The female lead thought she had a "proud and arrogant" character script.

Wanqing stepped forward.

The crow on the man's shoulder took flight and pecked at Wanqing's eyes.

Without changing her expression, she raised her hand, and a green spiritual energy transformed into threads, binding the crow tightly.

The crow fell to the ground with a "thud," letting out an unpleasant cawing sound in resentment.

Luo Qingcheng covered his nose and silently moved a little further away.

[Could I have been poisoned too?]

Upon hearing this, the system scanned her body.

[No.]

Luo Qingcheng lowered his hand, his expression conflicted.

Is it really okay to take something from the person who saved your life?

[As if you could actually steal it.]

The system scoffed.

Luo Qingcheng was displeased.

Does the system need to spout off and tell the absolute truth?

If she doesn't use the fact that someone saved her as an excuse, does she have to admit that it's because she can't beat Wan Qing?

Doesn't Feng Aotian have any pride?

She watched helplessly as Wan Qing walked over to the crow man, squatted down, and took the book from his hand.

Without even looking at it, I put it into my storage ring.

He then took out a black medicine bottle, pulled out the stopper, and poured a drop of black liquid into the mouth of the unconscious crow man.

The crow struggled fiercely, cawing wildly, flapping its wings, and its black feathers fell to the ground.

Nobody paid any attention to the crows.

Luo Qingcheng was shocked.

Unexpectedly, Wanqing, who seemed gentle, was actually quite ruthless.

A femme fatale?

Awesome!

she likes!

[...That's the antidote.]

Huh? Shouldn't medicine in black bottles have some negative effects?

Is it possible that the antidote needs to be stored away from light?

Oh oh.

Yes, this cultivation world is very scientific.

Beautiful inside and out!

She likes it too!

System: [Just say you're attracted to his face.]

After administering the medicine, Wanqing got up but didn't leave. Instead, she stood there, staring at the man lying on the ground, lost in thought.

Seeing that her eyes were darting around as if she were plotting something, Luo Qingcheng didn't dare to breathe loudly.

"Hmm, I'll use you to test my newly refined Rejuvenation Pill."

As expected of you!

The image of a medical madman remains intact!

Wanqing took out an ordinary porcelain bottle from her storage ring, poured out a pink pill, and held it in her hand.

With her other hand, she shot out a beam of green spiritual energy, which struck the crow man's throat, causing him to involuntarily open his mouth slightly.

Wanqing reacted quickly, flicking the pill into the crow man's mouth.

The highest quality elixir melts in the mouth.

Having done everything, Wanqing didn't linger any longer. Amidst the crows' desperate cawing, which represented their fear and unease, she flew away.

Luo Qingcheng still thought the "Rejuvenation Pill" was poison, and couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Is it redundant to administer an antidote followed by a poison pill?

Moreover, pink medicine always makes people feel that it's not a proper medicine.

[The medicine is indeed legitimate, but whether the person is a legitimate person is another matter.]

Before she could figure it out, the still-unconscious crow man suddenly began to convulse.

It startled her.

But then they saw black smoke, emanating an ominous aura, beginning to rise from the severed arm of the Raven Man.

Smoke rose, and countless tiny black insects wriggled about.

Disgusting!

Luo Qingcheng covered his mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit.

Then, the crow-man, who was clearly still unconscious but looked pained, suddenly stopped convulsing and his expression calmed down.

Luo Qingcheng thought that Wan Qing had finally poisoned him with the poison pill she had given him.

But then she saw green light emanating from the man's severed arm, and then she watched as the arm began to regenerate, from the arm all the way to the fingers.

!!!

Good guy!

This "discontinuation pill" has this effect?

[When a cultivator breaks through their Foundation Establishment stage and forms their Core Formation, they have a chance to rebuild their body. She probably saw that this man's cultivation had stagnated at the late Foundation Establishment stage for a long time, and his chances of forming a Core Formation were slim, so she gave him this "Renewal Pill"?]

Luo Qingcheng disagreed with the system's speculation.

She was more convinced that Wan Qing was using this crow-like man as a test subject, rather than acting out of a saintly heart.

Having satisfied his curiosity and realizing that the secret manual was out of the question, Luo Qingcheng was both annoyed that Hongdou's study materials were gone and pondering how to solve the problem.

Just as I was about to leave the snow cave before the crow man woke up, the system suddenly said: [The manual is still inside the snow cave.]

Luo Qingcheng paused.

[What's going on?]

[Unknown, the core concept of the manual remains unchanged.]

Luo Qingcheng was completely baffled and decided to stay and observe the situation.

The antidote was very effective, and the crow man woke up in no time.

He turned his head and saw the crow tied to the ground with a rope of spiritual energy. He looked nervous, stumbled to his feet, and rushed over.

Toothless!

"Caw caw." The crow cawed twice in response.

Seeing that the crow was alright, the man's tense expression eased.

With a flick of his finger, the spiritual energy rope turned into a fluorescent glow and dissipated.

