Chapter Nineteen: A Good Person?

Ye Wan'er felt utterly bewildered. She was well aware of her own condition—her master had examined her already. It was nothing more than a lingering side effect from her training, and if she could break through to the mid-stage External Force level, she would be free of it altogether.

That was why she’d never bothered with a hospital visit; the pain lasted no more than ten minutes each time and would fade on its own. Lately, though, the symptoms had worsened, which she attributed to being on the verge of a breakthrough.

If not for the pain sapping all her strength, she would never have given Jiang Xiaotian the chance to pester her like this.

Yet he stood before her, brows tightly furrowed, sensing a far graver situation than she realized. To put it bluntly, she was teetering on the edge of death—the surging energy within her was now assailing her heart. Should she falter under its assault, she would be lost in an instant.

That alone prompted him to intervene, despite her attitude toward him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered with such a woman.

Seeing her silent, Jiang Xiaotian stepped closer.

"You’re in this much pain and still trying to tough it out? Are you stupid or something?"

Ye Wan'er was taken aback. She wanted to retort, but the pain forced her words back down her throat, draining all color from her face.

Jiang Xiaotian, unable to bear it, seized her hand. Ye Wan'er was startled, instinctively trying to pull away, but in the next instant, her body relaxed completely.

A warm current, gentle as sunlight in winter, surged into her, instantly dispelling the agony. She stopped struggling—the sensation was too blissful to resist.

Jiang Xiaotian, on the other hand, was not faring so well. Acting out of compassion, he had tried to help, but his ability to control spiritual energy was weak, making it even harder to rein in. Now, sweat poured down his face, and his hands trembled from the effort.

The energy within her felt familiar, reminiscent of the presence he’d sensed when he first moved into Yurong Garden, as if something were watching him.

Stubborn as it was, it crumbled before his spiritual energy, dissolving with ease. The price, however, was the dispersal of the energy he had painstakingly gathered.

He could feel himself weaken in an instant.

As the warmth faded, Ye Wan'er regained her senses, only to find Jiang Xiaotian still holding her hand.

"You!" she exclaimed, quickly pulling away and instinctively raising her hand to slap him. But Jiang Xiaotian showed no reaction; his legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

Without his spiritual energy, Jiang Xiaotian was like a phone with a dead battery—shut off, powerless.

Ye Wan'er was so startled by the sight that she froze.

"I... I haven’t even hit you yet, don’t play dead..." she said, nudging him with her foot.

Still, Jiang Xiaotian didn’t stir.

Ye Wan'er bit her lip. As annoying as he was, he had genuinely helped her. Not only had the pain vanished, but the oppressive feeling in her chest was gone as well.

She sighed—why was this man always so strange?

Grumbling inwardly, she nevertheless propped him up in a chair.

Jiang Xiaotian was dazed, as if struck by a sudden bout of low blood sugar, his head lolling onto her shoulder.

Ye Wan'er tensed, ready to explode, and sprang to her feet. Deprived of support, Jiang Xiaotian tumbled down. Just as his head was about to strike the iron public bench, a pair of hands caught him.

Ye Wan'er stared at him wordlessly, then sat down again, letting him rest against her.

Perhaps she had misjudged him?

Her master had always been harsh during her martial training, so injuries were part of daily life. Whenever she suffered an attack in front of him, he would simply say, "Endure it. If you can’t get through this, you’re not fit to be a warrior."

The warmth and gentleness she’d just felt from Jiang Xiaotian’s touch was something entirely new to her.

She had met many martial artists, but none as peculiar as Jiang Xiaotian.

"Who are you, really?" Ye Wan'er whispered.

Jiang Xiaotian was unconscious, incapable of answering. Within him, the Dragon Breath Technique began to circulate automatically, trying to gather energy.

Seeing no response, Ye Wan'er blinked, and almost without meaning to, gripped his hand. But after only a second, she jerked away, mortified, wanting to slap herself.

Ye Wan’er, you idiot, what are you doing!

She was simply yearning for that sensation.

Though no one was watching, she was still mortified. She’d never even spoken much to boys before, let alone held hands with one.

Looking at Jiang Xiaotian again, she was still annoyed—but now more curious than anything.

Who exactly was this infuriating man? Was he not a martial artist, but a healer?

Since he was Zhang Wei’s friend, how could he possibly mean him harm? Could this all be some misunderstanding?

After all, he’d never truly attacked her, and his behavior had been strange from the start.

"Just this once!" Ye Wan'er gritted her teeth and decided to let it go. But Jiang Xiaotian was still an insufferable nuisance!

No one knew how much time had passed before Jiang Xiaotian slowly opened his eyes.

He realized his head was resting on something soft—could it be a lap?

He remembered that Ye Wan'er had propped him up before he lost consciousness.

Could it be that Ye Wan'er had let him rest on her lap?

As his heart pounded with excitement, a sudden slap landed on him.

Zhang Wei’s voice rang out: "If you’re awake, get up already! Don’t just lie there! My legs are numb! Seriously, you managed to faint just from walking—are you for real?"

Jiang Xiaotian shot to his feet, only to nearly topple over again. It was already completely dark, and only Zhang Wei was beside him.

He rubbed his head, still dizzy, unable to recall how he’d fallen asleep. How strange.

"Yueyue and Ye Wan'er went home first. I was fine, so I didn’t wake you. Since you’re up, I’m heading home too—unless you need a ride? You can barely walk straight when you see a pretty girl," Zhang Wei joked.

Jiang Xiaotian rolled his eyes and took his leave, still puzzling over what had just happened.

He still remembered the way home. Though he had money now, he couldn’t bring himself to splurge on a taxi, so he took the bus as usual.

He wondered how Ye Wan’er was doing. He’d been so focused on controlling his energy that he’d neglected her feelings.

Well, he’d done everything he could.

When he got home, Ling’er was sprawled on the couch, laughing at her show. Every time something funny happened, she kicked her legs in delight.

She barely glanced at Jiang Xiaotian, but after a moment, she put down her tablet.

"What’s wrong? You look terrible."