Xiao Tian recalled their previous conversation, looked into Zi Yan's eyes, and said seriously, "Of course, it's true. From the moment I met you, I've considered you family, a loved one. Otherwise, why would I bother making delicious pills for you?"
As a Void Ancient Dragon, Zi Yan's perception was extremely strong. She could sense from Xiao Tian's eyes that he was speaking the truth, not falsehoods.
Zi Yan lowered her head slightly, her eyes a little red. She had been alone since she was little, and because of her insufficient strength, she was often bullied by other magical beasts, who even wanted to eat her. Until one day, she accidentally ate a Shapeshifting Grass and turned into a child, eventually being picked up by the Grand Elder. The word 'family' was incredibly foreign to her, and she longed for family herself. Xiao Tian's words had directly touched the softest part of her heart. Now she also had family: Xiao Tian. And Old Su could be counted as one too.
"Why do you look like you're about to cry?" Xiao Tian squatted down, looking at Zi Yan, whose eyes were red and even had a few tears, and asked softly.
"Hmph, I'm not crying. It's just that the wind was too strong just now."
Zi Yan secretly wiped away her tears, showing a fierce yet cute expression, as if to say, 'You're mistaken.'
"So Little Zi Yan also sheds little pearls, and they fall 'plip-plop, plip-plop,' huh?"
Xiao Tian looked at Zi Yan with a smile.
"I didn't, I'm not, you're lying! Do you believe I'll bite you to death?"
Zi Yan bared her small fangs, looking "fierce."
"I believe you, I trust you the most."
Zi Yan looked at Xiao Tian's obviously insincere expression and directly pounced on the half-squatting Xiao Tian, biting his shoulder. Although it looked fierce, Zi Yan didn't use much strength when she bit down. She also took the opportunity to secretly wipe her tears on Xiao Tian's clothes.
Xiao Tian felt a slight pain on his shoulder and pretended to be in great pain, constantly letting out cries of agony. "Ow! It hurts so much, my shoulder is going to be crippled!"
After wiping her tears on Xiao Tian's clothes and hearing his cries of pain, Zi Yan secretly rejoiced. She let go of his arm, snorted lightly, and said rather proudly, "Hmph, who told you to slander me? This is a small lesson for you. I'm in a good mood now, so I'll forgive you."
Xiao Tian saw a bit of Medusa's queenly demeanor in Zi Yan and inwardly exclaimed, No wonder you two get along, you're both so tsundere.
He immediately circulated his Dou Qi, and the faint teeth marks on his shoulder, along with the saliva and tear stains on his clothes, instantly evaporated, returning to their clean state.
"Let's continue our journey of finding herbs! Go, Pikachu!"
Xiao Tian smiled, patted Zi Yan's head, and pointed forward with his other hand.
"What's a Pikachu?" Zi Yan asked curiously.
"Hmm... it means you're very capable," Xiao Tian casually explained.
"Do I look like an idiot?" Zi Yan looked at Xiao Tian with a skeptical side-glance.
"Do you still want to eat pills?"
Ultimately, Zi Yan succumbed to the allure of the pills and walked deeper into the forest. Her little face flushed with excitement at the thought of having many, many pills to eat in the future.
The temptation of pills.
Zi Yan diligently sniffed left and right, her face full of serious concentration. The two of them were like a swarm of locusts, leaving nothing behind. Any medicinal herbs that could be used to refine Tier 4 or higher pills were all collected, and even tree-like herbs were directly uprooted.
Xiao Tian truly experienced Zi Yan's treasure-hunting ability. She was simply the bane of heavenly spiritual treasures; even if they were hidden dozens of meters underground, she could find them.
At that moment, the two were standing on a tree as tall as a person, picking fruits. The entire tree bore nine Earth Spirit Fruits.
Near a rock wall not far from the Earth Spirit Fruit tree, a dejected-looking ape-like magical beast was squatting. This magical beast was the guardian of the Earth Spirit Fruit, the Demonic Spirit Ghost Ape. Today, the fruits had just reached maturity, and it was preparing to enjoy the energy and deliciousness of the Earth Spirit Fruits. Who knew that suddenly two unreasonable bandits, one big and one small, would arrive? Without a word, one of them delivered a massive blow to its nose. It — no, the entire ape — was directly sent flying. Then, they held it down and gave it a severe beating. Did it have no ape-face left? In a fit of rage, it raged a little.
You don't know how much damage that sudden massive blow to the nose had caused it. It already felt that ape-life had no meaning.
Zi Yan looked at this honest and pitiful Tier 5 Magical Beast. This was the only one they had encountered that was so well-behaved. After discussing with Xiao Tian, they decided to leave three fruits for it.
After Xiao Tian and Zi Yan left, the Demonic Spirit Ghost Ape came to the edge of the tree pit with a mournful face. It saw the three white fruits on the ground, and a look of gratitude appeared in its eyes.
"Xiao Tian, you can't embezzle my half, you know!" Zi Yan, looking at the golden-red storage ring on Xiao Tian's hand, reminded him uneasily. This was her food supply for a long time.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't embezzle your things. I'll go back and refine them directly into pills for you. You can come find me to get them then," Xiao Tian said, pinching her little face reassuringly.
"Then I'll wait for you, hehe..." Zi Yan fully trusted Xiao Tian. Hearing his assurance, she happily skipped forward, her twin ponytails swinging behind her, forming perfect parabolas.
Xiao Tian looked at Zi Yan's happy expression and couldn't help but be infected by her joy.
"Zi Yan, that's enough, no more searching."
Although the two had gathered a lot, for this huge forest, it was only a small part of the area.
Zi Yan tilted her head and thought for a moment. The things she had found today would be enough for her to eat for a long time. The pills Xiao Tian refined were all sweet, and the pills made from different herbs had different flavors, so she would never get tired of eating them.
"Do you want some?" Thinking about it, Zi Yan took out a pill and handed it directly to Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian looked at the pill in front of him. This was Zi Yan's lifeblood, and she was actually willing to share it with him. It seemed Zi Yan truly accepted him.
"You eat it yourself. It would be a waste for me to eat this, and it's not suitable for me."
Xiao Tian took the pill and directly put it into her mouth.
"Alright then, if I find other delicious things later, I'll share them with you," Zi Yan said, chewing on the pill with a full mouth.
"Let's go. It's getting dark soon, otherwise we'll have to sleep in the forest," Xiao Tian said gently, patting Zi Yan's head.
"Mm-hmm, let's go."
The two walked in the direction of the forest exit.
"Xiao Tian, I'm sleepy." While flying, Zi Yan looked at Xiao Tian with sleepy eyes, feeling hazy and even flying unsteadily. She was probably tired from constantly sensing medicinal herbs today.
Xiao Tian didn't say anything. He directly picked her up in his arms and formed a Dou Qi shield to block the resistance generated by flying. He looked down at Zi Yan, who was already asleep, her mouth occasionally smacking a few times, as if dreaming of some delicious food. She looked very cute.
Xiao Tian flew at high speed, returning to the Inner Academy in about half an hour. Back at the pavilion, he handed Zi Yan over to Xun'er and asked her to arrange a room for the little girl.
After arranging Zi Yan, Xun'er returned to their room. After some intimate moments, Xun'er even performed a stand-up comedy routine. The two lay embracing on the bed. Xiao Tian felt Xun'er's delicate and smooth skin and told her everything that had happened that day. Finally, the two fell asleep in each other's arms.
In the morning, Xiao Tian, having parted with Xun'er, arrived in front of a black pavilion.