Page 47

They had barely begun Sword Flight before Pei Ling descended.

Qiao Ranran looked baffled. "What is it? Did something happen? Are you feeling unwell again? I told you, you've only just started getting better. There's no need to rush into flying. We can walk instead..." Though who knew how many years that would take.

But she also knew that Pei Ling was only at foundation establishment and still injured. Sword Flight was already taxing, and with her along as well, it seemed perfectly normal for his spiritual power to run short.

After a moment's thought, Qiao Ranran dug out a bottle of Essence-Recovery Pills and handed it to Pei Ling. "They're only Essence-Recovery Pills, but don't turn your nose up at them. High-grade ones should still be enough for you. There aren't many, though, so use them sparingly. I'll give you more once I've refined another batch."

Pei Ling watched Qiao Ranran in silence. She really was talkative, and she looked more like her usual self when she chattered.

His lips curved into a faintly cool smile. "No charge?"

Qiao Ranran choked on her words, feeling that her kindness had gone entirely unappreciated. She glanced at Pei Ling and copied his cool tone. "What I charged you was a consultation fee, payment for my expertise. I didn't charge you for these Elixirs or anything else. Besides, when I charged you, you were my patient. Now that I'm giving you Elixirs, you're my junior brother."

As his senior sister, looking after her junior brother was only natural.

Besides, although she was stranded out here because Pei Ling had taken matters into his own hands, he had ultimately done it to help her. They were only some low-level Elixirs. She wasn't that stingy.

Pei Ling immediately smiled. "Thank you, senior sister."

Qiao Ranran: Hah.

After a short rest, the two continued on their way. Mostly, though, Pei Ling did the traveling while Qiao Ranran stood behind him and spaced out. Whenever Pei Ling felt that the air had grown too quiet, he would descend to replenish his spiritual power.

Qiao Ranran had no objections. In fact, she thought it only natural. While Pei Ling rested in meditation, she would wander around, gather a few spirit plants along the way, or find something to eat.

Even if Pei Ling didn't eat, she still needed food. Grain-Bigone Pills really tasted awful.

Then, during another rest stop, Qiao Ranran caught the familiar scent of blood.

"Wait!" Qiao Ranran reached out to stop Pei Ling and pointed toward the small valley nearby. "Go over there and take a look."

Pei Ling didn't move. He seemed quite surprised by her tone. Was she ordering him around?

When Pei Ling failed to move, Qiao Ranran simply jumped down herself, intending to hurry toward the valley.

The smell of blood was strong, but there were no other traces of fighting. The surroundings should have been safe, though she didn't know whether they would stay that way if she delayed any longer. She needed to hurry over and see what had happened and whether whoever was there was worth saving.

So she jumped, but she never reached the ground, because her belt had been grabbed again.

With sharp eyes and quick hands, Pei Ling caught the woman who was trying to abandon him and slip away alone. His voice held a smile, yet carried an icy edge. "Where are you going, senior sister?"

Qiao Ranran clutched her belt in alarm, once again grateful that it was sturdy enough. She had no idea what curse her belt had fallen under lately. Trembling, but utterly certain, she said, "To—to save someone!"

"Do you like saving people that much, senior sister? No matter who they are, as long as you see them or hear about them, you'll save them?"

Just like you saved me?

Qiao Ranran hesitated for a moment. "Probably... yes?" If it were Wen Ziheng or anyone connected to him, she wouldn't save them even if they were right in front of her!

Pei Ling suddenly understood. Qiao Ranran had saved him not because there was anything special about him, but simply because he had been lucky enough to meet her at that time, in that place. Had someone else been lying on that road, she would have saved them too.

So Qiao Ranran was his stroke of good fortune, while he was merely someone she had saved on a whim.

No matter how he looked at it, that feeling sat badly with him.

Since he felt bad, Pei Ling had no intention of letting Qiao Ranran feel good either. He lifted her by her belt and set her back behind him, then said with a beaming smile, "Senior sister, I think we should prioritize getting back. After all, we've been away from the sect without permission for so long. Who knows how we'll explain ourselves when we return?"

Qiao Ranran stared, dumbfounded. Had she not experienced it herself, she would have doubted that the person standing before her was the very one who had taken her out of the sect without permission.

"Junior Brother Pei!" Qiao Ranran pressed a hand firmly against Pei Ling's arm. Even though he seemed to have returned to normal, his body was still far colder than an ordinary person's. "Let me take a look. Just one look!"

Pei Ling looked at the hand on his arm, at her long, slender fingers, and remembered how beautifully nimble they were when she formed hand seals. "It's just someone who has nothing to do with us."

But Qiao Ranran's gaze was unwavering. "Neither of us knows what fruit the smallest seed of a cause planted today might bear in the future."

This was something she had come to understand recently.

In her previous life, Wen Ziheng and the others had usually decided whom she would treat. She rarely had a chance to meet anyone else. As a slacker with dreams, she had been a truly dedicated homebody.

In this life, she had first met Pei Ling and saved him. Afterward, he had become her junior brother and even helped her find the Blood Jade Nectar. None of that had happened in her previous life. Then she had met Yan Qingsui, the boy she had heard about in her previous life who had died young. She had saved his life, and she had felt that things were different.

It wasn't just her fate that had changed. The fates of many others could change as well. She could choose to save a stranger by the sea, or choose to stop concerning herself with Feng Changdong's safety. Naturally, she could also choose to save whoever was in the valley.

Pei Ling stared into Qiao Ranran's eyes, as though trying to discern something within them. There was nothing there but clarity and resolve.

"Qiao Ranran, have you ever considered what fruit saving me might bear?"

Author's note: I've started a prize draw! 10,000 jj coins, awarded randomly. Let's see who gets lucky!

You need a 100% subscription rate, calculated as of midnight on the 14th—that is, late on the 13th. The drawing will be at 2 p.m. on the 14th!

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Rankings

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Transmigration into a Book

Sweet Romance Novel

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

Big Black loves fish

Dual Rebirth

Xianxia Novel