Chapter 23 - Spooking Himself
The next day.
April 10th, Thursday.
Upon waking up, Fang Ping felt the soreness in his muscles.
The sensation was milder than expected, though. A person who exercised after a long period of inactivity would need to expect soreness.
This unsavory sensation was muted due to his high Vitality.
At this moment, Fang Ping finally understood the reason why a high Vitality was a compulsory criterion that a martial artist needed to fulfill.
As one’s Vitality increased, all diseases and ailments would thus be cured. It helped to alleviate fatigue, too.
Only people with a high Vitality could aim for martial artistry with conviction. If Fang Ping did not possess a high Vitality count, he would be feeling the soreness in his muscles for days after that exercise session.
When he woke up, his parents had already gone out.
Fang Yuan washed herself in a daze; kids her age were notoriously sleepy all the time.
Fang Yuan knew that Fang Ping had trained the whole night.
She envied her brother somewhat; she could barely open her eyes while he was ridiculously energetic.
“Fang Ping, aren’t you tired?”
“I’m not! I’m so alert that everything I eat tastes good!”
Fang Yuan curled her lip. He did nothing but to rile her up.
The pair tidied up hastily and ate the breakfast that their mother prepared before setting out.
After they walked out of the door, Fang Yuan tossed her schoolbag to Fang Ping. “You aren’t tired at all, are you? Help me carry my bag for a while, then.”
The junior high school that Fang Yuan studied in was not too far away from No.1 High School, and they were in the same direction for a part of the way.
Fang Ping shook his head with a smile. He took the bag and carried it without a word.
When the two of them were walking out of the stairway, a middle-aged man came from the other way, carrying his breakfast.
Fang Ping gave him a cursory glance and was surprised when he saw the man walk towards the block they lived in. He then realized that the man was the tenant upstairs.
There were only about a dozen families living in this old residential area; everyone knew one another and new faces were rare.
They did not know each other, though, so Fang Ping did not greet him as their paths crossed.
—
When Huang Bin passed by Fang Ping, his brow suddenly twitched.
Martial artists could sense the Vitality of civilians.
Wang Jinyang had successfully attempted that.
He and his target had to be within a near distance, though, as low-ranked martial artists were not that powerful.
Huang Bin did not sense anything when he was upstairs, but he sensed something out of the ordinary immediately when he had crossed paths with Fang Ping.
This boy’s Vitality was extremely high!
Among civilians, at least.
Huang Bin furrowed his brow as envy coiled in his gut.
He was sure that the kid would lose hope the previous day; he had also complained about the unfairness of the world on behalf of him.
One had an inherent disadvantage if he had hailed from an ordinary family.
He now realized that the kid that he had sympathized with yesterday had a high Vitality. According to the information that he had gotten a hold of, the chance of him getting into a martial arts university was high.
Huang Bin felt stupid at the thought.
What right did he have, to feel sympathy towards other people?
He at that age did not even have the right to slave under this kid!
He had failed all the tests. Some of his classmates from high school had become martial artists at the age of twenty, while he had to spend ten more years and a whole lot more money before scraping in.
The kid in front of him could probably become a martial artist at the age of twenty. If he succeeded in passing the tests.
Having Vitality this high despite being born in an ordinary family proved that the kid had considerable innate talent. That, coupled with the support offered by a martial arts university…
Maybe he could achieve Rank-2, or even Rank-3 just after a few years, and the kid could look down on him…
Why was he still sympathizing with him?
Feeling sorry for him?
Huang Bin’s face soured as he mulled over it.
Everyone felt envy towards something or someone at some point in time. Some knew how to control it. Some did not, or did not want to.
The Huang Bin from before would belong to the former.
Now his limits were being challenged constantly, plus he was now being chased around like some rat on the streets. That did not help with stabilizing his feelings.
When he crossed paths with Fang Ping, he looked extremely displeased. He had even entertained the thought of killing the boy off once and for all.
He had resisted the urge to do so, thankfully.
Lying low was the best course of action during these trying times. There was no need to tamper with his plans just for this boy.
He could sabotage the boy secretly before he left, though.
Why should other people have it easier than him?
God was really unfair. Encountering a genius while in hiding was the epitome of this unfairness.
—
Huang Bin left without doing anything.
Fang Ping, on the other hand, could not help but glance backward again. Thanks to his higher-than-average Mentality, he had sensed intent so malicious that it made his hair stand up.
Although it went by almost instantly, he was still shaken.
He glanced sideways, but he only saw the back of the tenant upstairs.
Fang Ping furrowed his brow and did not say a word.
At the sight of her brother being rooted to the spot, Fang Yuan asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing. That man is the tenant from upstairs.”
“Oh, Aunt Chen and her family left long ago, leaving the house empty for a long time. Does that uncle have a daughter?
“There are no other girls the same age as me in this area, so there’s no one to play with me when I want to.”
Fang Yuan mentioned this with the hopes that the man would have a daughter her age.
Fang Ping shook his head. “There’s only him upstairs.”
“Alone?”
Fang Yuan muttered, “This uncle sure can eat! I noticed that he bought a dozen buns and more that I assumed that he bought them for a family!”
