Although the elderly man wanted to fake an accident to get compensation, Lin Li, with the good education and moral values he had received over the past seventeen years, couldn't just leave him without help.
Besides, the old man seemed to have truly pulled a muscle.
"Old man, you can even hurt yourself just by standing! You really need to be more careful when practicing next time. If I hadn't come today, and you were here by yourself, the consequences would be unimaginable," Lin Li helped the old man sit on a stone bench, grabbed the thermal bag that was likely the old man's, and gently advised him.
Look at that, just sitting there and the old man hurt himself again!
The body of a martial arts practitioner, far weaker than I expected.
Sure enough, even those who practice martial arts can't escape the effects of time.
The old man has finally become the old man.
The human body is just too fragile.
"You... you..." The old man stared at Lin Li, who was now lost in thought, melancholic and pondering, at a loss for words.
He had just said that the consequences would have been unthinkable if Lin Li wasn't here, but it was exactly because Lin Li was here that the old man got so worked up like this!
And now, the kid was zoning out!
"Don't worry, Grandpa Zhou, you don't need to praise me. There are many people like me in the world. If I disappear, thousands and thousands of people like me will step up," Lin Li snapped out of it. He wasn't someone who liked praise, so he waved his hand modestly.
The name on the thermos was Zhou Youwei, so Lin Li addressed him as Grandpa Zhou from that point on.
Standing up, Lin Li spoke to the old man, "Grandpa Zhou, since you're fine and your breath is steady, I'll be heading out now."
It was already getting late, and Lin Li was drenched in sweat. He still needed to go home, take a shower, and head to school. If he didn't hurry, he wouldn't even have time to grab breakfast.
"You—"
"Really, no need to thank me. It's what I should do. Bye-bye!"
Hearing the old man call out from behind, Lin Li waved his hand, likely imagining that Grandpa Zhou was looking at him with a grateful expression.
But a real man never looks back.
"—Whose kid is this!" The old man's voice chased after him, filled with strong emotions.
"Just call me the passing masked rider," Lin Li chuckled, never expecting to be thanked this much. It wasn't necessary at all.
Good deeds need no name, success doesn't need credit.
Another morning full of tears for himself.
"...There's no hope, this world is beyond saving!" The old man, who was watching Lin Li's departing figure, was nearly driven mad, his voice filled with despair and helplessness.
…
In the bathroom, as Lin Li took a shower, he checked his rewards.
The timed Task Four had been successfully completed.
After reading through the preconditions, Lin Li decided to throw the match.
The system hadn't specified any terms like "serious" or "all-out effort," it only said the task required "friendliness," and any side surrendering or falling down would count as completion.
That wasn't quite "friendliness," was it? What's friendliness then?
Sure enough, when he forfeited, the system notified him that the task was completed.
To make the old man feel more accomplished for defeating him, Lin Li even deliberately rolled on the ground a few times, putting in a little extra effort.
Wait.
The old man wasn't faking an accident just now!
Lin Li's pupils shrank as he suddenly realized the truth, accompanied by a sense of guilt.
The old man had gotten too worked up. His body couldn't handle such a rush of accomplishment. For elderly people, extreme joy or sorrow could be dangerous.
Next time, he needed to be more careful. Good intentions could lead to bad results.
[Task Four completed]
[Random martial arts-related ability is being assigned.]
[You have earned a reward: Passive ability: Empty-handed Blade Catch.]
[Empty-handed Blade Catch: When your hands are empty, you can accurately predict the trajectory of cold weapons.]
Is that you, Li Jing?
Unfortunately, this ability didn't have a '100%' success rate, so it immediately lost its qualification to become a concept-level power.
A bit disappointing. Lin Li had hoped for an active skill, like the Dragon Subduing Palm or Light Wave Step.
Then, Lin Li turned his attention to the Eight-Section Body Refining Skill in his[Inventory].
Let's go, method to become immortal, pour all of it into my brain, read!
