Chapter 3

"Have you learned any techniques for treating sprains and bone injuries? Maybe I can take a look?" Xia Yunjie hesitated for a moment and then said.

"Really? Why didn't you say so earlier... Well, take a look quickly, or I won't be able to go to work tonight." Cheng Ping was first surprised, then rolled her eyes, and then suddenly remembered that Xia Yunjie had mentioned this before, but she had misunderstood. Her face turned slightly red.

Seeing Cheng Ping urging him, Xia Yunjie squatted down in front of her.

Heaven and earth, when Xia Yunjie squatted down, he really just wanted to help Cheng Ping check her sprained ankle, but he forgot that she was wearing a short denim skirt. The narrow and somewhat stiff denim fabric barely covered the outer sides of her plump thighs, leaving a wide gap between her legs. When Xia Yunjie squatted down, his gaze happened to be directly aligned with the gap, where a palm-sized pink transparent fabric barely concealed the mysterious area, faintly visible and exuding an irresistible allure.

Women are very sensitive to certain parts of their body. The moment Xia Yunjie's gaze inadvertently met her gap, Cheng Ping immediately felt something was off. She quickly pressed down on the hem of her skirt with one hand and poked Xia Yunjie's forehead with the other, blushing and scolding, "Hey, what are you looking at?"

"Ahem!" Xia Yunjie, feeling guilty, quickly lowered his head and grabbed Cheng Ping's foot.

"Ouch! Be gentle!" Cheng Ping gasped as Xia Yunjie's rough handling caused her to inhale sharply.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to." Xia Yunjie, seeing Cheng Ping in pain, almost broke out in a cold sweat. He never imagined that helping a woman with a foot injury would be such a daunting task.

Cheng Ping, of course, knew that Xia Yunjie wasn't doing it on purpose. Otherwise, if a man dared to squat down and peek under her skirt, she would have kicked him in the head long ago. But knowing something in one's heart is different from what one says.

"Hmph, we'll see how you perform. If you can treat my foot, it means you weren't doing it on purpose. If you can't, it means you had ulterior motives from the start." Cheng Ping poked Xia Yunjie's forehead again, saying in a stern voice.

Xia Yunjie couldn't help but smile bitterly. Well, next time he encounters a girl with a sprained foot, he'd better not be so eager to help, or he might end up being labeled as a pervert.

Fortunately, although Xia Yunjie was now down on his luck and had to work in a bar to earn money, as a descendant of the great witch king Xia Yu and a practitioner of witchcraft since childhood, a mere sprain was nothing to him.

Xia Yunjie gently held Cheng Ping's small foot. It was a very beautiful foot, with a round ankle, pearl-like toes, and a smooth, plump calf that extended into her full thighs. However, the ankle was now slightly swollen, clearly indicating that the sprain was quite severe. If not treated promptly, she might not be able to go to work the next day.

"It might hurt a bit at first, so bear with it," Xia Yunjie warned, not daring to look at her legs for too long. He then began to gently massage the injured area of her left foot.

As Xia Yunjie massaged, Cheng Ping felt a sharp pain, but since he had warned her, she didn't cry out. Instead, she frowned and showed a pained expression.

However, soon the sharp pain turned into a warm sensation, like soaking in warm water, making her feel so comfortable that she almost moaned. Her tense nerves gradually relaxed, and the hand that had been pressing down on her skirt hem loosened without her noticing.

As soon as she let go, the denim fabric flattened again, and the alluring view was once again exposed to Xia Yunjie.

Cheng Ping quickly realized this and pressed down on her skirt again, glancing at Xia Yunjie. She saw him looking down, massaging her foot with such focus and gentleness that she was momentarily stunned.

"Alright, stand up and walk a bit. It should be fine now." Just as Cheng Ping was staring at Xia Yunjie in a daze, he suddenly stood up and smiled.

"Uh, okay, is it really better?" Cheng Ping was startled and stood up instinctively.

As soon as she stood up, Cheng Ping was surprised to find that her left foot, which had felt like being pricked by needles just a moment ago, was now completely pain-free. She couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief and delight, "Wow, it's really better! It doesn't hurt at all! Ah Jie, I didn't know you had such skills!"

"Hehe, that's good. I'll go wash my hands first." Xia Yunjie, who was confident in his witchcraft skills despite his current job search woes, wasn't surprised at all. He smiled and then turned to the restroom.

Watching Xia Yunjie walk away, Cheng Ping remembered that he had been squatting in front of her, facing her spread legs at close range, and her cheeks turned red.

After washing his hands, Xia Yunjie and Cheng Ping agreed to meet at BLUENIGHT bar at five o'clock and then parted ways at the KFC entrance.

