Chapter 488: Chapter 488

"Ouch~" That hurts...

Just waking up, before she could even confirm her surroundings, An Ning felt pain and weakness seeping through every inch of her body, even her bones and muscles, and couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Especially the area around her abdomen—without even needing to check thoroughly, she knew there must be a huge gaping wound there.

This is really... frustrating!

Having always cherished herself the most and not experiencing such pain for many, many years, An Ning was in so much agony for a moment that she wished she could just pass out on the spot. After a while...

Glancing around the antique, classical environment, An Ning mustered her remaining willpower with great difficulty, wanting to receive the memories.

Right at that moment, a crisp voice quickly rang out from behind the screen:

"Young Lady, you're finally awake! Please wait a moment, this servant will go notify the Fourth Young Master and call the physician over!"

The little maid in a cyan gauze skirt walked with steady steps and moved quite nimbly. Not long after, an old man over fifty came carrying a huge medicine chest.

Taking advantage of the pulse-checking interval, An Ning, with an intuition that this mission seemed rather bad, quickly closed her eyes and began receiving the memories.

Great, it really is bad! The original host's surname was Fu, and because she ranked third in her family, she was called Third Lady. Her formal name was Fu Qingyu.

She was a small adopted daughter from the palm-sized cultivation family, the Fu family.

Yes, this was the cultivation world An Ning hadn't encountered in a long time.

But calling it a cultivation world, well... how to put it? The moment she thought about how there hadn't been a single Golden Core stage cultivator in nearly a hundred years, nor any so-called ascension, An Ning's heart couldn't help but sink, feeling a rather ominous premonition.

Especially after that previous lifetime, where the original host was nearly killed by the Heavenly Dao as a so-called "Child of Destiny."

A cultivation world with fairly abundant spiritual energy, yet no Golden Core cultivators, no ascension, everyone stuck at one level unable to break through no matter what—it was easy to imagine that this unlucky world was ninety-nine percent likely to have some problem.

To be precise, the problem wasn't small.

If there were any more Children of Destiny, tsk!

And later, as expected, the original host's memories indeed verified An Ning's conjecture.

This land was called the Xuanming Continent. Below the few major sects, there were many scattered cultivation families and a host of low-level rogue cultivators.

As an adopted daughter from an obscure small family, the original host, aside from other things, clearly had exceptional aptitude. Not just among small families, but even among the major sect cultivators, she was in the top tier.

After all, for a family, resources were limited, especially for such a palm-sized small family. Spirit stones, spiritual medicines—all required expenditure. Without benefits, why would they waste their own resources to cultivate you, a helpless orphan girl?

The original host naturally knew this too. From the beginning of her cultivation, she was extremely diligent, and coupled with her outstanding talent, even without major resource allocation, she quickly stood out in the Fu family. Her swordsmanship and cultivation could be said to crush all her peers from the main family.

Using the poorest resources, she smoothly entered the Foundation Establishment ranks in her early twenties, standing out among all the adopted sons and daughters. At that time, the family head had three sons and three daughters; the eldest was even a whole zodiac cycle older than the original host, yet was still stuck at the late Qi Refining stage!

The others weren't even worth mentioning.

Seeing that randomly adopting a foster daughter brought such benefits, this Fu family head was naturally overjoyed.

Unfortunately, not everyone had such foresight.

As the saying goes, when a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely break it.

You, an adopted daughter whose parents died who-knows-where, having cultivation that suppresses all the biological children—just ask, who would feel comfortable about that?

Especially after learning that their family head intended to disregard propriety and marry this adopted daughter of unknown origin to his own son, it completely infuriated the current mistress.

Seeing her own children below becoming increasingly dispirited and listless, this Fu family mistress's eyes turned red with rage.

And then, as expected, in this body's memories, the original host's nightmare soon arrived.

This continent had many sects standing side by side. Where there is "righteousness," there is inevitably so-called "evil." Coincidentally, the Fu family was originally quite close to the territory of the largest demonic sect here, the "Xuanming Sect."

Being oppressed daily by the sect wasn't the main issue. The important thing was, some time ago, when her children went out, for some reason, they happened to provoke the son of a sect elder at the time.

That guy was also ruthless, demanding most of the family's assets as compensation; otherwise, her children would immediately lose their lives.

Faced with such a behemoth, it could be said the small Fu family didn't even have the heart to resist. Right at this moment, someone gave the mistress an idea.

