"How is the clan?" Yoriichi asked, his voice steady as he looked at the Elder over the rim of the bowl. "You look tired, Grandfather."
Xiao Lu paused. He hadn't expected Xiao Ning to notice, or to care. Usually, the boy only asked for money or complained about Xiao Yan.
"The clan is... the clan is fine," Xiao Lu lied smoothly, though a genuine warmth bloomed in his chest at the question. "Just the usual bickering. The Jia Lie clan is attempting to undercut our prices in the herbal market, but we will manage. It is nothing for you to worry about."
Yoriichi nodded, sensing the truth behind the evasion, but he didn't press. He finished the porridge, scraping the bowl clean. The simple, medicinal food settled easily in his stomach, unlike the dense, heavy spiritual meat from yesterday.
"I am full. Thank you."
Xiao Lu took the empty bowl. He hesitated for a moment, his hand disappearing into his wide, embroidered sleeve.
"Ning'er," Xiao Lu said, his tone turning serious and hushed. "I brought you something."
He opened his palm.
Resting on his calloused hand was a small, white jade bottle. Even sealed, a distinct, refreshing medicinal fragrance drifted from it, smelling faintly of mint and crushed bone powder.
Yoriichi's crimson eyes narrowed slightly. He recognized the energy signature immediately. It was potent, but perfectly stable.
"This is..."
"A Jade Marrow Pill," Xiao Lu said softly. "It is a High-Tier 1 recovery pill."
Yoriichi looked at the bottle, his mind calculating instantly. A High-Tier 1 pill was absolutely perfect for his current level. A Tier 2 pill would have been far too violent for an 8-Star Dou Zhi Qi disciple to absorb safely, likely causing his fragile meridians to rupture. But a High-Tier 1 pill? That was the absolute peak of what his mortal vessel could handle. It was highly expensive—likely costing several hundred gold coins—but not an impossible treasure that would bankrupt the First Elder's personal funds.
"Grandfather," Yoriichi started, his voice a calm rumble. "This is still a heavy expense. The herbal market is tight right now. You should not have squandered your resources on a sparring injury."
"Hush," Xiao Lu interrupted gently, waving his hand. He took Yoriichi's hand and pressed the cool jade bottle into his palm. "Your health is the foundation of your future. Besides... I didn't purchase this alone."
He smiled proudly, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling. "Your sister, Xiao Yu. She sent a portion of her own savings from the Jia Nan Academy. We pooled our resources to secure a high-quality one from the city's auction house. She was incredibly insistent that you do not use the cheap healing powder that leaves lingering stiffness in the joints."
Yoriichi looked at the small, cool bottle. It wasn't just compressed medicinal energy. It was the crystallized, absolute care of the only two people in this clan who truly stood by him.
He didn't reject it with false humility. To a warrior, rejecting a lifeline offered by family was an insult to their effort.
"Thank you," Yoriichi said softly, his grip tightening slightly around the jade. "I will not let this effort go to waste."
"Good," Xiao Lu nodded, but his expression immediately shifted back to that of a strict elder. "Listen closely, Ning'er. Although it is only a Tier 1 pill, the medicinal efficacy is incredibly thick. Your meridians are currently strained from the physical trauma. Do not rush the absorption process."
The First Elder pointed a stern finger at Yoriichi's chest. "Take it slowly. Use the basic clan Dou Qi method to guide the energy. If you act rashly and attempt to swallow all the efficacy at once, your veins will burst and you'll end up vomiting blood. Do you understand?"
Yoriichi bowed his head respectfully, accepting the guidance. "I understand perfectly, Grandfather. I will be meticulous."
"Good lad." Xiao Lu stood up, smoothing his long robes. "I must return to the Council Hall. The Clan Leader is holding an emergency meeting regarding the upcoming market inspection, and the other elders are already bickering. Rest well, Ning'er."
"Work hard, Grandfather," Yoriichi replied.
Xiao Lu chuckled softly, a sound of genuine relief, and left the room, closing the sliding door gently behind him.
Yoriichi was alone in the quiet infirmary once more.
