Abundant Martial Arts Virtue
Chapter 640 - 512: Seeing the Stars Again

Chapter 640: Chapter 512: Seeing the Stars Again

The truck had flipped on the side of the road.

There was no one in the driver’s seat.

Wu Xiaode crouched down to take a look and then quickly ran back.

"Is it going to explode?"

Jiang Shanglan asked in a panic.

"Didn’t see any fuel leak, but getting away further can’t be wrong," Wu Xiaode ran even faster.

He stepped forward, scooped up Jiang Shanglan, held her in his arms, and with a few flashes, had already bolted out of the street block.

Boom!!!

Black and red flames burst into the sky with a deafening explosion.

Wu Xiaode looked back and felt a wave of relief.

——This morning, Jiang Shanglan came directly to him, and the two of them rode her little electric scooter past the street corner.

The out-of-control truck came roaring in.

Luckily Wu Xiaode was there; with a light push of his hand, he managed to divert the truck’s direction, crashing it on the roadside.

"Do you often encounter this kind of thing?"

Wu Xiaode asked, looking at the rolling black flames.

"Often," Jiang Shanglan replied.

"...How have you survived?"

"By intuition, usually, nothing happens, but then I got taken advantage of, got angry, killed someone, and went to report to the underworld," Jiang Shanglan said lightly.

"A single slip can lead to trouble, such a hassle," Wu Xiaode remarked.

Jiang Shanglan glanced at him and whispered, "Aren’t you the same? After all those fights, one moment of carelessness and you got stabbed."

"Huh?" Wu Xiaode’s voice rose as he turned to stare at her.

"I can see the past and the future," Jiang Shanglan said playfully, sticking out her tongue.

Wu Xiaode continued to stare at her.

Jiang Shanglan spoke softly:

"Alright, I won’t peek anymore—actually, you’re really formidable. Hardly anyone can Awaken under those circumstances, and not only did you Awaken, but you also obtained such a rare Undead system Power, tsk tsk."

"Hmph, don’t look at my business again, and besides, when a man stands in the streets, there comes a day... We both need to be extra careful in the future," Wu Xiaode advised.

"Got it."

Jiang Shanglan pinched his hand, showing her concession and also her closeness to him, indicating she would listen to him.

Ten minutes later.

A small electric stove slowly stopped by the roadside.

This was University Road.

It was breakfast time, and the breakfast shops had begun to see a steady stream of customers.

"How about that, I have a scooter to give you a ride, can treat you to breakfast, and I can do laundry very cleanly—why don’t you just quit your job, I’ll take care of you."

She took off her helmet, hung it on the scooter, and said to the boy behind her.

Wu Xiaode got off the electric bike with her, his face full of speechlessness.

"Modern university students, don’t just casually talk about supporting someone else, okay? I’m begging you."

"How about noodles?" the girl said as she walked into the noodle shop.

"Mmm, I’ll have beef noodles, a large bowl, with green onions and cilantro, and an ice-cola," Wu Xiaode quickly said.

After a night of fighting, he was tired. Eating was not only to replenish energy but also to relax and enjoy himself mentally.

The girl glanced at him.

"What?"

"I usually eat like that too, but I like to add a portion of beef offal."

"Beef offal? Just hearing it makes me hungry."

Before long.

The noodles were served.

The two of them buried their heads in eating.

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment and placed the bank card on the table in front of the girl.

"Hmm?"

The girl glanced at the card while slurping her noodles.

"I’m loaded with money, this meal’s on me; also, if there’s anything you want to buy, go ahead and spend," Wu Xiaode said generously.

——It was the bank card Elder Wu had left him.

He had to show this girl the world today, or else she’d keep talking about taking care of him—who could stand that?

Yes, I’m certainly not as strong as you.

But surviving is not an issue!

A man of honor walking the streets, eating meat heartily, drinking wine in big bowls, acting chivalrously, rescuing those in danger, openly and honestly, with an aura that overshadows rivers and mountains—

How could he be kept by a woman?

Wu Xiaode chewed his noodles heartily while drinking his ice-cola and couldn’t help but feel pumped. He slammed the table and called out:

"Boss, add a braised egg and a braised chicken leg for each of us!"

"Please wait a moment, coming right up!"

Wu Xiaode looked toward the girl opposite him again.

She was eyeing the bank card and used one hand to type the card number into her phone, then asked Wu Xiaode for his ID card and set up a password, performing various binding operations.

"I’m going to check the balance, okay?"

Jiang Shanglan asked.

"Go ahead," Wu Xiaode said with a flourish of his hair.

——This’ll knock your socks off!

