Chapter Thirty: The Ambush

Xiao Jie was stunned. She looked up at Zhou Yu and saw that his eyes were open. She quickly asked, “When did you wake up? Are you hungry? Are you feeling unwell?” She blurted out three questions in a row, leaving Zhou Yu at a loss as to which one to answer first. In the end, he could only say, “Xiao Jie, could you get up first? You’re pressing down on me.”

When Xiao Jie heard that she was lying on top of him, she scrambled to get up and helped Zhou Yu sit up as well.

It was only now that Xiao Jie studied Zhou Yu closely. He wasn’t invisible, nor was he in the same state as Nian Yu had been at the beginning—he simply looked utterly drained.

With a hint of confusion, Xiao Jie asked, “Zhou Yu, why do you look so exhausted?”

Zhou Yu replied, “I don’t know either. Damn, how does just getting caught in the rain put me in a coma? How long was I out?”

Xiao Jie answered, “Several days. And it wasn’t a normal coma, either. You and the others are like Nian Yu now—you’ve evolved.”

Zhou Yu stared at her in shock. “Evolved? I don’t feel any different, just completely worn out. Also, you said ‘you and the others’—isn’t it just me?”

Xiao Jie shook her head. “No, Wang Kui and that Hai you always talk about have evolved too.”

Zhou Yu swore, “No way, they’ve both evolved too? Then why do I feel so weak?”

“I don’t know,” Xiao Jie admitted. “But they’re outside sparring right now.”

Zhou Yu was incredulous. “Wait, they’re fighting? What’s going on?”

Xiao Jie explained, “Not what you think—it’s just a normal training match.”

Zhou Yu relaxed. “Oh, that’s fine then. I’m a bit hungry; could you get me something to eat? I need to lie down a bit longer.” With that, he lay back down.

Xiao Jie heard his request and wanted him to go eat outside, but seeing him lie down again, she sighed and went out to get him some food.

The scene shifts outside, to where Zhao Yan and Wang Kui are sparring.

Zhao Yan looked at Wang Kui and said, “Brother, it’s been a long time since we’ve trained together. Come on, let’s see if your new ability can help you beat me.”

Wang Kui replied, “My ability’s not really useful for this, like I told you before. Still, I want to see the difference between us now. Enough talk—let’s go.”

With that, Wang Kui dropped into a ready stance.

Seeing Wang Kui prepared, Zhao Yan wasted no words and charged at him.

Zhao Yan threw a straightforward punch, no tricks.

Wang Kui saw the punch coming straight for his face, but he didn’t panic. He bent at the waist, leaned forward, one hand protecting his head, the other swinging a right hook.

Having trained together for so long, Zhao Yan and Wang Kui knew each other’s habits inside out.

The moment Zhao Yan saw Wang Kui bend at the waist, he knew what was coming. Instantly, he pressed a hand down on Wang Kui’s head, used the momentum to execute a 360-degree forward flip, neutralizing the force of Wang Kui’s punch. Landing, he turned back to Wang Kui and said, “Same old tricks, Wang Kui. It’s useless. If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll never beat me.”

Wang Kui turned to Zhao Yan, who was showing off, and said, “Come on, I was just warming up. I have a feeling you won’t be able to beat me now.”

Zhao Yan scoffed, “Warming up? I’m just getting started.”

He turned toward Nian Yu, who was watching from the house, and called out, “Sister-in-law Nian Yu, watch how I take this guy down—”

Before he could finish, a fist the size of a sandbag suddenly appeared right in front of his eyes.