He uncorked the jade bottle. A rich, herbal aroma flooded the room, clearing his sinuses instantly. He tipped the bottle, and a perfectly round, pale green pill rolled into his palm. It hummed with a gentle, restorative energy that felt inherently compatible with his current biology.
'High-Tier 1,' Yoriichi analyzed clinically. 'Strong enough to aggressively accelerate cellular healing, yet weak enough not to shatter my fragile pathways. A flawless tactical choice.'
He popped the pill into his mouth. It dissolved instantly, turning into a warm, thick liquid that slid smoothly down his throat.
Immediately, a localized heat spread through his torso. Unlike the violent, explosive heat of the Smithy or the burning, oxygen-deprived exhaustion of Total Concentration Breathing, this heat was soft and incredibly viscous. It naturally sought out the micro-fractures in his ribs and the heavy bruising on his shins, wrapping the traumas in a soothing, repairing energy.
'Now, I must guide it,' Yoriichi thought.
He adjusted his posture on the bed, sitting cross-legged in a flawless lotus position despite the dull ache in his joints.
He did not activate Total Concentration Breathing.
Total Concentration Breathing was an engine of sheer kinetic consumption. It violently burned oxygen and caloric energy to artificially inflate physical power. Right now, his body was a completely dry well. Using his sword-breathing would aggressively burn through the pill's medicinal energy far too fast, converting it into useless stamina rather than utilizing it for targeted healing. He required deep absorption, not combustion.
Instead, Yoriichi dug into the memories of the original Xiao Ning—specifically, the basic Dou Qi meditation technique taught to all clan disciples.
He closed his crimson eyes and began to breathe deeply, slowly. It wasn't the sharp vacuum of a swordsman, but the rhythmic, pulling tide of a cultivator.
He visualized the energy of the pill as a gentle, glowing green river. Using absolute, pinpoint mental focus—a byproduct of his vastly superior soul strength—he guided the medicinal energy carefully through his bruised meridians. He directed the flow away from his healthy muscles, focusing it entirely into his damaged skeletal structure. He felt his bone marrow eagerly absorb the energy, feeling the microscopic, rapid knitting of calcium and torn tissue.
It was a slow, intensely meditative process.
One hour passed in absolute silence. Then two.
The sun began to dip lower in the sky outside, casting long, orange shadows across the wooden floor of the room.
Yoriichi slowly opened his eyes. He exhaled a long, steady breath of slightly turbid, gray air—the biological impurities forcefully expelled from his healing wounds.
He experimentally moved his left leg.
The sharp, stabbing agony was completely gone, replaced by a dull, entirely manageable ache. The micro-fractures had sealed firmly. His ribs felt significantly tighter, capable of supporting deep breaths once more.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up.
He wobbled for a microsecond, his equilibrium adjusting, but he stood firm. He took a measured step. Then another.
The Jade Marrow Pill had accomplished in mere hours what natural, biological healing would have required a full week to achieve. It was not a miraculous, complete restoration—he was not ready to swing a heavy hammer—but his vessel was fully functional again.
He looked toward the window. The sky was bruising into a deep purple, signaling the rapid approach of twilight.
He briefly considered returning to the courtyard to train. His spirit, forged in decades of relentless, blood-soaked demon hunting, naturally desired to pick up a wooden sword, to execute a thousand swings, to keep his muscle memory razor-sharp.
'No,' Yoriichi decided, exercising a mental discipline harder than tempered iron. 'The body is a vessel. I have drained it, broken it, and patched it. Now, it must rest to let the repairs solidify. To stress the muscles again tonight would completely nullify the pill's efficacy.'
He was not in a desperate rush. The deadline to meet with Jia Lie Ao was still two days away.
He sat back on the edge of the bed, feeling the newfound, sturdy stability in his frame.
Tomorrow morning, the physical tempering would resume. He lay back down, pulling the light blanket over his chest. The heavy exhaustion was still present, but it was no longer the agonizing pain of a failing body; it was the deep, satisfying lethargy of a vessel actively rebuilding itself into something significantly stronger.
Outside, the sun vanished completely below the horizon. The rhythmic chirping of crickets began, and a quiet, peaceful darkness settled over the sprawling Xiao Clan compound.