There were a few disciples in the Teng Yong Sect that should never be provoked.

Three of them were the disciples of Elder Baili: The first was a martial arts maniac that would jump at every opportunity to fight. The second was a madman that you might be able to hurt but that would viciously repay you until you wished you weren’t alive. The third one … He looked like a harmless flower but as soon as this harmless flower opened his pretty mouth, a horde of men would come running and bash you up. So, no, you didn’t want to provoke these three.

As for the others, they were the disciples of Sect Master Zhang. Elder Baili’s disciples were troublesome but the Sect Master’s disciples were completely uninhibited and stopped at nothing. If you provoked these gods of plague, you were doomed. And nobody would dare to even think of trying to extend a helping hand to you.

Qiao An might not be the worst among them but he definitely was a force to be reckoned with. Hearing that Shen Lei would have to go and ask him about Luo Lin, the disciples that had just watched in glee as he beat up Qu Yijun couldn’t help but retract their necks and look at him pitifully. Some even fled the scene directly. Nobody wanted to get involved in something that had to do with the Sect Master’s disciples.

Shen Lei just nodded and cupped his fists, bowing toward Qu Yijun in mockery. "Thank you for guiding me on this matter too, senior martial brother Qu. You’ve been of great help." With that, he turned around and left the hill, not caring about Qu Yijun any longer. No, now, he had to go and make plans.

The first thing Shen Lei did was to get an unassuming chest from his house. He opened the lid and looked at the leaves and corns inside. His fingers hovered over them for a moment before he carefully picked some dried yellow leaves and put them into a sachet. Afterward, he closed the chest with a grin, put it back into its place and left his house, directly going for the place where Qiao An lived. As for fearing this troublesome person? Tch! Why should he? He was already sufficiently prepared to confront him.

Shen Lei knocked on the door.

A gruff voice answered and the door was smashed open to reveal an angry face. "Who the fuck dares to —" Qiao An shut up when a sachet was held in front of his nose that spread a fresh scent. He snatched it away from the person opposite him and opened it, sniffing more closely. "Where did you get this from? And why did you come here?"

"Ahaha." Shen Lei laughed and happily stepped into the house. Fearing senior martial brother Qiao? Hmph! That Qu Yijun was underestimating him! He knew exactly how to appease this guy. "Senior martial brother Qiao, I found this condiment when I went out on my last mission and thought you might like it so I brought it over here when I was close by."

"What close by? We’re living in the same sect!" Qiao An huffed but still went to carefully stow his latest acquisition away.

"Ah, yes, speaking of the same sect … I recently heard some gossip concerning senior martial brother Qiao. I wonder if it’s true?"

Qiao An rolled his eyes and sat down at the table where Shen Lei had taken up a seat without asking. "Just get it out with."

"You’re acquainted with Elder Baili’s third disciple, Luo Lin?"

"I am. Why are you asking?"

Shen Lei’s eyes narrowed. So there really had been something between them! In that case, he should make clear that he wouldn’t tolerate anyone making a move on his fairy from now on. Even if that somebody was Qiao An! He straightened up and raised his chin. "I’ve decided to marry him!"

Qiao An doubled over in a coughing fit. "Hah? What?! Fuck! Can you not make such jokes without warning?!"

Shen Lei’s expression darkened further. "I’m being serious here!"

"Pft!" Qiao An burst out laughing, only to stop when a blade pointed right at his throat. He gulped. Shit. He had forgotten that this guy had an even shorter fuse than his fourth junior martial brother. "Fuck! You put that thing away. I won’t laugh anymore."

"I’m going to marry him."

"Fine! You’re going to marry him!" Qiao An pushed the blade aside and pushed his chair a little further away from the table. "Are you sure we’re talking about the same person though? With the Luo Lin I know, you’d be lucky to be able to hold onto him for even a month."

Shen Lei frowned but still put his sword away. "How so?"

"How so …" Qiao An tsked and shook his head. This amateur! He probably didn’t know the first thing about Luo Lin and still dared to run here and say he wanted to marry him. Ah, well, youths these days … He sighed and knocked on the table. "You better listen well now! I’m only going to say this once. Winning Luo Lin over is doable. Heck, it’s actually pretty easy. The really difficult thing is to keep him.

"With Luo Lin as your partner, there will always be rivals queuing in front of your door and neither of them will be easy. If you’re not extremely vigilant and pay attention to your own safety and whatever Luo Lin is doing, you’ll lose him before you know what happened. Fuck, you could even lose your own life!"

Shen Lei nodded. He wasn’t too surprised at this. Wasn’t that exactly what he had just done to Qu Yijun? "Then what can I do to prevent him from being stolen away?"

Qiao An raised his brows. "What you can do?" He tsked. "How about chaining him to the bed and making sure he’s happy there?"

Shen Lei stroked his chin. That didn’t sound like a bad plan at all …