Xiao Fan stopped three steps away from Jiang Lian.
He had calculated this distance; it was close enough to show his respect, and also allowed Miss Jiang to clearly see his handsome face and affectionate eyes.
"Thump."
Xiao Fan knelt on one knee again, his movements fluid and seamless.
He held up the brocade box made of huanghuali wood and slowly opened it with an exceptionally solemn posture.
A pill, smooth and lustrous all over, emitting a faint fragrance, lay quietly in the center of the red satin.
"Miss Jiang!"
Xiao Fan gazed at Jiang Lian with deep affection, as if his eyes could hold nothing else.
"I heard that you are troubled by a cultivation bottleneck, worrying day and night."
"I, Xiao Fan, have traversed a thousand mountains to find this ancient divine pill for you—the Nine Revolutions Heart-Cleansing Pill!"
"Please accept my heartfelt intentions!"
This pretentious performance, this self-righteous display of affection, brought Jiang Lian's disgust to its peak at this moment.
Her proud phoenix eyes were icy cold, devoid of any warmth.
She couldn't even be bothered to say a word; she just wanted the guards behind her to immediately throw out this idiot who had polluted her eyes and ears.
However, Xiao Fan mistook her icy silence for extreme shock.
Look!
She was stunned by him!
She was completely conquered by his domineering act of spending a fortune to find a divine medicine for her!
She must be flustered inside now, not knowing how to respond to his fervent love!
Xiao Fan's self-confidence exploded once again.
He was about to continue with even more moving rhetoric to completely melt the goddess's frozen heart.
Just at this critical moment.
Bai Zhi, who had been hiding behind Lu Cheng, trying her best to minimize her presence, suddenly saw that familiar system light screen pop up in her mind!
"Ding! The Son of Destiny, Xiao Fan, is currently undertaking a crucial mission. The system has determined that the host is facing a major choice. Please make your selection!"
"Option One: Remain silent, observe the situation, and allow the Son of Destiny to complete the mission and gain the favor of the female lead. Reward: Title 'Quiet Beauty,' 100 System Points."
"Option Two: Go forward and persuade Miss Jiang, tell her that the pill came from you, help the Son of Fortune deliver the pill, and facilitate a good match. Reward: Skill 'Silver Tongue,' 500 System Points."
"Option Three: Steal the show publicly! Take out your own Nine Revolutions Heart-Cleansing Pill and give it to Miss Jiang, and openly point out that Xiao Fan's pill has an unknown origin, squeezing out the last bit of value from the worthless Son of Fortune! This is better than being intercepted by Lu Cheng! Reward: Special Item [Danxin Glazed Fire] (a unique flame that significantly boosts pill refining success rate and quality), 10,000 System Points!"
Danxin Glazed Fire!
This was the legendary unique flame!?
For an alchemist, this was an unparalleled treasure!
The rewards in this world were simply too generous!
A fierce internal struggle began within her.
Reason told her that she shouldn't go against this Son of Destiny.
Although he seemed stupid and impulsive, he was, after all, one of the protagonists of this world.
But... that was a unique flame!
Moreover, this Xiao Fan looked truly foolish, so foolish that she couldn't bear to watch.
To expect him to contend with that old devil Lu Cheng?
That was simply a pipe dream!
The pill in his hand was obtained from Lu Cheng!
Perhaps, this was just another one of Lu Cheng's schemes!
Rather than letting this fool give away a valuable opportunity for nothing, or even have it fall back into Lu Cheng's hands in the end, it would be better... better to squeeze out this bit of value herself!
Right!
She recalled the system's previous hint: "Arm yourself with the villain's resources, and ultimately defeat him with his own things!"
This pill was originally refined with Lu Cheng's money and pill formula!
Now, to use it to gain greater power to better fight against that great devil Lu Cheng!
This logic was a perfect closed loop!
With this move, not only did she not lose, she made a huge profit!
As for this Son of Destiny... Bai Zhi glanced at Xiao Fan, who was still kneeling on the ground, his face full of deep affection and self-pity.
He was going to be played to death by Lu Cheng sooner or later anyway; at most, she was... helping him find an early release.
Just as Bai Zhi was constructing a perfectly righteous logical closed loop for her actions.
A voice with a smile, as if it had eyes in the back of its head, whispered in her ear at a volume only the two of them could hear.
"What's wrong?"
"Seeing such a clumsy performance, don't you have anything to criticize?"
It was Lu Cheng!
This dog villain!
He was absolutely doing it on purpose!
He just wanted to see her make a move!
Lu Cheng's words became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Bai Zhi instantly made up her mind!
Do it!
For the unique flame!
For dealing with the dog villain later and upholding the justice of the world!
It didn't matter to sacrifice one or two Sons of Fortune temporarily; after all, her goal was to deal with Lu Cheng... She took a deep breath and, under everyone's astonished gazes, took a step forward.
"Wait a moment!"
This abrupt voice instantly broke the strange silence on the scene.
Xiao Fan's heartfelt confession was interrupted.
He turned his head angrily, and when he saw the woman, who looked like a tiny figure, emerging from behind Lu Cheng.
His eyes instantly filled with the fury of having his mood disturbed.
It was this woman again!
In Antique Street, it was she who played tricks, causing him to spend an extra ten million!
And in Hui Chun Tang, she snatched his medicinal ingredients, preventing him from refining pills, and even gave the cauldron to Lu Cheng!
Now, she jumped out to cause trouble again!
What on earth did she want to do?!
However, Bai Zhi had no time to pay attention to him at this moment.
She ignored Xiao Fan's murderous gaze, and also ignored Miss Jiang's puzzled look.
Her gaze fell directly on the Nine Revolutions Heart-Cleansing Pill in the brocade box in Xiao Fan's hand.
Then, she let out a cold snort, filled with disdain and contempt.
"Hmph!"
"Your pill, where did it come from? Do you dare to say?"
"Something of unknown origin, and you dare to give it as a gift!"