Ding Fan flipped through the book at a brisk pace, but he still managed to memorize everything within it. Having a photographic memory was nothing extraordinary for Ding Fan.

This medical book, in essence, was also a path of cultivation. Cultivation wasn't limited to just the Mysterious Gate way. One could enter the path through medicine, through painting and calligraphy, through song and dance... It can be said that in all the world's affairs, there is a path to entry.

This medical tome detailed the ways one could embark on the Dao through medicine. Much of its content was rather obscure, and even Ding Fan had to ponder over some parts. Not to mention Ning Luoxi—if someone completely inexperienced in cultivation read it, they would find it incredibly difficult to comprehend.

That's why Ding Fan said he would take Ning Luoxi under his wing to study this "Genuine Medical Treatise of Mysticism".

When Ning Luoxi heard that Ding Fan was going to teach her the content, she was overjoyed. Ding Fan's medical skills were already remarkably powerful, and having such a teacher was like finding a rare treasure.

Since Ning Luoxi agreed, Ding Fan went on to explain the introductory chapter of "Genuine Medical Treatise of Mysticism" to her in detail.

The content of the introductory chapter wasn't difficult—it was merely some breathing techniques. Ning Luoxi was quite intelligent; after Ding Fan taught her two or three times, she had already mastered the breathing methods.

Even though the Spiritual Energy on Earth was currently scarce, and Ning Luoxi had no way to absorb it from the heavens and earth to expand her own meridians, she sought medical arts, so this did not hinder her progress.

Ding Fan immediately took out some Lingzhi mushrooms that were several hundreds of years old for Ning Luoxi and gave her a prescription for refinement. If she took the concoction as prescribed, True Qi would form within her body, but this Qi would only be sufficient for healing, and not for casting spells like himself.

About the storage ring, naturally, Ning Luoxi gave it to Ding Fan. Ding Fan had saved her father and asked for nothing in return, plus she had smoothly joined Qin's Group because of him, and now she even recovered the lost medical book of the Ning Family with his help. After all that Ding Fan had done, he only asked for a ring—there was no way Ning Luoxi would refuse.

Having returned to his room and alone, Ding Fan took out a porcelain bottle from the storage ring, and upon opening it, he was astounded to find three Small Restorative Pills inside.

These Small Restorative Pills could quickly replenish a large amount of True Qi. The Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass he had obtained earlier could be used to make these pills, but a single pill required at least three sprigs of the herb. Now that he had acquired three pills in one go, it was an indication of incredible luck.

...

Zhou Ruoran's recovery over the past two days had been rather good, as she hadn't sustained any serious injuries in the fire due to being protected by a magical artifact given to her by Ding Fan. She merely suffered some minor flesh wounds.

The day after waking up, Zhou Ruoran had already been discharged from the private clinic. As she had yet to find lodging, she was living in Lin Qingqing's house in Dancheng for the time being.

Zhou Ruoran was reluctant to impose on Lin Qingqing, but she could see that Lin truly wanted to help her and had arranged everything for her daily needs.

For someone like Lin Qingqing, who had such an influential family background and such a presence in the entertainment industry, being able to speak to her was considered a stroke of luck. Yet, when Lin was with Zhou Ruoran, she was completely unassuming and very amiable.

Zhou Ruoran didn't believe that she, an ordinary person, would receive such care from Lin Qingqing. It was clear that Lin's kindness was due to Ding Fan having saved her brother, and thus, her taking care of Zhou Ruoran was merely her way of showing gratitude.

Expressing gratitude to Ding Fan.

Thinking of Ding Fan, who was no longer in this world, yet still under his grace, Zhou Ruoran felt a wave of discomfort. In her midnight dreams, she often revisited the farewell dinner they had.

Each time, she would wake up crying. She was now so annoyed at her own petulance back then—why hadn't she been able to finish the last meal with Ding Fan? She truly believed that what she saw in the flames that day was not a hallucination, but Ding Fan's spirit from another world looking after her.

If it wasn't for that, how could she have possibly emerged unscathed from such a raging inferno?

...

One day, Lin Qingqing left early, leaving Zhou Ruoran alone in the vast villa.

With the rare nice weather outside, Zhou Ruoran felt compelled to revisit the villa in Huaqiang District where she and Ding Fan had lived together.

That villa, once washed by a great fire, was something she really wanted to revisit to find something left of Ding Fan's—better to reminisce with an object than to suffer under the weight of longing.

Resolved, Zhou Ruoran took a ride back to Huaqiang District.

