Chapter 1673: Rise from the Dead

"When I first saw you," Zu An slowly replied.

Zhang Zitong was puzzled. "Could it be that the turtle spirit from Blackwater Pond said a woman abandoned Lord Seven's body, and you suspected that woman was me?"

Zu An shook his head. "No, it was just a gut feeling when I first saw you that something wasn't right."

"What logic is that?" Zhang Zitong felt wronged. Having handled cases for many years, she knew about intuition. Once someone was suspected, even if all evidence pointed to their innocence, the doubts in one's mind would remain, eventually leading to the discovery of their guilt.

She never expected that one day she would be defeated by so-called intuition.

Zu An looked at her, his gaze falling on her long legs. "You are too beautiful, and your figure is too striking. This doesn't fit the low-key style of Embroidered Uniform Emissaries. Look at the people around you; they are qualified Emissaries."

Xiao Jianren and the others were dumbfounded, wondering if Lord Eleven was praising them or scolding them.

Zhang Zitong's face flushed. She never expected such praise from him, but she couldn't feel happy at all. "Lord Seven adopted me when I was very young; I've already explained that to you!"

"Your biological parents could never be ordinary people to give birth to a daughter with your looks and temperament. Gold Medal Seven might have been too deeply involved to consider or unwilling to consider that possibility, but I'm different. The moment I saw you, I sensed something was off. You are too exceptional and outstanding," Zu An slowly stated, "You were simply not destined to be an Embroidered Uniform Emissary."

Zhang Zitong gave him a lingering look. "Although I haven't seen Lord Eleven's face, I can sense that you are also a handsome and dashing man. Why can you be a Gold Medal Emissary, while I'm the one who gets suspected?"

Zu An smiled slightly. "One person like me is enough. Others aren't so fortunate."

Zhang Zitong was speechless.

Even Xiao Jianren and the other Silver Medal Emissaries wondered if Lord Eleven was being a bit too shameless.

"Alright, I've asked my questions. It's time to let him go," Zu An said, walking towards Zhang Zitong.

"Don't move!" Zhang Zitong tightened her grip on the dagger menacingly. It was already pressed against Xiao Jianren's skin; with a little more force, his throat would be slit.

Zu An frowned. "You must be aware of how Xiao Jianren has treated you recently. Do you really want to threaten me with his life?"

Hearing his words, Xiao Jianren felt deeply ashamed, thinking his recent actions had been utterly disgraceful.

Zhang Zitong's expression shifted between anger and regret. Finally, she lowered the dagger and apologized to Xiao Jianren, "I'm sorry."

After speaking, she gently pushed him forward with a palm and then drew the dagger across her own throat.

Zu An was prepared. With a flick of his finger, a blast of wind deflected the dagger.

The other Silver Medal Emissaries seized the opportunity to rush forward and instantly restrained her with their Soul-Snatching Ropes.

What surprised them, however, was that Zhang Zitong showed no intention of resisting from beginning to end.

At this moment, Zhang Zitong looked up at Zu An, a sorrowful yet beautiful smile on her face. "Lord Eleven, I know I'm going to die, but I still want to say that working with you during this time has been the happiest period of my life."

Xiao Jianren and the others weren't too surprised to hear this. Having spent time together recently, they had more or less noticed certain things; compared to Lord Eleven, they truly had no competitive edge.

Zu An's expression changed. He instantly appeared before her, pried open her mouth, and saw a trickle of black blood seeping out. Clearly, she had hidden poison in her teeth.

He quickly tapped his fingers, sealing off her vital energy flow to prevent the poison from spreading.

Zhang Zitong smiled sadly. "It's no use. This poison is for suicide; it's extremely potent, and there's no... antidote..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually faded, and the light in her eyes slowly diminished.

Xiao Jianren's expression darkened. He knew this was the best possible outcome for her; otherwise, countless tortures awaited her in the Embroidered Uniform Emissaries' prison, and death would be a relief.

Yet, he still felt like crying.

