Chapter 1686: Night Visit

Zu An keenly sensed the hidden danger in the question, but he still spoke frankly: "Of course, I don't want you two to fight."

You're both important to me; it would be trouble no matter who lost.

"Oh, so you don't want me to compete with that great... *cough*, Miss Pei for first place, do you?" Qiu Honglei looked a little dejected, as if on the verge of tears.

Yun Jianyue secretly gave a thumbs-up. Indeed, the student surpassed the master. Only such a cunning and irresistibly charming vixen could embody the true nature of a demonic sect's enchantress.

Zu An quickly said, "I actually don't care who gets first place. I just don't want either of you to lose. Whether it's Manman or you, I don't want to see either of you defeated, especially after you've both put in so much effort."

There was another reason he couldn't say: losing to someone else might be acceptable, but losing to a future rival again would be too hard to bear.

Yun Jianyue sneered, "This is an arena combat; do you expect them to draw? You're being too naive."

Zu An sighed, "It's giving me a headache too."

"This isn't your concern. Let them win or lose based on their own abilities. Why are you worrying about it?" Yun Jianyue said dismissively.

At this point, Qiu Honglei also said pitifully, "A'Zu, if you feel for Miss Pei, I could actually lose to her. Anyway, I'm not the real Peng Wuyan, so losing would just be embarrassing for Kongming Island."

Yun Jianyue raised an eyebrow. This Honglei was getting more and more skilled. Though Yun Jianyue herself knew such tactics, her powerful abilities and personality made it difficult for her to actually use them.

Thus, she was a theoretical master of enchantment, but in practice, her disciple was clearly more adept.

The only time she had ever used enchantment in her life was when she deliberately danced for Zu An in the secret realm last time.

Remembering that incident, her heart suddenly beat a little faster.

Zu An naturally knew that Qiu Honglei was saying this on purpose, but he wasn't annoyed. In fact, he found it somewhat charming when a girl he liked played a little trick. "Alright, alright, just fight however you want. I won't interfere anymore."

Qiu Honglei smiled sweetly, like blooming flowers, and without a word, she nestled softly and charmingly into his embrace.

Yun Jianyue nodded in satisfaction. Honglei was indeed becoming more natural, truly worthy of being her most promising successor.

But why wasn't she as happy as she expected? Especially seeing the two of them so intimately together, she felt a tiny bit... agitated?

She was startled. *Yun Jianyue, Yun Jianyue, have you no shame? Are you actually jealous of your own disciple?*

She quickly stopped herself from dwelling on Qiu Honglei and instead vented her anger on Zu An. *It's all this scoundrel's fault.*

Rage points from Yun Jianyue +300 +300 +300...

Zu An was startled by the long string of rage points appearing in the background. Seeing Qiu Honglei in his arms, he finally understood what was happening.

However, he also felt a bit gloomy. *This isn't my fault; Qiu Honglei nestled into me herself.*

In her eyes, their relationship had her master's approval, so there was naturally less to worry about.

He cleared his throat. "How about we head back to Zishan first? For some reason, I have a feeling something big is happening at Zishan recently, and I'm worried about what might go wrong if we're not there."

Others might be fine, but Chuyan, Big Manman, and Xie Daoyun were all at Zishan.

As for Yan Xuehen, her cultivation was so high, there was no need to worry about her.

Yun Jianyue nodded. "That's good. It'll be a good chance to humiliate those Taoist sect members sooner."

Peng Wuyan had been "missing" for quite some time; it was the perfect opportunity to make a triumphant return.

She imagined how delightful the expressions of those hypocritical Taoist sect members would be once she revealed her true identity after winning the championship.

Night had fallen, which was convenient for their journey, but soon a problem arose.

How were they to return to Zishan?

Yun Jianyue was a Grandmaster and could fly by herself. Qiu Honglei's current cultivation allowed her to fly for short periods, but it wasn't enough for traveling long distances by air.

Either Yun Jianyue or Zu An would have to carry her.

She secretly wished to be with Zu An, but felt too embarrassed to show it, so she proactively said, "I'll go with Master."

Yun Jianyue's expression was particularly amusing. While this girl spoke, her eyes kept darting towards Zu An, looking as if she desperately wanted to throw herself into his arms, yet she said what she did. Clearly, she was playing a trick on her.

*I've really taught myself a good disciple, haven't I?*

She snorted coldly, "Forget it. You two have been apart for a long time; you must have a lot to talk about. I won't be a third wheel here."

Without waiting for their reaction, she vanished into the sky with a flash.

