Era of Mist

Chapter 143: Chapter 142: Repaying a Favor and an Uninvited Guest

Down an old alley, Shi Tiexin looked like a terrifying butcher from a horror movie, dragging someone along by the leg.

They had, of course, already exited the secret realm.

The man wasn’t dead. Of course, no one could truly die in the secret realm.

But if the guy being dragged didn’t get treatment soon, it was hard to say what might happen to him.

Wang Jiaxu was barely recognizable as human. His entire body looked as if it had been trampled by a rampaging dinosaur, with hardly a single spot left uninjured. As Shi Tiexin dragged him forward by the ankle, Wang Jiaxu’s face scraped along the ground—SKRRRT—leaving a gruesome trail of blood. He showed no signs of waking up.

Shi Tiexin glanced at him.

’Hmm, I might have gone a little overboard.’

’But I wasn’t just using this as an excuse to let loose. I was simply returning the same number of punches and kicks from when they ganged up on me—with interest, of course. However many punches I took then is how many you’re taking today. Perfectly fair.’

’Of course, it’s not my fault your body is too weak to take it. And it’s also not my fault my punches are stronger and have special properties.’

’Just individual differences!’

He dragged him all the way to the mouth of the old alley, where Shi Tiexin took out his phone and dialed a number.

Instantly, a ringback tone started to play.

It was a sweet child’s voice, singing.

”Oh, Nurse, you’re so lovely, so~ love~ly~~” 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

”In your white uniform you bloom so bright, bloom~ so~ bright~~”

”Through the wards you hurry, with~ no~ wor~ry~~”

”You move so lightly, like an An~gel~ in~ flight~~~”

’What in the world is this?!’

Even someone as murderous as Shi Tiexin had just been couldn’t help but find the ringback tone absurd. The child’s voice was actually quite pleasant, seemingly full of adoration for the ’angel in white.’ But when Shi Tiexin pictured *that* particular ’angel in white,’ he had to wonder if the song was meant to be sarcastic.

The call connected, and the ever-cheerful, familiar voice of the Nurse Sister came through the line.

”Hello, you’ve reached the Nursing Department at Upper City Central Hospital. How may I help you?”

’Listen to that. Such perfect diction, such a pleasant voice. Who would ever guess what she’s really like?’

”I’m calling to make a payment.”

Today was the due date, after all.

”What?!” The voice on the other end immediately shot up an octave, the tone turning aggressive. ”Who said anything about a large early repayment? You got a death wish? I’ll blow your head off!”

’Tsk, tsk. So familiar. People in the Sharp Qi Realm are all the same, always threatening to blow people’s heads off. Even more brutal than me.’

Shi Tiexin was at a loss for words. ”I’m not making a large repayment. It’s just my regular scheduled payment.”

”Oh, not a large repayment? In that case, no problem, no problem at all~” The Nurse Sister audibly relaxed. From her tone alone, Shi Tiexin could picture her greedy, beaming face. ”And how much will you be paying today, sir?”

”One hundred points.”

”A hundred points?” The Nurse Sister’s tone shifted instantly. ”You don’t need to call me personally for something this small. Just use the payment system and figure it out yourself. I have plenty of big deals to handle; I’m a very busy woman. Waste my time with trivial matters like this again, and I’ll—”

”Blow my head off, right? Yeah, yeah, I get it. I won’t call you anymore. But I didn’t call about the hundred points. I’ve got a big business opportunity for you.” Shi Tiexin glanced at Wang Jiaxu, who looked like a leaky blood bag. ”I’m on the street. Found an unconscious citizen who’s been beaten half to death. Without a Level Three Treatment, he’ll probably never fully recover.”

”Level Three Treatment?” The Nurse Sister’s interest was piqued. She quickly added, ”Can he afford it? Don’t tell me he’s just some pauper.”

”Relax, he should have insurance. It’s definitely not full coverage—no way they’d cover everything—but it should cover half, no problem. Besides, his condition makes him a perfect candidate for your hospital’s ’financial products.’ Twenty or thirty thousand points should be a piece of cake for him.” Shi Tiexin decided to add one more thing. ”Right, his mind-qi is scattered. His brain will probably need a deep restoration, too. That’ll take ten days or so. Otherwise, he might have some... cognitive impairment later on.”

”Got it!” The Nurse Sister was instantly energized. ”Big business just walked in the door! Send me your location, secure the scene, and don’t you dare let another hospital get to him first! And by the way, if you’re messing with me, I’ll—”

”No need to repeat the part about my head. Just hurry up and send someone to rob—I mean, *rescue* him.” Shi Tiexin suddenly remembered something. ”By the way, since I’m bringing you such a huge deal, what about that little gift you promised me last time...?”

”We’ll talk after you’ve paid off your loan!”

CLICK. The line went dead.

No gift meant no gift. The Nurse Sister was surprisingly principled. ’Does that count as a good quality?’ he wondered. Well, besides being principled, Shi Tiexin quickly discovered the Nurse Sister had another virtue: she was efficient.

In less than five minutes, an unmanned rescue vehicle stationed in the Mu Yuan District came tearing down the street, skidding to a halt at the mouth of the alley with a drift. They didn’t dispatch vehicles from the Central Hospital anymore, which made them incredibly efficient. Shi Tiexin tossed Wang Jiaxu into the vehicle like a side of beef, slammed the door shut with a CLANG, and the ambulance sped off, disappearing in a cloud of dust without a moment’s delay.

Watching Wang Jiaxu get whisked away for his Level Three Treatment, Shi Tiexin placed a hand on his chest. ’Hmm. Warm. Strong. Thump-thump, full of life. I really am a good person with a conscience.’

Ha!

While he couldn’t say he’d gotten his full revenge, taking care of Wang Jiaxu and chopping off He Chong’s dog leg still brought Shi Tiexin a sense of satisfaction. Plus, by introducing this big business deal, the vague favor he owed the Nurse Sister could be considered repaid.

But just as he was about to leave, a voice spoke out from close behind him. ”Heh. Interesting.”

Instantly, the hairs on the back of Shi Tiexin’s neck stood on end. He hadn’t sensed the slightest trace of a presence. As far as he could tell, the old alley behind him was completely empty. And yet, in this deserted alley, someone had just spoken like a ghost.

A master!

’The only people in this world who can sneak up within two meters of me undetected are... the old men in Upper City Park, the square-dancing grannies, that white-clad demon of a Nurse Sister, sweatshop President Liu... basically, a whole bunch of random people...’

’Okay, okay, I admit I’m no big shot right now. Plenty of people could easily crush me! So the person talking like a ghost behind me isn’t necessarily a true master. Out in the real world, they might not be anything special.’

But here and now, in this old alley, they were an undeniable master as far as Shi Tiexin was concerned.

’And most likely, they were the kind of Sharp Qi Realm master who could blow his head off.’

Shi Tiexin turned and saw a young man dressed in an archaic style, with wide robes and long sleeves. The youth walked over and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Shading his eyes with a hand, he gazed in the direction the ambulance had gone and commented casually, as if they were old friends, ”Off to the hospital, is he?”