Chapter 462: Add Money Layman

The Night Elf leader frowned, clearly confused. Although all signs pointed to the groom being the real Zu An, he worried that this was a ruse to intentionally mislead him.

Furthermore, intelligence reports indicated that Zu An had a prominent characteristic: he was extremely base.

The loud, screaming individual who had just betrayed his teammates on the spot fit this description perfectly...

With that thought, he immediately ordered, "Kill them all!"

In this situation, it was better to kill innocent people by mistake than to let a culprit escape.

Sang Qian, who had been loudly shouting, was stunned. "???"

Why weren't these people playing by the rules?

By this time, the Night Elf assassins had surrounded the carriage and were thrusting their swords inside.

Pei Mianman quickly activated her black flames, pushing and blocking. She knew that every single Night Elf's cultivation level was no less than her own. She didn't hope to defeat them, only to force them back and buy some time. She believed that woman wouldn't stand idly by.

As expected, seeing the critical situation, Qiu Honglei immediately urged her companions, "Quickly, save them!"

The Eight Loose Cultivators also understood the purpose of their mission. Their cult leader was determined to get Zu An, so how could they just stand by and watch these people attack?

Aside from the Earth-element Loose Cultivator, who had the strongest defense and stayed behind to protect Qiu Honglei, the rest rushed towards the carriage.

Seeing this, the Night Elf leader no longer cared about his depleted vital energy. He quickly drew his weapon and re-entered the fight.

Everyone was trying to achieve their objectives in the shortest possible time, so they held nothing back. Skills flew everywhere, and their fighting style was one of exchanging injuries.

Zu An watched the scene intently, deeply concerned for Pei Mianman's safety. Theoretically, her cultivation was the lowest on the battlefield; only by relying on her formidable black flames could she contend with these masters.

At this moment, Sang Hong couldn't help but exclaim, "Young people nowadays are truly stronger with each generation! She's still so young and a woman, yet she's already reached the sixth rank. This talent is truly rare."

"Sixth rank?" Seeing that Sang Hong had been staring at Pei Mianman, Zu An naturally knew who he was talking about. Upon closer inspection, he indeed noticed a layer of elemental armor wreathed in black flames around Pei Mianman — a mark of the sixth rank. No wonder she had been able to confront these powerful individuals for so long.

It seemed she had been hiding her true strength all along!

Zu An clicked his tongue in surprise, thinking, "What's wrong with this world? Everyone is so sneaky. It looks like I'll have to be more careful when showing off in the future, lest I run into someone who's pretending to be weak but is actually strong."

Just as he was lamenting, the carriage suddenly lurched. Everyone inside stumbled and fell, and Zu An landed directly in Zheng Dan's arms.

She felt so soft!

However, he had no time to ponder this. He quickly looked back and saw that Huang Huihong, who had been severely wounded and on the verge of death nearby, had taken advantage of the chaos to jump onto the front of the carriage and drive it wildly towards the depths of the mountains.

Both the Night Elves and the Demonic Cult noticed the situation and tried to give chase, but they were held back by their opponents and couldn't break free immediately.

Even Pei Mianman, who wanted to pursue, was blocked by both sides. Clearly, neither faction wanted the other to have a chance to get Zu An.

The carriage Zu An and the others were in belonged to Liu Yao. It was specially made, pulled by exceptional horses chosen from thousands, and its wheels were carved with wind-element formations. These formations not only made the carriage light but also provided acceleration when it galloped.

Huang Huihong used this opening to escape the battle and vanished into the forest.

After galloping for an unknown distance, Huang Huihong looked back. Seeing no one pursuing him, he finally let out a sigh of relief. But as he relaxed, the surge of adrenaline left him, and his previous severe chest injury began to act up. Unable to hold on any longer, he fell directly from the carriage.

Zu An grabbed the reins, stopped the carriage, and sighed as he looked at Huang Huihong, who had fallen not far away. "Why go through all this trouble? At worst, I'd just be captured by the Demonic Cult. You could then rally masters to rescue me, couldn't you? That would be much better than you being half-dead now."

Whether taken by Qiu Honglei or rescued by Big Mianman, both would have been good options. It was certainly better than being stuck with him surviving in the wilderness. He knew that the wilderness in this world was full of dangerous beasts. Now, a group of them had their cultivation sealed, and the only one with cultivation was severely injured. If they ended up as beast food, that would be truly frustrating.

