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Chapter 1224: Exposed
The Snake race territory wasn’t that close to the Fiend King Court. However, if it were just Yu Yanluo alone, setting out a bit later wouldn’t pose too much of an issue either. Taking Zu An’s time frame into consideration, however, Yu Yanluo still considerately decided to set out earlier.
As they were leaving, Little White and Little Blue saw them off with teary eyes. They really wanted to go along too, but their grandfathers strictly forbade them from joining. To put it nicely, the two girls had been pampered since childhood. They had no idea how to attend to others and would only become a burden for the clan leader.
In truth, however, that was clearly just an excuse.  The Fiend Emperor had summoned the leaders of every clan, and he clearly had no good intentions. It was hard to say whether those leaders would make it out of the Fiend King Court alive, and even if they did, they might be arrested and taken as hostages. The two elders didn’t want to put their grandchildren at risk.
Yu Yanluo was fully aware of their schemes, but she didn’t expose them. Both sides maintained a certain level of tacit understanding.
The group boarded a large carriage pulled by six lizards and left Snake Race Valley.
…
Even though the carriage was cozy, the three women were all in the same place, so the mood inevitably became a bit strange.
As the host, Yu Yanluo still had to do something to manage the mood. She looked at Yan Xuehen curiously and said, “Sect Master Yan, I didn’t have the time to ask a few days ago, as I was busy with the ceremony. Why does it seem as if your injuries have worsened? Did something happen?”
When she heard Yu Yanluo’s question, Yan Xuehen recalled what had happened that night. She subconsciously gave Zu An a look. Zu An just happened to be looking at her. As soon as their eyes met, her gaze quickly shifted away.
Yan Xuehen’s heart was pounding crazily. Her fair cheeks began to burn up, and she replied somewhat unnaturally, “There was a bit of a setback when I was cultivating a few days ago, causing some injuries.”
“I see. That’s a bit troublesome. Your injuries were quite serious to begin with. Please tell me if there’s something you need. Even though the Snake race can’t compare to the White Jade Sect, we still have some medical treatments,” Yu Yanluo replied.
“There’s no need. Your distinguished clan has already offered us quite a bit during our stay,” Yan Xuehen said, waving her hand to refuse the offer. She thought to herself, I owe the Snake race a favor now. Once I get back to the White Jade Sect, I’ll have to find some way to repay this favor.
Yun Jianyue noticed their movements and felt suspicious. Those two had exchanged a look, and Yan Xuehen had blushed? She thought, Why does that look so weird…
But because she understood Yan Xuehen so well, she subconsciously thought the other woman wouldn’t act like that over a man or anything. As such, her thoughts never went toward that direction.
Yun Jianyue knew Yan Xuehen’s injuries were because of her. When she saw Yu Yanluo continue to ask about it, she quickly changed the topic and said, “Ah Zu, you saw those two little girls weep for you. Did you do something to make them sad?”
Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen’s gazes immediately locked onto Zu An when they heard that.
As if he could sense their killing intent, Zu An replied with an awkward laugh, “How is that possible? They clearly weren’t willing to part with their respected clan leader, as well as the two pretty big sisters over here. Weren’t you helping them with their cultivation? Of course they didn’t want you to leave, haha…”
Yun Jianyue rolled her eyes and replied, “I still know myself a bit, okay? Those girls might be grateful to me, but I treated them pretty strictly. There’s no way they would feel that reluctant to see me leave.”
Yu Yanluo had an ambiguous smile as she said, “The White and Blue families were itching to see me, the clan leader, leave as soon as possible. The two little girls’ acting skills aren’t as mature as their grandfathers’. I could tell that they really did feel brokenhearted and reluctant, which is strange.”
Yan Xuehen also said, “That Miss Blue in particular seemed to have something strange in her expression. Something probably happened between the two of you.”
Zu An immediately began to sweat buckets. Are women’s sixth senses really that accurate?
They’re saying things one after another; sooner or later, I’ll be exposed!
I have to make sure to meet these women one on one in the future. With all three of them together, they almost managed to ruin everything!
He coughed and explained, “They ended up giving me such precious medicines, so of course I needed to return their kindness. I gave them some human toys, and they liked listening to my stories of the human world. It might be because I didn’t finish the story I told them, making them reluctant to part here.”
“Is it that story of a white snake and a blue snake who were saved by a doctor’s assistant? Then, after a thousand years had passed, they reincarnated and searched for that assistant to devote themselves to him?” Yun Jianyue asked with a smile.
