BTTH : genius planner

Ziyan stood in place for a few seconds, then came back to her senses. She touched the spot on her forehead where she had just been hit, relaxed her tense body, and then looked at the boy in front of her with a puzzled expression. Now calm, she could sense the boy's inexplicable friendliness towards her.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before," Ziyan asked as she plopped down on the ground, looking at the boy.

"Lin Yuan, a little alchemist who just arrived at the inner courtyard. And you? Little girl?" Lin Yuan answered Ziyan's question and then asked back knowingly.

"My name is Ziyan, don't call me little girl!" Ziyan replied irritably.

"Little girl, huh?" Taking advantage of Ziyan's unpreparedness, Lin Yuan quickly moved in front of her and placed his hand on her small head. "You're so young; don't call yourself 'little girl' when you have such a nice name like Ziyan!"

Looking at Lin Yuan's gentle smile and feeling the tone of his words, which was completely different from how others treated her, Ziyan, who appeared carefree but felt a bit lonely inside, didn't rush to shake off the hand on her head. She just tilted her head to the side and mumbled, "Then you shouldn't call me little girl either."

"Even though you're a magical beast and a fighting king, your personality is just like your appearance—you're a little girl!" Lin Yuan thought to himself, his smile growing wider. He removed his hand from Ziyan's head, bent down slightly, and placed his hand in front of her, saying with a smile, "Then let's get along well, little Ziyan!"

Ziyan looked at the hand in front of her and, for some reason, felt a bit happy. She proudly extended her hand to shake Lin Yuan's, then stood on her tiptoes and patted Lin Yuan's shoulder, saying, "Little Lin, I really admire you. If anyone bullies you in the future, just mention my name!"

"Little Lin? What kind of nonsense is that?" Lin Yuan seemed to think of something unpleasant and couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't dwell on it too much; after all, she would change her words soon enough.

"By the way, Ziyan, you were trying to steal my spirit fruit just now, weren't you? Why?" Lin Yuan asked knowingly.

Perhaps a bit of friendship had formed during their brief and friendly exchange, Ziyan felt a little embarrassed and honestly replied, "I can feel that this fruit has a lot of energy. I want to eat it to grow up."

"Grow up? Eat? Isn't that alchemy? Aren't you afraid of being overwhelmed by the energy?" Lin Yuan asked with a puzzled expression.

Upon hearing this, Ziyan placed her hands on her hips, wrinkled her nose, and proudly said, "I can eat it directly without any problem. It's your human bodies that are too weak."

"You humans? Ziyan, are you a transformed magical beast? But don't magical beasts need to reach the seventh level to transform? You seem too weak to be at that level; you can't even beat me, so you don't look like a seventh-level beast at all," Lin Yuan expressed his doubts at the right moment, but his friendly tone didn't change because of Ziyan's identity as a magical beast.

After hearing the first two sentences, Ziyan was still a bit worried that Lin Yuan would change his attitude towards her like some others had because of her identity as a magical beast. But when she heard Lin Yuan say she was weak, she immediately felt a bit indignant: "What do you mean I can't beat you? I just didn't use my full strength earlier. If you don't believe me, let's compete again!"

Lin Yuan comforted Ziyan as if she were a child, "Okay, okay, Ziyan is indeed very impressive. I was just curious; your cultivation is still far from transformation, so how come you've transformed so early?"

"I accidentally ate a very rare transformation herb, and then I became like this and couldn't change back. I eat these medicinal materials because I want to grow up quickly, so I can freely switch between my beast form and human form," Ziyan said with a frown. It seemed that she wasn't very enthusiastic about this topic, as her tone was somewhat dull.

"Transformation herb? No wonder," Lin Yuan nodded upon hearing this.

"What about your parents?" Lin Yuan asked casually.

"I don't have any," Ziyan said, lowering her head, curling her legs, and wrapping her arms around her knees. Her snow-white, even teeth bit tightly on her lip, and her big, dark eyes glistened with moisture. "Since I became conscious, I've lived alone in the deep mountains. When I was little, I could only run away when other creatures bullied me. Later, after eating the transformation herb, I met the elder of the inner courtyard, who brought me here, and I've stayed here ever since."

