Chapter 394: Another Side

Zu An collected his thoughts and put away his belongings. He then thoroughly buried the bodies of Old Man Mi and Wei Dan, ensuring they could rest in peace. To prevent their bodies from being disturbed by wild animals, he deliberately dug a very deep pit and piled a large mound of earth on top.

As for Wu Di, Zu An initially didn't want to bother with him, but considering he had provided two secret manuals, Zu An decided to bury him as well.

Of course, without silver notes, he couldn't possibly be buried next to the two Grandmasters.

After completing all this, Zu An finally set off on his way back to Brightmoon City.

When Old Man Mi had taken him, it seemed they hadn't flown for long, but walking on his own two feet was not so easy.

Not to mention the fierce beasts deep in the mountains, even finding paths through the dense forests everywhere was difficult.

Fortunately, his cultivation had improved, and he had various protective abilities. The most powerful Red Dragon of Dragon Concealment Mountain was also dead, so as long as he was careful, he didn't have to worry about safety.

It took nearly a day for Zu An to finally return to the Chu family residence.

"Huh, why are there so few people in the Chu family residence?" Zu An wondered.

Even the gates of the Chu family residence were open.

Had something happened?

A shock went through him, and he quickly ran inside.

He ended up bumping into someone – none other than Cheng Shoubing.

"Son... Son... Son-in-law?" Cheng Shoubing rubbed his eyes and exclaimed in disbelief.

"What, it hasn't been that long, and you don't recognize me?" Seeing a familiar face, Zu An's mood brightened considerably.

"W-weren't you captured by two Grandmasters?" Cheng Shoubing asked, wide-eyed.

"Oh?" Zu An was a little curious. "You actually knew they were Grandmasters?"

Cheng Shoubing replied, "I heard it from Feng Danou and the others. Everyone was very worried about you. You know, they were Grandmasters!"

Zu An snorted, "What are mere Grandmasters? Could they stop me?"

Cheng Shoubing's eyes lit up. "Son-in-law is truly unfathomable. My admiration for Son-in-law is like a surging river, endless!"

As he spoke, he shouted into the courtyard, "Son-in-law is back! Son-in-law is back! Son-in-law defeated two Grandmasters with punches and kicks and returned unharmed!"

Hearing his exaggerated shouts, Zu An felt a bit embarrassed, but being flattered felt rather good. He finally understood why so many prominent figures liked sycophants.

Hearing Cheng Shoubing's voice, the formerly quiet Chu family residence suddenly became lively, and countless people ran out to see him.

Not long after, a petite figure, accompanied by a waft of fragrance, rushed into his embrace. "Brother-in-law, I thought you... I thought you..."

Chu Huanzhao's body trembled slightly; clearly, she was too agitated to speak.

Zu An's heart warmed, and he gently stroked her hair. "With such a lovely Xiaozhao here, how could I bear to be taken away?"

"Brother-in-law, you're so good!" Faint tear streaks were still visible on Chu Huanzhao's face. Clearly, she had been worried sick about him earlier, and it was precisely because of this that her current smile, emerging through her tears, appeared even more beautiful and charming.

"Ahem~" At this moment, a light cough came from a distance. It was Qin Wanru, awkwardly watching the two from nearby. She looked as if she wanted to say something but couldn't, yet seeing her second daughter and son-in-law so intimate felt strange if she didn't speak.

"Greetings, Madam." Zu An bowed slightly to her.

Qin Wanru's face flushed slightly. She quickly asked, "Are you hurt?"

"Thank you for your concern, Madam. I'm not hurt," Zu An replied.

"What about Old Man Mi and that other mysterious expert?" Qin Wanru quickly asked. This was what everyone was most curious about, as they couldn't fathom how he had escaped from two Grandmasters.

"They're dead," Zu An replied.

"Dead?" Qin Wanru was startled. Not to mention for the Duke's Mansion, but even across the entire world, every Grandmaster was a figure whose mere stomp could shake the ground. The fall of any one of them was a monumental event. "How did they die?"

"They must have died by Son-in-law's hand!" Cheng Shoubing, standing nearby, couldn't help but say, as if he could bask in some of the glory himself.

Qin Wanru glared at him. "Don't talk nonsense. How could a Grandmaster be..."

Just then, Zu An said, "Old Man Mi did indeed die by my hand."

Qin Wanru was speechless.

The many servants were speechless.

At first, everyone found it unbelievable, but Zu An's safe return was an undeniable fact, and unconsciously, everyone started to believe it.

If they could have sent text messages at that moment, the screen would surely have been flooded with exclamations of "amazing."

Just then, a figure came over and grabbed him. "You brat, you can kill a Grandmaster? How is that possible!"

Zu An looked closely and saw it was Ji Dengtu. Not far away was a shy, well-behaved girl; who else could it be but Ji Xiaoxi?

