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Pei Ling, already at the middle stage of the golden core realm, looked listless as he handed a Spirit Stone to the Profound Heart Sect. His movements were practiced; clearly, he had done this plenty of times before.

"You're quite impressive, Senior Sister. You even managed to save Sword Venerable Jinglin's only son." Counting from when she had saved him in Clear Spring Town to when Xi Lingge had brought her back to the Profound Heart Sect, Yan Qingsui had been lucky enough to encounter Qiao Ranran and have her save his life in that brief window. "With Sword Venerable Jinglin backing you, you'll be able to swagger around wherever you please."

"..." Qiao Ranran sighed. Before she could say anything, Pei Ling continued in a hollow voice, "And with the Feng Family's young master protecting you too, just how do you intend to walk from now on, Senior Sister?"

Qiao Ranran opened her mouth, suddenly at a loss for words. This really was difficult to explain, and she had never intended to explain it anyway. Somehow, beneath Pei Ling's utterly flat, deadpan teasing, she heard envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"You've got the wrong idea, Junior Brother Pei," Qiao Ranran said earnestly. "As a healer, when I save someone, I'm not thinking about how much I'll get in return or how powerful a backer I'll gain afterward. I do it simply because, at that moment, they need my help."

The corners of Pei Ling's lips curved. At last, his quiet voice was no longer entirely unchanging, though his words remained baffling. "Oh, that's true. I certainly looked like I needed your help back then. That Half-Demon down south looked like he needed it too, and that fellow surnamed Wei in Returnless Valley barely counts. But did those two surnamed Yan