The Fifth Frame

"Qiao, come help! Doudou can't hold him up!"

Chapter 5: The Fifth Frame

The boy really was injured. He coughed up blood and collapsed without warning; there was no way someone as small as Tao Doudou could support him.

Qiao Ranran hurried over, but just as she was about to check his injuries, the boy suddenly tossed the panicking Tao Doudou into her arms. "Get out of here!" He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said hoarsely, "I'm not getting caught with you two again!" Then he tried to push himself up and leave.

Watching him, Qiao Ranran suddenly understood how someone as small as Tao Doudou had managed to escape the Demonic Cultivator's pursuit in her previous life.

Of course, given the Demonic Cultivator's habits, he had taken only young children around Doudou's age. For a boy this old to have ended up in his hands, there had to be something special about him. It stood to reason that the boy was more important to the Demonic Cultivator than Doudou was...

She wondered what had become of him in her previous life.

Doudou clung to Qiao Ranran's leg, her little voice bright and clear. "Qiao, he's really badly hurt. And the people back there are so mean. Can we help him?"

Qiao Ranran: "..." Someday, she would have to tell Tao Doudou that before helping someone, she needed to consider what she was capable of.

She had no idea why Tao Doudou thought so highly of her. She was no longer sure what she had done in her previous life. But was she going to save the boy in front of her?

She hesitated for only an instant. The boy, who had barely made it a few steps, hit the ground with a heavy thud. It sounded painful.

Qiao Ranran sighed, set Tao Doudou aside, and went to examine him. Tao Doudou obediently held on to her clothes and followed in silence, her big round eyes tracking every movement.

The boy was young, yet he had already drawn qi into his body. But his Spiritual Power was depleted, his internal injuries were severe, and someone had placed a restriction on him that prevented him from using his Spiritual Power. More dangerous still, a Blood Gu had been planted inside him.

Qiao Ranran frowned. This place wasn't safe. Though the boy was shorter than she was, he was sturdily built and weighed at least seventy or eighty jin. She couldn't carry him far, especially with little Doudou in tow.

Then she remembered a secluded Demon Beast cave she had found while exploring the area in her previous life.

A few needles brought the boy back to his senses. He opened his eyes and stared at Qiao Ranran in confusion, but the moment he saw Tao Doudou beside her, he snapped fully awake. Clearly, Doudou had left quite an impression on him during their journey.

"I can't carry you, and I'm sure you know we'll all be in danger if we stay here much longer. There's a hidden cave nearby where you can take shelter for now. I'll take Doudou away, then find someone to come back for you..."

The boy stiffened his neck. "I don't need you to save me!"

Qiao Ranran: "..." If she didn't need him to walk on his own, she would have liked to knock him out with another needle.

"Fine. I won't save you." Once those cultivators dealt with the Demonic Cultivator, the boy would be safe anyway. "And we don't need you to lure those people away. I'm only telling you there's somewhere to hide."

Whether he wanted to hear it or not, Qiao Ranran told him where the cave was. She left a bottle of medicine by his hand, picked up Tao Doudou, and walked away. She had come to find Doudou, not expecting to run into this boy. She was willing to help him while she was here, but he didn't want her help, did he?

Tao Doudou tried to struggle, but Qiao Ranran held her firmly. "If we don't leave now, we'll both die here." Tao Doudou immediately went still.

There were things Qiao Ranran could have said, but she chose to remain silent. She knew that in this world, weakness was the original sin.

With Tao Doudou along, Qiao Ranran couldn't move quickly, and she deliberately took a longer route. They didn't return to Clear Spring Town until the following evening. Perhaps the only difference from her previous life was that Doudou had suffered a little less.

When Doctor Tao saw Tao Doudou safe and sound, the grown man burst into tears and fainted again. But precocious little Doudou was still thinking about the pretty boy they had left behind in the dense forest.

Qiao Ranran hadn't expected Tao Doudou to be so taken with a pretty face at her age.

Knowing those cultivators would search the Demonic Cultivator's hideout thoroughly, Qiao Ranran had no intention of getting involved this time. Aside from telling the County Office where she had found Doudou, she left the matter alone.

She could feel that her awareness of Spiritual Power had improved greatly. That meant she would soon break through the Pre-Heaven Stage, enter the Qi Refining Stage, and become a true cultivator—much earlier than she had in her previous life.

There was no need to rush. She stayed in her room to recover and tend to her meridians. She had nothing to her name, let alone rare treasures to help refine them, but the Spell Arts she had accumulated in her previous life were treasures in their own right.

She cultivated quietly in her room, while the Tao family brought her three meals a day. Doctor Tao had always treated Qiao Ranran as an honored guest; after she saved Doudou, he wanted to give her everything good in the house. When he learned she would be in seclusion, he forbade the family from disturbing her. They left her meals at the door and withdrew.

Three days later, however, Doctor Tao came to knock on Qiao Ranran's door himself.

"Immortal Qiao." Doctor Tao looked embarrassed to have disturbed her.

Seeing the sweat on his forehead, Qiao Ranran almost laughed. "What is it, Doctor Tao?"

After dealing with Qiao Ranran for so long, Doctor Tao knew what sort of person she was, so he got straight to the point. "After Doudou came back, I took her to the County Office and spoke to the town chief. A few days ago, several immortal masters arrived. They found the Demonic Cultivator's hideout and rescued the other children who had been taken. But I never expected them to see potential in Doudou. They want to take her into an immortal sect. I don't know what to do, so I came to ask your advice..."