Chapter 8

The truck was moving fast, charging straight into the opposite lane. After smashing into a car, it skidded toward the pedestrians by the roadside. Bai Lang immediately let out a breath and shout, stamping the ground as he unleashed Flight Over Grass to its fullest. Like a bird skimming low over the earth, he shot across the small parking lot in front of the convenience store. With a tap of his toes, he scooped up the three stunned girls, who looked like high school students, and crashed through the gate of a house by the road.

It was a typical Japanese detached home, and Bai Lang smashed straight through its gate. Saving people meant doing it properly, so when he grabbed the three girls, he twisted his body and used the momentum to pull them along while breaking down the gate with his back. The truck's tires shrieked as it tore past them, smashing the house's wall to pieces before finally coming to a stop.

The front of the truck was a complete wreck. The driver appeared to be covered in blood and lay motionless inside the cab, though faint sounds still came from within. Bai Lang, who had rolled into a heap with the three high school girls, climbed to his feet. He walked to the mangled front end, grabbed a side mirror, and climbed up slightly to peer inside. If I don't get him out quickly, he might be crushed to death.

Bai Lang could basically be considered a good person. When it came to saving someone, he had not even had time to think before his body reacted. Seeing the driver like this now, even if only so he could drag the man out and beat him up afterward, Bai Lang had to save him first. Bracing both hands against the distorted front end, Bai Lang exhaled and shouted, "Ha!" Under his immense strength, the crushed hood let out a teeth-grating cracking sound and was forcibly pried apart, like a hydraulic spreader.

Bai Lang then dragged the bloodied driver out. After feeling him over a few times, he found no broken bones, though whether his internal organs had ruptured was another matter. He laid the man flat on the ground, considered it, and decided against kicking him a few times. He had not smelled alcohol while dragging him out. Could it have been a vehicle malfunction?

In any case, the three girls and the others nearby—mainly the convenience store's customers and employees—were all watching. Someone began clapping, and once the three girls recovered from their fright, they came over and bowed deeply to thank him for saving their lives. But they did not share a language, so Bai Lang merely waved his hand. After all, he had even forgotten how to say "it's okay" in English.

The police and ambulance arrived quickly, and the Japanese were not completely indifferent either. At least when the police began asking questions, the witnesses were willing to testify. There were surveillance cameras outside the convenience store, and they might have captured part of the incident. Bai Lang naturally received praise from the tour leader, though he had no idea whether it was sincere. "Well done, but if something happens to you next time, I'll be in trouble." That was true enough, but Bai Lang had no interest in chatting nonsense with the man. He was simply replaying his actions in his mind. This counts as part of Martial Way training too. If that truck had been a person, charging with that kind of momentum and strength, would my response just now have been timely enough?

Thinking back on it, his response seemed to have contained no mistakes, and Flight Over Grass had performed perfectly normally. Yet Bai Lang glanced at the surveillance camera outside the convenience store. What if that thing recorded my entire use of Flight Over Grass? Judging by the direction it faced, it had most likely caught everything except the instant he first pushed off.

On further thought, there was not much he could do. Erase the footage? Bai Lang did not have that ability yet. Besides, he had only saved people. Even if his martial arts were exposed, it probably would not cause any trouble. At present, his kung fu likely could not withstand firearms. Even if he moved so quickly that ordinary people had no time to aim at him, dodging bullets? Sorry, he truly could not do that. His physical body could not stop them, either.

I just don't know how powerful bullets really are. It's a pity I can't casually test them, or I'd know what level of cultivation it takes to resist them. Bai Lang's thoughts ran wild as the police came over and saluted him, thanking him for his timely rescue of the high school girls and the driver. If anyone had died, it would have been troublesome for them as well. Naturally, the surveillance footage could not be viewed immediately. It had to be taken back to the station for registration and recording. Bai Lang and the three girls merely gave simple statements at the scene, since it was obvious that they had nothing to do with the accident.

After Bai Lang left his passport number, the three high school girls repeatedly tried to get his contact information. Poor Bai Lang only had a phone number, and none of the girls seemed to use China's WeChat or QQ. As for LINE, he could neither download nor log into it on his phone. After all, he only had international roaming, not a Japanese SIM card.

Thus, Bai Lang could only leave them his email address. Even that took repeated effort to remember. He had had no chance to use it in the more than three years since crossing over and had nearly forgotten it, fortunately there was a record on his phone. He could only understand what the girls said through a phone translation app. The tour leader had wanted to come over and translate, but after reading the situation, he wisely gave up. Those girls are flirting with a guy. I'm not going to interfere.

Having just returned from the brink of death apparently did effectively stir up women's emotions. The Suspension Bridge Effect was indeed effective and scientifically proven. Yet Bai Lang had not thought in that direction at all. He only assumed they were being enthusiastic to thank him for saving their lives. Still, Bai Lang was honestly embarrassed. The education he had received since childhood taught him that this was simply what he ought to do, not something for which others needed to repay him. Besides, how can one repay the debt of saving a life? Too much or too little would both be awkward. Better to be noble about it and say that if they encounter something similar in the future, he hopes they will do their best to help others.

Yet they continued chattering around him, asking whether the move he had used to save them had been "Chinese kung fu." Chinese wuxia novels were hardly unknown in Japan these days. The only explanation for Bai Lang crossing that distance in just a few seconds was "kung fu"; sprinting normally would most likely have been impossible. Surrounded by three pairs of admiring eyes, even Bai Lang felt a little lightheaded. In all his usual martial arts training, when had he ever experienced being surrounded by women like this? Still, he did not say much and merely dealt with them perfunctorily.

At last, the three girls left. Bai Lang had firmly refused their request to continue chatting in his hotel room. Leaving aside everything else, this tour group assigned two people to each room, and Bai Lang had another group member sharing his. Bai Lang himself returned to the hotel surrounded by the other tourists. Their questions were much simpler. "You know kung fu, right? Was that lightness skill just now? It had to be!"