Everyone immediately turned to look at Shi Kun in astonishment upon hearing his words.

Qiao Xueying wore a look of complete bewilderment, as did the rest of Shi Kun’s lackeys.

Qiao Xueying even began wondering if the young master had lost his sanity. How could he possibly be friends with Zu An? That’s impossible!

Chu Chuyan was utterly dumbfounded as well. What is Shi Kun up to this time around?

But the one who was the most dumbfounded of all was no other than Shi Kun. He felt as though his mind had turned into mush, as two conflicting tendencies arose in his head. He even wondered if he had gone mad.

Meanwhile, Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. In this critical moment, he decided to use his new skill, ‘Befriend a Rich Man’!

I wonder, though, how does this skill take my money away? Do my banknotes just mysteriously disappear or something? More importantly, do I need to bring my banknotes with me, or does it just apply to any money that belongs to me?

Goddamnit! I lost 100,000 silver taels just like that! Even a firework goes off with a bam, but my 100,000 silver taels vanished without even a poof!

Just looking at the culprit who forced him to use the skill filled him with great fury, but he forced himself to put on a smile. He walked over to Shi Kun with his arms opened wide, as if preparing to embrace the latter. “Ah, my friend! My deepest apologies for the misunderstanding we had between us earlier!”

Qiao Xueying looked at Zu An as if he was an idiot. You even dare to wrap your arms around the young master’s shoulders? Hah, your arms are going to be severed off!

Chu Chuyan also felt her heart thumping nervously. She silently approached the two of them, ready to step right in to save Zu An in case Shi Kun attempted anything.

But to everyone’s disbelief, Shi Kun opened his arms wide as well to invite Zu An in for an embrace, replying, “My friend, I have no idea what came over me earlier. Please forgive me for my earlier foolishness.”

Qiao Xueying rubbed her eyes in bewilderment. 

Oh my god, I’m going to go blind. When in the world did the young master become friends with Zu An?! Did I get off the wrong side of my bed today? Or am I actually dreaming right now?

She looked at the lackeys around her, only to be greeted with disgusted expressions all around. Their reactions told her clearly that she wasn’t seeing things.

Chu Chuyan also thought that the situation unfolding before her eyes was utterly ridiculous. It made her suspect that Zu An might have been on the same side as Shi Kun right from the start.

No, that can’t be. Given Shi Kun’s personality, there’s no way he would tolerate his subordinate becoming my husband. If so, Zu An was likely sent by another clan. Is he from the emperor’s faction or the empress’ faction?

All of a sudden, Chu Chuyan felt her body turning icy-cold. She had tried her best to guard against them, but she had still fallen for their schemes in the end.

You have successfully trolled Chu Chuyan for 512 Rage points!

She wasn’t the only one who was questioning her life right now. The others were also contributing a lot of Rage points to Zu An.

Zu An was perturbed by the inflow of Rage points in his system. Honey, please calm down for now. I’ll explain it all to you later!

Just as he and Shi Kun were about to embrace one another, he summoned the Poisonous Prick and pointed it right at his target.

He had been wondering how he could best use ‘Befriending a Rich Man’ since it was time-limited, and the concept of ‘friends’ was simply too vague. Everyone had their own interpretation of it, after all! 

However, he figured that friends, regardless of what kind, would probably not have their guards up when together with one another, which created the perfect scenario for him to use his Poisonous Prick. As long as he could get close enough to nick the other party with it, he should be able to carry out any assassination with ease.

As Poisonous Prick swiftly approached Shi Kun, a sinister smile suddenly spread across Shi Kun’s face. He deflected the Poisonous Prick with his sword before abruptly sinking a punch into Zu An’s gut. 

“Pu!”

Zu An spurted a mouthful of blood as he staggered backward. It was fortunate that he’d had his guard up all along, and he managed to use Sunflower Phantasm at the final moment to lessen the impact. If not, that single punch would have been more than enough to end his life.

Yet again, everyone who witnessed this scene was astounded. It was just a second ago that they had been friends delighted to reunite with one another, but a split second later, they had fallen out with one another and tried to take each other’s lives. Just what kind of bizarre play was this?!

Chu Chuyan was bewildered, but she still rushed forward to catch Zu An and stop Shi Kun from launching any follow-up attacks.

Zu An fell right into Chu Chuyan’s embrace, but he was too confused by what had happened to enjoy her soft and comforting embrace. Instead, he stared at Shi Kun in shock as he exclaimed, “Why?! We’re obviously friends!”

He couldn’t make sense of the current situation. While the Keyboard system often offered him terrible prizes, he had never faced any trouble with the effectiveness of its tools before. Why would it fail him now? Why would Shi Kun still be on guard against him, and even attempt to take his life?

Shi Kun looked at Zu An with a smile and said, “We’re friends, but that doesn’t change the fact that your wife is pretty. As the saying goes, ‘a friend’s wife is fair game’[1]. I have no choice but to disappoint you.”

All manner of obscenities raced through Zu An’s mind.

If the system could collect his Rage points as well, his points balance would have shot through the upper limit like a rocket.

He had never thought that his assassination attempt would actually fail because of this!

Indeed, ‘Befriend a Rich Man’ had turned Shi Kun into his friend, but this perverted bastard couldn’t curb his lustful thoughts for Chu Chuyan because she was too pretty! In other words, he was determined to lay his hands on Chu Chuyan regardless of whether Zu An was his friend or not!

