Chapter 3: A Deal with Xiao Yan
In Xiao Yan's room, Xiao Tian and Xiao Yan were sitting across from each other.
Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Tian, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Cousin Xiao Tian, what do you need to talk to me about?"
Xiao Tian glanced at him and said, "Cousin Xiao Yan, I actually want to make a deal with you."
"A deal? What kind of deal?" Xiao Yan was confused.
Xiao Tian dropped a bombshell, "I can help you regain your cultivation talent!"
"What?" Xiao Yan's face changed dramatically at these words.
He stared intently at Xiao Tian and asked, "Cousin Xiao Tian, can you really help me restore my talent?"
"Of course I can," Xiao Tian nodded, then added, "But I can't help you for free."
"Naturally," Xiao Yan agreed readily, "Cousin Xiao Tian, if you can help me regain my talent, I will repay you greatly in the future!"
Xiao Tian chuckled and said, "But I want you to repay me now."
"Now? You want me to repay you now?" Xiao Yan's eyes widened.
As someone from modern Earth, he knew some people had strange fetishes. Did Cousin Xiao Tian want him to...?
The thought sent a shiver down Xiao Yan's spine. Although Xiao Tian was handsome, the idea of being with him made Xiao Yan's skin crawl.
He quickly shook his head and said, "Cousin Xiao Tian, please ask for something else. I only like girls."
"Ugh!" Xiao Tian almost spat out blood at Xiao Yan's words.
He never expected Xiao Yan to think of him that way.
Xiao Tian glared at Xiao Yan and said, "What are you thinking? I want your ring."
"This ring?" Xiao Yan raised his hand. The ring was the only keepsake left by his mother.
Though he was not truly a teenager but a thirty-something adult in soul, he quickly realized something.
Xiao Yan asked, "Cousin Xiao Tian, why do you want this ring?"
"This ring is a spatial ring, and I happen to need one," Xiao Tian said half-truthfully. "If you give it to me, I'll tell you how to regain your talent."
"A spatial ring?" Xiao Yan examined the ring closely.
He had worn it for over ten years and had infused it with Battle Qi before, but had never discovered anything unusual.
Xiao Tian pressed, "Cousin Xiao Yan, do you want the ring, or do you want your talent back?"
"I..." Xiao Yan thought for a moment before deciding, "I want to regain my cultivation talent!"
This was his deepest desire over the past two years.
Since his Battle Qi had dropped, he had become the laughingstock of everyone, enduring countless taunts every day.
Now that there was a chance to regain his talent, he naturally chose that over the ring.
Although he cherished the ring as his mother's last keepsake, regaining his talent was far more important.
He didn't hold much sentimental attachment to his current life's family, considering his soul was from a previous life.
His reluctance to part with the ring was mainly because it was a spatial ring—a rare and valuable treasure in the Xiao family, owned only by the clan leader and a few elders.
Finally, Xiao Yan took off the ring and placed it on the table, saying to Xiao Tian, "Cousin Xiao Tian, now you can tell me how to restore my talent, right?"
Xiao Tian took the ring and told Xiao Yan, "Find a basin and fill it with water."
"Okay." Xiao Yan quickly brought his bathing basin and filled it with cold water.
In his haste to restore his talent, he didn't bother with hot water.
Xiao Tian took out a small jade bottle, opened it, and dropped a single red drop of liquid into the basin.
As soon as the drop touched the water, it dispersed, causing a bit of cold vapor to rise from the water's surface.
Xiao Tian put away the bottle and said to Xiao Yan, "Get in and add a few drops of your blood."
Xiao Yan removed his outer clothes, leaving only his pants, and got into the basin.
He bit his finger and let a few drops of blood fall into the water as Xiao Tian instructed.
"Blub blub~"
As the blood hit the water, it began to boil, forming faintly red bubbles.
Then, strands of light red liquid, as if sentient, seeped into Xiao Yan's pores.
In an instant, sweat and a bit of black impurities oozed out of Xiao Yan's body.
"It's so hot!" he exclaimed.
Oddly, though the water emitted cold vapor, Xiao Yan felt intense heat.
Xiao Tian shouted, "Xiao Yan, close your eyes and try to cultivate!"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan quickly closed his eyes, formed strange hand seals, and his chest rose and fell in a rhythmic cycle.
As he absorbed a strand of Battle Qi, he noticed it didn't dissipate but entered his body.
"Hahaha! My talent is back!"
Xiao Yan opened his eyes, laughing joyfully.
He quickly remembered Xiao Tian was still in the room.
Suppressing his smile, he said, "Cousin Xiao Tian, thank you!"
Xiao Tian waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me. We both got what we wanted."
Then he added, "Since you have recovered, I'll be leaving."
With that, Xiao Tian opened the door and left for his residence.
Watching Xiao Tian's departing figure, Xiao Yan frowned.
He thought, "Was my inability to cultivate due to him? But apart from ten years ago, we haven't had much contact. So how did he solve a problem even alchemists couldn't?"
This question puzzled him greatly.
After a while, Xiao Yan shook his head, "Forget it, let's focus on improving my cultivation. In this world where strength reigns supreme, without power, everything is worthless. Only with enough strength can I uncover the truth."
With that thought, Xiao Yan closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation.
(End of Chapter)