Chapter 1664: Speed Is a Crucial Asset in War

Zu An frowned. The situation was indeed a bit tricky. He asked Yan Xuehen through ki, “Big sis Yan, can you sense if there are any exits around us?”

Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly and replied, “The only thing I can sense is that there aren’t any clear exits in this room. It’s probably hidden by some kind of mechanism.”

“Then can you find that mechanism?” Zu An continued.

“This room’s material is special. The walls, floor, and ceiling all contain Souldrain Stones, and there are also special formations that greatly reduce the efficacy of the soul here. The soul can only explore a very small area. It might be difficult to find anything quickly,” Yan Xuehen answered. As she felt the warmth coming from his hand, her cheeks turned red. Fortunately, they were in complete darkness, so she didn’t have to be scared of other people seeing her. “Also, I can’t see any formation patterns, so there’s no way for me to break the formation here.”

“This King Yan really did invest quite a lot here. He actually managed to create such an incredible place,” Zu An said with a sigh. Her hand is so soft…

Zhang Zitong asked worriedly, “Then doesn’t that mean we’re completely stuck here? Sooner or later, King Yan will notice that something is strange here.”

Zu An frowned. After all, the amount of time he could keep the guards outside distracted with Daji was also limited. “There’s no other way, I guess,” he said with a sigh. He raised a hand and called out, “Let there be light!”

As soon as he spoke, a beam of light suddenly appeared in the room. As it appeared in the midst of absolute darkness, the two women reflexively narrowed their eyes.

However, Yan Xuehen reacted even more quickly. She quickly flung Zu An’s hand away in a firm and decisive motion.

Zhang Zitong slowly opened her eyes, gradually acclimating to the light. Even though it wasn’t as bright as daylight, they were all powerful cultivators. This degree of light was already enough for them to see inside the area.

“Sir Eleven, how did you manage to do this?!” Zhang Zitong exclaimed, feeling shocked and overjoyed. After all, she had tried to start a fire, but the light had always been absorbed by the special formations around them. And yet, the light coming from his hand didn’t seem to be affected by the surrounding space at all.

“Don’t worry about that right now. Hurry up and look for the mechanism,” Zu An shouted.

“Oh!” Zhang Zitong exclaimed as she quickly looked around. This was her forte.

When Zhang Zitong left, Yan Xuehen snapped with an unhappy expression, “You lied to me!”

You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +100 +100 +100…

“How did I lie to you?” Zu An asked in confusion. His mind moved quickly to try and find a solution.

“You clearly could have used a light, and yet you continued to touch in the dark…” Yan Xuehen trailed off, too embarrassed to continue, but her gaze was completely cold.

Zu An suddenly let out a cry. Then, his body fell weakly to one side.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Xuehen exclaimed, startled. She instinctively caught him.

“You should know already, right? I have to pay a price to use this skill,” Zu An said weakly.

Yan Xuehen’s expression changed. She realized that he had used that mysterious Soulspeak skill, so she quickly sent ki into his body, saying “Alright, don’t speak anymore and adjust your breathing. I’ll help supply you with ki.”

Zu An grunted in response and lay down in her arms. Her touch was ice-cold and soft. He really wanted to be like this forever.

Yan Xuehen was suddenly stunned. But when she remembered the price he had needed to pay, she bit her lip and didn’t say anything. She could only try to convince herself that, because she was wearing a mask right now, no one knew who she was.

When she saw Zu An faint, Zhang Zitong was terrified. She was just about to approach when Yan Xuehen said coldly, “Finding that mechanism so he doesn’t have to use this skill anymore would be the best form of help for him.”

Zhang Zitong shivered and didn’t dare to waste any more time. She quickly looked around. At the same time, she thought to herself, Sir Eleven’s relationship with this woman really is special. He immediately fainted in her arms.

Yan Xuehen kneeled down on the ground and rested Zu An’s head on her thighs. When she saw that his eyes were tightly closed and his brows were furrowed, she couldn't help but feel a bit of pity.

This fellow was always doing things like this! He had actually used his Soulspeak in such an exaggerated manner, even in such a situation.

Meanwhile, Zu An was actually laughing inwardly. Even though this big sis Yan of his said she didn’t like him, didn’t she still treat him pretty well?

He had used Keyboard Come to create a beam of light. Of course, for fear of the rebound, he hadn’t dared to add the words ‘God said’ before it. This wasn’t the first time he had summoned light, so the side-effects were still at a tolerable degree. Of course, it was still better to act as if he was in a bit more pain in front of Yan Xuehen…

A while later, Zhang Zitong exclaimed happily, “I found it!” Then, she jumped onto several floor tiles in a certain pattern.