Shit, how could I have overlooked such a possibility? Someone as cold-hearted as Shi Kun wouldn’t hesitate to kill his friend as long as there was something to gain something out of it!

Dammit, that’s 100,000 silver taels! It’s all gone to waste just like that!

Zu An had assumed that there would be no greater misery in life than losing 100,000 silver taels in an instant, but it turned out that he was gravely wrong. Even the saddest songs in the world couldn’t hope to describe the anguish he was feeling at this very moment!

From what I can tell, even though the skill can change the level of affection an individual has for me, it cannot change the individual’s personality. Friends do sometimes betray each other after all, so I shouldn’t hope to think that everything would be all right just because I become friends with someone.

Dammit, is there a rewind button in this world? Let me do it all again!

Shi Kun slowly walked over to Zu An and said, “I don’t know why you’re suddenly a friend of mine, but as a friend, allow me to reassure you that you can leave this world in peace. I’ll take good care of your beautiful wife after your death.”

Ever since he obtained this Rage system, he had been the one to anger others and make them stamp their feet in consternation, but for the first time in forever, he was actually the one getting angry this time around. Shi Kun was simply too depraved and warped. There was no way he could stand it at all.

It wasn’t just Zu An who was angered. Chu Chuyan also had a frosty look on her face as she glared at Shi Kun. “The world praises the Sixth Young Master of the Shi clan for being a humble gentleman, but who knew a depraved beast hides beneath his mask of eloquence!”

Qiao Xueying nodded along in silent agreement. The Shi Kun before her was indeed very different from the man in her memories. She could understand him resorting to some underhanded means to court the woman he fancied, but ever since arriving in this dungeon—perhaps because he knew that all that went on inside would be a secret—he had lost the morals he usually shackled himself with, and began acting as he pleased.

This Shi Kun felt incredibly foreign to her, leaving her with a great sense of loss.

Shi Kun sneered ruthlessly. “Chu Chuyan, you were the one who forced me to do this. If you hadn’t gotten overly intimate with other men, I would never have panicked and resorted to such means!”

“You lunatic!” bellowed Chu Chuyan.

“Well said, honey!” Zu An complimented her with a thumbs-up. Then, he added his own share as well. “You fucking pervert!”

Initially, Shi Kun hadn’t paid much heed to Zu An’s jibes. In his view, Zu An was already a dead man, and whatever insults he hurled were nothing more than the death throes of the weak. In fact, Zu An’s constant mouthing off only served as further proof of his strength and power, which left him with immense feeling of satisfaction.

However, it was a different thing to see him doing it in concert with Chu Chuyan. It felt as if they were the real couple here, and it ignited the barrel of explosive envy in his heart. 

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 996 Rage points!

“Bastard Zu An, I’ll slice you into pieces!” 

The light around Shi Kun suddenly distorted. Upon closer inspection, many translucent blades of wind were floating around him, ready to strike forth at any moment and draw blood.

“Tempestuous Blades!”

With a furious howl, the wind blades began revolving furiously in Zu An’s direction. Even without testing out their sharpness, Zu An had no doubt that they would slice him into fine pieces of sashimi.

Naturally, Chu Chuyan wasn’t going to leave him out to dry. With a bellow, she transformed everything within a three-meter radius into ice, shrouding the two of them within a blue barrier reminiscent of an eggshell.

This blue barrier, however, was much more resilient than a mere eggshell. The furious onslaught of the blades of wind struck the barrier and produced a ferocious crackling noise, but they were unable to breach it.

However, Zu An wasn’t optimistic about the situation they were in. He noticed that Chu Chuyan’s face was turning pale, and her breathing was getting more and more irregular.

Shi Kun burst into laughter and said, “Young miss Chu’s ‘Blue Guardian’ is indeed as spectacular as the rumors put it out to be. I just wonder how long it will last. It looks like it’s diminishing at a visible rate.”

Chu Chuyan’s blue barrier had been six meters across at the start, but it had diminished to just around two meters now.

“The young master is truly formidable!”

“Looks like even the number one prodigy of Brightmoon City is nothing before him!”

“No matter how formidable she is, she’s just a woman. Before our dashing young master, it’s inevitable that she would succumb! Hahaha!”

… 

Peals of laughter echoed around them as Shi Kun’s lackeys cheered loudly for him from the sidelines. It was apparent to anyone with eyes that Shi Kun held the advantage here. The only one who remained silent was Qiao Xueying, who watched the scene unfold with a brooding look on her face.

A moment later, the blue barrier had shrunk even more, to just a meter wide. The two of them inside were left with no choice but to huddle closely together.

Had it been on any other occasion, Zu An would surely have been delighted to get so intimate with Chu Chuyan, but looking at her ghastly pale face and the sweat dripping profusely from her cheeks, he couldn’t summon his merry mood.

Meanwhile, Shi Kun watched as the cracks on the blue barrier grew more and more numerous, and a smile finally broke out on his face. 

It’s all finally going to be over. I’ll deal with Zu An first before sealing the deal with Chu Chuyan.

Chu Chuyan is a proud woman, though. If I come on to her forcefully, it’s unlikely that she’ll let me have my way. Perhaps I should spare Zu An and use his life as a bargaining chip to make her submit to me.

Shi Kun was a little conflicted. The notion of Chu Chuyan submitting to him for the sake of another man displeased him greatly, but the thought of the lofty beauty kneeling before him to save her husband’s life felt incredibly enticing as well. Ahhh, my heart is racing now.

All of a sudden, Zu An asked, “Brother Shit, are you filial to your mother?”