Yu Yanluo and Yan Xuehen’s expressions became strange. Why did that story have such a powerful allure?
Zu An was speechless. This woman is a freaking grandmaster; what is she eavesdropping on our conversation for? He protested, “That really is a story from my hometown. I vow to the heavens! It’s just that because it had something to do with the Snake race, I told them about it. I definitely didn’t have any other intentions.”
Even though they had interacted rather closely, there were so many eyes watching in the manor, so there had been no other opportunities after that night. That was why he and the two girls had remained completely clean and innocent.
“What are you panicking for? As you know, my relationship with those two elders is quite tense, so if you really do get their two precious granddaughters to like you, that would actually be a great thing for the Snake race,” Yu Yanluo said with a slight smile.
You have successfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +110 +110 +110…
Zu An couldn't help but become depressed when he saw those Rage points. Now Yu Yanluo is following bad examples too…
Yun Jianyue’s expression immediately became a bit unnatural. But she remembered that this was how Yu Yanluo had tried to push Zu An to go after her that night.
You have successfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +110 +110 +110…
Sensing drama stirring among these close female friends of his, Zu An quickly changed the topic. He asked, “Right, wouldn’t it have been better to leave Maid Xing back at the clan? We would at least have had someone on our side there.”
Yu Yanluo replied, “The fiend races do things a bit different from humans. Over here, they care about bloodlines; the strong reign supreme. If I were still there, no matter what Elders White and Blue did, I would still be the clan leader. But if something happened, it wouldn’t make too much of a difference even if Maid Xing were left back in the clan. So, she might as well follow me.”
The others all nodded inwardly. This trip to the fiend race territories had taught them quite a bit. They had heard many things about it, but it couldn’t compare to a real visit.
Yan Xuehen said, “I might not go to the Fiend King Court. I’ll leave once we get close.”
Yun Jianyue nodded and added, “It’s the same for me. I’ve thought for a bit over the past few days. The two of us wouldn’t be the Fiend Emperor’s match even if we worked together at our strongest, let alone now. Furthermore, our statuses are special. We can’t make decisions purely based on selfish interests. If our statuses were discovered by those of the Fiend King Court, the consequences would be extremely severe.”
After a brief pause, she looked at Zu An and continued, “Furthermore, we advise you to not go to the Fiend King Court either. That person gave you a Golden Crow Token, but that might not necessarily be out of good intentions. Even though your cultivation is quite good, the Fiend King Court is full of powerful cultivators. If you head inside, it’ll be hard to guarantee your personal safety.”
Even though Yu Yanluo really wanted to stay together with Zu An, she was still worried about his safety. She said, “Indeed. Ah Zu, you should also leave with them later. You still have many things to deal with back in Cloudcenter City.”
Zu An shook his head and said, “The Fiend Emperor’s summons will definitely be full of danger. How can I let you go there alone?”
Yan Xuehen said, “If the Fiend Emperor really wanted to treat them unfavorably, you alone won’t be able to make much of a difference. You’d only be throwing your own life away.”
Yun Jianyue nodded and added, “This time, I’m on the same side as this stone cold woman. You being there won’t make a difference in Yu Yanluo’s situation at all, and it would just put you in danger. Did you forget that you defeated the Golden Crow Crown Prince? No matter how open-minded the Fiend Emperor is, there’s no way he wouldn’t feel any grudges. Who knows, he might even use you as an example to the others. It’ll only make things even more dangerous for her if you go.”
Zu An had been pretty determined to accompany Yu Yanluo at first, but when he heard that he would instead bring her danger, he hesitated.
…
Meanwhile, at the Fiend King Court, within a certain manor, a powerful voice exclaimed, “What? Transcendent aptitude?”
“Indeed. According to the intelligence we received from the palace informers, the one who fought with the Golden Crow Crown Prince scattered his blood on the golden war chariot. The Fiend Emperor learned this fact when he investigated the matter,” another voice replied.
“The legendary transcendent aptitude! No wonder he was able to win against the Golden Crow Crown Prince!” The powerful voice began breathing rapidly. “The way that old bastard is, who knows if transcendent aptitude blood will still be useful for him… but for me, this is an entirely different story.
“Pass down my orders! We need to seize him at any cost! We cannot allow him to arrive at the Fiend King Court!”
“We will follow your orders!”