Chapter 925: Green Feather

Zu An was momentarily stunned by the tender and delicate voice, which seemed to carry both a hint of petulance and deep indignation. He wondered if such a beautiful voice truly existed in this world.

He had been in this world for quite some time, and the women he had met were progressively more beautiful, each with a pleasant voice. However, this particular voice was extraordinarily clear and captivating, possessing the crisp clarity of a phoenix or crane's call, combined with the melodious smoothness of an oriole's song. Simply listening to her speak made his ears feel as if they were being massaged.

During their recent exchange, he had known his opponent was a woman but hadn't had the chance to properly observe her face. Now, looking at her, he saw a tall figure with a fair complexion and an expression as cold as frost. Her clear, autumn-water-like eyes glared at him, brimming with indignation and displeasure.

Nan Xun was already an exceptional beauty, one in ten thousand, yet standing beside this woman, her own radiance was completely overshadowed. It was a sensation difficult to describe, perhaps due to the distinctive aura the woman naturally exuded.

"I'm a hooligan?" Zu An scoffed. "You orchestrate a honey trap, plot to harm me, and then have the audacity to call me a hooligan?" He didn't pause his attack while speaking, directly reaching out to seize her. He was no longer one to show mercy to a beautiful woman.

The mysterious woman's expression subtly shifted. She quickly made an intricate gesture, and a green light flashed before her. Zu An sensed a wave of danger and swiftly dodged a body-length back, evading her peculiar attack. It was then that he clearly saw the green glow in her hand was a feather, entirely verdant with streaks of black, shimmering like polished jade—it was exquisitely beautiful.

Zu An was momentarily speechless. He truly seemed to be at odds with the color green. He wondered what kind of feather it was, to be so strikingly beautiful.

The mysterious woman attempted to use that strike as an opportunity to escape with Nan Xun. Although she had pushed Zu An back, his presence remained firmly locked onto both of them. Realizing she couldn't break free immediately, she spoke, "Young Master Zu, you've misunderstood; we harbored no ill intentions."

"No ill intentions?" Zu An sneered. "Do you take me for a fool? Had I not been highly vigilant just now, I would likely be a walking corpse."

The mysterious woman apologized, "Young Master, please calm your anger. We merely sought some information and had no intention of harming you. After we were finished, you would simply recall it as a dream, with no lasting effect on your body."

Zu An chuckled. At this point, she could say whatever she pleased. Putting everything else aside, the sheer danger of their recent confrontation meant that if his cultivation had been any lower, he would likely have perished. There was no way she would be speaking to him so patiently.

"Who exactly are you?" Zu An then turned to Nan Xun. "And you, are you human or ghost?"

Nan Xun's face registered surprise, and she instinctively looked towards the mysterious woman beside her. The mysterious woman's elegant brows furrowed. "You can perceive her existence?"

Zu An said in a deep voice, "I am asking the questions now, not you."

The mysterious woman remained silent for a moment, then apologized, "I'm sorry, our identities are too sensitive to disclose."

"Heh," Zu An chuckled. "Very well then. I'll simply inform Prince Qi that his concubine is working as a courtesan in a brothel, serving other men."

Initially, he had suspected they were sent by Prince Qi. However, he quickly reconsidered; even if Prince Qi had a scheme, he wouldn't send his concubine to a brothel. Wasn't he worried about inadvertently being cuckolded multiple times over? Furthermore, if this matter were to leak, the damage to Prince Qi's reputation would be unprecedented. Given Zu An's understanding of the Prince, he wouldn't risk such a significant blow.

Hearing him expose Nan Xun's identity, both women's expressions changed instantly. A flicker of murderous intent crossed the mysterious woman's eyes, which Zu An keenly caught. He couldn't help but sneer, "What, you still intend to kill me? Or should I capture you and hand you over to the Embroidered Uniform Guards for interrogation?"

