Chapter 4: Accumulated Virtue

"Give me back my wallet!"

"Damn, the girl who did the仙人跳 with Xu Zhen is actually this girl? My goodness!" Chen Zihao sighed, thinking how many men would fall for her as bait.

"Quick, what are you waiting for?"

Meng Nan shouted, rushing over, with Zheng Qian and Chen Zihao quickly following.

At this moment, Xu Zhen had already reached the girl and was loudly questioning her.

The girl was initially stunned, then her face turned strange, her cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head, saying nothing.

The commotion had already attracted a crowd, all pointing and whispering.

"What are you doing? Harassing my sister?"

At this moment, two muscular men with tattoos on their arms pushed their way through the crowd and shoved Lao Si hard.

Seeing the two men, Xu Zhen's eyes blazed with anger. These were the same men who had stolen his wallet and beaten him up last time.

"I'll fight you to the death!" Taking advantage of his drunkenness, Xu Zhen lunged forward.

But he was no match for the man, who easily blocked Xu Zhen with one hand and then kicked him hard in the stomach, sending Xu Zhen flying and curling up in pain on the ground.

At this point, Zheng Qian and the others finally arrived. Meng Nan picked up an empty beer bottle and smashed it on one of the men's heads.

"Clang!"

The bottle shattered, and the man's head bled profusely. He stood up, enraged, his face twisted in fury.

"Call the police!"

Zheng Qian shouted at the crowd, grabbing a folding chair and hitting the man's back hard. The man was stunned and fell unconscious.

The remaining man, however, went berserk, grabbing a chair and sweeping it at the three. The force was immense, and Zheng Qian felt a sharp pain in his chest, hearing a clear crack before he blacked out, losing consciousness.

When he woke up, he was in the hospital.

By his bed stood a police officer, "Kid, you're awake?"

The officer smiled at Zheng Qian, "Don't worry, those guys have been committing several frauds in our city. The two from last night have already been caught!"

Zheng Qian felt a sharp pain in his chest. Being a medical student, he knew his ribs were broken. He nodded weakly and closed his eyes.

It was then that Zheng Qian learned that all three of them had been injured. He had the most severe injuries, with two broken ribs, while the others had only minor injuries. The man had also been caught by the crowd.

"Kid, you're pretty tough. Usually, you seem so weak, but you fought like a beast!" Meng Nan squeezed into the room, smiling.

Zheng Qian couldn't speak, just giving a bitter smile.

"By the way, I got my wallet back, but the girl ran off in the chaos. The police haven't caught her yet!" Xu Zhen, with a bandage on his face, smiled, "When you're better, let's go out for a good meal!"

After a brief chat, they left, leaving Zheng Qian to recover alone in the hospital.

Bored and in pain, he thought, "It takes a hundred days to heal from a bone injury. Do I have to spend three months in the hospital?"

Feeling helpless, Zheng Qian suddenly remembered Niutou. Since Niutou could befriend the King of Hell and the Medicine King Sun Simiao, maybe he could get some instant healing pills, just like in *Journey to the West*.

With this thought, Zheng Qian quickly opened his phone.

"Niutou, are you there? Do you have any healing pills?"

He sent the message, but his phone showed a failure, with insufficient balance.

"Insufficient balance?" Zheng Qian's face changed. He had just recharged his phone with 100 yuan yesterday.

He clicked on the insufficient balance, and a screen with a big zero appeared.

"What is this? When did WeChat require a special fee?"

"Buzz!"

His phone vibrated, and he saw a message from King Qin Guang.

"What did he send me?" Zheng Qian quickly opened it.

"Thank you for the birthday gift. I will remember this favor and repay it in the future!"

"Does this mean I can only receive messages with zero balance but can't send any?" Zheng Qian felt deflated, like getting a box of gold only to find it locked, or getting a beautiful woman only to find she's more well-endowed than he is.

"Beep!"

Suddenly, his phone vibrated again, and the insufficient balance screen showed 1000, with a system message.