A thick book appeared in front of Lin Li, dropping with a thud onto the floor, getting soaked by the shower water.
The system was surprisingly reliable when it came to being unreliable.
"…"
"My martial arts!"
Lin Li hurriedly picked up the book but quickly noticed that the water on the floor hadn't affected the book at all. It was still perfectly dry with no water marks.
Lin Li raised an eyebrow and aimed the showerhead at the book.
Water droplets passed over the pages like the book was coated with a water-repellent layer.
Realizing that not only was the book indestructible, but it could also be recalled to the[Inventory]with just a touch, Lin Li nodded with satisfaction. Finally, something with some prestige.
Too bad the powerful beings could just scan their techniques with spiritual senses and memorize them in an instant. He had to go through all this trouble reading it.
But it made sense. Right now, he was still just an ordinary person with a mosquito-repelling aura.
Once the book was re-summoned, Lin Li opened the first page and began trying to read.
Damn.
Classical Chinese, traditional characters.
A defensive martial arts book.
For the first time, Lin Li realized how useful Chinese literature was.
Luckily, Lin Li wasn't illiterate. Plus, there were body movement diagrams on almost every page, so he could make out the general meaning.
What was more amazing was that when Lin Li tried to imitate the movements in the diagrams, he felt a warm flow of energy pass through his body, something completely different from when he was practicing Eight-Section Brocade earlier.
This was definitely something good. Otherwise, it wouldn't have such a magical effect.
Wait a second, why was there still a warm flow even though he wasn't practicing?
Lin Li thought carefully, then looked up.
He turned off the showerhead and tried the movements from earlier again.
Hmm.
The warm flow was gone.
Damn.
—Whether it's a good thing, I'll have to investigate further.
…
"Lin Li, are you crazy? You were so serious in class, and now you're still working on a test paper after class?" Bai Bufan said, feeling sad and desperate, as Lin Li refused his invitation to the bathroom for double-queue.
"It's not a test paper, I'm watching little people fighting," Lin Li replied.
"Huh?!" Bai Bufan, looking like a dog that had just found some poop, walked over and Lin Li tossed him a piece of paper.
"Really fighting? Boring," Bai Bufan said, shaking his head in disappointment when he realized the little people Lin Li was referring to were not what he expected. He handed the paper back.
Lin Li was looking at the Eight-Section Body Refining Skill, but not the original version. He didn't want to risk someone discovering its indestructible qualities at school.
He had printed out a "copy" after taking a picture with his phone. It seemed like overkill, but Lin Li was worried about some unexpected issues if he just photocopied it directly.
"What is this? Why is it in classical Chinese? I can't understand it at all." Bai Bufan asked, confused.
"It's a martial art technique I found online. I'm practicing classical Chinese translation with it, and also seeing if I can learn something," Lin Li lied casually, before demonstrating a few movements.
It did look like it was somewhat effective.
Bai Bufan stepped back, standing tall, and cupped his fists in a salute: "Lin, you're definitely a practitioner. Your skills are clearly at a master level. If we have a chance, let's spar. I happen to be the modern inheritor of the Bai family martial arts."
"If you practiced martial arts, you wouldn't just be two seconds faster than me in a thousand-meter run," Lin Li sneered.
Bai Bufan was still the same, spouting nonsense about his Bai family martial arts.
"Are you doubting my Bai family techniques?!" Bai Bufan's eyes widened. "I swear on my Optimus Prime, the Bai family martial arts are definitely better than your 'Bull Bower."
"Gambling this big?" Lin Li raised an eyebrow.
Thinking about it, the Bai family name did have some prestige to it. Maybe they had some genuine martial arts lineage. So Lin Li asked, "What martial arts does your Bai family practice?"
"White Tiger-Scar Light automatic rifle."
"…"
"Shut up, Blackie! Is your Bai family martial arts better, or my obscure one better?"
"F*** off with your Crossfire!"