Chapter 265: Caught in the Act
“Master?” Zu An was stunned, “What master are you talking about?”
Zheng Dan said with a smile, “Your lips seem to be sealed pretty tightly. Such a great movement technique doesn’t come out of thin air, right?”
Zu An chuckled. “I’ve always been a genius of geniuses, of course I’m self-taught! Miss Zheng, are you here to try and pry some intelligence out of me? Your skills don’t seem to be a bit lacking in this field.”
“Forget it then if you don’t want to talk about it.” Zheng Dan harrumphed. “I was worried about your safety, why am I being doubted instead!”
Zu An looked her up and down, and then said, “If my memory serves me right, I believe Miss Zheng is engaged? How can I not be suspicious if you suddenly seek me out?”
Zheng Dan released a deep sigh. “So this was how everyone saw this as I expected… you are no exception.”
She stepped to the side while talking, her eyes a bit absent-minded as she gazed into the distant horizon. “My marriage with Sang clan was arranged by my father. Even though my clan is known as one of Brightmoon City’s four major clans on the surface, we are nothing more than a merchant company in the end. We’re nothing before a real top level clan.”
“That’s why all of those clan elders were ecstatic when they received Sang clan’s intent for marriage, agreeing without even a moment of hesitation.”
“Sang clan’s background might still be a bit shallow, but they are still a rising upstart in the capital, one of his imperial majesty’s favored ministers. Given another year or two, they should rise up to become a top level clan. The only reason they still chose our clan to be joined in marriage is because they still need this time to grow. How can the Zheng clan’s elders give up on such an amazing opportunity?”
“But why did no one bother to ever ask me for my opinion? Why didn’t they ask me if I like that person, if I am willing to marry him?”
A bit of misty light appeared in her eyes as she spoke.
Even Zu An couldn’t tell if these were her true feelings or feigned deliberately. “To be honest, you don’t have a reason to be that discontent either. Zheng clan has provided you with all types of advantageous conditions since birth, so it’s only natural that there’s a responsibility for you to bear. When you come from a great clan, this is just how it is. Sometimes, you don’t have the freedom to make your own choices.”
Zheng Dan gave him a look of shock. “No one has ever spoken like this to me! Even my closest friends have always comforted me, empathized with the unfairness of fate… Your viewpoint is indeed a bit different from everyone else’s.”
“I’ve always been a fan of saying things as they are. It’s good that you didn’t take it personally,” Zu An replied.
A hint of a complicated expression flashed past her eyes when she looked at him. “You really are different.”
Zu An raised his brows in a smug manner, “Because I’m incredibly handsome?”
Zheng Dan’s face blushed, saying with a scoff, “Hmph! Incredibly shameless.”
The two then chatted idly. Because of the previous ‘incident’, neither of them chatted with any real direction.
Their conversation was carefree and all over the place, making this a rather relaxed and enjoyable experience for both of them.
The bell for the next class already rang. When they were about to separate, Zheng Dan turned around with a reluctant look. “Ah Zu, you really have to be careful… Don’t let that Chen Xuan really do anything to you.”
Zu An said while laughing, “Relax! I still have so much to talk with Miss Zheng about. Until then, how can I let someone do me in?”
Zheng Dan smiled bashfully. “Pah, can’t you just be decent at least once in a while! You’re still womanizing even though you already have a wife.”
Zu An laughed heartily. “Don’t you have a fiance as well? Our situations seem to be one matchmade in heaven!”
Zheng Dan couldn’t take his directness in the end. With a hmph, she turned around and quickly left with a red face.
She turned a corner, leaning against a wall. She pressed her hand against her chest, feeling waves of pounding noises. She was immediately stunned.
Wasn’t I the one who was supposed to be taking advantage of him? Why did our roles end up swapping?
The rest of today’s classes passed by rather quickly as well. When they were dismissed, a wild Chu Huanzhao immediately popped out.
She released an angry snort. “Why did that Zheng girl look for you?”
Zu An was a bit surprised. “News seems to get to you pretty fast.”
A bit of cockiness appeared on Chu Huanzhao’s face. “But of course! This lady here has many helpers in this academy…”
She was just about to boast about her glorious achievements when she suddenly noticed that something wasn’t right. She immediately said with a snort, “Stop changing the topic! Why did that slut look for you?”
Zu An couldn’t help but say, “You’re still just a kid, stop throwing the word slut around all the time. It’s really not too good.”
“That’s just how I am! She still looks for you even though you have a wife! If she’s not a slut then what is she?” Chu Huanzhao’s eyes became completely red, as if she was the one being wronged badly here. “What, are you already heads over heels for her?”
When he saw how this little girl was about to break out into tears, Zu An’s heart softened. He immediately said in a hurry, “Of course not! She wanted to ask me about Chen Xuan’s assassination. She was just a bit worried about my safety.”
“When did you two get so close? Why would she care that much about you?” Chu Huanzhao’s eyes flickered with a dangerous look, subconsciously reaching for her Wailing Whip.
Zu An’s expression immediately changed. He explained in a hurry, “I did save here before after all. Isn’t it normal to care about each other as fellow students?”
“That girl looks all gentle and dainty on the surface, but I’m sure it’s all fake! I just don’t like her.” Chu Huanzhao released a snort.
