Chapter 538 Less Hair, More Strength
Roland had been looking for the unique energy for more than a year.
He had searched temples and other people’s ancestral halls, but he found nothing.
Little did he expect that he would see it here.
But it was weird that this energy was stuck to someone’s scalp.
Also, the old man was bald and greasy.
Roland had enough respect for old men. He knew that everybody would have greasy skin when they were old.
But the problem was that the energy he wanted to “eat” was hanging on someone else’s greasy scalp.
He could hardly open his mouth and take it.
Roland could hold himself back if the target were a young, beautiful girl.
But he would rather pa.s.s on a greasy old man.
Roland didn’t conceal his complicated expression, and the old man became rather angry when he found that Roland was gazing at his scalp in a weird way.
Most bald people were very sensitive when other people looked at their head, and this old man wasn’t an exception.
“Young man, I asked you if you’re Jin Wenwen’s family. Why are you staring at my head?”
Roland smiled apologetically and said, “I didn’t mean to. Sorry. Also, neither of us is Jin Wenwen’s family. We’re her acquaintances at best.”
The old man, who had a round and chubby face, seemed even unhappier after hearing that. “Then do you know her family, or have her family’s number?”
Both Roland and Qi Shaoqiu shook their heads.
“Maybe they’re lying to us,” said the young man behind coldly. “Maybe they dare not admit it because they know that the woman is a troublemaker.”
That was rather an outrageous remark.
Qi Shaoqiu was her ex-boyfriend. Leaning against the wall, he stared at the young man and said slowly, “I’m not sure if she’s a troublemaker, but I do know that her life is still in danger. n.o.body can be justified in beating a woman into such a condition, at least not in front of the police. If you were the ones who hurt her and you’ve come to the hospital to mock her, I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything wrong with your head.”
“You!”
The young man, who looked disobedient, pointed at Qi Shaoqiu and was about to curse aloud.
The old man stopped him, which left him rather b.u.mmed.
The old man looked at Qi Shaoqiu. “Young man, my son is a bit reckless, please don’t feel offended. No matter how you are related to the patient, please help us contact her family and we’ll talk about compensation. I’m sure none of us wants to go to the police department for this.”
Qi Shaoqiu’s face gradually turned cold, and he changed from leaning against the wall to standing straight with his arms crossed. “Was she really hurt by you?”
“But it wasn’t our fault,” said the old man helplessly. “We were practicing our ancestral techniques at home, when she came to us arrogantly and even threw our ancestor’s painting to the ground. We only attacked her because we were outraged.”
Both Qi Shaoqiu and Roland were rendered speechless.
In the south of this country, many locals had the habit of establis.h.i.+ng a hall in their house to enshrine their ancestors. It was one of the local customs.
Yet, Jin Wenwen had barged in and thrown their ancestral paintings to the ground. Even the most lenient men couldn’t have tolerated that.
“I’m surprised that she wasn’t killed.” Qi Shaoqiu was rather shocked.
Then, he was greatly embarra.s.sed and leaned against the wall again, not daring to look at them anymore.
“Even though she was at fault, it was still wrong of us to hurt and almost kill her.” The old man seemed rather sensible. “She rode an electric bike away after she was. .h.i.t once. We failed to catch up with her. We thought that she was probably heavily wounded, so we came to the hospital hoping to find her.”
“She was so heavily wounded after suffering one hit?” Qi Shaoqiu eyed the old man up and down. “Did you practice the Iron Sand Fist, or the Eagle Claw Technique?”
At this moment, the young man stepped up and said, “My father didn’t do anything. I was the one who hit her. That girl learned some boxing and thought that all the traditional martial arts were no match for boxing and free combat. Fortunately, I practice the Eagle Claw Technique instead of the Iron Sand Fist, or she wouldn’t have had the chance to be sent to the ER at all.”
He was so tough?
Roland wasn’t entirely convinced.
However, subtly looking at the old man’s head, he decided that it might be true.
If one could make use of that energy, it wouldn’t be hard to kill someone with one punch.
Qi Shaoqiu slightly nodded at the old man and kept standing
Roland, on the other hand, stepped forward and asked, “Sir, what kind of arts do you practice?”
“The Iron Head Art. Do you have a problem with that?” The old man squinted at Roland.
He strongly disliked the man who had been gazing at his bald head the whole time.
The Iron Head Art?
Now, Roland vaguely realized why the energy would appear on the old man’s head. He said, “No, not at all. Just asking.”
The old man didn’t talk to them anymore, but the young man kept glancing between Roland and Qi Shaoqiu.
He could tell that these two had practiced martial arts.
