When Xiang Ning regained consciousness, all he saw was a white ceiling. The scent of alcohol assaulted his nose as he woke up in a daze.

He soon took notice of a girl sleeping beside his bed. It was none other than Fang Rou, basked in the gentle rays of the morning sun. He sat up and tried to pull the curtains. Before he could reach them, he noticed the heavy eyebags on Fang Rou’s face and felt a knot in his heart. He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but he was certain that he’d been out for quite some time. He gently leaned down to check on her.

“Mmph.…” As if on cue, she was slowly waking up. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Xiang Ning’s face. She stood up in a hurry as she flustered and straightened her hair. “You’re awake! Do you feel any discomfort?” She pressed a button to call for the doctor as she said that.

“I’m feeling great after a good rest. My body feels light.” He smiled as he stretched. Fang Rou, on the other hand, sighed as she recalled how injured he had been when he returned to the hospital. 

Xiang Ning had already been unconscious when he was carried into the hospital for treatment. His own blood caked his body while his face was a pale green, a sign of poisoning. Everyone thought he would be a goner if he didn’t receive prompt treatment.

“Well, at least you’re happy. We were so worried that you wouldn’t make it. Do you know how long you were unconscious?” Fang Rou rolled her eyes at his nonchalant attitude.

“Nope.”

Man, this is embarrassing. Why can’t he be more serious?! “You were out for four days…” she said as she massaged her temples.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of warm hands grasping hers. She opened her eyes and saw that Xiang Ning was looking at her with a gentle gaze. She felt the heat creeping up her face as she tried taking back her hands, but he held them very firmly. “You… what are you doing?” Her voice was softer than a mosquito’s buzz.

Xiang Ning answered in a soft tone, “Nothing, I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me for these past few days.” He felt indebted to her. Because of him, she’d had to stay up late almost every night and had developed such heavy eyebags.

Fang Rou wanted to say something when the door opened and the doctor entered. She stood up. “Doctor, you’re here! Please examine him. I’ll inform the others that he’s awake.”

“Sure.”

“Hmm, it seems that you’ve made a full recovery. There’s no more toxin in your body, but you should still rest for a few days and undergo a few more checks just to be safe.” The doctor left soon after saying that.

Just a few moments after the doctor left, the door slid open. Xiang Ning had expected Fang Rou to return, but the person who entered was none other than Wu Rui. He tried sneaking into the ward, but almost turned to leave when he saw that Xiang Ning was awake.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going? I’m right here!” Xiang Ning chuckled as he welcomed him. He also noticed that Wu Rui was holding a fruit basket.

Wu Rui scoffed before telling him that he was visiting him on behalf of Hanwu Academy. He silently placed the fruit basket on a table, next to a bunch of other fruit baskets. “Hmm, it’s good that you’re fine. Let me say this again, I’m only here on behalf of Hanwu Academy, so don’t think too much of it.” He turned and reached for the door.

Just then, Fang Rou came back to the ward and saw Wu Rui leaving. “I see that you’re here again with another fruit basket.”

Wu Rui wanted to dig a hole and hide when Fang Rou exposed him. He almost ran for the exit when he saw Xiang Ning’s smug grin.

“You’re just in time, Xiang Ning just woke up. Come and sit.” Fang Rou poured some water and passed it to the two frenemies.

Wu Rui had no choice, so he just slumped into a chair. He coughed as he tried to hide his embarrassment. “I’ll say it again, I’m representing Hanwu Academy, my teacher, my uncles, and… ah, well, it isn’t too important. I’m just here to send some fruits. I’m not here to visit you.”

Xiang Ning chuckled, “I killed seventeen Dark Aurumsaurs, and even assisted in the slaying of the Kaiser Aurumsaur. What do you think?”

Think my ass! Wu Rui knew that he had lost, even though he’d killed more than twenty beasts. Xiang Ning was definitely stronger, as he had killed the stronger beasts, especially the Kaiser Aurumsaur, which was much more valuable than all of his kills combined. I knew that I shouldn’t have come and visited him!

Still, he had his pride and forced words out of his mouth. “That still counts as eighteen beasts. I killed twenty-six, so I won. We were competing based on the number of beasts slain, not their strength, so don’t you dare twist this around. Alright, that’s all. I’ll leave so you can rest. My second uncle is still waiting for me. He immediately left after saying what he had to say. He even saw how Xiang Ning was taken aback by his words. That felt good. I guess that’s how it feels like to win against him?

After Wu Rui had left, Fang Rou smiled sweetly as she explained, “When you were unconscious, he visited you every day and gave you those fruit baskets.”

Xiang Ning looked at the fruit baskets and didn’t know what to say. Soon, other people came and visited him when they heard that he had woken up. Most of them left after exchanging some pleasantries. They still had to prepare for sudden fights, so they couldn’t stay for long.

When everyone else had left, two people came in. One was skinny, and the other was big and muscular. They were none other than Wang Han and Li Yunfei.

Li Yunfei immediately bowed when he entered the ward. He assured Xiang Ning that all of his medical fees would be borne by the military, so he only needed to focus on his recovery.

Xiang Ning nodded. He had suffered heavy injuries and would usually require at least half a month to recover. If it weren’t for the doctor asking him to stay for a few more days, he would have wanted to be discharged if he needed to pay for the medical fees himself.

“Of course, I’ll also arrange a reward for you. I’ve sent an application to the higher-ups and they agreed to let you choose one military breathing technique and one martial technique at tier five or below. You may also choose to keep either the corpse of the Kaiser Aurumsaur or its beast core.”

Fang Rou was shocked when she heard that. Tier five military breathing and martial techniques were only accessible to those in the military. Even if she came from an influential family, she could only learn them by joining the military. The techniques developed for the soldiers were extremely strong; even the breathing technique allowed the user to explosively increase their strength.

Xiang Ning should just take all of it. The corpse, core, and Fang Rou ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)