Chapter 59: Chapter Fifty‑Nine: Shi Ran, Unyielding Despite Repeated Setbacks

Shi Ran slept straight through until dawn; if it weren't for her stomach growling, she would have decided to stay in bed today, but alas....

Although the Floating Dream Sect had few members and not a single elder in charge of lessons, the morning class still had to be attended; as a bullied cultivator, she had to go every day! She harbored no ill will—she simply disliked the three of them!

Then, as the morning bell rang, the three who entered the Literary Abyss Hall in succession discovered that Shi Ran was already seated in her place, a cup of clear tea and three pieces of cloud cake, looking quite content. Seeing the three arrive together, she raised her hand, smiling, and greeted them: "Hello, Aerie Bard, Amy Sigh!"

Xiao Muyu, who didn't understand, smiled politely; the other two froze for a moment, all walking past Shi Ran's face without glancing sideways.

How rude! Shi Ran blinked; Gu Yusheng was fine enough—she originally looked down on the male lead, and the male lead looked down on her; the two mutually despised each other, wishing they'd never have anything to do with each other again.

But Mei Ruoxue just didn't get it—clearly she had melted Mei Ruoxue's ice‑mountain heart, yet after a trip to Flood Lake Village she was back to square one overnight!

Mei Ruoxue walked past without glancing sideways, not even giving Shi Ran a sliver of peripheral vision; her aloof, distant demeanor made it seem as if they had never fought side by side in Fine Rain Town, never shared each other's secrets, never complained together about Wei Yuzhu, and never had those quiet moments of melting ice.

Shi Ran's hand, held mid‑air, jerked for a moment then she let it go as if nothing had happened—no wonder people say a woman's heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea; Mei Ruoxue's intermittent ice‑mountain syndrome is simply harder to deal with than their master!

After the morning bell's echo faded, only the four of them remained in the vast Literary Abyss Hall. With no elder giving a lesson and no master supervising, the so‑called 'morning class' was merely each occupying a corner, meditating and studying scriptures on their own.

Inside the hall, so quiet that the rustle of wind‑blown bamboo leaves outside could be heard, sunlight and shadows, clouds dispersing into rosy hues—every stroke of time painted upon life.

Xiao Muyu sat cross‑legged with eyes closed, his demeanor warm and smooth, as if he were a world unto himself; Gu Yusheng sat diagonally ahead of Shi Ran, spine ramrod straight, holding a jade slip, turning it with a deliberate air; Mei Ruoxue occupied the farthest corner, before her lay an ancient tome exuding chill, her fingertips condensed with frost as she meticulously traced some rune, her whole body emanating an aura that warned strangers to keep away.

Although Shi Ran had taken up the path halfway, she actually didn't know what she should study; but last night that crow somehow brought back a hand‑drawn notebook, its exquisite illustrations showing the basic strokes of all talismans—for example, the Fire‑Drawing Talisman, the Wind‑Breaking Talisman, the Water‑Avoiding Talisman, the Invisibility Talisman, and so on, even including the Beast‑Imitating Talisman, the Gold‑Turning Talisman, the Dream‑Entering Talisman, the Gourmet Talisman and other niche ones; in short, if you can think of it, there's nothing it can't do.

Shi Ran doesn't use talisman paper; all she needs is to let her spiritual power flow continuously, smooth and even, like a mountain stream—its speed and energy are both indispensable.

Shi Ran held her breath and focused, mobilizing the spiritual power within her body; suddenly a tiny flame sparked at her fingertip. She frowned—she hadn't even started drawing yet, how did this flame ignite on its own? What should she do? Should she extinguish it? As she panicked, the flame grew larger; she stared at the bright blaze in her palm, dumbfounded—could this be… could this be… too exaggerated!

"Shi Ran!" Gu Yusheng, sensing something wrong, turned his head; faced with flames shooting up, he was so angry he almost swore, "Are you trying to burn this place down? Hurry up and stop!"

Shi Ran was already at a loss over the ever‑growing flame in her palm; hearing his words made her even more frantic, "You think I don't want to? How do I stop it?"

The commotion from the two drew Mei Ruoxue and Xiao Muyu's attention; they lifted their heads and opened their eyes, both stunned by the sight—never expecting Shi Ran's spiritual power to be so vast, reaching a hair‑raising level. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that; seeing the flame still growing, Mei Ruoxue and Xiao Muyu exchanged a glance.

Xiao Muyu, who possessed a water‑type spiritual root, cast a water technique; a stream of clear water doused Shi Ran and her flame, leaving her feeling refreshed. Shi Ran took a deep breath, lifted her head to look at Xiao Muyu—she was indeed in a sorry state. Xiao Muyu felt a bit embarrassed, giving a slight nod, "Junior sister, the situation is urgent; please excuse us."

"The situation is urgent?!" Shi Ran laughed despite being angered; even if she didn't know, even if she was wrong, could it be that as senior fellow disciples they only know this one method? They could simply tell her what to do instead of indiscriminately dousing her with water.

For a moment, the grievance of having been transmigrated into a book, the longing for her family, all surged up—she had merely written a negative review, why must she endure this? Constantly worrying about her own head, occasionally getting hurt, these paper‑characters still bully her!

The more she thought, the angrier she got! "This miss doesn't need you to get that rotten book for her!" She refused to believe it—just a little poison, and if she died she might just return to the modern world!

Shi Ran gave a faint smile, flicked her still‑dripping sleeves, and said, "It's fine; I learned plenty today. Senior brothers and sisters, carry on—I'm taking my leave."

Having said that, she turned and walked away, tossing a cleansing‑garment talisman as she went, ignoring the three behind her with their varied expressions.

Xiao Muyu felt a bit at a loss; he was somewhat anxious, but given his nature he could never act like this—it was all a preconceived notion, it's Ruoxue…

Mei Ruoxue sensed Xiao Muyu's gaze and smiled, "Third senior brother, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing!" Xiao Muyu also gave a small smile, "I just feel the junior sister has changed."

Mei Ruoxue said nothing this time, gave a light smile and turned, "Everyone changes, senior brothers included!" She watched Shi Ran's retreating back with a deep gaze: "Shi Ran, even if you earn the master's favor, what of it? Within the sect you will forever be the unprotected junior sister."

Shi Ran's clothes had dried, but her mood remained poor; she sat on the stone from last night, lost in thought, when a crow suddenly landed before her, crying "Ga‑ga! Ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga!" Shi Ran, "Old lady's come to keep you company!"

Too bad Shi Ran couldn't understand; she merely nodded at the crow, "You've come!"

The crow glanced askance at Shi Ran, "Ga‑ga‑ga‑ga, ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga‑ga!" Really useless! When bullied, it just hides and cries.

This time Shi Ran didn't just nod; instead she stared hard at the crow, then suddenly reached out with both hands and tightly gripped its neck, "Who are you pretending to be my old lady? Huh? Who are you calling useless? You!"

The crow stared in terror, eyes wide, "Ga————"

A little black dragon sprang from behind Shi Ran, "I never thought you'd end up just going 'ga'—was your tongue too sharp before, earning heaven's rebuke that you couldn't speak?"