Mei Chaofeng’s face darkened. He pointed out grimly, “I’m not useless. I still have the Plum Blossom Sect.”

To be frank, he was unwilling to assassinate Zu An. It was bound to be an incredibly dangerous undertaking, since Zu An was no longer the same person he used to be. On top of that, even if he succeeded, he wouldn’t be able to stay in Brightmoon City anymore. Both the Chu clan and Brightmoon Academy would never let this matter rest easily.

He was the sect master of the Plum Blossom Sect, but he was being treated as a sacrificial pawn!

“The Plum Blossom Sect?” Shi Lezhi sneered coldly. “The news that you killed Plum Blossom Thirteen has already gotten out, and it wasn’t long ago that you killed Plum Blossom Seven as well. Those subordinates of yours have already lost their respect for you, and their loyalty to you is wavering as well. You can’t be thinking that you’re still the same high and mighty sect master you were, right?”

Mei Chaofeng gritted his teeth furiously. 

I also knew that killing Plum Blossom Seven would make my subordinates lose trust in me, but what choice did I have? Young master Shi issued me a direct order!

Plum Blossom Thirteen was my most trusted aide, but your Shi clan forced me to kill him in order to put your plan into action. Yet, you’re blaming all of these on me now?

Mei Chaofeng felt incredibly indignant, but he knew the current position he was in, and dared not voice his thoughts aloud.

“Let’s get out of here first.” Even with Shi Lezhi’s powerful cultivation, he dared not let himself grow careless. Raiding a prison was definitely not a small matter. If he were to get caught, even the Shi clan would suffer a huge backlash.

The two of them quickly left the prison and headed for a remote residence within the city.

“You shouldn’t return to the Plum Blossom Sect for the time being. Once they notice that you’re gone, they would surely issue an arrest warrant for you. Rest here for the time being instead,” said Shi Lezhi.

Mei Chaofeng looked at the dilapidated walls around him as he thought about how he had just been feasting on meat and gulping down wine the day before while surrounded by beautiful women. He couldn’t help but wonder how he had fallen so low in the blink of an eye.

Noticing the dissatisfied look in Mei Chaofeng’s eyes, Shi Lezhi said, “There’s no need to get so depressed. Once you’ve accomplished the young master’s mission, you’ll be able to live as grandly as you did before, just in another city.”

Mei Chaofeng frowned. “Killing Zu An is not hard at all. The problem lies in the fact that he enjoys the protection of the Chu clan. He has guards with him wherever he goes, and he spends his time either in the academy or with the Chu clan. There’s no chance to assassinate him at all!”

If we could kill Zu An that easily, why would we have even bothered plotting the earlier scheme to ensnare him? We would have just assassinated him outright!

“Don’t worry, we’ve found a way to kill him,” replied Shi Lezhi.

“Oh? What is it?” Mei Chaofeng’s interest was piqued. He would love nothing more than to vent his anger by killing that bastard with his own hands.

“Do you remember the bizarre melody he played in the dueling ring yesterday?” asked Shi Lezhi.

“Of course I do! He calls it bee gee em or something,” replied Mei Chaofeng in a huff. Even he had to admit that the melody was quite cool, albeit somewhat excessive.

“Zu An uses a seashell to play the music. Based on the results of our investigation, the seashell is the personal possession of a foreign language teacher in Brightmoon Academy. It seems like she has never lent it to anyone else before,” said Shi Lezhi.

Mei Chaofeng was surprised. “Is that fellow involved with Shang Liuyu too?”

Zu An’s wife was the number one beauty in Brightmoon City, and he was rumored to have relationships with many beautiful women in the academy as well. To this day, the legend of the Moochlord was still spreading all around the city, creating a huge hype.

Mei Chaofeng could understand if that was all there was to it. After all, those women were mostly young lasses who tended to be rather gullible. He never expected that even a gorgeous, mature woman like Shang Liuyu would be involved with that fellow as well. 

He began doubting his own common sense. Are men like Zu An trendy nowadays?

He thought about how he had only been able to toy with women like Madam Zhang—and it had even brought him trouble in the end!—whereas Zu An was involved with several of the most beautiful and distinguished women in Brightmoon City all at once. This disparity left him a sour taste in his mouth, as if he had been plunged into a vat of vinegar. His envy was almost unbearable.

“We don’t know what his relationship with Shang Liuyu is, but it seems like they are quite close to one another,” Shi Lezhi said. 

