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Zu An called out a few times, but there was no response from next door. He couldn't help but become worried. He immediately put on his clothes and headed to the entrance next door. He knocked and asked, “Little sister Ling’er, did something happen to you?”
He had made sure to order the best room in the tavern. It was a secluded courtyard that guided in a hot spring. There were all sorts of bamboo, flowers, and trees within, creating a peaceful environment. He had wanted the room precisely because it was somewhere no outsiders would wander into aimlessly. He had even made sure to keep his divine sense around the entire courtyard to make sure no one came in. With his current cultivation, only someone on Zhao Han’s level could escape his notice. How could such a person be present?
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Even so, he asked several times by the entrance, but there was still no response at all from Xie Daoyun inside. There were only sounds of breathing.
“Little sister Ling’er, I’m coming in,” Zu An said, feeling worried for her safety. After reminding himself it was just that, he broke through the door’s lock and went inside. This was the best room in this town’s best tavern, so it was a lock that was supported by some formations. However, in front of Zu An, they fell apart like paper.
When he opened the door, he saw that the bath area was full of hot smoke. A beautiful figure was soaking inside with her hair tied up above her head, exposing her fine neck. Who else could it be but Xie Daoyun?
Zu An walked over and called out, “Little sister Ling’er?” He saw that she was in a half-unconscious state. Her usually fair and exquisite skin was now an unnatural pink, looking like a cooked prawn.
“Big brother Zu?” Xie Daoyun replied, opening her eyes in a daze. She almost looked as if she would cry. She reflexively reached out her arms toward him after saying that.
The hot springs water smooth as oil, skin cleansed to a tender glow. With the help of her attendants, the beauty rises, feeble and helpless
[1]
Xie Daoyun had been soaking in the hot spring, so of course there wasn’t a shred of clothing on her body. Even though most of her body was in the water, when she leaped into Zu An’s arms, he could feel every inch of her skin.  On top of that, the water in a hot spring was clear and transparent to begin with. Even though there were some flower petals, how could it hide the wonderful sight?
Zu An shivered. In that instant, he realized why Xie Daoyun had fallen into such a state. The only thing he was confused about was how he had been poisoned too. With his current cultivation, there was no way someone could poison him without his awareness.
Was it their meal? No, that was impossible too. He had already been extremely careful. If there had been poison, he would have immediately sensed it.
Then was it this hot spring water? No, that wasn’t possible either. The hot spring water came from a moving source. If someone wanted to poison it, just how much would they have to use?
As for the articles in the room, that was even less likely. He had already made sure to look through everything in the room. After he cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, he had become especially sensitive to poison.
Suddenly, he realized something. It was the flowers on the tavern courtyard wall! He had stayed in this tavern before, but those flowers hadn't been there before. He'd just thought that they were newly planted by the boss, as it had been almost a year since he last stayed here. Now, though, he found their presence suspicious. He had examined them earlier, though, and he hadn’t detected any poison

Hold on, if it isn’t poison by itself, is it a combination poison?
I seem to have experienced something similar in the past
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He looked up at the candles around them and vaguely detected their scent. Just that smell alone wasn’t poisonous, but when it was mixed together with the fragrance of the flowers outside

His thoughts moved quickly, as did his hands. He found the new set of clothes Xie Daoyun had prepared behind the screen and tried to help her change. However, she continued to twist and turn, not cooperating at all. Not only was Zu An not able to put her clothes on, he even accidentally touched some places he wasn't supposed to. Helpless to do anything else, he could only wrap her up carelessly in her clothes. Then, with a wave of his hand, he brought over the blankets on the bed and wrapped them around her.
Only then did he quickly exit toward the vacant courtyard outside so she could breathe some fresh air. He also took out a Heart Calming Pill and fed it to her. However, who would have thought that she would continue to suck on his finger without letting go? When he saw her acting like that, Zu An immediately felt a huge headache. This woman was normally so refined and elegant, and yet she was actually so bad at charming others.
“Are you even a man? She already wants it so badly, and yet you still aren’t giving it to her,” a woman called out as she appeared atop the nearby wall, looking all dolled up.
Zu An glowered as he asked, “Was all of this your doing?”
That alluring woman rocked back and forth from laughter, clearly quite proud of her own work.