Since they knew Jin Wenwen, it was even more likely that they had practiced martial arts.
He was of a mind to spar with someone of his age, but this was clearly not the time to propose such a request.
They all fell silent. Soon, the ER door opened, and two nurses escorted the unconscious Jin Wenwen to a ward.
Another two doctors walked out with the nurses.
One of the doctors stopped and, looking at Roland and the others, asked, “Which of you is her family?”
After a long time, Qi Shaoqiu heaved a sigh and said, “I am, sort of.”
“Either you are her family, or you aren’t. What do you mean by ‘sort of’?” The doctor looked rather displeased.
“I’m her ex-boyfriend. We haven’t talked in years. I only learned that she was hurt by chance and came to look after her.”
After a brief stun, the doctor put on a weird expression and finally said, “She has two broken ribs that pierced her lungs. They weren’t deep, but she didn’t come to the hospital immediately after she got hurt. It’s already remarkable enough that she survived so long. Also, she has a severe bruise on her upper esophagus, which was probably caused by someone else. You can call the police if you think it’s necessary.”
Hearing that, both the old man and the young man looked nervous. Qi Shaoqiu casually said, “Got it. How is she doing now?”
“She’s safe for now,” replied the doctor. “However, in order to be safe, she’d better stay in the ICU for two days. Go pay for the ICU stay at the counter first.”
Qi Shaoqiu nodded.
Then the doctor left. There were too many patients in the public hospital for him to linger for too long
Qi Shaoqiu said to the old man and the young man, “I don’t want to be too involved with her anymore. I’m only doing this for old time’s sake. If you’re free, you can wait here for a moment. I’ll call her family after I make the payment. You can negotiate with them.”
Then, Qi Shaoqiu went to the counter to make the payment.
Roland looked at the old man and peeped at his bald head again.
But his secret movement was noticed by the old man, who became even unhappier.
After a moment of hesitation, Roland asked, “Sir, did you lose your hair because you practiced the Iron Head Art?”
The old man became even more p.i.s.sed, if not furious. “No! This is genetic!”
The young man stepped forward and looked at Roland angrily.
He knew how sensitive his father was about the matter. Ten years earlier, his father had a dozen hairs left on the head, and his father tended to the hairs every day more carefully than he took care of his family. However, it was inevitable that his hairs would fall no matter how he took care of them.
Losing one hair each year, he had become completely bald after ten years.
Some people were still happy and optimistic even though they were bald, but this old man was one of those who got cranky after his hair was gone.
Roland wasn’t scared although the father and the son were both angry.
He had a feeling that they were no match for him even if they attacked him together.
“Don’t be mad. I’m not mocking you,” said Roland casually. “I only want to learn the Iron Head Art from you. I can pay tuition.”
Roland wondered if the ma.s.s of energy above the old man’s head was because of the Iron Head Art.
At this moment, Qi Shaoqiu had just returned from making the payment. He said gloomily, “Roland, you still want to learn the Iron Head Art after you’ve already learned boxing and the Miaodao technique? You’re too greedy.”
“You can never learn too many skills.”
The old man was less angry after hearing Roland’s request, but he still looked at Roland out of the corner of his eyes. “Right now, I’m in no mood for teaching you any techniques.”
Roland smiled. “Then I’ll come to you again if I have a chance.”
After that, Roland and Qi Shaoqiu left.
Both of them scanned the QR code and got a public bike. Then Qi Shaoqiu asked, “I’ll go back to my pickup. Right, do you really want to learn the Iron Head Art?” “I’m slightly interested in it.”
“In fact, it’s a popular technique. I know how to practice it too. Why don’t you come to the saber arts club and let me teach you? I won’t charge you.”
Roland shook his head. “You’re clearly not a professional. He’s already lost all his hair after training, but you still have so much hair.”
“Is this about hair at all? I’m only doing this for… Forget it. You’re just an idiot.” Qi Shaoqiu suddenly became frustrated. “Although I have nothing to teach you anymore, you are a student of the Qi family. Come to the saber arts club and have a chat with us when you’re free.”
“I will.”
“Don’t go back on your promise.”
Qi Shaoqiu waved at Roland and rode the bike away.
Finding a new energy ma.s.s, and probably the reason for the energy ma.s.ses, Roland was very delighted
Luck was really a strange thing. He had never found any leads when he specifically searched for them, but he ran into something valuable when he was just roaming.
It was truly weird.
Riding the bike home with a smile, Roland had lunch and opened the chat app. Then, a message popped up. O’Neal: “Everybody has been informed. We’ll get to work when the game starts tonight.”