Qiu Honglei stared at him, speechless.

So were Pei Mianman and Xie Daoyun, watching from the second floor. 

This guy really needs a good ass-whooping!

The same thought popped into everyone’s mind simultaneously.

You have successfully trolled the onlookers for 66… 66… 66…

A cool, refreshing feeling swept over Zu An’s entire body at the influx of Rage points. It seems like remaining low-profile really doesn’t suit me! Being placed in the limelight is still the fastest way to earn Rage points.

You have successfully trolled Chen Xuan for 99… 99… 99…

Zu An gave him a surprised look. From the way he was receiving Rage points, he fully expected this fellow to come charging right at him. And yet, that was somehow not the case.

Qiu Honglei clearly shared his worry. She moved slightly, placing herself between the two of them as if unintentionally. “It turns out young master Zu was here all along,” she said with a sweet and cheerful smile.

As she came close, Zu An immediately smelled a natural, delicate fragrance like that of an orchid. She was already extremely beautiful from afar, and her charm up close was even more fatal.

Thank heaven I’ve already seen my fair share of beauties!

Zu An secretly counted his blessings. If he hadn’t spent so much time with Chu Chuyan, his resistance towards physical beauty might not be as high, and he would have probably made a fool of himself here.

Zu An put these thoughts aside and met her gaze directly. “If I am not mistaken, this should be our first meeting. Why would you suddenly ask about me in such a manner?” he said with a smile.

Qiu Honglei couldn’t help but feel slightly startled. After all, when other men interacted with her at such a distance, most of them couldn’t keep their eyes from flickering all about, while others would stare blankly at her with eyes overflowing with desire. Eyes that maintained their clarity as they stared straight into hers were truly rare.

She quickly put aside her surprise, saying with a gentle voice, “Even though I’ve never met this young master before, I have long considered you a friend in spirit. I heard that young master found an exceptional treasure, the ‘Evanescent Lotus’, in the dungeon, whose petals alone could raise one’s cultivation by a step. However, young master resisted such great temptation and fed it to his wife without any hesitation.

“Young master’s love for his wife is enough to move the hearts of all women in this world. The proverbs are indeed true. Priceless treasures are easy to obtain, but true love is scarce. Young miss Chu is truly blessed.”

“Pah!” Pei Mianman spat viciously. What a cunning vixen. My dear Chuyan, my dear Chuyan, if you don’t treat your husband right, he is going to get snatched away…

When they heard Qiu Honglei use the words ‘friend in spirit’, a commotion immediately broke out among the surrounding men.

The news about the Evanescent Lotus only heightened their cries of alarm.

So far, news of this matter had only been circulated within a small circle in the higher levels of society. Now that it was known, almost everyone secretly sighed inside. This fella really goes all-in for women.

A small group silently mocked his stupidity. After all, the gap between him and young miss Chu was already so great. If Chu Chuyan’s strength rose further, that gap would only grow.

It was common knowledge that a marriage with too wide a gap was bound to fail.

Regardless of what they thought of the relationship between Zu An and Chu Chuyan, none of them could stomach the sight of Qiu Honglei looking at Zu An with such sparkling eyes. Their jealousy and anger immediately skyrocketed.

Watching this influx of Rage points, Zu An was convinced that this woman was doing this on purpose. Wasn’t she basically throwing him onto a rack to be roasted?!

Sucks for you, I am different from everyone else. The more people hate me, the happier I become!

“But of course! I’ve always treated women well. If Lady Qiu is envious of my Chuyan, you can consider being sisters with her. If I find another Evanescent Lotus, then I’ll give it to you.” Zu An said with a big smile.

“This little bastard is too shameless.” Xie Daoyun couldn’t hold back her criticism.

Is it so easy to find an Evanescent Lotus? Are you really trying to bag a beautiful concubine with just these empty promises?

Also, aren’t you merely a drafted son-in-law of the Chu clan? Do you really have the nerve to walk up to them and ask for a concubine just like that?

Her thoughts mirrored those of countless others in the hall. If glares could kill, Zu An would have died a hundred times over by now.

“This humble girl doesn’t dare compete against first miss Chu.” Qiu Honglei’s face flushed slightly. Other men always spoke to her using the most graceful words, out of fear of leaving a bad impression. She had never seen someone as direct as him, actually asking her to be his concubine!

Zu An shrugged in an unconcerned manner. “Don’t worry, she’s told me before that she doesn’t care if I look for other women.”

Pei Mianman almost choked.

Xie Daoyun whipped her head around, giving her younger brother a look of disbelief. “Did young miss Chu really say that?”

Xie Xiu said with a bitter smile, “Who knows if young miss Chu really said it or not? But he has said this more than once, and young miss Chu has never shown any reaction. The relationship between those two might not be what we suspect.”

“Just what kind of person is young miss Chu? How could she possibly allow him to take concubines?” Xie Daoyun’s face was full of disbelief. At the same time, she found herself more and more curious about the man below.

Just what was going on?

The other men in the hall weren’t as kind. Curses rained down on Zu An from all sides.

“You are just a drafted son-in-law! Why are you acting all smug?”

“I really don’t know what your ancestors did to make a goddess like young miss Chu choose you! And yet, you are still looking for other women?!”

“Exactly! You actually have the nerve to set your sights on Lady Qiu? Absolutely absurd!”

…

Even Wang Yuanlong quietly prodded Chu Yucheng. “Did your first miss really say this?”

Chu Yucheng said with a bitter smile, “I really don’t know either… But knowing our first miss’ nature, there should be no way she would allow such a thing.”

