Jiang Ning retracted his stick and casually twirled a handsome flourish with it.
Unfortunately, although he was in the bustling streets, no one appreciated his action because he was completely concealed by the Concealing Qi Technique, and no one noticed his figure or knew that he had committed violence in broad daylight.
The methods of an Immortal are unpredictable and surpass common understanding; they are simply unimaginable.
In fact, he could have easily set a trap for Song Sheng, such as a "Shocking God Stab" when he was crossing the street, which might have led to a car accident and would have been less likely for anyone to detect anything amiss.
Then why did he choose to use a stick to hit him?
Because it felt great!
To personally crack a leg with a swing of the stick, sending him to the hospital—how satisfying is that?
Jiang Ning's technique was precise, and his control of force was impressive, the stick broke Song Sheng's leg with a single blow.
An injury like this, if taken to the hospital, with current medical technology, could be resolved by having surgery to insert a metal plate.
After a year or two, the metal plate could be removed, and if the surgery went well and the rehabilitation was done properly, there would hardly be any complications.
It's just that the process would be quite painful, and he would need a few months of recovery, which surely would make Song Sheng rein in his temper a bit, right?
Even if his temper remained unchanged, at least he wouldn't be a nuisance at school anymore—how could he bully others with a broken leg?
Those students who would inevitably be bullied by Song Sheng in the future could look forward to a better three years in high school.
Jiang Ning had only one thing to do in the urban area, and having accomplished it, he didn't waste any more time. He turned around to leave the noisy scene, taking only his stick with him.
...
Song Sheng sat on the ground, sweating profusely from the pain.
Zhuang Jianhui and his group were not far off, and they had obviously noticed what was happening here.
Especially Lin Zida, who was mid-conversation when a sudden scream made him shudder.
"Damn it, what happened?" Lin Zida cursed.
Ding Shuyan fixed her gaze on Song Sheng's leg. Her eyesight was quite good and the twisted shape of his lower leg was almost too painful for her to look at directly.
"It's broken," she said.
Lin Zida was confused, "Wasn't he just fine? How did it suddenly break? Did he fall?"
Ding Shuyan shook her head slightly, "No, a fall wouldn't result in that. It seems like he was hit by something, like a stick."
Her aunt's ex-boyfriend studied medicine and she used to go through some medical books when she visited, so by osmosis, she had gained a bit of medical knowledge.
Looking at the crowd gathering around her, she described,
"I was watching over there the whole time, and I didn't see anyone lay a hand on Song Sheng. He took a step and before his foot even touched the ground, I heard a cracking sound."
"That's really strange!" Lin Zida frowned.
Zhuang Jianhui was also paying attention to the situation.
Someone had already noticed the strange state of Song Sheng's leg and began calling for an ambulance. People surrounded Song Sheng, forming a circle, with more and more onlookers—it was, after all, quite a rare sight.
Song Sheng felt extremely humiliated. The intense shame, for a moment, even overshadowed the pain. He really wanted to just turn around and leave, but with a broken leg, that was impossible.
Zhuang Jianhui and the others didn't just walk away; after all, they were from the same school. Although they considered themselves superior, they didn't mind lending a hand to a fellow student in distress.
Besides, within Yuzhou's boundaries, no one could swindle them.
Lin Zida twisted open a bottle cap and handed it over:
"Have some ice-cold Coke, it might help ease the pain a bit."
Song Sheng struggled to take it and gulped down a large drink, the carbonation giving him a slight relief.
At this moment, Lin Zida asked, "How did this happen to you, mate? Did you fall?"
Song Sheng couldn't understand this misfortune that had befallen him, it left him feeling stifled inside. Lin Zida seemed kind, and with a solid background, he seemed like the right person to talk to.
He couldn't help but say, "I don't know, man. I was just walking, and before my foot hit the ground, my leg just broke. Talk about bad luck!"
To hear of a leg breaking just from walking was new to Lin Zida, and it brought him back to what his cousin Ding Shu had mentioned.
