Nine Star Burden

Chapter 169: Flame Torch Star Bead

Two days later.

“Sir, the blade can’t fit in the trunk. Why don’t we leave it in the backseat?” Jiang Xiao asked as he popped his head out from behind the cab and glanced at the driver who had popped his head out of the window of the driver’s seat.

The middle-aged driver chuckled and said, “Sure, you shall be my only passenger today. No more carpooling.”

Jiang Xiao scratched his head and exclaimed after thinking for a while, “You’re really kind!”

The driver said, “Of course.”

Sure, he can’t tell the sarcasm in my remark...

“Very few hail a cab amongst those who come here to train. Look at these luxury cars,” the middle-aged driver said as he stared at the rows of luxury cars parked in the car park, all green with envy. He then turned to look at Jiang Xiao seated in the passenger’s seat. “Kid, the entry ticket to the snowfield costs 50,000 yuan each. You should be from an affluent family. Why are you hailing a cab? That’s not very glorious.”

Jiang Xiao was speechless.

The driver started the engine and said, “Sit tight.”

Feeling like something was wrong, Jiang Xiao retorted, “What are you doing in this suburban training site? For fun?”

The driver answered, “Well, I managed to pick up a low-class person like you, haven’t I?”

Jiang Xiao was at a loss for words. Fine, you win.

The driver chuckled and asked, “Where are you headed to?”

After some thought, Jiang Xiao answered, “The bus terminal.”

“Huh?” The driver was slightly stunned and he continued to ask, “Where are you taking the bus to?”

“Jiangbin City,” Jiang Xiao answered.

“The bus ride is going to take four hours. Why don’t you take the high-speed rail? That thing is fast, you’ll reach in no time,” the driver said while staring at Jiang Xiao like he was a fool.

Jiang Xiao said rather awkwardly, “I haven’t graduated from high school yet. I’m still a minor, so I don’t have a Star Warrior identification card. Being dressed like this, I won’t pass the security check at the high-speed rail station.”

“Ah, I knew it. I could tell you’re young.” The driver nodded and continued to ask, “Do you think you can pass the security check at the bus terminal?”

Jiang Xiao scratched his head and said, “I thought that the checks at the bus terminal are more lenient. Pull over outside the bus terminal. Once the bus arrives, I’ll board immediately.”

“Oh? That’s smart. Why don’t I drive you back to Jiangbin City? Isn’t it troublesome for you to take the bus? I’m a good driver and I’m very talkative too. I promise you won’t feel lonely during the ride.”

“How much is it going to cost?” Jiang Xiao asked, feeling the pinch.

However, he felt that he ought not to lose his sword and dagger for the sake of saving a few hundred yuan. He could afford to lose the dagger, but not the black battle sword that had been Second Last’s side for numerous years.

I can leave it with the cargo, but can these things be left with cargo?

Even then, Jiang Xiao would still be worried if those items were not by his side.

This damned Second Last actually left as soon as she wanted to. She even drove the car away. I thought you hated driving that tiny saloon car. I’ll chop off your long legs...

Of course, even if she didn’t drive the car away, Jiang Xiao wouldn’t dare to drive on the expressway either.

He was an obedient child.

Jiang Xiao decided that he would acquire a Spatial Star Technique in the future, just like Han Jiangxue. That would make things much more convenient for him.

The driver was not bragging, for he was indeed a stable and good driver. There was no snow in the past two days and traffic was smooth on the highway. Hence, the journey was safe.

However, that was also why he could express his other characteristic well. He was very chatty.

Jiang Xiao finally found someone more talkative than him.

Although the Awakened were not rare beasts and there were plenty of them in society, the gossipy nature of the driver made Jiang Xiao feel like breaking down.

If he weren’t afraid that they would get into a car crash, he would have really given the driver a Blessing.

Jiang Xiao felt that he was not meant for traveling long distances, but today was an exception, entirely because the driver wanted to chat with an Awakened...

...

At night, in Jiangbin High School, the lights were turned on in the Teaching Block.

Although it was already the last lesson for the day, the teacher of Year Three Class 1 was seated on a chair on the podium and staring at the students continuously writing away.

Some of the students were answering questions, while some were meditating and drawing mindlessly. Some of them were also doing some calculations attentively.

Ring... ring...

Han Jiangxue wrote the answer “2√2” on her foolscap paper and lowered her head to whip out her mobile phone from her pocket. Han Jiangxue, who was still immersed in doing mathematical questions, did not realize how serious the problem was. Meanwhile, Xia Yan was already grinning widely.

She had also followed somebody on Weibo.

