Chapter 1117: Cause of Death

With her elemental energy sealed, preventing telepathic communication, and many experts present, Yu Yanluo feared even whispering might be overheard. Therefore, her lips were almost pressed against Zu An's ear.

The contact between her lips and his ear was enough to make anyone's heart race, and the surrounding men watched with profound envy.

However, Zu An, being the one involved, felt no romantic inclination whatsoever in this situation.

"Ah Zu," Yu Yanluo whispered gently, her breath carrying a delicate fragrance, "the situation here is now lost. Any further defense from you would be futile, so don't waste your effort."

Zu An transmitted his voice telepathically: "Worst case, I'll just rescue you directly."

Yu Yanluo's heart skipped a beat, and she secretly glanced at him, a faint blush appearing on her fair cheeks. Still, she advised, "Don't be impulsive. There are so many officials here, all of them experts, and with Xiao Yao, a grandmaster, present, don't put yourself in danger."

In this world, official rank and cultivation level were directly correlated. This large group of high-ranking officials from Cloudmount Commandery each possessed a respectable cultivation level.

While most of them might have been far inferior to Zu An, there were simply too many of them.

Seeing that he seemed about to object, Yu Yanluo sighed softly and whispered, "I know you're very powerful, but even if you rescue me, how will you handle the aftermath?

"If you rescue me in front of the imperial envoy and so many high-ranking court officials, wouldn't that be openly rebelling against the imperial court? You would become a wanted criminal. I don't want to bring you to such a plight."

Zu An replied in a low voice, "Many things in this world cannot be measured by personal gain. We are friends who have faced life and death together, and you even saved my life. How could I possibly stand idly by?"

Hearing his words, Yu Yanluo was stunned for a moment. After a short pause, she asked with a complex expression, "If I truly am a Medusa, would you still consider me a friend?"

Having lived in human society for so many years, she naturally knew of humanity's animosity towards demon races, as well as the image of evil creatures like Medusas in human minds.

Zu An smiled. "There are good people and bad people, and similarly, there's a distinction between good and evil among demon races. Even if you are a Medusa, you must be a kind one. Moreover, when I make friends, I only look for shared interests and compatible values. Whether someone is human or demon makes no difference."

"I don't mind telling you, I actually have several demon friends myself."

Hearing the sincerity in his words, warm ripples spread through Yu Yanluo's heart. She bit her lip and whispered, "Ah Zu, if you truly want to help me, go notify Xingnu about what has happened here. Ask her to contact Uncle Fu to cover... to cover our people returning to their homeland first."

The "people" she referred to clearly weren't the Yu family, but rather the Snake Clan.

At this point, there was nothing left to hide from Zu An.

If she were captured, her identity would temporarily protect her from immediate danger to her life.

However, it was foreseeable that her clan would suffer a devastating blow, so it was natural to arrange for their relocation.

"Okay!" Zu An thought to himself that Xingnu was likely also part of the Snake Clan. He decided he should first go discuss with them to see if there was any way to rescue Yu Yanluo.

Uncle Fu's cultivation was also quite good. Back in the capital, when Zu An clashed with the Crown Prince of Qi, Han Fengqiu had refrained from acting against him precisely because he was wary of Uncle Fu.

However, since coming to Cloudmount Commandery, Zu An hadn't seen him and wondered where Uncle Fu had gone.

Seeing the two of them whispering intimately, many officials around them felt a tinge of jealousy.

This hardly looked like a final farewell between a captive and a visitor; it resembled more a playful exchange between lovers.

However, wary of Zu An's identity and the imposing aura he had just displayed, no one dared to provoke him at that moment. They all looked to Xu Yu, signaling that he should step forward.

Xu Yu coughed. "Lord Zu and Lady Yu certainly have a strong bond."

Of course, he wouldn't show jealousy like the other officials, which also saved face for everyone.

Yu Yanluo then sat up straight and said calmly, "Lord Zu is an old friend of mine who is concerned I might be framed, so we exchanged a few extra words just now. Lord Zu told me to trust that the imperial court would give me a fair judgment. I agree with Lord Zu, and so I am willing to stay and cooperate with your investigation."

