Knocked Out by Medicine

Leng Yuanting paused at that, then set Zhu Ping'an down with a complicated expression.

"You've got quite the ambition, kid."

Leng Yuanting sat back in his chair and poured Zhu Ping'an a cup of tea.

"You should know why I called you here, right?"

"I do. My Ghostfire's already parked at the door." Zhu Ping'an lifted his gaze and met Leng Tianjiao's eyes; she quickly looked away, her ears tinged with red.

"Ghostfire? What nonsense is that? I've talked with Jiaojiao these past couple of days too—she's only seventeen, getting married is indeed a bit early. I'll announce to the outside that you're my Leng family's son-in-law, but you're not to touch her for now, understand?" Leng Yuanting's tiger-like eyes glared.

"Hold on, what does 'not to touch' mean? Does it mean I can't go all the way?" Zhu Ping'an blinked innocently.

"Mm!" Leng Yuanting nodded with a dark face.

"Can I hold her hand then?"

"...If she agrees."

"Can I hug her?"

"If she agrees."

"Can I kiss her?"

"..."

"Can I sleep in the same bed with her without doing anything?"

"Kid! Don't push your luck!"

Leng Yuanting slammed the table and stood up, barely holding back from kicking Zhu Ping'an. He even suspected the kid's next line would be, "Can I just rub against it without going in?"

If it weren't for the potential he saw in Zhu Ping'an's future, he'd have slapped the brat dead long ago.

After calming himself down, Leng Yuanting finally got down to business with Zhu Ping'an.

"Kid, in a few days, you're going with my daughter to a secret realm—a newly discovered one."

"A secret realm? Is it Secret Realm Number Thirteen?" Zhu Ping'an's heart stirred.

Newly discovered secret realms were usually temporarily named by numbers. He remembered that Secret Realm Number Thirteen had yielded many good things.

But in the original story, with his second-rate grades, he hadn't earned a spot to enter Secret Realm Number Thirteen. Instead, Ye Qingxian had entered it, encountered a great opportunity, and grown much stronger.

"You're pretty well-informed, knowing about Secret Realm Number Thirteen." Leng Yuanting glanced at him. "That secret realm is filled with a bizarre magnetic field. As soon as a warrior enters, it triggers a thunderstorm. I went once and almost got struck dead by lightning."

"After exploration, it turns out that First-Rank Warriors trigger the smallest thunderstorm. The major powers of Green City discussed it and decided to explore Secret Realm Number Thirteen together. My Leng family has ten slots—two of them go to you and Jiaojiao. The remaining eight, I'll send eight peak First-Rank Warriors to follow you."

"Thank you!" Zhu Ping'an nodded.

"No need for thanks. Letting you in comes with conditions—you must protect Jiaojiao. If she gets hurt anywhere, I'll tear you apart when you get back, hear me?" Leng Yuanting shot him a glare.

"Dad! I don't need his protection!" Leng Tianjiao protested from the side, but her protest was naturally ignored by Leng Yuanting.

"Don't worry, Uncle Leng. When do we enter the secret realm?" Zhu Ping'an asked.

"A week from now. You can use this week to prepare. If you need anything, just tell me directly, or tell that whelp Leng Tianyan—I'll arrange it for you."

"Alright." Zhu Ping'an nodded. "By the way, Uncle Leng, why do you always call Leng Tianyan 'whelp'? Did he do something to upset you?"

Zhu Ping'an suddenly grew curious about that fatty Leng Tianyan.

"Ah! Don't even mention it! A disgrace to the family!"

At the mention of Leng Tianyan, Leng Yuanting covered his face in pain.

"I, Leng Yuanting, have seven sons. He's the only one with zero talent in martial arts. I've dumped a mountain of resources on him, and at twenty-five, his Qi and Blood Value still hasn't broken a hundred. He spends all day in his room messing around with herbs. If he could actually refine pills, that'd be one thing, but all he brews are poisons! A whelp! A true whelp!"

Zhu Ping'an's heart stirred at this. He had a faint feeling that this Leng Tianyan might be an uncut gem.

"Uncle Leng, could I go see him?"

"Sure, have Jiaojiao take you. But when you go to that whelp's room, be extremely careful." Leng Yuanting waved his hand weakly.

Zhu Ping'an bid farewell to Leng Yuanting and had Leng Tianjiao lead him to find Leng Tianyan.

"Tianjiao, what kind of person is your sixth brother?" Zhu Ping'an couldn't help asking along the way.

"Sixth brother? He's not a bad person. He's good to his brothers and to me. He's just a bit of a slacker, no real ambitions."

As Leng Tianjiao spoke, she suddenly stopped and pointed at a room ahead.

"We're here. That's sixth brother's room. Go on yourself—I won't go over."

Zhu Ping'an was puzzled, but Leng Tianjiao only said that men and women had their boundaries and that she needed to respect privacy, so it wasn't appropriate for her to enter Leng Tianyan's room.

Zhu Ping'an had no choice but to walk over on his own. As soon as he reached the door, he caught a very pleasant scent, like the fresh fragrance of wood after rain.

"What a curious smell. Just sniffing it makes me feel much more alert." Zhu Ping'an grew even more certain of his guess—this Leng Tianyan was definitely not simple.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door, producing a thumping sound.

"Who is it?"

The door opened, and a puff of white smoke drifted out. From within the smoke emerged a head wearing a gas mask.

"It's me, Zhu Ping'an."

As that puff of white smoke drifted out, the fragrance in the air grew even richer. Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but take a few more deep breaths.

Behind the gas mask, Leng Tianyan's face showed a hint of stunned surprise.

"You actually breathed it in?"

"What's wrong? Is the fragrance poisonous?" Zhu Ping'an asked, somewhat puzzled.

"No wonder my sister took a liking to you. You're really smart!" Leng Tianyan gave a thumbs-up.

The next second, Zhu Ping'an watched as the thumb before his eyes began to spin endlessly. Then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed straight to the ground.

The last thought before Zhu Ping'an's consciousness faded into unconsciousness was: This Leng Tianyan really isn't simple! And he'd actually guessed right!

By the time Zhu Ping'an woke up, his head was still spinning badly. He had no idea how Leng Tianyan had concocted that fragrance.

"You're finally awake. If you hadn't come to, that Old Thing would have killed me," Leng Tianyan said with an awkward laugh.

Only then did Zhu Ping'an realize he was lying on the bed in Leng Tianyan's room. Clothes and socks were scattered everywhere, but one table was spotlessly clean.

On that table were various chemical instruments Zhu Ping'an couldn't understand. Beside them, white porcelain bottles held some pills and some medicinal liquids, while bundles of herbs lay piled on the floor.

Rubbing his dizzy head, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but speak up.

"Bro, you can easily drug even a First-Rank Warrior. How could Uncle Leng think you're useless?"

"Hmph! What's so impressive about drugging a First-Rank Warrior?" Leng Tianyan curled his lip. "That Old Thing keeps saying all this stuff is crooked tricks, that using poison is the act of a petty man, unworthy of the grand stage. I'll eventually whip up a formula that can give a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist the runs for three days straight!"