Chapter 986: Gold Medal Seventh

Zuan replied in a low voice, "Uncle, I have my reasons, but unfortunately, it's not convenient to explain them right now. I hope you won't take offense."

Sang Hong gave him a deep look and finally said, "Since you call me 'Uncle,' of course I trust you. If you say so, I won't press you further."

Does this brat think I don't know? I used to be the Prefect of Brightmoon City. Qiu Honglei, the courtesan from the Immortal's Abode, has an ambiguous relationship with him. This fellow is quite the philanderer.

Thinking of his own daughter, he felt a sudden irritation for some reason. He then added, "I'm going to the Prefect's mansion now to discuss the escort of that demonic sect woman with Prefect Zhang. You've been working hard outside, so go back and rest early."

"Thank you, Uncle." Zuan breathed a sigh of relief when he agreed.

Just as he was about to leave, Sang Hong called out, "A'Zu, I need to remind you, it's natural for young people to admire beauty, but you must be clear about a person's identity. Some women are best left untouched."

Zuan instantly broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed he couldn't hide anything from him after all. He could only say, "Uncle's lesson is well-taken."

Seeing that Zuan said this but still looked somewhat dismissive, Sang Hong snorted in annoyance, not bothering to persuade him further. Anyway, Qian'er was just "using" him temporarily; he wasn't really going to be his son-in-law. All he wanted was a grandson.

Watching Sang Hong lead his men towards the Prefect's mansion, Zuan returned to the docks. Gao Ying and Pei You asked if Sun Xun had given him any trouble earlier. He gave a brief account of what had just happened, and then, feigning tiredness out of concern for Qiu Honglei, he returned to his room to rest.

Gao Ying and Pei You had also been busy for most of the night and were now exhausted, so they too returned to their rooms to rest.

Zuan, meanwhile, secretly changed into the uniform of the Embroidered Envoy in his room and went to Xiao Jianren's room.

Since Sang Hong, Zuan, and the others had initially left, someone was needed to guard the main camp on the ship, and Xiao Jianren was naturally the best choice.

He was burning the midnight oil, reading, his eyes almost touching the table, clearly suffering from severe nearsightedness.

However, he had, after all, distinguished himself from among the talented Embroidered Envoys. Although his eyesight was poor, his hearing was exceptionally keen. The moment Zuan entered the room, he sensed something was amiss. "Who's there?"

"It's me!" Zuan said in a muffled voice. "I've told you before not to read at night; your eyes won't be able to take it. When we return to the capital, ask the academy to get you a pair of glazed spectacles or a long-burning lamp."

Zuan had specifically inquired about this before. The academy's direct disciples had all sorts of inventions, and they did have something like glasses, but they weren't made of glass; they were made of glazed material, inscribed with special runic formations to achieve the same effect as spectacles, making them quite expensive.

As for long-burning lamps, the one Zuan had given Xie Daoyun was one such item, though it was the most precious and advanced kind. Although Zuan sympathized with Xiao Jianren, between men and women, he would definitely choose the latter.

"It's fine, I'm used to it after so many years," Xiao Jianren said, placing a bookmark at his last read page and carefully closing the book as if it were a treasure. "The glazed spectacles and long-burning lamps produced by the academy are too expensive; people like me can't afford them."

Zuan was speechless. As a Silver Embroidered Envoy, Xiao Jianren's salary wasn't low; he could afford one if he saved for a few years. However, he always spent his money on books first. He read all kinds of miscellaneous books; as long as there were words, he could read them with relish for half a day, even the packaging of pastries from some capital restaurants.

Buying all sorts of books made him the poorest person in the Embroidered Tower, so he naturally couldn't bear to buy anything from the academy.

"By the way, do you know the demonic sect's strongholds in Yi Commandery?" Zuan didn't forget the main task and quickly asked. He needed to contact Yun Jianyue as soon as possible to discuss how to rescue Qiu Honglei.

