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A shiver ran through Yun Yuqing’s entire body. She instinctively backpedaled, placing her hands against his chest and trying to push him away.
The two of them were still rather unfamiliar with each other, after all. Unless she was feeling exceptionally emotional or passionate, her first instinct was to refuse his kiss.
But Zu An didn’t give up. He wrapped his other hand around her small waist and pulled her right back.
While she hesitated, her mind racing with uncertain thoughts, Zu An had already pressed his lips against hers.
Yun Yuqing’s eyes immediately went wide. She beat her fist against his chest, demanding that he let go.
Of course, there was no way Zu An would do that! After a short, fruitless struggle, Yun Yuqing finally gave in.
“You really are a dominating person…”
Given her cultivation, she could have pushed this man away from her with a fraction of her full strength. Although she reached out her hand several times to do so, she did not follow through in the end. She tapped her fist weakly against his chest, but her eyes were already slowly closing.
…
A while later, the voices of two girls drifted over from a distance away. “Ah Zu! Au Zu…”
These two were Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan. Worried for his safety, they had hurried over in search of him.
Yun Yuqing jumped in fright. She quickly pushed him away and looked guiltily in the direction that the voices had come from. She sighed in relief. The two of them were still quite far away and hadn’t noticed what was going on.
“It’s all your fault! My reputation was almost completely ruined.” Yun Yuqing bit her lip gently as she sorted out her messy clothes. She shot the man next to her a look of rebuke. Tears threatened to flow out from her lovely eyes at any moment.
Zu An only chuckled, admiring the beautiful scene in front of him. He initially felt that this whole ordeal had been terrible, but meeting such a stunning woman at the end of it all improved his view of it tremendously.
“I can’t stay out for too long, or someone will notice. I have to head back.” Yun Yuqing said in a rush.
Zu An froze. “You’re that scared of King Wu?”
Yun Yuqing shook her head. “It’s complicated. Mostly, it’s because my demon race has forged a relatively strong alliance with him, and we have to maintain some appearances for now… There’s no time. I’ll tell you the rest of it if we ever have the chance to meet again.”
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly turned around. Balancing on the tips of her toes, she gave him a quick peck before running off, her face burning red.
Zu An rubbed his cheek. A hint of her fragrance lingered on his fingertip. This woman was as adorably shy as a young woman, and she had behaved like a maiden when they’d spent the night together as well. She didn’t seem like a married woman at all, but more like an innocent young lady.
Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan had come close enough to notice him. They were both overjoyed, and waved happily in his direction. “Ah Zu!”
Zu An felt a twinge of regret when he saw the anxious expressions on the two women’s faces. They had been so worried about him, while he was flirting and having fun over here.
He waved back and made his way to them. “I’m over here!”
Both young ladies sighed in relief when they saw that he was fine. “What about that old dragon?”
“He’s dead,” Zu An said with a laugh.
“Dead?” The two girls both cried out in alarm. Pei Mianman hurriedly asked, “How did he die?”
Zu An stuck out his chest. “I killed him, obviously.”
“You?” Pei Mianman had a weird look on her face. Who was it that was beaten up like a dog earlier?
Zheng Dan had a thoughtful look on her face, but she didn’t doubt him. After all, she had personally seen him kill a red dragon before.
“What, you don’t believe me?” Zu An sniffed disdainfully. “Don’t you know that I am full of secrets? I’ve even killed master rank cultivators before, not just this stupid old dragon.”
Pei Mianman recalled the first time she had seen him in the Chu clan’s ancestral hall. The speed of his development was truly shocking, and way beyond what she could imagine. Each time they met again, his strength would have grown by leaps and bounds. No matter how talented he could be, this just seemed to defy reality.
This man might truly possess a wealth of secrets. This line of thinking seemed to convince her of his statement. “Who cares about that old dragon’s death? I’m more interested in that fragrance on your body.”
Pei Mianman moved closer to him and sniffed his chest. An ambiguous smile spread across her face. “This is quite an elegant fragrance. It must belong to a beautiful woman.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Dan gave him a strange look as well. Wasn’t he being pursued by a giant dragon? How did he suddenly end up meeting a woman?
Zu An’s heart began to pound. These women’s noses were all sharper than a dog’s! “Absolute nonsense!” He said quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth. “This is the smell of the medicinal powder that young miss Ji gave me some time ago. I used it to poison that giant dragon.”
“Really?” Pei Mianman was skeptical. “What sort of poison is strong enough to knock out such a giant dragon?”
“That I do not know. Miss Ji’s family has their secrets...” Zu An chuckled and quickly changed the topic. “By the way, how are your injuries?”
“We’re all right.” The two girls shook their heads. “The Soul Return Pills you gave us were extremely effective. The medicine has already begun to take effect.”
