Twenty-Five Frames

"Junior Brother Pei, you went to a lot of trouble." Pei Ling had sought out the Vast Sea Medical Hall for them. Qiao Ranran pressed her lips together. "How much did you pay up front?" She had been prepared to cover Brother Rotten Flesh's expenses, but she had not been prepared to owe Pei Ling money.

She was used to other people owing her, not the other way around. Being in debt made her feel as though she had lost the upper hand.

With others present, Pei Ling remembered to maintain his well-behaved image. He smiled, his eyes narrowing. "Don't worry about it, Senior Sister. I still owe you for treating me!"

Qiao Ranran: "..." If he had not mentioned it, she would almost have forgotten giving him acupuncture on the beach to ease his pain.

Remembering how vulnerable Pei Ling had been then, Qiao Ranran's gaze softened. If he were not so strange, she could actually be a little nicer to him.

Author's note: Wen Ziheng: You guessed wrong. I'm very good at holding back!

Pei Ling: Heh.

First update today! There'll be another during the day! All for that ten-thousand-word deal! Let's go!!

Chapter 25: Twenty-Five Frames

Strange as he was, Pei Ling probably had no idea that his good behavior had made Qiao Ranran feel sorry for him for a moment. His attention was on Wen Ziheng, whom he had spotted crouching outside the Vast Sea Medical Hall again.

Was this man really that bored, or was there something about Qiao Ranran he could not leave alone? On second thought, she did have plenty worth looking into.

Wen Ziheng's eyes lit up when he saw Pei Ling and Qiao Ranran. His expression was so guileless that their meeting again might have been pure chance. But Pei Ling knew perfectly well that Wen Ziheng had been the one to bring him to this very hall. How could he not have known they would meet here?

And yet Wen Ziheng put on the air of someone seeing an old friend after a long separation.

"Fellow Cultivator Pei, what a coincidence."

Pei Ling: Heh.

"A coincidence? I thought you were waiting here for us, Fellow Cultivator Wen. Were you not?" Pei Ling looked innocent and perfectly at ease. His voice even held a note of unmistakable regret.

Wen Ziheng: "..." He really had not been waiting here for them in particular, but would they believe him if he said so? "I didn't see you when I arrived. I thought you'd already left."

"We were just about to." Pei Ling glanced at Qiao Ranran. She had ignored Wen Ziheng entirely, taken Brother Rotten Flesh into the hall, and was explaining his condition to a physician. "Is there something you need here, Fellow Cultivator Wen?"

There was. It was why Wen Ziheng had stayed in Vast Sea City for so long. He had thought Pei Ling would never get curious enough to ask. Gesturing toward the hall's doors, he said, "A friend of mine is in poor health. We've run out of other options, so when I heard a reclusive Medicine Cultivator worked here, I came to give it a try. Unfortunately, the physician happens to be away. All I can do is wait here." He had already been in the city for days, but the Medicine Cultivator had gone out to gather herbs and still had not returned. It was giving him a headache.

Qiao Ranran heard him as soon as she came out, and her gaze darkened. She knew the friend Wen Ziheng meant. She knew exactly what was wrong with him, too. In her previous life, she had even been the one to cure him.

Blood Gu. Feng Changdong.

In her previous life, Feng Changdong had been afflicted with Blood Gu, and he and Wen Ziheng were friends. Only because Qiao Ranran had followed Wen Ziheng everywhere had she, a mere junior Medicine Cultivator, gained firsthand knowledge of the condition. She had spent years searching for a cure and eventually found one: Blood Gu Reversal, the same technique she had used earlier to save Yan Qingsui.

Qiao Ranran lowered her eyes. If she did not step in this time, who would help him?

Feng Changdong was a good man. He could have sought help from a more accomplished Medicine Cultivator, but he had always smiled and told her, "I believe in you."

Treating Yan Qingsui might have looked effortless, but she had developed that technique through trial after trial on Feng Changdong. She could no longer count the setbacks and pain they had endured along the way.

If she had the chance, she wanted to help Feng Changdong. With the technique she knew now, curing him would surely be easier than it had been in her previous life.

But Feng Changdong was Wen Ziheng's friend. Helping him would inevitably draw Wen Ziheng's attention. If the price was becoming entangled with Wen Ziheng again, she would probably choose to abandon Feng Changdong.

Pei Ling noticed her distracted expression, and his eyes flickered. "Everything arranged?"

Qiao Ranran nodded.

"You're really leaving just like that?" Pei Ling glanced at the doors of the Vast Sea Medical Hall. "Even if he can't be cured, aren't you going to collect your money?"

Qiao Ranran: "..."

Wen Ziheng had been listening closely. Catching a few key words, he turned to Qiao Ranran in surprise. "You're a Medicine Cultivator too?" Then he thought better of it. She was only at the Qi Refining Stage. Even if she was a Medicine Cultivator, she could only be a beginner. She was unlikely to have any answer for him.

He had searched and waited for so long that he was grasping at straws.

Qiao Ranran ignored Wen Ziheng. "Junior Brother Pei, I'm going to look around the city. Would you like to come?" It was rare for her to visit a city this large, and she had a little money on hand. Of course she had to make the most of it.

For various reasons, she had not managed to stock up on many useful things, whether Spirit Plants or other supplies. For a hoarder like her, that was deeply uncomfortable. But she knew she had no money, so she had put up with it.

The things she had asked Senior Brother Zhou to sell were supplies she had saved for ages. What they brought in had barely supported her cultivation, with only a few Spirit Stones left over. Come to think of it, her first real earnings had come from Pei Ling.

Spending money she had earned from Pei Ling right in front of him did not bother Qiao Ranran one bit.

Besides, shopping was a wonderful way to lift her spirits. After browsing a few shops, Qiao Ranran had forgotten the unpleasantness of running into Wen Ziheng and lost herself in the joy of shopping. By the end, she had nearly forgotten Pei Ling too.

It was only when her legs grew tired and she spotted a restaurant that she turned around. Seeing Pei Ling, who had followed quietly behind her the whole way, she felt a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, Junior Brother Pei. Once I start shopping, I get carried away. Hahaha." Qiao Ranran rubbed the back of her head. "Let's get something to eat first, then shop some more? Is there anything you want to buy? We can look for it this afternoon."

Rankings

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Book Transmigration

Sweet Romance

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

Big Black Loves Fish

Double Rebirth

Cultivation Fantasy