“This is,” said the Second Elder, looking at the robe. For some inexplicable reason, it seemed vaguely familiar, and a sense of foreboding stirred in his heart.
“Stop pretending to be mysterious. Father, just take action. Ignore him,” Lin Ge said contemptuously. Meanwhile, Tang Leyin’s vermilion lips parted slightly, as if she understood something, and she gave a faint laugh under her breath.
“I see,” the Second Elder didn’t seem to have clearly heard Tang Leyin’s whisper, but furrowed his brows and shot Lin Ge a reprimanding glare.
“Be quiet, and behave yourself.”
“Yes,” Lin Ge immediately deflated like a withered eggplant, lowering his head submissively.
Li Tan slowly unfolded the robe and put it on. On the chest of the earth-yellow robe, a golden embroidered star was particularly eye-catching.
The Second Elder’s lips twitched. Lin Ge instantly understood why his father had stopped him.
“Level one pill master? How… how is this possible!”
Lin Ge’s eyes were somewhat dazed as he muttered in disbelief. The Second Elder’s expression grew increasingly gloomy, while only Tang Leyin wore a gentle smile.
“He also excels in alchemy. Mr. Li, you are truly well-versed in many skills. Elder, what do you plan to do now?”
Her tone was mocking, clearly slapping them in the face. The Second Elder gritted his teeth, but couldn’t utter a single harsh word. He had previously heard that Li Tan had caused trouble at the Pill Pavilion and participated in the examination, but he never truly believed that Li Tan had actually passed. Thus, he now found himself in an extremely awkward position.
To arrest Li Tan was not an option, yet not arresting him either.
Why was this so?
That had to go back to a much-criticized policy of the Pill Pavilion: protecting its own.
Indeed, the Pill Pavilion was notorious for protecting its members. As long as a Pill Pavilion alchemist wasn’t involved in any heinous crimes, the Pavilion would ensure that anyone who dared to bully them would pay a heavy price.
Although Li Tan was only a one-star alchemist, he was still within the scope of this protection. The Second Elder had acted so brazenly because of the backing of a mysterious force. However, how did this mysterious force compare to the renowned Pill Pavilion across the Nine Provinces?
If he did anything to Li Tan, would the organization really come to his aid if the Pill Pavilion sought retribution?
Probably not.
Beads of cold sweat appeared on the Second Elder’s forehead.
Li Tan hadn’t uttered a single word. He merely fixed his gaze on the Lin father and son with an icy expression that sent shivers down one’s spine, then turned around and took Tang Leyin’s hand.
A flush instantly spread across Tang Leyin’s cheeks. Before she could fully process what was happening, she was abruptly pulled away. Faintly, they could hear the commotion behind them—Lin Ge’s indignant roar and the sharp crack of a slap.
However, after his expression turned extremely gloomy, the Second Elder’s gaze became even fiercer. Muttering something under his breath, he seemed to say, “Do you think the Pill Pavilion’s protection makes you untouchable?”
Whatever plans the Second Elder had, Li Tan was no longer paying attention. His focus was entirely on Tang Leyin.
After leaving the Lin residence, Li Tan immediately took Tang Leyin to a bustling commercial street, using the excuse that occasional relaxation aids cultivation to ease his own sense of guilt.
For Tang Leyin, Li Tan’s enthusiasm was somewhat hard to decline.
At this moment, the two had already arrived at the commercial street. Tang Leyin, looking at the colorful assortment of goods and shops, blinked her bright eyes with the excitement of an ordinary young girl.
“Any place you’d like to go?”
Li Tan stood upright like a gentleman, wearing a warm smile as he looked at Tang Leyin.
In this world, there were very few people he treated this way—Tang Leyin was one, Li Zhen another, Li Yang another, and Jiaying another. That was all.
“Hmm,” Tang Leyin frowned in thought, then muttered after a moment.
“I don’t really have anywhere specific in mind. Let’s just look around randomly.”
Li Tan seemed to have thought of something. His expression suddenly turned melancholy, but he quickly recovered, still wearing that same smile as he said, “How about the lantern festival?
There happens to be one in the western part of the city.”
The lantern festival was a small regional celebration held annually near the beginning of summer. Ironically, although the best time was clearly at night, the western city square, where the festival was held, was already packed even before noon.
Compared to a lantern festival, this gathering was more like a market fair.
“Ah,” in the crowd, Tang Leyin was instinctively holding Li Tan’s hand, blushing slightly with embarrassment as she walked slightly behind him.
“It’s been a while since we came out. Let me get you something.”
Li Tan smiled as he turned back. Seeing Tang Leyin’s slightly troubled expression, he added.
“It’s a thank-you gift for last night.”
“No need to go to the trouble. It was just a small favor.”
Tang Leyin politely smiled and took the opportunity to pull her hand away while stopping. Li Tan awkwardly returned a smile, tightened his right hand, still feeling the lingering warmth, then laughed again—this time with a sense of relief.
From just now, his behavior had indeed been somewhat overstepping. To Tang Leyin, he was merely an interesting stranger.
“Sorry.”
“No problem.”
In this brief exchange, Li Tan noticed a small stall selling masks by the roadside. After a brief moment of thought, he bought two masks from the vendor.
Was he going to use these as gifts?
As Tang Leyin was still puzzled, she saw Li Tan had already walked to the side of the road, motioning to her. She followed. Li Tan walked ahead, and soon led them into a quieter alley.
“Miss Tang, put on the mask. If you have a robe, it’s better to wear it too.”
As he spoke, Li Tan had already put on his mask and retrieved a thick black robe from his spatial ring, replacing his pill master robe.
“What do you mean? Uh, are we going to—”
“You guessed right. I hope you don’t mind accompanying me?”
“Sure, let’s go. I also wanted to buy something.”
Tang Leyin covered herself with a light red robe.
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