Chapter 2335: A Pillow Is Provided As Soon As Fatigue Hits

Salamay couldn't help but feel really happy when she heard him agree. “Then I’ll be waiting for your news.”

“But how do I contact you?” Zu An asked with curiosity.

Salamay thought for a moment, and then she handed him a jade pendant. She held up the other half of the pendant and said, “Infuse your ki inside and I’ll be able to sense it. I will then come to meet you.”

“Alright, wait for me to contact you.” Zu An put the pendant away.

“You need to hurry, or else I don’t know what kind of torture Uncle Mo will go through. There might even be danger to his life.” Salamay looked really worried.

Zu An nodded. “I need to think a bit about how to persuade the Monster King.”

Salamay voiced her understanding. “That’s alright; this isn’t an easy matter. I won’t disturb you any longer then. I’m going to gather my subordinates, so I can initiate the rescue at any time.”

After saying that, she bade him goodbye. Zu An returned to the cave dwelling and told the women what had just happened.

“This Lord of Slaughter’s faction seems a bit too unreliable, right? They were actually captured so easily.” Jiang Luofu couldn't help but feel a bit worried. “Working with them might actually be very unfavorable for us.”

“Don’t worry, I only intend to use their rescue of Mojard as a distraction so I can make a visit to the treasury,” Zu An said with a smile.

Yun Yuqing asked in surprise, “You’re not going to wait for Salamay’s people to help you?”

Zu An shook his head. “Placing my hopes on another seems a bit unwise. Seeing as there's such a great chance right now, it seems a bit more reliable to seize the opportunity myself.”

“That is true.” Yun Yuqing nodded. “Then have you thought of a way to lead the Monster Lord away yet?”

“Not yet, but I already have the beginnings of a plan,” Zu An replied.

Xie Daoyun couldn't help but say with a sigh, “I always feel as if things that seem completely impossible for us never seem to be that big of a deal to big brother Zu.”

Zu An said with a smile, “It’s merely a matter of habit. If you feel as if something is impossible, you'll keep thinking of reasons for why it’s impossible. But as long as you get rid of those distracting thoughts and decide that it is possible, you won’t think about all of those failure scenarios and can instead focus on the matter at hand. That makes problems easier to solve.”

The women all had pensive expressions on their faces. Jiang Luofu couldn't help but give Zu An a second look.

Just how much blood, flames, and hardship did he go through to achieve this calm state of mind?

She had once viewed him as a young boy, but now, she felt more and more that he was a man full of charm.

Pei Mianman picked up that jade pendant and said with an ambiguous smile, “That Salamay actually gave you a jade pendant. Does that mean she has the other half?”

Zu An replied, “That’s right. Once I’ve done what I need to do on our side, I’ll send my ki into this pendant and she’ll be able to sense it on her side. She'll then immediately arrange to meet with me.”

For the sake of safety, he'd set up layers of sound-blocking barriers around this jade pendant to guard against potential tricks Salamay could play.

“Why does it sound like some kind of lovers' keepsake?” Pei Mianman remarked with a teasing expression.

The others all nodded as well. They also felt that this was a special item.

Suolun Shi couldn't help but quietly wonder, “That first miss doesn’t have any feelings for big brother Zu, does she?”

Zu An’s breath caught in his throat. Salamay’s face appeared in his mind, and he couldn't help but shiver. He quickly said, “You're all overthinking things. She just wants me to contact her immediately so she can save Mojard.” Then, he took out the jade strips and medicinal ingredients, explaining, “These contain formation and medicine knowledge I got from Salamay, as well as some special ingredients. We should use this chance to study them properly.”

Xie Daoyun and Ji Xiaoxi both became really happy. One took the formation strips, while the other held the jade strips admiringly. This was precisely what they needed right now. With knowledge of these systems, everything would become much easier. Meanwhile, even though the others weren’t good at formations or medicine, learning something was always good. They hoped they could be helpful later.