Huang Huihong: "..."

"Still can't speak?" Seeing his expression, Zu An couldn't help but complain, "You Embroidered Uniform Envoys usually brag so much, boasting about acting on behalf of the Emperor with such prestige. Yet, you were so easily suppressed, and now you're almost completely wiped out. I feel embarrassed for you."

Huang Huihong: "..."

Rage from Huang Huihong +611!

Zu An asked curiously, "By the way, I find it strange. Since the Emperor values my 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' so much, why didn't he send some truly powerful masters? Among you Embroidered Uniform Envoys, only you are a sixth-rank, and the others are merely fifth-rank. Even if you have some special formations working together, if they don't confront you head-on and just ambush you directly, couldn't they easily wipe you out? It's really pathetic."

Huang Huihong turned his face away, clearly disheartened by Zu An's words and unwilling to respond.

At that moment, an angry voice came from nearby: "Zu, can you get out of my wife's arms before you start asking questions?"

Rage from Sang Qian +666!

Sang Qian was glaring at Zu An with wide eyes. Zu An hadn't gotten out of Zheng Dan's arms since before, and his head was even resting against her chest, occasionally rubbing against it. How could he tolerate that?!

Zu An scoffed, "Who's your wife? Miss Zheng hasn't completed the marriage rituals with you, so strictly speaking, she's not your wife. Right now, I'm wearing the groom's attire, so anyone who sees us would think we're a couple."

"You..." Sang Qian was dizzy from his blatant sophistry and couldn't think of a rebuttal for a moment.

Rage from Sang Qian +888!

Zheng Dan, however, wasn't as thick-skinned as he was. How could she be intimate with him in front of so many people? Blushing, she pushed him aside.

Zu An didn't want to make things difficult for her, so he took the opportunity to sit up.

Sang Hong coughed, clearly not wanting to see his son bullied by Zu An. He directly answered the previous question to change the subject: "I speculate that the Emperor might have been a bit careless this time, thinking that with Grandmasters, ninth-rank experts, the Imperial Guard, and the Embroidered Uniform Envoys who could always invoke an imperial decree, he could theoretically handle most situations. He just didn't expect the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' to be so tempting to various factions."

There was another thing he didn't say: the various factions that mobilized weren't necessarily all trying to obtain the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra'; it was more likely that they simply didn't want the Emperor to get it.

Zu An rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like everyone's after me. Haven't many assassins also come for you? Look, I bet that guy coming from over there is after you."

Sang Hong was startled and quickly followed Zu An's gaze. A figure slowly emerged from the distant woods—a scruffy, unkempt man. A slender blade was held horizontally against his neck, his hands resting naturally on it. His very gait exuded a wild, untamed aura.

"Sir Price-Hiker Ding Run? What are you doing here?" Sang Hong's expression immediately turned grim as he recognized the man.

"Sir Price-Hiker?" Zu An was taken aback. The name sounded somewhat familiar.

Sang Hong said in a deep voice, "This man is a famous assassin in the underworld. He's always been someone who recognizes money, not people. As long as there's money, he'll even kill his own friends and family. Because his asking price is much higher than his peers', and he often demands additional payment on the spot, everyone calls him Sir Price-Hiker. However, his cultivation is exceptionally high, and he completes every mission, no matter how difficult, which is why people are willing to pay him more."

The scruffy man casually jabbed his blade into the ground and leisurely clapped. "I didn't expect Master Sang to know so much about me. It makes me wonder if you used to work for the Court of Judicial Review instead of the Ministry of Agriculture."

Sang Qian had clearly heard of this man before. His earlier fury vanished, and he instinctively recoiled, his body trembling slightly.

Noticing his unusual reaction, Zu An frowned. Even the normally arrogant Sang Qian was this terrified, so this guy must be a tough opponent.

Sang Hong asked, "May I ask who you're here to kill this time, Zu An or my son and I?"

The scruffy man grinned, revealing a set of shockingly white teeth that didn't match his appearance. "Someone paid for the lives of you and your son. Of course..."

He paused, then his gaze fell upon Zu An. "I also have some interest in this fellow. After I kill you, I'll have a good chat with him. And this time, there's no need for extra payment."

Zu An felt a chill. "Chat? This guy isn't a pervert, is he?"

---That's all for today. There will be three chapters tomorrow to make up for it.