CONFUSED YI XIAN!, MR.YAO INVITATION

"I don't care if you agree or not, the result will be the same."

Seeing Xiao Yixian's refusal, Xie Tianxiao didn't get angry. He maintained his indifferent demeanour, as if nothing could ruffle his emotions.

After all, the idea of building a force was just a passing thought for Xie Tianxiao, something he wasn't planning on implementing right away.

"What do you mean?"

Xiao Yixian furrowed her brow, puzzled by his calm attitude.

"Exactly what I said. You know my strength," Xie Tianxiao replied coolly, glancing at her. "If I wanted to do something to you, you wouldn't be able to resist."

"So don't test my patience."

"Hmph, you bad man." Although Xiao Yixian wasn't afraid of Xie Tianxiao's threats and would rather die than give in, she knew he wasn't lying. His tolerance of her outbursts only seemed to confirm that he was genuinely interested in her.

"Enough. No more unnecessary words," Xie Tianxiao said as he noticed her silence. "Let's get to the matter of controlling your woeful Poison Body."

"Right, I almost forgot." Xiao Yixian nodded and asked seriously, "What's your plan? What should I do?"

She was eager to hear his solution. If her poison body erupted uncontrollably, many innocent people around her could die.

"You need to condense the poison inside you into a poison pill," Xie Tianxiao began to explain.

"That's it? Nothing else?" Xiao Yixian asked skeptically.

 "Patience. Let me finish," Xie Tianxiao gestured for her to calm down. "To successfully create the poison pill, you'll need three things: three types of different 'Heavenly Flames,' the magic core of a seventh-rank 'Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast,' and a drop of Bodhi Transforming Saliva."

A heavy silence fell over the room as Xiao Yixian processed what he said. After a while, she furrowed her brows and replied, "Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Not to mention the seventh-rank beast core, but you want three types of Heavenly Flames? And I've never even heard of that Bodhi Saliva!"

"You not knowing doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Xie Tianxiao replied coldly. "Don't question my words based on your ignorance."

"Alright, fine. You're amazing. I was wrong," Xiao Yixian reluctantly conceded, realizing she was out of her depth. After all, Xie Tianxiao was clearly a powerful figure from the outside world, far beyond her humble abilities as a healer.

"Glad you understand," Xie Tianxiao said, satisfied. "As for the three items I mentioned, you don't need to worry. I'll find them."

"What? You'll find them for me?" Xiao Yixian was taken aback. She hadn't expected him to go this far, especially after their constant disagreements.

However, she quickly shook her head. "That's a seventh-rank beast—equivalent to a Dou ancestor! You'd be throwing your life away."

Though Xiao Yixian was weak, she understood how dangerous a seventh-rank magical beast was. No one in the Jia Ma Empire could face such a creature, so she doubted Xie Tianxiao could handle it.

"Dou ancestor? A seventh-rank beast is nothing to me," Xie Tianxiao sneered. "As for the Heavenly Flames and the Bodhi Saliva, I can find those too, though they'll take more time."

For Xie Tianxiao, the items needed to control the poison body were easy to acquire, thanks to his Devouring System. The seventh-rank core wasn't even a challenge, and finding three Heavenly Flames or the Bodhi Saliva in the Black-Corner Region was within his reach.

"I didn't think you'd ever say something was troublesome," Xiao Yixian remarked with a pout. "Well, thanks for telling me about all this, even if you're a jerk."

Despite her doubts about acquiring the items, she didn't want Xie Tianxiao to look down on her. She preferred to figure things out on her own rather than rely on him.

"I'll find those things myself."

"You? A weakling who isn't even a Dou Practitioner yet? You'll only end up dead," Xie Tianxiao mocked.

"Stop looking down on me! I'm not some fragile princess who doesn't know what she's doing!" Xiao Yixian retorted angrily.

"Fine, but if you really want to control the woeful Poison Body, you'd better follow my instructions. Otherwise, I have no reason to help you," Xie Tianxiao said bluntly.

He wouldn't lose anything if Xiao Yixian refused to control her poison body. However, it would be a pity to miss out on someone with the potential to become a Dou Saint.

"But I already refused to join your organization," Xiao Yixian said, confused. "Why would you still help me?"

Of course, Xiao Yixian wanted to control the poison body—who wouldn't want a chance to survive? But she couldn't understand why Xie Tianxiao would help her without any clear benefit for himself.

 Surely, someone as powerful as him wouldn't be interested in someone like her, a small-town healer with a dangerous constitution.

"Why?" Xie Tianxiao smirked

"Are you moved? Do you now realize you shouldn't have opposed me?" Xie Tianxiao teased Xiao Yixian with a playful grin.

Xiao Yixian retorted, "Who's moved? I'm just curious why someone as powerful as you would bother helping a weak girl like me."

Xie Tianxiao chuckled at her words. "Are you that dense? I've already told you I'm interested in you. Isn't that enough of an explanation?"

"You're the dense one!" Xiao Yixian snapped, glaring at him. "Who cares if you're interested in me? If you've got nothing else to say, leave. I still need to prepare my herbs, and I won't entertain you."