Rage points from Yun Jianyue +488 +488 +488...

Zu An blinked. *She talked so magnanimously, but she was clearly so angry inside.*

Qiu Honglei, unaware of the underlying meaning, instead marveled, "Master truly thinks of me so much. A'Zu, we must properly honor her from now on."

Zu An's expression was a sight to behold. *The word "honor" sounds so strange in this context.*

However, he couldn't very well explain, so he mumbled a vague assent, then took out his Wind-Fire Wheels, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and said, "Let's go."

Qiu Honglei, in her cherry-blossom pink long dress adorned with with delicate small flowers, flew into the sky. Her skirt billowed, making her figure appear even more graceful. Zu An held her, feeling as if she were as soft as if she had no bones.

They flew along, chatting about what they had experienced since they parted. In truth, they had already talked a lot earlier, but lovers always have endless things to say to each other.

After an unknown amount of time, their emotions grew more intense, and before they knew it, their heads drew together, and they began to passionately kiss.

Qiu Honglei let out a soft moan. At first, she was a little shy, but gradually she responded with growing passion and a touch of inexperience.

Her lips were soft, and her breath was truly like orchids.

Just as they were lost in the moment, a soft cough suddenly came from nearby. Only then did they realize they had already arrived near Zishan, and Yun Jianyue was glaring at them from not far away.

Rage points from Yun Jianyue +666 +666 +666...

"Master~" Qiu Honglei stuck out her tongue and quickly moved out of Zu An's embrace.

Zu An also felt a bit awkward. Looking at the rage points in the background and then at Yun Jianyue, he couldn't help but ponder.

Yun Jianyue didn't say anything, only stated with a stern face, "We're near Zishan now. There are many people and eyes here, so quickly revert to Peng Wuyan's appearance."

"Oh~" Qiu Honglei turned to Zu An and said, "Brother Zu, you go on ahead. I don't want you to see me like that."

Over the past few days of competition, Peng Wuyan had become known for two things: her strength and her ugliness. It hadn't mattered before when her identity wasn't revealed, but now that Zu An knew, she naturally didn't want to leave a bad impression on her lover.

Zu An had originally wanted to explain things to Yun Jianyue, but in this situation, he couldn't. He simply parted ways with the two women.

Back at the mountain villa, Xie Daoyun quickly sat up. "Who's there?"

Evidently, his entry had triggered the defensive magic arrays she had set up around the place.

"It's me," Zu An replied.

"Brother Zu!" Xie Daoyun looked delighted and threw off her covers to greet him.

She was wearing a silk nightgown, and with her sleepy eyes and slightly disheveled hair, she appeared exceptionally lazy and charmingly naive.

Given her upbringing, she would never normally show such a private side to others. Even wearing this in front of another woman would be quite impolite, let alone a man.

But having spent time with Zu An, she had gradually grown accustomed to it.

"I was worried you'd been carried off by the wolves on this mountain," Zu An teased.

"Brother Zu, you're so naughty. There are no wolves on this mountain," Xie Daoyun said, her small face flushing. "But you've been gone for so many days without returning; I was worried something had happened to you."

"Don't worry, it's nothing major. Everything's been dealt with," Zu An reassured her, giving her a rough account of what happened in Yi Commandery. She gasped repeatedly, completely unprepared for such actions from the Yi Commandery Governor.

"By the way, has anything happened on Zishan?" Zu An asked casually.

"Nothing major," Xie Daoyun replied. "That Peng Wuyan from Kongming Island still hasn't been found, and even Elder Peng seems to have disappeared." She thought for a moment, then added, "Oh, right, there seemed to be some unusual activity near Guanzin Peak earlier. Some testing arrays I left there seem to have been destroyed. However, when I went to check, I didn't find anything conclusive. I only know there must have been a battle there. Although it was concealed, to be able to destroy the arrays I secretly placed, the level of the fight must have been quite high. What's strange is that no one on the main peak sensed a battle of that magnitude. I even wonder if it was just my imagination."

"Oh? A battle of extremely high intensity that went unnoticed?" Zu An's heart stirred. Zishan had been a place of many incidents recently, and he decided to go take a look.

Xie Daoyun offered to accompany him, but he declined. After all, she was sound asleep in her nightgown; there was no need to disturb her.

At this moment, in the Biyue Palace villa, Pei Mianman was sleeping when she suddenly stirred awake. "Who's there?"

"Quite alert, aren't we?" a female voice chuckled. "Truly, a captivating sight. No wonder that boy likes her so much."