Chapter 992: Daji's Anger

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. He wasn't sure if she was just playfully following up on Yu Yanluo's "lying" comment, or if she had genuinely deceived him about something. But there was no point in dwelling on it now; he, of course, knew the standard answer to such a question.

He held her by the shoulders, making her look him in the eyes. "Redtear," he said, "I believe you would never do anything to harm me. If you truly had to deceive me about something, there must have been an unavoidable reason, and of course, I wouldn't hate you. If you encounter anything difficult to handle, you can discuss it with me, and we'll solve it together."

"Big Brother Zu, you're so good to me!" Qiu Honglei threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly, nestling her face against his chest. "Don't worry," she murmured, "I would never harm you."

Zu An thought to himself that something was indeed going on, but she clearly didn't want to talk about it. There was no need to press her; after all this time together, they had that much trust.

He gently stroked her hair, comforting her. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself," he said. "If you truly feel guilty about something, just make it up to me in the future."

"What kind of compensation do you want?" Qiu Honglei asked curiously.

Zu An leaned in and whispered into her ear, "...call me Daddy."

Qiu Honglei immediately let out a coquettish whine, but her eyes twinkled with a mysterious, alluring charm. "Alright~" she purred.

Looking down at her charming and delicate face, Zu An gently lifted her smooth, delicate chin and lightly kissed her.

Qiu Honglei slowly closed her eyes too, her eyelashes trembling slightly. He could clearly feel the thumping of her heartbeat.

***

Just then, a sharp whistle-arrow sound suddenly echoed from afar, and a brilliant fireworks display blossomed in the distance.

Their lips parted.

Qiu Honglei glanced in that direction, her beautiful face instantly changing. "It's an urgent secret order from the cult; I must go immediately," she said. "Big Brother Zu, I really don't want to leave you."

Zu An couldn't help but frown. "After today's farewell," he said, "I don't know when we'll see each other again."

"Perhaps we'll meet again very soon?" Qiu Honglei blinked mischievously. "Oh no, no, no! I finally managed to suppress my romantic feelings during this time, but seeing you has ruined all my efforts. I need to go back into secluded cultivation, lest I fall behind you later on."

Zu An said in a deep voice, "I don't care if your cultivation is high or not. Besides, I can completely protect you."

"You may not care, but I do!" she retorted. "Otherwise, if other women bully me in the future, I can't always come to you for help, can I? And only when my cultivation reaches perfection can I... can I be with you..." Qiu Honglei suddenly became shy. After stamping her foot, she fled as if escaping, leaving behind only a faint lingering fragrance in the air.

Zu An smiled knowingly. However, thinking of the negative effects of the *Demonic Allure Sound Art*, he felt a little depressed. That woman, Yun Jianyue, was truly incorrigible, teaching such a flawed cultivation method.

Just then, he suddenly felt a stir in his heart, sensing someone approaching. He quickly re-covered his face.

Not long after, a short figure quickly arrived. It was none other than Gold Medallion Number Seven.

"Where is she?" he asked. He naturally recognized the other person as Gold Medallion Number Eleven. He looked around but couldn't find any trace of Qiu Honglei.

"She was just rescued," Zu An said without batting an eyelid.

"Someone could rescue her from you? Could Yun Jianyue have come?" Gold Medallion Number Seven was startled; he had just witnessed the terrifying power of Zu An's cultivation.

Zu An shook his head. "No, it was a few other experts from the Demonic Cult," he replied. "I couldn't handle that many by myself. They didn't linger in battle; they rescued her and left."

Gold Medallion Number Seven secretly nodded. He had actually mentioned Yun Jianyue deliberately, setting a trap; if Zu An had gone along with that, he would have become suspicious. Yun Jianyue was a Grandmaster, a figure of immense status. No matter how powerful Zu An was, wasn't he still like an ant before a Grandmaster? If one could survive such an encounter, either they were lying and hadn't encountered Yun Jianyue, or they knew Yun Jianyue and were colluding with the Demonic Cult.

He let out a long sigh. "It's just as I suspected," he murmured.

"What's wrong?" Zu An quickly asked, having always been curious about what the other party was truly suspecting.

Gold Medallion Number Seven shook his head. "It's a pity we didn't capture that demonic cult enchantress, otherwise we would have had evidence. I can't tell you my suspicions right now. If something happens to me one day, tell the Commander what happened these past two days; he should be able to understand what's truly going on."

After speaking, without waiting for Zu An to detain him, he cupped his hands in a salute and leaped away into the distance. "I owe you a favor," he called back, "and I will definitely repay it when I have the chance."

His voice still echoed through the valley, but he had already vanished.

Zu An couldn't help but complain inwardly. Seeing Gold Medallion Number Seven set up such a massive "flag," he probably wouldn't be able to repay this favor.

