Chapter 37: A Bet Between Two

Dragon.

Xie Yan's gaze moved downward, landing on the girl in the lake; her little face had no color, her big eyes still lively, she spoke with vigor, not at all like a weak person.

He suddenly thought of something, and the corner of his mouth twitched upward.

Afterward, he stepped through the air, and taking Yuan Yao by surprise, he slammed a palm toward the lake surface!

Boom!

With a blast, Yuan Yao hadn't even reacted before being flipped several times by the water, and she ended up choking on a few mouthfuls of lake water.

After she recovered, she lifted her head and saw the golden egg already fallen into the hands of that ghost-faced boy.

"Xie Yan! This is my egg! Give it back!"

"It's mine now." Xie Yan gave a light chuckle.

Having said that, he clutched the golden egg and headed toward the Treasure Pavilion.

Yuan Yao saw this, her face filled with disbelief, she gritted her teeth and said, "Shameless! Xie Yan, you're a dog!"

She swam to the shore at top speed, then used spiritual power to dry her clothes, grabbed her sword, and surged toward Xie Yan with killing intent.

At that moment, the golden egg in Xie Yan's arms kept struggling.

He lowered his gaze and gave it a cold glance.

"Do you want to hatch early?"

The boy's palm gathered terrifying power; if the golden egg struggled again, he would unhesitatingly crush its shell.

Golden Egg: "Wuu wuu wuu, I dare not move."

It immediately conveyed to Yuan Yao that it had been captured by a wicked person.

Yuan Yao stormed into the Treasure Pavilion, but she didn't expect that, aside from basic furnishings, everything else on the first, second, and third floors had been emptied out.

She froze for a moment.

I couldn't believe that this jerk Xie Yan would have cleaned this place out so thoroughly.

By the time she reached the attic's top, she discovered Xie Yan actually running toward the lake while clutching the golden egg.

Yuan Yao instantly realized he was using the "lure the tiger away from the mountain" ploy!

And just then, the boy slowly turned his head, his eyes holding a teasing smile, as if provoking her.

"Don't even think of running!" Yuan Yao seethed, threw caution to the wind, vaulted over the railing, leapt down from the building, and swiftly closed in on the lake.

Just as Xie Yan was about to cross the lake, suddenly he heard the sound of a rope tearing through the void behind him.

Swish swish swish—

His eyes flickered, he swiftly turned, and unleashed a palm strike!

But he hadn't expected that the multicolored rope would actively dodge, then, with lightning speed, wrap around his leg and yank him hard into the lake.

"Plunk!"

The boy fell into the lake again, and as he struggled to break free, his hand loosened its grip on the golden egg.

The golden egg managed to escape.

It swiftly ran to Yuan Yao's side.

Yuan Yao glared at it.

It shrank back, frightened and guilty, then rubbed against her arm in an appeasing manner.

"You go over to the side for now."

Yuan Yao had no time to pay attention to the golden egg; she watched Xie Yan struggling from drowning and let out a pleased hum.

"Xie Yan, apologize to me, and I'll let you go."

Xie Yan was having trouble breathing, his body felt heavy as if countless hands were dragging him down into the abyss, his consciousness grew hazy, but he faintly heard Yuan Yao's voice.

"Apologize?"

"Impossible."

Just as Xie Yan was trying to stay awake, preparing to stab his thigh with his sword to jolt himself, his ankle was yanked hard by the rope, continually dragging him toward the shore.

Xie Yan was dragged onto the shore.

Before he could even regain his senses, his body was tightly bound by the multicolored rope.

Yuan Yao crouched, cupping her chin, looked down at him, and smiled, saying, "Apologize to me, and I'll let you go."

Xie Yan seemed not to have heard her, and closed his eyes.

Yuan Yao poked his shoulder with a finger and said, "Hey, why are you so afraid of water? Didn't you learn to swim as a child?"

Xie Yan still had no reaction.

Seeing that, Yuan Yao lost interest in talking to him and only said, "Xie Yan, hand over the secret treasures you just obtained, and I'll release you."

"You want them?" Suddenly Xie Yan opened his eyes, his gaze cool and indifferent as he glanced at Yuan Yao.

"I do." Yuan Yao replied.

This was her first time out training; over the past few days she'd lost a lot but gained nothing, while her senior brothers and sisters, when they went out training, would always bring back all sorts of strange curiosities.

She also wanted to bring something back for them.

And she wanted to bring something for her master as well.

"No." The boy's voice, hoarse from the recent drowning, said.

"You'll find it hard not to give."

Yuan Yao snorted lightly, then reached out to yank his storage ring.

Xie Yan felt the warmth of her soft hand landing on his palm, his brow twitched a few times, and he said displeasedly, "Get lost."

"No!" Yuan Yao was just as stubborn; she insisted on taking his storage ring, but she wondered why it fit his finger so snugly that she couldn't pull it off no matter what.

This feeling is like...

The storage ring had grown together with his flesh.

Moreover, his fingers were especially cold, like that cold mountain jade.

"There's nothing inside." Xie Yan seemed to have yielded.

Upon hearing that, Yuan Yao stopped her action, looking at him half-believing, half-doubting.

But in the next moment, a powerful pressure burst from Xie Yan's body with a "Boom!", instantly knocking Yuan Yao to the ground.

Yuan Yao winced in pain, and sensing that the Phantom Spirit could barely hold on, she quickly scrambled to her feet and swiftly put distance between herself and Xie Yan.

The Phantom Spirit instantly turned into a cluster of multicolored light, heading toward Yuan Yao.

Yuan Yao reached out and caught the Phantom Spirit Sword.

The golden egg also shrank to behind Yuan Yao.

Only seeing the boy by the shore slowly rise to his feet, the wet tips of his curly hair dripped "drip-drip" water droplets, and he reached out to touch the finger wearing the storage ring.

Afterward, he lazily lifted his gaze, staring at the girl before him.

Within these few days, he repeatedly fell into her hands.

She had several chances to take his life, but she did not.

What exactly did she intend to do?

Xie Yan had seen clever women and foolish women, but Yuan Yao was both clever and foolish, and overly kind-hearted.

He summoned a long sword with his left hand, then suppressed his cultivation to the Initial Foundation Establishment.

He lifted his eyelids, his tone indifferent.

"Draw your sword."

Yuan Yao saw that he had actually suppressed his cultivation to the same level as hers, and the corner of her mouth twitched: "Good."

As both moved, their longswords clashed instantly, emitting a sharp, piercing sound.

Xie Yan pressed down hard; in an instant Yuan Yao felt her arm weigh a thousand jin, the immense pressure making her frown and her face pale slightly.

"Is that all you can do?" Xie Yan tugged at the corner of his mouth, "If you lose, whenever you see me, take a detour."

Upon hearing that, Yuan Yao recalled that she still had a mission to capture him.

If seeing him means taking a detour, how could there still be a chance to capture him?

She cannot lose!