14 The Terms and Conditions of Borrowing Power
Erm…
The three of them were paralyzed in fear. Their boss weighed over one hundred and seventy-six pounds. He had been slapped senseless, literally. The slap also brought out a mouthful of blood. It wasn't a laughing matter. Also, they were sure that he had spat some teeth out. How would they fight such a monster?
*POM!*
*POM!*
*POM!*
Their legs went soft and they kneeled on the ground. They looked at Lin and started to beg, "Madam Lin! We know we did the wrong thing! It's totally our fault! Please forgive us!"
Lin was stunned. It was like a dream to her. She couldn't believe what just happened in front of her.
After some time, she was still trembling. "You guys can leave now…" She said.
Her voice sounded like the voice of an angel. The three men hurried over and lifted the body of their fallen superior. He was still coughing blood. They left the scene as swiftly as rabbits.
"Fuhhhh….."
Chen took a long breath, and the power of Xiangyu left his body. Fatigue started to show up on his face, and his right hand turned red and swollen. The pain started to crawl in between his bones.
"As expected, the strength from Xiangyu was really powerful, but my body is still too weak to handle the overwhelming power. I hurt myself more than I expected by handing out a single punch. This cannot go on for long. I must find a way to train myself stronger." Chen told himself secretly.
Ding!
[You received one point of Triple Realms Merit for saving a lady.]
Ding!
[Three points of Triple Realms Merits have been deducted from you. Now your points are -1. Level: Bad guy.]
"What the f*ck?! How is it possible that my point is -1 right now?" Chen was really confused.
When Chen was trying figure out the function of Netherspirit Battlescouter just now, he realized that all the famous people inside the Red Envelope Group of the Three Realms were no longer alive. They were all ghosts from hell.
Two choices would be given to a person when he/she died. The first option was, he/she could choose to drink the Soup of Mengpo and crossed the bridge of life to go through the process of reincarnation. The second option was, the person could choose to stay at hell and begin training as a ghost. When he/she accumulated a certain amount of Triple Realms Merit Point, he/she would become a deity and ascend to heaven. It was extremely difficult for a ghost to earn Triple Realms Merit Point. Most of the people would choose to go through the process of reincarnation. Only few would choose to stay and train in hell. Xiangyu, the King was one of them.
"The three points that were taken from me must have been transferred to Xiangyu. Such is the price of borrowing strength from a ghost." Chen concluded. It was only reasonable to pay for such power.
Chen was more bothered about the '-1' point now. He had been officially categorized as a bad guy. This is going to be a problem.
"Chen… Are you alright? Lin walked towards Chen and asked.
"Oh… Nothing…" Chen scratched his nose tip and said.
There was no way that he would tell his deepest secrets to others.
"You don't look good. Are you sick?" Lin Xiang was a really attentive woman. She quickly noticed Chen's change. She walked towards Chen. She lifted up her fair hand and placed it softly on Chen's forehead.
Her graceful, fair hand felt cold. Her movements were slow and gentle. It was like rain drops had landed on Chen's face. It moistened up Chen's heart.
Looking at the masterpiece in front of him and smelling the subtle lily-like fragrance that came from Lin's body made Chen's mind jump around like a wild horse.
"There's no fever, but you still don't look good to me. Do you want me to bring you to the hospital?" Lin retrieved her hand and said in a concerned tone.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine. All I need is a good nights sleep to be fully recovered." Chen smiled.
There were two more bottles of Fluid of Hundred Herbs inside Chen's treasure chest. All he needed to do was consume a drop from it to solve all his physical problems. It was not necessary to go to hospital at all.
"Hold up! Chen…can you come home with me?" Lin said suddenly. Her voice was soft, like a whisper in the wind. Also, she appeared to be blushing a little as she asked Chen that.
Come? Home? Chen cannot believe what he just heard. His jaw dropped to the ground.
"What…..Ms Lin, you are, gorgeous. I totally wouldn't mind walking you home. But….is it ok for us to move to second base at such a fast pace?"
"What do you mean by second base?"
When Lin figured out what Chen was saying, her ear lobes turned red. "Please don't think of such nonsense! I'm just worried that the bad guys might be waiting for me at my place. I'll be more relieved to have you with me."
"Erm…."
Chen was very disappointed. He thought he could have had some "fun" with Lin tonight. Then again, there was a high possibility that the black faced guy who he just defeated will come seeking for vengeance. It will be bad if Lin got hurt because of that.
"Let's go. I'm willing to become your personal bodyguard." Chen agreed to go with her without hesitation.
"Ok…" Lin nodded her head. She followed Chen like a wife.
Lin was staying in a slum that was located at the west side of the city. Houses at that area were extremely old and broken. There was not a single valuable item that could be found in her house. It was strange. Lin should be paid quite well since she worked for the university. It must be Lin's brother that is causing her to live in such bad conditions. On the way, Chen had asked about her brother for a few times and he also mentioned that he was more than willing to lend her some money. However, Lin remained silent on the matter, also refusing Chen's aid. Maybe she thought that Chen was still a poor farmer and had no money of his own. In the end, the night went by peacefully. Chen slept in her brother's room.
On the second day, Chen and Lin took a public bus to the university.
A few days passed by without anything happened. Other than checking out the Red Envelope Group of the Three Realms every day, Chen added a new routine to his daily life; training. Chen noticed how weak and small he was after he borrowed strength form Xiangyu. Also, he was dying to become as strong as Xiangyu. Brother Zhu was right. Training was long and head. Since Chen decided to go on this way, he must first conquered his own mindset.
As a guy that almost failed his fitness test and also an Otaku. He changed his lifestyle completely after Lin's incident. Other than sleeping and eating, Chen will spend most of his time on the field to train himself. The amount of training that he did in these five days exceeded the training that he did for the past six months. His hardcore training came with rewards. He triggered his Netherspirit Battlescouter to check himself out. His new attribute showed up.
Paragon level: 0
Health: 3
Combat power: 10
"What I yield is what I work, this make total sense to me right now!" Chen smiled. His smile was astonishingly jubilant.
Although there was still a big gap between the combat power of him and Xiangyu, he was still very proud of his own improvement.
*Ring!*
Chen's cellphone rang and it was her goddess, Lan calling him. Today is Sunday. She promised Chen that she will treat her a meal. Also, she wanted to do something with Chen as well.
Without a word, Chen rushed to the university's gate and waited for her. Uncle Qin was not with her today. She drove a low-profile Audi. Her eyes opened wide when Chen got in the car.
"Master Chen! You have changed!"
Translator footnote
Mengpo- Is the Lady of Forgetfulness in Chinese mythology.