Zu An picked up the formation jade strips and was about to learn them when a palace emissary called out from outside. “Donaire, I just received news from the lord, asking for you to visit the palace.”

The women's expressions changed. They all looked at Zu An with worry.

“Ah Zu, you just came from the palace, but they want you to go back so soon. Could it be because they discovered some unfavorable news?” Pei Mianman grabbed Zu An’s hand nervously for fear that he would leave her.

“That’s right. There has to be something wrong if he's calling you back so urgently. In my opinion, you shouldn’t go back anymore. Your luck was good last time, but there’s no way you'll be that lucky a second time.” Jiang Luofu looked really worried.

Zu An thought to himself for a moment, but then said comfortingly, “Don’t worry. It should be alright. If the Monster Lord really wanted to capture me, the palace emissary wouldn’t be so polite.”

Everyone else was stunned for a moment. They remembered that the palace emissaries had always been extremely fierce. They felt that what Zu An said made some sense. They couldn't help but admire Zu An’s way of thinking again. He was still able to notice that detail even in such a crucial situation!

“I just happen to need to lure the Monster Lord away too, so I can settle that problem with this trip.” Zu An told the women not to worry and to study the formations and medicines. Then, he got up and walked outside.

...

Under the palace emissary’s guidance, he quickly returned to the palace again. The Monster Lord was sitting on the elevated stage while teasing the three-headed bird next to him.

“I greet the lord!” Zu An saud respectfully.

“Do you know why I summoned you so quickly?” the Monster Lord asked.

“I do not. Please help me understand, my lord.” Zu An tried to gauge whether or not he could swiftly take out the other party at this distance. However, after thinking about it from several different angles, he found that the chance of success was almost nonexistent.

It would be one thing if it was just the Monster Lord. Even though he was stronger than Zu An, he wouldn’t be expecting a sudden attack, which meant Zu An would have a chance. However, there was that powerful three-headed bird next to him. When they were together, beating them was almost impossible. This Monster Lord really was inseparable from his pet.

“Not too long ago, I caught Mojard. The two of us actually worked as fellow subjects in the same palace in the past. It is a pity that he showed no understanding of the times and wouldn’t yield to the mandate of heaven. In the end, he chose to make me his enemy.” The Monster Lord couldn't help but sneer when he recalled the past.

Zu An was speechless. He wondered why the Monster Lord was telling him these things.

The Monster Lord continued, “Right, the palace emissaries found out that Salamay’s subordinates are currently gathering in secret. They must be trying to save Mojard.”

“That’s right. Salamay is extremely panicked. How about we use this chance to catch all of them in one go?” Zu An suggested. He knew well that a leader would only listen to the suggestions of his true trusted aides and be extremely guarded against the advice of anyone he didn’t trust. They would subconsciously suspect that there were some problems with advice from the latter and definitely wouldn’t listen.

Sure enough, the Monster Lord replied with a sneer, “Who said I wanted to capture them all?”

“But this is such a rare opportunity...”

Zu An was interrupted before he could even finish his sentence. The Monster Lord said, “The reason I called you here was to talk about this matter. Find a way to help Salamay save Mojard.”

Zu An was shocked. “Why is that?”

“It is just too easy for me to catch Salamay. The reason I haven’t done anything is naturally because I have my own plans. You don’t need to concern yourself with that.” The Monster Lord continued, “You will help her rescue Mojard and see if you can fully gain her trust that way.”

Zu An’s mind moved quickly. The Monster Lord was clearly going through such great trouble to obtain something from Salamay. But just what could an impoverished first miss like her possibly have that was worth all of this?

“What, is there a problem?” When he saw Zu An become quiet, the Monster Lord sounded a bit unhappy.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“I was just wondering how I can help her without drawing her suspicion.” Zu An pretended to think a bit before saying, “May I be so bold as to invite the lord to leave the palace for some time?”