Chapter 260: Assassination

Zu'an gulped. He had already experienced the power of the Whip of Lamentation, and the 'refreshing sting' of that memory was still vivid. No wonder Cheng Shoubing was screaming so terribly.

It turned out that Chu Huanzhao had become increasingly irritated the more she thought about it, and decided to return and confront Zu'an. As soon as she got back, she heard Cheng Shoubing's words, which, given her already foul mood, were like adding fuel to the fire. She instantly erupted.

One lash wasn't enough to appease her anger, so she delivered a second. Seeing her about to strike a third time, Zu'an quickly intervened, "Alright, alright, his small frame can't take any more; you'll kill him."

Seeing him, Chu Huanzhao became even more infuriated and raised the whip, intending to strike him. But in the end, it didn't land. She merely snorted, turned, and walked away, declaring, "I don't want to talk to you!"

Zu'an smiled at her childish tantrum. Why did he feel this girl was becoming more and more adorable? That's why good genes and good looks make even a tantrum seem less annoying.

He turned back and glanced at Cheng Shoubing. "Sooner or later, your mouth will get you into trouble," he warned. "Be careful from now on; don't be so loud and reckless."

"Oh~" Cheng Shoubing muttered, his face full of resentment. He thought, 'What kind of situation is this? The young master-in-law went to the Immortal Abode, and he had all the fun. I just casually mentioned it, so why am I the one getting beaten?'

'Hmph, and here I thought highly of the second young lady and the young master-in-law. From now on, I'll firmly support the eldest young lady!'

Seeing his aggrieved expression, Zu'an took out a silver ingot and tossed it to him. "Go buy some medicine for yourself and get some good rest," he said. "You don't need to see me off today, lest Little Zhao sees you and gets angry again."

Seeing the silver, Cheng Shoubing's eyes lit up, and he beamed, "Thank you, young master-in-law, you're the best!"

'With the young master-in-law's generous nature, he deserves a new bride every night,' he thought. However, remembering past lessons, he dared not voice this particular blessing.

Unable to stand Cheng Shoubing's sickeningly sweet gaze, Zu'an quickly hurried after Chu Huanzhao. Previously, she always waited for Zu'an at the gate to go to school together, but today she had simply ridden off on her horse.

Zu'an had to exert great effort to catch up. "Oh dear," he said, "who's made my Little Zhao so upset?"

Chu Huanzhao kept a straight face and remained silent.

Zu'an moved closer. "Still mad that I didn't bring you a gift?" he asked. "What do you want? I'll go buy it for you right now. Big brother has money~"

Chu Huanzhao couldn't stand his teasing. "You know perfectly well it's not because of that," she retorted.

"Then what is it because of?" Zu'an asked with a smile.

Chu Huanzhao turned her face away. "You're asking when you already know," she muttered.

Zu'an's eyes darted around. "Is it because of what happened at the Immortal Abode last night?" he ventured.

Chu Huanzhao snorted, her fair little face growing even colder.

"I was purely dragged there by those two fellows from the second and third branches," Zu'an began. "They came to me to inquire about your sister's injuries and illness. I lied to them, saying there was no serious problem, but they're not fools; how could they easily believe that?"

"So they specifically invited me to the Immortal Abode to test me," he continued. "After all, if something was truly wrong with your sister, I certainly wouldn't be in the mood to enjoy myself."

"So I turned their scheme against them," he explained. "To fully convince them that your sister was fine, I made such a great sacrifice and forced myself to go to a place like that."

Zu'an spoke with a solemn expression, secretly admiring his own ability to fabricate such a story. As for Chu Yucheng and Chu Hongcai, they could just take the blame; after all, they were the ones who had invited him in the first place.

"Really?" Chu Huanzhao's expression finally softened a bit.

"Of course, it's true!" Zu'an declared righteously. "You know I'm always upright; how could I willingly degrade myself by going to such a place!" As he spoke, he puffed out his chest, making himself appear particularly grand.

"But... but I heard that the courtesan from the Immortal Abode chose you... chose you to be... her special guest," Chu Huanzhao said indignantly, thinking, 'These seductive wretches outside are always trying to hook up with my brother-in-law.'

Zu'an chuckled. "You're overthinking it," he said. "We just had some tea and chatted. We hadn't even said much before we ran into Chen Xuan from Black Wind Stronghold."

"Chen Xuan!" Chu Huanzhao was startled. Evidently, Chen Xuan had plundered the trade routes around Mingyue City for years, causing great losses to the Chu clan. Even she, who paid little attention to family affairs, knew his name.

"Brother-in-law, are you alright?" she asked, pulling his hand anxiously and checking him for injuries, even though she knew he was standing there perfectly fine.

Seeing her genuine nervousness and concern, Zu'an felt a warmth in his heart. Although the girl could be a bit mischievous, she was truly good to him. Having just transmigrated to this dangerous world, it was she who made him feel the only warmth. "Don't worry, I'm fine," he reassured her. "A mere Chen Xuan can't do anything to me."

Rage points from Chen Xuan +431!

This sudden influx of rage points made Zu'an freeze. What was going on? Why was he receiving Chen Xuan's rage points? Could it be...

