Suffering, Too

"With 50,000 Federal Coins, your parents can keep receiving Nutrient Fluid for another week. Remember to pay on time, or the hospital will stop the Nutrient Fluid."

"I know..."

Lu Xuan sat in the ward, where a Nutrient Fluid Recovery Pod was installed. The life monitor emitted a harsh beeping sound, as if a sledgehammer were slowly pounding his body into a crooked shape.

[Extraordinary Calendar 2030, May 6: The patient shows no abnormalities.]

The doctor recording the patient's condition on an electronic screen lowered his head and said indifferently, "Monster uprisings have been frequent lately. A Beast Tide may break out near Jinling City's Satellite City, and medical expenses at hospitals across the city will rise accordingly. You'd better be mentally prepared."

"All right."

Lu Xuan's voice was slightly weary. He lowered his eyes and watched the doctor leave the ward, then turned his head toward the two people in the Nutrient Fluid Recovery Pod.

They relied on Nutrient Fluid to keep a thread of life hanging on.

Even though they could not wake up, it still maintained their basic vital signs.

They were Lu Xuan's parents in this life.

Eighteen years ago, Lu Xuan had been reincarnated into a parallel world resembling Earth. He had thought he would rise to the pinnacle of life like the protagonists in novels, but fate had instead played a huge joke on him.

An unknown virus invaded and caused this world to mutate.

Overnight, every living thing on the planet mutated, including humans.

Animals became savage, bloodthirsty monsters that attacked human society with ferocious instincts. Caught off guard, humanity was plunged into an apocalyptic crisis.

At that time, the nations without powerful weapons to support them were wiped out in an instant.

The surviving nations formed the Human Federation and struggled on by the skin of their teeth.

It was not until later that scientists discovered that the human body had evolved as well, allowing people to absorb a substance called Spiritual Energy from the air for cultivation. Thus, Martial Artists capable of fighting monsters were born.

The Nirvana Era began from that point onward.

However, that era had already been a hundred years ago.

In the present world, monsters and humans had reached a state of balance.

Of course,

that did not mean the world had entered an era of peace. Monsters still launched Beast Tides from time to time, attacking human cities.

Lu Xuan's parents had failed to evacuate in time during one such Beast Tide. They had been injured and fallen into comas, and keeping them hanging on by a thread cost a huge sum of money every day.

In this world, saving someone's life was actually not difficult.

However, that was from a Martial Artist's perspective. They cultivated their blood and vitality, possessing powerful physiques and strength. They could fight monsters, seize valuable things from their bodies, or obtain mutant medicines or special substances... Some of these things could even bring the dead back to life.

But Lu Xuan was not a Martial Artist.

He was merely a boy who had dropped out of school halfway through, taken a job, and fought desperately to pay the medical bills.

But the speed at which he earned money could never match the speed at which prices rose.

"The Nutrient Fluid only went up to 50,000 last month..."

Lu Xuan leaned wearily against the wall and murmured, "Judging by what the doctor said, it'll probably go up again next week. I hope it won't rise too much."

With his current job, earning 100,000 a month was already his limit.

Bzzzt—!

Just then, the communications watch on Lu Xuan's wrist vibrated. He tapped to answer, and a miniature virtual image of a beautiful mature woman appeared before him.

"Are you Lu Ying's older brother?"

The woman's voice was warm and low.

Lu Xuan hurriedly straightened up and forced a smile. "Hello, I'm Lu Ying's older brother. You must be her teacher, right? Is my sister doing well at school?"

Lu Xuan had a younger sister who was still in high school.

She was three years younger than him.

The woman nodded, her full lips trembling slightly. "My name is Shen Liyue. I'm Lu Ying's homeroom teacher. I just wanted to let you know that the little girl is cultivating at my home and may return home a little late."

"Ha~ It's fine. Cultivation is more important!" Lu Xuan laughed awkwardly.

But immediately afterward, Shen Liyue changed the subject, her voice becoming more solemn. "Lu Ying's guardian, there's one more thing I must tell you. Lu Ying's blood-and-vitality value has already reached 900. She has a chance of becoming a Martial Artist before the High Martial Arts Assessment a month from now. You should know what that means."

A blood-and-vitality value of 900?

Lu Xuan's body stiffened slightly.

Everyone knew about Martial Artists.

Martial Artists cultivated through the first to the Ninth-order. The lower three orders were low-level Martial Artists, the middle three were Intermediate Martial Artists, and the upper three were High-level Martial Artists;

Beyond that were Blood-and-Vitality Martial Masters, Martial Dao Grandmasters, Martial Saints, Martial Gods...

Monsters, on the other hand, were different from humans. They were divided into low-level, intermediate, high-level, Awakened Level, Beast Lord Level, Calamity Level, and World-Ending Level...

Monsters absorbed the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon, while humans refined blood, vitality, and Spiritual Energy.

A blood-and-vitality value of 1,000 was the threshold for becoming a Martial Artist.

At fifteen years old, with 900 blood and vitality?

Lu Xuan knew exactly what that meant. It meant limitless prospects. She could choose any of Xia Nation's Four Top Martial Schools, and in the future, she might even become a pillar of the nation and a support of humanity!

"Teacher Shen, do you mean...?"

