Causing Trouble?

Causing Trouble?

Around dinnertime, Jiang Xiao carried two pounds of braised beef and quietly opened the front door.

Who would have thought that the moment his key entered the lock, Han Jiangxue had already emerged from her room and stood by the door, waiting for the person who had "run away from home" to return.

Yes, at noon, faced with Han Jiangxue's fury, Jiang Xiao had decisively chosen to flee the scene of the crime.

Jiang Xiao tiptoed inside, only to be met by an icy gaze.

"Uh..." Jiang Xiao simply made his movements bigger, reaching back to close the door. "Here."

"Where did the beef come from?" Han Jiangxue asked with a frown.

"I bought it. It's not like I robbed an Old Lady," Jiang Xiao replied casually.

Han Jiangxue pressed on. "Where did you get the money?"

"I earned it. It's not like I robbed an Old Lady," Jiang Xiao answered again.

Old Lady: ???

Sensing that Han Jiangxue was about to lose her temper again, Jiang Xiao hurriedly explained, "Didn't I go out to clear my head this afternoon? Then I went to the hospital by the entrance and treated several patients for free. But one pregnant woman's husband was insanely generous and stuffed 500 yuan into my hand."

Han Jiangxue froze. What kind of plot twist was this?

She had never imagined in her wildest dreams that mischievous Jiang Xiao had run off to make money. "You have no idea. That Pregnant Woman was sitting on a bench waiting in line, dizzy and nauseous, dry-heaving nonstop. They said she threw up everything she ate. I thought she looked so pitiful, so I casually gave her a few Blessings." Jiang Xiao scratched his head. "Her husband nearly beat me up, but then his wife gradually started feeling better. She said she had an appetite and wanted to eat. That guy was endlessly grateful and insisted on giving me 500 yuan. He even said..."

Han Jiangxue raised an eyebrow. "Said what?"

Jiang Xiao scratched his head. "He said he wanted me to go to his house and work as his wife's nanny. He also said I was especially suited to being a maternity nanny."

Han Jiangxue looked at Jiang Xiao speechlessly, took the braised beef from him, and said, "Don't go fooling around outside anymore. It's fine if you heal someone, but what if you make them worse?"

"That's true." Jiang Xiao nodded. She did have a point.

He should take on fewer jobs involving Blessing pregnant women in the future. Still, Jiang Xiao had genuinely picked up several small jobs at the hospital that afternoon. One of the more successful ones was healing a child who had fallen off his bicycle and scraped his elbow.

Jiang Xiao had been startled at the time. A child had run in with blood streaming down his arm, crying and shouting. In truth, it was not very serious—just some scraped skin and a little missing flesh.

After several Blessings, the Little Boy's elbow stopped bleeding.

However, Jiang Xiao still told the Little Boy to see a proper doctor to prevent infection. Once the Little Boy came back out, Jiang Xiao pulled the grimacing boy aside.

Jiang Xiao continuously absorbed Star Power and gave the Little Boy a Blessing every ten minutes. In less than an hour, the Little Boy's wound was completely healed. After washing it with clean water, not even a scar remained.

That gave Jiang Xiaopi a new idea. Could the skill "Blessing" remove scars?

Removing scars for women should make a lot of money, right? They would never be stingy when it came to beauty.

Compared to conventional medical treatment, Jiang Xiao's Star Skill was clearly faster, safer, and painless.

Not only was it painless, it was even rather comfortable.

Still, Jiang Xiao's greatest gain from this outing was gaining a deeper understanding of his own "Blessing" skill.

The description of Blessing was somewhat vague: slowly restores the target's Life Force.

What exactly was Life Force?

By now, Jiang Xiao knew that Blessing could restore a target's stamina—such as when he trained and ran—improve a target's Physical Fitness—such as the vomiting Pregnant Woman—and even heal physical injuries—such as the injured child.

The scope of this so-called Life Force was simply too broad. It might only be a Bronze Quality Star Skill, but it was practically a divine skill!

