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Meanwhile, Xie Daoyun was rolling back and forth in bed, unable to sleep. After she saw Bi Qi leave Zu An’s room, she hesitated for a bit, but decided to go to Zu An’s room eventually.
“I am doing this for the sake of the academy and not because I wanted to see big brother Zu in particular! Even if I run into those other big sisters, it doesn’t matter.” She consoled herself while walking. While her face was turning as red as a ripe apple, she finally arrived outside Zu An’s door.
Knock knock knock!
She knocked while asking in a low voice, “Big brother Zu, can I come in?” As soon as she spoke, however, she heard a strange noise and a suppressed groan of pain.
Could it be that I distracted big brother Zu while he was cultivating and he fell over?
“Big brother Zu, did something happen to you? I’m coming in, alright?” she called out, full of worry. She gave the door a heavy push as she spoke, opening it wide.
However, what she saw was not an injured Zu An as she had imagined; rather, he was sitting upright in front of his table. He was gripping both sides of the desk firmly as if he was doing his best to resist something.
“Big brother Zu, what’s wrong?” Xie Daoyun asked. She was about to run over when Zu An stopped her.
“It’s nothing. Did you need something?” Zu An replied, doing his best to keep his expression calm. He was really glad that there was a board blocking the front of his desk, so she didn’t see anything she wasn’t supposed to see.
A pair of beautiful eyes looked up at him from below with an ambiguous smile, as if she found the current situation extremely amusing.
“Oh, it wasn’t anything much. It’s mainly related to the libationer’s affairs,” Xie Daoyun said, letting out a sigh of relief. She sat down on a small stool.
Zu An’s face twitched, but he couldn't really just chase her away.
Xie Daoyun’s beautiful brows continued to furrow as she hesitated. She eventually said, “It’s just that now that the libationer has passed on, I still have to bring him back to have a proper burial. His status is extraordinary, so they will definitely ask about how he passed away. The academy’s side is fine, but the court’s side
 The libationer also appeared in the secret dungeon, so they might suspect his majesty’s death has something to do with him.”
Zu An released a long sigh of apparent satisfaction, or something else
 He said, “Little sister Ling’er is still
 Sss
”
When she saw Zu An shiver, Xie Daoyun was startled, asking, “Big brother Zu, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing, I was bitten by a little kitty just now,” Zu An explained in embarrassment. He hadn’t expected Manman to get jealous when he called her little sister Ling’er.
“Little kitty?” Xie Daoyun repeated, stunned. However, even after looking around, she didn’t see any cats

She reflexively leaned over to look over the table. Zu An was so frightened he quickly reached out and pressed his hand against her shoulder, saying, “Where were we just now? Oh, right. I think you’re overthinking things. Actually, there’s no need to be too earnest.
“There might be suspicious people at the court, but the libationer’s status is special. Countless people respect him, and there are many students in the academy and military, let alone the fact that the entire empire still needs the pills, formations, and weapons from the academy.
“The emperor is already gone and the crown prince is quite weak. No one will really look into this matter. Everyone will tacitly trust anything you say.”
“Really?” Xie Daoyun asked skeptically.
“Of course,” Zu An said with a chuckle. Suddenly, he grimaced. However, he continued, “Did you forget that I’m still here? Don’t worry, no one will make things difficult for you.”
“Big brother Zu, you’re hurting me,” Xie Daoyun suddenly said timidly.
Zu An was speechless. Pei Mianman was stunned.
Xie Daoyun’s gaze shifted to her shoulder, which Zu An was gripping tightly. She couldn't help but become a bit worried when she saw his veins popping. She asked, “Big brother Zu, are you really okay? Ah, your body is burning up!”
She reflexively reached out to touch his forehead. She was immediately frightened by the scalding temperature. Her beautiful and refined face filled with alarm and worry as she asked, “Big brother Zu, are you sick?”
“I’m
 okay,” Zu An said, although his voice seemed to be trembling a bit.
“What do you mean, you’re okay? You’re already this hot,” Xie Daoyun said. “How about I take your pulse?”
She didn’t give him a chance to say anything and put her hand on his wrist. She exclaimed, “Hm? Big brother Zu, why is your heart rate so quick? Could it be that there’s an injury leftover from your great battle against his majesty that’s acting up now?”
“The injuries I received before have already healed. There’s no need to worry,” Zu An replied. Inwardly, he was crying ‘save me!’. If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to hold on anymore.
“Your injuries have already healed?” Xie Daoyun asked, stunned. If he wasn’t injured, why was his heartbeat so quick?
Could it be
 because of me?
She hadn’t noticed earlier because she was worried about him, but now, she realized that they were really close. She was supporting her upper body on the table, while he had his hands pressed against her shoulders. Their faces were almost within reach. She could clearly see herself reflected in his eyes.
Xie Daoyun’s heart began to pound fiercely as they looked into each other’s eyes. A strange romantic mood suddenly seemed to fill the air.
As she looked at Zu An’s handsome face, Xie Daoyun felt an inexplicable surge of confidence. She suddenly got on her toes and moved closer, then gave Zu An a light kiss on his lips.
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Zu An’s eyes widened, and his grip tightened even further. He had never expected things to develop like this!