The once luxurious villa was now reduced to rubble. The fire had turned all the opulence into flying ashes.

Standing before the debris, Zhou Ruoran gazed blankly.

After who knows how long, she slowly walked into the villa. Before her eyes, the vestiges seemed to disappear, and the villa, as it was before being consumed by flames, appeared to be restored.

Zhou Ruoran stood in the living room that was no longer recognizable, her eyes fixed intently on the spot where the dining table used to be.

Back then, right here, Ding Fan had prepared a table full of delicious food...

What kind of feelings did Ding Fan have when he made that farewell meal for himself? The thought of herself slamming the door and leaving made Zhou Ruoran feel a sharp pain in her heart.

Zhou Ruoran could imagine Ding Fan's desolate figure at the time, and he must have been heartbroken then.

A tear fell. She bit her lip, and finally, she slowly walked into the place that no longer resembled a kitchen, staring blankly at where Ding Fan used to cook for her. Through the haze, she even thought she saw Ding Fan smiling at her.

Ultimately, the pain in Zhou Ruoran's heart became unbearable, and her tears fell.

"Why... why does heaven want to punish me like this, taking away everything about you..."

"No... I have to find you... I must find you..." Zhou Ruoran, as if driven mad, desperately rummaged through the ruins.

But what could have possibly survived such a huge fire? Zhou Ruoran searched through the rubble for a long time, but found nothing related to Ding Fan.

By this time, the sky had gradually darkened.

Zhou Ruoran walked out of the 'villa' with a numb expression, finally losing everything related to Ding Fan. But just as she reached the courtyard of the villa, her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had discovered something.

At that moment, in the flowerbed of the yard, a young sprout had grown where the white flowers once bloomed. Zhou Ruoran rushed over and carefully observed the young sprout.

Remembering how Ding Fan used to tend to the flowers and plants in the yard calmly, her heart soured. In her memory, Ding Fan seemed to have a special affection for those white flowers.

Immediately, Zhou Ruoran found a shovel and an old bottle. She carefully dug out the seedling.

After planting the seedling in the bottle, Zhou Ruoran's heart felt less empty, as if at this moment, she had found something she had lost.

…

After Zhou Ruoran took a car and left, a figure slowly emerged from the corner behind her.

That figure was Ding Fan.

Ding Fan's expression was very solemn at the time.

He had returned to Dancheng that morning and had called Lin Qingqing in advance. Lin Qingqing told him about Zhou Ruoran's recent condition.

When it came to Zhou Ruoran's somewhat distracted look lately, Ding Fan felt somewhat uncomfortable in his heart without any apparent reason.

When Zhou Ruoran returned to the villa, Ding Fan just followed quietly behind. Seeing Zhou Ruoran squatting in the flowerbed, lost in thought, Ding Fan was also startled, clearly seeing that the seedling Zhou Ruoran was fixated on was a sprout of Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass.

It seems that when he left after collecting the flower seeds, he had carelessly missed one seed.

When he saw Zhou Ruoran dig out the Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass and take it away, Ding Fan knew that Zhou Ruoran must have been deeply affected this time.

However, Ding Fan had no plans to meet Zhou Ruoran. From Lin Qingqing's words, he could tell that Zhou Ruoran thought he was dead.

In fact, it might be for the best that Zhou Ruoran thought he was dead. The path he needed to walk was one of eternal Cultivation, and Zhou Ruoran was on a completely different path. Therefore, Ding Fan thought it best not to disturb Zhou Ruoran.

Although Zhou Ruoran would be sad for a while, she would definitely be fine after some time. Ding Fan believed that given some time, she would surely emerge from his shadow. To Ding Fan, Ruoran was a strong girl, and he believed she would definitely make it out on her own.

Ding Fan thought, now that he had reached the Third Level of Qi Cultivation, he can help Zhou Ruoran restore her appearance. When he found the time, he planned to refine a batch of Youth Preserving Pills, so that Zhou Ruoran could regain her former appearance. Then, she could find her own happiness.

Having seen that Zhou Ruoran was not in great trouble, Ding Fan decided to return to Dongcheng. With Wang Luohao's recent death, Dancheng was a place fraught with conflict for Ding Fan. If he weren't worried about Zhou Ruoran, he wouldn't have risked coming from Dongcheng to see her.

But no sooner had Ding Fan walked a short distance away, he sensed someone following him. Ding Fan's brows furrowed, and he immediately slipped into a nearby alley.

Given his current low level of cultivation, there were many powerful beings on Earth, so he needed to be very cautious in his actions.