Chapter 1128: Drawing the Tiger Away from the Mountain

Zu An's expression changed. "Master Xu, what are you doing here?"

Seeing his expression, Xu Yu felt a surge of secret delight. However, being very shrewd, he forced a stiff smile. "We mainly received intelligence that some demonic remnants might take the opportunity to cause trouble recently," he said. "So, I specifically brought people to patrol. Duke, you must be careful; don't get entangled with these demonic remnants."

Although Xu Yu offered warnings everywhere, feigning concern, both sides knew exactly what he was truly after.

It was as if he was directly saying, "We know you're colluding with demons, come with us."

Zu An, however, remained calm. "I, the Duke, have been stationed in Yunzhong for so many years, defeating countless demons," he stated. "They can't avoid me fast enough, so how could they possibly appear by my side?"

Xu Yu thought, 'You're quite good at pretending.' Aloud, he said, "The Duke is truly formidable. By the way, we need to conduct a routine inspection. I hope the Duke doesn't mind."

*Hmph*, he thought, *let's see how you get out of this later!*

As he spoke, he gave a subtle signal. His already prepared subordinates quickly ran towards the convoy to check the contents of each carriage.

Zu An immediately shouted, "What are you doing?"

The Duke's guards also raised their weapons, and the two sides stood in a tense standoff, on the verge of conflict.

Xu Yu chuckled. "Duke, don't misunderstand," he said. "To prevent demons from harming the common people, all carriages entering and leaving the city are being thoroughly inspected during this period. Whether commoners or high officials, we must all lead by example, mustn't we?"

Some common people had gathered nearby to watch, and upon hearing this, they began to clamor, as if Zu An's refusal to allow the inspection would be an abuse of power or a display of privilege.

Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Xu Yu smiled faintly. He had deliberately not dispersed the common people, precisely to achieve this effect.

At this moment, he seized the opportunity to approach Zu An and whispered, "Duke, there's no need to worry. We're just performing a perfunctory check, just to give everyone an explanation."

Zu An thought, *I'd believe a ghost before I believe you, you cunning old man.*

He had to admit, he was increasingly impressed by these figures in officialdom, who could lie through their teeth without showing a single flaw.

He said coldly, "If you conduct the inspection and find nothing Master Xu is looking for, then what?"

Xu Yu replied earnestly, "Duke, you're mistaken. I'm just conducting a routine patrol; there's nothing I'm specifically looking for from the Duke."

Zu An snorted. "Is that so? But Master Xu seems quite invested."

Xu Yu said with a fawning smile, "I know this might cause the Duke some loss of face. How about this: if there's no problem, I will personally come to your residence afterward to offer my apologies."

Such words were merely for show. Once the snake demons were found, the Duke's crime would be enormous.

Even if his noble status could save his life, his ducal title would certainly be lost.

How could he possibly go to the Duke to apologize then?

"I hope Master Xu doesn't regret this later," Zu An said coldly.

Xu Yu smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he signaled his subordinates to begin.

He secretly guarded against the Duke suddenly flaring up and attacking.

He had been sending people to investigate these past few days and was certain this fellow was transporting snake demon remnants. Now that he had caught him red-handed, he was worried the Duke might resort to desperate measures, so he secretly held an imperial decree, ready to suppress him at any moment.

His subordinates began to inspect the convoy roughly, even occasionally plunging their weapons into the piles of goods.

Zu An frowned. "Is there a need for this? What if the goods are damaged later?"

Xu Yu thought, 'You're worried those snake demons will be stabbed to death, aren't you?' Aloud, he said, "The Duke is right to chastise them. I'll speak to them."

After speaking, he walked to the side of the carriages. While reprimanding his subordinates not to be so rough, he placed his hand on a carriage and channeled his qi inward, sending a tremor through it.

However, the smile on his face quickly stiffened, because he detected no living creatures inside the carriage.

At this moment, his subordinates also came over to report, subtly signaling with their eyes that they had found nothing.

"How is this possible?" Xu Yu was shocked. He rushed over and lifted the tarpaulins on several nearby cargo carriages.

Sure enough, there were all sorts of goods inside, but no snake demons.

