Yoriichi scratched the back of his head, letting out a long, defeated sigh.
The flower owner continued to loudly praise the "young lady's" beauty and how lucky the "young master" was, drawing the amused chuckles of a few passing bystanders. Xiao Yu's smile grew wider, thoroughly enjoying the embarrassing attention.
Deciding that arguing would only draw a larger crowd and make the misunderstanding worse, Yoriichi swiftly pulled out a silver coin, slammed it onto the wooden counter, snatched the garland, and practically dragged his sister away.
"Thank you! Have a wonderful date!" the woman called out, laughing smugly at the youth's hasty retreat.
Walking briskly down the street, Yoriichi felt a lingering sense of confusion. 'What an absurd drama,' he thought, shaking his head. He handed the garland over to Xiao Yu, who eagerly placed it over her dark hair, adjusting the white lotuses so they framed her face perfectly.
Yoriichi cast a side glance at her. He paused.
The pristine white flowers contrasted beautifully with her dark hair and bright, lively eyes. The elderly woman might have been a gossiping nuisance, but Yoriichi had to admit one thing.
'At least she was right about that,' Yoriichi thought, a soft, genuine smile touching his lips. 'She does look good with it.'
He nodded appreciatively, causing Xiao Yu's smile to bloom even brighter than the flowers she wore.
The wholesome, peaceful atmosphere between the siblings lasted exactly until they reached the central plaza of the merchant district.
As they stepped into the wide, cobblestone square, the ambient noise of the market was drowned out by the harsh, distinct sounds of a commotion. A small crowd of bystanders had formed a wide circle, murmuring nervously and craning their necks to watch a drama unfold.
Yoriichi's Transparent World vision flared passively, instantly identifying the chaotic, spiking Dou Qi signatures in the center of the crowd.
He and Xiao Yu smoothly pushed their way to the front of the bystanders.
Standing in the center of the plaza were Xiao Yan and Gu Xun'er.
Xun'er looked as ethereal as ever in her azure-louts dress, her face an unreadable mask of calm disgust. Xiao Yan stood firmly in front of her, his youthful face twisted into a fierce, protective scowl, his fists clenched tight at his sides.
Blocking their path was a man who looked like walking poison.
He was young, but his skin was a sickly, pale white, and his eyes were sunken with heavy, dark bags—the universal signs of a man who had drained his vitality through excessive indulgence in wine and women.
He was bare-chested under a loosely tied, luxurious silk robe, completely disregarding the public setting. Pinned proudly to his chest was a shining badge depicting a pill cauldron with a single silver ripple.
A Tier 1 Alchemist.
It was Liu Xi.
The man was swaying slightly, his breath reeking of high-grade alcohol even from a distance. His gaze was locked onto Gu Xun'er with an unfiltered, sickeningly lustful intensity that made even Yoriichi's skin crawl.
"Come now, little beauty," Liu Xi slurred, stepping forward and reaching a pale, trembling hand toward Xun'er's face. "Why waste your time with this crippled Xiao Clan trash? I am a master alchemist! Come back to my pavilion. I can give you pills that will make you feel like you are floating in the heavens..."
Xiao Yan violently slapped the alchemist's hand away. "Touch her, and I will break your arm, pig."
Liu Xi's bloodshot eyes narrowed into a nasty, venomous glare. "You dare touch me? A piece of trash whose Dou Qi went backward? I can burn you to ash right here, and your Patriarch wouldn't dare say a word!"
Standing a few paces behind Liu Xi was a group of Jia Lie Clan youths, acting as his official escort. Among them was Jia Lie Ao.
Yoriichi's eyes locked onto the Jia Lie young master. Jia Lie Ao's expression was complicated. His fists were trembling at his sides, his face pale with a mixture of sheer disgust and humiliating powerlessness.
He clearly hated every second of this, despising the scum his clan had hired, but bound by his father's strict orders to protect the alchemist at all costs, he could do absolutely nothing.
Beside Yoriichi, the temperature plummeted.
Xiao Yu's eyes blazed with righteous fury. Seeing her younger cousin and Xun'er being harassed by this vile outsider in their own city ignited her fiery temper.
"That absolute scum!" Xiao Yu hissed, her hand snapping toward her waist, her fingers wrapping tightly around the hilt of her blue whip. She took a fierce step forward, fully intending to lash the drunken alchemist across the face and defend her clan's honor.
Before her boot could even hit the ground, a hand clamped down on her wrist like an iron vise.
Xiao Yu gasped, turning her head sharply.
Yoriichi was staring straight ahead, his crimson eyes cold and utterly void of emotion. He did not look at her as he gently, but with undeniable force, pulled her back into the safety of the crowd.
"Do not intervene," Yoriichi commanded, his voice a low, vibrating whisper that only she could hear. "Just watch."
Xiao Yu was completely stunned. Her mouth fell open in confusion.
'What?' she thought frantically. Her brother was the most righteous, honorable man she knew. He had nearly beaten Jia Lie Ao to death for less! Why was he telling her to stand down and let their clan mates be humiliated?!
"Brother, let me go!" she whispered fiercely, struggling against his grip. "He is harassing Xun'er!"
"I said, watch," Yoriichi repeated, his tone leaving absolutely no room for debate.
Yoriichi's reasoning was incredibly precise, born from the tactical mind of a supreme grandmaster.
First, Xiao Yu was a Water attribute cultivator. Liu Xi, despite being a drunken fool, was a mid-high level Dou Zhe and a Tier 1 Alchemist. He possessed an abnormally strong, volatile flame aura. If Xiao Yu attacked him, the elemental clash heavily favored the alchemist's explosive fire. Yoriichi would not risk his sister getting burned by a rabid dog.
Second, and far more importantly, Yoriichi's Transparent World was currently painting a terrifying picture that the rest of the crowd was completely blind to.
He looked at Gu Xun'er. Beneath her calm, delicate exterior, Yoriichi saw a dormant, golden flame resting within her Dantian—an energy so ancient and overwhelmingly catastrophic that it made his own sun-forged cyclone hum in warning.
Furthermore, hidden perfectly within the shadows of the nearby alleyway, Yoriichi could see the outline of an old man (Ling Ying) projecting an aura so massive it felt like a mountain waiting to fall.
Liu Xi was not a predator hunting a rabbit. He was a blind rat trying to fondle a sleeping dragon. He could not touch Xun'er even if the heavens allowed it.
And finally, Yoriichi looked at Xiao Yan. The boy's meridians were not some ordinary ones. They were wide, robust, and humming with a dense, highly refined fire attribute.
Xiao Yan didn't need like rescuing. He needed a whetstone to sharpen his returning fangs.
Keeping his grip firm on his sister's wrist, Yoriichi blended seamlessly into the bystanding crowd. He stood tall and silent, his crimson eyes tracking every microscopic muscle twitch of the arrogant alchemist, waiting for the inevitable explosion.