Ka-ka-ka!

With the sound of a mechanism activating, a secret door opened, revealing a hidden room behind it.

Zu An was actually a bit unhappy that this woman had found the mechanism so quickly. He couldn't even rest here for a bit longer!

Yan Xuehen said with concern, “We found the exit. You don’t have to release the light anymore.”

Zu An then ‘slowly’ opened his eyes and said, “Ah, we already found it?” Then, the light in his hands went out.

Yan Xuehen supported him to his feet and asked, “How do you feel right now?”

“My body feels alright, but I feel a bit dizzy. I think I’ve exhausted my mind a bit too much,” Zu An replied. He knew that Yan Xuehen was a grandmaster and could sense his condition through the ki she sent into him. There was no way of hiding that his body was fine, so he could only claim to be in trouble on the mental side. After all, there was no way of examining one’s mental strength.

Sure enough, Yan Xuehen frowned. However, she continued to support him as they entered the room.

The room inside didn’t contain any special formations or Souldrain Stones. Zhang Zitong quickly lit a torch. The inside of the room was rather simple, with a stone platform and a chest on it. The entire thing gave off an ‘I have something really important inside’ feeling.

Zhang Zitong explained, “This is the Exquisite Sevenfold Lock. It’s an extremely tricky device that fewer than ten experts in the world can unlock.”

She didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for out of them, so she could only add unhappily, “I just happen to be one of them.”

She took a hair clip out of her hair as she spoke. Upon closer inspection, one end of it resembled a fine curved needle. She gently inserted the needle through the opening and tilted her head to one side, trying to hear the fine noises coming from the inside of the lock.

Yan Xuehen looked at her with astonishment. She thought to herself, Why are all of the women at Zu An’s side so skilled?

Ka-cha!

After a while, the lock sprung open with a light click.

Zu An leaned against Yan Xuehen’s soft body. He wondered, “Even though this lock is incredible, isn’t it a bit too simple as the final barrier?”

Compared to the others, this one seemed easier.

Zhang Zitong replied, “I believe King Yan had absolute confidence in the previous barriers, so he didn’t spend too much attention to this. But apart from this lock, he set up another trap inside. If this account book is removed, it will activate an alarm, and the entire room will self-destruct.”

Zu An nodded. It was easy to become negligent once one reached this final step, thinking they had already succeeded.

Zhang Zitong took out an account book that looked identical. “Which one of you is confident in using your hands? We need to swap the two account books.”

Yan Xuehen reflexively looked at Zu An. Zu An’s expression immediately turned strange. Yan Xuehen quickly reacted to what Zhang Zitong said. Her face became completely red and she pushed him away.

In order to hide her awkwardness, she stepped forward and said, “Let me try.”

Zhang Zitong looked at her in a daze. How was this woman’s voice so beautiful? It wasn’t like something from this world at all.

Yan Xuehen took the booklet from her. She calmed herself down, then suddenly moved.

“It’s done,” she said as she handed the account book to Zu An. Even though she wasn’t particularly great in terms of dexterity, for better or for worse, she was still a grandmaster. This sort of thing wasn’t too difficult for her.

Zhang Zitong rubbed her eyes. She didn’t dare to believe what she was seeing. She hadn’t even seen the other woman move. She’s that fast? Just what level of cultivation does she have?!

Zu An took it from her. His expression soon turned grave. Even calling this King Yan daring wasn’t enough of an adjective!

…

Then, the group left King Yan Manor. When the nervously watching Xiao Jianren saw them, he sighed in relief. He asked, “Did you succeed?”

Zu An nodded. Everything had gone smoothly. He had thought that something unexpected could happen, but when he thought about it, having Yan Xuehen at his side was complete overkill. It would be stranger if something had happened.

“Is King Yan still at the governor manor?” Zu An asked.

“Indeed. Governor Zhang was even more reliable than we imagined and has been holding him up all this time,” Xiao Jianren replied.

Zu An nodded and said, “Let’s go and visit the governor manor.”

“King Yan is still there…” Xiao Jianren said hesitantly.

“It’s precisely because he’s there that I’m going. How can you catch a criminal if the criminal isn’t there?” Zu An replied nonchalantly.

“Oh…” Xiao Jianren reflexively replied. Only after taking some steps back did he react and exclaim in alarm, “What? We’re going to arrest King Yan?”

“What else?” Zu An replied as he raised the account book in his hands. “We already have proof. Speed is a crucial asset in war.”

“With just the few of us?” Xiao Jianren swallowed with difficulty.

“It’s enough,” Zu An replied casually, leaving all of the Silver Token Envoys ashen-faced.