“A dozen buns…”
Fang Yuan did not think too much of her words, but Fang Ping remembered them.
Fang Ping did not take notice of the man’s breakfast. Now that he thought of it, he was really carrying a huge bag.
Could a man eat all that?
Or were there other people?
It was quiet upstairs; it did not seem like there were many people.
What did that mean, though?
Fang Ping had doubts. Who could eat that much?
Martial artists, naturally!
It was only natural that martial artists eat a lot.
They expended huge amounts of energy while having to maintain their Vitality at the same time. Those able to afford supplements could take them to supply what the body needed without eating and drinking copious amounts.
Those who were less well-off could only do so by eating a huge amount of food.
That was also the reason why the appetites of martial artists were ten times or more than the average person.
“Martial artist…”
“Is the man upstairs a martial artist?”
Fang Ping ruminated on as he walked.
He swallowed when he thought of the malicious intent that he had sensed.
A martial artist had the highest status in a place like Sun City.
Why would someone like him rent a house in an old residential area like Lakeview Gardens?
“Did he come to finish me off?”
Fang Ping’s hubris was justifiable; he was, after all, a transmigrator with a state-of-the-art system.
His Vitality had increased sharply during the past few days.
And now a martial artist moved into the house upstairs. Just recently. Fang Ping could hardly be blamed for overthinking.
“Did he discover my extraordinariness?” Fang Ping’s mouth felt dry. “Is the intent I sensed just now his intent to kill?”
The more he related his observations to himself, the more convinced he was that his hypothesis was true.
“There’s someone after me! Or should I say that he’s after the secrets I’m holding?”
Fang Ping was spooked by his thoughts. His face turned pale as a sheet.
He had not seen a martial artist fight, but he thought them powerful on the basis of his imagination, and the fact that martial artists stood on top of the world, even in a time when firearms were commonplace.
If the man had laid a hand on him, he might not even manage to muster the strength to retaliate.
“He hasn’t done anything to me. Is he planning to observe me in secret to find out my secrets?”
“What should I do?”
“Should I call the police?”
“There are so few martial artists in Sun City, though. What should I say when I call the police? Tell them I have a system in me and that I’m a transmigrator from another time, and that is why a martial artist is out for me?”
“If I say so, who will believe that a martial artist is out for a high school student?
“Also, is there a possibility that this martial artist is one of the higher-ups in Sun City?
“Will I alert the enemy if I call the police?
“…”
Countless thoughts filled Fang Ping’s mind.
Fang Yuan would not expect her absentminded words to be the catalyst of a serious chain of thoughts in her brother, so far-fetched to the extent that he had even thought of moving out for good.
—
Fang Ping and his sister parted ways halfway.
His mind was still filled with thoughts about the incident and the tenant upstairs.
He would not need to fear anything if there were no skeletons in his closet.
But now his closet was full of them, which contributed to his crippling insecurity. A suspected martial artist renting the unit on top of his all of a sudden seemed abnormal no matter how he looked at it.
“What the hell should I do?”
Fang Ping’s head hurt. Would acting as if nothing had happened work?
Or should he observe before taking action?
A gentleman would not stand under a collapsing wall. If someone was really targeting him, he would probably lose his patience at a random time and break his neck with a crack. If that happened, he might not have any way to appeal for compensation.
He entered the school worried and insecure, his attention elsewhere.
His deskmate, Chen Fan, asked when he saw his expression, “What happened?”
“Nothing, nothing…”
Fang Ping answered perfunctorily, but then he asked in a whisper, “Say, what would you do if there was a martial artist after you, no, possibly after you?”
Chen Fan was speechless. This guy must be so bored to come up with this.
He said crossly, “Are you getting ready to come after me after you become a martial artist?”
Fang Ping said immediately, “I’m serious! This might come up in the general studies exam. That’s why I’m asking for your opinion.”
“Will the general studies exam really have a question like this?”
Chen Fan did not know if what he said was true. After long consideration, he said, “I’ll report this to the police.”
“Won’t calling the police be useless if the martial artist hasn’t made his move yet?”
“Run then.”
“I can run away only to buy time, but this won’t solve the problem. Where should I run away to?”
“Why are there so many stringent criteria?” Chen Fan said, completely fed up. “There’s no other way but to wait for your inevitable demise. The government will arrest him when you die.”
Fang Ping said, his face pale, “Is there any other way except waiting for my demise?”
Chen Fan said jokingly, “Only if a Master passes by and kills the guy with just a fist before telling you that you’re extraordinarily talented and accepts you as his disciple.
“From that moment on, you’ll be walking on your path to invincibility!
“Now, are you finally satisfied?”
Fang Ping zoned out for a while. He said under his breath, “A Master?”
Wang Jinyang appeared in his mind. The only person he knew to be a Master was him.
He had left Sun City, though. Even if he had not, he still could not seek his help.
His head swam with thoughts. Fang Ping could only reassure himself repeatedly that the upstairs martial artist did not come for him.
Why, though, would he live upstairs if he did not come for him?
He was coming for him, obviously!
Fang Ping gritted his teeth with resolve. He would return home and observe the other man for a while. If he was really a martial artist, then there was no question; he must be coming after him!