Chapter 5: Chapter 4: [You Still Want Crayfish at a Time Like This?]
Ever since he left the food street, He Xiaotian had been burning with excitement.
He kept his speed within the legal limit, however.
After all, safety came first. Drive recklessly, and your family weeps.
Ten minutes later, he finally arrived at the base of his cousin’s apartment building.
He rushed back to his room and sat down in the study, his eyes fixed on his arm, which had turned a bluish color from the cold.
Although he had gained five hundred Experience Points this time, it hadn’t been without risk.
It seemed the black substance wrapped around the crystal last night was meant to insulate its bone-chilling aura.
He had only held it in his hand for less than two seconds.
And now, one of his arms was nearly useless.
This just showed how dangerous the crystal was.
’Why not go to the hospital right away?’
First of all, He Xiaotian had no way of explaining how his arm could have frozen solid in the middle of summer.
Secondly, telling them that a thumb-sized crystal was the cause would likely lead to unnecessary complications.
’And what if the hospital couldn’t even treat such a bizarre injury?’
Besides, it wasn’t as if he had no way of dealing with his right arm’s problem himself.
At this thought, He Xiaotian’s gaze fell upon the system interface in the upper-left corner of his vision.
This martial art, *Fire-refined Golden Body*, had been described in his cousin’s hundred-thousand-yuan manual.
It was a top-tier *Fire-refined Golden Body* art, based primarily on cultivating a Fire Series Qi Gong.
Once mastered, it left no weak points, rendering one impervious to blades and spears.
Its Inner Strength was fierce and unyielding, making one virtually unbeatable.
As long as he could reach the entry-level and generate Inner Qi, he was confident that using fire to expel the cold would be a natural next step.
’If that doesn’t work, then of course I’ll go to the hospital!’
’This is an emergency. Everything else can wait until after I’ve saved my arm.’
[Experience Points: 500
Function: Scan
Martial Arts: *Fire-refined Golden Body* - 0/50+ (Uninitiated).]
Forcing himself to ignore the numbness in his right arm, he focused all his Spirit and tapped the ’+’ symbol.
The 0/50 instantly became 50/50.
Immediately, a wondrous wisp of energy, as thin as a hair, was born from within his Dantian.
The moment it appeared, it began to circulate through the meridians of his body.
With every small heavenly cycle it completed, the energy grew a bit stronger. With every large heavenly cycle, his body seemed to become a bit tougher.
After thirty-six small heavenly cycles and twelve large ones...
The stream of energy had grown to the thickness of his little finger before it finally stopped.
Before he could even react, that searing energy from his Dantian shot toward his arm.
"HISS!"
Wisps of white smoke rose into the air. Apparently, this stream of energy was the Inner Power often described in martial arts novels, and it was currently expelling the chilling aura from his right arm.
Hot versus cold, yin versus yang. As the two forces clashed, a tearing sensation shot through his nerves.
He Xiaotian gritted his teeth but didn’t let out a sound.
’A grown man making weird noises at home?’
’If the neighbors heard that, how could I ever show my face again?’
After what felt like an eternity, the tearing sensation finally began to fade.
Beneath his chair, a small puddle of water had formed.
It must have been produced when the fiery Inner Strength expelled all the chilling energy from his meridians.
He Xiaotian looked at his afflicted arm. The bluish-purple color was completely gone.
"Whew! Finally solved. Looks like my guess was right."
[Experience Points: 450
Function: Scan
Martial Arts: *Fire-refined Golden Body* - 0/100+ (Initiate).]
The system interface in his vision had updated.
His Experience Points had decreased by fifty, and *Fire-refined Golden Body* had advanced from ’Uninitiated’ to ’Initiate’. The requirement for the next upgrade had also increased.
"Sigh! I wonder how many more upgrades I can get with these remaining Experience Points. Guess I’ll have to add ’crystal hunting’ to my daily routine."
He Xiaotian sighed and was about to get up to clean the study.
But as soon as he stood, he was hit by a wave of dizziness.
A ravenous hunger surged from his stomach, overwhelming his thoughts.
He felt as if he hadn’t eaten in three days and three nights; he wanted to pick up the table and take a bite out of it.
"What is this?"
He struggled to pull his phone from his pocket, using the reflection on the dark screen to examine his face.
He saw that his face was completely drained of color, making him look severely malnourished.
He gave a bitter smile. He had planned for everything, but he had never considered how Inner Power was actually generated.
