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No one could say what the future held. But she was resolute and resilient, and she would surely live a fuller life than many others.

Xi Lingge went into seclusion once and came out to find himself with a disciple he had barely asked for. He went into seclusion again and came out only to nearly injure the young disciple he had just taken in. After a third retreat, he emerged to discover that his disciple was gone??

Xi Lingge suddenly wanted to ask Senior Brother Cen Xian to divine whether he had broken some taboo lately.

Only after rummaging through his storage bag did he realize he had no way to contact her. Pouting, he contacted his senior brother, Sect Leader Ji Qingming, and asked him to send his precious disciple Qi Zhuoyu to look into it.

There were few people in the Profound Heart Sect, and everyone was used to cultivating on their own. Unless necessary, they rarely disturbed one another. As the Sect Leader's disciple, Qi Zhuoyu was also the next Sect Leader. In fact, ever since Ji Qingming had taken him as a disciple, Qi Zhuoyu had handled all the sect's day-to-day affairs.

But Qi Zhuoyu did not interfere with matters concerning Xi Lingge's disciples. When he learned that Xi Lingge had sought him out to ask where Qiao Ranran had gone, he was momentarily baffled. Since when was that my responsibility too?

Still, he had no reason to turn Xi Lingge down. He had given Qiao Ranran a Communication Jade Token, after all. He also found himself wondering why Uncle-Master Xi had never given her any way to contact him. No wonder his master said Uncle-Master Xi was unreliable. He had not realized just how unreliable.

But Qiao Ranran did not respond. She never appeared on the special Communication Jade Token shared by sect members either, so she had probably tucked it away somewhere. Qi Zhuoyu contacted Zhou Lukang and learned that he had last seen her several days ago.

Before that, Qiao Ranran seemed to have gone to the back mountain. Outside her little wooden house waited a Spirit Jade Rabbit, its fur dusty from waiting so long. Qi Zhuoyu recognized it as the leader of the rabbits on the back mountain. Though he had never formally met it, as the future Sect Leader he knew a little about most things in and around the Profound Heart Sect.

Except the new junior sister.

Oh, and the new junior brother. He did not seem to be on the mountain either.

The Profound Heart Sect had no rule forbidding disciples from leaving to gain experience before reaching a certain cultivation level. If they had the ability and had made their own arrangements, the sect would not interfere. They were free to come and go. But with only a Third Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, Qiao Ranran would have had trouble leaving the sect safely. Qi Zhuoyu could tell she was quiet and well-behaved. She would not leave recklessly.

Had something happened?

As for Pei Ling, he was a man at the Foundation Establishment Stage. There was no need to worry about him.

It never occurred to Qi Zhuoyu that Pei Ling might have lured Qiao Ranran away. He could only reassure Xi Lingge. "Uncle-Master Xi, don't worry. Junior Sister's Soul Lamp and Disciple Jade Token show nothing unusual. She's safe. She probably had something to attend to and left for a while."

"What business could a little girl like her have?" Xi Lingge muttered. In truth, he felt guilty.

Though several hundred years old, he was the youngest disciple of his generation. With his baby face, he had been indulged by his master and doted on by his senior brothers. Centuries later, he still behaved like a child. Even now that his senior brothers had disciples and he had been an uncle-master for years, he had little sense that he was an elder himself.

He had never given any thought to how one was supposed to care for a disciple.

When he learned that Qiao Ranran had removed the poison from Pei Ling's body by some other method, his entire attention fixed on the bucket of liquid the poison had become.

He spent days studying that wooden bucket before remembering why he had gone to see Qiao Ranran in the first place. He also remembered that his interruption seemed to have injured her. Leaving aside how a master ought to care for his disciple, he would have felt at fault for hurting anyone through his own mistake. He had simply been so captivated by something novel that he had forgotten.

It was not the first time this had happened, and it certainly would not be the last.

By the time he remembered to check on Qiao Ranran—even if he could not bring himself to apologize, he ought to make it up to her somehow—she was no longer in the Profound Heart Sect. His guilt abruptly turned into a stifled sense of grievance.

Xi Lingge's expression was easy to read, but even though Qi Zhuoyu understood it, he could not laugh. "Uncle-Master Xi, don't worry. Junior Sister is capable. She'll be able to take care of herself."

Her cultivation was low, but Qiao Ranran really was capable.

Qiao Ranran had no idea that her master had finally remembered her and, feeling guilty, was trying to reach her. She had shoved both Communication Jade Tokens Qi Zhuoyu had given her deep into her storage bag. Busy traveling, she had not sensed their calls at all.

Yes, traveling.

After a brief retreat, Pei Ling emerged with a new vitality about him. It was as though life had suddenly returned to someone deathly pale. He looked far more normal. The strange problem with his Divine Soul that Qiao Ranran had once sensed also seemed to have vanished.

He seemed like an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator—but for Pei Ling, that was the least ordinary thing of all. If he truly had undergone Rebirth rather than Body Snatching, the disturbance in his Divine Soul came from the future.

What had he done to make his Divine Soul seem normal?

Qiao Ranran pondered the question throughout their journey. She was so quiet that Pei Ling could not help glancing at her.

Now that his Divine Soul was settled, Pei Ling could resume cultivating normally. If he encountered someone like Wen Ziheng again, he would no longer be too weak to crush him. But Qiao Ranran's silence made him wonder.

After spending some time with her, Pei Ling had learned that she liked to chatter. Even when no one answered, she could slip into talking to herself without missing a beat. Why was she so quiet now? He could not help suspecting it had something to do with Wen Ziheng.

Every unusual thing he had seen about Qiao Ranran seemed to be connected to Wen Ziheng.