He suddenly turned back to look at Zu An, who was now watching him with a knowing smile. "Master Xu, are you done with your search?" he asked.

Xu Yu knew he had probably fallen into a trap, but he was still unwilling to give up. He walked straight to the largest carriage.

Without waiting for anyone to stop him, he directly lifted the curtain.

Two surprised exclamations came from inside. He saw two beautiful young women looking at him in panic.

Adorned in expensive jewelry and with exquisite features, they drew gasps of admiration from the common people watching nearby.

Having been in Yunzhong Commandery for so many years, he naturally recognized these two as the Duke of Yunzhong's favorite concubines. He quickly lowered the curtain.

"My apologies for the intrusion, I beg the ladies' forgiveness."

At this moment, Zu An had walked over and said angrily, "Master Xu, what exactly are you looking for, to behave so improperly for an official... "

Having said that, he took the opportunity to thoroughly reprimand Xu Yu.

Being reprimanded like a grandson, Xu Yu felt stifled with resentment. However, he had indeed been caught red-handed and had no grounds for rebuttal, so he could only apologize repeatedly.

"As Master Xu said earlier, you should personally come to my residence to apologize," Zu An said coldly. "At that time, I will also invite other officials to witness it."

Xu Yu's expression changed, and his heart burned with rage. *I was supposed to be investigating you, but now I'm being manipulated by you?* he fumed.

[Rage points from Xu Yu +316+316+316...]

But these were his own words just moments ago, and the other party's status was higher than his. He had no way to retort.

Zu An continued to mock him for a while before getting into his carriage and leaving.

The surrounding soldiers exchanged glances. They didn't find it strange; Master Xu had arrested the Duke's wife, and now came to investigate him, so it would be a wonder if the Duke gave him a pleasant look.

Back in the carriage, Concubine Chu and Concubine Liu leaned closer, their faces filled with worry. "By being so merciless, you've enraged Master Xu," Concubine Chu said. "What if he keeps a close eye on us?"

Zu An smiled. "I'm just afraid he *won't* keep an eye on us."

Observing the situation behind them through the jade cong, Zu An saw that, sure enough, Xu Yu and his men were following far behind, clearly wanting to find out what he was truly up to.

Concubine Chu couldn't help but pat her chest. "You startled me! I thought we were exposed just now," she said. "Where did you actually hide them?"

Zu An smiled but said nothing. Of course, they had been sent away through Tang Tian'er.

As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Since Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce was so large, it was impossible for them not to have escape routes.

They had secret passages within the city leading outside. Transporting the demonic tribe was a matter of great importance, so they dared not take any risks and secretly transported Xingnu and others out through the secret passages.

However, Xu Yu had been conducting strict investigations recently. So, Zu An made a grand show, organizing many convoys, pretending to use them to confuse everyone, and then using one of the convoys to transport the snake demons out.

Xu Yu thought he had seen through Zu An's scheme, but he didn't know that Zu An's only goal was to attract his attention.

"Where are we going next?" Concubine Liu asked curiously.

"You two continue straight, pretending I'm still in the carriage," Zu An said, beginning to change his clothes. "Stay at a villa in the neighboring commandery for a while." The reason he had created such a commotion was certainly not merely to cover for Tang Tian'er transporting the snake demons, but to use this opportunity to lure the tiger away from its mountain and create a perfect chance to rescue Yu Yanluo.

Concubine Liu and Concubine Chu's faces flushed slightly. Although they had already been intimate, they both knew that this person was not the Duke.

Both women actually had suspicions about his identity, but they consistently, and tacitly, never asked to see his true face.

Only then could they persuade themselves to continue...

Soon, while one of the convoys stopped for supplies, Zu An secretly left the carriage.

With such a large convoy, and with his current cultivation level, no one at all noticed his departure.

He rushed back to Yunzhong City at top speed, arriving at the room where Jiang Luofu had previously stayed.

The room was empty. Only a letter with a special seal remained.

He took out the token Jiang Luofu had given him earlier and placed it on the rune on the envelope. After the two perfectly matched,

the envelope transformed into specks of light, which then gathered to form a passage of text in mid-air:

"I have already lured the drunkard away. You have one hour..."