“That’s good.” Zu An sighed in relief when he saw that they weren’t going to continue pressing the issue.
Pei Mianman blinked. “What are you planning to do now?” she asked him curiously.
Zu An was still a criminal, after all, and the whole world was after his Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. He was in a rather sticky situation.
“I’ve decided to head to the capital with those members of the Sang clan,” Zu An replied.
“You’re going with the Sang clan?” Pei Mianman had a strange look on her face. “Did you end up falling for young miss Sang?”
Zu An looked as though she had just done him a great injustice. “Do I look like that sort of person?”
“Yup,” Pei Mianman and Zheng Dan replied at the same time. They both froze for a moment, then burst out laughing together.
Zu An glared at them silently.
“I can’t live as a criminal forever,” he said in a heavy voice. “I have to head to the capital and deal with this matter once and for all.”
Zheng Dan could not conceal her worry. “You’ll be up against the all-powerful emperor! How will you deal with him?”
Pei Mianman nodded in agreement. “Precisely. In my opinion, you should go into hiding for a period of time. The emperor doesn’t have long to live, after all. It would be much better if you laid low until he died.”
“It’ll be too late then.” Zu An shook her head, then smiled when he saw their worried expressions. “Do I look like an idiot?”
“If you’re an idiot, then there aren’t many smart people in this world.” Pei Mianman snorted. She couldn’t help but glance at Zheng Dan. Forget about making Chuyan your wife, you’ve even tamed the cute fiancée of the Sang clan! If such a man is considered a fool, then what does that make Sang Qian?
“That’s settled, then. I have my own plans. I can’t go into detail now, but don’t worry. I have some confidence in myself,” Zu An offered as a way of explanation.
This seemed to ease the last of their worries.
With that out of the way, they headed back. The three Sang clan members seemed shocked to see them. “Where is that dragon?”
Zu An snorted. “I killed him, of course.”
“How is that possible?!” Sang Qian exclaimed. He was the one who had incited that dragon to get rid of Zu An. He had only expected to see two grieving beauties return, but here was Zu An, alive and kicking!
“I don’t suppose you think that the dragon would just let me go?” Zu An rolled his eyes. “Were you wishing for my death, young master Sang?”
“No, not at all! You’ve got it all wrong!” Sang Qian’s expression changed immediately. With an embarrassed smile, he tried to explain himself.
“Oh? Then who was it that was telling that dragon all sorts of bad things about me?” Zu An snorted, and a hint of killing intent flickered in his eyes.
Sang Qian was speechless. Usually, he would never have bothered explaining himself at all. But then, he had just seen Zu An chase away Ding Run, and then heroically face off against a massive dragon. Now, even that dragon had been killed. Zu An might still have other powerful trump cards up his sleeve—how could he dare offend him? Unfortunately, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn’t find a suitable excuse.
In the end, his sister was the first to reply. “Big brother Zu,” Sang Qien said, “please forgive him. My brother has always been a rude and impetuous person, and never minces his words. He wasn’t able to foresee the severe consequences of his actions. He only replied to that elder’s questions subconsciously—he didn’t know that elder was here to avenge his kin.”
Zu An broke out into laughter. “Young miss Sang, your ability to lie through your teeth is impressive!”
Sang Qien’s face reddened. She had obviously known that this excuse wouldn’t be enough to convince Zu An. However, the fact that Zu An hadn’t immediately made a move against them meant that he wasn’t intending to turn hostile right away. It seemed that a superficial explanation would suffice for now.
Sang Hong also spoke up. “My son’s actions earlier were indeed rather inappropriate. This old one apologizes in his place. I hope young master Zu can look past this, out of consideration for the camaraderie we have built up over the recent battles.”
Zu An fell deep into thought. He was currently weighing the pros and cons of the situation. Sang Qien and her brother were both at the fifth rank, while Sang Hong had recovered some of his strength as well. It wouldn’t be easy to defeat them if they really ended up fighting right now.
Besides, he still needed Sang Hong’s help once they reached the capital. After taking a moment to consider his options, he smiled and said, “It’s all right. For the sake of Lord Sang and the beautiful Miss Sang, I will let this matter slide. However, there will be no next time.”
He planned to find another chance to deal with Sang Qian. Now wasn’t the time.
“Thank you, young master.” Sang Hong clasped his fist.
Sang Qien blushed. If this guy was going to call her Miss Sang, then Miss Sang would have been fine! Why did he have to add the word ‘beautiful’ in front of it? No wonder sister-in-law’s heart was stolen by this guy. He really is better at talking to girls than my own brother.
At that instant, a peal of laughter drifted over from close by. “What luck! I thought I would have to fight a great battle against that old dragon, but it seems he’s actually already gone.”