Late at night, inside the room.
Leng Ningshuang kept her head slightly bowed, her cheeks flushed crimson. She felt shy, her heart hammering like a frightened fawn. She stole a glance at the young man across from her, but the moment their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head again.
Beside her, Hua Que explained the whole story, concluding with a voice full of shame, "All these years, Grandpa has done you a great wrong. It was my incompetence that made you suffer so much. I'm so ashamed. If it weren't for Young Master Qin today, the consequences would have been unthinkable."
"Grandpa, please don't say that. If it weren't for you, I would have been gone from this world long ago. You're the one who raised me. How could I ever blame you?"
Leng Ningshuang gracefully bowed to Qin Ya. "If not for Young Master Qin's help today, I'm afraid Ningshuang would have perished. I thank you, Young Master Qin."
"It was nothing. I'm just glad you're safe," Qin Ya said with a smile. To him, saving Leng Ningshuang had been a simple matter.
Hearing this, Leng Ningshuang's face reddened, and she lowered her head once more.
"I was quite offensive to you before, Young Master. It was this old man's fault. I've already instructed Xiaohai to fetch the medicinal herbs you need. He will bring them to you shortly."
After a moment's thought, Hua Que felt a pang of guilt. He had treated Qin Ya so poorly, yet not only had the young man helped save his granddaughter, but he had also passed on a profound incantation. Such a debt of gratitude could hardly be repaid with a few mere herbs.
"This is a Storage Ring. Please accept it as a small token of my gratitude," Hua Que said, taking out a simple, antique-looking ring and offering it to Qin Ya.
"Oh?" Qin Ya's eyes lit up, and he didn't refuse.
Qin Ya was certainly no stranger to Storage Rings. He had owned one in his past life. They were incredibly convenient little things, but their cost was exorbitant. Typically, only Martial Artists of distinguished status or immense power possessed them.
Storage Rings also came in different grades. The one Hua Que gave him wasn't particularly high-level, with only about ten cubic meters of space—far inferior to the one Qin Ya had in his previous life. Still, it was more than enough for his current needs.
"My thanks," Qin Ya said with a smile. This was an unexpected windfall.
A short while later, Xiaohai delivered all the requested herbs, neatly packed. Qin Ya placed them into the Storage Ring along with the 480,000 silver notes from before.
"The cold energy in Miss Leng's body can be completely removed with a few more treatments like before. Once that's done, her Profound Yin Bloodline will awaken. She has a bright future ahead of her and is destined to become an Extraordinary Strong Person. Allow me to congratulate you in advance, Miss."
"This is all thanks to Young Master Qin," Leng Ningshuang replied with a gentle smile.
An Extraordinary Strong Person—that was a level above the Celestial Essence Realm, a true Overlord in the Azure Sky Realm. Every single one was a peerless talent.
As an Extraordinary Strong Person himself, Hua Que knew just how dazzling Leng Ningshuang's future would be. At the very least, she would be far stronger than him, someone who had never awakened an Ancient Bloodline. And all of this was thanks to the young man standing before them.
At this thought, Hua Que's gratitude toward Qin Ya deepened even further.
"If there is nothing else, I will take my leave." Qin Ya stood up and cupped his hands. Just as he was about to depart, Leng Ningshuang suddenly called out to him.
"Brother Qin... you don't mind if I call you that, do you?" Leng Ningshuang asked, a bit awkwardly. Seeing Qin Ya shake his head, she took a deep breath and said, "Will... will we see each other again?"
Qin Ya was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "We will. When I run out of medicinal herbs, I'll come back here to buy more. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet in the future."
Watching Qin Ya's retreating figure, a flicker of joy crossed Leng Ningshuang's face. It was soon replaced by worry as she turned to Hua Que. "Grandpa, do you think he'll find me too forward? Will he dislike me for it?"
Hua Que rolled his eyes. 'My dear granddaughter,' he thought, 'with everything you have going for you, what man would ever turn you down?' Seeing the worried look on her face, he comforted her, "Don't worry, he won't. Young Master Qin wouldn't think that way."
"Grandpa, when do you think Brother Qin will come back?"
"Didn't he say he'd be back when he runs out of herbs?"
"So, when do you think he'll run out?"
