Zi Yan stood frozen for a few seconds, then shook her head to clear her thoughts. She touched the spot on her forehead that had just been tapped, relaxed her tense body, and fixed her gaze on the boy in front of her. Once calm, she could sense the boy's mysterious friendliness toward her.
"Who are you? Why have I never seen you before?" Relaxed, Zi Yan sat down right there and asked the boy.
"I'm Lin Yuan, a small alchemist who just arrived at the Inner Academy. And you? Little girl?" Lin Yuan answered her question, then knowingly countered with a question of his own.
"I'm Zi Yan, don't call me little girl!" Zi Yan snapped irritably.
Looking at Lin Yuan's gentle smile and feeling the tone in his words that was so different from everyone else, Zi Yan, who appeared carefree on the outside but was somewhat lonely inside, didn't immediately push his hand away. Instead, she tilted her head to the side and muttered grumpily, "Then don't call me little girl either."
"Though a magical beast, though a Dou King, her personality is exactly as her appearance shows—a little girl!" Lin Yuan thought to himself, his smile growing wider. He withdrew his hand from her head, bent slightly, and placed his hand in front of her, smiling. "Then I look forward to working with you, Little Zi Yan!"
Zi Yan looked at his hand and, for some reason, felt a bit pleased. She shyly extended her hand to shake his and then tiptoed to pat Lin Yuan on the shoulder. "Little Lin, I like you. If anyone dares to bully you in the future, just use my name!"
"Little Lin… what the heck," Lin Yuan muttered, thinking of something potentially troublesome, a mix of amusement and exasperation on his face, but he didn't dwell on it. She'd likely change how she spoke in a little while anyway.
"By the way, Zi Yan, were you just trying to steal my Spirit Fruit? Why?" Lin Yuan asked, still knowingly pressing the matter.
Perhaps a small sense of friendship had developed during their brief, friendly exchange, and Zi Yan felt slightly embarrassed. She admitted honestly, "I can feel this fruit has a lot of energy. To grow up, I need to eat it."
"Grow up? Eat it? Not alchemy? Aren't you afraid the energy will overwhelm you?" Lin Yuan said, looking puzzled.
Hearing this, Zi Yan planted her hands on her hips, lifted her nose proudly, and said confidently, "It's fine for me to eat it directly. It's just your human body that's too weak."
"Your human body? Zi Yan, are you a shape-shifting magical beast? But doesn't a magical beast need to reach the seventh rank to shape-shift? You're so weak—can't even beat me, how could you be seventh rank?" Lin Yuan expressed his doubt, but his friendly tone toward Zi Yan remained unchanged despite her magical beast identity.
Zi Yan, hearing the first part of his statement, had worried he might change his attitude like others had before, but when he said she was weak, she immediately felt indignant. "What do you mean I can't beat you? I wasn't using full strength just now. If you don't believe me, let's try again."
Lin Yuan, trying to calm her like a child, said, "Alright, alright, Zi Yan, you are indeed strong. I just wonder… your cultivation is still far from shape-shifting, so how did you manage to do it so early?"
"I accidentally ate a very rare Shape-Shifting Flower, and that's how I became like this. I can't turn back now. I eat these herbs because I want to grow quickly, so I can freely switch between beast and human form." Zi Yan frowned, clearly not very enthusiastic about the topic, and her speech carried a slight buzzing tone.
"Shape-Shifting Flower? No wonder," Lin Yuan nodded.
"What about your parents?" he casually asked.
"They're gone." Zi Yan lowered her head, curling her legs and hugging her knees. Her snowy white teeth bit tightly on her lips, and moisture glistened in her dark eyes. "Since I became conscious, I've lived alone in the deep mountains. When I was bullied as a child, I could only run away quietly. Later, after eating the Shape-Shifting Flower, I met the Inner Academy's First Elder. He brought me here, and I've stayed ever since."
Though Lin Yuan had many calculations in his heart, seeing the little girl bite her lips stubbornly, he couldn't help but feel a touch of affection. Sitting beside her, he gently patted her small head and comforted her, "It's all in the past. With the First Elder as your family and me as your friend, your days will only get better."
Pausing for a moment, Lin Yuan looked at Zi Yan with interest and continued, "I'm alone too; I don't have blood relatives in this world. Hmm… I always feel like I'm missing a little sister. Zi Yan, do you want to be my little sister?"
The little girl, who had been a bit sad, felt her strong heart instantly dispel the sadness upon hearing Lin Yuan's words. She stood up, looked down at the seated Lin Yuan, and said firmly, "I'm not going to be your little sister. If anyone, you should be my little brother!"
"Oh?" Lin Yuan smiled teasingly, standing up as well. He tossed the Spirit Fruit in his hand, sighing with mock regret, "Ah, I had planned to give this fruit and some herbs as a meeting gift to my little sister, but since there's no little sister, I'll keep it for myself!"
"Brother!" Zi Yan's eyes fixed on the fruit, and she immediately changed her expression, calling out sweetly to Lin Yuan.
"Huh? Miss Zi Yan, why call me that? Little brother can't handle it," Lin Yuan joked, looking at her.
"Brother, my own dear brother! I was just joking earlier, don't take it seriously!" Zi Yan said in a coquettish manner, shaking Lin Yuan's arm while her eyes kept glancing at the Spirit Fruit in his hand.
Seeing Zi Yan so obedient at the moment, Lin Yuan shook his head and said, "Fine, I won't tease you anymore. Carry on."
With that, Lin Yuan tossed the Spirit Fruit to Zi Yan. When she caught it, her cute little face lit up with a radiant smile, her eyes narrowing into joyful slits, clearly very happy.
Seeing Zi Yan so cheerful, Lin Yuan felt a slight warmth in his heart, seemingly infected by the pure happiness of the little girl. He smiled and asked, "Zi Yan, let me ask you something. Are these herbs good to eat directly? How's the taste and texture? I've never tried them, so I'm curious."
At this, the smile on Zi Yan's face faded, and she complained, "They're terrible, but there's no choice. To grow quickly, I have to eat these herbs that contain such powerful energy."
"Terrible, huh? Then how about processing them a bit?" Lin Yuan said, seeing her puzzled expression. He waved his sleeve, drawing several herbs nearby, then ignited a Green Spirit Flame at the proper temperature to melt them. He took a few seasonings from his Spatial Ring and mixed them into the molten herb liquid, controlling the mixture and dividing it into more than ten pill-sized portions.
"Try this!" Lin Yuan handed the pleasantly aromatic pills to Zi Yan.
Zi Yan eagerly grabbed one and popped it into her mouth, chewing while her eyes narrowed into a slit, clearly enjoying the taste and texture. After chewing for a while, she swallowed it, opened her eyes, and said with some reluctance to stop, "Delicious!"
Lin Yuan smiled in satisfaction, thinking, Of course it's delicious. I even spent some time studying cooking for moments like this. Among alchemists, few could match my culinary skill.
Seeing Zi Yan toss another pill into her mouth, Lin Yuan said with a laugh, "In that case, in the future, don't eat herbs raw. Bring them to me, and I'll prepare them for you, make them taste better. I'm pretty good at this. Also, these pills are just for you—don't give them to others. Ordinary people can't handle this kind of intense medicinal energy directly."
Muffled by chewing, Zi Yan said, "K…k…got it…"
"Swallow what's in your mouth before you speak!" Lin Yuan said, gently ruffling Zi Yan's small head.