief, as the two had not seen each other for over three years.
As Xiao Se's body gradually matured, even with the same Golden Silkworm Mask, his appearance had changed significantly.
"It is me." Xiao Se nodded and smiled, saying, "Young Miss Nalan, we meet again."
"It really is you." Nalan Yanran's eyes instantly lit up, and she walked quickly to stand before Xiao Se. Her voice trembled slightly from excessive excitement; after three years, seeing the person who had once deeply attracted her at the Alchemist Convention and whom she had been thinking about constantly, how could she not be excited?
"What? It's been too long, and you don't recognize me? It's been three years, Young Miss Nalan; your cultivation strength has become much stronger, and you seem to have become even more beautiful." Subconsciously, Xiao Se uttered the lines he used to use to flirt with women.
His casual words instantly made the atmosphere in the area ambiguous.
Nalan Yanran's pretty Face flushed red, and she averted her gaze from Xiao Se, her slender fingers playing with her dark hair as she said softly, "Th-thank you."
Watching Nalan Yanran's expression—that of a girl'shy from being complimented by the boy she secretly likes'—Xiao Se's mouth twitched. As a veteran of the romantic scene, how could he not know what Nalan Yanran was thinking? However, he hadn't even won over his wife Yun Yun yet, and if he added Nalan Yanran to the mix, his harem would go up in flames.
Mother and daughter—oh no, master and disciple—might be a delicious combination, but one must proceed step by step.
Besides, Nalan Yanran likes Xiao Huohuo, what does that have to do with him, Xiao Se? Everything should be left for later.
Having made up his mind, Xiao Se cleared his throat with a guilty conscience and said seriously, "Ahem, that, Young Miss Nalan, I have come to the Cloud Mist Sect this time because I have something to discuss with Sect Leader Yun."
"To see my teacher? My teacher is currently at the back mountain of the Cloud Mist Sect. I will take you there." She did not suspect what Xiao Se wanted with Yun Yun.
Xiao Se was a high-level Alchemist, and her teacher Yun Yun was a renowned Dou Huang expert in the Jia Ma Empire. To Nalan Yanran, it was perfectly normal for an Alchemist to offer payment to hire an expert to help with tasks within their capabilities.
Xiao Se nodded and stepped into the Cloud Mist Sect mountain gate.
The distance from the mountain gate to the back mountain of the Cloud Mist Sect was neither long nor short. Xiao Se, who could have arrived instantly, chose to walk because of Nalan Yanran.
In fact, Nalan Yanran could fly. The storage ring that Xiao Se had given to Yun Yun over a year ago contained a Profound Rank Low-level flying Dou Technique. Nalan Yanran had already successfully Cultivate it.
Nalan Yanran also knew that Xiao Se could fly. She chose to walk in order to spend more time with Xiao Se.
"Big Brother Xiao Huohuo, can you tell Yanran where you have been for these past three years? Why has there been no news of you for so long?" The two walked side by side as Nalan Yanran asked with a smile.
"Oh, I went to the Black-Corner Region to train," Xiao Se replied casually.
"The Black-Corner Region?" Hearing this, Nalan Yanran was stunned, and then exclaimed, "I once heard my teacher say that it is a place where the weak are prey to the strong. Even Dou Wang experts have a high risk of falling there, and even a few Dou Huang experts have fallen. If Big Brother Xiao Huohuo was able to come out of there, your strength must have reached the Dou Wang level, right?"
"You could say that." Xiao Se smiled faintly, without offering much explanation.
Nalan Yanran couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Big Brother Xiao Huohuo, you are truly an amazing Genius. A Dou Wang at only twenty years old—this has already broken the record of the Jia Ma Empire for the past thousand years."
"Just luck." Xiao Se waved his hand, skipping the previous topic. "Just now, I saw that Young Miss Nalan seemed to be leaving the Cloud Mist Sect; is there something important?"
Nalan Yanran nodded, sighed, and said, "Two years ago, my grandfather was poisoned by the Branding Poison while trying to kill a Rank 5 Demonic Beast, the Branding Poison Python. Since then, he has been in a decline. That Branding Poison is extremely tyrannical and is constantly eroding the Qi within my grandfather's body. The Nalan Family has invited many Alchemists, but none could resolve it. If one day the Qi in my grandfather's body disappears, I worry about him..."
Speaking of this, Nalan Yanran's bright, beautiful eyes were already misting over. She stopped, bowed slightly, and nodded to Xiao Se, saying, "Big Brother Xiao Huohuo, Yanran has an ungracious request."
"To save your grandfather?" Xiao Se did not show any sign of surprise.
To be honest, although he had a good impression of Nalan Yanran, he had absolutely no good feelings for Nalan Jie.
If one were to look at the entire Battle Through the Heavens, if he had to name the character he disliked the most, it would definitely be Nalan Jie. There is no other; the level of dislike even exceeds that of Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan just flirts without marrying, while Nalan Jie is hypocritical and ungrateful.
Not to mention that Nalan Jie, for the sake of so-called Face and Family interests, unilaterally set up the engagement between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan.
In the original story, Xiao Yan saved his life, yet when conflict arose between Xiao Yan and the Cloud Mist Sect, he actually hoped that Xiao Yan would die at the Cloud Mist Sect. Xiao Se truly disliked and disdained such an ungrateful and hypocritical person.
This was also the main reason why he did not agree when Nalan Yanran came to ask Ya Fei to find him over a year ago.
Nalan Yanran said solemnly, "Yes, Grandpa Pill King Gu He once said that only an Alchemist possessing a Heavenly Flame can inject the Heavenly Flame into my grandfather's body to disperse the Branding Poison. Looking at the entire Jia Ma Empire, you are the only one, Big Brother Xiao Huohuo, who possesses a Heavenly Flame. If Big Brother Xiao Huohuo is willing to save my grandfather, the Nalan Family is willing to contribute all our treasures. If you can save my grandfather, Yanran is willing to offer herself." The last sentence was said silently in Nalan Yanran's heart.
"To be honest, I actually don't like your grandfather's character. He is obsessed with Face and is especially hypocritical." Xiao Se sighed and stepped forward. A moment later, he stopped again. Without turning his head, with his back to Nalan Yanran, he said slowly, "However, for your sake and your teacher's sake, I will remove the Branding Poison for him later."
"Big Brother Xiao Huohuo, you agreed?" Xiao Se's previous words had caused Nalan Yanran's heart to almost sink to the bottom. The latter part, however, made her overjoyed, and she somewhat regretted not saying that last sentence out loud.
Xiao Se lightly raised his right hand to indicate his response.
"Although I don't know why Big Brother Xiao Huohuo dislikes my grandfather, he still agreed despite disliking him, all because of my and my teacher's relationship? Could it be that he likes me? That's right, he must like me. Otherwise, he wouldn't go to save someone he dislikes." This thought flashed quickly through her mind, and Xiao Se's figure grew infinitely larger in Nalan Yanran's eyes. She quickened her pace to follow him.
"Big Brother Xiao Huohuo, wait for me!"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +50 Extra Chapters on - P@tr3on "RinBlaze"]
[Every 15 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]