Without hesitation, Zu An picked up Zhang Zitong and rushed to an inner room. "Wait outside. No matter what you hear, do not come in."

After speaking, he slammed the door shut.

Xiao Jianren and the other Silver Medal Emissaries exchanged bewildered glances. What did Lord Eleven mean? Zhang Zitong had already bitten down on the poison in her teeth; could she still be saved?

Zhang Zitong had the same question. In her dying moments, she watched him carry her into the room and lay her flat on a table.

"What's he going to do? Surely not..." Zhang Zitong's heart skipped a beat. Even though she was close to death, she still found it all so... absurd.

Just then, Zu An extended a finger and pressed it firmly onto her.

"Ah~"

Hearing the sound from inside, Xiao Jianren and the others looked at each other in confusion. What exactly was Lord Eleven doing?

Was he torturing her while she still had a breath left?

After a while, muffled groans occasionally came from within, clearly suppressed. They sounded like pain, yet also like a tiny hint of... pleasure?

This left Xiao Jianren and the others even more perplexed. What exactly were they doing in there?

Zhang Zitong had taken poison and was clearly dying, so how could she have the energy to make such sounds?

After another pause, the sounds seemed impossible to suppress any longer, reaching their ears in waves.

Sweet, bashful, and uncontrollable.

The experienced men outside the door naturally understood what those sounds meant.

Their expressions instantly became exceedingly strange.

They thought, 'Lord Eleven really adheres to the principle of not wasting anything. The person is almost dead...'

Yet, they couldn't help but feel that his actions were somewhat beastly.

Several men patted Xiao Jianren on the shoulder, their eyes filled with sympathy.

Xiao Jianren immediately grew anxious. "You must be mistaken. It's definitely not what you're thinking."

"You can fool your brothers, but don't fool yourself. We understand how you're feeling right now." The other Silver Medals felt even more sympathetic at this point, and several of them even felt a pang of jealousy. After all, who wouldn't be fond of an outstanding and beautiful colleague like Zhang Zitong?

Xiao Jianren's expression darkened. "You don't understand Lord Eleven. I believe he's definitely not that kind of person. Even if it were as you imagine, he must be saving Miss Zhang or have some other purpose; he wouldn't be swayed by beauty."

The others chuckled awkwardly, feeling that they were wasting their breath, and stopped trying to console him.

At this moment, a loud, high-pitched cry came from the room, and then complete silence returned.

Hearing this, the men's hearts pounded, and their mouths went dry. Feeling that it was inappropriate to stay, they left one after another to give their superior some privacy.

Xiao Jianren hesitated for a moment before also leaving the room. However, he didn't go far, instead guarding the courtyard to prevent anyone else from approaching.

Inside the room, Zhang Zitong was covered in a fragrant sweat, strands of hair clinging to her skin. Her face was flushed as she gazed at the man beside her, her expression a mix of shock, shyness, and embarrassment.

Zu An withdrew his finger. "Alright, although the residual poison hasn't been completely cleared, your life shouldn't be in danger anymore. You should largely recover after a period of rest and recuperation."

"You... what kind of trick is this? How can even such potent poison be neutralized?" Zhang Zitong added silently in her mind, 'And the crucial part is, there's such an embarrassing side effect.'

Her voice was a little hoarse, though she wasn't sure if it was from overuse.

As a woman, she had just displayed her most embarrassing and "humiliating" side in front of a man.

If he were her lover, it might have been acceptable, but strictly speaking, he was just a stranger, and she didn't even know what he looked like.

Zu An also felt a bit awkward. The third level of the Primordial Chaos Scripture could, to some extent, help detoxify people, but the side effects were indeed very obvious: it easily made a woman's body infinitely more sensitive than usual, as if... well, you know.

He lightly coughed. "None of that matters. I'm very curious: Gold Medal Seven saved you back then and personally groomed you. His kindness towards you was immense, and you even mentioned treating him like a foster father. Why did you betray him and ultimately cause his death?"