With that, he activated his Sunflower Phantom Movement Technique, instantly appearing behind the mysterious woman and clamping his hand onto her shoulder. The mysterious woman was greatly alarmed. With an incredible contortion of her body, she forcibly pulled her arm free. However, with a tearing sound, her sleeve, unable to withstand the immense force, ripped off, revealing a stretch of her fair, delicate arm.

Rage points from Kong Nanwu +444!

The mysterious woman's eyes blazed with intense murderous intent. With her other hand, she directly struck him with the emerald feather. Zu An suddenly saw a sea of green light before him, within which countless eyes seemed to emerge, all fixated on him. In that instant, a wave of dizziness washed over his mind, and his eyes felt as if they had gone blind, seeing nothing but green.

Though startled, he remained composed. He immediately summoned Baiming, and as its piercing shriek echoed, the mysterious woman grunted. Instantly, his dizziness vanished, and his vision largely returned. Without hesitation, he immediately seized the wrist holding the emerald feather. He could sense the threat emanating from it, so disarming her was his priority.

The mysterious woman snorted. With a flick of her finger, the emerald feather transformed into a streak of light, appearing behind Zu An an instant later. In that instant, the soft feather transformed into a sharp flying sword. However, just before it could pierce his back, the mysterious woman's face showed a flicker of hesitation. The emerald feather sword immediately veered three inches to the side, narrowly missing a vital point. Even so, had the strike landed squarely, it would undoubtedly have incapacitated him for a short period.

Unexpectedly, Zu An neither dodged nor evaded, instead taking the blow directly with his body. The sharp flying sword penetrated only an inch before being firmly clamped, unable to advance further. The mysterious woman was startled. Although she had held back, her weapon was exceptionally potent; it shouldn't have penetrated so little. How incredibly tough must his body be?

However, she had no time to ponder this, as she knew she was in immediate danger. She swiftly counterattacked, attempting to seize the chance to break free from his grip. However, his hand was like an iron clamp; with a single twist, he forced her arm behind her back, then tightened his hold, a large hand now clasped around her neck. In that instant, every hair on her body stood on end. She knew her vital point was compromised, and with a slight twist of his hand, she would surely perish. In that critical moment, she immediately cried out two words: "Xue'er!"

As expected, Zu An's hand paused upon hearing the name, and he did not proceed. The two remained pressed tightly together. The mysterious woman's breathing was rapid, her chest heaving, clearly quite shaken by the sudden, swift exchange.

"Let go of my mistress!" A pretty maid half-leaned in the doorway, baring her teeth at Zu An. The sharp fangs in her mouth hinted at her non-human nature, and a layer of snow-white fur was gradually appearing around her ears and neck.

Zu An's expression darkened. "Demon race?"

The mysterious woman took a deep breath. "Huhu, don't reveal your true form, or you'll attract the attention of various human experts in the capital."

"But..." The maid looked at Zu An's hand clamped around her mistress's neck.

"I'm fine. He's a good friend of Sister Xue'er; he won't hurt me." After the initial panic, the mysterious woman had regained her composure.

"Oh~" the maid named Huhu mumbled. She then stood up, reverting to the appearance of a young maid, though her gaze towards Zu An remained somewhat unfriendly.

"What 'Xue'er' are you referring to?" Zu An had already believed her inwardly but deliberately asked this for caution.

The mysterious woman said faintly, "They say human men are the most unfaithful and heartless. I hadn't entirely believed it, but I never expected that in such a short time, you would completely forget your former lover. Oh, Xue'er, you truly are foolish."

Few people knew about his relationship with Xue'er, unless Xue'er herself had told her. Zu An made this judgment, then released his grip and coldly asked, "Who exactly are you?"

---Lately, I've been combining two chapters into one, and many readers have been privately messaging me, scolding me for only releasing one update a day...It's genuinely a bit unfair. You shouldn't just look at the chapter count; you also need to consider the word count.Dare I say, usually, the word count for two combined chapters is actually higher?