Jiang Lan paid no mind to the woman who had suddenly appeared behind him. He casually picked up an ancient book from a nearby desk and began to leisurely flip through it.
'I still need to come up with a good plan for the Blood Immortal Sect ruins.'
'It's not that I'm worried about being unable to snatch it. I'm considering how to justify it all. With my current strength, even if I find the Blood Immortal Sect ruins, I won't be able to obtain the Blood-colored Forbidden Canon inside.'
'So I need a plausible reason to borrow some outside help.'
The woman stood silently behind Jiang Lan, not disturbing his reading.
The afternoon sun slanted low. A breeze drifted through the courtyard, gently brushing a few strands of dark hair from beside her ear.
A delicate fragrance drifted on the air, refreshing the senses.
"Have you… had another episode these past few days?"
It was only after what seemed like a long time that the red lips beneath her veil parted.
Her voice was beautiful, yet it was cold and flat, with each word enunciated slowly.
After absorbing the original's memories, Jiang Lan was already accustomed to her personality. He just gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment.
The woman's clear eyes rested on his face as she said in a low voice, "Don't force yourself…"
Jiang Lan glanced at her from the side.
Although he knew the woman genuinely cared for him, he couldn't help but feel a growing sense of… oddness.
'But given the original's personality, I can't possibly start being nice to her so soon.'
'The memories show that he was truly annoyed by her and wanted to avoid contact.'
Li Mengning, the current Quasi-Saintess of the Taiyi Sect, was also his mother's personal disciple.
The Taiyi Sect was the foremost among the world's Immortal Sects, its status supreme. It boasted a long and storied history, its true power unfathomably deep.
Within the Sect, generation after generation of experts emerged, their might overwhelming all lands.
Seeing that Jiang Lan was ignoring her, Li Mengning hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Actually… I've seen that many of the girls in Yu Yi City are very clean. I can abduct one for you."
"There's no need."
Jiang Lan waved his hand dismissively. From his memories, he was already used to such shocking statements from her, so he wasn't surprised at all.
In his memories, Li Mengning had left the Taiyi Sect to enter the mortal world, comprehend the Red Dust, and temper her mind. That was why she had been following him all this time.
She was also the mysterious woman who had abducted Su Qingyao a few days ago.
Generally speaking, a transcendent character like a Saintess would typically be a potential love interest for the protagonist.
But in the original story, Li Mengning was ruthless, vicious, and decisive in killing. The protagonist, Lin Fan, had been hunted by her many times.
Because when Li Mengning first appeared, her strength far surpassed Lin Fan's, and the Cultivation Technique and Divine Techniques she practiced were extremely powerful.
Her foundation had been solid since childhood, and she had vast experience in life-or-death battles, which caused the protagonist, Lin Fan, to constantly suffer setbacks.
Jiang Lan recalled that later in the story, Lin Fan would point out the flaw in Li Mengning's cultivation technique, revealing to her that she was actually a supreme Tripod Furnace prepared for Jiang Lan by his mother. This revelation would cause her to have a complete falling-out with his mother.
By comparison, his mother was the true, unadulterated villain of the story, while the original Jiang Lan was so pure he was practically an innocent little flower.
However, even under those circumstances, Li Mengning never drew weapons against his mother.
In fact, after Jiang Lan's death, she became determined to avenge him.
Unfortunately, she was no longer a match for Lin Fan. After being defeated, she took her own life on the spot.
'Am I worthy of that?'
As Jiang Lan recalled this part of the plot, he could only feel that he wasn't worthy.
The original's mind did contain quite a few memories related to Li Mengning, but they were all vague.
He only remembered that in his youth, his mother was indeed followed by a small, almost invisible shadow—a little tag-along who was timid, silent, and disliked speaking. She was often scolded for being clumsy, but she was incredibly diligent in her cultivation.
The kind-hearted young Jiang Lan would sometimes see her injure her hand during sword practice and secretly find precious Golden Wound Medicine to apply to her wounds. After seeing her get scolded, he would find her later and quietly offer his encouragement…
Beyond that, his memories were a blur; he couldn't recall much else.
Most of the original's memories were about his older sister, Jiang Ruxian. After all, one was an unremarkable ugly duckling, while the other was as brilliant and dazzling as the moon in the night sky.
"You ate meat today… Master instructed that you are not to eat meat." Li Mengning's low voice sounded again.
"Did you see me eat it?"
Jiang Lan had no idea how she knew he'd had the medicinal meal the moment she returned.
'Is her sense of smell that good?'
"No." Li Mengning shook her head.
"Then I didn't eat it," Jiang Lan said with a smile.
"You did…"
Li Mengning stared at him with her clear eyes and said softly, "Eating too much meat will make your illness act up. If you want to eat it, just have a little."
"I picked some Spirit Fruits for you on my way back. They're all washed very clean."
As she spoke, a faint radiance flashed from her slender, jade-like hand.
Her Sumeru Ring glowed brightly, and with a soft TUMBLE, a pile of Spirit Fruits appeared on the jade table. They glistened translucently, their fresh fragrance filling the air.
Jiang Lan looked at her faintly expectant expression, casually grabbed a fruit, and took a bite.
'Mm, it's very sweet.' It melted the moment it entered his mouth, turning into a warm spring that flowed through his entire body.
Seeing that Jiang Lan, for once, hadn't rejected her kindness, Li Mengning's eyebrows curved up ever so slightly. The small gesture made her eternally frozen expression seem to come alive for an instant.
"You came back so late. Was it because you were delayed by picking Spirit Fruits on the way?"
Jiang Lan finished the Spirit Fruit in a few bites and could clearly feel an increase of Spiritual Energy in his body.
After fusing with the Destiny Dao Fruit, his Spring of Life was no longer the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Immortal Heart, and the Spiritual Energy in his body would no longer vanish for no reason.
"Mhm…"
Li Mengning nodded. "I couldn't find a trace of that person…"
'With your current strength, how could you possibly catch up to someone who can tear open the Void to escape?'
Jiang Lan shook his head. He didn't know if this girl was truly naive or just pretending.
Although Li Mengning was the Quasi-Saintess of the Taiyi Sect, she was still part of the younger generation. Even a Sixth Realm expert like Ying couldn't stop Lin Fan.
Yet this single-minded girl had chased after Lin Fan in the direction he fled that very day, only returning just now.
And she had even picked so many Spirit Fruits for him along the way.
'These Spirit Fruits don't look like something you'd find in any ordinary deep mountain. Don't tell me she ran off to the back mountain of some Sect?'
Jiang Lan glanced at her, but her face, hidden behind the light veil, was as cold as frost, showing no change in emotion.
"Hm?" Li Mengning gave him a strange look.
"The Spirit Fruits are delicious, but don't steal them next time," Jiang Lan said.
"I didn't steal."
Li Mengning replied, then added, "I just picked them along the way…"
「Early the next morning」
"Having just recovered from his 'serious illness'," Jiang Lan swaggered toward the Su Mansion, surrounded by a crowd of guards.
The Cultivators and other beings along the way, whether they were merchant caravans or passing Sect Disciples, scrambled to get out of his path, terrified of crossing him.
On the bustling street, a path was quickly cleared, leaving only the shops and street vendors behind.
The guards at the Su Mansion's gate were so frightened they were trembling, not even daring to block his way. The servant who ran to announce his arrival turned pale and collapsed to the ground with a THUD.