[Ding! Congratulations on successfully completing your First Life reincarnation.] [Please select one of the following three skills to inherit: Flame Flash Body Flicker, Eight-Sided Fire, Torch Dragon Flame Dance.]
Xiu Yuan had been transported to a strange place that was pure white in every direction.
Hearing the notifications, Xiu Yuan froze for a moment.
Then, without hesitation, he chose Flame Flash Body Flicker.
Flame Flash Body Flicker was a skill from his Vision, and it worked much like the Flying Thunder God technique in Naruto.
No matter how far away he was, he could instantly teleport to his weapon.
That was Flame Flash Body Flicker.
It was an incredibly versatile skill, a godsend whether he was escaping, rescuing someone, or fighting.
Eight-Sided Fire, meanwhile, was an attack with an enormous area of effect and considerable damage.
Its drawbacks were its high energy cost and long cooldown.
Using that skill in a one-on-one fight would be idiotic.
As for Torch Dragon Flame Dance, that went without saying. Using it meant dying. He would never pick that thing, no matter how ridiculously powerful it was.
[You have selected: Flame Flash Body Flicker. Your next reincarnation will begin shortly.] [Successfully initiated!] [Mission: Help Qiqi gain the ability to survive on her own.] [Transporting you...]
A dazzling white light swallowed Xiu Yuan. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a clear blue sky and branches covered in emerald-green leaves.
A gentle breeze stirred the branches, while warm sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering pleasant patches of light.
"My second life has already started...?"
Xiu Yuan had not even had time to reflect before he was sent straight back.
That was...
That was way too fast.
Xiu Yuan slowly got up and looked around, then felt as though something was calling to him.
He followed the stream until he arrived somewhere familiar.
This was the cave where Mountain Shaper had sealed Qiqi.
No wonder he had felt something calling him. It turned out the system had been showing him the way.
"It's so wet... why is there so much water...?"
After entering the cave, Xiu Yuan found that every step sent ripples spreading through the water. It was dark and cold inside...
Qiqi probably liked it here, though. She was a zombie, after all, and preferred cold places.
Only after venturing deeper did Xiu Yuan find the amber sealing Qiqi.
Qiqi had originally been an ordinary young herb gatherer from Bubu Pharmacy. Long ago, during the Archon-Devil War, she had accidentally broken her right leg and hurried into a cave to rest.
Busy bandaging her wound, she had faintly heard strange, inhuman sounds. She never expected that, after a thunderous crash, the cave would collapse, sending cold rocks crashing down onto her tiny body, one after another.
Both the adepti and the demons fighting outside realized that their battle seemed to have caught an innocent mortal girl in its wake.
"So quiet... it hurts..."
"Is Qiqi... going to die...?"
"Qiqi... doesn't want to die."
"Qiqi... wants to go home."
As Qiqi lay on the brink of death, countless emotions welled up inside her.
Fear of death, attachment to the world, physical pain, and...
The desire to live.
The heavens seemed to have heard Qiqi's voice, or perhaps they felt that such a fate was far too unfair for a mortal girl.
And so, on the verge of death, Qiqi received a "Vision," bringing the Archon-Devil War to an end.
Out of guilt, each adeptus sealed a portion of their adeptal power inside Qiqi, hoping to revive her body.
However.
A mortal body could not withstand such immense adeptal power, and the revived Qiqi went berserk.
To quell the rampage, Mountain Shaper had no choice but to seal the unfortunate girl inside amber.
She had been nothing more than an innocent, ordinary girl, yet accidentally getting caught in a battle had left her sealed here for hundreds of years!
Xiu Yuan gently rested his hand against the amber. Then it began to melt at a visible rate.
Only once Qiqi was completely freed did she open her large pink eyes.
"Who am I...?"
After being released from the seal, Qiqi seemed to have forgotten even her own name.
"Your name is Qiqi. You're a zombie. I'm Xiu Yuan. I'm here to help you."
In four simple statements, Xiu Yuan explained the situation as briefly as possible.
"I'm Qiqi... a zombie...?" Qiqi repeated in her soft, childish voice.
Then she looked at Xiu Yuan with her large, puzzled eyes.
"You're Xiu Yuan... you're here to help Qiqi...?"
"Yes, that's right." Xiu Yuan answered with a faint smile.
Qiqi looked at Xiu Yuan again, then stiffly took her first step.
Xiu Yuan immediately noticed something was wrong.
Sure enough, as Qiqi took that first step, her balance shifted noticeably. Just as she was about to fall, the already prepared Xiu Yuan darted forward and steadied her.
"Qiqi... can't walk..."
Clearly, what had just happened had frightened Qiqi, but as a zombie, she showed no expression on her face.
"Qiqi, I'll carry you on my back."
With that, he hoisted Qiqi onto his back.
"Brr... so cold," Xiu Yuan thought.
It felt as though he were carrying a block of ice.
Qiqi must feel hot, too. She'll be uncomfortable. I need to get her out of here quickly.
With that thought, Xiu Yuan quickened his pace.
"So warm..."
As Qiqi spoke, rather than pulling away from Xiu Yuan, she hugged him even tighter.
Xiu Yuan was taken aback, but a faint smile soon appeared on his face.
"Your body is stiff because you're a zombie, Qiqi. It doesn't mean you can't walk." Xiu Yuan carried her out of the cave as he spoke.
"Qiqi... wants to walk, too..."
"Then let's do some Soft Gymnastics."
"What are... Soft Gymnastics...?"
"They'll let you move freely."
"Okay~ Qiqi likes... Soft Gymnastics..."
Xiu Yuan smiled faintly at her words. It seemed she had longed for freedom for a very long time.
Carrying Qiqi, Xiu Yuan returned to the forest where he had first arrived.
There were mountains, a stream, and woods here, making it an excellent place to set up camp.
After putting Qiqi down, Xiu Yuan began teaching her the familiar calisthenics routine, only to discover that even the most basic movements were difficult for her.
So Xiu Yuan began guiding her movements himself.
He carefully held Qiqi's soft little hands and began moving them.
However, her body was like a rusty screw weathered by a hundred years of wind and rain. It would not budge...
Every joint seemed locked in place, and Qiqi was so small that Xiu Yuan did not dare force them.
Now Xiu Yuan was the one stuck. His expression grew grave as he pondered what to do.
"Can Qiqi... not do... Soft Gymnastics...?"
Qiqi was not stupid. On the contrary, she was very clever. From Xiu Yuan's expression, she knew they had run into a problem.
"You can, Qiqi. It's just your first time doing Soft Gymnastics, so I need to help loosen you up."
Xiu Yuan had a rough idea of how to solve the problem.
"Qiqi needs... Xiu Yuan to help... loosen her up...?"
Qiqi did not seem to understand what that meant.
"Yes. Leave it to me. I'll make sure you can move freely."
As he spoke, Xiu Yuan laid Qiqi flat on her back on the grass.
"Qiqi... trusts Xiu Yuan..."
"Okay." With that, Xiu Yuan took off Qiqi's little shoes, which were smaller than a fist.
P.S. Friends, please keep asking for updates and leaving comments! That gives the author the motivation to keep working hard on new chapters. Don't tag this as something to read when you run out of books, don't tag it that way, don't tag it that way-important things need to be said three times.
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