Just then, a dark light shot over. Zu'an's hairs stood on end, and he quickly grabbed Little Zhao, rolling both of them off the horse. Almost at the same instant, a long arrow struck the spot where he had just been, and the poor horse was pulverized by the powerful force. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Chu Huanzhao's horse was also startled, rearing up with a frightened neigh before galloping wildly away. If Zu'an hadn't pulled her off beforehand, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"What happened?" Chu Huanzhao's face was pale with fright. Although usually courageous, she had never witnessed such a gruesome sight of blood and flesh splattering everywhere. She clutched Zu'an's sleeve tightly, her body trembling involuntarily.

The surrounding Chu family guards reacted quickly, drawing their weapons and forming a protective circle around the two, scanning their surroundings vigilantly. The commoners nearby were terrified by the sudden chaos; people scattered in every direction, and the scene became utterly confused, making it impossible to spot the assassin.

Zu'an, however, had a premonition. He looked up towards a certain spot and saw Chen Xuan, with his red hair, half-emerging from behind a pillar on the third floor of a nearby house. He was holding a large bow, and it was clear he had fired that arrow.

Seeing that Zu'an had spotted him, Chen Xuan revealed a cruel smile, made a throat-slitting gesture, and then swiftly vanished.

Zu'an frowned. This guy had truly mastered the way of an assassin: if one strike missed, he immediately fled a thousand miles. He would have preferred the assailant to stay and continue attacking, giving him a chance to hold him off until the city defense army or the Chu family guards arrived to eliminate this hidden threat completely. What a pity! No wonder this guy had been able to survive for so many years despite the combined efforts of the Chu clan and the City Lord to suppress him.

The thought of constantly having to guard against a master assassin lurking in the shadows made Zu'an's expression grim. His opponent could fail countless times, but he himself only needed to fail once for his life to be over.

"Second Young Lady, Young Master-in-law, no assassin found!" a lean, capable Chu family guard reported upon returning from a search. His name was Jiao Shanhe. Despite his monkey-like appearance, he had been the most outstanding and vigilant scout in the Chu family's private army. He had been assigned to protect Zu'an after the previous assassination attempt by Xue'er.

"The assassin has already left," Zu'an said in a deep voice.

The guards were startled, wondering how he knew. However, having spent time with him recently, they had come to realize that their young master-in-law had some unexpected abilities, so they didn't doubt his words.

"To prevent any accidents, let's go to the closer Mingyue Academy first. It'll be safe once we're there," said Feng Daniu, another tall and robust guard. Among the three, he had the calmest temperament and, true to his name, was built as strong as an ox.

"That's right, no one dares to cause trouble at the academy," said the third guard, who held a long saber and sharply scanned anyone attempting to approach. "The Chu family will get the news soon, and then we'll wait for Commander Yue and his men to come pick up the young lady and young master-in-law." He was Zhou Lujun, another guard previously sent by the Chu family to protect Zu'an, whose saber techniques were as sharp and severe as his appearance.

"Good!" Zu'an naturally had no objection. The academy was full of masters; if Chen Xuan truly went there, he would be nothing more than a small fry.

"Little Zhao, don't be afraid, the assassin has left," Zu'an said gently, seeing the terrified expression on the young girl's face in his arms and remembering her young age.

"Brother-in-law, are you hurt anywhere?" she asked. "Ah, so much blood."

"No, that's all horse blood," Zu'an replied. "It's just a pity about the horse." He felt annoyed. Though he had only ridden the horse for two days, he was always one to grow attached to anything he rode. To have it killed by Chen Xuan like this, he definitely needed to settle this score.

"That's good, that's good," Chu Huanzhao said, still shaken. After experiencing such an event, she no longer cared about what she was angry about before.

Watching the two intimately embrace, touching each other as if it were the most natural thing, Jiao Shanhe and the other guards exchanged glances.

"Aren't the Second Young Lady and the Young Master-in-law a bit too intimate?"

"It's best for us not to meddle in the master's family affairs," one whispered.

"But what if something really happens?" another worried. "Will the Master and Madam blame us?"

"Probably not," a third replied. "The Second Young Lady is still so young. If the young master-in-law were to lay a hand on her, would he be a beast?"

"I think he's a bit like one," another muttered.

...

The group soon arrived at the academy. Several guards stayed outside while Chu Huanzhao went to her class. Because of the bloodstains on his body, Zu'an first went to the teachers' dormitory to wash up and change clothes. Just as he took off his clothes, he suddenly heard movement at the door. His heart skipped a beat. Could Chen Xuan really be so powerful as to have infiltrated the academy? He quickly clutched the Tai'a Sword, tiptoed to the door, suddenly flung it open, and thrust his sword out.

"Ah~"

A startled cry rang out, and Zu'an quickly reined in his sword. Looking at the beautiful woman before him, whose expression had slightly changed, he couldn't help but say awkwardly, "Sister Shang, I didn't expect it to be you?"

"I was just passing by and noticed someone in your room," Shang Liuyu said, dressed in a long green dress. Her briefly startled expression quickly returned to normal. "Thinking it had been a while since we met, I came to check on you. Who did you think it was? Why would you immediately draw your weapon..."

Before she finished speaking, she caught sight of his bare upper body, rippling with explosively masculine muscles, and a rosy blush subtly spread across her neck.