Although she harbored many calculations in her heart, seeing the stubborn look on the little girl's face as she bit her lip made Lin Yuan feel a surge of affection. He sat beside her, gently patted Ziyan's small head, and comforted her, "It's all in the past. From now on, you have the elder as a relative and me as a friend. Life will get better and better."

After a pause, Lin Yuan looked at Ziyan with interest and continued, "I'm also alone; I have no blood relatives in this world. Hmm, I always feel like I'm missing a little sister. Ziyan, would you like to be my little sister?"

Originally feeling a bit sad, Ziyan's strong heart instantly dispelled her sadness upon hearing Lin Yuan's words. She stood up and looked down at Lin Yuan, who was sitting, and said firmly, "Who wants to be your little sister? You should be my little brother instead!"

"Oh?" Lin Yuan chuckled playfully and stood up as well, taking out the spirit fruit and tossing it in his hand, saying regretfully, "Ah, I was going to give this spirit fruit and some medicinal materials to my little sister as a meeting gift. Since I don't have a little sister now, I might as well keep it for myself!"

"Brother!" Ziyan, who had been staring at the spirit fruit, instantly changed her expression upon hearing this and sweetly called out to Lin Yuan.

"Hmm? Why is Miss Ziyan calling me that? I can't handle it!" Lin Yuan teased, looking at her.

"Brother, my real brother! I was just joking earlier; don't take it seriously!" Ziyan said, playfully shaking Lin Yuan's arm, her eyes constantly glancing at the spirit fruit in his hand.

Seeing the now docile Ziyan, Lin Yuan shook his head. "Forget it, I won't tease you anymore. Let's continue."

With that, Lin Yuan tossed the spirit fruit to Ziyan. After catching it, a bright smile appeared on her cute face, her eyes squinting with joy.

Watching the happy Ziyan, Lin Yuan felt a bit of joy himself, perhaps influenced by the little girl's pure smile. He smiled and asked Ziyan, "Ziyan, can I ask you a question? Is it good to eat these medicinal materials directly? How's the taste and texture? I've never tried it, and I'm quite curious."

Upon hearing this, Ziyan's smile faded, and she complained, "It's really hard to eat, but there's no choice. If I want to grow up quickly, I have to eat these medicinal materials that contain powerful energy."

"Hard to eat? How about processing it like this?" As he spoke, seeing Ziyan's slightly puzzled expression, Lin Yuan waved his sleeve and summoned a few medicinal materials from not far away. He used the Azure Spirit Flame to quickly melt them at the right temperature, then took out a few seasonings from his storage ring and sprinkled them into the melted medicinal liquid. He then controlled the liquid to form several dozen pills.

"Give it a try!" Lin Yuan handed the fragrant pills to the waiting Ziyan.

Ziyan eagerly tossed one of the pills into her mouth, chewing it with her eyes squinting into a line, looking very satisfied with the taste and texture. After chewing for a while, she swallowed it and opened her eyes, her face showing a hint of wanting more. "It's delicious!"

Hearing this, Lin Yuan smiled with satisfaction, thinking to himself, "Of course it's delicious; I specifically studied cooking for a while for this moment. Among alchemists, few can compare to my culinary skills."

Watching Ziyan toss another pill into her mouth, Lin Yuan said with a smile, "Since that's the case, in the future, if you have medicinal materials, don't eat them raw. Bring them to me, and I'll help you process them to make them tastier. I'm quite good at this. Also, these pills can only be eaten by you; don't give them to others. Ordinary people can't handle this kind of violent medicinal power."

While chewing on the pill, Ziyan mumbled indistinctly, "Got it, got it."

"Swallow what you have in your mouth before you talk!" Lin Yuan rubbed Ziyan's small head.

Thank you to all the readers for your recommendation votes. The new book has set sail, and since it doesn't have much exposure, I kindly ask everyone to collect it and vote. If you have any opinions or suggestions, feel free to discuss them in the review section.

(End of Chapter)