Chapter 405: Life Is Full of Encounters

Seeing the faint outlines of hands in the air around him, Zu An could even feel his breathing becoming difficult, a result of the compressed air.

"Damn it, are you the Tathagata Buddha?" he cursed under his breath. He certainly didn't want to be Sun Wukong.

Not daring to hold back, he immediately summoned a strong gust of wind directly above his head and shot straight up into the sky.

All directions were sealed off, but he managed to force his way out through the only gap.

When he felt himself about to fall, he summoned another gust of wind and instantly moved dozens of yards forward.

Liu Yao's eyes widened. According to intelligence, Zu An should only be around the fourth rank. He hadn't paid much attention to whether it was third, fourth, or fifth rank, as none of it mattered much to him.

Who knew the man could actually fly!

Could he be a ninth-rank master?

Although he found it absurd, everything was happening right before his eyes, making him wary. He quickly shot into the sky and pursued Zu An directly.

Soon, Zu An had to descend, as he couldn't use the strong wind technique continuously.

Seeing him descend, Liu Yao breathed a sigh of relief. "So he's not ninth-rank after all."

He secretly laughed at himself for overreacting, thinking, "How could there be a ninth-rank master this young in the world?"

He didn't bother playing hide-and-seek with Zu An. Seizing an opportunity, he struck out with his palm, intending to cripple him first before slowly interrogating him. After all, as an adopted son-in-law of the Chu family, he wasn't a core member, so injuring or crippling him wouldn't have much impact.

The moment Zu An stopped, he heard a sharp whooshing sound from behind him. He quickly dodged to the side, but unfortunately, he was still a step too late.

It felt as if he had been hit by a speeding car from behind. He spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if his internal organs had all shifted and his whole body was about to fall apart.

Feeling his vision blur, he knew he couldn't pass out now. He quickly bit the tip of his tongue and, gathering his wits, immediately used Sunflower Phantoms to flee in three different directions.

Liu Yao was stunned. With his previous palm strike, even a sixth-rank master would most likely be down by now. Yet, his opponent could still run?

What kind of monster was this?

Moreover, his opponent had instantly split into three figures, leaving him no idea which one to pursue. In the blink of an eye, his opponent had vanished.

Liu Yao's expression turned grim. Standing atop a tree, he issued orders to his subordinates around him: "Everyone, search the vicinity for a young man in white, severely injured. He can't have gone far! Search this way, and this way, and that way – all three directions!"

Meanwhile, Zu An did not flee outside, but instead circled back to the Chu Manor. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is often the safest. With the soldiers now searching for him outside, staying within the manor felt safer.

He had also overheard Liu Yao's words earlier. He immediately took off his outer robe, turned it inside out, and put it back on; the robe instantly became blue.

Unsure if anyone in the manor would recognize him, he thought for a moment, then took out a mask and put it on. This not only changed his appearance but also concealed the paleness and bloodstains on his face.

Only after doing all this did he have a chance to examine his injuries. Several bones were broken, and his internal organs were ruptured. If not for having refined his body twice through cultivating the Primordial Chaos Sutra, making his body countless times tougher than an ordinary person's, that single blow likely would have crippled him.

"That was a truly vicious strike!" Zu An quickly circulated the Primordial Chaos Sutra to begin healing, and at the same time, swallowed a Jade Marrow Resurrection Pill from Divine Physician Ji.

At this moment, he still couldn't bear to use his special "Trust Brother Chun" pill, as it wasn't yet a life-or-death situation.

The Jade Marrow Resurrection Pill lived up to its reputation. He could feel a surge of medicinal energy spreading from his dantian, nourishing his internal organs and limbs. Combined with the healing from the Primordial Chaos Sutra, his recovery speed was significantly faster than before.

He searched until he finally found the room where Qin Wanru was imprisoned. To his surprise, she wasn't tied up but was sitting by the window, looking troubled.

