The second frame

Yet Su Nianqiu felt a chill creep into her heart—

Chapter 2: The second frame

In the end, Qiao Ranran left the Clear Feather Sect without trouble. After all, aside from that master she had picked up on the cheap, no one cared whether she wanted to stay. With her talent, keeping her in the sect would only be a waste.

But she also knew her own limits. Clear Spring Town was not far from the Clear Feather Sect, and she planned to stay there for a while.

If she remembered correctly, people from the Profound Heart Sect would appear in Clear Spring Town before long, for no reason other than to seek disciples blessed with fortuitous opportunities and spirit roots in this remote place. Even the Clear Feather Sect had initially caught their eye, and they had wanted to bring it under their banner. In the end, however, the Clear Feather Sect's conduct had put them off, and the matter had come to nothing. Who would have thought that, thanks to Sheng Ruoyu's fortunate encounter, the Clear Feather Sect would eventually catch the Soaring Firmament Sect's favorable breeze and become its subordinate sect? Even Sheng Ruoyu had soared straight into the sky, becoming an inner disciple of the Soaring Firmament Sect.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Qiao Ranran. She simply found the Profound Heart Sect's way of doing things quite to her liking and wanted to see whether she shared a destined connection with it.

But she also knew that her cultivation talent was nothing special. The only talent she could show off was her aptitude as a medicine cultivator. Although that man had eventually run her through with a sword and taken her life, before that, he had never shortchanged her on either resources or spell arts. The resources were gone now, but all the spell arts were still in her head.

Although she was only at the pre-heaven stage now, she knew that, with her poor talent, building a solid foundation at this stage mattered more than drawing qi directly into her body.

Lost in thought about the path she would take from now on, she ambled toward Clear Spring Town.

Never in her wildest dreams had she expected a dark figure to lunge out from the roadside and collapse right at her feet.

Qiao Ranran: "..." An injury scam?

Then she silently took a step back, taking the opportunity to check whether there were any accomplices nearby. She had a clear idea of her own strength. She could handle a few ordinary people, but if they were cultivators, she could pretty much only wash herself clean and wait to die.

Despite that thought, she had no intention of giving up outright. Quietly, she took out a silver needle and held it concealed in her palm.

The dark figure lay on the ground without moving for a long time, as though that single lunge had exhausted all his strength. Only the faint rise and fall of his body proved he was still alive.

But his breathing was so weak that it seemed liable to stop abruptly at any moment.

Qiao Ranran frowned. The sudden fright had distracted her earlier; only now did she notice the thick smell of blood coming from the dark figure, as though he had been badly injured. Many other scents mingled with that bloody odor, suggesting poisoning as well.

Qiao Ranran's talent was not limited to her ability to comprehend medicine and spell arts. She also had a keener sensitivity to the scents and effects of various medicinal substances. That was why she immediately detected that the dark figure was not only grievously injured but also severely poisoned. The fact that he had still managed to stagger into her path alive was nothing short of a miracle.

She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately lost to her own instincts—even though she knew nothing of this person's origins, his injuries, and especially all that poison, were far too much of a challenge to resist!

To ensure her own safety, before examining his injuries closely, she first inserted a needle to make sure he would not wake while she worked. Only then did she begin her examination. What she found made her suck in a sharp breath.

Limited by her cultivation, she had only been able to discern his severe external injuries at a glance. Now that she examined him, she discovered that, never mind his flesh, barely any of his bones were intact. His meridians were worse still: most had already been destroyed, and the few that remained were being eaten away by an unknown, deadly poison.

This man truly had it rough.

This was hardly a convenient place. She could only apply a few needles to keep his injuries from worsening, and even that barely worked. Ideally, she needed somewhere safe and quiet. Clear Spring Town was not far away, but with injuries like his, he really should not be moved again. She would have to find someone to help and take great care.

After some thought, she sighed, pulled a cloak from her bundle, and covered him with it. Then she laid a simple protective formation around him—not because she did not want to use a more advanced one, but because this was all her current strength allowed. Even this simple formation cost her the only spirit stone in her pocket.

Better than nothing.

I'll go into town and find someone to help. If he's still alive when I return, I'll do everything I can to save him!

But before she could take that first step, someone seized her ankle in a crushing grip.

Qiao Ranran: "..." She felt as though her ankle was about to snap!

He was clearly struggling on the brink of death, barely clinging to his last breath. She had clearly needled him, and he should have been unconscious. He clearly—how had he managed to grip her ankle with such force?

Qiao Ranran lowered her head and met a pair of pitch-black eyes that seemed to have melted into the Abyss. Every star within them had gone out, leaving not a glimmer of light, and they stared straight at her.

So cold. So despairing.

The young man stubbornly craned his neck with great difficulty, looking up at her. Even the blood and dirt covering his face could not conceal his exquisite features. What a beautiful young man.

Following his instincts, Pei Ling had caught hold of that departing trace of medicinal fragrance. When he mustered every last bit of strength to lift his head, he had not expected to see such a sight. The girl stood with the light behind her, making her already gentle features seem veiled in a warm golden glow. Her clear, beautiful eyes rested quietly on him, but her faintly furrowed brows seemed to speak words he could not decipher.

He had never thought he would still be alive. Although he did not know what had happened, the despair of this very moment seemed engraved into his divine soul. He soon remembered exactly what this time, and this road, meant.

That year, he had been grievously injured, forcing himself onward with a single conviction: to go home, to bring word home. Yet he had collapsed beside this road and never gotten back up. Demon beasts from somewhere unknown had carried him into their cave, intending to feed his flesh to their young, only for the poison in his blood to bring them all down. Instead, they had left him a thread of hope for survival. He had gnawed those demon beasts and the spirit herbs in their cave raw, crawling his way back little by little.

Rankings

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Transmigration into a book

Sweet romance

Transmigration and rebirth romance

Big Black Loves Eating Fish

Dual rebirth

Immortal fantasy fiction