Zu An felt a huge headache. “Okay, okay, okay, I’ll just associate with her less in the future, alright?”
Drama really starts easily between girls. This kid’s still so young, but she is already budding in this field.
Zu An immediately changed her attention out of worry that she might continue with this issue. He fetched a fine little bottle and said, “Huanzhao, didn’t I promise you a gift? I never figured out what I wanted to give you before. Recently, I picked up this interesting thing. Hurry and take a look!”
When she saw this flask filled with green liquid, Chu Huanzhao was stunned. “Is it perfume? I’ve never messed with those things. But if it’s from brother-in-law, I guess I can at least give it a try.”
Dark lines appeared on Zu An’s forehead. “Perfume my ass, have you ever seen green perfume?”
“I guess there is no green perfume…” Chu Huanzhao chuckled in embarrassment. “Then what is it?”
“Paralysis poison bottle.” Zu An roughly explained its effects to her, and then he added, “It ignores the defense of all those at the fifth rank or below. Those caught in the effect will lose all ability to resist.”
“This thing seems pretty good! It’s much more interesting than perfume.” A look of excitement appeared on Chu Huanzhao’s face. She immediately fell in love with it.
Seeing that she liked it, Zu An released a sigh of relief inside.
This poison bottle was already useless for him, so it made the perfect gift for this girl. That was why he just gave it away.
He was originally still a bit worried that it might be weird to give a girl this type of gift, but who would have thought that with Huanzhao’s naughty nature, it just happened to suit her tastes?
Chu Huanzhao fiddled with it for a while before carefully putting it away. Then, she looked at Zu An and asked, “Brother-in-law, what rank are you now?”
Zu An hesitated a bit. His current cultivation was the third rank’s eighth step, but his real strength was far greater.
As he understood more and more about the world, learned more cultivator knowledge from the academy, he already reached a conclusion:
Even without the Primordial Origin Sutra tempering his body, as the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra filled in his formations one after another, his real strength would have still been much greater than those of the same level.
Chu Huanzhao didn’t seem to mind when she saw his hesitation. She already got what she wanted. “You haven’t reached the fifth rank yet, right?”
“I haven’t.” Zu An subconsciously replied.
“Perfect.” Chu Huanzhao revealed a sly smile.
Zu An immediately felt like something wasn’t right. “What are you getting at? Why would you ask this for?”
“Nothing~” Chu Huanzhao snickered inwardly, her previous sulky mood gone without a trace. She began to hum, waving her small hand while skipping out in front.
Zu An: “……”
Why do I feel like I shot myself in the foot?
Apart from Jiao Shanhe and a few others, there was another troop of Chu clan guards led by Chu Hongcai waiting by the academy entrance.
“Yo! Brother Hongcai, fancy seeing you here.”
This fella always had that cool and cold look on the outside. But after seeing his fanboy side last night in Immortal Abode, he suddenly found him much more likeable.
“The master dispatched a troop to escort you two after school when he received news of the assassination.” When he found out his goddess didn’t go to bed with Zu An last night, Chu Hongcai’s expression also softened a bit.
He was originally the vice commander of the estate’s guards, in charge of the spiritual creek. Following the spiritual creek’s contamination, he resigned from his guilty conscience.
But in the eyes of the Chu clan’s people, he was still extremely reliable. That was why he was sent here for this task.
“Then I’d have to trouble brother Hongcai and the others.” Zu An knew that the Madam was worried about Chu Chuyan’s safety the most. Together with that eighth rank intruder affair, the commander Yue Shan had to remain in the estate to protect Chu Chuyan.
They were already treating this affair quite seriously by sending the vice commander.
Even though these people weren’t a match for Chen Xuan individually, they were all Chu clan’s elites. It would be quite hard for Chen Xuan to deal with all of them if they worked together.
Of course, this was only if he didn’t bring his own subordinates. But after yesterday’s events, Chu clan and the City Lord already cracked down on all suspicious people in the city. It was one thing if he was trying to hide himself, but keeping a huge group in the city was just courting death.
…
Cheng Shouping was already standing by the entrance when they returned to Chu estate. When he saw Zu An, he immediately raised an invitation card in his hands, excitedly rushing over. “Young master, young master! Immortal Abode’s Qiu…”
Just when he was about to continue, he suddenly saw Chu Huanzhao behind Zu An. The smile on his face instantly froze. His hands shot behind him. The feeling of that whip was clearly still fresh in his memory.
Even though he received that bonus from Zu An, the pain from the wailing whip wasn’t something even some as greedy as him wanted to experience again.
“Immortal Abode what?” Chu Huanzhao shot him a look of suspicion.
“Nothing!” Cheng Shouping hurriedly said.
“Is that so? What is that you are hiding behind you?” Chu Huanzhao tried to look behind him.
Cheng Shouping hurriedly said, “Second miss, your respected self is mistaken! It really is nothing!”
Suddenly, he felt his hands become lighter. The item in his hands was opened. He immediately panicked. He was about to turn around to ask for it back, but he noticed that it was Madam Qin Wanru behind him. The words stuck in his throat were immediately shoved back down.
Qin Wanru didn’t pay him any attention. She opened that invitation letter on her own. Her face immediately became cold. She stared at Zu An and said, “Heh, so it was an invitation letter from Immortal Abode’s Qiu Honglei? Amazing… Absolutely incredible!”