"Who are you?" Qin Wanru was startled to see an extra person outside the window and instinctively took a step back.

"It's me, Madam." Zu An quickly removed his mask.

"Ah Zu!" Recognizing him, Qin Wanru was both surprised and delighted.

"Madam, you've suffered here. I'll take you out!" Without another word, Zu An pulled her towards the exit, then suddenly coughed, spitting out a small mouthful of blood.

"You're injured?" Qin Wanru exclaimed in alarm.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury." Zu An wiped the blood from his mouth and said with a smile.

Qin Wanru said gravely: "Now, the only one here who could injure you is likely Liu Yao. He's a dignified ninth-rank peak master. How could you have escaped from him with only minor injuries? I also just heard him mobilizing the Imperial Guard. So he was here to apprehend you."

Zu An waved his hand: "It's truly nothing. I'm tough and resilient. Haven't I almost recovered already? We can discuss the rest once we're out."

Qin Wanru shook her head: "No, I've been restrained now and can't use any elemental energy. I would only be a burden to you. Moreover, your father-in-law is still in the manor. How could I leave by myself?"

Zu An was put in a difficult position. If she was restrained, then Chu Zhongtian surely was as well. With his current cultivation, he couldn't possibly take both of them out.

"Oh, by the way, how is Xiao Zhao now?" Qin Wanru asked hurriedly.

"Please don't worry, Madam. I've settled her in a safe place," Zu An replied.

"That's good, that's good." Qin Wanru breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly remembering something, she quickly reached for her collar. Halfway through, her face flushed. "Turn around."

"Oh~" Zu An was a bit bewildered and instinctively turned away.

"Here, take this." Qin Wanru's voice soon came from behind him.

Zu An felt a square token being placed in his hand. He looked at it and saw it was unmistakably a military tally.

To his surprise, it wasn't cold like metal at all but incredibly warm. It even carried a faint scent.

Qin Wanru's face flushed, and she whispered: "This is very important, so I've always kept it close to my body. After all, I am the Duchess. Liu Yao and his men searched everywhere in the manor, but they wouldn't dare search my person. That's why it wasn't discovered."

Zu An recalled her earlier gesture of reaching into her collar and guessed where she had hidden the tiger tally. He couldn't help but glance at her again, thinking, "Are her endowments truly that substantial?"

Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Qin Wanru gave a light cough and quickly said: "Take this military tally to the military camp outside the city and mobilize the Red Robed Army. These people are relentless! Do they really think our Chu family is so easily bullied?"

Zu An was stunned, thinking, "She truly is her mother's daughter. Their choices are exactly the same this time."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Qin Wanru was startled and instinctively looked down at her collar, thinking her clothes weren't properly fastened after retrieving the military tally.

"Actually, Chu Chuyan thought the same thing." Zu An then told her about Chu Chuyan's plan.

"My good daughter," a smile appeared on Qin Wanru's face, but she soon sighed. "It might not go as smoothly as she expects. This time, it was Hong Xingying who reported us, and he also has the ledger she entrusted to me. It's all my fault for being useless; during the last incident, Chu Tiesheng took that ledger."

"Hong Xingying!" Zu An gnashed his teeth. That guy had just exposed his hiding place earlier, nearly costing him his life at Liu Yao's hands.

"Don't worry, I'll tell Chu Chuyan all this. We'll discuss what to do then. At worst, I'll lead the Red Robed Army in here and overthrow the whole damn thing," Zu An said.

Qin Wanru was startled: "Don't ever say such rebellious words! At most, we can become bandits. If we rebel, there truly will be no way out."

Clearly, people in this world held an inexplicable reverence for imperial authority. Moreover, the Great Zhou Emperor was the strongest person in the world, so she had no confidence that a rebellion could succeed.

Just then, footsteps approached from not far away, followed by a voice, clearly containing suppressed triumph, from outside the door: "Madam, are you resting? Xingying has something to report!"