The Happiness that cannot be Experienced

Chapter 17: The Happiness That Cannot Be Experienced

After returning from the auction house, Yao Chen began refining Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid and finished the process in no time.

Although there were only five bottles for now, according to Xiao Yan's calculations, this should be enough for the Xiao family disciples, including himself, to use for two or three days.

The next question was how to distribute these items.

Xiao Yan looked at the five bottles of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid on the table, frowned, and fell into deep thought.

The bottle of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid previously auctioned off by Ya Fei had brought Xiao Yan a profit of 230,000 gold coins.

While he was pleasantly surprised, Xiao Yan also immediately realized something important.

He had previously underestimated the value of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid.

Possessing something so valuable could attract trouble, and even though Xiao Yan wanted the family disciples to benefit from it, he couldn't let them know of its existence. Thus, he couldn't just distribute it openly to everyone.

Although Xiao Yan trusted his family members, caution was always necessary.

If word got out that the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid came from him, people might deduce the existence of Yao Chen.

While Yao Chen hadn't disclosed her origins, her current soul state suggested to Xiao Yan that she might have faced great trouble in her life, possibly even being hunted, forcing her to take refuge in the ring.

Thus, Xiao Yan needed to hide Yao Chen's existence as much as possible. Ya Fei's knowledge of Yao Chen was already an unavoidable situation, but she was a rare person who kept secrets well and would never reveal something she shouldn't.

However, if others found out, the outcome might not be so favorable.

As Yao Chen watched Xiao Yan, who was sitting at the table staring at the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid with a troubled expression, she couldn't help but sigh.

Having to be so cautious while trying to benefit others, and going to great lengths to avoid trouble, was a first in all her years of experience.

However, having gradually become familiar with Xiao Yan's character, Yao Chen guessed that his caution was mostly due to fear of exposing herself and attracting unnecessary trouble.

Thinking about this, a warm feeling welled up in Yao Chen's heart.

Although she had only recently accepted Xiao Yan as her disciple, Yao Chen was very satisfied with him, especially with his constant consideration for others.

Xiao Yan's pursuit of the righteous path was not just empty talk.

He was genuinely, wholeheartedly striving forward on a road full of thorns.

Looking at Xiao Yan, Yao Chen couldn't help but compare him to someone else.

If that child had been like Xiao Yan, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did.

"Ah!"

Just as Yao Chen was about to sink into sadness, Xiao Yan suddenly raised his head and exclaimed.

"That place will work perfectly!"

Xiao Yan then took the five bottles of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid and left the room, heading through the dark night toward the Xiao family's back mountain.

Following the route in his memory, he traversed the dark forest and finally arrived at his destination.

It was a large hot spring, with a wooden partition in the middle to prevent the embarrassment of mixed bathing.

"Oh, you even have a hot spring here?"

Yao Chen was somewhat surprised. The Xiao family might be small, but they lacked none of the essentials.

"When I was a child, I often heard my father and the elders talk about finding rare treasures in the deep mountains. So, back then, I rallied the Xiao family siblings to dig for treasure in the back mountain, hoping for an adventure like in the stories."

Xiao Yan said, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face.

"Although we didn't find any treasure, we accidentally discovered this hot spring, so it wasn't a wasted effort."

Hearing Xiao Yan's recount, Yao Chen felt a pang of envy.

Children, with their innocent intentions, digging for treasure with their peers in the family back mountain—this was something absolutely impossible in Yao Chen's family.

In Yao Chen's much larger, hidden family, such actions would be seen as idleness and incompetence.

Little did they know that this innocent and happy childhood memory could never be experienced again, no matter how strong one became in the future.

Even in the same place, doing the same thing, a heart corroded by time would never feel that pure joy again.

Imagining this, Yao Chen's mind conjured an image.

Xiao Yan leading his siblings to the back mountain, digging enthusiastically. Though every child's face was dirty, they all wore excited, happy, and innocent smiles, filled with hope for the treasures they were about to unearth.

They must have been truly happy then.

To Yao Chen, Xiao Yan's memories with his siblings were far more precious than any high-grade pills or Dou techniques.

As Yao Chen reminisced, Xiao Yan squatted by the hot spring, unscrewed the bottles of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid one by one, and poured all five bottles into the hot spring.

In an instant, the originally clear hot spring turned a faint emerald green. Fortunately, the mist concealed it, making it not too conspicuous.

After finishing everything, Xiao Yan left the back mountain, satisfied, and returned to his room to rest.

The next morning, Xiao Yan woke up early and went straight to his father's room, knocking on the door.

After a moment, the door opened, and Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Yan with a puzzled expression.

"Yan'er, is there something you need so early?"

"Father, starting today, I plan to take the Xiao family disciples to the back mountain for training. Please inform their parents so they won't worry."

After hearing Xiao Yan's words, Xiao Zhan was full of doubt.

What was his son up to this time?

But out of trust in his son, Xiao Zhan didn't ask further and softly replied, "Alright, I'll inform them."

"Thank you, Father."

Xiao Yan waved goodbye to his father and headed to the training ground, where more than twenty Xiao family disciples were already waiting.

Seeing Xiao Yan arrive, everyone prepared to warm up for their daily basic training but was stopped by a wave of Xiao Yan's hand.

"Stop for a moment. Starting today, we won't be training here anymore."

"Huh?" Xiao Ning stretched his neck, looking at Xiao Yan curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Group training," Xiao Yan said with a smile, confusing Xiao Ning even more.

"Don't we always do group training?"

Without much explanation, Xiao Yan clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention.

"First, a few people come with me to the market to buy supplies. We'll get enough food for three days."

Xiao Yan then left the training ground with Xiao Ning and a few other male disciples. Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Mei, the two young girls, also followed along.

It turned out that as long as it wasn't related to Dou Qi, things on this continent weren't too expensive.

Spending less than 600 gold coins, Xiao Yan purchased a pig, a cow, and a sheep, along with rice, flour, oil, vegetables, spices, and a full set of cooking utensils.

This made Xiao Yan sigh with emotion.

When buying alchemy ingredients, money always seemed insufficient. But now, it seemed money went a long way after all.

The group carried their goods back to the Xiao family training ground, attracting bewildered stares from passersby.

"Is the Xiao family hosting a celebration?"

(End of Chapter)

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