Xie Daoyun was startled. She thought to herself, How could I act so unreserved? She reflexively wanted to run away, but her shoulders were being held tightly in place. She couldn't budge an inch.
She thought, Since we’re already like this, I’ll just be a bit bolder so I won’t have any more regrets. She recalled a forbidden book she had secretly read about a lady’s chambers and became a bit restless.
Zu An instinctively responded to her. Suddenly, however, he was stunned. He thought, This is not the time for this!
However, how could Xie Daoyun resist his teasing? She immediately felt as light as a feather, as if her soul were about to leave her body. She thought to herself, Is this the sensation of kissing that the book described?
Just then, however, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei’s voices came from outside the door. “Hm? The door seems to be open. It doesn’t seem like he’s fallen asleep yet.”
The people inside the room were scared quite badly. Zu An in particular couldn't hold it in anymore. His hands almost crushed Xie Daoyun from the force he was using.
When she felt him gasping for air and his entire body shaking uncontrollably, Xie Daoyun became more and more shy. She thought, Isn’t big brother Zu’s reaction a bit too much? Could it be that he likes me that much?
Even so, her thoughts quickly turned to other things. She summoned the courage to push Zu An away, and then she quickly ran away. She definitely didn’t want to bump into Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue, letting them catch her in the act of kissing big brother Zu. That would be way too embarrassing. More importantly, Qiu Honglei was big brother Zu’s lover, so her actions were a bit too despicable, right?
“Hm? Miss Xie? Why are you here?” Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei both exclaimed in surprise. After being caught by Sun En, Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun’s relationship had become quite good.
“I didn’t do anything!” Xie Daoyun suddenly cried, waving her hands guiltily. She quickly added, “I wanted to ask big brother Zu about some things related to the academy and the libationer!”
“Is that so?” Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue replied, looking at her with a bit of doubt. Her face was just too red, and it looked like tears were about to come out of her eyes. Her delicate lips in particular looked even more glossy than usual.
The two others in the room were really alarmed. Pei Mianman sorted out her clothes, and dashed out of the window while covering her mouth. She glared at Zu An in embarrassment and annoyance. Xie Daoyun was one thing, but Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei’s cultivations were higher. She would definitely be discovered if she continued to hide in the room.
Either way, she had already said goodbye to Zu An this time. She turned around and smiled sweetly at him one more time before disappearing into the night sky. With Fu Hao’s Owl Statue, she was already a queen of the night, so she didn’t have to worry about being discovered by the guards outside.
Right as she left, Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei entered the room. They saw that Zu An was continuously waving his hands, as if he were fanning something.
“What are you doing?” Yun Jianyue asked in puzzlement.
“There seem to be quite a few mosquitoes today, haha. Violet Mountain is a great place, but this problem is a bit annoying,” Zu An said with a yawn.
“Mosquitoes?” the women repeated; they both found that strange. With their cultivation, mosquitoes would die instantly upon reaching their protective ki armor. Why would there be a need to chase mosquitoes away?
They said, “Ah Zu, we’re here to say goodbye.”
Zu An was stunned, asking, “You guys are also leaving?” He thought, What is going on? They’re all leaving one after another!
“Also?” Yun Jianyue repeated, her expression turning a bit dangerous.
Zu An ignored her and hurriedly held Qiu Honglei’s hands, asking, “Why do you have to leave so soon?”
Qiu Honglei’s lips curled. She shot an aggrieved look in her master’s direction, clearly reluctant to leave.
Yun Jianyue said impatiently to her, “Our identities are sensitive. If we’re exposed, it’ll bring him a load of problems. We should take this chance to lie low and let the fuss die down. You can just find a chance to meet up with him later; it’s not as if he’ll run away.”
Qiu Honglei thought to herself, He won’t run away, but those vixens around him will only grow greater in number! The pressure I’ll face then will be even greater!
Yun Jianyue said seriously, “I previously heard that Lu Sanyuan was drawing near with his great rebel army. I didn’t have enough time to react to that information before being pulled into the secret dungeon with you guys. Now that we’re finally back, I naturally need to take a look to see if there are any issues on that side.”
Zu An shuddered. He knew why she was treating that matter so seriously; it was because Lu Sanyuan’s troops were, strictly speaking, a volunteer army under the Devil Sect. And yet, even though they were launching such a large-scale operation, Yun Jianyue, the sect leader, knew nothing of it. That was a dangerous sign. Either Lu Sanyuan had thoughts of defecting, or there were individuals inside the Devil Sect who wished to erode Yun Jianyue’s authority.
Qiu Honglei understood the severity of the situation as well, saying, “Master, I’ll go with you to help.”
Yun Jianyue nodded in appreciation.
I didn’t raise this disciple for nothing. She’s not the type to forget her family for men.
Zu An couldn't help but ask, “Do you need my help?”
“Not for now. I can still take care of this much, at least,” Yun Jianyue said, proudly refusing.


The group chatted for a while longer before Qiu Honglei reluctantly said her goodbyes.
Zu An saw them out of the courtyard. Yun Jianyue suddenly turned around and gave him a cold look before leaving, saying, “Your waist strap isn’t tied properly.”