–

Jiang Xiaopi-mischievous-or-not

just posted from Huawei Maimang C199

The days are short and the nights are long, so why don’t you go on a candlelit tour? (Candle icon)

PS: 131st day of having a crush on Little Jiangxue.

–

Xia Yan was dumbfounded.

What does this mean? Xia Yan thought to herself as she refreshed the notifications, only to discover that there were no longer any comments at the bottom. Why did he say candle? Is that a satirical reply to the slew of candle icons in the comments below the Weibo post?

Why doesn’t it seem offensive at all?

Xia Yan refreshed the notifications again. This time, someone finally replied.

“Who’s acting cool? I’m getting blinded by all that glitz and glamor.”

“Oh? Is the toxic healer out of the woods?”

“Brother-in-law, you’re finally back. Is your sister doing well?”

“Little toxic healer is back. Hurry and give me a Blessing.”

“Forward this message and you’ll definitely recover from your cold tonight.”

“Brother-in-law, where are you? Shall we go for a karaoke session with your sister?”

Penguin TV Su Rou: “Pipi, the maths paper is so difficult. Hurry and come back so that I can copy your answers...”

Little Ke likes to sleep: “Sleep, my foot! Get up and get high!”

Xia Yan stopped scrolling for a moment, and when she saw the familiar sentence, she seemed to have understood the meaning of Jiang Xiao’s caption.

Is that what it means in internet slang?

You didn’t report back to me immediately after you returned. Who are you going to get high with?

Xia Yan immediately flew into a rage and thought, I was worried about him for an entire month and yet, he’s so heartless!

Xia Yan immediately opened the reply...

Hong Yan: “Get high my foot. Get your ass back home and wait for me at the entrance.”

To Xia Yan’s exasperation, there were actually replies from her juniors in Year One.

Zhu Wu said, “You’re finally back. Let’s go get some skewers. My brother and I are going to pick Xiaoke and Yi Lianna up later. Let’s stay in touch via text.”

Xia Yan tossed her mobile phone away and turned around to look at Han Jiangxue, only to discover that she was resting her head on the table and pressing her ear against the wall. She seemed... to be talking on the phone?

Who is she speaking to over the phone? No doubt, it must be Jiang Xiao.

Besides, Xia Yan knew that given Han Jiangxue’s character, Jiang Xiao was definitely the one who called her first.

Ah!

Xia Yan stomped her feet in anger and thought, Am I really that insignificant?

Han Jiangxue hung up after a long while and a warm smile formed on her sullen face. She casually turned around to see the intense gaze in Xia Yan’s eyes.

Han Jiangxue said, “Before he went to the snowfield, he had already agreed to meet his friends from Year One for a meal. He’ll be back late.”

Xia Yan suddenly changed her attitude and pretended like everything was alright. “Hmph, he can go wherever he wants. He just has to stay alive.”

Buzz...

Xia Yan frantically whipped out her mobile phone and realized that it was not a notification from Weibo but a new message from WeChat.

Jiang Xiaopi mischievous-or-not: [I saw the Star Bead. Brother Sun has been saving it for me. Thank you.]

Xia Yan raised her brows and finally felt more comfortable. She thought, You do have some conscience, after all.

But then again, shouldn’t it be Manager Sun? Why did Jiang Xiao refer to him as Brother Sun? This kid is really thick-skinned. All he does is pretend to be close to others.

At the same time, Jiang Xiao was also in Ruifeng Business Firm and was holding onto five Star Beads that were emitting a faint golden glow.

–

Flame Torch Star Bead (Silver Quality)

Star Technique:

Flame Torch Whip: Summons a long whip that can be controlled. (Silver Quality, Upgradeable)

Flame Torch Pillar: Emits a powerful beam that can be sustained for a long period. (Silver Quality, Upgradeable)

Would you like to absorb it together?

–

Jiang Xiao looked at the Star Bead that emitted a faint golden glow and knew that the color of its appearance did not represent its quality.

Logically speaking, it would be a good choice for Jiang Xiao to become an appraiser. Besides, he would definitely be a “master-level” one.

Because Jiang Xiao had an internal Star Map, he would be able to find out the creature that the Star Bead originated from and what kinds of Star Techniques it contained, so long as he picked it up.

Jiang Xiao would never make a mistake in identifying Star Beads, and his accuracy rate was absolutely 100%.

However, for ordinary Star Bead appraisers, they would have to figure out which kind of creatures of other dimensions a said Star Bead originated from through studying the size, color, manifestation of energy, energy flow pathway and speed, and many other features.

For example, Manager Sun was wearing a magnifying glass headpiece to scrutinize the White Ghoul Witch Star Bead that Jiang Xiao had given him...