"I heard that the Sect Leader of the Xuanming Sect has been troubled lately by his heir's poor aptitude. Our Third Young Lady is such a figure, with such stunning beauty. Such aptitude staying in our small Fu family would be an excessive waste of talent..."

Just like that, within half a month, the original host was drugged with a specially made muscle-softening powder and carried into the Sect Leader's residence in a small sedan chair.

As expected, the original host's aptitude was indeed valued by that Sect Leader. A year later, after giving birth to a child with outstanding aptitude, he was even more overjoyed.

Based on this, the earlier "so-called minor offense" naturally faded away without resolution.

It could be said that regarding this disaster, aside from only sacrificing the original host alone, the entire Fu family was almost universally happy.

But what about the original host? Just like that, she went from being an early chivalrous heroine to being forced into becoming a small concubine trapped in the inner quarters.

Ask yourself, how could she be content with such circumstances?

Moreover, the reason the Xuanming Sect was called an "evil sect" wasn't without reason.

The sect was a mixed bag, not only acting cruelly and harshly, but to enhance cultivation, from the Sect Leader down to subordinates, they would stop at nothing, having long attracted the attention of countless righteous cultivators.

In such an environment, this little girl filled with righteousness, the original host, naturally wanted to escape by any means necessary.

Touching her nearly pierced abdomen, the reason An Ning was injured so severely this time was simple: because the original host took the chance to run away.

And she successfully escaped with her son who was less than three years old!

Oh, and there was inevitably someone helping—one of the original host's former admirers.

However, this was only the beginning...

Feeling the barely detectable pulse under her fingers, although the original host's story was quite tumultuous, clearly, the so-called "Child of Destiny" in this world wasn't her.

It was the original host's biological son, the one taken away by that "admirer" rogue cultivator.

If she hadn't come, the original host should have died this time...

And the Xuanming Sect would completely disappear ten years later under the siege of righteous cultivators.

As for the child left behind by the original host, under the nurturing of that upright and kind rogue cultivator, he would inherit her will and, with his exceptional aptitude, become a new generation of heroic cultivator in the cultivation world.

Hmm, that's how it was for the first few decades indeed...

But as the saying goes, a Child of Destiny!

And one taught from childhood to be absolutely upright, kind, and compassionate towards the poor and weak. Facing such a world that was highly likely to have issues.

Just thinking about it made An Ning feel like fainting!

Battered and bruised, watched and accused by everyone, because of his background and cultivation, labeled as a world-destroying demon lord, yet still harboring a kind heart in the end, sacrificing himself to save all living beings...

Hmm, she had a curse she wondered if she should say.

Tsk, no wonder the original host's resentment was so great.

Thinking of the scenes the original host witnessed with her remnant soul, perhaps due to the original host's overly agitated emotions, even An Ning couldn't help but feel her blood boiling!

"Young... Young Lady, are... are you alright!"

Seeing the lady before her looking unwell, the cyan-clad maid nearby quickly stepped forward:

"This servant has already reported. The Fourth Young Master will arrive shortly."

As she spoke, the little maid didn't forget to cautiously glance up, carefully observing the lady before her, who was said to have been accidentally rescued by their young master—hearing that because of this, the Fourth Young Master was even punished by the family head.

Thinking of the scene earlier, the little maid couldn't help but gasp, muttering inwardly:

Such severe injuries. The physician said half her meridians were destroyed. To be able to endure it and survive, and now wake up so quickly—she's really something.

I wonder who this lady really is?

Ignoring the little girl's stealthy probing gaze, feeling her own vitality draining at an extremely fast rate, An Ning couldn't afford to care too much. Taking advantage of the interval when everyone left, confirming no one was around, while drinking water, she swallowed a pill.

Only then did she barely manage to maintain her fading vitality.

Of course, that was all. The situation was unclear, her body was in such a state, and she possessed treasures. She didn't dare gamble on what a good outcome that would bring.

Wasn't the fate of the original host's biological son enough?

After all, this world's pill-making techniques, well, to An Ning, were simply unbearable to look at.

"Cough, cough, Physician, might I make one or two changes to this prescription of yours!"

On the sickbed, a young woman in cyan robes, her face pale as paper, looked utterly weak, yet still managed to maintain her voice, carefully stating her opinion.

As a chivalrous heroine who loved traveling and upholding justice, although the original host wasn't proficient in medicine, she was clearly somewhat familiar with some common spiritual medicines.