“Tomorrow, when he arrives at the academy, we’ll drop Shang Liuyu’s name in order to lure him out for a private meeting. In one of your reports to the young master, you mentioned that Plum Blossom Thirteen spotted them together in a gazebo near the academy. We’ll ask him to meet there. I reckon he wouldn’t turn down the invitation.”

“Very well. I’ll make sure to tear off that bastard’s skin and rip apart his tendons! Only then will my anger be assuaged!” Mei Chaofeng clenched his fists tightly.

… 

You have successfully trolled Mei Chaofeng for 812 Rage points!

Looking at the sudden inflow of Rage points, Zu An snorted. That fellow sure carries a huge grudge against me. Oh well, he’s locked behind bars right now, so he’s no longer a threat anymore.

He turned his attention back to Chu Chuyan and said, “Honey, you really aren’t going to consider allowing me to move in with you? I mean, you even went to the extent of publicly admitting that you’ve been sleeping with me!”

“What about it?” Chu Chuyan’s tone was impassive.

“Just think about it! Why let yourself suffer with such a reputation even though we aren’t even staying together?” explained Zu An. “I’m only suggesting that we stay together out of consideration for you!”

Chu Chuyan had no idea how to even begin rebutting him.

Knowing that it was impossible for her to prevail against such a thick-skinned man in an argument, she decisively shut her doors on him.

Zu An’s nose was nearly struck by the doors as they slammed shut, and he hurriedly backed away in fear. Then, he sighed deeply. “Haaa, it looks like there’s still a long way to go.”

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom of the Chu Estate, Chu Zhongtian explained everything that had happened in the courtroom to his wife. In the end, he concluded wistfully, “Ah Zu looks like a reckless person on the surface, and his words tend to grate. However, he has a sharp mind that allows him to analyze a problem and tackle it at its roots. There were many times where I was still in the midst of processing the situation when he had already launched a counterattack.”

“Is he really that formidable?” asked Qin Wanru skeptically.

“I’ve already told you everything that happened. You should be able to come to a judgment yourself. If you still have some doubts about this matter, you can seek Chuyan for further clarification too.” Chu Zhongtian was a little displeased to hear the doubt in his wife’s voice. Do I look like someone who just lets my mouth run without careful thought?

Qin Wanru frowned. “Then why has he portrayed himself as a good-for-nothing all these years?”

Chu Zhongtian shook his head. “I don’t know either. We should find an appropriate time to ask him about it.”

“Say, is it possible for him to be a spy sent by other clans?” asked Qin Wanru.

“It doesn’t seem like it,” replied Chu Zhongtian. “To be honest, I was indeed surprised when he won his match in the Clans Tournament back then, but I didn’t give it much thought. After all, he’s only at the third rank. However, his performance in the courtroom today made me realize that he’s a person with keen situation awareness. I think it’s more likely that Chuyan just happened to stumble upon a good husband.”

“You shouldn’t come to a conclusion that quickly.” Qin Wanru snorted. “Have you forgotten Chu Chuyan’s intentions behind her seeking out a husband? If Zu An is as capable as you say he is, and he’s been intentionally hiding his capability thus far, there’s a good chance that he might have his own plans in mind. His presence might not necessarily be a blessing for the Chu clan.”

“Surely it’s not as severe as you think?” replied Chu Zhongtian sheepishly.

“Have you forgotten about our Huanzhao?” exclaimed Qin Wanru. “We might be able to keep her condition under wraps from outsiders, but there’s no way she can hide it from Zu An for long. If Zu An learns of Huanzhao’s condition and tries to take advantage of her, what will become of our Chu clan? Also, what will happen to our Chuyan? She would find herself in a difficult position!”

Chu Zhongtian hesitated for a moment then said, “If that’s the case, we should consider having Chuyan inherit the Chu clan. She has sacrificed too much for the Chu clan over the years.”

“But the imperial court and the other clans would never approve of it!” Qin Wanru sighed deeply. “Forget it. We’ll just have to take it all a step at a time and see how it goes.”

… 

The following morning, Zu An woke up and headed for Brightmoon Academy. Now that he was a teacher, attending the academy didn’t feel like a chore anymore. On the contrary, he looked forward to abusing his authority as a teacher everyday.

Chu Huanzhao wanted to accompany him to the academy, but Qin Wanru stopped her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that her second daughter was getting far too close to her brother-in-law, so she used the pretext that she was still injured from the Clans Tournament to insist on having her rest at home.

As for Chu Chuyan, she hardly went to the academy in the first place, not to mention that she was also injured at the moment. Naturally, she didn’t go with Zu An either.

