Who the hell is this guy? Where did he come from?
This guy is such a piece of shit!
They might not even have noticed if he had quietly taken the salt permits away. However, he deliberately announced it to all of them! Did he really do this just for the sake of angering them?
Why would he take such a big risk, though? Is there a screw loose in his head?!
Their minds were occupied with these thoughts, but that didnât stop them from taking action. With a roar, they all chased after him with blades in hand.
The two sides even stopped fighting against each other. They tacitly agreed to deal with Zu An first.
Zu An frantically drove the carriage forward. He turned a corner, and for a brief moment, he was out of sight of his pursuers. He took out the Brilliant Glass Bead and stored all of the chests inside.
He jumped up into a nearby tree and hid. The horses continued to speed off into the distance.
His pursuers had no idea what had just happened. They continued to scream and shout as they chased after the carriage.
A huge smile spread across Zu Anâs face as Rage points continued to flood in. He could have stored those chests into the bead when he first reached the carriage, but he didnât do so precisely because he wanted to farm some Rage points.
How could he waste an opportunity to piss off so many people at the same time?
Worried about how Qin Wanru was faring, he rushed back the way he came.
Along the way, he received another batch of Rage points. Clearly, those men had finally caught up to the carriage and realized that all the chests were gone.
âSigh, I wonder if theyâll start fighting again.â Zu An said. He almost sounded as if he wanted the whole world to fall into chaos.
He returned to the place where he had left Qin Wanru earlier, to find that only a small handful of men from the River Patrol Army remained. If Sang Qian hadnât accounted for close to half of the enemies by himself, this small remnant would have already been wiped out a long time ago.
Meanwhile, Qin Wanru and Qiu Honglei were still tangling with each other.
Even though Qin Wanruâs cultivation was high, she had lived like a princess for many years, and didnât have much combat experience.
On the other hand, Qiu Honglei clearly had much more experience fighting. Utilizing the slowing effects of her strange lantern, she gradually seized the advantage.
Qin Wanru was frustrated at her inability to deal with someone with a lower cultivation than hers. She screamed, and an icy gale suddenly started to blow about. Countless icicles flew out from behind her.
This was the first time Zu An had seen her use elemental power! He hadnât expected her to wield the ice element, like Chu Chuyan did.
Her nature didnât seem to match the ice element at all.
Since she had such a fiery temper, Zu An had naturally assumed that she wielded the fire element.
âWhat?â Qiu Honglei seemed to have realized something as well. She swept her fingers forward quickly, and the weak yellow light inside the lantern flowed outward. The icicles slowed as they made contact with the yellow light.
Losing all their momentum, the heavy icicles fell to the floor one after another, exploding into fragments of ice.
However, Qin Wanru seemed to have already predicted this. Her expression remained completely composed. She pressed her hand to the ground.
A dark blue halo suddenly appeared beneath Qiu Honglei. In the blink of an eye, the fragmented ice suddenly seemed to come alive. They flowed together, wrapping around her legs and locking her firmly in place.
Qin Wanruâs figure flickered. A palm flew towards Qiu Hongleiâs chest.
Zu An was horrified. âPlease have mercy! he blurted out.
Qin Wanru didnât know who her opponent was, but Zu An knew that she was Qiu Honglei.
Qiu Honglei had treated him extremely well, and the two of them could be considered friends. He had no desire to see her die.
However, Qin Wanru was still a sixth rank cultivator. Although he had already activated Grandgale to close the distance, he was still a step too late.
Qin Wanruâs palm had already made contact with Qiu Hongleiâs chest.
Qiu Hongleiâs legs were frozen in place, so she couldnât move at all. She turned to look towards Zu An at the last second, confusion clearly visible in her eyes.
It was unclear whether she was confused as to why an enemy was concerned about her, or if it was because she recognized him.
Qin Wanruâs hand passed through her chest. Qiu Hongleiâs entire body shattered.
Yesâit shattered. Her body shattered like glass.
Zu An was stunned. âLightshadow Doppelganger!â Qin Wanru cried out in alarm.
Qiu Hongleiâs figure had already appeared behind her. Her slender white hand shot towards the middle of Qin Wanruâs back like a knife.
Qin Wanru was already much slower than usual, due to the lanternâs effects. There was no way she could dodge this attack in time.
âMadam!â Zu An had moved in to save Qiu Honglei, but he hadnât expected the tide of battle to turn so quickly. Now, the one who was in danger was Qin Wanru.
How could he ever face Chuyan and Huanzhao if he let something happen to Qin Wanru?
He used Grandgale to get closer. Nothing else mattered at this moment. He grabbed Qin Wanru and tried to flee.
However, his movements were instantly slowed when he made contact with the faint yellow radiance. His body felt as if it weighed ten times more than usual.
The lanternâs pale yellow light looked warm and cozy; however, it was only now, when he was within its area of effect, that he realized that this color could actually feel so ice-cold.
Qiu Honglei froze momentarily when he suddenly appeared in front of her. She was clearly hesitant.
In this moment of hesitation, Zu An just happened to see a well nearby. He summoned Blue Mallard. The water in the well surged upward like a dragon, threatening to swallow up that lantern floating in midair.
Qiu Honglei was shocked. She immediately pulled the lantern back in panic.
Zu An used this chance to summon Grandgale. He grabbed Qin Wanruâs hand and blinked away.
Qiu Honglei watched the two retreating figures, a pensive look on her face.
Zu An and Qin Wanru stopped several li away. Zu An gasped for air. Everything had happened way too quickly just now. A single mishap and their lives wouldâve been ended!
Then again, didnât Qiu Honglei show them mercy in the end?
I guess thatâs not too surprising. A mask isnât enough to hide the awesomeness of a popular guy like me.
Qin Wanru finally came to her senses. âWhy did we run?!â She cried, pulling her hand away. âThat was just an accident! I couldâve defeated herâŚâ
She grew more and more ashamed as she spoke. If Zu An hadnât stepped in just now, she could have been seriously injured. A sixth rank cultivator losing to a fifth rank was almost too shameful to bear.
However, that womanâs strength wasnât like that of a fifth rank expert at all!
Zu An laughed inside. Qin Wanru was acting like a little girl, unwilling to admit defeat. Of course, this was well in line with her usual temperament. âMadam, have you forgotten what we came here for? We didnât come for a fight.â
âThe salt permits!â Qin Wanru seemed as though she had just woken up from a daze. âDid we lose the salt permits in the end?â
She couldnât help her disappointment when she saw that he was empty-handed. It was to be expected, of course, since the enemy had such overwhelming numbers.
However, he had just saved her life, so she couldnât bring herself to criticize him.
âDonât worry, I got the salt permits!â Zu An said nonchalantly.
âWhat?!â Qin Wanru was ecstatic. She looked around anxiously. âWhere are they?â
Her smile suddenly froze. âBe careful, someone is coming from over there.
âTheir cultivation is extremely high. They could be at the seventh rank!
âItâs probably someone allied with those black-clad men!â
Qin Wanru analyzed the situation in the blink of an eye.
The two of them grew instantly nervous.