Eighteen Frames

Even Pei Ling, who did not understand what she was doing, could tell this was a critical moment. The discomfort and pain in his body did nothing to dampen his interest. He watched Qiao Ranran's every move, missing not a single detail.

He even noticed her faintly trembling lashes, her pale face, and the glistening bead of sweat clinging to the tip of her chin.

Just then, a sudden noise came from outside the wooden cabin. As it drew closer, the pressure of a high-level cultivator swept toward them.

Outside disturbances rarely affected Qiao Ranran. She could ignore any irrelevant noise, but at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, she could not ignore the pressure of a high-level cultivator. Even without a trace of malice behind it, it posed an enormous threat to her.

The string already stretched to its limit abruptly snapped.

Qiao Ranran's face turned ashen. She could not hold back a mouthful of blood, and it spilled from the corner of her lips. Mingling with the sweat on her face, it dripped silently onto the floor outside the wooden tub. She had positioned herself carefully: close enough to work without letting sweat fall into the tub. Nothing that might affect the medicine's efficacy could be allowed.

Pei Ling stared at the vivid blood on her lips, his gaze darkening.

Still, her hands drove the needles into him, swift and steady.

Then the flimsy wooden door was shoved open with a bang, accompanied by a loud call. "My bargain disciple! You—"

The moment Xi Lingge saw the scene inside and Qiao Ranran's condition, he knew he had caused trouble. His face fell. He strode behind her and, without a word, braced her shoulders and channeled Spiritual Power into her.

With that support, Qiao Ranran no longer had to worry about running out of Spiritual Power. Her needles flew until Pei Ling resembled a freshly skewered hedgehog. Only then did she relax, swaying as she struggled to stay on her feet. She turned and smiled at Xi Lingge. "Thank you, Master."

But Xi Lingge's gaze was fixed on the wooden tub. The horrifying black veins that had covered Pei Ling surged out through the last confines of his body and flowed from the wound in his palm into the multicolored medicinal liquid. In an instant, the liquid turned black as ink and began to writhe faintly, as though it were alive.

Only when every black vein had vanished from Pei Ling's body did Qiao Ranran say softly, "You can come out now."

The process had been difficult, and she had nearly faltered at the crucial moment, but the result was perfect. All she had to do now was figure out how to explain everything to her bargain master.

Chapter 18: Eighteen Frames

Qiao Ranran woke to a flurry of blows from little Spirit Jade. For an instant, she found herself recalling how delicious shredded rabbit was. But when she opened her eyes and saw a pile of fruit beside her pillow, still fresh with dew, and little Spirit Jade staring at her with worry and lingering fear, she decided rabbits were adorable.

As she gnawed on the fresh fruit Spirit Jade had brought, Qiao Ranran tried to remember what she had said before falling asleep. She must have been too exhausted. The treatment had succeeded, and Xi Lingge, who was presumably a highly skilled healer, was there to watch over things. Once she relaxed, she had barely said a couple of words before losing consciousness.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not remember whether she had said anything she should not have. She had told them the poison in the wooden tub still needed to be dealt with, or it would cause endless trouble. Xi Lingge had taken the tub away at once. She also seemed to have explained why she knew how to do all this. The answer was simple.

Langhuan Blessed Land.

She had said fate had led her to Langhuan Blessed Land, and that she had learned everything she knew there.

Xi Lingge and Pei Ling had surely heard of Langhuan Blessed Land, a treasure trove of countless books and secret arts. No one knew where it was or when it might appear, but every so often, someone was fortunate enough to enter, gain an opportunity of some kind, and go on to achieve something with it.

Qiao Ranran really had obtained the Golden Needle Secret in Langhuan Blessed Land. That had been in her previous life, but she had been there, so it was not a lie. She wondered if she would get another chance to enter in this life.

It was good that she had told them. From now on, she could attribute anything to Langhuan Blessed Land. Perfect!

Qiao Ranran gathered up the remaining fruit and rubbed Spirit Jade's little head. "Come on, I'll take you to get something tasty!" Spirit Jade had followed her back for a bite to eat, only for so much to happen that it had not gotten anything tasty—or even a mouthful of Water Ginseng. This fruit was probably its latest food supply. That was fine; she would not have to worry about it going hungry, and she could have a bite too.

She took out her communication jade token and contacted Senior Brother Zhou Lukang. He had already returned to the Profound Heart Sect, but knowing she was busy, he had not disturbed her. The pile of things she had asked Senior Brother Zhou to bring included Water Ginseng. It had a pleasant crunch, and she liked snacking on it herself. More importantly, it was cheap!

Senior Brother Zhou's expression grew even more complicated when he saw Qiao Ranran. He had heard all about it. This pretty, well-behaved junior sister, who looked so delicate and frail, had healed the new junior brother's injuries despite being only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining. Her technique had amazed even Uncle-Master Xi. After examining the poison, Uncle-Master Xi had said that if he had handled it, he could at most have used his cultivation to suppress or expel it by force. Given the poison's nature, neither method would have eradicated it, and either might even have triggered a severe resurgence.

Yet his junior sister had done it.

Qiao Ranran seemed to keep overturning everything Zhou Lukang thought he knew. He was starting to get used to it.

Then Zhou Lukang glanced at the Spirit Jade Rabbit clinging to Qiao Ranran's calf. He had heard about that too. Though his junior sister had never said a word through the jade token, it was full of stories about her. She seemed to have grown used to the rabbit hanging from her leg, awkward as it looked.

"What's the highest grade of pill you can refine now, Junior Sister? After seeing the pills you made, someone became very interested in what you might be able to refine in the future. As you know, the real money for an alchemist isn't in making those pills. It's in fulfilling private commissions. That's where the greatest profits are..." Zhou Lukang looked at Qiao Ranran expectantly.