"Congratulations! For giving King Qin Guang a birthday gift, you have received 1000 units of accumulated virtue!"

"Accumulated virtue?"

Zheng Qian felt bewildered. What was this? Did he need accumulated virtue to send messages? He tried sending a message to Niutou again, and it worked.

Checking his accumulated virtue, he saw 990 left, having spent 10 units on the message.

Zheng Qian realized that in *Journey to the West*, one needed accumulated virtue to reincarnate as a human, or else they would be reborn as an animal.

"Brother, what kind of pill do you need? The Medicine King might have it. Ask him!"

This time, Zheng Qian was smarter. To save accumulated virtue, he didn't reply to Niutou but directly opened Sun Simiao's interface.

"Medicine King, do you have any miraculous pills for treating injuries?"

"Yes!" Sun Simiao replied.

Zheng Qian was delighted and quickly typed, "Can you give me one?"

But before he could send it, Sun Simiao replied, "100 units of accumulated virtue per pill, no credit."

"Phew!"

Zheng Qian almost choked on his own blood. After some thought, he decided that 100 units of accumulated virtue were worth it to avoid three months of pain.

After replying, a black pill the size of a longan appeared in his palm. He examined it carefully, sniffed it, and found it ordinary with a strange smell, unable to identify the ingredients.

"Let's try it!" Zheng Qian steeled himself, swallowed the pill, and felt it dissolve in his mouth. A cool sensation slid down his throat and gathered at his broken ribs.

A tingling sensation made Zheng Qian feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring, almost moaning in relief.

The sensation lasted for about two minutes, and then Zheng Qian felt no more pain in his chest. He pressed it, feeling the solid bones, knowing his ribs had healed.

"Wow, it really works!" Zheng Qian was overjoyed. If he had more, he could sell them to pay for his phone.

Since he was healed, Zheng Qian didn't want to stay in the hospital. The healing was too strange, and he didn't want anyone to investigate.

He changed his clothes and looked around. The hospital corridor was empty except for a few patients.

Zheng Qian quickly walked to the elevator. Once inside, he hurried to the lobby.

"Thump, thump!"

Just as he took a few steps, the nurse who had changed his bandages came around the corner.

Zheng Qian was stunned. There was no place to hide in the corridor. If he turned back, she would see him.

Deciding to face it, Zheng Qian turned and stood at the corner of a ward door, facing away from the corridor.

"Daughter, it's all my fault. I've dragged you into this!"

A middle-aged woman's voice came from the ward, hoarse and filled with helplessness and despair.

"Mom, it's okay. No matter how tired I am, it's fine as long as you get better. Don't worry, I'll save enough money for your surgery."

Zheng Qian sighed, "Another poor family without money for medical treatment..."

He glanced through the glass window and saw the scene inside.

"Huh? That girl... isn't she the one from last night? The one who used the仙人跳 to trick Lao Si?"

Zheng Qian stared through the glass, but he didn't move because the nurse was passing by.

"Daughter, the two men who forced you to be their bait have been caught by the police. They won't come for you, right?"

The woman in the bed, pale and weak, looked worried.

The girl's bright face turned somber, then she forced a smile, "Mom, it's okay. I promised them I would only help them once. We borrowed 500 yuan for your medical fees, and then we're even. Once I save enough money for your surgery, we'll leave this city and never come back. Then I'll get married and find someone to take care of you properly!"

"Mom is useless..." The woman sighed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The nurse passed by, and Zheng Qian quickly entered the elevator and left.

Just as he reached the school gate, a figure rushed out, and Zheng Qian, eager to tell Lao Si about the girl, didn't notice. They collided.

"Ouch!"

The figure cried out, and Zheng Qian stepped back.

"Sorry, sorry!"

Zheng Qian reached out to help, but as he saw the figure, his hand froze.

"It's you?"

Lu Yuli, looking innocent, sat on the ground, her black stockings torn, a small spot of blood appearing on her knee.

However, Lu Yuli seemed to have no memory of Zheng Qian, her face full of委屈, her big eyes brimming with tears.

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