Chapter 1663: An Hour

"You!" Yan Xuehen glared at him, her chest heaving, clearly in turmoil.

After a long pause, she took a deep breath. "I told you, I've forgotten what happened that time."

"Have you really forgotten?" Zu An deliberately checked his system backend. Seeing no rage points, the corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile.

"Of course!" Yan Xuehen's face was frosty as she turned to leave.

Zu An sighed. "If you had really forgotten, after being kissed just now, you would have already drawn your sword and fought me to the death."

Given Yan Xuehen's usual temperament, let alone kissing her, she would probably draw her sword if a man even touched her hand.

Hearing his words, Yan Xuehen nearly stumbled. She turned back, her eyes fixed on him with hostility. "Are you asking for it? You're not satisfied unless I kill you?"

Zu An laughed. "Not only am I satisfied, I'm delighted! It proves I'm still in your heart."

Yan Xuehen took a deep breath, barely managing to calm her turbulent emotions. "Don't be so narcissistic. The only reason I'm not killing you is because you're Chuuyan's husband, and I don't want to upset her."

"Alright, alright, I believe you," Zu An said, grinning as he watched her. This woman had a unique charm even when she was angry.

Listening to his clearly insincere words, Yan Xuehen almost exploded. "What exactly do you want?"

She made up her mind: if he dared to utter any more foolish talk about "embracing both," she would immediately draw her sword and cut out his tongue.

Zu An dropped his smile and said solemnly, "I know there are too many difficulties between us, and I truly don't know how to resolve them. I also don't want to make you unhappy... So, how about you be my girlfriend for one hour? After that, we'll go our separate ways, and I won't bother you anymore."

"A girlfriend for one hour? What does that mean?" Yan Xuehen frowned slightly. She should have felt relieved hearing him say he wouldn't pester her anymore, but for some reason, she wasn't particularly happy.

"It takes about an hour or so to get back to Mount Zi from here. During this journey, let's truly be a couple. Once we reach Mount Zi, we'll become complete strangers; I'll forget what happened and stop bothering you," Zu An explained.

Yan Xuehen's heart stirred. If this meant he would stop pestering her, perhaps it wasn't a bad deal...

Ultimately, her rationality prevailed. There had to be a clear end between them.

Being a couple for one hour and sealing away that memory might also allow her to achieve complete peace of mind, no longer feeling anxious and uncertain as before.

She took a deep breath. "Alright, but you're not allowed to do anything strange!"

"Of course, couples do couple-y things," Zu An quickly clarified when he saw her expression change drastically. "But I certainly won't do what you're thinking, since we'll be flying back."

As he spoke, a memory flashed in his mind of back in Qingqiu Country, where it wasn't impossible to... in the sky. That fox queen had indeed been very alluring...

"I feel like your smile is mischievous," Yan Xuehen frowned slightly. However, she figured that while flying in the sky, he wouldn't have the opportunity to do anything inappropriate, so she agreed. "Fine, I hope you keep your word."

Hearing her agreement, Zu An joyfully darted over and took her hand. It was cool and smooth, like jade.

Yan Xuehen's body trembled, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand away. "What are you doing!"

"Isn't holding hands normal for a couple?" Zu An looked at her with a bewildered expression.

Yan Xuehen's breath caught. But then she thought it was only for an hour anyway, and after a moment's hesitation, she didn't resist.

The two walked together beneath the night sky, the occasional chirping of insects making the surroundings seem even quieter.

Feeling the warmth radiating from his palm, Yan Xuehen felt a little uncomfortable. To break the awkward silence, she asked, "What exactly happened at the Prefect's mansion just now?"

Zu An gave her a general account of what had just transpired. Breathing in the faint, delicate fragrance that wafted through the air was quite a pleasant experience.

"The Emperor is truly powerful. I didn't dare get close just now, fearing he'd detect me," Yan Xuehen said, still feeling a lingering trepidation.

"Was that a Yin Spirit or Yang Spirit of an Earth Immortal just now?" Zu An asked. She was a renowned grandmaster of long standing and knew much more about such matters than he did.

"From what you described, that was clearly his Yang Spirit. However, in all these years, I've heard of him manifesting a few times, but never heard of him revealing his Yang Spirit. It seems he truly treats you differently," Yan Xuehen remarked with emotion.

"What's 'different'? He just thought something was amiss here at Mount Zi," Zu An said dismissively.

"What do you mean?" Yan Xuehen was startled, naturally catching the underlying implication.

Zu An didn't hide anything from her, explaining that Zhao Hao had sent him under the guise of repairing the Mount Zi palace, but in reality, it was to eliminate various potential threats.

Yan Xuehen smiled faintly. "So, you suspect that the gathering of the Nine Daoist Sects at Mount Zi could be detrimental to the Emperor. If that's the case, why are you telling me? I'm also a member of the Nine Daoist Sects."

Zu An quietly gazed at her exquisite, flawless face. "Because we are a couple. Couples are the most intimate people in the world, so why would I need to hide anything from you?"

Yan Xuehen's heart fluttered. Was this the weight of the word "couple"?

However, she couldn't quite withstand his intense gaze and slightly averted her eyes. "Don't worry. The Emperor is so powerful; even all the sect masters of the Nine Daoist Sects combined aren't his match. Why would they do something as foolish as throwing an egg against a rock?"

"You never know..." Zu An's expression suddenly changed. "Oh no, if I can summon the Emperor using this golden token, can he also use it to monitor my every move?"

