Chapter 327: Exposed

However, as he caught a whiff of the sour, foul odor clinging to him, his face immediately fell. Damn it, the mission for Old Mi had cost him dearly.

Wei Hongde had his servants escort Wei Suo away, then turned to Zu An and said, "Thank you, Brother Zu, for bringing my younger brother back today. I've already arranged a guest room for you, complete with a perfumed bath. You can bathe and change clothes, and if you don't mind, you're welcome to stay the night."

Zu An nodded and replied, "Thank you, Brother Wei. I've had too much to drink today, and my wife would certainly scold me to death if I went home like this. I'll trouble you for a night then."

Wei Hongde choked on his breath. He had only been polite; he hadn't expected Zu An to actually take him up on the offer to stay.

But since the words were already out, he couldn't take them back. "You're too kind, Brother Zu," he said. "Still, it's hard to imagine someone like Miss Chu scolding anyone."

Zu An chuckled. "She's only a goddess in front of others; in private, she's just like any other woman."

Wei Hongde listened with envy and resentment. "Brother Zu, you're truly blessed." He thought to himself, *If I had a wife like Miss Chu, I'd want to be with her every moment. Why would I ever choose to stay elsewhere?* The well-fed don't know the hunger of the starved.

Rage from Wei Hongde +99!

"You flatter me, you flatter me. Actually, marrying her comes with a lot of troubles too," Zu An remarked with a sigh.

"What troubles?" Even though Wei Hongde didn't have a close personal relationship with him, as a man, he wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to glean some secrets about a goddess.

Zu An sighed. "It's just that my wife is too beautiful, which easily attracts the envy of other men. I don't know how many people are secretly casting curses on me."

Wei Hongde was speechless. *Damn it, why did he feel like this guy was indirectly insulting him?*

Rage from Wei Hongde +66+66+66...

Without realizing it, the two had arrived outside a guest room. Wei Hongde smiled and said, "Here we are, Brother Zu's room. If you need anything, just tell the servants. I won't disturb your rest."

"Thank you for the trouble, Brother Wei," Zu An said, cupping his hands in salute.

Wei Hongde turned to leave, but after a few steps, he suddenly remembered something and quickly stopped. "Oh, there's one more thing I almost forgot to mention, Brother Zu. If you wish to take a stroll, you're welcome to wander around the manor. However, that area over there is where an elder of our family rests. He prefers quiet and dislikes being disturbed, so..."

Zu An laughed heartily. "Don't worry, I won't go in that direction." He had been wondering where to start searching in such a large Wei manor, and his host had thoughtfully pointed the way for him. As for the talk about a family elder, he simply ignored it, clearly seeing it as nothing more than a pretense.

"Thank you for your understanding, Brother Zu." Wei Hongde smiled and then departed.

When Zu An entered his room, servants had already brought clothes and various toiletries, and a large tub of hot water had been prepared in the center of the room.

"I like to soak in the bath for a while, so please don't disturb me later," Zu An specifically instructed, to prevent the servants from discovering his plans.

"Yes, sir!" The servants placed the items down and then left one by one.

Zu An secretly curled his lip. The Wei manor was too stingy; they didn't even send a maid. Were they afraid he, Zu, would do something untoward to a maid?

Despite his grumbling, he didn't forget the purpose of his visit. He locked the door from the inside, went to the bathtub, removed his dirty clothes, and took out the night-suit he had prepared earlier. Then, he silently jumped out the window and quietly moved through the Wei manor.

For some reason, there were unusually few lanterns in the Wei manor, and the lighting was much dimmer than in the Chu manor. This, however, was convenient for him.

He immediately headed in the direction Wei Hongde had pointed out earlier, stealthily making his way there. Perhaps because he was already inside the Wei manor, bypassing its strictest outer defenses, he didn't encounter many guards along the way. The few he did encounter were easily evaded.

With his "Bright Mirror, Not a Platform" skill to conceal his aura, it was difficult to detect his presence unless he was seen directly. It truly was an excellent tool for stealth.

Arriving at that section of the courtyard, Zu An slipped into a room and began searching. Unfortunately, the box Old Mi had shown him last time was so small. How difficult would it be to find it in such a large area?

After searching for a while, Zu An gave up. Such a brute-force approach wasn't his style. "It's a shame I don't know what's inside the box, and there are no clues at all. How am I supposed to find it?" Zu An felt a headache coming on.

He stood up and peered out the window, noticing a light in a distant room. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to go and check, to see if he could find any clues. Anyway, with "Bright Mirror, Not a Platform" protecting him, being careful should prevent any major problems.

Cautiously, he approached the room and faintly heard voices speaking inside. His heart jumped, and he quickly crouched beside the wall. He had watched enough historical dramas to know that eavesdroppers outside could accidentally cast shadows on windows and be discovered by those inside. He certainly didn't want to make such a foolish mistake.

"Godfather, what matter requires your personal attention?"

This wasn't the voice of the Wei brothers; it sounded like a middle-aged man, presumably the head of the Wei family.

"Not long ago, we received important intelligence: it seems there's news about an old friend who disappeared many years ago. The Emperor specifically dispatched me to investigate."

Another sinister voice spoke, sounding extremely unpleasant. Zu An frowned. Why did this tone sound somewhat similar to Old Mi's?

"Ah, what matter could possibly have disturbed His Majesty?"

"Hmph, don't ask about things you shouldn't."

"Yes, yes, Godfather is right to scold me; your godson spoke out of turn. However, I am quite familiar with Brightmoon City. Is there anything I can do to help ease your concerns?"

"Not for now; I have my own arrangements. Heh heh, that old friend of mine is extremely cunning. If we scare him off prematurely, it will be much harder to find him again."

"Godfather is truly wise and mighty..."

Listening from outside, Zu An's brows furrowed. This "Godfather" seemed to be an eunuch from the palace. If you asked him how he knew the person was an eunuch, it was simply because such characters were abundant in TV dramas; the voice and tone of the speaker were practically identical to those portrayals.

Wait, Old Mi's speaking style was also somewhat similar...

He wondered who this mysterious eunuch was actually looking for, and it appeared he was acting on imperial orders. Thinking of the Chu family's opposition to the Emperor, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. However, he reconsidered; it probably wasn't aimed at Chu Zhongtian. After all, the eunuch kept referring to an "old friend," and Chu Zhongtian didn't seem like the kind of person to be friends with someone like that.

Could it be aimed at Old Mi instead? The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, Old Mi's identity was extremely mysterious, and his cultivation was exceptionally high.

Just then, a cold, shrill voice suddenly rang out from inside the room: "Who's there!"

Zu An was greatly alarmed, assuming he had been exposed. He immediately prepared to use "Great Wind" to flee, knowing that if they were after Old Mi, he would be no match for them.

At that moment, a strange noise suddenly came from the rooftop, and a black-clad figure fled in another direction even faster than him.