The crow flapped its wings and flew back to the man's shoulder.

The man stroked the crow's broken wing feathers.

"I can only blame my incompetence. I knew she was skilled in alchemy, but I failed to take precautions. It's a pity you suffered."

"Caw—" The crow gently pecked at the man's face.

Luo Qingcheng heard comfort in that unpleasant cry and began to wonder if he had overdone it.

"Toothless, don't try to comfort me."

Luo Qingcheng: So it really was just a consolation?

The man didn't remain dejected for long.

He suddenly discovered that his severed limbs, which had been unable to be regenerated using the "Regeneration Pill" due to an attack by evil forces, had regenerated.

Crow Man: !!!

His pupils widened in shock for a moment. He raised his newly formed hand and grasped it in the air. He quickly realized that it must have been Wan Qing, who was rumored to have an exceptional talent in alchemy, who had cured him.

His naturally cold and stern face couldn't help but produce a bitter smile.

"Disciples of major sects are indeed meticulous in their work."

In this way, he could no longer hold a grudge against Wan Qing for using despicable means to take the secret manual from him.

Of course, he wouldn't thank her for it.

Donning a straw raincoat, the man led the crows away from the snow cave.

Watching the man and the crow depart—

[System, quickly check if the cheat code location has changed!]

[No.]

So Wan knew exactly what the book she took was.

They initially thought the crow man had hidden the manual to deceive Wan Qing, but now it seems the manual they stole wasn't the one Luo Qingcheng wanted at all.

Forget it, forget it.

[Search inside the cave.]

Luo Qingcheng was sensible and knew that he couldn't mock the system's inaccuracy at this moment, so he stepped forward and carefully felt his way along the inner wall of the snow cave.

They searched every corner carefully, even the top of the cave, but couldn't find a trace of the secret manual.

Tired from jumping around, Luo Qingcheng collapsed to the ground, disregarding his image.

[You know what I'm going to say.]

Debris system.

The system remained silent for a moment, then made a desperate attempt to save face.

[Perhaps it's because you're not destined for treasure.]

Luo Qingcheng: [Hehe.]

She had only chuckled, yet she felt utterly insulted...

System: You want to start a fight, huh?

Just as they were about to use their trump card—threatening to terminate the contract—a person suddenly rushed into the snow cave.

Snow Cave: Wow, it's quite lively today?

The newcomer didn't see Luo Qingcheng sitting at the cave entrance with his legs outstretched, and tripped as he rushed into the cave.

"Ah!" He fell face down and let out a scream.

Luo Qingcheng was holding his leg, which had been stepped on, and trying to catch his breath.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice.

She looked up in disbelief, "Red Bean?!"

"Miss?"

Hongdou held back two tears, her nose was bleeding, and she looked up and around, but she didn't see Luo Qingcheng.

She immediately burst into tears, feeling wronged.

"Miss, where are you? I must be hallucinating! Waaah—"

Luo Qingcheng stood next to her, completely exasperated.

[How long will it take for these aftereffects to subside?]

[When you want it, you complain that the time isn't long enough; when you don't want it, you complain that the time is too long. Haha.]

I suspect you're driving, but I have no proof.

system:? ? ?

Regardless of who was driving, Luo Qingcheng couldn't understand how Hongdou, an ordinary person who didn't seem to have any special abilities like him, got here.

She thought for a while and came up with a solution.

Pick up a dry twig from the ground.

He walked up to the red bean and started writing.

"Red Bean, what are you doing here?"

Hearing the strange noise, Hongdou looked up, her swollen eyes feeling dizzy. After a moment, she realized that a twig was writing words on the ground in front of her.

red beans:!!!

There's a ghost—

While still sitting on the ground, Hongdou scooted back several meters with her bottom.

He was so terrified that he lost his voice.

Luo Qingcheng was taken aback.

Holding a branch, he approached the red bean.

The further she walked, the more frightened Hongdou became.

Luo Qingcheng only stopped when Hongdou had shrunk to a corner with the mountain wall behind her and nowhere else to retreat.

With a blank expression, he wrote in front of Hongdou: "I am Luo Qingcheng."

Hongdou covered her eyes and waited for a long time. When she found that the ghost did not harm her, she quietly opened her fingers and saw the tree branch in front of her slowly descending.

Ok?

She looked down and then saw the words written by Luo Qingcheng.

Fortunately, due to the marriage agreement, Master Luo still hired a tutor to teach Luo Qingcheng to read. Hongdou secretly followed along and studied for a few years, so she was not illiterate.

“I am Luo Qingcheng.” She struggled to decipher the missing characters and read them out slowly and deliberately.

Her eyes widened. "Ah? Miss?!"

The tears that were already welling up in her eyes burst forth the next second.

"Waaaaah, Miss, you died such a terrible death!"

Luo Qingcheng hit Hongdou on the head with a tree branch.

Hongdou covered her head, "Miss, it wasn't me who killed you, why are you hitting me?"