Due to all this, Zu An’s cut a particularly lonesome figure… Well, that lackey Cheng Shouping can’t really be considered as a companion, after all!

Earlier in the morning, the Chu clan received the news that Mei Chaofeng had escaped from prison. Out of worry, Chu Zhongtian assigned more guards to Zu An’s side in order to protect him. These guards were from the Red Cloak Army, and they were skilled in fighting together as a unit. Even when faced with an enemy of a higher cultivation rank, they could at least hold their own until reinforcements arrived.

With their protection, Zu An reached the gates of Brightmoon Academy without incident. He was a little disappointed, as he had expected Mei Chaofeng to try to spring an assault on him along the way. In the end, it seemed he was just a coward who had chosen to hole himself up.

To be frank, he was even more infuriated by the City Lord Estate. He didn’t think that they would be so incompetent as to allow Mei Chaofeng to escape from prison. Had it not been for the fact that they were part of King Qi’s faction, he would have surmised that the City Lord Estate had intentionally let Mei Chaofeng loose.

Setting foot in the academy, Zu An looked around at the ravishing youthful women walking by him, and he suddenly felt refreshed. This was a much more pleasing sight than the disgusting Shit Kun and Mei Chaofeng.

Seeing that there was still some time before the first class, he headed over to Shang Liuyu’s residence, intending to use the pretext of returning her recording seashell to her in order to visit her.

This was a trick he had learned from his peers in his previous life. One of the most common tricks they used to approach a woman was to borrow some of their items, then ask her out in order to return them later on. By repeating this process several times, it was only a matter of time before they got close to one another.

He skipped merrily all the way to Shang Liuyu’s residence and knocked on her door. When the door finally opened, he saw a properly-dressed Shang Liuyu sitting on a swing in the courtyard, stroking her zither lightly. 

What a bummer. I thought that I might be able to catch a glimpse of her in her sleepwear or something by coming by earlier.

There was a smile on Shang Liuyu’s face as she took her seashell back from Zu An. “It looks like you stirred up quite a storm over the last two days. Your name has been echoing through the streets of the entire Brightmoon City.”

“You don’t look too surprised,” remarked Zu An.

Even quietly watching the woman in front of him was enough to satisfy Zu An. No wonder people used the term ‘a feast for the eyes’.

“Someone who’s able to compose such a melody can’t possibly be a wastrel.” Shang Liuyu gently stroked her zither, her fingers playing a soothing tune.

Zu An laughed. “You do have sharp eyes! I have innumerable strengths hidden within me. You’ll soon come to realize that I am a treasure trove, just waiting to be uncovered!”

Shang Liuyu was momentarily at a loss.

She had no idea how to respond to him at all. As if reflecting her feelings, a slight dissonance emerged in the melody she was playing.

Zu An hung around for a bit longer before finally taking his leave. When he finally emerged from Shang Liuyu’s residence, his footsteps were lighter than ever. Both her euphonious voice and the melodious tunes she played made him feel like he’d just had an eargasm.

Not too long after returning to his classroom, a student suddenly stuffed a paper note into his hands, saying, “Teacher Shang told me to pass this to you!”

Zu An was taken aback. He unfolded the paper note and read the message it contained: See you in the gazebo two hours from now.

Hm? Could this possibly be the start of the legendary confession scene that I’ve seen so often in dramas and animes?

However, he quickly dismissed that thought. Something smells very fishy here. We just met one another a moment ago. How could she possibly be in such a rush to ask me out once more?

No matter how narcissistic he was, he didn’t think that his charm was great enough to make the mild-tempered Shang Liuyu approach him so proactively.

More importantly, there was no way Shang Liuyu would task a student to pass a note to him on her behalf. Such an act could easily spark rumors about their relationship in the academy, which was something she had been careful to avoid thus far. 

Mei Chaofeng’s escape from prison earlier in the morning surfaced in his mind, and a moment later, he decisively made his way toward the administrative office.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the principal’s office, where Jiang Luofu was lounging in her chair, her long legs resting casually on the flower pots in front of her.

Light grey color!

It was amazing how the color of Jiang Luofu’s stockings were always different, although what was even more remarkable was how everything simply looked perfect on her. 

It looks like having beautiful legs is the key.

Yup, I’m definitely not ogling over here. I’m just making a note on Wei Suo’s behalf in case he asks me about it.

Before Zu An could explain why he had come, Jiang Luofu spoke first. “You’re here. I was just about to go looking for you.”