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Ji Dengtu’s eyes were flickering around the place. Every time he saw a beautiful woman, a perverted smile reminiscent of that of famous detective Mouri Kogoro would creep onto his face.
Upon careful look, Zu An sharply noticed that the ones Ji Dengtu had his eyes on were mostly mature women, especially married ones. He had no hesitation ogling at the wives of the patriarchs present, though his focus was still mainly on Qin Wanru. He was staring so hard that it felt like his eyes would just pop out.
Zu An felt a little stressed about this. He wondered if he should tell his father-in-law about this matter. After all, Chu Zhongtian did treat him pretty well, so he would feel bad if he got cuckolded.
But again, it was not as if Ji Dengtu was really doing anything at all. His act of ogling at married women was both pathetic and hair-raisingly creepy, but it wasn’t causing any real harm at all. Besides, he was still counting on Ji Dengtu to cure ‘little Zu An’. It wouldn’t be wise to get on his bad side.
This brought the same question back to Zu An’s mind. Given how licentious Ji Dengtu was, why wasn’t he ogling at Principal Jiang then? Putting aside Jiang Luofu’s looks, just her legs were more than enough to drive any men into a frenzy. Wei Suo’s infatuation was more than enough to say something about it, but it was as if Ji Dengtu was blind to it.
Now that he was thinking about the matter, the four women Ji Dengtu mentioned back then were Yu Yanluo, Shang Liuyu, Qiu Honglei, and Qin Wanru; there wasn’t any mention of Jiang Luofu at all.
That doesn’t make sense. Shang Liuyu is from the academy as well, so logically speaking, he should have thought of Jiang Luofu as well. There must be something deeper to this.
“I’m truly thankful to you for being willing to make time to become the judge of the tournament. With this, there should be no question about the fairness of the verdict.”
Jiang Luofu was as cold as she usually was, but men tended to dig into that. The crowd of men around her had heated looks in their eyes, and their eyes couldn’t help but flicker downward to look at her legs.
And that was with the high-level of self-control that these distinguished individuals had. As for the other men in the clearing, they were staring so hard that it looked almost as if they wanted to dive into her skirt.
Amidst this group of people, the only one who had clear eyes was Chu Zhongtian. His eyes were without lust. Due to that, Jiang Luofu had a better impression of his gentlemanly gestures, replying, “You’re flattering me. The Chu and Yuan clan have many offspring in our academy. I’m just doing my part for my students.”


While they were trading pleasantries, Zu An was scoffing under his breath, “It looks like he has been henpecked for too long that he dares not show any hint of cheating at all. Qin Wanru is glaring at him by the side after all.”
Weak!
Zu An felt that his father-in-law should learn a thing or two from him. Look at how Chuyan doesn’t mind me looking up other women at all.
But of course, there was no way he would say those words aloud. If Chu Zhongtian were to know that he had been ‘bullying’ his daughter in such a manner, he would surely get a hell of a pummeling.
“The city lord has arrived!”
A huge procession of soldiers walked into the clearing under the lead of a slightly tubby middle-aged man. Despite his tummy sticking out a little, he still had a dashing appearance that left no doubt that he was a looker in his younger years. He was the city lord of Brightmoon City, Xie Yi.
Xie Xiu was trailing behind him with the usual subtle smile hanging on his lips. His cool appearance won him fervent exclamations from the female spectators gathered around.
The disparity in treatment left Zu An feeling deeply jealous.
In terms of appearance, I’m definitely not beneath Xie Xiu. So why am I not as popular as he is? Is it because my usual lackadaisical attitude has fully concealed my true charms?
Haaa, women sure are shallow. Why can’t they see the interesting soul that lies inside of me?
Ehh, wait a moment! Who is that beautiful woman standing next to Xie Xiu? Is it his new girlfriend? That fellow sure has a way with women. He always has a new woman by his side every few days, and every single one of them commands incredible charm. The one he has with him today is even more gorgeous than usual.
That woman had a shapely oval face complemented by her pointed eyebrows and snowy complexion. Her light green dress showcased her slender waist that one could easily wrap one’s arm around.