Most of the novels He Xiaotian had read mentioned the concept of ’refining essence into qi’.
Inner Strength wasn’t created from nothing. Rather, a Cultivator consumed food, then refined its essence.
This process was how they cultivated or strengthened their own qi.
While Experience Points could unconditionally upgrade the martial arts he learned, the cost of that upgrade was borne by his own body.
That explained why he was now dizzy, extremely weak, and looked malnourished.
He Xiaotian unlocked his screen and, with a trembling finger, tapped on an app called Meituan.
Say no more. First things first: order twenty pork knuckles!!
’But it’s been a busy morning, and now it’s rush hour. Can the delivery guy even get here in time?’
So, enduring his body’s discomfort, he headed for the kitchen.
’I’ve got to eat something first. Just waiting for the delivery guy is unrealistic. Who knows when he’ll show up?’
However, the short walk of a few steps felt as arduous as the legendary Journey to the West.
Phrases like ’a day feels like a year’ and ’mountains in the distance kill the horses that run toward them’ flashed through his mind.
The journey of ten thousand miles was finally over. He Xiaotian excitedly threw open the refrigerator door.
"?!"
The expression on his face froze. In an instant, he plunged into despair.
’You’ve got to be kidding me!’
He and his cousin were both eligible bachelors; a rare skill like cooking was completely foreign to them.
He ordered takeout every day, and his cousin, a police officer, never came home for lunch, always eating at the station.
So, the amount of food in the refrigerator was pitifully small.
There were only a few lonely eggs, scattered haphazardly inside, as if mocking him in silence.
So hungry his vision was starting to blur, He Xiaotian couldn’t care less.
He shakily reached out and snatched up three or four eggs.
Then, closing his eyes, he cracked them one by one and poured the raw contents into his mouth.
’Raw eggs are the most nutritious,’ he thought. ’Not bad at all... Bleh...’
Pinching his nose, he swallowed his entire ’stash’, but not only did his hunger not subside, it grew even more intense.
With tears welling in his eyes, he steeled himself and looked down at the eggshells he had just tossed at his feet.
"No! Don’t!"
His sinful hand reached out. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. The sounds echoed in the kitchen.
"CLICK!"
He Xiaotian, in the middle of chewing on eggshells, suddenly felt his eyes light up.
’I ordered it ten minutes ago, and it’s here ten minutes later?’
’You’re amazing, my dear delivery guy!’
’Wait a minute, why does the delivery guy have a key to our apartment? And why is he wearing a police uniform?’
"Cousin!"
Looking at the familiar face before him, He Xiaotian swore to the heavens he had never felt such heartfelt joy.
’He could even smell a delicious aroma. Could it be his cousin brought him lunch?’
"Xiaotian? What’s wrong with you?"
His cousin was shocked to see Xiaotian, pale as a ghost and with a mouthful of eggshells, leaning against the refrigerator for support.
’He was full of life just last night. How could he look so... drained by noon the next day?’
’Did this kid spend the whole night spanking the monkey?!’
’Kids these days. So much energy, so little self-control.’
"Co... Co... Cousin... Qui... Quick... Gi... Give me... the... the crayfish."
He Xiaotian’s eyes filled with tears as he stared at the familiar takeout container. He knew it was the most famous spicy crayfish in Z County, a local delicacy without equal.
Even the most popular crayfish joint on the food street couldn’t hold a candle to it.
There might not be much meat on them, but at least it would take the edge off his hunger.
"Are you serious? You’re thinking about crayfish at a time like this! We’re going to the hospital! If you drop dead, how am I supposed to explain it to your mom?" His cousin tossed the spicy crayfish onto the dining table, scooped up the despairing He Xiaotian, and sprinted downstairs.
"Nooo! I want the crayfish!!"
The moment they were out the door, He Xiaotian buried his face in his cousin’s chest. But please, don’t get the wrong idea.
It wasn’t out of shyness, but out of pure, unadulterated shame!
After all, he was being carried out of the building, princess-style, by another man.
Anyone who saw them would think their relationship was... complicated, and get all sorts of unnecessary ideas.
And in his extremely weakened state, he was powerless to resist.
All he could do was hide his face. That way, if he ran into any neighbors later, it might be slightly less awkward.
And it would keep them from pointing and whispering behind his back.
Fortunately, they didn’t run into anyone they knew in the hallway.
He Xiaotian breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as they were exiting the building, he accidentally let his face show.
And then... he was left completely dumbfounded.
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