"Why are you two here?" Zu An was a bit confused, mainly because Ji Dengtu, that lecher, entering the Chu family residence always made him uneasy.

Ji Xiaoxi, standing by, spoke in a soft, sweet voice. "Brother Zu, when you were captured, we hurried over to help and to continue treating Madam Chu."

A smile appeared on Zu An's face. "As expected of my good little sister, you rushed here the moment you knew something happened to me."

Ji Xiaoxi shyly lowered her head, her hands clutching the corner of her clothes as if she didn't know where to put them, and her pretty face was flushed.

Chu Huanzhao snorted inwardly. This woman might seem well-behaved, but she was actually a seductive vixen. However, remembering that she had treated her mother, Chu Huanzhao felt embarrassed to curse her in her heart. For a moment, she was extremely conflicted.

Ji Dengtu, however, jumped out and stood between the two. "You brat, what's all this 'big brother, little sister' talk? Are Xiaoxi and you that close?"

Seeing his protective-father-on-a-rampage look, Zu An wisely shut his mouth.

"You haven't answered me yet," Ji Dengtu continued to press him. "How could you possibly kill a Grandmaster?"

"I..." Zu An was about to speak, but he was interrupted by Qin Wanru.

"Let's go to the study and talk about what happened slowly," she said. "Everyone else, return to your posts, and also call back the people sent out to search for Son-in-law." There were too many people here, and she was worried that some information unfavorable to Zu An might leak out.

Zu An finally understood why the Chu family residence had seemed so deserted just now; it turned out they had all been sent out to look for him.

It seemed Madam was truly good to him.

At this, Ji Dengtu rubbed his hands together, approached Qin Wanru, and said with a fawning smile, "Not bad, not bad, you really are thoughtful."

Seeing his obsequious manner, Zu An was speechless. He was clearly a master, yet he insisted on living like a sycophant.

Qin Wanru frowned slightly but didn't say anything. Instead, she led the way to the study.

Zu An followed her into the study and roughly recounted what had happened in the mountains. Of course, he omitted anything about the "Phoenix Nirvana Sutra," as that was related to his very life.

Even so, everyone was astonished, expressing admiration for his extraordinary encounter.

"So, two Grandmasters fought, one died, and one was injured," Ji Dengtu said, finally relieved. "That's how you brat took advantage of the situation."

Chu Huanzhao, standing nearby, said with some indignation, "Even if they were injured, they were still Grandmasters. So, Brother-in-law still killed a Grandmaster. Do you have that ability?"

"I..." Ji Dengtu's breath caught. He really couldn't refute that.

Rage points from Ji Dengtu: +228!

He couldn't get angry at the little girl, so all his anger was directed at Zu An.

Zu An didn't care; he wished Ji Dengtu would contribute more rage points.

At this moment, Qin Wanru blamed herself. "I always thought Old Man Mi was just an ordinary gardener. I never imagined he was a Grandmaster; I didn't detect it at all these past years."

Ji Dengtu said, "This isn't your fault. It's indeed very difficult to find flaws if a Grandmaster wants to hide."

Qin Wanru frowned slightly. "But what was his purpose for hiding in the Chu family residence? And what was the identity of that mysterious expert? Why were the two fighting to the death?"

Ji Dengtu analyzed, "In my opinion, Old Man Mi's hiding his identity in the Chu family residence was not because he harbored ill intentions towards the Chu family. It was probably to avoid his enemies, and that mysterious expert should be his enemy."

...

Hearing several people express their views and discuss the conspiracy behind it, Zu An secretly sighed. As it involved royal secrets, it was better not to let them know, to avoid bringing about a disaster that could cost them their lives.

Qin Wanru was already recovering from a serious injury. Seeing Zu An return safely, she could no longer resist the surge of drowsiness, so Chu Huanzhao helped her back to rest.

Seeing that she was no longer in serious danger and that Zu An had also returned, Ji Dengtu and his daughter bid their farewells and left.

Zu An quickly chased after them. "Senior, do you have any cultivation-boosting pills like the Elemental Gathering Pill? I'll buy as many as you have."

Ji Dengtu's face darkened. "No!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and walked away.

Rage points from Ji Dengtu: +361!

Zu An was stunned. What kind of anger was that?

Ji Xiaoxi, standing nearby, explained, "Brother Zu, please don't mind. My father swore never to refine pills again because of an incident that happened years ago; he believes such pills could help cultivators kill people. So he only refines medicine that can save people."

Zu An was surprised. He never expected that the usually lewd Ji Dengtu would have such a noble side.

"Then, can you refine pills?" Zu An asked, not giving up hope.

Ji Xiaoxi shook her head. "No, my father never taught me these things."

Zu An immediately felt dejected. He had thought he could get pills from Ji Dengtu, but now it seemed he would have to rely on himself. All his hopes rested on the "Primordial Gathering Ancient Scroll."

---