Chapter 108: Thinking Putting on a Hat Means I Won't Recognize You

"Miss Xue'er, you can rest assured; we are well prepared," Yuan Wendong said with a slight smile, taking out a mask as thin as a cicada's wing. "This is a disguise mask made by the new rune master our family hired. Once worn, it can perfectly disguise one as a young person."

The Yuan family's confidence in openly opposing the Chu family this time was primarily due to the support of the Wu family, who had sent a large number of masters to participate in the family martial arts competition.

Although both the Yuan and Chu families were well aware of this fact, they still had to maintain appearances.

With so many spectators present, it would be embarrassing if it became clear that all the participants were from the Wu family.

To solve this problem, both families found a solution: commissioning their respective rune masters to create a batch of masks, primarily for concealing identity.

These masks looked exactly like real faces when worn, making it difficult to detect them unless one was in close proximity.

The middle-aged man named Wu Di, after putting on the mask, indeed transformed into a seemingly aloof young man. A group of people gathered around, observing him for a long time without noticing anything unusual, each expressing their wonder.

Xue'er's expression also changed slightly. "This mask is so incredibly lifelike. Doesn't that mean one could impersonate anyone they wanted?"

What if someone impersonated her young master? Would she be able to recognize him?

Yuan Wendong shook his head. "It's not that easy. While these masks are intricate, they can only alter one's appearance to hide identity. It's impossible to make them look exactly like a specific person."

He thought to himself, *I had the same idea when I first heard about these masks. If one could truly disguise themselves as anyone, wouldn't I be able to sleep with anyone's wife I pleased? There's no such good fortune in this world!*

Hearing him say this, Xue'er finally felt relieved. Her attention then returned to the family competition scheduled for the next day. She thought, *Judging by Yuan Wendong's tone just now, that fellow Zu An must be completely crippled, even if he's not dead. What a pity I couldn't do it myself.*

Thinking of how that man had touched her pure body, Xue'er's delicate red lips were almost bitten until they bled.

"Achhoo!"

Zu An sneezed, thinking, *Which young lady is thinking of me?*

Old Man Mi had drilled him for half the night, finally making his "Sunflower Mirage" seem plausible, before he left with satisfaction.

Zu An finally had some free time. Lying on his bed, he tallied the Rage points he had received today. *Sigh, that's so little.*

Although it seemed like a decent amount, given the keyboard's notoriously low lottery odds, it wouldn't amount to much.

As expected, after a round of draws, most of them resulted in "Thank you for participating." The remaining draws yielded 27 Qi Fruits, but no skills or items whatsoever.

"I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Zu An grumbled indignantly. Nevertheless, he swallowed the 27 Qi Fruits one by one and refined them.

The fourth magic array required 233 Qi Fruits, and even after half a day of effort, he had only managed to fill it by a tenth.

Amidst his complaints and resentment towards the keyboard, he gradually drifted off to sleep.

When Cheng Shoubing returned and saw that Zu An was already asleep, he didn't disturb him. He thought, *I'll talk to the young master after his competition tomorrow. Heh heh, he's sure to be sad if he loses, so I'll surprise him with the money I win, and it can comfort his wounded heart. I wonder how much silver the young master will reward me with then...*

The venue for the family competition the next day, for the sake of fairness, was set neither at the Chu family's estate nor the Yuan family's, but at a training ground in the city.

Descendants from all major families in the city gathered there. Clearly, a competition between such top-tier families was a rare spectacle for other smaller and mid-sized families. Whether for entertainment or to learn from the combatants, it was certainly a worthwhile trip.

The Chu and Yuan families were among the first to arrive, as their respective contestants needed to familiarize themselves with the venue beforehand. Of course, for someone like Zu An, who was merely making up the numbers, everyone felt his early arrival was irrelevant.

Zu An clearly had no sense of being a competitor; he didn't bother to familiarize himself with the venue. Instead, he sat in his seat, looking around curiously as if everything was new to him.

Qin Wanru took in his reaction, and her brows immediately furrowed. However, it was inappropriate to reprimand him in public, so she merely let out a silent huff.

Today was Zu An's first time meeting the two sons from the second and third branches of the family. Chu Hongcai from the second branch was truly a handsome and talented individual; his face lacked the gloominess of his father and instead carried an air of aloof pride, showing he was quite arrogant deep down.

He was said to have been quite high-spirited in the past, but today, on the way from the Chu family estate to the training ground, he seemed unusually quiet and reserved. Zu An wondered if he was still blaming himself for the incident involving the polluted spiritual spring.

Chu Yucheng from the third branch was a cute, chubby boy. His squinting eyes and plump figure clearly showed him to be the biological son of Chu Yuepo from the third branch.

By comparison, he was much friendlier and even approached Zu An to chat a few times during the journey.

After interacting with them, Zu An thought that these two youngsters from the second and third branches, the next generation, seemed much more likable than their fathers. He still clearly remembered how Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo had been sarcastic and annoying towards him in the ancestral hall.

*Hmm, could this little chubby boy be even worse than his father, appearing kind but actually just as insidious?*

Zu An secretly grew a little wary. He subconsciously glanced at Chu Yuepo and Chu Tiesheng. Chu Yuepo was chatting with someone next to him, while Chu Tiesheng's gaze was fixed on...

*Hmm, it looks like he's staring at Qin Wanru's back?*

To make an appearance at such an event today, Qin Wanru had clearly dressed with great care. Her expensive hair ornaments further enhanced her noble beauty, and a silk gown perfectly accentuated her graceful figure.

