Chapter 1603: Longer than this, never heard such a request

After her initial panic, Zhao Xiaodie gradually calmed down, and her previous arrogance returned to her face. "Do you really dare to kill me?" she challenged. "I am the daughter of the King of Qi, Princess Caidie, appointed by the imperial court. If you do anything to me, it will be a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family!"

Zu An nodded. "If the imperial court finds out, I will indeed be in a lot of trouble."

"You know that, so why aren't you letting me go?" Zhao Xiaodie felt a bit smug, sensing the softening in his tone. She instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but she was completely powerless and unable to move, unaware of what trick he had used.

Zu An smiled slightly, taking her hand and holding her bright red fingernail to her neck, tracing with it. "Your poison is quite potent. But you can't be immune to your own poison, can you? If I just gently cut your fair, delicate neck, and you turn into a pool of blood, who would know I did it? This alley is very quiet, and no one will come for a while. Then I can just take your head and throw it into a random latrine; wouldn't that destroy all evidence?"

"Oh, and wasn't it you who told me that this poison dissolves the whole body, but not the head?"

Hearing these eerily familiar words, Zhao Xiaodie was on the verge of tears. She never expected karma to strike so quickly.

With her noble status and high cultivation, she was never usually approached so closely by a man.

She could still feel the warmth of his palm on her hand. She had often fantasized about various scenarios where her future lover would hold her hand, but she never imagined her first intimate contact would be under these circumstances.

At this moment, however, there was no romance or anger in her heart, only pure terror.

She knew all too well how terrifying her poison was. The process of consciously watching her body dissolve from the inside out was worse than death.

She naturally had an antidote, but with her vital points sealed, she couldn't retrieve it, and he certainly wouldn't give it to her.

"No!" Zhao Xiaodie gasped. She knew her outburst revealed her weakness, but she dared not risk it. After all, this man had dared to break her elder brother's leg; who knew if he would act impulsively?

Her life, like a blooming flower, had barely begun; how could she die here?

"Oh?" A hint of mockery appeared on Zu An's face. "Then kneel and kowtow to me three hundred times. Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll spare your life."

"I only just told you to kowtow one hundred times!" Zhao Xiaodie immediately retorted, flustered.

Zu An's expression turned stern. "What? Is it not okay for me to want you to kowtow three hundred times?"

Zhao Xiaodie bit her lip and turned her head away.

"What, not going to kowtow? Then don't blame me for being cruel to a beauty." Zu An feigned moving her hand towards her neck again.

Zhao Xiaodie took a deep breath, her chest still rising and falling rapidly, clearly still terrified. But she forced herself to remain calm and said: "If you want to kill me, then do it. As a member of the royal bloodline, if I have to live with such humiliation, I'd rather die!

"But if you want no one to know, don't do it. If you truly kill me today, there will always be traces found afterward. At that time, neither my royal father, the imperial court, nor the Lihen Heaven sect will ever let you go!"

"Threatening me?" Zu An's expression turned cold. He directly used her fingernail to scratch her neck.

Feeling a sharp sting and smelling the scent of blood, Zhao Xiaodie immediately panicked. "No! The antidote! Give me the antidote quickly!"

"Are you going to kowtow or not?" Zu An asked coldly.

"I'll kowtow!" Zhao Xiaodie couldn't help but cry. This man was truly like a demon.

"Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier, instead of needing to be taught a lesson?" Zu An said coldly. "Where is the antidote?"

"It's in my bosom, the green porcelain bottle," Zhao Xiaodie quickly replied. She could feel the poison spreading from her wound. If not for her unusual resistance due to frequent exposure to poisons, a good portion of her neck might have already melted by now.

Zu An wasn't afraid of any traps she might have set. He reached directly into her bosom, searched for a moment, found the antidote, and poured it down her throat.

"Cough, cough~" Zhao Xiaodie coughed violently. Feeling that he had released her, she quickly took the antidote and poured some more onto the wound on her neck.

This person was truly a devil, daring to actually try and kill her!

Zu An watched quietly as she finished everything. "Now, are you ready to kowtow?"

Zhao Xiaodie gritted her teeth and said, head held high, "I wronged you earlier, and I apologize."

Zu An snorted coldly. "If apologies were all it took, what would we need officers and laws for in this world?"

"You're acting outside the law yourself," Zhao Xiaodie muttered. "If you're so capable, take me to the officials and let them judge me."

Zu An chuckled. "You wish."

How many officials in this world would dare to truly trouble the King of Qi's daughter?

Zhao Xiaodie took a deep breath, looking at him with a complex expression. "I've already apologized to you. What more do you want?"

"Kowtow," Zu An replied simply.

Zhao Xiaodie gritted her teeth. "I am a princess after all. I have my pride."

He looked at her coldly, showing no sign of relenting.

She bit the bullet and said, "I've figured it out now; you don't actually dare to kill me. So let's each take a step back. I'll apologize to you, and afterward, I'll prepare a generous gift for you, with various rare materials, divine treasures, and sharp weapons for you to choose from."

"Oh, choose anything? Do you have 'Heaven's First Water' or 'Elucidating Jade Marrow'?" Zu An asked. If he could find the materials needed to reshape the empress's body, he wouldn't just release her; he would treat her with utmost reverence.

Zhao Xiaodie looked bewildered. "What are those?"

Coming from the royal family and belonging to a top sect like Lihen Heaven, she considered her knowledge extensive, yet she had never even heard of these names.

Zu An's expression darkened. "Then find me a god-tier weapon."

Zhao Xiaodie immediately became anxious. "There are only a few god-tier weapons in the world, and they are either with the Demon Emperor or powerful figures like the Human Emperor. Where am I supposed to find one for you?"

Zu An sneered. "You can't do this, you don't have that, and yet you tell me to choose anything? Never mind, just kowtow."

"You're clearly making things difficult for me!" Zhao Xiaodie said, somewhat annoyed. "Worst case, I'll find a way to get you an immortal-tier weapon, plus some top-grade spiritual herbs. That's already a very generous offer. Don't push your luck; you wouldn't actually dare to kill me anyway!"

Although immortal-tier weapons were rare, with her father's power, she thought there was still a chance to acquire one.

However, her father would certainly ask for the reason. If she told him what happened, her father would surely flay this guy alive.

*Humph*, the princess thought, *I am indeed incomparably clever. When the time comes, I'll make this scoundrel kneel at my feet and repent.*

"I don't dare to kill you?" Zu An's expression turned cold, and the air around them noticeably chilled.

Zhao Xiaodie felt every hair on her body stand on end. Although he made no movement, she sensed the aura of death.

She never expected someone who seemed harmless to possess such terrifying pressure.

Little did she know that Zu An's aura had reached its peak after killing the Demon Emperor in the secret realm and executing Grandmasters in the royal court; it was far beyond what she could resist.

"I was wrong..." She couldn't help but cry. "But I really can't kowtow. How about you slap me three hundred times instead?"

"Slap?" Zu An's expression was strange. "You wish!"

Zhao Xiaodie looked bewildered. "I mean, hit me to vent your anger."

Zu An's old face flushed, and he cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. "I don't hit women!"

"Hit me then, I beg you, as long as it makes you feel better," Zhao Xiaodie pleaded, tears streaking her face. Kneeling and kowtowing would be utterly humiliating, but being hit was entirely different; it was due to being outmatched, which wouldn't harm her dignity.

Zu An's expression was peculiar. "In all my life, I've never heard such a request."