Luo Qingcheng laughed in exasperation.

She wrote: "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your young lady is not dead yet."

Seeing that it wasn't a ghost, Hongdou wiped away her tears and stood up.

She rebuked, "Miss, no offense, but you're so insensible!"

Luo Qingcheng tilted his head.

"How could you carry me to such a dangerous place? Luckily, I was quick-witted. I knew you weren't very bright, so I found out about a secret realm and rushed to save you just before the entrance closed."

Luo Qingcheng roughly understood.

She took the branch and tapped Hongdou's head again.

That brat, doesn't she even consider who she's doing this for?

"Ouch!" Hongdou cried out in pain.

"Miss, I'm really angry!"

Luo Qingcheng didn't care about her.

Then it says: "You were teleported here after entering the secret realm?"

After reading it, Hongdou exclaimed, "Yes, Miss, I almost froze to death!"

As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to remember something, and after rummaging in her pocket for a while, she pulled out a snow-white fruit.

"Miss, quickly eat this fruit, and you won't feel cold after you eat it."

Luo Qingcheng noticed that Hongdou's hands were covered in chapped chilblains.

It seems that "almost frozen to death" is not just an adjective.

[Ningbingguo, you little maid are quite lucky.]

Finding such a snow-white fruit on the icy plains, where one could easily suffer from snow blindness, must have been quite lucky.

However, Luo Qingcheng already has the Fire Spirit Orb.

She shook the branch, indicating her refusal.

Hongdou stuffed the frozen fruit back into her pocket.

She said happily, "I knew from the bottom of my heart that I should go this way, and sure enough, Miss, you are here."

But Luo Qingcheng had clearly only been here a short time.

[The little maidservant made it this far safely; perhaps she's destined to find the secret manual. Send her to search for it.]

Some people with great fortune will sense the presence of treasures.

Luo Qingcheng didn't believe in this superstition.

But she had no other choice. After thinking for a while, she decided to follow the system's advice and write words to let Hongdou wander around the snow cave.

She didn't tell Hongdou to find the secret manual; if she couldn't, given Hongdou's personality, she might blame herself.

Although Hongdou didn't understand why, she still followed the instructions and started wandering around the snow cave.

She had only taken a couple of steps when Hongdou exclaimed, "Miss! Come quick, look! What is this?!"

Luo Qingcheng was startled, thinking she had encountered some danger.

He quickly grabbed the tree branch and rushed over.

At Hongdou's feet lay a scroll emitting golden light.

Luo Qingcheng: ...

[Could this be the secret manual?]

[Yes. ]

She had clearly walked through this place more than twice, and there was nothing there!

Luo Qingcheng's mentality is unbalanced.

She stepped forward and tried to pick up the scroll, but her hand felt as if it were being pricked by needles.

He instinctively flung it away, but Hongdou caught the scroll without hesitation.

Luo Qingcheng: ...

Okay.

You are noble.

You're amazing.

You're arrogant because you have some connections, but if you prick me with a needle, your fate is uncertain.

The system became silent due to its excessive hostility.

Luo Qingcheng forced a smile and began to write: "Red Bean, this is the teaching aid I found for you. Open it and see if you can cultivate."

Hongdou was taken aback.

She could feel a strange attraction to the scroll.

Seeing that Luo Qingcheng also agreed, he immediately opened the scroll.

Enter a meditative state in an instant.

Luo Qingcheng couldn't hold back any longer, and his face fell.

With the tools readily available, he found a corner, squatted down, and began drawing circles in the shadows.

The system secretly observed for a while, then couldn't help but ask: [What are you doing?]

[Draw a circle and curse the Heavenly Dao.]

The system, feeling frustrated, replied: [What did Heaven do to you?]

Luo Qingcheng sensed something was off about its tone and retorted, "[What's it to you? You're not the Heavenly Dao.]"

The system did not reply.

Luo Qingcheng drew circles for a while, but then got bored, so he threw the branch in his hand and decided to go for a stroll outside.

A hurricane suddenly swept through the snow cave.

The icy wind, mixed with snow, slapped haphazardly against her face.

Luo Qingcheng wiped the melted snow off his face.

The temperature inside the snow cave suddenly dropped. She hadn't felt cold at all before thanks to the Fire Spirit Orb, but now she couldn't help but wrap her coat tighter around herself.

Fortunately, little Sima Sui was thoughtful and gave her a fur coat before leaving.

She admitted that she had spoken a little too loudly when she refused.

She was a little impatient when little Sima Sui insisted on giving it to her.

As Luo Qingcheng approached the cave entrance, he turned back to find Hongdou, intending to drape the fur coat over her shoulders.

When I got to Hongdou, I found that she was completely encased in thick ice crystals.

Luo Qingcheng was a little worried: [What's going on?]

The system replied listlessly: [Water elemental root mutation, nothing to worry about.]

Luo Qingcheng circled the ice crystal once.

The water elemental energy of the far north ice plains is being captured into Hongdou's body at an alarming rate.