In terms of appearance and disposition, she definitely didn’t lose out to Zheng Dan or Wu Qing. But unlike Zheng Dan had a demure charm and Wu Qing’s fiery character, she commanded a natural tranquil grace that left one feeling at peace just by standing next to her.
So this is what they meant by a refined, scholarly vibe!
Zu An took a closer look, and for some reason, he felt that the woman bore a bit of resemblance to Xie Xiu. It was then that a sharp, biting remark suddenly sounded right beside him, “Pervert. You’re looking at women again.”
Zu An turned over and saw Chu Huanzhao staring at him sharply. He burst into laughter and replied, “If I’m a pervert, aren’t you the same too?”
“How am I a pervert?” Chu Huanzhao asked in confusion.
“You kept staring at your brother-in-law’s handsome visage. How is your action different from me staring at other women?” Chu Chuyan had just gotten up to accompany her parents to greet the various prominent figures arriving at the scene. She was likely to become the future matriarch of the Chu clan after all, so it would be good for her to get acquainted with these people.
It was for that reason that Zu An was able to make these kinds of jokes.
“Who is staring at you?!” Chu Huanzhoa’s face reddened.
“If you weren’t staring at me, how do you know that I’ve been looking at other women?” Zu An refuted.
“I
” Chu Huanzhao was at a loss for words for a moment, but it didn’t take her long to come up with an excuse. “I’m just reminding you that it won’t be long before the tournament starts. You need to calm down and stop looking around.”
Seeing how Chu Huanzhao’s face was already bright red, Zu An couldn’t bring himself to tease her anymore. “I know, I know. Oh yeah, do you know who that woman standing beside Xie Xiu is?”
“Ah, she’s Xie Xiu’s older sister, Xie Daoyun. She’s known as Brightmoon City’s most talented lady. Hmph! Instead of cultivating, she chooses to spend her time studying what zither and chess. She’s just wasting her life!” Chu Huanzhao said with a pout.
Zu An was amused to hear those remarks. “Are you sure you are in a position to criticize her? Is your cultivation higher than her, or do you have some remarkable talents that she doesn’t have?”
Chu Huanzhao immediately threw a tantrum. “I’ll sever ties with you if you continue acting like that!”
Zu An laughed heartily. He was just about to say something when he heard a sweet chuckle sounding behind him. “Looks like a lot of interesting things happened in the days I’m not around?”
A rousing fragrance drifted into the area. Zu An turned his head around, only to see a captivating figure standing before his eyes. Peach blossom eyes that were overflowing with sentiments, and a pair of proud, sinful humps that provoked evil thoughts in men
 Who else could it be if not Pei Mianman?
“Big sister Pei~” Chu Huanzhao greeted Pei Mianman.
Pei Mianman had a friendly relationship with the Chu clan, and she was Chu Chuyan’s close friend too. Naturally, she was acquainted with Chu Huanzhao too.
Pei Mianman giggled softly beneath her lips before replying, “Your mouth has gotten much sweeter over the last few days.”
She took a seat before Chu Huanzhao and began chatting with her.
Chu Huanzhao couldn’t help but notice the proud mountains she carried around with her, and she lowered her head to look at her own unimpressive plain. Her lips subconsciously pouted a little, and with a deflated voice, she asked, “Big sister Pei, why haven’t I seen you around in the last few days?”
“I had some matters to attend to outside.”
“Ohhh. You’re the same as my big sister. It feels like you’re always preoccupied with something.”


Seeing how Pei Mianman was acting as if she didn’t know him at all, Zu An couldn’t help but wonder if all women were born actors. With no one to talk to, he could only sit there quietly. However, he couldn’t help but smell the light fragrance Pei Mianman was giving off, and his eyes kept drifting toward her curvaceous body.
Well, this is not too bad too.
“You said that you would help me find the accounting booklet I was looking for. Any clues so far?”