The only thing it probably could not restore was his own mental state. After using this Star Skill too many times and draining the Star Power in his body, Jiang Xiao would become utterly exhausted mentally.

"Dinner's ready." Han Jiangxue's voice came from the kitchen. Jiang Xiao knew that the matter from noon had passed.

Han Jiangxue placed the braised beef on a plate and said to Jiang Xiao as he walked in, "If you want to eat anything in the future, just tell me. I'll buy it for you."

Jiang Xiao: "..."

He suddenly felt like he was being kept. This feeling... was pretty nice.

Jiang Xiao's heart stirred, and he asked, "By the way, do you still have enough money?"

Han Jiangxue replied, "That's not something you need to worry about."

Jiang Xiao continued, "You're already in your Third Year of High School. After one more semester, you'll be going to college. Does the family have enough money for your tuition?"

Han Jiangxue looked at Jiang Xiao in mild surprise. After a long silence, she said, "That's still not something you should worry about."

Jiang Xiao said, "We can—"

Han Jiangxue directly cut him off. "Eat. We'll continue the combat lesson later."

Jiang Xiao said, "All right."

"I've already told you how valuable Medical Awakened are. In the future, you should try to keep a low profile." Han Jiangxue thought it over before adding, "But you won't be able to hide it for long. Once you start high school, you'll be exposed eventually. And if you want more resources directed your way, not only can you not hide your medical Star Skill, you need to display your abilities as much as possible."

Jiang Xiao carefully considered the girl's words and silently committed them to memory.

Nothing happened over dinner. Jiang Xiao had thought that after an afternoon to cool down, much of Han Jiangxue's anger would have faded. But that was not the case. Although she showed nothing on the surface, Jiang Xiao was beaten terribly again during the nighttime combat training.

Besides teaching him several punching stances and methods of exerting force, Han Jiangxue also had Jiang Xiao learn "footwork."

As a result, during the latter half of the lesson, Jiang Xiao became a punching bag.

Amid Han Jiangxue's storm-like assault, he steadily improved his so-called "defense" and "evasion" abilities. Of course, Jiang Xiao also gained a very clear understanding of what "ability to take a beating" meant.

Unfortunately, the Barehanded Combat skill remained at Bronze Quality Lv.2 and did not level up.

This full-day study routine, from morning to night, seemed to become a template. Over the next two days, Jiang Xiao and Han Jiangxue spent their time in exactly the same way.

Jiang Xiao repeatedly asked himself why there was no so-called "Physical Fitness" skill among the Basic Skills in the third section. It would have been great if he could improve his Physical Fitness with Skill Points.

Unfortunately, all he could do was train himself day and night.

Although Jiang Xiao had worked very hard these past two days, his body was still weak. At the very least, his Star Power remained at Star Dust Stage Lv.2.

Jiang Xiao's frail body could only hold so much Star Power. He did not even dare use his Star Skills repeatedly in succession, or he would become dizzy and disoriented. He could only patiently gather Star Power again before casting his Star Skills once more. He was truly sick of it.

The quiet yet grueling days had only lasted two days when, on the second night, Han Jiangxue suddenly issued a new command.

"What? No Early Morning training tomorrow?"

"Mm." Han Jiangxue casually tossed the Fingerless Gloves onto the floor and turned to leave the training room.

"She really does treat words like gold." Jiang Xiao watched Han Jiangxue's retreating figure and muttered helplessly.

Whether it was Han Jiangxue's personality or their relationship, Jiang Xiao would never think she had given up on him. So... what was going on? Balancing work and rest? That was the most reasonable guess Jiang Xiao could come up with. But Jiang Xiao could heal himself! He did not need to balance work and rest. His body could endure it, as long as he slept well and gave his brain sufficient rest.

With that thought, Jiang Xiao made up his mind.

Jiang Xiao was not Jiang Xiaopi. He had stronger self-discipline and clearer goals. He understood the value of perseverance. Determined to grow stronger, he still got up on time the next Early Morning and went out alone for a run and morning training.

What Jiang Xiao never expected was that this training session seemed to have gotten him into trouble.