Chapter 18: Young Master Tang, Please Stay!

The Traceless Pill — a second-grade lower-tier medicine. This type of pill offered no aid to cultivation, and its refinement process was extraordinarily complex. Few Alchemists were willing to dedicate themselves to producing it, so knowledge of this pill was scarce among the public.

In his previous life, someone had once paid a steep price to commission him to refine this very pill. That was how he had committed the formula to memory — and now, against all expectation, it had finally proven useful.

The City Lord's Manor.

A middle-aged man of tall, muscular build stood with his hands clasped behind his back before a window, gazing eastward. "That boy from the Tang Clan actually has an intact cultivation core. According to the intelligence reports, his cultivation has already reached the eighth grade of the Primary Realm."

"That is rather unexpected. It seems the Tang Clan deceived Dongxue last time."

A woman of graceful figure sat upright in a chair. Even within the City Lord's Manor, with no outsiders present, her face remained veiled beneath a thin layer of gauze. "Though the grievance between the City Lord's Manor and the Tang Clan has been settled, the terms of that resolution were never made public. Others still assume we simply let the matter drop. I fear someone may try to stir up trouble over this again."

"Even though Tang Yan previously attempted to violate Dongxue, the boy never so much as touched the hem of her robe. Besides, last time he composed a ci-poem, and Dongxue herself, representing our City Lord's Manor, declared the matter closed. Even if rumors swirl outside, would our City Lord's Manor go back on its word and go after the Tang Clan a second time?" The middle-aged man frowned.

"Perhaps we should simply announce the outcome of our previous resolution?" the City Lord's wife suggested.

"That wouldn't be appropriate. If it became known that a single ci-poem resolved a dispute between two families, it could damage Dongxue's reputation. Let us wait a little longer. If the rumors grow too severe, we can apply some pressure on the Tang Clan as needed." The City Lord's eyes were deep and penetrating. "That Liu Family has been getting rather brazen lately as well."

"My Lord, Tang Yan of the Tang Clan requests an audience." Just as the City Lord and his wife were discussing the matter, a maidservant entered and announced.

"Tang Yan?" Lin Xiao and his wife exchanged a glance, both noticing the puzzlement in each other's eyes. "He came alone?"

"Indeed."

"What is that brat up to now?" Lin Xiao considered briefly, then said in a low voice, "Have him wait for me in the front hall."

"What could he possibly want?" the City Lord's wife asked, her curiosity piqued.

"We'll find out when we see him." Lin Xiao straightened his robes and headed out.

When Lin Xiao arrived at the main hall, Tang Yan was already drinking tea — though his posture was outrageously casual, with one leg propped up on the armrest of the chair as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Several dark lines appeared on Lin Xiao's forehead. In all of Yun City, no matter who visited the City Lord's Manor, they always conducted themselves with propriety and caution. When had anyone ever been so brazenly at ease here?

Just as he was about to say something, Tang Yan looked up as though he had only just noticed the City Lord's arrival, and hurriedly set down his teacup. "Oh my, City Lord, the moment I stepped into the City Lord's Manor, it felt just like being at home — so warm and familiar! I lost track of my manners without even realizing it. Please don't hold it against me, City Lord."

Hearing Tang Yan's words, Lin Xiao was forced to reassess the sheer thickness of this young man's skin. Just how shameless did one have to be to say something like that with a straight face?

Still, Lin Xiao did not dwell on the detail, and instead asked coldly, "I hear your cultivation has reached the eighth grade of the Primary Realm?"

"Well… heh heh, yes indeed. City Lord, you truly have remarkable perception — nothing escapes your notice…"

"Insolent! Last time Dongxue visited your Tang Clan, you people fed her nothing but lies, claiming your cultivation core had been destroyed! Does your Tang Clan think our City Lord's Manor is so easily fooled?" Lin Xiao's eyes widened with fury, and the immense pressure of his aura erupted without warning, the full weight of a City Lord's might crashing toward Tang Yan like a tidal wave.

Tang Yan felt himself instantly enveloped by an overwhelming sense of danger, and a storm raged within his heart. The City Lord's aura was so extraordinarily powerful — could it be that the City Lord was an Earth Realm expert?