"Sigh... that blasted Qin Ya. They've only just met, and he's already stolen my granddaughter's heart. It's infuriating!"
...
Back at the Qin Family estate, the moment Qin Ya stepped into his room, his brow furrowed. 'Someone's been here. Judging by the scent, it wasn't Qin Yuxiang. It was someone else.'
As an Alchemist, Qin Ya's senses were many times sharper than those of an ordinary Martial Artist. Although the intruder had tried to tidy up, there was no hiding it from him.
'Hmph, so Qin Hai is suspicious after all,' he thought.
Qin Ya sneered. He had already noticed Qin Hai's change in attitude that day when his cultivation improvement was discovered. It seemed Qin Hai must have assumed he'd had some sort of lucky encounter and obtained a treasure.
'Too bad for him. He would never guess, not even in death, that I am no longer the same Qin Ya.'
...
In the Qin Family study, Qin Hai and Qin Yuncheng both wore grim expressions.
CRACK.
The teacup in Qin Hai's hand was crushed to pieces. "Damn it! That old fool Li Heyu actually managed to get his hands on the Wind and Rain Sword Technique. Now, both the Zhang Family and our Qin Family will be suppressed by him. How infuriating!"
Qin Yuncheng added, "The Wind and Rain Sword Technique... that's a Profound-Level Lower Class Martial Skill! It looks like that bitch Li Peiyi's strength is about to rise to another level."
"Right, what about Qin Ya?" Qin Hai asked.
"Don't even get me started on him! I searched his entire room but couldn't find even a hint of a treasure."
Qin Hai's brow tightened. He said suspiciously, "Could we have been wrong? Perhaps it wasn't a treasure, but some other kind of fortuitous encounter."
"Hmph, whatever it is, I'll seize it for myself! And then I'll cut that brat Qin Ya into a thousand pieces," Qin Yuncheng said with a vicious, twisted expression.
"Forget it. Let's put that brat's matter aside for now. It's not like I came away from the auction empty-handed." Qin Hai gave a slight smile and took out a lavishly decorated box, handing it to Qin Yuncheng.
Qin Yuncheng took the box and opened it. A fragrant medicinal scent wafted out, revealing a lustrous green pill resting inside.
"This Third-Grade Red Flame Pill is enough for you to break through to the Profound Origin Realm. You must perform well at the Mang Mountain Hunt in one month." As he mentioned the Mang Mountain Hunt, a cold, murderous glint flashed in Qin Hai's eyes.
"Heh! Don't worry, Father," Qin Yuncheng grinned.
「Half a month later...」
As his cultivation advanced, Qin Ya's Spiritual Power had improved significantly, allowing him to control the Purple Lotus Celestial Flame for longer and longer periods. Although he was still far from his previous life's standard, it was enough for him to refine all his medicinal herbs into ten Earth Spirit Pills.
He kept five for himself and gave the other five to Qin Yuxiang. This, of course, led to another round of questioning, and he had no choice but to once again attribute everything to that non-existent Extraordinary old master.
After taking one pill, Qin Ya's cultivation broke through to the Human Element Seventh Grade in one go. In the Qin Family, his cultivation level alone was now among the very top.
However, while cultivating with elixirs was easy, it could also cause one's True Essence to become unstable and their Realm unsteady. He would need a period of stabilization before he could take another.
It was worth mentioning that Qin Yuncheng had suddenly announced he was entering secluded cultivation. As a result, no one came to bother Qin Ya, giving him a great deal of peace and quiet.
On this day, just as Qin Ya finished his cultivation, Qin Yuxiang came to see him.
Looking at Qin Ya, now at the Human Element Seventh Grade, Qin Yuxiang's expression was a mixture of amazement and worry. "Xiaoya, tell me the truth. Are you practicing some kind of Demon Skill? How else could your cultivation be improving so fast? Not even Qin Yunlong, the so-called number one genius of the Qin Family, can compare to you!"
"Aunt, don't worry. I'm fine," Qin Ya reassured her, but Qin Yuxiang still looked unconvinced, clearly determined to get to the bottom of it.
Qin Ya didn't blame her. On the contrary, he found her concern very heartwarming.
However, he also knew that today, he had to give Qin Yuxiang a proper explanation.
"Alright, Aunt. Since it's come to this, I'll tell you the truth."