Zu An was still feasting on the beautiful sight when Pei Mianman’s voice suddenly sounded in his ears, causing him to jolt in fright. He quickly turned his head over, only to see that her back was still facing her. She was still chatting merrily with Chu Huanzhao.
Woah, this woman sure is a sinister one. Is she honestly trying to seduce a married man right in front of his sister-in-law?
Zu An was amazed.
“Hey, I’m asking you a question. Why aren’t you answering?”
Zu An knew that she was relaying her message to him through ki, but the thing was that he had no idea how to do it. We will be exposed the moment I open my mouth!
So, he placed his finger on her back and started writing: What about you? You said that you would help me chase Chu Chuyan? Is there any progress?
There were so many things keeping him busy during this period of time, so why in the world would he bother with whatever accounting book Pei Mianman was looking for?
When his finger touched Pei Mianman’s back, her body suddenly stiffened. A flicker of black flame flickered into existence around her. However, when she realized that Zu An was just writing on her back, the black flame gradually dissipated.
“You don’t know how to transmit your voice through ki?” Pei Mianman was baffled.
One must know that they had really gone head-on against one another that night. Despite being a fifth rank cultivator, she was unable to curb him without using her elemental ability. Given how powerful Zu An was, it was hard to believe that he was unable to transmit his voice through ki.
Wait a moment, isn’t he making use of this opportunity to take advantage of me?
Coldness flickered across her eyes. There was still a smile on her face as she continued to converse with Chu Huanzhao, but a sliver of killing intent flickered across the depths of her eyes.
You have successfully trolled Pei Mianman for +399 Rage!
Zu An wasn’t some dense dolt either. He could quickly figure out what Pei Mianman was thinking, so he hurriedly explained: My cultivation is pretty half-assed. I’ve never gone through systemic education, so I can’t do most of the tricks other cultivators are able to.
Pei Mianman couldn’t help but wiggle her body a little. Zu An’s moving finger was tickling her.
Thinking about Zu An’s history, she thought that his explanation wasn’t entirely implausible. “Don’t touch me anymore. I’ll teach you how to transmit your voice through ki.”
Noticing Pei Mianman’s unnatural wiggling, Chu Huanzhao asked, “Big sister Pei, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I just suddenly felt an itch on my back.” Pei Mianman’s face reddened.
It’s lucky that the one sitting before me is the dumber younger sister. If it had been Chu Chuyan instead, there’s no way my interactions with Zu An could have escaped her notice.
Though now that I think about it, it would actually be quite exciting to do this in front of her with her husband. It’s just a pity that this fellow isn’t her real husband. Ahh, that makes everything boring.
Just like that, Pei Mianman continued chatting with Chu Huanzhao while imparting to Zu An the way to transmit his voice via ki. It didn’t take long for him to master the skill, and they were soon chatting more smoothly with one another.
“Help me find the whereabouts of the accounting book first, and I’ll help you chase Chu Chuyan.”
Help me chase Chu Chuyan first, and I’ll find the whereabouts of the accounting book for you.”
“Are you testing my patience here?”
“Tsk. If that’s the case, we can call off the deal. I’ll tell the Chu clan about this, and we can just go back to how it was before.”
“
”
The negotiations came to a bottleneck, bringing about an awkward silence. Fortunately, another commotion occurred at this moment.
“Governor Sang has arrived!”
“The Sunspring Duke has arrived!”
“Young master Shi has arrived!”


With the arrival of so many notable figures, even Chu Huanzhao ended up turning her gaze over curiously, remarking, “Sang Hong used to be the Vice Minister of Finance managing the salt and arms trade, but he suddenly got dispatched to the Linchuan Commandery to serve as the governor. It sure is a coincidence that our clan deals in salt too, huh? Only a fool wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s being sent here to deal with us!
“That Sunspring Duke is another one. Putting aside the fact that he’s Wu Qing’s father, the Wu clan has never been on good terms with us before either.
“That Shi clan is also on bad terms with us too. Looks like all of the bad eggs have come together to form a carton of skunks.”
Pei Mianman smiled quietly at this sight. She was more than pleased with how things were turning out.