Having once been a ninth-grade Alchemist revered by the heroes of the world, he was perhaps least afraid of being intimidated by raw presence. He calmly explained, "City Lord, the Tang Clan did not deceive Miss Dongxue. My cultivation core was indeed destroyed — the several renowned physicians of Yun City can all attest to that. It was my master who took pity on me, saved my life, and bestowed upon me a new cultivation base."

A master? A flash of surprise and suspicion crossed the City Lord's eyes. Tang Yan's cultivation core had been shattered — Lin Xiao had privately confirmed this with several of Yun City's top physicians, who all verified that the cultivation core was broken and cultivation was impossible. If the boy had no master, how had his cultivation core healed, and how had he directly attained the eighth grade of the Primary Realm?

And who in all the world could possess such extraordinary power as to reconstruct a shattered cultivation core?

"Oh? And who might your master be? Could you perhaps arrange an introduction?" Lin Xiao asked, feigning composure.

"My master has always been indifferent to fame and fortune, and has no formal title. He also forbids me from revealing any information about him. As for the old man himself, he wanders freely like a cloud in the sky, traveling the world with no fixed abode. Should I encounter him again, I will certainly ask him to pay a visit in person."

Hearing Tang Yan speak with such a straight face, the City Lord found himself genuinely uncertain. If Tang Yan truly had a powerful master behind him, then anyone who wished to move against the Tang Clan in the future would have to think very carefully indeed.

Could it be that this boy had come specifically to warn him — to make the City Lord's Manor think twice before provoking the Tang Clan? At that thought, a cold glint flickered in Lin Xiao's eyes. If that was the case, then the Tang Clan had miscalculated.

"Then what brings you here today?" Lin Xiao asked.

"To deliver a gift." Tang Yan replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"A gift?" A strange expression crossed Lin Xiao's face. In all the wide world, there were all manner of peculiar things — but someone who could announce gift-giving with such unabashed confidence was something he had never encountered in his life.

"Then you may take your leave. Today is no special occasion, so there is truly no need for gifts." Lin Xiao waved his hand and turned to see his guest out.

"This is a Traceless Pill given to me by my master. Though its grade is not high — only second-grade lower-tier — the formula is known to very few, and the refinement process is extraordinarily difficult, requiring many steps to succeed, with an extremely low success rate." Tang Yan sighed. "Since the City Lord has no need of it, I shall take my leave."

Second-grade lower-tier? The City Lord's gaze was rather dismissive. While a second-grade lower-tier medicine was quite precious within Yun City, it was hardly a top-tier pill when viewed across the entire Nation of Tingxiang. He had never heard of the Traceless Pill, but given that it was classified as only second-grade lower-tier, it could not be anything particularly rare.

By now, Lin Xiao had a fairly clear sense of why Tang Yan had come: to deliver a pill as a gesture of goodwill, so that if rumors did spread through Yun City, the City Lord's Manor would not trouble the Tang Clan.

Though Lin Xiao had never intended to make a great fuss over the matter again, the idea that a single second-grade lower-tier pill could sway the City Lord's Manor's intentions was frankly insulting. It underestimated the City Lord's Manor far too much.

Feeling rather unimpressed, the City Lord was just about to head back to find his wife when he heard Tang Yan, nearly out of the front hall, muttering to himself: "According to my master, this Traceless Pill can remove any scar without leaving the slightest trace — and it even has beautifying and anti-aging effects. I'm not sure if that's really true. Since the City Lord doesn't want it, I suppose I'll just eat it myself when I get the chance."

A City Lord of such profound cultivation naturally had sharp hearing. Every word Tang Yan said reached Lin Xiao's ears with perfect clarity, and Lin Xiao froze on the spot.

He thought of his wife's face — scarred, despite every physician they had consulted, with no remedy ever found. She spent her days melancholy and downcast, forcing smiles she did not feel, and it pained him deeply every time he saw her.

The Traceless Pill — its effect was to remove scars? And without leaving a single trace? Fuck, why didn't you say so from the start?!

In that moment, Lin Xiao could no longer hold himself back. He called out loudly, "Young Master Tang, please stay!"