Chapter 269: Rebirth

It seemed she had regained some consciousness. She knew Jiang Fan was undressing her, but she was still in a coma and couldn't fully awaken.

Jiang Fan impatiently shook off her hand and said, "Do you think I want to do this? Just be still!"

He then continued to unfasten her skirt. Although she kept unconsciously resisting, she had no strength in her hands. Finally, Jiang Fan undressed her completely and examined her body thoroughly.

It was a good thing he checked. Upon examination, he discovered she was covered in shocking external injuries! On her chest, a rusted fragment from a broken chain was deeply embedded in her flesh. Her abdomen had a long gash from a cliff stone, with small pebbles stuck inside. Her thighs and abdomen also had sharp wood splinters embedded.

While the Rejuvenation Pill could heal injuries, the presence of these foreign objects prevented the wounds from healing properly. This was why the girl was in such unbearable pain.

Jiang Fan carefully removed each foreign object, cleaned the wounds, and bandaged them with gauze. After confirming the examination was complete and correct, he covered her with her skirt. Once the Rejuvenation Pill's effects healed the wounds, the girl would be fine.

He placed the girl on the ground. Unable to contain his anticipation, he went to the stone tablet. Under the torchlight, eight characters were indeed carved on it: "Nascent Soul Cave, No Entry for Mortals."

This warning from a Nascent Soul expert sent shivers down Jiang Fan's spine. He looked at the nearby cave entrance with hesitation. A Nascent Soul cultivator was a legendary existence. A casual strike from one could cause mountains to collapse and the earth to crack. If the cultivator had left behind any traps or countermeasures inside the cave, he would surely be instantly annihilated upon entry.

After long contemplation, Jiang Fan looked at the chains scattered on the ground, then at the stone tablet, and a flicker of realization appeared in his eyes. With no more doubts, he headed towards the cave entrance.

The imagined danger did not materialize. Instead, a stone door blocked the way. The stone door had characters carved on it, but Jiang Fan, upon closer inspection, didn't recognize a single one.

"Strange, what are these characters?"

Suddenly, a clear, bell-like female voice sounded by his ear. "They're not characters, they're runes."

The voice appeared extremely abruptly. Jiang Fan's hairs stood on end instantly. He instinctively thrust an elbow backward while shouting, "Who's there?"

Thump—

Jiang Fan felt his elbow hit something soft. Immediately after, a woman's pained groan followed. Jiang Fan quickly shined the torch and froze. "How is it you?"

It was none other than the unconscious girl in red! She clutched her chest, curled up in the corner with a pained expression, groaning miserably: "You brat... are you trying to kill me?"

Jiang Fan looked awkward. He quickly picked up his sword hilt and, keeping a distance, used it to help her up. "My apologies," he said. "I didn't expect you to wake up so soon."

It was quite strange. Even if the Rejuvenation Pill's effects were astonishing, it shouldn't have been this fast, should it? It could only be said that this girl had an excellent physique. This allowed her to recover and wake up so quickly. What surprised Jiang Fan the most was that he hadn't noticed when she had come up behind him. Was it because he had been too focused on looking at the characters on the stone door?

The girl in red impatiently slapped away his sword hilt, biting her lip slightly. "I don't need your help!" she snapped. "No sincerity at all!"

Jiang Fan touched his nose, put away his sword, and said, "How was I to know if you were good or evil? It's best to keep a bit of distance, just in case."

The girl in red angrily clenched her fists. "Right, right, right, you're a good person," she sneered. "A good person who stripped me naked and touched me all over!"

This... This girl really was conscious earlier.

Jiang Fan coughed dryly and said, "It was an emergency, and I had no ill intentions."

The girl in red rubbed her still aching chest and retorted angrily, "If I didn't see that you saved me, I would have struck you down already!"

Jiang Fan was speechless. This girl really didn't know how to appreciate kindness. He had saved her life, yet she didn't offer a single word of thanks and her attitude was still so hostile. He couldn't be bothered to respond to her and continued to examine the runes on the stone door.

The girl in red walked over, glanced at the runes on the stone door, and said: "These are formation runes; they require mastery of formations to open. Step aside, I'll break the formation."

Formations? This art was quite complex and profound; without decades of study, it was difficult to achieve mastery. How old was this girl in front of him? Could she possibly understand formations?

The girl in red stood before the stone door, tapping different runes with her fingers while speaking in an old-fashioned, arrogant tone: "I don't like owing favors. Once we go in, I'll let you pick something first."

Jiang Fan couldn't help but chuckle. How old was she, and how strong could she possibly be? Besides, her injuries had just healed; she probably didn't have much strength left, right? Why would he need her to concede what he wanted? However, this girl wasn't as bad as he had imagined. At least she still showed some gratitude. He casually nodded. "Alright, consider it my consultation fee then."

The girl in red's eyes darted, and she asked, seemingly casually: "By the way, how did you just heal me?"

She knew her injuries perfectly well. Multiple broken bones and surface wounds were secondary. The real injuries were severe internal damage to her organs. She had thought she was surely going to die. Miraculously, she had actually been saved by the young man before her. She was very surprised by how he had accomplished it.

Jiang Fan could clearly tell she was trying to get information about his Rejuvenation Pill. This pill could not be easily revealed to outsiders. So, he said expressionlessly, "First this, then that, and it was healed."

The girl in red turned her head and glared at him: "You're not old, yet how are you more cunning than an eighty-year-old man?" The person standing before her was clearly a young man. Yet dealing with him felt surprisingly difficult.

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes. "You talk as if you're so old yourself."

The girl in red retorted indignantly, "I am..." She was about to reveal her identity but then remembered her injuries weren't fully healed. Exposing her identity would only attract unnecessary trouble. So, the words on the tip of her tongue changed to a huff. "Mind your own business? Oh, right, my name is... Yue Mingzhu. What about you?"

"Yue Mingzhu?" Jiang Fan couldn't help but murmur, "From the vast sea, the bright moon, pearls shed tears. Your name is quite poetic. My name is Jiang Fan."

Yue Mingzhu let out a chuckle. "Jiang Fan? That name is so plain!"

Jiang Fan's face tightened, and he snorted, "Why so much nonsense? Can you open it or not?" This brat isn't likable at all!

Yue Mingzhu smiled confidently. "A piece of cake." As she spoke, her hands moved swiftly. Following a specific sequence, she tapped different runes.

Jiang Fan leaned against the stone wall, observing the surroundings of the stone door, and said thoughtfully: "When the stone door opens, watch out for traps."

Yue Mingzhu's eyebrows twitched. "I say, aren't you being overly cautious? This cave has existed for at least a century; any mechanisms should have long since corroded and failed."

As her words fell, her finger tapped the last rune. With a click, the stone door immediately rumbled open! Jiang Fan's expression changed. He grabbed Yue Mingzhu's arm, pulled her into his embrace, and pressed her tightly against the wall.

Yue Mingzhu was suddenly pressed against the wall by a broad chest. She immediately stomped her foot in indignation and embarrassment. "You—you're presumptuous!"

But just then! From the crack of the opening stone door, a mechanical twisting sound could be heard.