Jiang Lan ignored the woman who had suddenly appeared behind him. He casually picked up an ancient scroll from the desk beside him and leafed through it at an unhurried pace.
He still needed to carefully plan matters concerning the Blood Immortal Sect ruins.
It was not that he worried he would fail to snatch the opportunity, but rather that he was considering how to smooth things over. With his current strength, even if he found the Blood Immortal Sect ruins, he would be unable to obtain the Crimson Forbidden Canon within.
So he needed a reasonable excuse to borrow external strength.
The woman simply stood quietly behind Jiang Lan, not disturbing his reading.
The sunlight gradually slanted westward. A breeze drifted through the courtyard, gently brushing past a few strands of black hair by her ear.
Waves of faint fragrance drifted through the air, soothing to the heart and refreshing to the mind.
"You... have you fallen ill again these past few days?"
After what seemed like a long while, the red lips beneath her veil parted softly as she asked.
Her voice was pleasant, yet it inexplicably felt cold and devoid of emotional fluctuation. Every word was spoken slowly.
After merging with the memories, Jiang Lan had long grown accustomed to her temperament. He merely gave a soft grunt through his nose.
The woman's clear eyes fell upon his face as she said quietly, "Don't force yourself..."
Jiang Lan glanced sideways at her.
Although he knew the woman was sincerely concerned for him, waves of... strangeness still rose within his heart.
However, the original owner's personality was there for all to see. In a short time, he could not possibly show her a pleasant face.
Because in those memories, he truly found her irritating and had no desire for excessive contact with her.
Li Mengning, the current Quasi-Saintess of the Taiyi Sect, was also the personal disciple of his mother.
The Taiyi Sect was the foremost immortal sect in the world today, lofty in status, ancient in inheritance, and unfathomable in foundations.
Within the sect, powerful experts emerged one after another, their strength overwhelming the eight desolations.
Seeing that Jiang Lan ignored her, Li Mengning hesitated before continuing, "Actually... actually, I saw that many girls in Yuyi City are very clean. I can abduct one for you."
"No need."
Jiang Lan waved his hand. He had long been accustomed to this kind of "tiger-and-wolf talk" from her in the memories, so he was not surprised in the slightest.
In the memories, Li Mengning had left the Taiyi Sect to enter the mortal world, comprehend the red dust of life, and temper her state of mind. For that reason, she had always followed by his side.
The mysterious woman who had abducted Su Qingyao a few days ago had been her.
Generally speaking, an aloof figure like Li Mengning, a saintess and the like, would be one of the male protagonist's potential beauties.
Yet in the original plot, Li Mengning was ruthless and decisive in killing. The male protagonist, Lin Fan, had suffered repeated pursuits and attempted killings at her hands.
That was because when Li Mengning first appeared in the story, her strength already far surpassed Lin Fan's, while the cultivation arts and divine abilities she practiced were exceptionally powerful.
Her foundation had been solid since childhood, and her experience in real combat and life-and-death battles was even richer, leaving Lin Fan constantly frustrated and battered against walls.
Jiang Lan remembered that later in the plot, Lin Fan would expose the flaw in Li Mengning's cultivation art and tell her that she was actually an unparalleled cultivation furnace Jiang Lan's mother had prepared for Jiang Lan. Because of this, she broke with his mother.
By comparison, his mother was the true great villain in the plot. The original owner was so pure he was practically a little white flower unstained by mud.
Yet even under such circumstances, Li Mengning had never crossed blades with his mother.
After Jiang Lan died, she had even resolved to devote herself wholeheartedly to avenging him.
Unfortunately, she was no longer a match for Lin Fan later on. After being defeated, she took her own life on the spot.
Did he deserve her?
Recalling this part of the plot, Jiang Lan only felt that he did not.
The original owner's memories contained quite a few recollections concerning Li Mengning, but they were all vague.
He only remembered that when he was young, there had indeed been a little tail by his mother's side, almost transparent in presence—small, timid, and silent. She did not like to speak, was often scolded for being foolish, yet cultivated with great diligence and effort.
Kind little Jiang Lan would sometimes see that she had injured her hand while practicing swordsmanship, then secretly find precious medicines such as Trauma Medicine to apply for her. After seeing her get scolded, he would seek her out afterward and quietly encourage her...
Beyond that, the memories were hazy, and he could barely recall anything.
More of the original owner's memories concerned his elder sister, Jiang Ruxian. After all, one was an utterly inconspicuous ugly duckling, while the other shone as brilliantly as the bright moon in the heavens.
"You ate meat today... Master instructed that you were not to eat meat." Li Mengning's low voice rang out again.
"Did you see me eat it?"
Jiang Lan had no idea how she had known, the moment she returned, that he had eaten medicinal cuisine.
Was her nose really that sensitive?
"No." Li Mengning shook her head.
"Then I didn't eat any." Jiang Lan smiled.
"You did..."
Li Mengning stared at him with clear eyes and said softly, "If you eat too much meat, you'll fall ill. If you want to eat it, eat less."
"I picked some spirit fruits for you on the road. They're all washed very clean."
As she spoke, a gleam of light flashed across her slender, fair jade-like hand.
The Sumire Ring immediately shone brilliantly. With a clatter, a pile of spirit fruits appeared atop the jade table before them, crystalline and glistening, their fragrance assailing the nostrils.
Seeing the faint trace of expectation in her expression, Jiang Lan casually picked one up and took a bite.
Mm, it was indeed very sweet. It melted in his mouth, turning into a warm spring that flowed toward his limbs and bones.
Seeing that Jiang Lan had unexpectedly not rejected her goodwill for once.
Li Mengning's brows curved ever so slightly. Her eternally frozen, iceberg-like expression seemed to come alive in an instant.
"You came back so late because you were delayed picking spirit fruits on the road?"
Jiang Lan finished the spirit fruit in his hand in several bites. He could clearly feel some spiritual energy appearing within his body.
After merging with the Life Dao Fruit, the source of his life was no longer the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Immortal Heart, and the spiritual energy within his body would no longer vanish for no reason.
"Mm..."
Li Mengning nodded. "I couldn't find that person's whereabouts..."
With your current strength, how could you possibly catch up to someone fleeing by tearing open space?
Jiang Lan shook his head, unsure whether this girl was truly foolish or merely pretending to be.
Although Li Mengning was the Quasi-Saintess of the Taiyi Sect, she was still of the younger generation. Even a Sixth Realm expert like Uncle Ying had been unable to stop Lin Fan.
Yet this single-minded girl had stubbornly chased in the direction Lin Fan fled that very day, only returning today.
And she had even picked so many spirit fruits for him along the way.
These spirit fruits were not the sort that could appear in ordinary deep mountains. Could she have run to the rear mountain of some sect?
Jiang Lan glanced at her, but beneath the thin veil, her face remained cold as frost, without the slightest visible change in emotion.
"Hm?" Li Mengning looked at him strangely.
"The spirit fruits are delicious, but don't steal them next time," Jiang Lan said.
"I didn't steal them."
Li Mengning replied, then added, "I picked them on the way..."
The next morning, the "recently recovered from a serious illness" Jiang Lan swaggered toward Su Manor, surrounded by a host of guards.
Whether they were merchant caravans or passing sect disciples, the cultivators and living beings along the way all retreated as fast as they could, terrified of running into him.
On the bustling long street, aside from the shops and street vendors, a path was swiftly cleared.
Several gate guards of Su Manor trembled in fear, not daring to stop him at all. The servant sent to announce his arrival was even deathly pale, collapsing to the ground with a thud.
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