Xiao Jianren couldn't help but say, "Sir, you overestimate me. If the demonic sect's strongholds were easily discoverable, the authorities would have wiped them out long ago. However, I can try to contact the local Embroidered Envoy intelligence network to see if we can find some less critical strongholds. Spies in each area often keep one or two such strongholds within their monitoring range, so they don't have to expend effort searching for new demonic sect locations if one is destroyed. Of course, these strongholds usually aren't of much value; I don't know if they'd be useful to you, sir."

"Just find them first," Zuan said. He had no other options for now and could only try this.

If it came to the worst, he would have to act alone.

"Alright!" Xiao Jianren cupped his hands and was about to leave when Zuan suddenly reached out and stopped him.

While Xiao Jianren looked puzzled, Zuan said in a low voice, "Since you've arrived, why don't you reveal yourself?"

"Someone else is here?" Xiao Jianren was startled. He was always careful and had even set up small mechanisms around the room. His hearing was also naturally keen, so only someone like Gold Agent Eleven could enter without being immediately detected. It was very difficult for anyone else to escape his notice.

Yet now, even with Gold Agent Eleven's warning, he listened intently but heard no breathing and felt no vital essence fluctuations. How high must the other party's cultivation be to achieve this?

Just then, a cold voice came from outside, "I was careful enough, yet I still didn't expect you to hear me. As expected of a Gold Embroidered Envoy."

As soon as the voice fell, the window was pushed open, and a dark figure flashed in. Xiao Jianren was about to draw his saber but suddenly froze.

The dark figure had ripped off his outer night-suit, revealing the clothes underneath. The distinctive cloud-dragon pattern was unmistakably the Embroidered Envoy uniform.

And the person's collar was trimmed with gold—a Gold Embroidered Envoy!

Xiao Jianren hastily bowed, then cautiously asked, "Sir, are you Gold Agent Seven, who is in charge of the intelligence network here?"

Having spent years in the Embroidered Tower archives, he naturally knew these things.

"Gold Agent Seven?" Zuan looked at the newcomer with curiosity. He realized it had been a long time, and this was his first encounter with another Gold Agent.

The person's face was obscured by a mask, so it was impossible to see clearly, but their eyes were bright and piercing, and the slight crow's feet visible at the corners suggested they were a middle-aged man.

Although slender, the figure exuded a chilling aura where he stood, as evidenced by Xiao Jianren, who dared not even breathe beside him.

Zuan sensed the vital essence fluctuations from the other person, estimating them to be around ninth-rank. However, after all he had experienced, he understood that as cultivation levels increased, vital essence fluctuations alone could not accurately determine true cultivation, because unless one unleashed their full power in a life-or-death situation, the intensity of vital essence fluctuations would always have a significant margin of error.

Not to mention there were also artifacts or cultivation methods in the world that could conceal one's aura.

The slender middle-aged man pulled out a gleaming gold medallion and displayed it before Zuan. "Identity verified. Gold Agent Seven."

Embroidered Envoy items were standardized, making them impossible for outsiders to counterfeit, especially the medallions, which were engraved with special anti-counterfeiting runic formations, easily recognizable by other Envoys.

Xiao Jianren hastily took out his personal silver medallion, but unfortunately, the other person didn't even glance at him, focusing solely on Zuan.

It was as if to say, "This is a conversation for high-ranking officers; you stand aside."

Zuan also produced his Gold Agent Eleven medallion, and they both verified each other's identities.

Only then did Gold Agent Seven relax, but his brow quickly furrowed. "Why is your cultivation so low?"

With the Consort Bai's sachet on him and the Mirror of Non-Platform cultivation method, it was difficult for others to discern his true cultivation.

Zuan replied calmly, "As long as I can defeat those I intend to fight, that's enough."

Gold Agent Seven couldn't help but give him another look. This fellow, with only sixth-rank cultivation, certainly had a bold tone.

However, he somewhat admired this character; if the other person had been meek and submissive, it would have diminished the prestige of a Gold Agent.

Given his low cultivation, it was likely that the Emperor and the Grand Commander valued him for other qualities.

"I came here because I need your help to verify something," Gold Agent Seven slowly stated his purpose.