Chapter 662: Clever Design

The jailers in the imperial prison, upon hearing the commotion, were initially ready to draw their swords and step forward to intervene. Who would dare to act so brazenly in a place like this? However, upon hearing the name "King Qi," they all promptly sheathed their swords.

King Qi held significant prestige in court and had always maintained a good reputation. These imperial prison jailers neither wished nor dared to offend him.

The golden-armored guards were quite pleased with the jailers' timid expressions. Backed by King Qi, they exuded authority and felt superior wherever they went.

A few of them approached Zu An, looking down their noses at him. "Are you Zu An?"

Zu An assessed them, not their appearance, but their spiritual energy. The leader was a sixth-rank, while the others were fifth-rank. With the Imperial Guard's combined attack formation, surrounding a seventh-rank cultivator shouldn't pose much of a challenge. Furthermore, this was within the imperial palace, and no one dared refuse a summons from the Imperial Guards.

"That's me. How can I help you?" Zu An asked.

"King Qi requests your presence," the haughty leader said with a casual bow.

The cult assassins in the cells were simultaneously alarmed. They had finally managed to get Zu An here, only for him to be taken away again?

Zu An looked troubled. "The Crown Prince and Crown Princess are having me question a prisoner. Perhaps I could go after I'm finished here?"

The haughty man sneered, "Anyone King Qi wishes to see rushes over with utmost respect and trepidation. Who are you to drag your feet like this?"

"But are the orders of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess not orders?" Zu An retorted. "Do you mean to say that in your eyes, King Qi outranks the Crown Prince and Crown Princess?"

The other jailers stood silently aside, keeping to themselves. They dared not get involved in such a high-stakes confrontation.

The haughty man's breath hitched, and he spoke with some irritation. "Zu, there's no need to sow discord. King Qi is the Crown Prince's elder and his mentor. Even if the Crown Prince were here, he would still direct you to King Qi first. If you doubt me, go ask him yourself right now."

Rage from Liu Chenyu +444!

The surrounding jailers instinctively took a few steps back, secretly grumbling about being dragged into such a contentious situation.

Zu An shook his head and sighed. "King Qi is King Qi, and you are you. While the Crown Prince and Crown Princess might not dare to confront King Qi directly, do you truly believe they can't handle a mere guard like yourself? If your words just now reached their ears, how do you think they would deal with you?"

The haughty man's expression flickered, and he secretly regretted his words. He blamed Zu An, thinking he wouldn't have slipped up otherwise. *Hmph*, he thought, *this fellow won't be arrogant for long. Once he's in King Qi's hands, his head will probably be lopped off soon.*

Rage from Liu Zhenyu +567!

This was the exact moment!

Zu An had been waiting for the instant his opponent's focus faltered. He suddenly lunged forward, his finger directly striking the man's forehead. Zu An's current cultivation could not be measured by ordinary seventh-rank standards. Coupled with his teleportation ability, striking an unprepared opponent was effortless; the man had no chance to dodge.

Splat!

A burst of blood mist exploded. Liu Zhenyu's eyes were wide with astonishment; he had utterly failed to anticipate an attack, let alone one intended to kill. His accompanying guards were startled, frantically reaching for their swords and simultaneously scattering. But just then, they felt a powerful suction force. The vital energy they had just mustered vanished instantly, as if a mud ox had dissolved into the sea. Losing their balance, they stumbled and collapsed towards the center. Zu An's fingers flickered, instantly ending the lives of the entire group.

All of this happened in a flash. By the time others reacted, the golden-armored warriors lay motionless on the ground, like discarded rags.

Elder Sun Luzhen's face showed surprise. The instantaneous reaction and explosive power Zu An displayed were truly astonishing. He even wondered if he could have dispatched those guards so swiftly himself.

Huosanren, meanwhile, stared wide-eyed, realizing Zu An's cultivation was even higher than what he had displayed on the journey to the capital. *How little time has passed?* he wondered.

