Chapter 330: Ahead of Time

"It's certainly difficult to leave now," Pei Mianman's voice whispered in his ear.

Zu An was startled. "You got dressed so quickly?"

Pei Mianman gave a charming smile. "I can undress even faster. Want to see?"

Clearly, with her clothes on, she had regained her usual captivating allure.

Zu An looked speechless. "I'll go tell my wife you're seducing me."

Pei Mianman lightly rested an arm on his shoulder, saying with a half-smile, "Go ahead and tell her. We'll see if Chuyan believes you or me."

Zu An remained silent. He knew his own reputation pretty well; anyone would definitely choose to believe Pei Mianman over him.

"Since you want to undress, I naturally don't mind watching. Go on," Zu An retorted, looking back at her without backing down.

Pei Mianman scoffed, released his arm, and moved a little further away. "I was just testing you for Chuyan's sake, and you immediately revealed your true colors! Hmph, what a scoundrel!"

Zu An watched her charming smile and thought, *What a troublesome little temptress... wait, no, a grand temptress!*

After a few lighthearted exchanges, their attention quickly returned to the main issue.

Pei Mianman looked at the shadowy figures outside, a hint of worry in her brows. "If I weren't injured, perhaps I could break out, but now..." She didn't finish her sentence, but her unspoken meaning was clear: she likely couldn't escape now, and if she alerted that mysterious master again, it would be a dead end.

Zu An thought for a moment and said, "I have a way to distract everyone. You must seize that brief window of opportunity to escape."

Pei Mianman was startled and quickly shook her head. "No, don't! If anything happens to you, Chuyan will never forgive me."

Zu An smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I have my ways. There won't be any danger."

Seeing his confident tone, and recalling their interactions since they met, Pei Mianman no longer doubted him. She hummed in acknowledgment. "Then be careful yourself."

Zu An nodded, quietly slipped out the window, and stealthily made his way to a pond he remembered passing by. Then he summoned his Blue Drake. The pond water violently exploded, sending up massive waves tens of meters high.

The enormous commotion immediately alerted everyone in the Wei family. The guards who were searching nearby rushed towards the pond. Zu An, meanwhile, quietly retreated. But halfway back, his body suddenly stiffened as a gaunt old man flew towards him. The terrifying aura emanating from the old man made him realize instantly that this was the person who had been hidden in the room and injured Pei Mianman earlier.

*Damn it, don't tell me I'm this unlucky?* A single glance from the old man sent cold sweat pouring down Zu An's back.

The old man frowned slightly. Just as he was about to act, Wei Dabao arrived and quickly said to him, "Godfather, this is a guest of the mansion, Zu An, the son-in-law of the Chu family..."

Hearing the name "Zu An," the old man's eyes lit up. "You are Zu An?"

"Zu An greets this senior!" Zu An's heart pounded. From the old man's tone, it seemed he had heard of his name. This was not good news at all. Being targeted by such a terrifying master was enough to make anyone restless.

"Not bad, not bad," the old man said after a few glances, but didn't elaborate.

At this moment, Wei Dabao couldn't help but ask, "Nephew, why are you here?"

Zu An reacted quickly and promptly came up with an explanation: "I couldn't sleep just now, so I decided to come out for a walk. Who knew I'd suddenly hear a loud noise and come to check it out?" He had clearly just come from the pond, yet he claimed he was going towards it. Thanks to his excellent acting, he didn't show the slightest flaw.

Wei Dabao smiled apologetically. "The mansion is a bit chaotic today. We've disturbed your rest, nephew."

"Uncle, you're too kind. What exactly happened at the mansion?" Zu An asked, feigning confusion.

"Just a petty thief broke in, nothing serious," Wei Dabao replied with a smile. "Nephew, please go back and rest."

"Then I won't trouble you further," Zu An said, bowing before walking back.

Watching his retreating figure, Wei Dabao quietly asked, "Godfather, do you think he might have caused that commotion?"

The old man shook his head, looking at the pond nearby. "That commotion just now could only have been made by a Grade 6 or even Grade 7 water-element cultivator. He doesn't have that level of cultivation yet." Wei Dabao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, the old man suddenly asked, "I hear he distinguished himself greatly in the previous family competition between the Chu and Yuan families?"

Wei Dabao was a bit curious, surprised that his godfather would be interested in Zu An, but still replied, "Yes, he actually defeated Grade 5 Yuan Wendong. It really shocked a lot of people."

"Grade 5? But from his spiritual fluctuations, he shouldn't be Grade 5 yet," the old man said gravely.

"Yes, at the time, his swordsmanship... well, or rather, his movement technique seemed a bit odd," Wei Dabao replied.

"Movement technique..." The old man's smile was a little strange, as if he had known all along. "Do you know who his master is?"

Wei Dabao shook his head. "I haven't heard of him having a master. I only know he learned some things at Brightmoon Academy."

"Could it be at Brightmoon Academy..." the old man murmured to himself, falling into thought.

"By the way, Godfather, why are you so interested in him?" Wei Dabao probed.

The old man said indifferently, "Just asking." After speaking, he turned and went back. He had originally thought there was a powerful intruder, but now that the threat was ruled out, he naturally couldn't be bothered with trivial matters.

"Just asking?" Wei Dabao naturally didn't believe it, but since his godfather wasn't saying more, he didn't dare to press further.

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief only after he had walked far away. His undershirt was completely soaked, an instinctive reaction to the pressure of a powerful cultivator. *Sigh, still too weak. When will I be able to command with words and instantly defeat anyone I meet?*

Zu An returned to his room and found that the beauty had already vanished. However, a note was left in the bedding, with the words "Thank you" written in elegant handwriting. The note also bore a faint red lipstick mark.

"This temptress, she really doesn't miss any chance to seduce people," Zu An chuckled. After a busy night, he was a bit tired too. He lay on the bed, smelling the faint lingering scent in the bedding, and gradually drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Zu An woke up and bid farewell to the Wei family. As soon as he returned to his room at the Chu family estate, Old Mi came knocking. "I heard you went to the Wei family yesterday?"

"Yes, I did." Zu An was startled. This guy never left his house all day; how was he so well-informed?

"Did you find the item?" Old Mi's eyes showed a hint of eagerness.

Zu An instinctively took a step back. *Why does this guy's expression look like an old pervert?* "I looked around, but I encountered a mysterious master with terrifying cultivation, so I didn't dare to proceed."

"A master? How powerful?" Old Mi quickly asked.

"As tall as several stories," Zu An roughly gestured.

Old Mi remained speechless. He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "What did that person look like?"

"He was gaunt and thin..." Zu An roughly described the person's appearance.

After hearing this, Old Mi's expression drastically changed. He instantly grabbed Zu An's arm. "Did you display your movement technique in front of him? Did you!"

Zu An winced from the pain of his pincer-like grip. "No, I entered the Wei mansion yesterday under the pretense of escorting a drunk Wei Suo home. There was no need to display my movement technique."

Old Mi finally breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good. Remember, never expose your movement technique in front of that person in the future, and never mention any information related to me, or it will bring about a deadly disaster."

"Okay..." Zu An nodded blankly, but in his heart, he mused, *It seems the person from the Wei family is most likely looking for Old Mi. What exactly is Old Mi looking for? And what is Old Mi's background? Why is he so afraid of that person?*

As Old Mi turned to leave, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes: *It seems the possession plan needs to be moved up. I'm just two materials short of being ready...*