He was a huge rebel, with too many secrets that the Emperor couldn't know.

Seeing his nervous expression, Yan Xuehen couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry. He merely left a wisp of his essence on your golden token, allowing him to sense your summons when necessary. To achieve constant monitoring, he would have to attach a part of his Yang Spirit or Yin Spirit to it. But that would be a potential danger even for an Earth Immortal. If you were to encounter a powerful enemy who took the opportunity to destroy that wisp of divine soul on the token, it would be a severe blow to the Emperor's power."

She looked at Zu An. "Although you have many secrets, in the Emperor's eyes, you're definitely not worth him taking such a big risk. Moreover, you usually keep the golden token in your storage space, so even if he did tamper with it, he wouldn't be able to monitor your movements."

Zu An let out a sigh of relief, his mood lightening. "It seems you're always paying attention to me; you even knew I keep the golden token in my storage space."

Yan Xuehen looked a little uncomfortable, and spat, "I'm not blind."

"By the way, from your tone just now, it seems you believe the King of Yan and don't think he's the killer of the Seventh Golden Token Holder?"

"Hmm, that old fox wouldn't tell me the truth even when he was in dire straits, and vaguely told me to investigate the Carefree Pavilion," Zu An sneered. "If that's the case, he deserves it."

"It seems you don't want to investigate the Carefree Pavilion," Yan Xuehen said, blinking as she observed him.

Zu An hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "To be honest, someone at the Carefree Pavilion is my friend, and she's been very good to me. Why would I investigate just because the King of Yan said so? The King of Yan had a motive, the capability, and there's enough evidence against him anyway."

"Your friend at the Carefree Pavilion must be a woman, and a beautiful one at that," Yan Xuehen scoffed, though a warmth spread through her heart, as he had shared such a private matter with her.

Zu An's expression stiffened. "It has nothing to do with whether she's beautiful or not; the main thing is that she's my friend."

"Of course. Ugly people can't be your friends," Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes, directly exposing his true nature.

Zu An was speechless. On the surface, this woman was a taciturn ice beauty, but he never expected her to have such a sharp tongue.

At this moment, Yan Xuehen suddenly spoke. "You'd better stay away from the Carefree Pavilion in the future. Being too close to them won't do you any good."

Zu An was startled, sensing a hidden meaning in her words. "Why?"

Yan Xuehen hesitated, then slowly began, "What I'm about to tell you, you mustn't reveal to anyone else, especially not to those in the imperial court."

Zu An's heart tightened. "Alright!"

"Due to some historical reasons concerning White Jade Capital, I learned that the Carefree Pavilion is very likely connected to the imperial family of the Meng Dynasty," Yan Xuehen said slowly.

"The Meng Dynasty? The one replaced by our dynasty's founding emperor?" Zu An was startled.

Yan Xuehen nodded. "Truth be told, the Great Zhou Dynasty's strength was built upon the foundations laid by the Meng Dynasty. Back then, the Meng Dynasty was also a glorious empire, and Daoist sects were highly respected within it... However, a certain Meng emperor, after ascending the throne due to a power struggle with his brothers, became highly wary of his siblings and other imperial grandmasters. Subsequent emperors followed his policy, becoming extremely cautious of the imperial clan and preventing them from holding power."

"Initially, this was normal, but coincidentally, several successive emperors had very short lifespans. This led to some ministers becoming veterans across multiple reigns. With young emperors and constant wars against the demon race, power gradually fell into the hands of influential elder statesmen."

Zu An sighed. "Our dynasty's Grand Ancestor was the most powerful official at that time."

After arriving in this world, he had desperately researched its background. Although this period of history was deliberately suppressed by the authorities, as a Brocade Guard, he could access information ordinary people couldn't.

Yan Xuehen nodded slightly. "Indeed. Our dynasty's Grand Ancestor accumulated immense prestige fighting the demon race back then, and replacing the Meng Dynasty later was a natural progression. The imperial clan, who should have protected the Meng Dynasty, had been suppressed for so many years that their power was no longer sufficient to stop any of it."

"Of course, it was a glorious dynasty after all. The Meng imperial family was still somewhat dissatisfied with Grand Ancestor Zhou's usurpation and amassed strength to launch several relatively large rebellions. However, they all ultimately failed, and the Zhou Dynasty authorities brutally suppressed these Meng remnants. Many years later, the voice of the Meng imperial family was rarely heard."

She paused, then added, "And the Carefree Pavilion rose during that very period."

"Fewer than three people in all of White Jade Capital know this secret, so I hope you don't put me in a difficult position."

Zu An's mind was in turmoil. He never expected the Carefree Pavilion to be connected to the former imperial family. Even the Embroidered Tower might not know this. For Yan Xuehen to know, it was likely due to the White Jade Capital's close ties with the Meng Dynasty back then.

He couldn't help but grasp Yan Xuehen's hands, saying emotionally, "You actually told me such a top-secret matter about White Jade Capital."

A blush spread across Yan Xuehen's face. She pursed her lips and whispered, "Aren't we a couple? You just said there's no need for secrets between couples."

Bathed in moonlight, she seemed to glow like crystal jade, emanating a soft, captivating aura.

Moved, Zu An could no longer resist pulling her into his embrace, holding her tightly.

Yan Xuehen's body stiffened. Instinctively, she wanted to push him away, but her hands lifted several times before finally resting gently on his shoulders. After all, it was only for an hour...