Chapter 95: Stone Prince

Mi Laotou completely ignored the comment. "The notorious good-for-nothing from Moonbright City has good talent? Have everyone else's eyes been blind all these years?" After much thought, he could only come up with one explanation: "Perhaps your physical condition is perfectly suited for this movement technique. Practice it well; it should be more than enough for self-defense against Yuan Wendong."

"By the way, don't tell anyone that I taught you this movement technique. Also, it's best not to tell anyone the name 'Sunflower Phantom,' lest you invite trouble."

Zu An nodded eagerly: "Got it, got it..."

It seemed this guy was also a master of playing it safe. But then again, if he hadn't kept a low profile, how could he have been an unknown flower gardener in the Chu family for so many years?

Seeing him agree, Mi Laotou left with peace of mind.

Zu An then began practicing the "Sunflower Phantom" he had just learned. As he practiced, a thought suddenly struck him: "This movement technique is so strange and swift; it would be a waste to just use it for evasion. What if I used it for attack?"

He immediately thought of the "Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordplay." Those straightforward sword techniques focused on dealing maximum damage to the opponent with the shortest distance and fastest speed. While they might have many weaknesses in the eyes of true masters due to their emphasis on offense over defense, what if the speed was fast enough? Even if the weaknesses were seen, what good would it do?

This thought made him excited. He immediately combined the "Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordplay" with the "Sunflower Phantom" and began practicing. The original Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordplay were somewhat monotonous and straightforward, but combined with the strange movement of the Sunflower Phantom, the courtyard instantly glittered with cold light and bristled with sword energy.

If an outsider were to see it, they would only see a ghostly shadow flickering about, perhaps even getting scared.

Suddenly, Zu An's heart stirred. He quickly re-sheathed his sword. Several guards rushed over upon hearing the commotion: "Young Master-in-law, are you alright?"

Zu An recognized them as the guards Chu Zhongtian had assigned to protect him after the incident with Xue'er. He inwardly grumbled, "You didn't react at all when Old Man Mi came over just now."

"Nothing, I was just practicing my sword here," Zu An said with a slight smile, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Oh, then we won't disturb you." The guards retreated after seeing nothing amiss.

"Young Master-in-law is really frail; he's sweating so much just practicing elementary swordplay."

"Our Young Miss is truly pitiful."

"The commotion earlier sounded quite loud; was I just imagining things?"

"Nonsense, you must be too stressed lately. How could the Young Master-in-law make such a racket?"

"That's true."

...

Hearing the whispers drift from afar, Zu An's face darkened. It seemed his image really needed improvement.

He had originally felt some apprehension about the clan competition, but with "Sunflower Phantom," he felt much more confident. This ghostly movement technique and the Thirteen Forms of Elementary Swordplay were a perfect match, just like the "Evil-Wardering Sword Manual" from novels.

At this thought, his smile suddenly froze. He immediately realized that the movement technique had "Sunflower" in its name, and Mi Laotou had just said there was a major hurdle in cultivating it, one that normal people couldn't overcome. At the same time, Mi Laotou's gaze had darted towards his crotch...

Oh my god!

This isn't the Sunflower Manual, is it?

As soon as this thought arose, Zu An dropped his sword in fright.

"Is this ever going to end?!" he thought, feeling the deep malice of this world. "Not only is his 'little brother' sealed, but now he's even given the Sunflower Manual and the Evil-Wardering Sword Manual?"

Zu An, with a foul mood, went back to bed and fell asleep, no longer in the mood to practice his sword.

At this moment, another person was in an even worse mood. In the Plum Blossom Gang's main headquarters, with a crash, a valuable official kiln porcelain cup was smashed to pieces on the floor.

Mei Chaofeng, kneeling on the ground, twitched an eyelid. This was his favorite teacup, which he had gone to great lengths to acquire. He treasured it daily, never letting it out of his sight. If it had been anyone else, not only would they have been fed to dogs for smashing it, but even for touching it. Yet, at this moment, he felt no anger, only trembled in fear on the ground.

Kneeling beside him was another person, dressed in a green dress with a head full of exquisitely braided small pigtails. It was none other than Xue'er, who had previously bossed him around.

Before today, Mei Chaofeng had always found this girl unpleasant, but now he felt a sense of shared misery.

Seated prominently above them was a young master, confidently cross-legged. He wore a dark purple brocade robe with a white barbarian-patterned belt cinched at his waist. His face was incredibly handsome, and his long, black, shiny hair made him appear even more dashing and elegant.

However, at this moment, his face was grim, and he glared furiously at the two kneeling figures, which added a touch of gloom to his entire demeanor.

"You two are truly my excellent subordinates! Xue'er, I remember not long ago you sent me a message saying everything was under control, and that Zu An, that good-for-nothing, would disappear from this world forever soon. And now you're telling me your cover is blown and you've escaped from the Chu family?" The young master's face was smiling, but there was no amusement in his tone.

"Please forgive me, Young Master, there was a small mishap," Xue'er said, biting her lip, her face filled with shame. She had intended to help the Young Master, but instead, she had messed things up, and the target was a notorious good-for-nothing at that.

"A small mishap?" The young master scoffed, "Do you know how many resources I spent and how many connections I used to cleanly infiltrate you into the Chu family? You've been undercover for years, and just when it was finally about to bear fruit, you ruined everything!"

"I will make up for my mistakes; please have mercy, Young Master!" Xue'er immediately kowtowed, her delicate body trembling violently.

