The arrangement he struck with her has a few terms and conditions.
One, she is to tell nobody of his existence no matter who they may be. Two, he only teaches three days a week. Three, he gets to choose what to teach her. Four, she finds him a quiet place to stay within Glory City where he can temporarily stay undisturbed. Five, he gets to leave the city whenever he wants.
Luo An doesn't want his appearance to create a huge uproar within Glory City because as far as he could remember about canon, people of Glory City believed that they are the only ones left in the Divine Continent. Having an outsider coming into the city from someplace which they had never heard before and had travelled across the vast continent will create a commotion in Glory City as huge as aliens visiting the earth. This is something Luo An wants to very much avoid.
Thankfully, the woman who Luo An now knows goes by the name of Yang Xin, had very readily agreed to his conditions. She had prepared for him an assuming house by the edge of the city like he asked. It is located in an area where not many people pass by and if anyone asks, Luo An will simply claim that he had moved over from the other end of the city. Glory City is huge, being made up of two major cities and six towns. It is a plausible excuse.
It was after interacting with Yang Xin did Luo An realise that the alchemy standards in Glory City is laughably low. He couldn't really quite remember if that was the case in canon but now that he thinks about it, Nie Li probably had some connections with the Alchemy Association back in canon. Luo An couldn't quite remember.
What he did find out from Yang Xin after innocuously asking about their City Lord Ye Zong is that he does have a daughter by the name of Ye Ziyun, who is supposedly hailed as a prodigy even if she hasn't started lessons at the Holy Orchid Institute yet. The minimum age requirement for entry is at thirteen and from what Yang Xin had revealed, Ye Ziyun is only eleven this year.
Meaning to say, there's still two more years before the start of canon.
Now this puts Luo An in a slight dilemma. While he is interested in seeing how canon unfolds he is not keen on waiting two whole years for it to start. He's not one to stay still at one place. Should he travel elsewhere in the meantime before returning to Glory City, or should he stay here? The relatively low level of cultivation of the average cultivator aside, Glory City is a good place to live. The most prosperous and peaceful human settlement he had ever come across, in fact. Peaceful, prosperous and more importantly, he no longer needs to camp out in the wilderness if he's living here.
Decisions, decisions…
"Instead of dumping all your ingredients within the pot like this you need to extract the essence of the herbs one by one before mixing them together. Here, like this."
Yang Xin proved to be an eager and bright student despite her being much older than Luo An in age. She's twenty three, and Luo An was somewhat surprised when he first learnt of it. People in this world tend to marry young. It can be as early as eleven depending on the place you are looking at. A woman who is still unmarried at twenty three is very often frowned upon and laughed at for being a wrinkly old hag that nobody wants.
Although seeing that Yang Xin is a real beauty, Luo An has a sneaking suspicion that there are other reasons as to why Yang Xin had not found a man to settle down with yet. Oh well, it's none of his business.
"That is all for today's lessons." Luo An declared with a yawn and a casual wave of his hand. At least Yang Xin picks up on the lessons rather quickly, so does not have to re-explain things many times. It sure feels good to have a smart student who knows what she is doing and is humble enough to not mind the fact that her teacher is so many years her junior.
Luo An retrieved several bottles from his interspatial ring and placed it on the table, catching Yang Xin's attention.
"And since you have been such a good student so far, I've generously decided to reward you for your efforts."
"And what may these be?" Yang Xin asked curiously as she opened a bottle to take a whiff, trying to figure out just what these are.
"A concoction made from the mixture of Tiger Gaze Grass and Purple Haze Grass. I felt that you might need it."
"Why me?" Yang Xin pressed on, and Luo An grinned when he knew that Yang Xin had fallen into his trap. How long has it been since he had trolled another human being?
"When you mix Tiger Gaze Grass and Purple Haze Grass together and add to your bathwater, it has an added effect of enhancing a woman's breast size and perkiness, making them look more youthf-"
He saw how Yang Xin's facial expression morphed from confusion, realisation, then into embarrassment before turning into fury. He ducked just in time when Yang Xin threw a book at him.
Too easy to tease.
"Perfect for an old hag like you that hasn't yet found a man. Having bigger perky breasts might help you-"
"LUO AN!"
Luo An had disappeared out of the room by now, his laughter fading away as his presence vanished. She trembled in embarrassed anger, her face a flushing red.
That, that… pervert!
She looked down at her chest and couldn't help but use her hands to feel her breasts. While she never boasts about it, she is proud of her looks and figure. She gave her breasts a light squeeze and is satisfied when it still is as perky and soft as it was in her youth.
She still cannot help but eye the bottles Luo An left for her on the table. A little more enhancement couldn't hurt, right?
That does it. She's taking all of them back with her. It is all for science and research.
Yeah, strictly for science and research.
"What's your name, boy?"
The Demon Lord looked down upon the trembling boy. Never would he expect to encounter a natural born inscriptionist within Blackrock city.
This boy is a genius, an asset. The Dark Guild will benefit with him around.
"D-Don't have one."
The edge of the Demon Lord's lips curved upwards into a slight smirk. Don't have one? No matter.
"Then from today onwards, you are Luo An. You will follow me, you will join my Dark Guild, and you will study inscriptions and use your talents for my sake."
The tone of his voice left no room for discussion and he is sure that the boy has been very clearly made aware of it. He gestured for the boy to come over to his side and was satisfied to see that the boy heeded his command, albeit with obvious reluctance.
Time would prove that he had made the right decisions. Even when the boy is only five years of age, he proved to be able to inscribe high level inscriptions that puts many other so-called expert inscriptionists of Blackrock City to shame. The Dark Guild had gained a valuable asset that day. People often underestimate the worth of inscriptionists, an amateur mistake which the Demon Lord will never commit.
With Luo An around, taking down Glory City is no longer impossible.
It is just a matter of time.