Pingsheng, You Are Playing Dumb Again

At the announcement of the Zhou family's steward, everyone in the side hall streamed out.

Among them, many young men were rubbing their hands in anticipation, their expressions filled with excitement as they imagined themselves showing off their skills in a moment.

Yan Pingsheng, however, felt nothing of the sort. He knew his role very well—he was just a spectator.

As the crowd entered the grand main hall and saw Bai Yujing sitting up high like an exiled immortal, the disciples from the Wanxing Martial Academy instantly grew excited.

“It's Senior Brother Bai!”

“Senior Brother Bai really came!”

“Senior Brother Bai! Senior Brother Bai!” Chen Jinzhu cried out in excitement.

Upon receiving a single glance and a nod from Bai Yujing, her face instantly flushed red. She covered her burning cheeks with both hands, overcome with shyness.

“Oh? Is that... the Fifth Young Lady of the Chen family?” Sitting beside Bai Yujing, Zhou Ziruo followed his gaze to Chen Jinzhu.

Sensing the hostile glare directed at her, the smile on Zhou Ziruo's face turned playful. She deliberately leaned her body closer to Bai Yujing.

“Damn it, that shameless hussy!”

Below, Chen Jinzhu's face instantly darkened, and she cursed in a low voice through gritted teeth.

Beside her, a tall girl's eyelids twitched, and she quickly warned, “Fifth Young Lady, watch your words!”

...

“Wow, Senior Brother Bai is so popular. I bet most of these people came just for him,” An Dafu whispered as he looked around, lowering his head to speak to Liu Xiangzhi and Yan Pingsheng.

“Of course,” Liu Xiangzhi replied as if it were a matter of fact. “After all, an outstanding man like Senior Brother Bai is one of a kind in this world.”

“I wonder what Senior Brother Bai is thinking about right now?”

I'm just spacing out. Stop praising me, stop praising me... Zhuang Xun unconsciously controlled Bai Yujing to maintain his dignified posture.

“Sigh, if only my strength were a bit greater, I would definitely go up and show off in front of Senior Brother Bai.”

Liu Xiangzhi urged, “Brother Yan, are you really not going up for such a rare opportunity? Maybe Senior Brother Bai will take notice of you. Even if he doesn't, just getting a few words of praise from him would guarantee a bright future.”

Chang Heyou also walked over and chimed in, “Indeed, Brother Yan. What a rare opportunity. Why don't the two of us go up and spar in a bit to show our faces in front of Senior Brother Bai?”

“I know my own limits. I wouldn't dare make a fool of myself,” Yan Pingsheng declined with a sigh.

After all, what was there to show off in front of himself?

Although Liu Xiangzhi felt it was a pity, he did not push any further, fearing that saying too much would annoy Yan Pingsheng.

But Chang Heyou began to lecture him, “Brother Yan, your temperament is far too indifferent. That is not good. When an opportunity presents itself to us martial artists, we must fight for it. In the short term, you can rely on talent, but if you never fight or snatch anything in the long run, how can you go far?”

Yan Pingsheng simply smiled without a word, choosing not to argue with him.

Seeing the atmosphere turning slightly awkward, An Dafu changed the subject. “Hey, the martial competition has started! Someone is going up!”

The four of them then focused their attention on the two people who had walked into the center and were introducing themselves.

This martial competition was merely for entertainment, so there were not many rules. Anyone who wanted to fight could just step up. Winning three consecutive matches would earn them a prize from the Zhou family.

By the third match, Chang Heyou finally saw two people whose strength was inferior to his own.

With his arms crossed and a smirk that revealed his two buck teeth, he began to critique the two combatants in the center to Yan Pingsheng and the other two.

“Don't be fooled by how that burly man seems to have the upper hand right now. In truth, he's the one most likely to lose. His combat style consumes too much stamina, and he won't be able to hold out for long. As long as that martial arts school disciple survives this wave of fast attacks and catches a flaw later on, he can win in one fell swoop.”