*Sigh, why didn't Chu Hanzhao inherit her mother's ample genes?*

As if noticing his gaze, Qin Wanru turned around and gave him a sharp look.

Rage points from Qin Wanru +69!

Zu An felt a surge of frustration, thinking, *I wasn't the one looking at you. Why are you getting mad at me?*

When he looked at Chu Tiesheng again, he found him chatting and laughing with the person next to him, making Zu An wonder if he had imagined things earlier.

"The Head of the Wang Family has arrived!"

Zu An looked in the direction of the voice and saw a slender middle-aged man leading a group of people into the training ground.

He had heard that Moonlit City had four wealthy merchant families: the Chu, Yuan, Zheng, and Wang families. This was his first time seeing anyone from the Wang family.

He watched as Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru rose with smiles to greet them, and soon both parties were chatting amiably.

Zu An was stunned and couldn't help but ask Chu Hanzhao, who was beside him, "What's the background of this Wang family that your father has to personally greet them?"

If Zu An was the first one just "making up the numbers," then Chu Hanzhao was the second. She clearly had no interest in familiarizing herself with the venue, nor was she nervous about the upcoming competition. Instead, she was excitedly looking around.

Hearing his question, she replied, "They don't seem to have any special background; I just know the Wang family has a good relationship with ours."

Chu Chuyan, who had been resting with her eyes closed nearby, slowly opened them. "The Wang family primarily deals in bulk grain and also operates Moonlit City's largest restaurant. The reason for their good relationship with our Chu family is the extensive business dealings between us. Our Chu family needs to sell salt, which requires salt permits from the imperial court. The court issues these permits based on how much grain salt merchants transport to the border. Our Chu family cannot do this ourselves, so we rely on the Wang family to help transport grain to exchange for the salt permits. That's why Father and Mother value them so highly. Xiao Zhao, you shouldn't just play all day and not even know these basic family matters."

Chu Hanzhao stuck out her tongue, then threw her arms around her sister's arm and playfully pleaded, "But I have you, big sister, don't I?"

Chu Chuyan looked at her sister with indulgence, then shook her head helplessly.

Zu An couldn't help but secretly disdain her, *So the sister-in-law is also a freeloader. Hmm, why did I use 'also'?*

"The Head of the Zheng Family has arrived!"

Compared to the Wang family, Chu Zhongtian was less enthusiastic towards the Zheng family. The two sides merely exchanged slight nods from a distance. Zheng Yutang, the head of the Zheng family, also implicitly walked towards the Yuan family's area and quickly engaged in lively conversation with them.

Zu An observed that Zheng Yutang was elegant and handsome. Even in middle age, he exuded a unique charm, no wonder he could have such a beautiful daughter as Zheng Dan.

Suddenly, he noticed a beautiful woman in a traditional qipao among the Zheng family's entourage looking at him. A faint smile played on her lips, and she gave a slight nod. It was none other than Zheng Dan.

Zu An winked at her, conveying a look that only the two of them would understand. Zheng Dan's face flushed slightly, and she quickly turned her head away.

"Sister, sister, that guy is flirting with Zheng Dan!" Chu Hanzhao suddenly exclaimed from beside them.

"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense," Zu An denied instinctively, feeling a little guilty about being caught in front of his wife.

"I clearly saw it! You even winked at her!" Chu Hanzhao's small face turned red with anger.

Chu Chuyan frowned slightly. "Keep your voice down. What kind of decorum is that if others hear you?" Fortunately, the training ground was quite noisy, so no one noticed their commotion.

After speaking, she turned to look at Zu An, her eyes as calm as a mountain lake. "Are you very familiar with Zheng Dan?"

For some reason, under her clear, limpid gaze, Zu An felt inexplicably guilty. "Not very familiar. I just happened to save her once before." He briefly described their relationship, of course omitting what had happened in the academy dormitory.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not blaming you," Chu Chuyan said with a faint smile. "If you could truly capture Zheng Dan's heart and mind and draw the Zheng family over to our side, I'd be overjoyed."

Zu An blinked. *This woman isn't intentionally setting a trap for me, is she?*

"Sister~" Chu Hanzhao immediately grumbled from the side, displeased. "What kind of attitude is that? How can you be less anxious than me?"

Chu Chuyan, however, murmured to herself, "It's a pity Zheng Dan is already engaged to Sang Qian. If we really took her, it would create an unending feud with the Sang family, which wouldn't be worth it..."

Zu An was instantly flustered. *So you were actually considering the feasibility!*

"Principal Jiang of Moonlit Academy has arrived!"

Hearing this name, everyone, from both the Chu and Yuan families, stopped their conversations and went to greet her. Clearly, the identity of Moonlit Academy's principal commanded such respect.

Soon, sounds of people swallowing could be heard all around:

"Wow, those legs, I'm going to lose it!"

"Where did she buy those stockings? I need to get a pair for my wife."

"Your old hag of a wife is fit to compare with Principal Jiang?"

"Worst case, I'll just cover her face. With stockings, it'll be enough for my imagination."

"You're asking for death! How dare you discuss Principal Jiang like that behind her back!"

...

Zu An, however, spotted a familiar figure in the crowd: that scoundrel Ji Dengtu, stealthily hiding. *With your flamboyant aura, did you really think I wouldn't recognize you just because you're wearing a hat? This lecher indeed took the opportunity to come look at beautiful women. Hmm, but why isn't he looking at Principal Jiang?*