What Do You Call a Benevolent and Reasonable Person in Xianxia? An Impossibility!

The silver-haired girl was initially stunned by Xiao Yan’s words.

Her cool expression changed slightly, and she immediately withdrew the scroll she had handed out, casting a wary look at the stall owner.

She might be inexperienced but she wasn’t stupid.

Xiao Yan’s words made it clear that something was wrong with the Peach Blossom Flame.

If she couldn’t figure that out, she really shouldn’t be out in the world.

The stall owner’s face darkened instantly as he saw the great deal slipping through his fingers because of Xiao Yan.

He glared at Xiao Yan and asked angrily.

“Who are you to her?!”

“We’re strangers. I’m just passing by,” Xiao Yan replied calmly, making the stall owner even more furious.

You don’t even know her? Then why are you meddling?

“Mind your own business! What does this have to do with you?!” The stall owner shouted, glaring at Xiao Yan as if he wanted to eat him.

But Xiao Yan remained unfazed by the stall owner’s glare, answering softly.

“On a small scale, I don’t want to see people I care about being deceived by similar schemes. Therefore, the fewer deceitful people there are, the better,” Xiao Yan gently rubbed his wrist, his brows furrowed tightly.

“On a larger scale, if I ignore this today, I’ll despise myself for it later. I’d see myself as someone who didn’t uphold their principles.”

“To others, this might be a trivial matter, but to me, if I can ignore such small things, what excuses would I find for bigger issues in the future?”

“So today, I’m definitely meddling.”

Xiao Yan’s statement stunned everyone present.

Well, they had seen meddlesome people before, but never one so righteous!

However, on closer thought, Xiao Yan’s meddling was indeed righteous.

Deceiving people was wrong, especially using a broken flame seed to cheat a young girl out of a precious Medicinal Formula.

Xiao Yixian, who had followed with Qing Lin, also looked a bit exasperated hearing Xiao Yan’s words.

Knowing Xiao Yan, she could guess what had happened without needing an explanation.

Xiao Yan, you really are…

She massaged her temples with a slight headache and sighed softly, looking at Xiao Yan’s side profile with a helpless smile.

There was no way he could ignore it if he saw it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be Xiao Yan.

After Xiao Yan’s speech, the stall owner snapped out of his daze, his expression becoming more sinister as he glared at Xiao Yan.

“So, you’re saying you’ll offend me for a stranger?”

“It’s not my intention to offend you or sabotage your business,” Xiao Yan responded earnestly, looking at the Peach Blossom Flame seed. “It’s simple. You just need to explain the actual condition of this Peach Blossom Flame to the lady. If she still wants to trade, I won’t stop her from giving you a Tier 4 Medicinal Formula, even if she wants to exchange a Tier 5 or Tier 6 Medicinal Formula.”

Xiao Yan’s words were so reasonable that the stall owner was left speechless, though he cursed Xiao Yan inwardly.

What nonsense! If I tell the truth about the Peach Blossom Flame, she wouldn’t trade even a Tier 4 Medicinal Formula, let alone a Tier 5 or Tier 6!

The Peach Blossom Flame wasn’t worth a Tier 4 Medicinal Formula, and this one was broken.

It wasn’t even sellable; nobody would want it even for free!

These thoughts echoed in the stall owner’s mind, but he couldn’t say them out loud.

He had no justification. Xiao Yan was meddling, but he was right. The stall owner was the one trying to cheat, so he had no right to berate Xiao Yan.

The stall owner glared fiercely at Xiao Yan. Knowing the condition of the Peach Blossom Flame, he couldn’t explain it.

Fighting wasn’t an option either. Even if he could win, he was in the wrong. Attacking would only make things worse for him.

Finally, the stall owner packed up his things and threw one last remark at Xiao Yan.

“Kid, I’ll let this go today!”

With that, he left the market in a huff. Xiao Yan watched him leave and sighed.

Stopping deceitful people was easy. Changing them was hard.

Judging by the stall owner’s expression, he didn’t think he was wrong. He’d likely continue his ways in the future.

Xiao Yan couldn’t think of a way to change such people. Stopping their actions without changing their minds felt both useful and useless.

Maybe he was too arrogant to think he could change their minds.

Xiao Yan shook his head slightly.

His righteous path was still a long way to go.

“Thank you.”

A cool voice broke into Xiao Yan’s thoughts. He turned to see the silver-haired girl looking at him with gratitude in her eyes.

Xiao Yan waved his hand lightly.

“No need to thank me. I did it for myself.”

Yes, Xiao Yan did it for himself.

Even if the person about to be deceived wasn’t the silver-haired girl, he would still intervene.

He was merely sticking to his principles.

Xiao Yixian, alarmed by the interaction, pulled Qing Lin close and moved to Xiao Yan’s side, sticking close to him and casually asking.

“Xiao Yan, is everything settled?”

“More or less,” Xiao Yan scratched his face, looking a bit displeased.

Although he prevented the silver-haired girl from being scammed, the stall owner showed no remorse, which didn’t feel like a perfect resolution to Xiao Yan.

Such people continued because the world wasn’t harsh enough on them.

If more people stood up against them, they might stop.