Gu Yueyi watched with a mix of envy and jealousy. Zu An from Brightmoon City had merely been a despised live-in son-in-law, and even his brilliance at the clan competition hadn't registered with him. Yet, in such a short time, he had grown to this extent, far surpassing Gu Yueyi himself. No wonder his junior sister had taken a liking to him. *Hmph*, he thought, *sooner or later, my junior sister will be mine!*

At this point, the nearby jailers all drew their weapons, staring at Zu An as if he were a formidable enemy. They stammered, "Lord... Lord Zu, what is the meaning of this?"

They were clearly stunned by what had just transpired.

Zu An smiled. "Don't worry, this is a personal matter between King Qi and me. It has nothing to do with any of you."

The jailers exchanged glances and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Yet, inwardly, they muttered, *Is this man foolish? How dare he openly offend King Qi like this?*

Just as they relaxed, Zu An summoned Bai Ming, unleashing an invisible sound wave that spread outwards. He had deliberately arranged for Guo Zhi to transfer the imperial prison's masters away earlier. Now, the remaining jailers were ordinary individuals; they instantly collapsed, knocked unconscious by the sonic blast. Not only were those directly hit by the sound wave knocked out, but even the cult members in another part of the prison were stunned into unconsciousness. Although Sun Luzhen and the others possessed high cultivation, they had been sealed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards long ago and had been subjected to severe torture, leaving them extremely weakened.

Zu An proceeded to seal the acupoints of the unconscious jailers. Just then, he felt an immense, unparalleled divine sense sweep over the area. Zu An's expression changed. This oppressive aura was distinctly familiar; he had encountered it several times before. Only the Emperor in the entire realm possessed such overwhelming power.

At that moment, King Qi, who was drinking tea in a palace pavilion, stiffened. He looked up, puzzled, towards the imperial prison, muttering, "What happened there? Even the Emperor has been alerted?"

However, the divine sense arrived and receded swiftly. Presumably, upon realizing it was Zu An, it withdrew its attention.

Zu An sat on a nearby stool, panting heavily. In that brief moment, he felt as though his clothes were soaked through with sweat. No wonder people claimed the entire imperial palace was under the Emperor's divine perception. This was the true meaning of that statement. The Emperor clearly wouldn't bother with ordinary conversations, but he would undoubtedly detect any abnormal energy fluctuations within the palace instantly. It was no wonder Yun Jianyue had insisted on choosing a time when the Emperor was absent from the palace; otherwise, she would likely have been suppressed by him the moment she made a move.

After a short rest, Zu An walked back towards the jailers. He had deliberately gathered all the remaining personnel from the imperial prison in this area, ensuring no one would discover their absence for a while.

He still had one more task. He took a porcelain vial from his Glazed Pearl, dripped a few drops of liquid into a teapot, and then force-fed the tea to the unconscious jailers.

Ever since receiving the Emperor's task, he had been pondering this problem. Breaking into the imperial prison wasn't the hard part; the real challenge was managing the fallout. He couldn't afford for the cult members to suspect him, nor could he let anyone in the palace grow suspicious. Therefore, a scapegoat was necessary. After much consideration, King Qi was the only one with both the motive and the capability to abduct imperial prisoners from the imperial prison. Furthermore, by blaming King Qi, the Emperor could conveniently suppress the incident when it was reported later. After all, it involved King Qi, and neither side would openly reveal their animosity unless absolutely necessary. This approach would prevent Guo Zhi and the others from having any suspicions.

Thus, he had deliberately provoked King Qi, intending for him to send people to deal with him. He hadn't expected King Qi to be so cooperative, dispatching his men so swiftly.

Of course, there was also the issue of the jailers' testimonies; they couldn't be allowed to expose him. Killing them would have been the most convenient solution. However, first, he preferred not to harm the innocent if possible. Second, if he had just arranged for Guo Zhi to transfer the prison's experts, and then the remaining personnel were killed, even a fool would suspect him. Therefore, he needed to keep these jailers alive as witnesses, to prove that King Qi's men had been present. As for his own actions, the jailers had to forget them. The tea he had just given them contained Forget-Sorrow Water. This was the same substance used against Qin Wanru during the Chu clan rebellion. While it could induce lust, its most remarkable effect was causing people to forget recent events.

"I'm truly a genius," Zu An thought, feeling a flicker of self-admiration. However, a pang of regret struck him when he considered using one of the world's most potent aphrodisiacs on a group of ordinary men.