Nourished by these two streams of energy, the effect was immediate; most of the pain in his legs was gone.
At the same time, feeling returned to his numb legs.
Seeing this, Hu Qi tried modifying it again.
His Modification Points decreased by another point, leaving him with 6. Simultaneously, the status bar changed.
[Status: Normal (Slight Sprain)]
Now, the pain in his legs was completely gone, as if the earlier sensation had been just an illusion.
Not only that, his status had changed from Abnormal to Normal, and the words "(Slight Sprain)" in the parentheses were slowly fading away.
It looked like the words would soon vanish completely. This meant an injury that would have originally required him to be bedridden for a month or so—and might have even left lasting complications—had just been healed this easily.
'This isn't an illusion. It's all real.'
Hu Qi took a few deep breaths.
He calmed his racing heart.
'Actually, if the heavens were to give me another chance at a cheat...'
'...Er, he'd choose a much more powerful one.'
'After all, transmigrating wasn't the scary part. The scary part was transmigrating without a cheat.'
As for why this panel had appeared or why he had transmigrated here in the first place,
Hu Qi didn't dwell on it.
For now, there was no way he could find an answer to that question.
Hu Qi glanced at the Crimson Panel.
He was curious to know what it would feel like to modify his Culinary Skill...
...but he ultimately abandoned the tempting thought.
'Until I figure out where Modification Points come from,'
'modifying this Skill would be a waste.'
'With my current Mastery in Culinary Skill, getting by in this world shouldn't be a problem.'
'Besides, the Skill is right there on my panel. I can modify it anytime. There's no rush.'
With that thought, he suppressed his excitement.
Now, with his mind suddenly at ease, a wave of drowsiness washed over him.
Hu Qi decided not to overthink it.
He closed his eyes, ready to get some sleep.
...
「He slept all the way until evening.」
He might have slept even longer if someone hadn't arrived with his dinner.
This time, however, it wasn't Li Yi.
It was a woman in her forties.
She had a medium build, slightly plump, and the years had left faint traces on her face.
But it was clear she had been quite attractive in her youth.
Her hair was tied back casually, with a few conspicuous strands of silver mixed in.
Her face was a little round, with faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes that became more pronounced when she smiled, lending her a warm, friendly air.
This was Li Yi's mother and the original body's aunt, Hu Lemei.
"Xiaochi, how are you feeling today?"
Hu Lemei asked, her face full of concern.
"Much better."
Hu Qi said with a smile.
"That's good, that's good!"
Hu Lemei beamed.
She then asked a few more trivial but caring questions about his condition and whether he was enjoying the food.
Hu Qi answered all of them honestly.
He behaved no differently than the person he remembered the original owner of the body to be.
Just then,
Hu Lemei seemed to remember something.
A conflicted expression flickered across her face.
Finally, she spoke up.
"Um, Xiaochi... has that girl, Yuyan, come to see you in the last couple of days?"
At her words, Hu Qi froze and fell silent.
Then, he started searching his memories.
'Yuyan? Who the hell is that?'
Seeing Hu Qi's silence,
Hu Lemei clearly misunderstood.
"Now, don't blame your auntie for being nosy, but it's obvious that girl isn't the type to settle down. Even if you won her over, you'd never be able to hold on to her..."
Just then, Hu Qi found the memories related to this "Yuyan."
Her full name was Jiang Yuyan, and she was the original body's "goddess."
Through some simple sweet-talking, she had turned the original owner into a devoted simp who would do anything for her.
However, all that had changed a few days ago.
That day, the original owner had been on the street when he saw his beloved Jiang Yuyan get into a luxury car with another man. When he got closer, he saw the two of them wrapped in an embrace, practically eating each other's faces.
The sight was a devastating blow, leaving the original owner heartbroken.
He went to confront them, demanding an explanation.
But the man knocked him to the ground with a single punch.
Perhaps because of this trauma,
this particular memory had been buried very deep.
If Hu Qi hadn't been searching so carefully, he might not have found it at all.
Once he understood everything,
the corner of his eye couldn't help but twitch.
'Simps really are doomed to a bad end.'
He seriously suspected the original owner's leg injury was also related to that damn couple.
After all, the timing was too much of a coincidence.
Seeing Hu Lemei still rambling on,
he felt a headache coming on.
After a moment's thought, he cut her off.
"Don't worry, Auntie. After what happened, I see that woman for who she really is. I won't be like that anymore."
"That's good, that's good! My Xiaochi is so handsome and talented, you can find any girl you want. Give it some time, and Auntie will introduce you to a few."
Hearing Hu Qi's words,
Hu Lemei was clearly delighted. She immediately changed the subject and started planning for his future marriage prospects.
In response to this,
Hu Qi didn't know what to say, so he just gave a couple of noncommittal replies.
Then, the conversation turned to his attacker.
Unfortunately, because the location was remote and there were no security cameras,
they still hadn't found the culprit.
It was getting close to dinnertime, which was a busy period for the restaurant.
She hadn't been there long before someone from the restaurant called, saying they were too busy to manage.
Hu Lemei could only give him a few more reluctant words of advice before she had to leave.
Watching her leave,
Hu Qi frowned.
'My legs are healed now, so there's no reason to stay in the hospital.'
'But to avoid attracting unwanted attention, I should probably stay for another two days. It's best not to seem too conspicuous...'
...
「That night, the stars were sparse and the moon was dim.」
Cold, silvery moonlight filtered through the curtains, tracing the lines between the floor tiles.
The hospital room was quiet.
One of his two roommates had been discharged that afternoon, and the other was already asleep.
Only the faint sound of snoring echoed in the room.
Hu Qi, however, had slept that afternoon, so his Spirit was now high, and he wasn't the least bit sleepy.
He was wearing Bluetooth headphones and holding his phone, his finger constantly swiping across the screen as he browsed for information about this world.
This world also had things like short-form videos.
They were on an app called [Kuaiyin].
In video after video, beautiful young women swayed their slender, supple hips. There were all kinds: innocent, seductive, you name it.
It was a spread even an ancient Emperor would have envied.
'So thirst traps exist even in another world?'
To this,
Hu Qi simply offered a brief, appreciative critique before swiping to the next video without a second thought.
Suddenly,
his finger paused.
A video had caught his attention.
It was from a creator called "Taihe Martial Arts."
The video showed a man in his fifties, his temples half-gray.
He was an elderly man wearing a loose, white Martial Arts Uniform.
But unlike a typical frail old man,
his frame was burly, with broad-boned arms that hung down past his knees.