Chapter 1733: Unintended Old Acquaintance

Zu An had just arrived in this world. Not only did he use his spiritual sense to investigate, but he also immediately activated the jade *cong* in his hand, attempting to summon small animals nearby to act as a radar. To his surprise, there was no response.

Initially, he thought there might just be no small animals in that particular area. However, as they traveled, he found none anywhere, and immediately realized something was amiss.

Qiu Honglei was startled and cautiously looked around. "Could these plants be poisonous?"Zu An shook his head slightly. "I have some knowledge of poisons, and the trees around here are ordinary; they're not toxic."

"That's strange then," Qiu Honglei said, furrowing her brow in thought, appearing quite troubled. Suddenly, she noticed Zu An staring at her in a daze and quickly asked,

"What's wrong?"Zu An chuckled, "Nothing, I just think you look beautiful even when you're frowning."

"Oh, you!" Qiu Honglei playfully chided him. If any other man had said something similar on a normal day, she would have found him incredibly frivolous. But coming from her beloved, her heart couldn't help but pound.

Zu An took her soft hand. "Let's go. There seems to be a light in the distance ahead; let's check it out."Qiu Honglei hummed in agreement. As the Saintess of the Demonic Cult, she was usually decisive and formidable. Yet, now that she was with Zu An, she found herself too comfortable to think for herself, feeling completely at ease simply following him.

If Wan Guiyi had seen this scene, Qiu Honglei's image as a powerful expert who had dominated battles and overcome all obstacles on the Golden Summit would have completely shattered.

The two followed the small path through the wild grass. Although the light appeared not far off, it still took them some time to reach it.

Since it was a completely new environment, both remained vigilant, constantly watching for anything unusual around them, and did not fly quickly. By the time they approached the light, it was already completely dark.

It was then that they noticed the light faintly emanating from a dilapidated temple. The temple itself was not small, but it was incredibly rundown, overgrown with weeds everywhere. Various vines snaked along the trees and walls, each one grotesquely thick, like giant pythons.

Broken flagstones and collapsed statues lay scattered on the ground, covered in thick layers of dirt and dust, indicating that the temple had likely endured the erosion of long ages.

They exchanged glances. In such a desolate wilderness, a long-abandoned and dilapidated temple would clearly have been deserted. How could anyone be making a fire inside?

"Could it be Master and the others?" Qiu Honglei asked, filled with anticipation.

"Not very likely. Stay alert," Zu An said gravely.They carefully approached the temple. Suddenly, Zu An stepped on something hard. Sensing something amiss, he crouched down to look and found it was a broken stone tablet with faint inscriptions still visible on it.

Qiu Honglei gently waved her hand, and the dirt and sand on the tablet were quickly swept away, revealing three characters: "Ruolan Temple."

Zu An: "???"

"Ah Zu, what's wrong?" Qiu Honglei asked nervously, noticing the strange expression on his face.

"Nothing, just remembering some old things," Zu An said, thinking to himself that it was a good thing it wasn't Lanruo Temple.The two continued through the temple gate. The doors all looked precariously unstable, as if a gust of wind would make them fall, and they constantly let out creaking noises. If ordinary people had passed through, they would certainly have caused these doors and windows to emit piercing sounds. Fortunately, both of them were masters and moved without a sound.

As they walked further inside, thick cobwebs were everywhere, but not a single spider could be seen on them. Their gaze focused on a room in the main hall, from where the firelight emanated.

"Braised chicken wings, I love to eat them..." Just then, a strange song drifted out. The voice, like that of a male duck, was particularly grating and unpleasant to hear.

Qiu Honglei visibly relaxed. There was a person inside, and judging by the sounds, there seemed to be no danger.

Zu An, however, had a strange expression. Why did this voice sound somewhat familiar?They arrived at the doorway; there was no need to find a place to peek, as the doors and windows were full of holes.

Inside, a bonfire burned in the center of the room. A shifty-looking young man was sitting cross-legged beside it, having made a simple rack over the fire and roasting food on a wooden stick.

Seeing the *mo* (steamed bun/bread) skewered on the wooden stick, Qiu Honglei was full of questions. Did people in this world call this "chicken wings"?