"What I mean is..." Shen Liyue organized her thoughts before saying, "If your family's circumstances allow it, try to buy Lu Ying some Heaven and Earth Spiritual Items to replenish her blood and vitality during this final month. Ideally, every meal should include low-level Monster meat..."

Lu Xuan understood.

It was a final push for the High Martial Arts Assessment.

Although a score of 900 blood and vitality was more than enough for some prestigious Martial Schools, if she had a chance to enter one of the Four Top Martial Schools, why not fight for it?

With such talent, how could he bury his sister's future?

Wasn't it just money and Spiritual Items?

Lu Xuan had strength to spare.

Huff~ Lu Xuan let out a slow breath. "Teacher Shen, don't worry. I'll give Xiaoying the best conditions."

"Xiaoying is lucky to have a guardian like you."

Shen Liyue nodded in satisfaction and was about to end the call when Lu Xuan hurriedly spoke:

"Teacher Shen, wait!"

"Hm?" Shen Liyue paused and looked up. "Lu Ying's guardian, is there something else?"

Lu Xuan looked toward his parents lying in the Nutrient Fluid Recovery Pod and gritted his teeth as he asked, "Teacher Shen, you're a Martial Artist, so you know much more than I do. I wanted to ask, if someone suffered a serious injury and fell into an unconscious state, are there any rare treasures that could treat them?"

It was rare for a Martial Artist to be willing to speak with him. He absolutely could not let this opportunity slip away.

"Hm... Lu Ying seems to have asked me that question too." Shen Liyue muttered, seemingly retrieving something. Only after a while did she answer:

"Your situation is somewhat similar to a vegetative state. There are many things in the world today that can cure it. For example, Star Soul Grass, Sea Heart Floating Root, and Ice Spirit Snow Ganoderma... However, all of these are rare Spiritual Items. Even Martial Artists would find them very difficult to obtain."

Lu Xuan had been extremely excited when he heard the first part.

But Shen Liyue's later words made his heart turn cold. If even Martial Artists found those things difficult to obtain, how could they possibly fall into his hands?

"Are there no common ones?" Lu Xuan asked unwillingly.

"There are!" Shen Liyue nodded. "Earth Dragon Essence Blood. Earth Dragons are a fairly common type of High-level Monster, but it's somewhat expensive. One drop of essence blood costs 1,000,000 Federal Coins."

One million Federal Coins for a single drop of essence blood?!

Lu Xuan could not help drawing in a sharp breath as he quickly calculated.

Save a million?

Unless he stopped eating and drinking, he could probably save enough in five years.

But time waited for no one.

Could his parents hold on until then?

Lu Xuan fell silent.

Shen Liyue did not stop and continued explaining, "Earth Dragons aren't especially rare monsters. There are several of them near Jinling City. Generally, a High-level Martial Artist can kill one..."

A High-level Martial Artist?

Lu Xuan shook his head. He was not even a Martial Artist, much less a High-level Martial Artist.

Beep beep—!

The call ended. Lu Xuan exhaled, picked up his bag, and left the ward.

"One million Federal Coins for a drop of essence blood?"

"One meal of Monster meat every day."

As Lu Xuan walked along the roadside, his mind kept circling around the things that could cure his parents and the methods that could help his sister make her final push.

No matter which one it was, in the end, it all came down to money.

Buying Earth Dragon Essence Blood required money. Helping his sister push toward becoming a Martial Artist required money. And keeping the Nutrient Fluid flowing into his parents required even more money.

Work!

The only thing he could do was keep squeezing himself dry.

Lu Xuan puffed himself up and made up his mind to wring himself out a little more.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the Monster-clearing warehouse.

The morning's work was finished, and the afternoon's work had just begun.

Monster clearing was not easy work, and it was extremely dangerous. Some monsters were very special and might experience a last burst of life. An ordinary person like him would certainly die if he encountered one.

Of course, the pay was correspondingly high.

Working four to six hours a day paid 3,000 Federal Coins, bringing in around 100,000 a month.

Lu Xuan changed into his work clothes and began working.

As he worked, he asked the coworker beside him, "Uncle Chen, what do you think is the fastest way for ordinary people like us to make money?"

The older man held a cigarette between his lips and said:

"Take out a loan, or go adventuring with Martial Artists."

Lu Xuan's brows drew tightly together. "Go adventuring with Martial Artists?"

Lu Xuan knew about loans, and he had just considered it on the way here. But the interest was too high, and he was still hesitating over whether to borrow money. As for the other method, he was somewhat unfamiliar with it.

Uncle Chen nodded. "You go with a Martial Artist team and help them clean up monster corpses. If you're lucky, you can earn hundreds of thousands of Federal Coins in a single trip!"

"That much?"

"Hmph!" Uncle Chen shouted as he worked and curled his lip. "There are monsters as plentiful as dogs in the Wilderness. You think that money is easy to get? You may have money to earn, but you won't have a life to spend it!"

Lu Xuan helplessly shrugged.

He turned back and was about to focus on his work when he suddenly froze. At some point, a mail icon had appeared in his field of vision—

[Sender: Lu Xuan]

[Mail Type: Inheritance]

[Recipient: Lu Xuan]

...