The young master didn't even glance at her, turning instead to Mei Chaofeng: "And you! Xue'er is young and a woman; it's understandable she's inexperienced and unreliable. But you are a veteran in the underworld, a prominent figure! Yet you also fell into the hands of that good-for-nothing? You actually lost 7.5 million taels? Heh, have all the tributes you've given me over the years added up to that much?"

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Mei Chaofeng. He thought, "Why does it sound like the Young Master's punishment for Xue'er will be more bark than bite, a light touch, but now he's coming after me?" He quickly defended himself: "This was all due to my subordinates' incompetence. By the time I received the news, it was already too late. I racked my brains, but I couldn't have imagined anyone winning 7.5 million taels in just two rounds."

"Also, I originally didn't intend to acknowledge those 7.5 million taels, but Miss Qiao made me agree, so I had no choice but to write the IOU."

He couldn't help but be so nervous and flustered. The man before him was Shi Kun, the Sixth Young Master of the Shi family in the capital. His father was the Grand Marshal of the current dynasty. The Shi family was one of the top families in the capital. Shi Kun himself was not only handsome and dashing but also a recognized genius, well-liked by everyone in the Shi family, and often entrusted with important responsibilities.

He was responsible for some of the Shi family's clandestine affairs. As far as Mei Chaofeng knew, organizations like the Plum Blossom Gang existed in many prefectures across the country, all backed and controlled by the Shi family.

Despite the Plum Blossom Gang's apparent prosperity, most of the profits from its various businesses had to be handed over to the Shi family. Therefore, the other party was probably so angry because he learned about the 7.5 million taels debt.

"Oh? Xue'er told you to write it?" Shi Kun looked at Xue'er. "Are you an undercover agent for our Shi family, or for the Chu family?"

Xue'er quickly explained the situation at the time: "Young Master, if I hadn't written it in that situation, it would have been difficult to resolve. I didn't want to cause any further complications, and I thought I could easily retrieve the IOU anyway, so I didn't think too much about it."

Shi Kun let out a heavy snort: "You've been cultivated by the Shi family for so long, yet your vision is still so narrow. In that situation, I don't believe the Chu family would have dared to use the Red-Robed Army. If they had dared, they would have invited a swift and severe retaliation from the imperial court the very next day."

Xue'er lowered her head: "I was inconsiderate, Young Master."

Shi Kun then asked, "That's one thing, but why did you fail when you went to kill Zu An later?"

Xue'er replied: "That fellow has been biding his time. On the surface, he's a good-for-nothing, but in reality, he's a cultivator."

"A cultivator? What rank?" Shi Kun immediately sat up straight.

"At most around Rank 3, but his combat power is a bit strange..." Xue'er said, somewhat uncertainly. His energy fluctuations indeed seemed to be just above Rank 3, but when they actually fought, it seemed to be more than that.

"You, a Rank 5 cultivator, couldn't even kill a Rank 3?" Shi Kun was so angry he laughed. "Have these years been wasted on nothing?"

Xue'er's face flushed: "At the time, I don't know what happened, but my stomach suddenly started aching intensely..."

Afterward, she consulted many doctors, and her body was found to be perfectly fine. According to her description, all the doctors said it was a sensation only experienced during pregnancy and childbirth. But she was a virgin who had never been with a man, so how could she be pregnant? Moreover, these symptoms completely disappeared afterward, leaving her utterly perplexed.

"Stomach ache at a crucial moment? You're completely useless!" Shi Kun snorted coldly, his expression turning quite ugly. "Since this Zu An isn't a good-for-nothing, it proves that everything he did before was intentional. It clearly worked, lowering the Chu family's guard, and he successfully became the Chu family's son-in-law."

"If he were a good-for-nothing, I wouldn't be worried at all. But if he's been biding his time, then it's really possible he could win over Miss Chu's heart and body!"

The thought of Chu Chuyan's peerless beauty gently lying in Zu An's arms made Shi Kun feel insane with jealousy.

Xue'er naturally understood his thoughts and quickly said, "Young Master, you don't need to worry. They sleep in separate rooms, and the Young Miss doesn't like Zu An at all; she won't let him succeed."

"Not for now, but who knows about the future?" Shi Kun abruptly stood up. "No, this problem must be resolved quickly. By the way, how did you two plan before?"

Mei Chaofeng glanced at Xue'er beside him and said with a hint of schadenfreude: "Originally, Miss Qiao said she had arranged for someone to expel Zu An from Moonbright Academy, so I could find an opportunity outside and easily kill him. But to my surprise, the person she found not only failed to kick Zu An out, but got himself kicked out instead."

Shi Kun was truly so angry he laughed: "If I hadn't rushed here because the Stellar Radiance Secret Realm opened, I probably wouldn't have known about all these 'exciting' things happening here. Tell me, what exactly happened!"

Xue'er's face was also awkward: "I used your connections in Moonbright City and asked Assistant Minister Yang to help expel Zu An from the academy. But who knew that Zu An's mathematical skills were even better than Assistant Minister Yang's, and in the end, Assistant Minister Yang himself was expelled from the school."

"What? How can that guy do everything?" Shi Kun was immediately stunned. "Is this still the good-for-nothing from the previous intelligence reports?"

Xue'er's face flushed slightly, thinking, "That guy at least has one thing he can't do." However, she had no intention of telling the Young Master about this.