54: Chapter 54 Distress

"Officer, haven't I already said? I injured myself in a fall."

Nie Ning lay on the hospital bed at that moment, shrugging as he spoke.

"But your companion told me you've been afflicted by that curse, and..."

The Guard glanced at Nie Ning's bandaged legs.

Could a fall break legs like this?

Are Intermediate Knights this fragile?

"He's mistaken. I didn't even go to Shangrong Alley today, so how could I have caught that curse?"

Looking at this uncooperative kid, the Guard felt quite helpless.

This brat hadn't uttered a single word of truth so far, refusing to explain the situation at the time.

"Suit yourself then."

The Guard shook his head and then left the room.

Not only was Nie Ning lying, but his identity was also unknown; the Guard needed to go back and investigate.

Seeing the Guard leave, Nie Ning breathed a small sigh of relief.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to tell the truth; rather, he didn't care for the meager reward from the Guard Hall.

Furthermore, telling the truth would only bring trouble. He couldn't exactly say he could control soul bodies; what would people think?

Even if the Guard Hall was easy to deal with, what if they asked for his help whenever something like this happened in the future?

Nie Ning had his own thoughts; overall, the disadvantages outweighed the benefits.

Not speaking would only cost him a few gold coins, but speaking could lead to unknown consequences; being targeted would make it even harder to hide his identity.

...

Early morning.

Before dawn.

After sending Borton back, Nie Ning leaped out of the hospital window.

Then, using the Bear Head's wall-phasing ability to avoid the Guards, he limped away from the hospital in secret.

By the time he returned to Hervais Manor, Nie Ning was drenched in sweat from the pain.

However, Nie Ning didn't go to rest; instead, he went to the garden to water the plants and clear weeds.

This way, if Lilith had nothing to do, she likely wouldn't come looking for him specifically, saving him from having to find other excuses later.

To Nie Ning, hiding his identity was very important.

Once his injuries healed, given his strength, it would be impossible for the Guard Hall to catch him unless they sent a High-Tier Knight.

Besides, the Stooped Old Man was dead; with no other casualties, the Guard Hall likely wouldn't go to great lengths to find him.

Once the commotion died down, he could go out and roam again.

...

Just as Nie Ning expected, no one noticed anything unusual about him.

Only Norma stopped by to check on him; seeing he was home, she left immediately.

Over the next three months, Nie Ning stayed hidden in the manor to cultivate, only sneaking out twice to find Borton because he ran low on pills.

During this period, the Guard Hall had looked for Borton.

Borton knew Nie Ning liked to hide his identity and truly didn't know his whereabouts, so he brushed them off with a random excuse.

Aside from that, Nie Ning's wizard cultivation went very smoothly.

The Frenzied Giant Bear's crystal core had a large capacity, allowing Nie Ning to cultivate all the way to nearly the late stage of a Witch Apprentice in one go.

His knight cultivation also grew rapidly; the two crystal cores not only solved the mana storage issue but also more than doubled the speed of his blood-qi and physical body strengthening.

Even though he only occasionally practiced knight techniques to refine his battle qi, Nie Ning still reached the peak of the Mid-level, just one step away from advancing to a High-Tier Knight!

There was one other person who had reached this level: Norma.

In terms of knight cultivation, Norma had actually reached the peak of the Mid-level a step ahead of him.

Clearly, Norma had her own little secrets, as she had actually practiced a Breath Concealment Technique to mask her cultivation!

Had Nie Ning's perception not been enhanced when he activated his Strange Beast Body, he might have actually been fooled by that little girl.

He just wondered what would happen once Lilith found out about their situations in the future.

Honestly, Nie Ning found it amusing just thinking about it; perhaps Norma felt the same way.

If all went well, Hervais Manor would welcome two High-Tier Knights.

Even among noble groups, few probably possessed two High-Tier Knights, and those they did have were likely a bunch of old fogies.

...

Detective Agency.

At this moment, Borton was circling Nie Ning incessantly.

"Just what kind of miraculous elixir did you take to cultivate so fast?"

Looking at Nie Ning, who had already begun preparing to break through to the High-Tier, Borton felt an urge to dissect him.

The two had known each other for three years, and Nie Ning's cultivation speed was getting faster and faster, reaching a point where Borton couldn't even hope to catch up.

"It's just a difference in personal constitution."

Nie Ning shrugged. "Besides, haven't you already broken through to the Mid-level? If you're a bit more diligent, breaking through to a High-Tier Knight is just around the corner."

Hearing this, Borton rolled his eyes.

If it were that easy to break through, would it have taken him this long just to reach the Mid-level?

Even then, he had only barely reached the Mid-level by trading some parts from the Frenzied Giant Bear Nie Ning had hunted last time for some good items.

As for the High-Tier, without some stroke of luck, it was out of the question.

Glaring fiercely at Nie Ning, Borton sat back down at his desk.

"Materials for breaking through to the High-Tier are hard to find. Currently, almost all materials on the market are held by nobles and great families; I don't have the ability to buy anything from them."

Borton sighed.

Although the Wilbes Republic was in a phase of reform, the deterrent power of High-Tier Knights remained constant.

It was precisely because of the reform that those nobles sensed a crisis and began to heavily monopolize various high-tier materials.

As long as they held enough power in their hands, they could protect their status and wealth while also suppressing the growth of ordinary people.

Nie Ning rubbed his chin, feeling that things were becoming a bit tricky.

Among the people he least wanted to deal with were those noble lords.

The younger generation was actually easier to talk to, as personal thoughts had evolved with the times.

But those old fogies were different; their very thinking was imprisoned in the era of noble rule, making them very difficult to deal with.

The most disgusting part was that it was exactly these old fogies who held the distribution rights for various precious resources.

"Miss Ivy from the City Lord's Mansion seems to have an interest in you; she's been here looking for you several times already. Why don't you just give in to her?"

Borton looked at the troubled Nie Ning and said with a dirty grin.

When they encountered Ivy in the Wantai Forest, only Nie Ning was wearing a mask; unable to find him, Ivy could only come looking for them.

Nie Ning curled his lip. "I'm a commoner; I'm no match for a young lady like that."

He was telling the truth.

After all, not everyone was as kind as Lilith.

Even Norma looked down her nose at him, so one could imagine the character of those high-born ladies.

They might be easy to talk to normally, but he feared their occasional fits of madness; he couldn't stand their condescending attitudes.

"Don't sell yourself short. You're about to break through to the High-Tier; many young ladies from noble families would want to marry someone like you."

Borton smiled, his eyes filled with emotion.

Nowadays, knights were becoming fewer and fewer, which led those old fogies of the noble families to place even more value on genius knights like Nie Ning.

Because their conservative thinking made them place great importance on inheritance.

But the youth precisely disliked these things, their heads filled with ideas of free love, unwilling to live according to the paths set by their families.

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