Although I’m not as strong as you, at least I can even the playing field materially!

After all, I am the Venerable of All Worlds.

Beep!

An electronic sound came from Jiang Shanglan’s phone:

"Current balance: -5.00 yuan."

"Please pay the card-opening fee as soon as possible, overdue will result in being listed on the blacklist of untrustworthy individuals."

"Thank you, please hang up."

Dead silence.

Jiang Shanglan looked at Wu Xiaode, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"Things are that tough, huh?"

She whispered.

"That’s impossible." Wu Xiaode’s expression turned extremely ugly as he took out his cell phone and dialed Elder Wu’s number.

As the Order Venerable, were all those words just to deceive himself?

Dudu—

The phone connected.

"Hey, Little Wu, Granny Yin and the Lion King have both dropped out of the covenant, so let’s call off the deal we had arranged."

"Ah, young man, you’re too impulsive."

The call was ended.

Clang!

A bowl was set on the table.

Inside, there were two marinated eggs, two chicken legs, and a piece of marinated dried tofu.

"Two bowls of deluxe beef noodles, a serving of beef offal, two marinated eggs, two chicken legs, a can of cola, all for the generous price of 50.2 yuan."

The waitress rattled off the bill swiftly.

Jiang Zilan picked up a marinated egg and gently exerted pressure, causing the egg yolk to fall into the bowl, leaving the perfect egg white on her chopsticks.

She took a bite and complimented, "These are really well marinated."

Wu Xiaode bowed his head to rummage in his pocket.

After robbing those robbers that day, he had spent some money, but he should still have some left.

He fumbled in his pants pocket and a look of joy instantly appeared on his face.

He placed a handful of coins on the table and counted—

A total of 49 yuan.

He was still 1 yuan and 20 cents short of the bill.

"We’re regulars here, any chance of a discount?" Wu Xiaode asked with an embarrassed face.

The waitress showed a look of difficulty but begrudgingly said:

"Then just give 50 yuan."

Good!

Now he was only short by one yuan!

Wu Xiaode continued to search himself, fumbling and fumbling—

Drip!

Jiang Shanglan swept the payment code on the table and said with a smile, "Okay, 50.2 yuan paid."

"Thank you, have a nice meal."

The waitress seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and turned to leave after speaking.

Wu Xiaode puffed out his chest and said solemnly, "What’s the rush to pay? Next time don’t do that, I have money to pay."

As he said this, he neatly stacked the big pile of coins on the table and put them back in his pocket.

It was infuriating!

He had just entered this world and had no business of his own, which was why he found himself in such a predicament.

It must be so!

Jiang Shanglan glanced at Wu Xiaode and said seriously:

"The job you have is going nowhere—I told you to quit not for any other reason, but because you can come work as my bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" Wu Xiaode was stunned.

"Yes, I’m not good at close-quarters combat and I suppress my power in daily life to experience life. Besides, I can’t use Awakening Skills or Soul Power on ordinary people, so security is a big issue."

Jiang Shanglan put down her chopsticks, leaned forward, and said earnestly:

"Little Wu, come protect me. Money is not an issue, the problem is I cannot die again."

Wu Xiaode fell into contemplation.

Jiang Shanglan was spot on.

If Jiang Shanglan died again and caused a commotion at the Naihe Bridge, the whole world would be destroyed with it.

If she chose to leave the "Virtual World"—

It seemed something outside was lying in wait, eager to claim her life at any moment.

That entity capable of controlling destiny was watching her every move!

In that case, it was only right for him to protect her.

...Was he going to be kept?

After all, she had been helping him integrate into the world.

Their relationship wasn’t bad either.

But a man shouldn’t be kept!

Wu Xiaode sank into even deeper thought.

"Hey," Jiang Shanglan suddenly tapped his shoulder, "in addition to paying a salary, I also have some gifts I can give you from time to time."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Wu Xiaode said, completely baffled.

"Let’s do a demonstration—pretend you’re agreeing to let me keep you, just say you’re willing," Jiang Shanglan said.

"Pretend? Fine, but remember, this is just pretend," he replied.

Wu Xiaode cleared his throat and began, "I am willing to let you keep me."

No sooner had he spoken,

A loud "clang" sounded, and a star appeared above Jiang Shanglan’s head.

She smiled tenderly and tilted her head to look at Wu Xiaode:

"You should have received it, right?"

The Book of the Dead unfolded in Wu Xiaode’s mind, revealing lines of ice crystal text:

"You have gained Jiang Shanglan’s recognition, current level: one star."

"With this recognition, the book has resonated with Jiang Zilan and is about to extract something valuable from her."

"Extraction begins."