Zu An, however, focused on the two prominent buck teeth of the young man, his expression incredibly strange. How could he encounter him here?

Suddenly, his previous conjectures felt less certain.

"Who's there?"They hadn't deliberately concealed their presence, so the person inside had also noticed them. He immediately drew a knife and slashed towards them, the force of his attack sending a shower of sparks from the bonfire flying upwards.

Qiu Honglei's eyebrows twitched slightly. Although the man's cultivation was decent, it was still far inferior to theirs.

She was about to step forward and teach him a lesson when Zu An stopped her hand. Feeling him restrain her, Qiu Honglei was somewhat puzzled.

At that moment, the buck-toothed man also got a clear look at their faces. "Huh?" he exclaimed, quickly putting his knife away. "Boss, what are you doing here?"Qiu Honglei: "???" Boss?

Zu An also smiled and ran over to embrace the buck-toothed man. "Yeah, I didn't expect to run into you here either."It turned out this person was Wei Suo, his former deskmate from Brightmoon Academy. Zu An recalled how Wei Suo had provided him with a lot of information when he first arrived in this world.

Especially recalling how Wei Suo had excitedly described the top ten beauties of Brightmoon Academy back then, Zu An couldn't help but smile knowingly.

At this point, Wei Suo also noticed Qiu Honglei standing nearby. Seeing her dazzling beauty, he was visibly stunned. He couldn't help but pull Zu An aside. "Boss, you truly live up to your title. The women by your side are all top-notch. You almost swept up all ten beauties from the academy, and now you even have a woman of such caliber out here. When are you going to teach me some seduction tricks?"Zu An was taken aback. "Is picking up girls difficult? Can't you just directly ask the girl you like if she's willing to be with you?"

"That works too?" Wei Suo looked skeptical. *I'm not well-read; don't lie to me.*Zu An nodded confidently. "Anyway, I've never received a rejection in all these years."Seeing Zu An's handsome and dashing appearance, and then thinking of his own countenance, Wei Suo instantly deflated. "Forget it, pretend I never asked."

"But this young lady, why does she look a little familiar?"Zu An chuckled. "You might have seen her; she also stayed in Brightmoon City back then." With that, he briefly introduced Qiu Honglei's identity.

Wei Suo's eyes lit up immediately. He turned to look at Qiu Honglei. "So you're the former courtesan who outshone everyone in Brightmoon City! No wonder you're breathtakingly beautiful."He had actually seen Qiu Honglei years ago, but given her status back then, she always appeared magnificently dressed, surrounded by admirers. Wei Suo could only catch a distant glimpse of her from the periphery, and at the time, he was so captivated by her radiance that he couldn't even remember what she looked like.

Zu An then pulled Wei Suo over to introduce him to Qiu Honglei. Upon learning that Wei Suo was also from Brightmoon City and had even been Zu An's deskmate, Qiu Honglei's expression immediately softened considerably. "Hello."

"Hello, hello..." The goddess he had once admired was now speaking to him at such close range. Wei Suo felt as if his whole body was glowing and became flustered, not knowing where to put his eyes.

Zu An was somewhat speechless. This guy could talk eloquently about beautiful women in private, giving grand advice and commanding imaginary armies. Yet, in reality, when faced with a pretty woman, he couldn't even utter a proper sentence.

He cleared his throat lightly and asked, "Your cultivation seems to have increased significantly?" The man's previous slash already showed considerable skill, indicating at least a seventh-rank cultivation.

One had to remember that this guy used to be a notorious slacker in school, even ranking at the very bottom of the lowest-level Yellow Class at Brightmoon Academy. Reaching third rank in his lifetime would have been considered an ancestral blessing.

Wei Suo then somewhat recovered his composure, his expression also dimming slightly. "There was nothing else I could do. Life forced me into it. My family went through a huge upheaval back then, and I had to wander the martial world. I struggled between life and death several times, and then had several miraculous encounters one after another, which is how my cultivation grew a bit." As he spoke, he suddenly became somewhat animated, putting an arm around Zu An's shoulder. "Boss, I'm a master now, don't worry. From now on, I'll protect you. No one will dare bully you."