After comparing and confirming that although the names differed slightly between the two worlds, their effects weren't too different, after careful consideration, An Ning barely managed to sit up and slowly spoke.

"Ah! I didn't expect you, Young Lady, to also understand medicine!"

As if meeting a fellow practitioner, the physician before her was clearly very pleasantly surprised.

Especially seeing that although this lady was weak, her words were well-reasoned. Not to mention, after the prescription was modified, it indeed seemed better than the one he had just prescribed.

Thinking this, the physician's eyes grew even brighter, instinctively saying happily:

"Young Lady is actually a fellow practitioner!"

"Cough, cough, thanks to my master's careful teaching, I only have a slight understanding!" An Ning was modest verbally, yet her eyes couldn't help but show a hint of pride, clearly very confident in her medical skills.

Dragging the heavy medicine chest, the old man instinctively laughed, but quickly realized.

Wait, master? And isn't this Third Lady Fu?

Where did a master come from? And this medical skill...

Looking at the prescription in his hand, the old man couldn't help but pause for a moment.

Seeing the change in the other's expression, leisurely leaning on the bed, An Ning's gaze couldn't help but shift slightly. Indeed, this so-called "Fourth Young Master" definitely knew the original host.

Of course, to spend such a great cost to pull someone back from the King of Hell's grasp, how could he not know her?

Sure enough, the next moment, she heard him say:

"By the way, may I ask your honorable name, Young Lady, and who your master is?"

Answering him was the still weak yet utterly unwavering voice of the woman on the bed:

"I am Shen Anning. As for my master's name..." Under the other's astonished gaze, An Ning smiled apologetically:

"Apologies, my master has long resided deep in the mountains, detached from worldly affairs for a long time, and does not wish her disciple to reveal her esteemed information."

As the words fell, the old man's medicine chest nearly dropped to the ground. Outside the door, a young master in black robes paused his step slightly for a moment.

Pretending not to hear the footsteps outside that suddenly stopped and then slowly retreated, after taking medicine with the maid's assistance, An Ning quickly closed her eyes again.

Outside, the white-bearded old man was still holding the prescription, muttering to himself, even trembling with excitement:

"Marvelous! This is truly marvelous!"

"This Lady Shen must be a master of medicine!"

He couldn't help but stroke his long beard while muttering:

"Ah, Xun'er, why didn't your granduncle notice earlier?"

In the courtyard, autumn colors were rich.

Unconsciously, the two had walked past the corridor and arrived at a nearby pavilion. Seeing his grandnephew looking distracted, the old man nearby couldn't help but frown:

"Zichu, what's wrong with you?"

"You're not still suspecting the one inside is that little girl from the Fu family, are you?"

Looking at his unlucky grandnephew, the old man snorted again:

"Not to mention that stunningly impressive medical skill. I didn't pay attention earlier, but just now, your granduncle personally carefully checked her pulse and thoroughly examined her. This Lady Shen shows no signs of having been married or given birth."

"No, Granduncle worries too much. Zichu does not suspect."

Hearing this, Xie Xun nearby quickly bowed in apology.

Although his Third Granduncle's cultivation was lacking, his medical skills were currently the best in the Xie family. He had delved deeply into this path for nearly a hundred years; there was no possibility of him making a mistake.

Thinking of that bright, dazzling figure from earlier.

After a long while, in the waterside pavilion, the young man in dark blue cloud-patterned robes finally let out a soft sigh, a trace of worry flashing in his eyes:

"Your grandson is just lamenting that there could be such similar people in the world, and also..."

"Merely because of similar appearance, Lady Shen suffered such a calamity as soon as she left the mountains. I wonder if Third Lady has managed to escape the demon's grasp now?"

Hearing this, the old man finally let out a light snort from his nose.

He thought so. One shouldn't doubt his, this old man's, medical skills.

As for that unlucky little girl in the room earlier, she probably came from a renowned teacher, which is why she slightly surpassed him by a small margin.

Ah, I wonder who that girl's master is, which hidden master.

When Lady Shen recovers, I must find an opportunity to exchange pointers with her.

Thinking this, the old man hurriedly carefully folded the prescription in his hand and specifically placed it close to his chest.

Meanwhile, inside the room, only after all the attendants had completely retreated, after specifically asking the system to confirm no one was around and no spiritual awareness was spying, did An Ning slowly withdraw the spiritual energy she had placed on herself.

But the next second, a large mouthful of blood instantly surged up her throat.