Zu An thought to himself, The poisons in this world of cultivation really are quite strange. They really are difficult to defend effectively against!
Even so, this really was strange. After he cultivated the Primordial Origin Sutra, his body was already practically immune to poison. On the other hand, things like aphrodisiacs weren’t really poisons, and merely magnified the natural desires of the body.
“If I'm not mistaken, we don't know each other and share no grudge,” Zu An said gravely.
“How can those in our trade kill based on hatred or desire for revenge? We’d even point our blades at our own fathers' throats as long as there was enough money. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even touch our own personal enemies,” the seductive woman said with a big smile.
Zu An thought to himself, As expected, someone was sent after me. Judging from the looks of things, she wasn’t a deathsworn soldier but rather a professional assassin. He asked, "Are you from the Shadow Group?”
The seductive woman didn’t answer that question. Instead, she said, “Stop wasting your time. I know you’re deliberately stalling for time, but what makes you think I’m not doing the same? Unfortunately, this poison of mine can't be removed. The longer you're affected by it, the stronger it gets into your system. Eventually, you’ll be so overwhelmed by desire that you’ll be entirely powerless. Your body’s ki will be frozen stiff. You're quite the pretty boy, so this cougar wouldn’t mind playing around for a bit. As for that dainty little beauty in your arms, you didn’t want to touch her before, so I guess I’ll have to let these brothers of mine take advantage of that.”
Just then, several black-clad individuals appeared all along the walls. There was a glint in their eyes; they were clearly all experts as well.
“Ninth Lady Lust, don't hold up the mission needlessly,” one of them shouted.
Ninth Lady Lust fiddled with the flower in her hands and said, “Don’t worry. I know what I'm doing. We’ll strike that woman’s ki core first, and you can have some fun while the body’s still warm. However, this pretty boy can’t be killed immediately. After all, a man isn’t like a woman; he’ll be useless once he’s dead. How about this? We’ll chop off his arms and legs first. It should be enough as long as we leave his fifth limb intact.”
Zu An’s expression was cold. Judging from this woman’s tone, it seemed she had taken countless lives over the years. He remarked, “Your cultivations don’t seem to be that high. Is that all your organization sent for me?”
When they heard what he said, the assassins roared with laughter. They replied, “Our cultivations aren’t high? We have at least seven or eight ranks of cultivation, while you’re too weak to even truss a chicken! And yet you still dare to spew such nonsense?”
Ninth Lady Lust said with a chuckle, “Young master might have misunderstood somehow. Assassination isn't a proper fight on an official stage. You don't necessarily need high cultivation to complete most missions. As long as your designs are intricate enough, even grandmaster-rank figures can be killed.”
“Ninth Lady Lust, could it be that you actually like this pretty boy? Is that why you’re explaining so much?” one of the black-clad assassins asked.
Zu An did have some misgivings. Even though what this Ninth Lady Lust said did make some sense, it was still a bit absurd to him.
Suddenly, one of the assassins tugged on his collar and said, “That chick really is hot. Since you guys don’t want to, I’ll enjoy myself and use her first.”
Then, he threw himself at the two of them. However, he didn’t let lust take over his mind; he aimed at Zu An’s four limbs and Xie Daoyun’s ki core. An assassin never lowered their guard, after all. When he saw that Zu An was still carrying that woman, he sneered inwardly.
As expected of a pretty boy, he’s still trying to act cool even now.
Suddenly, a streak of sword ki appeared in front of him. He could swear that he had never seen such dazzling sword ki in his life!
The assassin was quite well-known for the quickness of his sword. He could slice off the heads of dozens of mosquitoes with a single slash. He loved to use his speed to seize the advantage. Even when he encountered enemies stronger than himself, once they fell into his tempo, they could only repeatedly get hit. Their injuries only grew worse and worse until they waited for their own death in despair. Furthermore, he never underestimated his opponents and always went all out right from the start. He wouldn’t lower his guard just because his opponent looked weak.
He had absolute confidence in the five slashes he unleashed. They should have been enough to slice off that man’s arms and legs, and destroy that woman’s ki core.
In the end, arms and legs were indeed sliced off, and a ki core was destroyed. Only, it was his arms and legs, as well as his ki core.
1. Lines from a poem ☜