Sang Hong's expression shifted. This woman's words were effectively clearing Zu An. Even if what happened here were reported back to the imperial court, the court officials wouldn't be able to blame Zu An for anything. On the contrary, they might even credit him for persuading Yu Yanluo.

Why did Zu An always seem to win the sincere affection of women?

Even the renowned Yu Yanluo was like this, so it was understandable that Zheng Dan and the others had fallen for him.

Alas, if only Qian'er had this ability.

He could only hope for Qian'er's child now...

Soon after, someone led Yu Yanluo away. Given her status, it was naturally impossible to shackle her with chains or fetters. Instead, experts placed seals on her acupuncture points, ensuring that she wouldn't be able to use her cultivation to resist even after the toxins in her body dissipated.

Additionally, a specially prepared room served as her cell, guarded jointly by Xu Yu's men and members of the imperial envoy's delegation to prevent either side from tampering with anything.

Zu An took this opportunity to pull Xiao Yao aside and ask, "Brother Xiao, did you not hear the telepathic message I sent you earlier?"

"I did," Xiao Yao replied. Uncharacteristically, he didn't appear nonchalant as usual; instead, his expression was extremely solemn.

"You knew she was your junior sister, yet you still harmed her?" Zu An asked, utterly perplexed. "Is it because of what happened back then that you hold a grudge against the Dean, or even against everyone in the academy?"

"Of course not. I have the utmost respect for my master," Xiao Yao said agitatedly. "It was I who was unworthy and ruined my own future back then, bringing shame upon him. How could I possibly blame my master?"

"Then why did you disregard the plea of a fellow disciple and insist on putting Yu Yanluo to death?" Zu An asked, frowning.

A trace of sorrow flashed across Xiao Yao's face as he seemed to be lost in thought. After a long pause, he finally said, "Do you know how Manman's mother died?"

Zu An was startled. "I heard she suffered an injury years ago that caused her to lose all her cultivation, and then she encountered danger without the ability to protect herself..."

"I was the one who injured her back then, because she was..." Xiao Yao paused mid-sentence, then sighed. "In short, due to various coincidences, I injured her, and her cultivation was mostly gone. However, her true cause of death was poisoning."

"Poisoned?" Zu An's heart sank. He wondered why Xiao Yao suddenly brought this up. Could it be...

"Precisely, it was Medusa's poison!" A hint of hatred appeared in Xiao Yao's eyes.

Zu An was speechless.

Oh, disaster! This is bad, really bad. If Manman's mother truly died by the hand of a Medusa, how could she and Yu Yanluo ever coexist peacefully?

And now that he knew the truth, he couldn't pretend nothing had happened.

Xiao Yao continued, "A Medusa's eyes possess petrification power; any creature that meets their gaze will be turned to stone. However, she couldn't always personally use her eyes to petrify others. So, she extracted a potent poison from her own blood that slowly petrifies the victim's body, causing them to gradually await death."

"The reason Manman's mother lost all her cultivation back then was partly because I severely injured her, but another reason was that she was poisoned by a Medusa. She could only exhaust her cultivation to delay the onset of the poison. Even if that accident hadn't happened later, she would have certainly died."

"For all these years, I've been tracking down the Medusa. Now that I've finally found a clue, how could I let my loyalty to a fellow disciple make me forget the oath I made to her?"

Zu An thought to himself: *And isn't that because you fell in love with Manman's mother back then...*

"But Yu Yanluo's age doesn't match up," Zu An said. "She shouldn't be connected to Manman's mother's death, right?" He finally realized a crucial issue.

To his surprise, Xiao Yao scoffed. "How old do you think Yu Yanluo is?"

"Uh, eighteen?"

"Twenty-eight?"

...

After several guesses, all of which were denied, Zu An's expression couldn't help but darken. "Don't tell me she's eighty years old?"

Although he knew this was a cultivation world where both humans and demons lived much longer than in his previous life, and everyone had ways to preserve their youth, truly knowing the age of a beautiful woman beside him would still be quite shocking.