Although it felt a bit like uncovering someone's scars to inquire now about the cause of his leg injury, Jiang Ning felt much more at ease thinking about the cola he had given him.
"Did you feel like your leg was suddenly hit by something just now? Like a stick?" Lin Zida tentatively asked.
Song Sheng's experience was indeed bizarre. Judging by the degree of contortion in his leg, it was eerily distressing, and certainly not the result of a simple walking mishap.
With the words of his cousin Ding Shuyan previously in mind, Lin Zida asked this question.
At these words, Song Sheng's expression immediately changed. As the person involved, he knew best the sensation of that instant. Perhaps before, due to the severe pain, he couldn't judge what happened, but at this moment, following Lin Zida's words, he swiftly recalled the event.
"Yes, yes, it was like being hit with a stick!" In his eagerness to prove his point, Song Sheng supported his shin, showing the injured spot where there was indeed a stick-shaped wound laying across it, which looked ferocious and horrifying.
Lin Zida wanted to say more, but the sound of an ambulance in the distance interrupted him, and soon, medical personnel were helping Song Sheng into the ambulance.
Ding Shuyan stood still, watching the ambulance drive away, and suddenly said,
"The ambulance is from the Third People Hospital. I'll ask Uncle Han to help us inquire later."
Zhuang Jianhui and Lin Zida looked at her in amazement, well aware of Ding Shuyan's character, which seldom showed such concern for matters.
Ding Shuyan muttered to herself, "Strange, strange, too strange."
Mainly because the entire incident was too eerie. Lin Zida and Zhuang Jianhui were alright, as they hadn't seen the incident clearly, but she had witnessed Song Sheng's ordeal from beginning to end.
"If I must describe it, then it's as if an invisible person picked up a stick and struck Song Sheng's shin with it," she spoke slowly.
Silence fell among them for several seconds.
Zhuang Jianhui asked, "With current technology, is it possible to make a person invisible?"
He looked towards Lin Zida, who, in terms of breadth of knowledge, was indeed impressive—a bar master of a forum with a million followers and the operator of two thousand-member QQ groups.
Seeing the two men leading into the topic, Lin Zida pondered for a while, "It's difficult."
"I know of a concept called 'Transformation Optics'."
"It uses super materials to manipulate the refractive index, causing light to bend around an object, achieving the effect of invisibility."
"Light can be refracted, for instance, when viewing objects under water from the surface, it's due to refraction."
"If there's a person wearing clothes made out of so-called super materials to attack Song Sheng, perhaps it could reach that level."
After hearing this, Ding Shuyan said, "If such a material really exists, then the weapon used for the crime must also be made of super materials, right?"
Seeing his cousin getting serious, Lin Zida responded with a wry smile,
"Shuyan, what are you thinking about? That kind of material isn't in use yet, it doesn't exist."
"There's no invisible man attacking Song Sheng."
Ding Shuyan said, "Let me give Uncle Han a call and ask about the doctor's diagnosis. He's the professional. If it truly was an attack, then this matter is definitely not simple."
The reason for her persistence was that she had a reason she couldn't explain to the others.
From a young age, she possessed a strange talent—she could sense when someone was staring at her for a long time.
This special sensation had never been wrong.
Once, when she stayed in a hotel, that sixth sense resurfaced; despite being unable to find the cause, she had someone investigate the hotel and, sure enough, they found a pinhole camera inside a wall socket.
Not once had it been mistaken!
From that point on, she trusted her sixth sense implicitly.
Just as she was walking out of the gym earlier, that same indescribable feeling came over her.
She surveyed her surroundings and did not find anyone.
Then, not long after Song Sheng was attacked, that secretive gaze vanished.
Thinking about Song Sheng's injury, Ding Shuyan couldn't help feeling a chill down her spine—someone was lurking in the shadows!
Immediately, she was seized by an intense desire to know more.
Ding Shuyan, who had always been unconventional from a young age, now entertained an almost fantastical idea:
'Could invisible people truly exist?'