When we arrived downstairs at Xiaohui's apartment, the vengeful ghost indeed appeared again, floating out of the shadows!
It was covered in blood, naked, and looked incredibly disgusting. Upon seeing the female knight, it seemed to sense a grave danger!
I gave the female knight a look to indicate that this little ghost was the one who nearly caused my death yesterday.
Without a word, the female knight stretched out her hand and grabbed the ghost. Then, she disappeared into thin air.
As the female knight had said, vengeful ghosts were the weakest type of spirits, and she was a terrifying being ranked in the top twenty. Even though she was injured, she could still easily deal with the ghost. Xiaohui should be safe now.
After saying goodbye to Xiaohui, I returned home.
Around 9 PM that evening, the female knight appeared again and said that everything had been handled.
It turned out that the vengeful ghost was Xiaohui's twin sister, who had died shortly after birth. Under normal circumstances, such a situation wouldn't result in a vengeful ghost, but this ghost liked to cling to Xiaohui because they were twins.
The female knight said that she had hidden the ghost in a secret place where it wouldn't be able to find Xiaohui again…
Then, the two-month special training began!
Every morning, I'd go for a morning workout, and the sandbags were gradually replaced with lead blocks.
I found a processing shop and had ten lead blocks made, each weighing ten kilograms, costing me two thousand yuan.
Of course, this money came from the inheritance the old trickster left me.
Now, I could wear two lead blocks on my feet and one on each hand and still move around freely. I only took them off when I slept.
Since my clothes were thicker now, no one could notice the lead blocks.
A month ago, the female knight started teaching me how to fight. But she didn't know martial arts at all. According to her, as long as you were quick enough, you could dodge any attack, so every day she would beat me senseless, knocking my chin off countless times.
Another thing to mention was that, despite how badly she would beat me, the female knight treated me well.
If a normal person went through this kind of training for two months, their body would have broken down by now. But the female knight had foreseen this. I don't know where she got it, but she managed to find a lot of high-quality ginseng, which she gave me to help with recovery. After taking it, I often had nosebleeds.
Once, when I was just entering the school gates and glanced at a "dinosaur," blood suddenly gushed from my nose!
Because of this, I became somewhat famous on campus…
I have to say, after a month of training with the female knight, my reflexes have indeed improved a lot. I can now easily block some of her attacks, but I still get beaten up frequently. If I want to start counterattacking, I'll need to train for at least a few more months.
The female knight continued to appear and disappear unpredictably. After every morning workout, she would vanish. Sometimes, she would come to find me around 8 or 9 PM, but other times, I wouldn't see her for the rest of the day.
I had translated over sixty pages of the Cow Gate Record of Demon Subjugations—probably about one-tenth of it.
The records in the book were fascinating. They were even better than reading Ghost Blows Out the Light or Grave Robbers' Chronicles. I thought about publishing it as a ghost story for extra money to pay off my debts. But soon, I dismissed the idea. Since I was now the leader of the Niujia Sect, though still a beginner, I couldn't sell the work of my predecessors.
As for the old trickster's debts, I had been puzzled for a while about why he owed so much money. After looking through some receipts, I found out that he had used a lot of his money to support three impoverished schools, seven college students, and twelve children suffering from leukemia!
The old trickster's status in my heart grew higher and higher. Although I hadn't spent much time with him, I still greatly admired his character, even if he had an unusual fondness for Jin Ping Mei.
As for Xiaohui, her relationship with Xia Chao-ran had been improving. They often discussed academic issues, which irritated me, but as the leader of the Niujia Sect, I couldn't let him outshine me! So, despite his threats, I still walked Xiaohui home every day and continued to nurture our friendship.
That evening, it was just like any other. I walked out of the school gate with Xiaohui. It was already mid-November, and by 4 PM, it was dark outside. Today, snowflakes were drifting down from the sky.
I was riding my beloved Kelanzi 1258, chatting with Xiaohui, and the atmosphere was quite romantic.
However, when we reached a deserted area, I suddenly heard the sound of a car speeding towards us. I instinctively turned around and saw two headlights rapidly approaching us.
The road was wide, but the car was aiming straight for us!
I pushed Xiaohui aside, but it was too late. The next moment, I felt an immense force throw me and my bicycle into the air!
Time seemed to slow down. I saw Xiaohui fall to the side of the road, staring at me in a daze.
I watched as my bicycle, Kelanzi 1258, was smashed to pieces, its wheels spinning wildly around me.
Is this Xia Chao-ran's revenge?
Everything went black, and I lost consciousness...
In my blurry state, I heard a voice.
