"Where are we?" Xiang Jian asked, his eyes full of confusion.
"Inside the space."
Xiang Jian looked at Xiao Man with a look of disbelief. "A spatial artifact that can hold living people?"
Xiao Man nodded.
"Yours?"
Xiao Man nodded again.
Xiang Jian's legs went weak. No wonder they said this was the secret to letting him reach the heavens in a single bound. A spatial artifact that could hold living people was something even a mighty Nascent Soul cultivator would covet!
"I say, why did you bring this brat in here?" Old Qin's voice emerged, startling Xiang Jian. "Aren't you afraid this brat will sell you out?"
"He won't," Xiao Man said calmly. "Ancestor, I need to recast his Golden Core, and outsiders must not know about it. Furthermore, the ones who attacked them this time should be Xiang Jian's enemies."
"They're not your enemies, so why are you so meddlesome?" Old Qin was somewhat annoyed. She had to manage the life and death of a little brat, and now she had to manage Xiang Jian's affairs. Was she going to manage all the injustices in the world?
"They are my people, and their enemies are naturally my enemies," Xiao Man stated firmly. "Ancestor, if there are any problems during the treatment, I ask that you stand guard for us."
Old Qin, though outwardly unwilling, was inwardly quite pleased. This girl knew how to win people over. As long as she stopped thinking about trading her life for a little brat's, he would help.
"Xiang Jian, the process of recasting your Golden Core will be extremely painful, but no matter how painful it is, you must endure it, hold onto your original intention, and absolutely must not give up."
Xiang Jian nodded fiercely. After the hardships he had endured, he deeply understood that he was too weak. In this world where strength reigned supreme, power was everything, and weakness was the original sin. Everyone wanted to step on him and bully him. Therefore, no matter how painful it was, he would persevere. Only by recasting his Golden Core could he go further!
After Xiao Man treated Xiang Jian, she returned to her room, dragging her exhausted body. Ze Fang was already asleep. Xiao Man sat by the bedside, stroking Ze Fang's pale little face. Even with her Blood Replenishing Pills, Ze Fang's face remained pale and bloodless.
"Why is he so hot?" Xiao Man was surprised. She quickly checked the wound on Ze Fang's hand and discovered that it had become inflamed due to its delayed healing, which had caused a high fever.
Xiao Man busied herself again, preparing fever-reducing medicine, re-treating Ze Fang's wound, and feeding him a few more Blood Replenishing Pills. Only then did Ze Fang's face gradually regain some color.
It wasn't until the sky in the east began to lighten that Xiao Man finally finished her work and, weary, fell asleep by the bedside.
When Ze Fang woke up, he saw Xiao Man asleep by the bedside. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed that Xiao Man's cultivation had decreased. She was originally at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, but now she was only at the early stage.
Ze Fang sat up excitedly, but his movement was too abrupt, startling Xiao Man awake. Xiao Man rubbed her sleepy eyes and instinctively reached out to touch Ze Fang's forehead. "Your fever is gone."
Ze Fang grabbed Xiao Man's hand. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but you might not be," Xiao Man said, ruffling Ze Fang's hair. She didn't know why he had been struck by lightning, but her desire to save him was genuine. However, she still hadn't found a suitable method for rescue.
"I'm fine, I just feel sticky and uncomfortable," Ze Fang tugged at his collar. He had sweated profusely from the fever last night and felt very uncomfortable. "I want to take a bath."
"Indeed, it's uncomfortable to sweat all over," Xiao Man immediately ordered hot water to be brought in. Fearing that Ze Fang, being too young, might drown, she decided to help him bathe.
"I can do it myself..."
"Your wound cannot get wet. Tell me, how can you wash?" Xiao Man, not allowing Ze Fang to refuse, quickly undressed him and threw him into the tub. Ze Fang's face turned so red it seemed like blood would spill. Although he looked like a child now, he was actually an adult, and quite a bit older than Xiao Man!
"Little brat, why are you blushing?" Xiao Man pinched Ze Fang's cheek. "I know you're embarrassed that I'm helping you bathe, but there's no other way. Your hand is injured, so I'm helping you."
"I can do it myself..." Ze Fang said softly.
"Yes, yes, you can, but in these extraordinary times, let me help you." After bathing and changing Ze Fang, Xiao Man ordered breakfast to be brought in for him.
As they were eating, Poison Lady suddenly burst in. "Boss, something bad has happened, Xiang Jian is gone."
Xiao Man said without looking up, "He's gone out on business. Don't worry, he'll be back for the recruitment ceremony."
Poison Lady breathed a sigh of relief, her gaze falling on Ze Fang. "Little Seven, does your head still hurt?"
Ze Fang huffed and tugged at Xiao Man's sleeve. "She bullied me, saying I'm an unwanted wild child."
Retribution had come too quickly, with no room for cushioning.
Poison Lady looked at Xiao Man awkwardly. She hadn't said the brat was an unwanted wild child. She had only wanted to know who his mother was. But she never imagined that this little brat, at such a young age, would dare to twist the truth and turn the tables on her.
"Boss, I..."
"Next time, don't say such things to children," Xiao Man said, glancing casually at Poison Lady.
Poison Lady shivered, feeling like crying but unable to. She knew her explanation would be useless. Anyone would instinctively believe a child over an adult, believing that a child wouldn't lie.
Poison Lady left the room, and Shan Yun quickly dropped her smile. "How is it? How is Little Seven?"
"He's fine, and he even knows how to complain to the Boss," Poison Lady said dejectedly. "The Boss said Xiang Jian went out and will be back for the recruitment ceremony."
"Miss Shi Lan, have you decided which sect you want to join?" Shan Yun asked nervously. She had originally planned to follow Xiao Man, but the sect Xiao Man could enter, she might not be able to. If she couldn't enter Xiao Man's sect, she would have to find a way to join another one, otherwise, she would only be able to stay in Wuji City for the rest of her life.
"I specialize in poisons..." Poison Lady was about to say the Five Poisons Sect, but remembering that an elder of the Five Poisons Sect had intentions towards her, she frowned. "Hundred Herbs Hall, then."
"Miss Yan wants to join the Spirit Snake Sect, and I..." Shan Yun sighed. "I'm only at the eighth stage of Qi Condensation now. I don't know if any sect will accept me."
"The eighth stage of Qi Condensation is already very good," Poison Lady comforted her. "Think about it, how many cultivators are at the eighth stage of Qi Condensation in Wuji City? And to go from an ordinary person to a Qi Condensation cultivator in less than two years, your talent is enough to make many envious. There are plenty of people who would want you."