Page 12

"So, do you believe me?"

The boy held his breath until a flush rose in his pale cheeks. He wolfed down half a roast rabbit, drained the cup of water beside him, then lay back without a word.

"Pfft..." Qiao Ranran couldn't help laughing. The young boy looked so ready to lie there and let her do whatever she wanted. It was just too

funny

.

The boy had little faith in Qiao Ranran, who looked anything but reliable, but he couldn't bring himself to give up this chance at Vitality. He entrusted his life to her. And once he did, he had nothing left to worry about, which made him seem all the more trusting.

Of course, the truth was that he'd decided he had nothing left to lose.

Qiao Ranran made it sound easy, but she couldn't afford to relax while inserting the needles. She had only just drawn qi into her body and barely reached the Qi Refining First Layer. Nearly every needle drained what little Spiritual Power she had. Pain prickled through her depleted meridians. She circulated her Cultivation Manual until Spiritual Power filled them again, then steadily inserted the next needle.

At some point, the boy opened his eyes. He watched Qiao Ranran's calm, focused gaze without blinking. Not a ripple disturbed it. Only the occasional gleam of a Silver Needle flashed across her eyes. They were as still as a lake, peaceful and reassuring, yet full of hidden Vitality.

She looks beautiful when she's concentrating, the boy thought. The next instant, he realized what he was thinking. His pupils quivered, and his whole body went rigid.

Sensing the change, Qiao Ranran glanced up. A faint ripple seemed to pass through her still eyes, bringing them suddenly to life with Vitality.

"Did that needle hurt?" He had been relaxed, then his muscles had suddenly tensed. But the boy had kept such a grim face the whole time that she couldn't tell what was wrong. All she could think was that her Acupuncture Technique might be rusty and she'd hurt him.

The breath the boy had been holding suddenly slipped out.

"My surname is Yan. Yan Qingsui."

"Hmm?" Qiao Ranran didn't know why the boy suddenly felt like chatting. Perhaps he was scared and wanted to distract himself. She answered casually, the Silver Needle in her hand perfectly steady. "My surname is Qiao. Qiao Ranran."

Yan Qingsui: "..." How had she managed to kill the conversation so thoroughly?

The boy pressed his lips together, a stubborn note in his voice. "My father is Yan Jinglin of the Heavenly Evolution Sword Sect. Sword Venerable Jinglin."

This time, Qiao Ranran was genuinely shocked. The Silver Needle stopped in midair, poised to descend. She looked up at the boy and seemed to see a trace of the Sword Venerable in his features.

Sword Venerable Jinglin did have a child, but that child had died young. Qiao Ranran recalled what she had learned about him in her previous life, but she didn't know exactly when the child had died.

Thinking of the Blood Gu inside him, how he had lost Sword Venerable Jinglin's protection and ended up on his own, and what had happened after Demonic Cultivators captured him, she realized that in her previous life, this child probably had died.

Qiao Ranran lowered her eyes and inserted the needle. "Oh."

It felt like punching a wad of cotton. Yan Qingsui started holding his breath again. Judging by her expression, she knew who Sword Venerable Jinglin was, yet she had reacted nothing like anyone else. Having met all sorts of people growing up because of his father's status, Yan Qingsui suddenly felt that her reaction was the strange one.

And yet, it warmed his heart for reasons he couldn't explain.

Without realizing it, Yan Qingsui let out his breath again. When he opened his eyes, he saw Qiao Ranran's pale face and the cold sweat on her forehead. A large bead slid down her temple, lingered for an instant on her fair chin, then fell to the ground with a soft plop.

She looked exhausted.

He could feel it, too. As more Silver Needles were placed in his body, the Blood Gu that had been slowly feeding on his Essence Blood and Vitality began to change. Richer Essence Blood, brimming with Vitality, flowed into his parched meridians and nourished his battered body. It had been so long since he'd felt Spiritual Power rush through his meridians. The sensation was familiar and deeply missed.

Yan Qingsui stiffened again.

Qiao Ranran was used to it by now. She said softly, "I don't need to teach you how to circulate your cultivation method, do I? Try it. The Blood Gu should be living in symbiosis with you now. It's part of you. Whether your Spiritual Power or your Essence Blood passes through it, what it feeds back to you will be much purer. It's slow, but it really can improve your aptitude..."

Yan Qingsui: Did whoever invented the Blood Gu know it could be used this way...?

Qiao Ranran had finished inserting the needles, but she left them in place. She moved aside and sat down to meditate, recovering her Spiritual Power. This was a valuable experience for her, too. Each time she exhausted her Spiritual Power and absorbed it anew, her meridians would slowly widen, increasing her reserves and capacity bit by bit. She lacked talent, so she could only cultivate gradually through this clumsy method.

Still, whatever the method, all that mattered was that it worked.

As Yan Qingsui circulated his Spiritual Power, he noticed what was special about the placement of Qiao Ranran's Silver Needles. Without thinking, he began guiding his Spiritual Power according to their positions and the order in which she had inserted them. The effect was immediate: he accomplished twice as much with half the effort.

Qiao Ranran saw the change in Yan Qingsui, then looked at her own pitiful amount of Spiritual Power and her narrow meridians. She sighed. Sometimes comparing yourself to other people was enough to drive you mad.

Once she had recovered, Qiao Ranran removed the needles. Yan Qingsui could already circulate his Spiritual Power freely. He hadn't regained his former cultivation, but the change alone left him stunned. And with the Blood Gu helping him—he startled himself with that thought.

While he stood there dazed, Qiao Ranran packed up her things. She had already lost a fair amount of time here, and she didn't have much food left in her bag.

"Oh, right." Qiao Ranran turned to Yan Qingsui. "Do you have money to pay my fee?"

Yan Qingsui: "..." The boy's pale face slowly reddened. It was like eating at a restaurant only to discover you couldn't pay the bill. He now knew what it felt like to dine and dash. How humiliating.

Rankings

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Transmigration into a Book

Sweet Romance Novel

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

Dahei Loves Fish

Both Reborn

Xianxia Novel