Changing the world required changing the environment. As long as it remained the same, his efforts felt futile.

“Let’s go. There’s nothing else to buy here.”

Xiao Yan smiled at Xiao Yixian, who also breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness there was no further interaction.

As they were about to leave, the silver-haired girl spoke again, making Xiao Yixian’s heart clench.

“If you don’t mind, I can take you to another market. There might be something you want there.”

“Another market?” Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Yes.”

The silver-haired girl nodded and explained softly.

“This is just a regular marketplace. The items bought and sold here can mostly be found at auctions. However, there is another market that only certified high-level alchemists can enter. The items traded there are generally much rarer than those here.”

“Oh, I see.” Xiao Yan nodded in understanding but then frowned slightly. “But if only high-level alchemists can enter… I’m only a Tier 3 alchemist, I probably don’t qualify, right?”

In Xiao Yan’s understanding, only alchemists of the fourth tier and above could be considered high-level alchemists.

This wasn’t just Xiao Yan’s belief; it was a common understanding in the Jia Ma Empire.

Of course, this understanding was scoffed at by Yao Chen, who had seen thousands of  Tier 8 Alchemists.

Any alchemist below Tier 7, to her, is merely a kid playing with medicine herbs in their cauldron.

Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, the silver-haired girl’s eyes widened.

He’s a Tier 3 alchemist? But he’s so young!?

She scrutinized Xiao Yan’s face.

He looks about my age, right? I just became a second tier alchemist not long ago, and he’s already a third tier?

After a while, the silver-haired girl regained her composure, feeling a bit resentful.

It’s natural to feel this way when encountering someone your age who has far surpassed you in your field.

But it was just a feeling of dissatisfaction, not jealousy.

Calming herself, the silver-haired girl explained patiently.

“My teacher is there. I can take you in using his name, as a way of repaying you for helping me earlier.”

“Well…” Xiao Yan was about to habitually refuse but then remembered Xiao Yixian’s earlier incident.

Plus, the place might indeed have what he needed.

After a moment, he nodded lightly and said to the silver-haired girl, “Alright, thank you for the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” the silver-haired girl smiled slightly and extended her hand to Xiao Yan. “My name is Xue Mei.”

“Xiao Yan.”

Xiao Yan reached out and shook her hand briefly, as a basic courtesy.

Seeing Xiao Yan and Xue Mei introduce themselves, Xiao Yixian was almost fuming.

He got another one!

Of course, it seemed they were just acquaintances now, and their relationship might only remain friendly.

But Xiao Yixian still felt a deep sense of unease.

After all, she had only regarded Xiao Yan as a friend initially, too.

However, Xiao Yixian couldn’t stop Xiao Yan.

He just wanted to use Xue Mei’s status to enter the high-level alchemists’ market, and she couldn’t stop him based on something that hadn’t even happened yet.

“This is Xiao Yixian, and this is Qing Lin,” Xiao Yan introduced them to Xue Mei, snapping Xiao Yixian out of her thoughts.

Although she was very upset, she still smiled and nodded at Xue Mei.

After all, she couldn’t let her personal feelings embarrass Xiao Yan.

“Hello, nice to meet you.”

“Hello,” Xue Mei responded, glancing between Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian. She then asked curiously, “Are you two a couple?”

What???

Xue Mei’s question made Xiao Yan freeze, while Xiao Yixian felt elated inside.

“Really? We seem like a couple to you?”

Xiao Yixian didn’t clarify, covering her mouth and laughing softly, her fondness for Xue Mei skyrocketing.

This girl knows how to talk! She’s pretty cute, too.

But while Xiao Yixian didn’t hurry to clarify, Xiao Yan quickly denied it in a panic.

“No, no! Please don’t misunderstand! Xiao Yixian and I are just friends. I’m looking after her because of an old friend’s request.”

Xiao Yan was anxious to explain, not for himself but for Xiao Yixian.

If rumors spread about her being involved with him, it could seriously affect her reputation.

But his anxious explanation didn’t sit well with Xiao Yixian.

What? Does the idea of being mistaken for a couple with me embarrass you that much?

Knowing Xiao Yan well, she understood he didn’t mean it that way, but his eager explanation still irked her.

She pinched his waist, making him wince in pain and look at her in confusion.

“Xiao Yixian, what’s wrong?”

“Hmph! Figure it out yourself!”

Xiao Yixian crossed her arms and pouted, clearly displeased.

Seeing this interaction, Xue Mei nodded thoughtfully, realizing the situation.

It wasn’t that Xue Mei was particularly insightful about relationships. Anyone could tell what was going on between Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian with a quick glance.

Recalling Xiao Yan’s earlier intervention and his words, Xue Mei chuckled softly, finding him even more intriguing.

People like him were rare in this world.

At least, Xue Mei hadn’t met anyone like him so far.

She was slightly, just slightly, interested in Xiao Yan.

“Let’s go. If we’re late, some of the items you want might be gone.”

Xue Mei said, leading Xiao Yan and the others toward the end of the market.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian each held one of Qing Lin’s hands, following her.

As they walked, Xue Mei glanced back at the trio, a strange look flashing in her eyes.

To outsiders, they really did look like a family…