Chu Hongcai recovered from his previous daze just in time to give Zu An a look of shock. This guy really has guts! Is he not scared that the first miss would find out? Even if the first miss doesn’t intervene, Master and Madam definitely won’t hold their peace.

However, since they were all standing on the same side for now, it wasn’t appropriate for the two brothers to openly criticize Zu An. They discreetly shifted a few steps away to avoid getting caught in the stream of hate.

No one was more excited than Wei Suo. “All of you should know that this boss is my desk-mate! Half of our school’s top ten beauties have already been subdued by him! Compared to that, picking up Qiu Honglei would be nothing much!”

He began to recount Zu An’s ‘lady-killer’ legends in a vivid and colorful manner. Everyone around him was completely stunned.

To mooch off of women to such a degree… isn’t he already in a class of his own?

Wei Suo felt as if he were basking in his own glory as he saw more and more expressions of shock. The excitement in his voice grew exponentially.

…

Zu An remained nonchalant as the rest of the crowd grew more furious with each new tale they heard. He quietly watched his Rage points build up.

Curse me all you want! The more fiercely you curse, the more Rage points I get!

Qiu Honglei’s smile had frozen on her face. Her usual grace seemed to abandon her, and she was momentarily at a loss as to how to respond to this situation. It took her a while to gather herself, and she finally flashed an embarrassed smile. “The reason I invited everyone today was to listen to some critique for my music. Let’s leave other matters for a different time.”

Her beautiful brows curved gently as she spoke. The corners of her lips spread slightly upwards, and her eyes swirled with enchanting ripples.

Everyone watching her instantly felt their hearts melt, and they began to speak on top of one another, echoing the same thoughts.

“Exactly! If you don’t know anything about music, let someone else speak, and listen humbly to their wise opinions.”

“Lady Qiu, you shouldn’t waste any more time on someone like this.”

…

Despite what was going on, there was one thing that many people remained curious about. Hadn’t that red-haired man been after his life? Why did he suddenly go quiet after hearing his name?

It seems like the name of the Chu clan really has sparked some reservations in him.

Hmph, just another loudmouth with a coward’s heart.

With the crowd distracted, Chen Xuan had called over all of his subordinates. “Do all of you understand what I just said?”

“We understand!” Those subordinates responded excitedly.

All of them were notorious bandits who were used to living freely, taking whatever and whoever they wanted. Being in this city, bound by its endless rules, had left them feeling suffocated. The rewards they would gain by completing this task would be enough for them to enjoy themselves for years to come.

“If you understand then go, do what you need to do.” With a wave of his hand, Chen Xuan dismissed his subordinates, who immediately dispersed.

He stared at Zu An from a distance away, a malicious glint in his eyes. A nasty grin spread across his face. Luck really is more important than effort. I spent so much effort looking all over for you, and yet you’ve ended up right in front of me. Little brother, I will get revenge for you today.

This man was brothers with Mei Chaofeng! A few years ago, they had been dispatched quietly to Brightmoon City by the Shi clan. One established an underground business in Brightmoon City, while the other established himself as a vicious bandit chief outside the city, killing and plundering the caravans that passed by.

Over the years, the two brothers had generated a sea of wealth for the Shi clan. In recognition of their services, the Shi clan reduced the cut of the profits it was taking from them by half, as a reward for their contributions.

Reducing the Shi clan’s cut by half may have seemed small percentage-wise, but the wealth that passed through their hands was astronomical. In real terms, this small reduction was already a huge amount.

The two brothers were just about to reach the pinnacle of their lives, only for Zu An to suddenly appear.

The younger brother’s successful casino was left in tatters, and the Plum Blossom Sect fell apart soon afterwards.

Worst of all, Mei Chaofeng had actually been killed!

The two brothers were orphans who had depended on each other for survival, and so their relationship was far closer than that of ordinary blood brothers. When he’d heard about his brother’s death, his first reaction had been to avenge him.

Unfortunately, given her status and cultivation, Jiang Luofu wasn’t someone he could afford to provoke.

And so, he had to settle for making Zu An the target of his anger instead. After all, all of this was that little bastard’s fault.

When Shi Kun had come to Brightmoon City, he had agreed to help Chen Xuan get rid of Zu An, and so he had bided his time.

Who would have expected that, not long after the dungeon closed, Shi Kun would suddenly leave without a word?

With Shi Lezhi’s death, and the possibility of a ninth rank expert at Zu An’s side, Shi Kun had returned to the capital with his tail between his legs. Obviously, he hadn’t disclosed this publicly, to prevent embarrassing himself.

Chen Xuan wasn’t privy to this information. He had decided that his brother’s standing was deemed too low to those higher up, and his death mattered little to them.

Since Shi Kun wouldn’t help him, he had to take care of the deed himself.

He had always acted viciously and decisively. All those who had seen his real face had been silenced. As such, he had no qualms entering the city so openly.

His original plan had been to let his subordinates relax at this Courtesan’s Meeting, before heading to the Chu Estate to carry out their revenge. Who knew that his luck would be so good, and that he would find this fellow right here?

As such, he decisively moved his plans forward. This guy can laugh all he wants now. He’ll definitely pay for it later.

You have successfully trolled Chen Xuan for 631 Rage points!

Zu An noticed another chunk of Rage points drop in. Zu An gave Chen Xuan a look out of the corners of his eyes, and a pensive expression appeared on his face.

Sensing his sudden quietness, Qiu Honglei looked at him with a hurt expression. “Could it be that my performance was so poor that young master Zu has nothing to say at all?”