A Little Hand-to-Hand Combat

After a murderous glint flashed through his eyes, Zhu Ping'an reined in his sharp edge and returned to his harmless-looking self.

Ye Qingxian had to die, but not now.

That guy was the original male lead of the story, and he had plot armor just like Zhu Ping'an. Even if Zhu Ping'an attacked Ye Qingxian, he definitely wouldn't succeed.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

Ye Qingxian looked up at Zhu Ping'an, his eyes full of coldness.

"Heh, now that we've soaked enough, we're going to keep exploring. Brother Ye, farewell. I'm sure we'll meet again!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Zhu Ping'an led the Leng Family members away. Only after they were gone did Ye Qingxian angrily slam a fist into the water. The once-calm surface instantly roiled.

"Zhu Ping'an, you've gone too far! I swear I won't be a man until I kill you!"

The stench rising from the spring only stoked Ye Qingxian's fury.

"Qingxian Ge, don't be angry. You'll make yourself sick, and it'll break my heart." Yan Shubing gently took Ye Qingxian's large hand, soothing the resentment in his heart.

"Shubing, you're all I have." Ye Qingxian pulled Yan Shubing into his arms.

"Qingxian Ge..."

The two embraced passionately in the foul-smelling Yijin Lingquan, occasionally reaching up to scratch their faces.

After a long while, they finally completed the marrow-cleansing process and climbed out of the Yijin Lingquan. After undergoing the treatment, the athlete's foot on their faces had finally cleared up.

Free from the torment of athlete's foot, Ye Qingxian could finally calm down and think.

"Zhu Ping'an has gone far away. To make sure we don't run into him again, we'll go in the opposite direction."

He was genuinely scared. Zhu Ping'an was like a strip of dog-skin plaster, impossible to shake off. Every time Ye Qingxian gained an opportunity, Zhu Ping'an would suddenly appear.

Ye Qingxian decided to put some distance between them first. He could figure out how to settle their grudges once they left Secret Realm Number Thirteen.

"I'll do as you say, Qingxian Ge." Yan Shubing nodded obediently.

The two set off in the opposite direction from Zhu Ping'an, unaware that not far ahead, Zhu Ping'an and his group had lit a bonfire and were leisurely roasting chicken wings.

Anyone who knew better would recognize they were exploring a secret realm. Anyone who didn't might think they'd gone camping.

"Zhu Ping'an, are you sure those two will come this way?" Leng Tianjiao asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry, I'm sure. I've already predicted Ye Qingxian's prediction. That fool will definitely come this way. It's opposite the direction we just left." Zhu Ping'an handed Leng Tianjiao a chicken wing, crisp on the outside and tender within.

"I have another question. Why do you keep following them? You even went way out of your way just to wait for them." Leng Tianjiao took the wing and pressed him for an answer.

"They're the greatest treasure in this secret realm." Zhu Ping'an's lips curved into a smile. "Haven't you noticed? That Ye Qingxian is blessed with incredible fortune!"

Leng Tianjiao was taken aback, then fell silent.

Only after Zhu Ping'an pointed it out did she notice how strange it was. Rainbow Surprise Tai Sui and Yijin Lingquan were both rare natural treasures. Finding even one would take incredible luck, yet Ye Qingxian had encountered two not long after entering Secret Realm Number Thirteen. It made no sense.

"You mean..." Leng Tianjiao seemed to understand Zhu Ping'an's plan.

"Exactly. He's blessed with incredible fortune, and we aren't. But that's no problem. We'll follow him and snatch all his opportunities. Then we'll have his good fortune backing us too, won't we?"

Zhu Ping'an blinked innocently. His lips, at a perfectly ordinary temperature, had just uttered words cold enough to freeze the blood.

Leng Tianjiao was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"The thing Ye Qingxian will regret most in his life is offending you."

"Whether he regrets it or not doesn't matter to me. I just want to stay alive."

Zhu Ping'an stretched, then turned to look in one direction, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"Well, look at that. The protagonist's here."

Ye Qingxian had just crossed dozens of kilometers. The moment he saw Zhu Ping'an, he was struck as if by lightning and froze in place.

"Zhu Ping'an! What are you doing here?" Ye Qingxian shrieked.

"Fate! I told you it was fate. Fate is a wondrous thing!" Zhu Ping'an held out a chicken wing. "Come on, Brother Ye, try one. I just grilled it. It's delicious."

"I'll eat your—!"

Ye Qingxian turned to leave, but four Leng Family fighters had already appeared behind him and Yan Shubing, cutting off his retreat.

"Brother Ye, meeting is fate. Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Did you get some opportunity and worry I'd try to take it from you?"

Zhu Ping'an's half-smiling words made Ye Qingxian's heart leap into his throat.

Because on his way here, he really had come across another opportunity: a second-grade, entry-level martial skill. He had it hidden tightly behind his back.

That little move naturally didn't escape Zhu Ping'an's notice. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Brother Ye, what are you hiding behind your back? Come on, let me see."

"No!" Ye Qingxian hurriedly refused.

"Come on, be good and let me take a look!"

"I said no!"

Ye Qingxian retreated again and again.

"Brother Ye, now you're being unreasonable. Do you really think I, Zhu Ping'an, am the sort of scoundrel who'd steal what belongs to someone else? I like Bingbing so much, yet I never used despicable tricks to compete with you. Instead, I spent three years being her lovesick lapdog. Don't you trust my character?" Zhu Ping'an sighed.

"Heh, Zhu Ping'an, save that for the ghosts. Do you think I'd believe you?" Ye Qingxian sneered. He was absolutely certain that if he showed Zhu Ping'an the martial skill, it would be like tossing a meat bun to a dog—gone forever.

At his words, a wild, wicked grin appeared on Zhu Ping'an's face. Then he took off a pair of nonexistent glasses, and his smile vanished in an instant.

A fist, moving faster than the eye could follow, smashed into Ye Qingxian's face. Zhu Ping'an's attack had come too suddenly; Ye Qingxian hadn't been ready at all. He took the punch squarely and fell to the ground, while the martial skill he had hidden behind his waist dropped beside him.

"Brother Ye, if I can't fool you, then I, Zhu Ping'an, know a little hand-to-hand combat too."