Zu An was stunned, asking, “Is it really that serious?”

Yu Yanluo nodded and explained, “The human race and the fiend races have fought for so many years. The grudge they have established has been deeply entrenched within them by a sea of blood and bitterness. It is already too hard to say who is right and who is wrong. If you spoke these words publicly, not only would the court attack you as a political opponent, the people themselves would reject you. Saying good things about the humans to the fiend races would have similar results.”

Zu An momentarily fell silent, but he still said, “I’m not so arrogant as to vainly try to dissolve the hatred; all I seek is merely a clear conscience. Those who see me as a friend, I’ll greet with good wine. Those who see me as an enemy, I’ll see them off with violence. Like hell I care if they’re humans or fiends.”

Kong Qing nodded inwardly when he heard that. According to Zu An’s words, he could tell that Zu An’s definition of ‘friend’ didn’t discriminate. As long as someone from the fiend races could get along with him, they could become his friend as well. No wonder the clan lord favors this man; he isn’t as stubborn or narrow-minded as most humans.

Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a few looks, as if she were getting to know him for the first time again. There was a hint of happiness in her eyes, but it was accompanied by worry. Such a nature was too easy for those with bad ulterior motives to exploit! Should the worst happen, he’d have no place left to stay among either the humans or the fiend races.

Kong Qing asked, “Then what is the issue here? Madam Yu has done business with the fiend races in the past, while this Brother Zu has no prejudice toward the fiend races, unlike most humans. There is no conflict between us at all. We should not be enemies and should instead cooperate as friends.”

Zu An chuckled and replied, “You’re trying to persuade the court’s Imperial Envoy to do dirty things with you. Aren’t you being a bit too optimistic?”

Yu Yanluo also said, “Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. I will never work with you.”

Kong Qing’s face darkened and he remarked, “That makes things a lot harder.”

Jian Taiding, who was off to the side, finally couldn't take it anymore. “Brother Kong, why do you keep chatting away with them as if you are their friend? Hurry up and get rid of them already; otherwise, the longer we stall, the more variables will be added to the mix. Who knows if they arranged for more reinforcements to come here?”

He had been seriously injured before, but the Powerful Strength Pill had helped him recover to his former strength. After that, however, he had been seriously injured again. Not only had he eaten the Powerful Strength Pill for nothing; the drug’s vicious side effects, together with his serious injuries, had also made him weaker than ever before. He obviously didn’t want to stay in this blasted place any longer than he had to.

When he saw that Kong Qing was even suggesting cooperation, his soul almost left his body. What if the two of them had agreed? What was he supposed to do then?

But he was completely powerless to change anything at the moment. Only by returning to Cloudcenter Commandery would he have resources at his disposal to use. Once that happened, he would have the confidence to cooperate with Kong Qing. That was why he urged Kong Qing to finish the two off sooner.

Zu An took the chance to send Yu Yanluo a voice transmission. “Madam, help me stall for some time; I will use the emperor’s power to deal with them.”

This Kong Qing was deep and immeasurable, and the ones who followed him also had mysterious and profound auras. Apart from the child, their cultivations were all higher than Uncle Ming’s. With such a lineup, he and Yu Yanluo were definitely not their match. That was why he wanted to subdue them all in one go using a single move.

Yu Yanluo replied, “Alright; I will do my best. You should hurry.”

Her pretty brows furrowed, and she felt a bit distressed. None of their opponents seemed to be weaker than her, and she still had Kong Qing, the late-stage master rank cultivator, to worry about.Even though she had her exceptional ‘World Painting’ magical weapon and her unique skill, she didn’t know whether it could stop the attacks of so many powerful cultivators. She suspected she could only stall for three breaths of time if they attacked at full force. Unless…

Kong Qing suspected that the two of them were communicating when he saw their lips move slightly. As such, he suggested, “Brother Zu, how about we make an agreement? I will not attack you, and you will not use that imperial edict. What do you say?”

Even though he had left ahead of time back at Zhenyuan Merchant Group, the summoning of the imperial edict had caused a huge commotion, so he had naturally sensed it. Later on, it was easy enough for him to find out what had happened.

Zu An was stunned. He had never expected Kong Qing to propose such a request.

Jian Taiding shouted, “Brother Kong, have you gone mad? Why would you make that kind of agreement?!” As a master rank cultivator, he naturally knew the power of the imperial edict well.

However, the precondition was that it took a long time to charge. For someone like Kong Qing, who was at the late stage of the master rank, the time it took to summon the imperial edict would already be enough for him to kill Zu An several times over. That was why the agreement was completely unnecessary.

Yu Yanluo was quite surprised too. She had felt Kong Qing’s attitude towards Zu An was strange from the very start. Now, she was even more certain of that.

