Chapter 19 How Does Young Master Tang Feel?

Hearing the City Lord call out, the corner of Tang Yan's mouth curved up, but he smoothed the smile away at once and turned with feigned curiosity. "City Lord, were you calling me?"

"Haha, indeed I was. Come, Young Master Tang, sit and talk a while longer." Lin Xiao spoke with a face full of smiles.

"The City Lord must be a busy man. I won't intrude any further. Farewell." Tang Yan cupped his fists.

Lin Xiao silently cursed himself for showing his eagerness too plainly a moment ago. Casting his standing aside, he hurried over and caught Tang Yan by the arm. "No need to rush off. Come in and stay a while."

Tang Yan asked, though he already knew the answer, "City Lord, why have you called me back?"

"A moment ago you said you came to present a gift. As the saying goes, there is no reward without merit. How could I take such a generous gift from you for nothing? As it happens, I have need of this Traceless Pill. Name your price."

"I have long held Miss Dongxue in my heart. When last we met, I lost myself for a moment to that longing, and a misunderstanding arose between us. Yet Miss Dongxue chose not to hold it against me, and for that I have always been grateful. When I heard that Madam Lin had need of this pill, I brought it without delay, as a small return to Miss Dongxue. I seek nothing more."

Smiling, Tang Yan drew the porcelain bottle from his robes and set it on the table.

Lin Xiao studied him closely. This idler who had wasted more than ten years in Yun City, today, in word and bearing, defied every expectation.

He knew when to give ground and when to press forward, bold yet calculating. Set against the finest juniors of the other great families, he did not fall short in the least.

Lin Xiao knew that to accept this pill was to owe the Tang Family a favor.

And if the pill truly worked as claimed, the favor would be no small thing. It would be enormous.

Every great family in Yun City hungered to have him in their debt, yet he had always walked a neutral path and rarely owed anyone.

But for his wife's sake, this was a debt he could not refuse. Letting out a quiet sigh, Lin Xiao said with a faint smile, "Since you put it so, to decline would be discourteous. I shall accept it."

Tang Yan thought little of it. So long as it kept the City Lord's Manor from turning against the Tang Family in the days ahead, that was enough. He cupped his fists. "The pill may be taken directly. If Madam Lin has cultivation, she can refine its potency herself. Once the medicinal force is fully drawn out, the first signs of effect will appear within three shichen. I'll trouble you no further. Farewell."

Lin Xiao did not press him to stay. His thoughts were already with his wife as he took the pill and returned to his chambers.

"The City Lord truly is a frugal man. A second-rank pill, even a low-grade one, would fetch ten thousand taels of silver, and he won't so much as offer a token of thanks?" Outside the City Lord's Manor, Tang Yan gave a wry smile. It seemed the silver for refining the Initial Spirit Pill would still have to be wrung out of his grandfather.

Just as he was lamenting this, a carriage drew to a halt before the gates of the manor.

"Tang Yan!" A crisp voice rang out. He turned to see two graceful figures spring down from the carriage.

"So it's little sister Dongxue and Miss Wu Xuan."

"What are you doing at my City Lord's Manor?" Lin Dongxue asked with a frown.

"The City Lord toils day and night for our Yun City, and my heart is moved beyond words. I came especially to pay my respects to him," Tang Yan said with a straight face.

Hearing this, both Lin Dongxue and Wu Xuan felt the same absurd thought rise up at once. You came to pay your respects to the City Lord?

"I only just stepped out to fetch Sister Wu Xuan. The round trip took less than half a shichen, and you've already finished paying your respects?" Lin Dongxue stared at him, eyes wide.

"The City Lord governs a thousand matters each day. How would I dare to take up too much of his time?" Unwilling to be drawn into this, Tang Yan hastily changed the subject. "Haha, I won't keep you two ladies any longer either. Farewell."

With that, he spun on his heel and made his hurried escape.

"Dongxue, didn't you ask elder sister here to correct your forms? I heard a piece of news today. The Tang Family's eldest young master has already reached Origin Rank Eighth Grade, which makes him just right as your sparring partner." Wu Xuan, who had said nothing until now, suddenly spoke up.

Lin Dongxue's eyes lit up, a smile rising in them. "Young Master Tang, please stay. Do come into the manor for a moment. There is something I would like to trouble you with."

Wu Xuan had not lowered her voice, and the words carried clearly to Tang Yan's ears. A wave of helplessness washed over him. Why did this woman keep dragging him into trouble?