With his job prospects looking more promising, Xia Yunjie lost interest in aimlessly wandering around. After all, it was a hot summer day, and even though his cultivation had long made him immune to heat and cold, he still felt a bit uncomfortable. Xia Yunjie walked to a nearby bus stop, waited a few minutes, and then boarded the No. 35 bus.

When Xia Yunjie boarded the bus, the purse snatcher, who had been hiding in the shade, was lying on his motorcycle, watching the No. 35 bus from a distance. A cold smile appeared on his lips. As the bus started, he also started his motorcycle and followed from a distance.

Bastard, don't think you can just walk away after ruining my plans and stealing my money! This isn't over!

Xia Yunjie got off the bus at Deya Community and walked leisurely toward the neighborhood with his shoulder bag. The purse snatcher, seeing Xia Yunjie heading toward the Deya Community gate, glared with hatred and took out a Motorola flip phone from his pocket to make a call.

Deya Community was an old neighborhood near Shengli River. The houses were old, and it wasn't in the prime downtown area, but it was quiet and the rent was affordable. When Xia Yunjie first came to Jiangzhou, he had two thousand yuan in his pocket, was confident about finding a job, and had many inconveniences due to his cultivation, so he didn't consider staying in a company dormitory or a suburban farmer's rental. Instead, he looked for an apartment in a residential complex.

However, as one of the top economic cities in Jiangnan Province, the rent for apartments in Jiangzhou was quite high. A one-bedroom apartment usually cost six hundred yuan, while a two-bedroom apartment cost over nine hundred yuan. Rent was usually paid quarterly or even semi-annually. Although Xia Yunjie had two thousand yuan when he first arrived, he couldn't afford a one-bedroom apartment on his own. By chance, he found an ad online for a roommate in Deya Community. It was a two-bedroom apartment with a living room, bathroom, and kitchen, renting for nine hundred yuan, which meant four hundred and fifty yuan per person per month, paid quarterly. After calculating, Xia Yunjie found that he would have six hundred and fifty yuan left after paying a quarter's rent. He could save and manage to find a job. The neighborhood was also quiet, so he met the poster, a straightforward young man, and decided to live with him.

Walking through the familiar neighborhood, Xia Yunjie felt a sense of relief, thinking that after a month and a half, he finally saw a glimmer of hope for a job. Unlike before, when he felt out of place walking through the neighborhood, thinking of himself as a construction worker who "luxuriously" rented an apartment, he now felt more at ease.

Xia Yunjie's roommate, Zhang Wenbin, was a sales representative for a beer company in Jiangzhou. Last week, he was suddenly sent to Jiangbei Province on business, so Xia Yunjie had been enjoying the "luxury" of the two-bedroom apartment alone for a few days, living quite comfortably.

Back in the room, Xia Yunjie washed his face and picked up a book on management principles to read in bed.

In the past, Xia Yunjie had neglected his studies due to his witchcraft practice and only completed a vocational school education. Now, in the job market, he realized the importance of a degree. After failing to find a job for over half a month, he bought books for a self-study program in business management at Xinhua Bookstore and planned to take the exam to upgrade from vocational school to college next year.

Deya Community was quite far from Nan Shan Road. At 4:15 PM, Xia Yunjie left the house.

At 4:15 PM, the sun was still scorching, and the streets were mostly empty except for the constant flow of vehicles.

Xia Yunjie had barely walked a few dozen meters from the neighborhood gate when the side door of a nearby Jinbei minivan suddenly opened, and four men with steel pipes rushed out. One of them was the purse snatcher.

However, the purse snatcher was clearly not the leader. The leader was a muscular man with a bald head and a scar running from his forehead to the center of his head, resembling a menacing centipede. His head glistened in the sunlight, and his appearance was intimidating.

"Get in the car now, or I'll bash your head in!" The bald man tapped the steel pipe in his hand and bared his teeth at Xia Yunjie, looking vicious.

Xia Yunjie glanced at the steel pipe in the bald man's hand and climbed into the car without a word.

"Damn, this kid is cooperative!" The bald man, seeing Xia Yunjie get into the car without a word, spat on the ground and cursed, but secretly felt relieved.

Although there weren't many people on the street and people these days tended to mind their own business, assaulting someone in broad daylight still carried some risk. It was better to avoid it if possible.

As soon as Xia Yunjie got into the car, the purse snatcher and another man sandwiched him in the middle. They stared at him with red eyes and sneered, "Thirty years on this side, thirty years on that side. Didn't expect to see you again, did you?"

"Didn't expect it. I let you go out of kindness at noon. Why are you doing this to yourself and your companions?" Xia Yunjie looked at the purse snatcher and shook his head regretfully.

"Damn, are your eyes on your ass? Can't you see the situation? Looks like I need to teach you a lesson!" The purse snatcher, already seething with anger, saw Xia Yunjie still acting arrogantly and swung his steel pipe at Xia Yunjie's head.

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