Chapter 996: Daji’s Anger

Zu An was alarmed. He didn’t know whether Qiu Honglei was just using Yu Yanluo’s words to tease him, or if she really had lied to him about something. But pursuing that now was meaningless, and he knew the textbook answer to such a question.

He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, saying, “Honglei, I trust that you won’t do anything to harm me. If there really were ever a time where you had to lie to me, it would definitely be because you had no choice, so of course I wouldn’t hate you. If you really do encounter anything that’s hard to deal with, talk to me and we can work it out together.”

“Big brother Zu, you’re the best!” Qiu Honglei leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly. She pressed her face against his chest, saying, “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t hurt you.”

Zu An thought to himself, There really was something after all. But since she wasn’t willing to talk about it, there was no need for him to ask about it. After knowing each other for so long, they shared at least that amount of trust. He reached out his hand and gently caressed her hair in consolation, saying, “You don’t need to feel too much pressure. If you ever feel guilty at all, just make it up to me in the future.”

“How do you want me to make it up to you?” Qiu Honglei looked at him curiously.

Zu An moved over to her ear and said quietly, “...Call me daddy.”

Qiu Honglei pouted playfully. But her eyes lit up, then she said in a seductive tone, “Sure~”

Zu An lowered his head and looked at her beautiful face. He raised her pretty chin and gently moved down for a kiss. Qiu Honglei slowly closed her eyes. Her eyelashes flickered gently. Her heart was pounding like crazy.

…

Suddenly, an arrow screamed out of the distance, and a burst of dazzling fireworks erupted overhead.

Their lips separated. Qiu Honglei looked in the direction of the fireworks. Her expression immediately changed and she said, “That’s the sect’s emergency order. I need to hurry back. Big brother Zu, I really don’t want to leave you.”

Zu An couldn't help but frown, replying, “If we part now, who knows when we’ll be able to meet again?”

“Who knows? It might not be so long.” Qiu Honglei blinked charmingly. “Ah! This is bad, this is bad. I finally managed to control my feelings, but now everything is being ruined again. I have to go back and go into seclusion, or else I won’t be able to keep up with you anymore!”

Zu An said seriously, “I don’t care if your cultivation is high or not. I can also protect you.”

“You might not care, but I do! Otherwise, if the other girls end up bullying me, I can’t just come to you, right? Also, only if I perfect my technique can the two of us… the two of us…” Qiu Honglei suddenly became bashful. She stomped her feet, then turned around and left, almost as if she were running away. She only left behind a faint fragrance in the air.

Zu An had a knowing smile on his face. However, he became a bit depressed when he remembered Heavenly Devil Temptation’s negative effects. What kind of stupid technique was that Yun Jianyue teaching anyway?

He suddenly realized something. He sensed that someone was approaching and put on his mask again. Soon afterward, a small figure quickly arrived. It was Golden Token Seven.

“Where is she?” Golden Token Seven asked. He naturally knew it was Golden Token Eleven. However, he didn’t see Qiu Honglei even after looking around.

“Someone saved her and took her away just now,” Zu An said without skipping a heartbeat.

“That person was able to seize her from you? Don’t tell me it was Yun Jianyue?” Golden Token Seven was shocked. He had seen just how terrifying this person’s cultivation was just now.

Zu An shook his head, saying, “It wasn’t. It was another Devil Sect expert. I couldn't defeat all of them, and they didn’t continue to fight zealously either. They took her and left.”

Golden Token Seven nodded inwardly. He had only brought up Yun Jianyue as bait. If Golden Token Eleven really had said it was Yun Jianyue, he would instead become suspicious. Yun Jianyue’s status is special. She is a glorious grandmaster, after all! No matter how strong you are, aren’t you still just an ant in front of a grandmaster?

If you managed to survive an encounter with her, you would either be lying about meeting Yun Jianyue, or you would have known Yun Jianyue beforehand, and thus been colluding with the Devil Sect.

He sighed and said, “It was as I suspected after all.”

“What do you mean?” Zu An quickly asked. He had always been curious as to what the other man was suspicious about.

Golden Token Seven shook his head, saying, “It’s a pity that we weren’t able to capture the Devil Sect’s evildoer, or else I would have proof. I can’t tell you my suspicions yet. If something ends up happening to me, tell the chief commander what happened here over the last few days. He should be able to understand what exactly happened.”

Then, he cupped his hands and left without waiting for Zu An’s reply. “I owe you a favor. I’ll definitely return it when I can,” he said. His voice echoed through the valley, but his figure had already disappeared.

Zu An mocked him inwardly. Why are you setting that kind of flag for yourself? Looks like I won’t be getting that favor.

