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Pei Ling sat cross-legged opposite her, barely half an arm's length away. All he had to do was lean forward to come right up to Qiao Ranran's face—and he did. His blank gaze gave nothing away, but she had the distinct feeling he wanted to say something.

So she ventured, "I'm sorry?"

Pei Ling stared at her for a long moment. Only when she could no longer keep up her calm facade and her eyes began to dart about guiltily did he give a cold snort and straighten up.

Qiao Ranran knew it was wrong to abandon someone halfway through treatment because she had become too absorbed in cultivating. For someone like Pei Ling to actually admit that he was "in pain," only for her to leave the job half-done—that was even worse. Not to mention the lump of "rotting flesh" she had forgotten beneath a tree a little farther away, still clinging to life.

Qiao Ranran coughed to hide her embarrassment. She had barely cultivated in earnest in either of her lives. Faced with a treasure like the Blood Jade Nectar, even a lazybones like her

had found it in herself to make a little effort.

And that little effort had made her forget Pei Ling entirely.

Convinced Pei Ling was angry, Qiao Ranran coaxed him with a few gentle words, then diligently went down to the beach to gather seafood and cook another pot. She was hungry too, after all. She had not gotten a single bite of the last batch.

Little Sea Turtle had no such complaints. It had polished off what was left in the pot and now waited beside the fresh batch, still hungry for more.

Qiao Ranran spent ages negotiating with the little darling before convincing it that this pot was for her and Pei Ling, and that she would cook the next one for it. The little darling promptly scampered into the sea and brought back a heap of wriggling seafood.

Qiao Ranran: "..." Could she refuse on the grounds that the pot was too small? And was it really all right for a little sea turtle—technically seafood itself—to eat seafood so openly?

Pei Ling had little interest in food. Though he had swallowed more bitterness and humiliation than anything else, he had tried the pleasures of the mortal world after climbing out of the Abyss. Life had remained dull all the same.

But seeing Qiao Ranran, who used to stay as far from him as she could for fear of trouble, coaxing him so sweetly, he chose to say nothing.

The seafood looked as though it had been boiled in plain water, but Qiao Ranran had secretly added plenty of ingredients. As a somewhat reluctant foodie, she had spent a lot of time studying seasonings in her previous life and had discovered quite a few plants with effects more remarkable than ordinary spices. Most were low-grade spirit plants.

That was why her cooking always had a flavor all its own, even when it seemed to be boiled in plain water.

Qiao Ranran smiled, her eyes narrowing as the rich aroma filled the air. She refused to believe Pei Ling could remain unmoved. The little darling beside them was so excited it had already dug a sandcastle beneath its claws!

Pei Ling really did seem unmoved. Or if he was tempted, he would never let Qiao Ranran see it. He merely said, "Aren't you afraid you'll attract wolves?"

Or rather, Demon Beasts or sea beasts.

His Divine Sense still throbbed faintly, but he could feel something stirring beneath the blue sea not far away.

Yet by the time Qiao Ranran had packed up, fed Little Sea Turtle, settled the rotting-flesh fellow on its back, and prepared to leave, none of the pathetic creatures Pei Ling held in such contempt had dared set foot on the beach.

A few Hundred-Beast Pills and a seafood meal had been enough for Qiao Ranran to lure Little Sea Turtle away from home. Thinking of how composed that old fellow had tried to look put Pei Ling in an excellent mood. Even his persistent headache eased a little. The poisons howling to surge through his body quieted once more, lying dormant in his Sea of Consciousness as they waited for their next chance to erupt.

While settling the rotting-flesh fellow, Qiao Ranran noticed that he had somehow regained the faint outline of a human body during his time recovering. She had treated him, but she knew her treatment could only ease his injuries. Without pills to help, it could not speed his recovery at all. Yet he had improved—and faster than an ordinary person would have even with medicine.

Qiao Ranran kept studying him as she walked. Several times, she tripped over obstacles because she was not watching her step, only to regain her balance without incident. She was so practiced at it that anyone would suspect this happened to her all the time.

"He's a Half-Demon."

Qiao Ranran said, "Hm?" She seemed not to grasp what Pei Ling meant by this sudden remark.

Pei Ling's expression darkened. This woman was clever when she ought to play dumb and slow when she ought to understand!

His murderous glare snapped Qiao Ranran back to her senses. "Oh! You mean he's a Half-Demon?" She had encountered the Demon Race before and knew how unusual and formidable they were. But while treating this lump of rotting flesh, she had not sensed the slightest trace of demonic energy or caught the distinctive scent of the Demon Race.

Pei Ling glanced at the lump of rotting flesh and still found it painful to look at. He had noticed long ago, but to him, race meant nothing. Either way, the man was a lump of rotting flesh.

Qiao Ranran had failed to recognize his identity because someone had used unspeakably cruel methods to strip the Demon Race half of his bloodline, tendons, and bones from his body. That was how he had ended up like this.

Whoever had done it might not have realized that the Demon Race's resilience lay in more than their bloodline, tendons, and bones. Even reduced to this state, a chance encounter with Qiao Ranran had given him a moment's respite—and with only rotting flesh left, he was still crawling back from death's door, one step at a time.

Pei Ling had no reason to lie, so Qiao Ranran accepted at once that the rotting-flesh fellow was a Half-Demon. She only thought that, in his current state, he hardly counted as one anymore.

Because this stretch of sea was so quiet, Qiao Ranran had assumed they were far from any human settlement. She had already prepared herself for a long journey with Little Sea Turtle, even though it moved at a respectable pace.

Little Sea Turtle even tried to persuade Qiao Ranran to sit on its back too, indicating that it could go faster.

Qiao Ranran felt that sitting there during treatment was one thing, but spending the rest of the journey pressed up against a lump of rotting flesh would be rather hard on the eyes.