Chapter 43

Pei Ling had accompanied her all this way without a word of complaint. Qiao Ranran felt she ought to show her appreciation. "What would you like to eat, Junior Brother Pei? This meal's on me!"

"Sounds good." Pei Ling smiled and accepted.

A moment later, Qiao Ranran regretted it. She watched, expressionless, as Pei Ling rattled off a long list of dishes to the waiter without even looking at the menu. She had heard of some of them; others were entirely new to her. Judging by the waiter's delighted smile, the restaurant served every one of them—and they were expensive.

Qiao Ranran silently opened the menu. Thankfully, the restaurant had listed its prices, so she could see exactly how much Pei Ling had ordered. And since they were both cultivators, she didn't have to worry about them being unable to finish it.

Even if they couldn't, they could always take the leftovers with them!

She counted the Spirit Stones in her bag. It looked like she had enough, and she relaxed at once. When would she finally be able to eat and shop without checking the prices, and have so much money she couldn't keep track of her balance?

As they waited for the food, Qiao Ranran set herself a short-term goal: cultivate hard, raise her cultivation level and become more credible, so she could earn more money!

"Senior Sister."

"Hmm?"

"Do you know Wen Ziheng?"

"Hmm?" Qiao Ranran's face was impassive, her gaze calm. "Who's Wen Ziheng?"

Pei Ling's gaze remained cool as he poured Qiao Ranran a cup of fruit wine. The transparent amber liquid rippled across the white jade cup, much like the turmoil in Qiao Ranran's heart, which was nowhere near as tranquil as her face.

"Qiao Ranran." There was no one else in the room. A dangerous look crossed Pei Ling's face, and his eyes once again darkened into a silent black. "You know Wen Ziheng."

This time, it was no question. He stated it as a fact.

Qiao Ranran lowered her eyes to the fruit wine in her cup. "I don't know him." At this point in her life, she shouldn't know Wen Ziheng. "But I know of him." She chose her words, mixing truth with lies. Pei Ling was clever, and she wasn't particularly good at hiding things. He might spot more cracks in her story later. Better to give him something now. "After I came back from the Langhuan Blessed Land, I had a brief dream. In it, I died. Someone stabbed me through the heart."

Pei Ling's gaze darkened.

"I didn't know who that person was. I'd never met him, but I recognized his voice." Pain stabbed through Qiao Ranran's heart. Those events had not happened yet, and she would do everything she could to prevent them from happening in this life. But the pain she had already endured had long since etched itself into her Divine Soul.

Pei Ling's hand, which had gone still, moved again. Fruit wine flowed from the pot in a graceful arc into the white jade cup before him. "Just a dream?"

"Just a dream!" Qiao Ranran suddenly smiled, bright and dazzling as sunlight breaking through dark clouds. "That's why I don't like him."

"Don't like him..." Pei Ling drew out the words, as though turning their meaning over in his mind.

Qiao Ranran's heart skipped a beat. Why did she get the feeling there was more to his words? It was only a dream. Disliking someone over it was just a little whim of hers, nothing serious.

Given a second life, everything from the first felt like passing clouds, a long dream.

A knock came at the door, and the waiter entered with a smiling group carrying freshly prepared dishes. As they set the food down, he noticed Pei Ling's impassive manner and launched into a lively account of each dish's origins. Only after Pei Ling rewarded him with a Spirit Stone did he withdraw with a grin.

The people who worked here were not to be underestimated. They were cultivators; that waiter's cultivation was even a little higher than Qiao Ranran's. He worked hard for a living, all for a few Spirit Stones and cultivation resources.

"Let's eat." Qiao Ranran raised her cup and drained it first, neatly steering past the subject before burying herself in the food.

She had been hungry for ages. She might have eaten plenty of seafood, but it digested far too quickly, and all that shopping had taken its toll. She was ravenous.

As she ate, she forgot the awkwardness from earlier.

There was truth in the saying: if you weren't embarrassed, someone else would be. She had no idea whether Pei Ling felt awkward. As long as she didn't, that was enough.

Pei Ling had little interest in food. He had been locked in the Abyss when he was young, and the only thing he had eaten there was a Demon Beast his little pet had brought to his mouth. Its texture was unforgettable in the worst possible way. Ever since, no matter what he tried, that was all he could feel in his mouth.

Besides, cultivators could draw in the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth for their own use. Eating spiritual foods was another way to do so, but even the finest cooking damaged their Spiritual Qi and left plenty of impurities behind. After eating, a cultivator had to spend Spiritual Power and time purging those impurities from the body.

Still, Pei Ling was polite enough to pick up his chopsticks. He put them down even faster.

Remembering how reluctantly he had tasted a few bites of seafood on the beach, Qiao Ranran made no attempt to persuade him. It didn't matter if he didn't want to eat now; they could order more when he did. She probably still had enough money. She just wouldn't be able to shop quite so freely that afternoon.

Then Pei Ling said, "I'm going into seclusion."

"Hmm?" Qiao Ranran looked up in confusion, then remembered his injuries and the changes to his Divine Sense. She nodded without protest. "All right."

"Three days."

"You don't need to rush," Qiao Ranran advised gently. "Take things one step at a time once you're in seclusion. Damage to your Divine Sense isn't something to take lightly." She was capable, certainly, but there was nothing she could do about an injury to his Divine Sense.

Pei Ling toyed with the white jade cup. "Aren't you the one in a hurry?"

Qiao Ranran was the one eager to return to the sect. She was also the one eager to leave Vast Sea City and avoid Wen Ziheng.

Qiao Ranran gave a couple of dry laughs and fell silent, clutching her bowl.

When Pei Ling said he was going into seclusion, he meant it. Vast Sea City had houses and courtyards available for independent cultivators to rent, so finding a place was easy.

Rankings

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Transmigration into a Book

Sweet Romance

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

Dahei Loves Fish

Double Rebirth

Immortal Fantasy