Peerless Martial Expert in the City
Chapter 30 - 28: Lost

Chapter 30: Chapter 28: Lost

(I’m truly grateful to Xizhu for such high praise and generous support, which gave Xiao Yi a great deal of confidence and motivation. Thank you!)

————————————"We’ve arrived at Book City!"

After nearly an hour of stop-and-go travel, the bus finally came to a stop at the Book City station.

Xiao Yi opened his eyes, turned, and walked toward the bus’s rear door. As he stood up, his expression froze again. He noticed that the thief was still on the bus, not getting off. Typically, bus pickpockets would leave immediately after stealing and then switch to another bus to continue their crimes—they definitely wouldn’t stick to one bus for long.

The thief, feeling Xiao Yi’s gaze, turned his head and continued to glare at him with resentful eyes.

Xiao Yi smiled faintly, not bothering to wonder why the thief hadn’t gotten off the bus yet, and briskly turned and walked down from the bus.

Walking with the bustling crowd into Book City, Xiao Yi didn’t browse around like many others. Instead, he went straight to the map, checked it briefly, and then headed directly to the fifth floor, which held a special section for medical books.

It must be said that G City’s Book City, praised as one of the top three in the country by the Weird Old Man, definitely ranked high nationwide just for its collection of medical books alone. It was the most comprehensive Xiao Yi had ever seen.

Xiao Yi casually walked around, glancing over the vast range of books. It wasn’t just the size that impressed him; apart from the very complete collections of common traditional Chinese and Western medical texts, there were many books hard to find in ordinary markets, such as those detailing obscure Western surgical techniques and methods. Those books had a narrow audience, needed only by certain doctors, so typical bookstores often didn’t stock them.

After a brief walk, Xiao Yi began to meticulously browse the titles in a row of bookcases filled with ancient Chinese medical texts, hoping to find a valuable book. Unfortunately, as he walked row by row, pulling out books to skim through, his face increasingly displayed disappointment. These books, which seemed like ancient texts, were mostly superficial understandings based on real ancient texts, lacking truly useful content.

When the last book on the shelf had also been checked, Xiao Yi knew that finding anything worthwhile today was virtually impossible.

Really, this should have been expected.

In this world, where else could there be a collection of books greater than those in the old man’s home library?

If not even the old man had them, how could Book City possibly have them?

With a hint of disappointment, Xiao Yi shook his head, a wry smile forming as he walked toward the descending elevator in Book City.

Having not found what he was hoping for, he had no interest in continuing to browse.

"Grandpa, how did it go, a rich harvest right?"

"Haha, not bad. This afternoon’s hunt was fruitful; I found several treasures."

Xiao Yi was sitting on the descending elevator when a crisp, pleasant voice came from in front, accompanied by a slightly aged but cheerful laugh. Xiao Yi looked downward, an expression of amazement appearing in his eyes.

He saw a beautiful girl standing right in front of him, two steps down. The girl was not very tall, roughly about 162 or 163 cm, but her body proportion was incredibly perfect, with the ratio of her legs to her body close to the golden ratio. Her legs were straight and flawless, accentuated by tight jeans that showcased her legs and shapely buttocks perfectly. She wore a white shirt which drew attention to her slim waist. A streak of her pure white skin peeked out from her flowing hair, effortlessly adding a sense of stunning charm.

Next to her was an old man with silver hair, dressed in an old-fashioned Zhongshan suit. His back was somewhat hunched, and judging from the skin on his cheeks, he was quite old, at least over seventy. Even on the elevator, the beautiful girl was carefully holding the old man’s right hand, occasionally turning her face to check on him, showing that she was an extremely attentive girl.

The only pity was that although the girl occasionally turned her head to check on the old man, the angle was very slight. From Xiao Yi’s perspective, he could not see her face at all.

However, having such a beautiful rear view to admire, Xiao Yi felt quite content. Besides, the girl’s voice was very pleasing. Listening to her chatting with her grandfather was also a delightful experience.

"Crack!"

As Xiao Yi stood on the elevator enjoying the beautiful view and listening to the pleasant voice, and just as they were about to reach the next floor, he was contemplating whether to slow down and continue following them to enjoy the view, when the descending elevator suddenly made a jarring noise and jolted to a stop.

Having not held onto the handrails and completely unprepared, Xiao Yi almost fell forward due to inertia, but fortunately, his reaction was quick enough for him to steady himself.

However, the girl and the old man in front weren’t as lucky as Xiao Yi. They had been happily chatting, not expecting the elevator to suddenly jolt. In that moment, they both instinctively leaned forward due to inertia. The girl quickly tightened her grip on the handrail, but in doing so, she inadvertently loosened her grip on the old man’s hand.

The old man then fell forward abruptly.

By the time the girl realized something was wrong and tried to reach out to hold the old man, it was already too late. He had already fallen to the elevator floor. Fortunately, the elevator was not moving backward. After a brief pause, it continued descending, and luckily, they had just reached the fourth floor. The floor beneath the old man’s feet had stabilized, preventing a disastrous tumble down the elevator shaft.

Even though it was just a flat fall, the old man’s condition did not look optimistic as he lay motionless on the ground.

"Grandpa! Grandpa, are you all right!"

Seeing her grandfather fall, the girl quickly let go of the handrail, squatted next to him, grabbing his hand tightly while calling out to him with a tense expression.

"Sir, are you all right!"

The security guard from Book City next to the elevator saw the old man’s condition and, without hesitation, quickly walked over, squatted down, and called out with concern.

But no matter how much they shouted, the old man showed no response.

Their anxious and concerned voices, however, attracted the attention of many bystanders. Curiosity is a natural trait among the people of G City; seeing something unusual, several passersby who were walking nearby or reading books gathered around curiously, observing the center of the commotion. Meanwhile, guests continuing to exit the elevator carefully stepped over the old man, squeezing through the small space beside him, only to join the onlookers.