But he was more worried about Qiu Honglei. The Devil Sect had fired an alert arrow, so the situation was definitely dire. He wondered what exactly had happened. He rushed over, but there was already no one there. He even used the Jade Badge’s ability to look around, but he didn’t find anything either. Helpless to do anything else, Zu An could only return to the envoy ship in heavy spirits.

…

By the time Zu An got back, it was already getting dark. He just happened to return as Gao Ying and Pei You knocked on his door. He quickly jumped in through a side window. Daji looked over in alarm when she heard the activity. But when she saw that it was him, she completely relaxed.

“You’ve worked hard,” Zu An said. Even though he knew she had no soul, he still gave her a smile before opening the door. Daji’s eyes flickered as she looked at his back, but that glint quickly disappeared.

Zu An opened the door and deliberately said in a displeased tone, “Didn’t I tell you I was cultivating and to not disturb me?”

“You’ve already cultivated for a whole freaking day!” Pei You gestured with his eyes. “Hub of Freedom, you coming?”

Zu An was completely speechless, asking, “Did you not have enough fun last night?”

“You even have the nerve to say that?” Pei You was now the one who sounded annoyed. “I was at that critical moment when I heard something happened on the third floor. We had to stop halfway because we were worried about you!”

Zu An felt a bit apologetic when he recalled the two’s loyalty the previous night. He said, “I’m really not in the mood today. How about you two go? I’ll pay this time.”

“There’s no need. Just lend us that jade token. I heard we can play for free with it.” Pei You finally told him why they had come.

Zu An laughed and asked, “With your family backgrounds, do you really care about this bit of money?”

“That’s different. He still hasn’t experienced what it feels like to play for free. Also, the Hub of Freedom’s jade token isn’t something anyone can have. That’s a symbol of status! He just wants to show off a bit.” Gao Ying ruthlessly exposed Pei You’s thoughts.

Zu An chuckled and tossed the jade token over, saying, “Have fun, but I don’t recommend getting close to that Tang Tian’er. She’s a bit dangerous.”

“I’m loyal to my friends!” Pei You held the jade token so carefully he looked scared that it might fall. Even Gao Ying couldn't help but glance over a few times. That legendary thing was something everyone who had ever visited the Hub of Freedom coveted. He said, “Don’t worry, that Tang Tian’er is your woman; she’s our sister-in-law. How can we go and mess with her?”

Zu An couldn't help but laugh. He had really wanted to tell them that Tang Tian’er was a thorny rose, and that with her wit, she’d immediately be able to tell that they were pretending to be him. That was the real reason why he didn’t want them to approach her. They had completely misunderstood what he was saying, but there was no need to explain either.

Either way, that jade token didn’t matter too much to him. It was only good for buying some special medicines and goods from the auction; he didn’t have any interest in the other services.

“Right, where is Sir Sang?” Zu An looked in the direction of Sang Hong’s room. He had many things he wanted to discuss with him.

“Sir Sang was invited by the governor manor’s people. I reckon he won’t be back here for a while.” That was also the reason why the two of them had suddenly decided to go out again. They left impatiently after telling him that.

…

Zu An returned to his room after seeing them out. He saw Daji sitting by the window; the moonlight outside fell on her body, covering her in a silver veil. She really was ridiculously beautiful.

“Don’t move, I’m going to draw something for you,” he said. The first requirement for cultivating ‘Face of a Thousand Identities’ was to have extraordinary artistic talents. With such a great model in front of him, wouldn’t it be a waste not to practice?

Daji seemed to be a bit surprised, but she didn’t refuse. She continued to sit there, as if agreeing to his request.

Zu An picked up a pen and began to move it across the paper. A while later, he finally lowered the pen, saying, “Alright, I’m done.”

Daji looked towards him, her gaze seemingly expectant.

Zu An brought the paper over and held it in front of her, remarking, “My drawing is a bit abstract, but that just means that I have a lot of room for growth, right?”

He chuckled in embarrassment. It was because the drawing on the paper had thick brows, and the eyes were crooked. The facial features looked as if they belonged to someone with Down syndrome. In short, apart from the hair and clothes resembling Daji a bit, everything else was absolutely garbage. One would barely be able to tell the drawing was a woman.

Daji’s eyes immediately widened. Zu An laughed and exclaimed, “Your eyes are finally showing some expression!”

You have successfully trolled Daji for +2!

Zu An was stunned. He had actually got Rage points from her? Don’t tell me she already has a soul?

He was about to ask when a figure darted in through the window, thrusting a dagger at Zu An.