"Since you put it so, to obey is better than to stand on courtesy." Tang Yan sighed inwardly. Neither the City Lord's Manor nor the Myriad Pill Pavilion was a power he could afford to offend right now.

Following the two women back into the manor, Tang Yan plainly felt Wu Xuan's curious gaze settling on him again and again.

"Miss Wu Xuan, why do you keep staring at me? Have flowers bloomed on my face?" Tang Yan asked with a smile.

"I'm merely curious. When you claimed your Dantian was crippled, how did you deceive everyone? And how do you now hold the strength of Origin Rank Eighth Grade?" Wu Xuan brushed a stray lock from her temple, feigning idle interest.

"The ruin of my Dantian was no lie. I deceived neither of you that day. It was only by chance that I encountered my master, and through that fortune restored my Dantian and walked the martial path anew." Tang Yan trotted out the convenient banner of his master once more.

As the daughter of a city's lord, Lin Dongxue far outstripped ordinary folk in both insight and cunning. And as the chief Alchemist of the Myriad Pill Pavilion, holding so lofty a seat, Wu Xuan's mind was no less keen. When Tang Yan spoke the word "master," both their pupils contracted in the same instant. So this fellow had a hidden expert standing behind him as well?

Though they half believed and half doubted his words, the explanation was reasonable enough.

"Oh? And who might your esteemed master be? Might you introduce us?" Wu Xuan asked with a slight smile.

"The old one keeps no fixed dwelling. One can only meet him as fate allows."

"Then that is a great pity. Should the chance arise, I ask that Young Master make the introduction. My Myriad Pill Pavilion would receive him with the utmost sincerity." Wu Xuan's lovely eyes shifted, stirring the heart.

"When next I see my master, I'll be sure to pass it along."

The three walked for about a quarter of an hour and came to an elegant little residence. Above the entrance hung the words Dongxue Pavilion, no doubt Lin Dongxue's home.

"Sister Wu Xuan, the Graceful Sword Art you taught me last time, I've nearly learned it all. If you correct me a few more times, I think I'll be able to master it." The moment they entered the courtyard, Lin Dongxue spoke up.

"Good. Run through it once for me to see. Wherever you fall short, I'll point it out," Wu Xuan said with a smiling nod.

Listening to the two women, Tang Yan grew quietly wary. Martial arts were guarded as secrets passed to none, yet Wu Xuan had taught Lin Dongxue a sword art outright. The bond between the City Lord's Manor and the Myriad Pill Pavilion was closer than he had imagined.

"Perhaps I should step aside?" Tang Yan made as if to withdraw.

"No need. Young Master Tang may watch. Dongxue, run through it once," Wu Xuan said.

"Alright!" Lin Dongxue answered and drew a sword. The blade was slender and thin as a cicada's wing. Even by Tang Yan's exacting eye, he could not help but admire it as a fine sword.

"Watch closely!"

Lin Dongxue gave a delicate cry, gathered a breath of True Qi, and began her sword forms in the center of the courtyard.

This sword art was called the Graceful Sword Art, and the movements lived up to the name. Under Lin Dongxue's hand it flowed lively and ethereal. As she unfurled it form by form, Tang Yan found himself nodding slightly.

Though the girl had yet to fully grasp the whole art, she was already thoroughly Proficient. Reaching true mastery was only a matter of time.

And Lin Dongxue's figure was lovely to begin with. Her supple frame moving through the art made for a sight that pleased the eye, and Tang Yan watched with his thoughts drifting astray, nodding again and again, inwardly murmuring how fine it looked.

Then his mind turned more serious. To this day he had still not properly trained a single complete martial art. If he ever met a true enemy, he would have little hope of saving his own life.

In his former life he had survived no shortage of battles, yet he had poured the better part of his life's effort into alchemy and had never delved deeply into forms. From now on, he would have to devote some attention to martial techniques.

When Lin Dongxue finished the entire set, she let out a long breath and looked at Wu Xuan with pride. "Sister, how did I do?"

Wu Xuan was in no hurry to answer. Her beautiful eyes swept toward Tang Yan, and a smile played at the corner of her lips. "Just now I saw Young Master Tang nodding without pause. He must have caught something of the deeper workings. I wonder, how does Young Master Tang feel about it?"

Hearing this, Tang Yan's head swelled. I'm only an onlooker here. How did this get pinned on me again?