“However, the burly man isn't completely doomed to lose either. That martial arts school disciple's stance is unstable. As long as he can seize on this...”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the burly man in the center began to slow his punches, accompanied by heavy panting.

Chang Heyou closed his eyes and shook his head, looking exactly like someone who had foreseen everything.

“His defeat is sealed.”

The moment the words left his mouth, the burly man was thrown to the ground. The loud thud seemed to perfectly punctuate his statement.

Opening his eyes, Chang Heyou stole a glance at the reactions of Yan Pingsheng and the other two, saying nonchalantly, “If everyone is only at this level, then I'm rather disappointed by this martial competition.”

“I think everyone can go up and try in a bit. I'll set an example for you first.”

With that, before the martial arts school disciple could even step down, Chang Heyou pushed through the crowd and strode forward. “Chang Heyou of the Wanxing Martial Academy! I would like to seek some guidance from you, brother!”

Watching his retreating back, An Dafu turned to look at Yan Pingsheng.

Yan Pingsheng shrugged and nodded toward Chang Heyou, who had already reached the center of the hall, signaling for him to keep watching.

Half a cup of tea's time later, Chang Heyou was half-lying on the ground, his pupils trembling as he stared at the fist hovering right in front of his face.

In the crowd behind the long tables, the fat on An Dafu's face jiggled. He tried hard to suppress a grin, leaning in close to Yan Pingsheng to whisper, “'A martial artist must fight,' 'that martial arts school disciple's stance is unstable,' 'I'm rather disappointed by this martial competition'...”

He repeated the words Chang Heyou had spoken just half a cup of tea's time ago, snickering uncontrollably.

Yan Pingsheng also found it hard to keep a straight face, trying his best to hold back his laughter. “Stop laughing, stop laughing. Brother Chang is coming back.”

But Chang Heyou did not dare return at all. He didn't even dare glance in their direction. Keeping his head low, he hid in the crowd. Once he felt that no one was paying attention to him anymore, he slunk out of the main hall in embarrassment.

After this little interlude, the martial competition continued.

In the process, some combatants grew heated, resulting in significant injuries on both sides.

Liu Xiangzhi's face turned pale as he watched, saying with lingering fear, “Brother Yan, you were right. This martial competition is really not something we should get involved in. I was almost persuaded by Brother Chang to go up and try earlier.”

An Dafu looked at Yan Pingsheng, who remained perfectly calm and even had the peace of mind to eat pastries at a time like this. He couldn't help but recall what had happened before and guessed:

“Pingsheng, you probably just don't care about the prize, which is why you can't be bothered to go up, right?”

“Oh? What do you mean by that? Brother Yan didn't go because he didn't care about the prize?” Liu Xiangzhi looked at Yan Pingsheng with curiosity.

“Brother Liu, don't listen to An Dafu's nonsense,” Yan Pingsheng said helplessly. “I didn't go because I was afraid. I've never even practiced martial arts; I just have a bit of brute strength. Besides, there's no shortage of official martial artists among them. My brute strength is nothing in front of them.”

“Ayy, Pingsheng, you're playing dumb again,” An Dafu chuckled, not believing a single word.

He began to tell Liu Xiangzhi about Yan Pingsheng's past glorious deeds. “Brother Liu, you have no idea. This guy Pingsheng just loves to hide his capabilities. He told us before that his Skeletal Structure was mediocre and that he stood no chance in the Outer Court's Grand Competition. Yet, without a sound, he ended up getting a Grade A-minus!”

“There was such a thing?! Brother Yan is that amazing?!” Liu Xiangzhi's gaze toward Yan Pingsheng turned into a mixture of surprise and admiration.

“Cough, that was just an exceptional performance back then. I didn't expect to do so well either. Besides, this martial competition is different from the Outer Court's Grand Competition...”

Yan Pingsheng continued to explain, but An Dafu and Liu Xiangzhi, who had been fully swayed by An Dafu, simply refused to believe him.

Seeing that his explanations were getting him nowhere, Yan Pingsheng felt quite helpless. He could only let them harbor their misunderstanding while he continued to enjoy the dishes on the long table.