When he saw the others’ surprised expressions, Kong Qing smiled and said, “Brother Zu, you are a good friend of our clan lord, and I do not want to ruin our relationship over something like this. If you do not use the imperial edict,I will not attack. If you can win against these subordinates of mine, I will immediately leave. If you lose, you will have to agree to work with us. What do you say?”

Jian Taiding was shocked and furious. He exclaimed, “Hah, so it turns out this little bastard was already colluding with the fiend races! And yet, he kept shouting and denouncing me. Do you have no sense of shame?!”

You have successfully trolled Jian Taiding for +574 +574 +574…

He felt terribly wronged. He had always had to work with the fiend races in secret before, and these people had always criticized him from atop their high horses.

And yet after all of that, it turned out they had been working with the fiend races too?! And it was even with someone as high up as their freaking clan leader?!

What the hell is this?!

Yu Yanluo also gave Zu An a strange look. She muttered to herself, “Clan lord?” Never could she have imagined that this fellow would actually have something to do with the clan lord of a fiend race clan!

But ever since she had first met him, he’d always had all kinds of beautiful girls around him. Ji Xiaoxi by Brightmoon City’s city outskirts, Chu First Miss… Now, even a clan lord of the fiend races seemed to be close to him! Even her own relationship with him was much closer than her relationship with other men.

Was he born for courting girls?

Zu An was a bit confused, but he quickly realized that Kong Qing was talking about Kong Nanwu. Kong QIng had probably sensed the peacock feather he carried when they last met. No wonder he seems so different today. Wait, is he misunderstanding something?

Kong Qing didn’t pay any attention to Jian Taiding’s clamoring and continued to look at Zu An, saying, “You are the clan lord’s good friend, so we naturally cannot treat you like a commoner. Even if you lose and you have to cooperate with us, it will not be anything too terrible.”

Zu An was still thinking to himself, but Yu Yanluo instead spoke up and said, “Fine, we agree.”

“Madam!” Zu An exclaimed in alarm. How can you casually agree to this kind of thing?

Yu Yanluo shook her head and spoke to him through ki transmission. “The imperial edict would take too long. I might not be able to stop them long enough for you to use it. If Kong Qing does not get involved, we will still have a fighting chance. We need to get through this crisis first.”

“Alright, we’ll go with madam’s suggestion,” Zu An replied with a smile.

Yu Yanluo blushed a bit. No wonder this guy has such good luck with women. He really is good at teasing.

But with her appearance and reputation, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen even more brilliant methods. And yet, those methods had only made her feel awkward and guarded, and only this man could make her feel the way she felt at the moment.

“Hahaha!” Kong Qing laughed and said, “Madam Yu is a decisive woman after all. Please do be careful, however. My companions are quite extraordinary in their own right. You two might not necessarily be able to win against them.”

Thet Gray Wolf King released a low, throaty and began to approach them, its eyes flickering with murderous intent.

The dark elf raised his long and slender sword. He licked it with his scarlet tongue, killing intent oozing out from his presence.

Meanwhile, the woman dressed in red wedding clothes first led the child to a corner to wait there. Then, she leisurely walked over to her companions’ side.

Zu An and Yu Yanluo stood side by side too.

“Be careful!”

“Be careful!”

Both of them warned each other at the same time. They couldn't help but smile when they realized that.

Damn these adulterers! Jian Taiding ground his teeth in anger. However, his thoughts were preoccupied. What exactly is Kong Qing trying to do here? Don’t tell me he plans to abandon me?

Both sides stood some distance apart for a long time. The dark elf was the first to grow impatient, however, exclaiming, “I will go first!”

Then, he disappeared into the shadow of the Gray Wolf King. He appeared next to Yu Yanluo a second later, thrusting his sword at her waist at a sinister angle without a shred of mercy for the fairer sex.

Yu Yanluo didn’t panic at all, and instead took out her World Painting to protect herself. It immediately enveloped the dark elf, absorbing him into the painting. However, she didn’t seem happy about that at all and instead voiced her surprise.

“Be careful!” Zu An suddenly grabbed her waist and evaded off to the side. At the same time, his finger thrust out, flicking away the slender sword as it came from a different direction.

Yu Yanluo quickly looked at her own drawing. There was a dark elf inside, but that figure’s body began to ripple, eventually turning into a paper cutout.

Jian Taiding watched as the sister-in-law he was obsessed with let her waist be taken by another man’s arm, without even being offended in the slightest, almost as if she had already gotten used to that level of bodily contact. He immediately vomited blood from anger.

However, he was still a formidable person in his own right and quickly set aside his jealousy. Instead, he looked at the woman in the red dress on the other side. Even though he was seriously injured, his sight as a master rank still remained. He could immediately tell that the woman had made that move just now.

“Familiars crafted through paper, and such a unique outfit… Could you perhaps be the rumored ‘Paper Bride’?” Yu Yanluo’s expression turned extremely serious when she looked at that woman in the bridal clothes.