Chubby cheeks

Sa Man spitefully not only swore on Xiao Huotui's life but also on Xiao Yangpai*, Xiao Mian** and even Xiao Doufu's***.

*Little Lambchop

**Little Noodle

***Little Tofu 

They were all Xia Yan's current favourite plushies.

Xia Yan: …Old man, do you feel good bullying such a cute kid?

Before, they had planned to go for a short stroll to let Xia Yan get some fresh air. But now that they had made the excuse to Xia Zhijun, the pair could only chat and play in the room. Fortunately the bedroom of the rich was better then the house of the poor. 

Xia Yan was young and ignorant, it was easy to be curious and because of his youth he was less ashamed to ask many questions and admit he didn't understand. Sa Man who was lonely and eccentric enjoyed the liveliness and chattered with the child. 

Sa Man was not fond of cultivators in general, hence why he became reclusive. Because cultivators are very prideful and full of righteousness, it is hard to converse with them without being irritated and disgusted by the pretentiousness. While it wasn't the case for every cultivator, the worst ones were really the equivalent of talking to a brain-dead social justice warrior online. But less crude in language.

Not to mention, because he was a shaman, which wasn't the orthodox way, he was also looked down on greatly by those who followed the typical way of the Dao. Therefore, it was simply easier to be alone and just focus on cultivating and traveling. But just because it was easier didn't mean that it wasn't a bit empty as well.

In Sa Man's opinion, little Xia Yan was a blessing that eased a strain in his heart he didn't know he had.

Xia Yan did not realise the value of his presence to Sa Man, and happily chattered away with him. "So you really met a demon lord? What did they look like? Did you fight? Did you lose? Did you cry? How long did it take to recover?"

Sa Man: "…Kid you can really say some hurtful things with such a cute face huh?" 

Clicking his tongue, the old shaman pinches Xia Yan's chubby cheek, turning his laughter into a cry of pain. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Let go!"

"Who cried? Who lost? Why are you assuming so badly of your savior?" Sa Man grinds his teeth, "I'll have you know, it was the Demon Lord of Gluttony that was the one begging for mercy!"

"You're so amazing! So strong! I'm sorry, please let me go!" Xia Yan immediately flattered with tears in his eyes.

Sa Man really intended to let go after teaching the boy a lesson, but he realised he had already become addicted to the soft, squishy feeling in his fingers. It was like pinching warm mochi, so tender and pliable. "Hmmm…" the old man's fingers let go of the tender cheek and immediately uses both his hands to gently squish both sides of the child's cute pudgy face. "Ok, I let go."

Xia Yan: "…" 

"Bah!" Xia Yan scowls as he rubs the now reddening fat on his cheeks, "One day I will become a big beauty like my brothers and sisters and then all my admirers will fight you when you pinch me like this again!"

Sa Man laughs heartily, "Yes, yes, Little Yan will one day become the tallest and handsomest beauty with sword eyebrows and strong muscles that will swoon countless men and women just by walking past."

Xia Yan squints and hums coldly, "Oh, you're such a bad person. Don't think I don't know your flattery is so perfunctory ah."

"To be honest, you lie in bed and eat snacks and sleep all day long," Sa Man teases, "Instead of a big beauty, I suspect if there's no breakthrough in this new cultivation method you'll just become a big fatty instead. Don't worry though, your family genes are strong, you'll be the cutest chubby dumpling the entire cultivation world would ever see. Even the Winter Moon Panda will not be able to stand up to you!"

Xia Yan: "…" 

Immediately he explodes. "You're bigger than a Winter Moon Panda! Your sister is bigger than a Winter Moon Panda!"

Who doesn't know the Winter Moon Panda is the fattest type of panda ever?? It's practically a big furry grey and white ball with tiny paws! Even if they're also deemed the most adorable and one of the favourite animals of many female cultivators it was still an unacceptable comparison!!! 

"I should get you a Winter Moon Panda toy." Sa Man muses, completely ignoring the rage of his little patient. "Do you think we can get a seamstress to make a hat in the shape of a Winter Moon Panda head? That would suit you very well."

"Ahhh!!" Xia Yan grasps the older cultivator's arm and shakes it vigorously, "One day I will become so handsome even your old, wrinkled heart will become so confused by my good looks!" 

Seeing the cute child waggle his arm furiously, the baby fat on his arms jiggling violently under the movement, Sa Man couldn't stop himself from laughing loudly. 

Xia Yan who was panting and tired just from this, already a little physically exerted, immediately was energised and full of fire again at the older man's guffawing. Like this, the two play back and forth, one teasing, one yelling, but both had large and bright smiles on their faces. 

However, in the end, Xia Yan was easily fatigued and had to rest once more. 

The old cultivator touches his nose guiltily before taking out some medical incense powder to light up, allowing the medicinal smell to pervade the room. The child was still really weak, even if he wasn't completely bed-ridden anymore it was already a lot for Xia Yan to do his daily exercises of walking circles around the garden when he was awake.

While the other was taking steps to build up a foundation with this new method of cultivating, neither of them knew how long that would take and since the method required sleep, the body could heal to some extent but after a while it is easy for the mortal body to atrophy after long periods of stillness. 

Sa Man was a little helpless at this, after all, the more powerful medicines needed a good body to digest and process them. The best he could do at this moment was create weaker medicines to alleviate muscle stiffness, encourage healing and strengthening the joints and bones that could have the same effect when being inhaled. 

Of course, such a thing was easier said than done. After all, one had to carefully figure out the ratios and concentrations of each ingredient in order to exert the best effect while not harming the delicate child's body. Not to mention converting what was usually a medicine to be ingested into one to be inhaled, after all incense would bring the added factor of heat which can effect certain properties of ingredients as well. In short, there was really no one in the cultivation world who had both the ability and the time to put so much effort into something so menial and useless as a weak medicinal incense. 

Not only was the incense made, Sa Man also pulled out a few silver needles from his Qiankun bag* and began to apply some simple acupuncture on Xia Yan's soft body to try lightly stimulate his qi which would promote healing. While Xia Yan's qi was shattered and the foundations were greatly crippled, that didn't mean they weren't there at all. Mosquito meat was still meat, and a broken seed was better than a dead one. 

*A bag able to carry more than it should hold as there's a special space inside there

With a sigh, Sa Man gently covers the needles with his own spiritual energy and begins his work, carefully doing his best even when the incense has all burned out and the night has turned to day. However, even if his body was a little tired, and his old fingers ached from the constant strain of delicate work, he only had to lightly rub Xia Yan's chubby cheeks to feel full of energy once more.

Even if all this work can only make the smallest improvement, Sa Man felt that was enough to be worth it.