However, he was more concerned about Qiu Honglei. The cult's use of such a whistle-arrow indicated the urgency of the situation, and he wondered what had happened.

He followed the path, but by the time he arrived, the place was already deserted. He even used the powers of his jade cong to search the surroundings but found nothing.

Resignedly, Zu An returned to the main ship of the envoy delegation, deep in thought the entire way.

By the time he returned, night had already fallen. He happened to run into Gao Ying and Pei You knocking on the door outside, and he quickly climbed back in through a nearby window.

Sensing the movement, Daji, who was inside, looked over warily. Only when she recognized him did she visibly relax.

"It must have been hard for you during this time," Zu An said, even though he knew she had no soul, still smiling at her. He then ran out to open the door.

Watching his retreating figure, Daji's eyes flickered, but the emotion quickly vanished.

Zu An opened the door and deliberately said in a displeased tone, "I told you all I was going to meditate and cultivate, not to disturb me!"

"You've been cultivating all day; that's enough already," Pei You said, winking. "Leisure House, shall we go?"

Zu An looked speechless. "We just went yesterday; haven't you had enough fun yet?"

"How dare you say that?" Pei You retorted, getting angry at the mention of it. "Yesterday, we were right at a crucial moment when we heard the commotion on the third floor. Worried about you, we had to stop midway."

Thinking of their chivalry last night, Zu An felt a bit apologetic. "I really don't feel like it today," he said. "Why don't you two go have fun? It's on me tonight."

"No need," Pei You said, finally revealing his true intention. "Just lend us that jade token. I hear you can get things for free with it."

Zu An couldn't help but laugh. "With your family backgrounds, you're not short on a bit of silver, are you?"

"That's different," Gao Ying interjected, mercilessly exposing Pei You's intention. "He hasn't experienced the feeling of getting something for free yet. Moreover, the jade token for Leisure House isn't something ordinary people can have; it's a symbol of status. He just wants to go show off and feel good about it."

Zu An chuckled and casually tossed the jade token to them. "Have fun," he said, "but it's best not to get involved with Tang Tian'er; she's a bit dangerous."

"You're the best!" Pei You exclaimed, holding the jade token in his hands as if afraid of dropping it. Even Gao Ying couldn't help but glance at it several times; clearly, this legendary item held immense appeal for anyone who had been to Leisure House. "Don't worry," Pei You continued, "that Tang Tian'er is your woman, our sister-in-law; how could we possibly provoke her?"

Zu An chuckled wryly. He had truly wanted to warn them that Tang Tian'er was a thorny rose and that with her shrewdness, she would immediately see through their impersonation, which was why he told them not to approach her. They had clearly misunderstood him, but there was no need to explain further. Anyway, the jade token didn't hold much meaning for him. Its primary use for him was to auction off special medicinal ingredients and items at Leisure House; he wasn't interested in the other services offered there.

"Oh, by the way, where's Master Sang?" Zu An asked, glancing in the direction of Sang Hong's room. He now had a host of questions he wanted to discuss with him.

"Master Sang was invited over by people from the Prefect's Mansion," Pei You replied. "He probably won't be back for a while." This was also why the two dared to go out and have fun. After saying that, they eagerly waved goodbye to him.

After seeing the two off, he returned to his room, seeing Daji sitting by the window. The moonlight outside spilled onto her, making her entire being seem draped in a transparent white veil. She was so beautiful she didn't seem human.

"Don't move, I'll draw a picture of you." To cultivate *Thousand Faces, One Appearance*, one first needed to master drawing. With such a perfect model in front of him, when else would be a better time to practice?

A hint of surprise seemed to flash in Daji's eyes. However, she did not refuse, remaining seated, seemingly agreeing to his request.

Zu An took out paper and brush and began drawing swiftly. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he finally put down his brush. "Hmm, it's done," he announced.

Daji looked at him, with a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Zu An took the drawing paper and unfolded it in front of her. "It's a bit abstract right now," he said, "but that just proves I have plenty of room for improvement, haha."

He gave a sheepish laugh, because the person drawn on the paper had thick eyebrows, eyes that bulged outwards, and facial features so scattered they resembled someone with Down syndrome. In short, apart from the hairstyle and clothes being somewhat similar, everything else was vastly different from Daji. One could only vaguely make out that it was a woman.

Daji's eyes instantly widened.

Zu An chuckled. "Now the eyes have a bit of a resemblance!" he quipped.

[Enrage points from Daji +!!!]

Zu An was stunned. He actually received enrage points from her? Did she already have a soul?

Just as he was about to ask, a figure suddenly leaped in through the window, the dagger in their hand stabbing directly at Zu An.