Gu Xuan, who had just been berated by Zhu Ping'an, looked a little bewildered.
For the first time, he found himself doubting his worldview. What in the world was going on?
Just listen to that: ordinary siblings with no blood relation? What kind of carbon-based life-form could even come up with that? Was that a relationship that belonged in any normal family?
Making up a relationship like that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that someone actually believed it!
"Simps are really something else..."
Watching Zhu Ping'an stride away, Gu Xuan couldn't help but marvel.
There were champions in every walk of life. To simp as hard as that guy did, he deserved to be crowned the king of simps.
After Zhu Ping'an returned from outside the city, the College Entrance Examination was just around the corner.
Over the past month, everyone in Green City had been busy.
In this world, the College Entrance Examination was the most important event. Everything else had to make way for it.
Everywhere you looked on Green City's streets, there were all kinds of motivational slogans for the exam.
[The road to Qingbei is paved with your fists!]
[The sky at five in the morning is dark, but you'll shine brightly once you become a martial artist!]
[Never give up too easily. There was once a man who went viral for seven years with nothing but an Iron Mountain Lean!]
[The outcome is yet undecided; you and I could both be bull... dark horses!]
All of Green City had plunged into the atmosphere of the College Entrance Examination.
Zhu Ping'an first returned to the Martial Artist Association and turned in the mission to hunt a Fire Cicada Snake's gallbladder. Then, after visiting the Yin and Yang Elders, he set off for home.
"Ping'an, you're back?" Xia Yue glanced at him and couldn't help asking. "Where have you been? Why are you so filthy?"
"I went outside the city." Zhu Ping'an grinned.
"What? You went outside the city?" Xia Yue's voice shot up eight octaves. "How could you not tell us about something this important? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out there?"
Feeling Xia Yue's anger, Zhu Ping'an's smile grew even brighter. It had been a long time since he'd experienced what it was like to have someone worry about him.
"Mom, I made it back in one piece, didn't I? I'm fine. I even brought you all a gift."
Zhu Ping'an pulled out from behind his back the newly hatched Fire Cicada Snake King. There wasn't much point in keeping the Fire Cicada Snake King hatchling with him. It might even grow more slowly than he advanced in rank.
He might as well leave it with his parents and sister. That way, if anything happened, the Fire Cicada Snake King could protect his family.
The little fellow was only a little over thirty centimeters long, all pink and tender, without even a single scale yet. It looked like a skinned lizard, lazily sprawled across Zhu Ping'an's hand.
"Ah!!!"
Xia Yue let out a piercing shriek, kicked Zhu Ping'an out the door, and slammed it shut with a bang.
"Take yourself and your disgusting pink freak and get out of this house!"
"Mom, what was that noise?" Zhu Kaixin's voice came from behind the door.
Xia Yue said, "Nothing, Kaixin. Starting today, you're an only child~"
Zhu Kaixin: "???"
Outside the door, Zhu Ping'an awkwardly rubbed his nose. He'd only thought about how the Fire Cicada Snake King could protect his parents. He'd forgotten that a normal person might not be able to stomach the way the thing looked.
It wasn't until Zhu Jianghua came home that Zhu Ping'an was finally allowed back in. The family sat around the Fire Cicada Snake King hatchling and began discussing what to do with the little thing.
After a long silence, Zhu Jianghua, as the head of the household, spoke first.
"How about... steaming it? Nice and natural, with a little wasabi and soy sauce. It'll be delicious."
"Dad! The snake is so cute. How can you steam it?" Zhu Kaixin reached out to stroke the Fire Cicada Snake King hatchling's head. "If you ask me, we should coat it in breadcrumbs and fry it until both sides are golden brown!"
"You're disgusting! Get rid of it already! You're actually thinking of eating it?" Xia Yue looked utterly repulsed.
Zhu Ping'an's mouth twitched nonstop.
"Come on, guys. Is there any chance we're supposed to be discussing what to do with this Fire Cicada Snake King, instead of how to cook it?"
"Oh, is that right?" Zhu Kaixin wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. "Then what do you think, bro?"
"I think we should move into a bigger place with a yard. It can be farther out, since the Fire Cicada Snake King will grow to more than five meters long, and over ten meters if you include its tail. There's no way our current place can keep it."
Zhu Ping'an thought it over before speaking.
"That way, you'll be safe, too. Once this little fellow grows up, its fighting strength will be comparable to a Third Rank Martial Artist. Even if no one bothers us, we can use it as a free space heater."
The Fire Cicada Snake King ran hot all over, even in the middle of a snowstorm. It really was the perfect thing to warm your hands with.
"I see. I thought you'd brought back some exotic new species from outside the city for us to sink our teeth into." Zhu Jianghua suddenly understood.
Zhu Ping'an: "..."
Some things really were carved into the bones of Great Xia's people. Like seeing something and immediately wondering whether it was edible. Or reaching a certain age and automatically learning how to grow vegetables.
After some explaining, Zhu Jianghua and the others finally accepted that they'd have a Fire Cicada Snake King living with them from then on. Since Xia Yue couldn't stand the way it looked, they decided after some discussion to leave it in Zhu Kaixin's care.
Zhu Kaixin was delighted, too. She gave the Fire Cicada Snake King a name: Zhu Baofu.
After settling the matter of the Fire Cicada Snake King, Zhu Ping'an ate a little and went to bed. After all, the College Entrance Examination was tomorrow, and he needed to be well rested.
The night was deep and still, all was silent beneath a sky dotted with stars.
For some reason, Zhu Jianghua snuck out of bed in the dead of night. He groped his way to Zhu Kaixin's room, opened the door, and went straight inside...
A while later, Zhu Jianghua came out holding a dark shape. By the starlight, it was just possible to make out that what he held was the Fire Cicada Snake King hatchling.
He carried the Fire Cicada Snake King hatchling back to his bedroom.
"Wife, do you think that silly boy Ping'an is really stupid, or just pretending? The Fire Cicada Snake King hatchling has obviously already recognized him as its master. With its intelligence, once it grows up, won't it just eat us?"
Xia Yue took one look, her face full of disgust.
"Why did you bring that thing here? It's disgusting. Take it away, take it away! Our son may be a little dumb, but he really does mean well. What, do you think he's trying to hurt you?"
"Not exactly. It couldn't hurt me anyway. I'm just worried the little thing might accidentally hurt Kaixin. I'm trying to figure out how to keep everyone safe without hurting our son's feelings." Zhu Jianghua rubbed his chin as he pondered.
"Do whatever you want. I've got mahjong tomorrow, so you can deal with this." Xia Yue lay down on the bed with a face mask on.
"This is a headache. Should I put a beast contract on this hatchling? Damn it, putting a beast contract on a Third-Tier Mutant Beast feels like a raw deal no matter how I look at it!"
Zhu Jianghua muttered to himself. As he talked with Xia Yue, the Fire Cicada Snake King hatchling huddled in his palm, trembling with fear. It looked as if it had come face-to-face with its natural enemy...
Before you continue