"Doctor! Please, you must save my son! This is the last little respect I can show!"
The voice sounded like my father's.
"Please don't worry, family members. Saving lives is our duty…"
…
"Ribs punctured both lungs, massive internal bleeding, shattered leg bones, severe concussion. It's strange, this child shouldn't be alive. His vitality is so strong!"
"Stop talking, Xiao Liu. We took the five-thousand-yuan red envelope. We'll do our best. If we manage to save this kid, we'll be famous in the medical field!"
This was the doctor who had accepted the bribe.
…
"Don't worry, you're a Red Arrow soul. Your vitality is very strong. You won't die easily."
This voice sounded like Mu Rong Daiyu's, the female knight…
…
I don't know how long it passed, but gradually I regained consciousness. I was about to open my eyes when I overheard a conversation. I decided not to rush and instead listened quietly.
"Old Li, your son has great luck. He's been through such a severe injury, yet he managed to pull through."
The voice sounded like the owner of my father's factory, whom I called Uncle Zhao. Over the years, he had been very kind to our family.
Then, I heard my father's voice: "Zhao, I've been busy taking care of this kid for the past half month, and haven't been able to go back to work. I'm sorry, but since Xiaolong(Bruce) has passed the danger phase, I'll be back to work tomorrow."
"No need to go back."
Uncle Zhao sighed. "Brother, to be honest, your son offended someone he shouldn't have. It's a miracle he survived this time.
This wasn't an accidental car crash; it was intentionally done by someone.
Yesterday, a group of people came to my factory and threatened me. They told me to fire you, or else they'd shut down my factory.
Brother, I'm not trying to avoid trouble, but those people are too dangerous. If I didn't back off, Xiaolong(Bruce) could've ended up like this. No one would care if something happened to him!
Believe me, treat this as an accident. Once Xiaolong(Bruce) is discharged, you should leave as far as possible. Don't come back. Here's a fifty-thousand-yuan check. You've created a lot of wealth for me these years. This money is my final bonus to you. You're a smart man—you know what to do. If you want your family to live peacefully, don't make a rash decision."
With that, Uncle Zhao left, and my father didn't say a word of farewell.
My father had lost his job.
From what I had just overheard, I could figure it out with my toes—Xia Chao-ran was behind all of this!
It was chilling. A freshman in high school, yet so ruthless, treating human lives like dirt. He almost killed me. If I hadn't pushed Xiaohui away, she probably would've been thrown by the car too.
At that moment, I opened my eyes and saw the man standing in the room, frozen. His hair had turned grayer, and his eyes were darkened. It was obvious that he hadn't been sleeping well recently.
My nose tightened, and I whispered, "Dad, I'm sorry."
He trembled for a moment, then rushed to my side, joyfully saying, "Son, how are you feeling?"
"Don't worry. I'm fine. I didn't mean to worry you. Sorry.
By the way, where's Mom?"
"She hasn't slept in two days. I told her to go home and rest for a bit. She left two hours ago."
"So, how long was I unconscious?"
"Sixteen days.
When your mom and I got the call that night, we rushed to the scene. You had almost stopped breathing. Blood was
coming out of your mouth and nose. Your mom fainted on the spot. Thankfully, I stayed calm and got both of you to the hospital."
My father smiled as he patted his chest.
I knew he was hiding his true feelings, trying to cover up his worry.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. My father said, "Come in."
Two people entered the room—it was Xiaohui and… Xia Chao-ran.
"Xiaolong(Bruce)! You're awake!"
Xiaohui exclaimed, rushing to my bed. "Xiaolong(Bruce), thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you pushing me out of the way, I would have been in danger too."
Then, Xiaohui turned to my father. "Uncle, we just went to the police station. The case is under investigation, and we should find the hit-and-run driver soon."
Xia Chao-ran chimed in, "That's right! The police won't let the killer get away!"
"Xiaolong(Bruce), get well soon and go back to school as soon as possible," he added.
I smiled faintly and replied, "No need. I'm not interested in school. Once I'm healed, I'm planning to go back to the countryside to farm. Agriculture is the future. Haha."
"Xiaolong(Bruce), don't say such depressing things." Xia Chao-ran advised. "We're still young. Studying is the right path. Besides, if you have any academic problems, we can discuss them together."
Hypocrite!
He was just putting on a show for Xiaohui!
Once I master my Taoist arts, your death is near!
Xiaohui also said, "Xiaolong(Bruce), don't give up. I'll come by often and help you with your studies."
"I've already made up my mind. I'll handle the paperwork to drop out soon."