She shot him a dismissive glance, clearly wanting him to leave.

"What, now that you know about your woeful Poison Body, you want to send me away?" Xie Tianxiao smirked.

"Of course! What else? You expect me to invite you for dinner?" Xiao Yixian shot back.

"I wouldn't mind that," Xie Tianxiao replied nonchalantly.

"You..." Xiao Yixian was about to explode in anger, but Xie Tianxiao had already turned and started walking out.

"But unfortunately, I need to go find the materials for your poison body. Dinner will have to wait for another time," Xie Tianxiao said as he walked away.

He had considered taking Xiao Yixian with him, but realized it would be pointless. She'd only slow him down, and she wouldn't like it anyway. Better to wait until her poison body activated—by then, she'd leave Qingshan Town on her own.

"Wait, you're really going to find those materials?" Xiao Yixian called out, surprised by his determination. She couldn't understand why Xie Tianxiao would go to such lengths for her after only just meeting.

Without turning around, Xie Tianxiao waved dismissively. "No need to see me off, you stubborn girl."

As he disappeared from her view, Xiao Yixian muttered angrily, "What a jerk! How dare he ignore me!"

But as she stood there, a strange sense of loss welled up inside her, confusing her.

Suddenly, Xie Tianxiao's voice echoed in her ears: "My name is Xie Tianxiao. Remember that, little girl."

"Hmph, stop acting all mysterious, you annoying jerk!" Xiao Yixian cursed, her anger flaring again. But then she muttered to herself, "Xie Tianxiao... what an awful name."

Shaking her head, she sighed. "Never mind, I still have herbs to work on."

…

After parting ways with Xiao Yixian, Xie Tianxiao didn't immediately leave Qingshan Town. As he stepped out of medicine house, two middle-aged men stopped him.

"Please wait, sir."

One of the men, dressed in a white robe, addressed Xie Tianxiao.

"What do you want?" Xie Tianxiao asked coldly, his expression indifferent. He rarely cared about people other than a few select individuals.

"Sir, there's no need for alarmed. We mean no harm," the man said with a nervous chuckle, trying to ease the tension.

Pointing to the man beside him, he explained, "This is Mr. Yao, the owner of medicine house. He came here specifically to greet you, having heard of your arrival."

Mr. Yao, seeing Xie Tianxiao's cold demeanour, was puzzled but didn't dare show it. He bowed respectfully and said, "My apologies if we've offended you, sir. Please forgive us."

Xie Tianxiao regarded him for a moment before speaking. "When I first arrived, there were many people blocking the entrance. Now it's empty.That was your doing, I assume?"

He remembered from the original story that Yao had once tried to imprison Xiao Yixian to force her into revealing the location of a treasure she had found.

But despite knowing this, Xie Tianxiao didn't kill him immediately. After all, Yao had taken care of Xiao Yixian when she was younger, and hadn't wronged him directly. If Yao behaved himself, it could be overlooked—if not, he would be dealt with.

Mr. Yao laughed obsequiously, "Yes, sir. It's an honour to have you here. Those people outside were just rowdy onlookers. I couldn't let them sully your eyes, so I had them removed."

"I see. Now, if there's nothing else, I'm quite busy," Xie Tianxiao said, clearly disinterested in continuing the conversation.

Mr. Yao quickly realized that Xie Tianxiao saw through his attempts to curry favour but pressed on, "I hope your conversation with Miss Xiao went well. She can be difficult at times, but I'll make sure to teach her a lesson if she disrespected you."

Xie Tianxiao's expression turned icy. "Our talk went fine. Don't trouble her again."

The meaning behind his cold gaze was clear: If you dare touch Xiao Yixian, you'll regret it.

 Mr. Yao trembled slightly, immediately abandoning any thought of bothering her. "Yes, of course. I'm relieved to hear that."

Wiping sweat from his brow, Mr. Yao nervously offered, "Since you're new here, why not stay at my humble residence for a few days? It would be an honour to host you."

Xie Tianxiao, unimpressed, simply said, "No need."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his figure blurred and vanished before their eyes.

Both men stood frozen in shock.

After a long pause, Mr. Yao finally spoke, "I didn't expect him to be this powerful. Is he really just a Dou grandmaster?"

"I saw him unleash his Dou Qi when he arrived at medicine house. It was definitely that of a Dou grandmaster," replied the steward, still bewildered.

"Dou Qi beyond the body… Only those stronger than a Dou grandmaster can do that, like a Dou spirit… or even a Dou king," Mr. Yao muttered, swallowing hard. If Xie Tianxiao was truly that powerful, it was terrifying.

The steward fell silent, realizing how serious the situation was.

"Make sure everyone knows," Mr. Yao finally said. "No one is to cross Xiao Yixian. Anyone who does will have to answer to medicine house"

"Understood," the steward nodded, hurrying to carry out the order. But he couldn't help but wonder, What was it about that young girl that attracted such a powerful figure?