The Chu estate’s physician, Bao Youlu, rushed over in a hurry. He was just about to push open the door when Qin Wanru stopped him.

“Madam, what is the meaning of this? Isn’t the young miss seriously ill?” Bao Youlu asked in puzzlement.

Qin Wanru’s face became red. “Um… there is someone inside, so it’s not appropriate to enter right now.”

“What? Did Divine Physician Ji arrive?” Bao Youlu subconsciously stroked his white beard when he saw Qin Wanru’s sudden embarrassment. The Madam is truly stunning, my heart might have been moved if I was twenty years younger.

Master Chu is quite blessed. It's such a pity though…

Sigh, fate truly toys with people.

“No, it’s someone else,” explained Qin Wanru. “I must trouble physician Bao to wait for a bit.”

“Oh?” Bao Youlu looked towards the house with curiosity. “Is there another individual with outstanding medicinal expertise in Brightmoon City? Then this old one will be able to deepen my knowledge.” 

Qin Wanru lapsed into an awkward silence. She had no idea how in the world she was going to explain things later!

Chu Zhongtian paced back and forth nervously. Finally unable to contain his nervousness, he pulled his wife aside and asked, “Dear, is Ah Zu really reliable? Should we have physician Bao take a look first, or send for Divine Physician Ji?”

He lowered his voice as he said the second name, in consideration for Bao Youlu’s pride.

Qin Wanru wasn’t confident either. “I really don’t know either, but Chuyan seems to trust him a lot. He is probably reliable.”

Chu Huanzhao added vehemently, “I also trust my brother-in-law! He will definitely cure big sis!”

Qin Wanru jabbed her daughter’s forehead. “What does a brat like you know?” she said with a huff. 

Chu Zhongtian wore a stupefied look. “You let him treat her even though you’re unsure?”

“Enough, enough!” Qin Wanru felt a wave of anxiety. “Where did you send that fox demon?”

“Fox Demon?” Chu Huanzhao looked at the two of them in confusion.

Chu Zhontian hurriedly said, “There’s a child here! Please watch your language.”

Qin Wanru scoffed disdainfully. “Am I wrong? Would Chuyan have gotten so angry if that woman hadn’t come knocking on our door?”

Even though she maintained her fierceness, she still changed her wording.

“You can’t blame her either,” Chu Zhongtian couldn’t help but say. “She didn’t know Chuyan was injured. In the end, this was a result of Ah Zu being too lenient on all parties.”

“What?!” Qin Wanru erupted in rage. “She hasn’t even joined his family, yet you’re already speaking up for her? You men really don’t have a single redeeming quality! All of you lose your heads as soon as you see someone pretty!”

“What do you mean…” Chu Zhongtian had a forced smile on his face.

Chu Huanzhao was puzzled. “Dad got a concubine?”

Those uncles in our clan all have huge harems, and our dad’s status is the highest of them all!

She actually felt a slight pity for her dad. He really struggled on this front.

She had always thought it perfectly normal for those in the noble circles of this world to have multiple wives and concubines. On top of that, her mom had always been the strict one, while his father was more agreeable, so she naturally leaned towards taking her father’s side.

Of course, if Qin Wanru had known what she was thinking, she would surely have taught her the painful lesson of what motherly love truly was!

Chu Zhongtian’s face reddened. “Nonsense! It’s nothing like that! It’s your sister’s husband!”

“Brother-in-law!?” Chu Huanzhao, who had been in high spirits while watching all of this drama unfolding from the sidelines, was stunned when she heard this. What was going on?

“Brother-in-law is taking in a concubine?” Chu Huanzhao blinked rapidly. She clearly couldn’t stomach this information yet. This news really was too odd!

“Hmph, I’ve never heard of such an outrageous son-in-law either!” Qin Wanru snorted angrily. Her displeasure at this situation was abundantly clear.

“Who is she?” Chu Huanzhao felt her mind go completely blank. Her original excitement that her dad was finally getting a concubine vanished.

“Some girl from the Immortal Abode. Is she not afraid of bringing shame to our Chu clan?!” Qin Wanru glared at her husband, clearly warning him not to bring up the identity of this person.

“Is it that Qiu Honglei?” Chu Huanzhao’s voice rose an octave.

“How did you know?” Chu Zhongtian was astounded. How did his daughter know about the Immortal Abode affair?

“Hmph! How could I not know? Brother-in-law stirred up a huge commotion in that place! He actually has the nerve to bring someone back so quickly!” Chu Huanzhao looked angrily at Chu Zhongtian. “Dad, where did you send that woman?”

“Probably the guest room. As for where exactly, I wouldn’t know…” Chu Zhongtian replied distractedly.

Why is my second daughter getting even more angry than my first daughter?

Without waiting for him to finish, Chu Huanzhao stormed off to the guest rooms in a cloud of anger.

Unfortunately, they didn’t know that Qiu Honglei wasn’t in the Chu clan’s guest room at the moment. Rather, she was at Zu An’s residence.

“So this is your young master’s living quarters?” A faint smile tugged at the corners of Qiu Honglei’s lips when she looked at the small courtyard in front of her.

“Indeed, the young master lives here. He normally does not stay with the young miss,” said that servant in a fawning manner. This woman is just too pretty! Her body smells so good as well.

“Thank you! What is your name?” Qiu Honglei smiled sweetly.

That servant, immediately overwhelmed by the favor, replied in a flustered manner, “This humble one is Jin Zhu!”

“Jin Zhu?” Qiu Honglei giggled. “That’s quite a special name.”[1]

That servant’s entire body went numb. She smiled at me! She smiled at me!

“The lady can ask me for anything you need!” The servant Jin Zhu continued to simp.

“Thank you brother Jin.” Qiu Honglei dismissed him with a smile. She then examined this small courtyard with great curiosity.

Qiu Honglei wore an expression of curiosity. I wonder if he hides anything in his normal living quarters. She pushed open the door and entered. She wanted to look around to see if she could find out how Zu An had changed so greatly from his previous, publicly-acknowledged trash self.

Her expression changed suddenly, and she quickly dodged to the side, just as a  fierce gust of wind swept past where she had just been.

“Hm?” Her attacker clearly hadn’t expected her to avoid this deadly blow.

Qiu Honglei was alarmed. Her attacker’s timing was exceptional, and the angle of attack had made the blow difficult to block. Her evasive maneuver had been beyond the limits of her usual ability. She wasn’t confident of avoiding a second attack.

A woman?

Her attacker’s surprised voice had lasted only for a moment, but it hadn’t escaped her ears.

Who is this person?

Because neither of them had the chance to light a lamp, the room was dark. Both sides exchanged a flurry of blows.

Is it the Chu clan’s second miss? She dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared in her head.

It was public knowledge that the Chu First Miss seemed to have inherited all of the Chu clan’s blessings. Aside from inheriting her mother’s beauty, her younger sister didn’t have a single good thing about her.

As for whether or not she was hiding something… hmph, how could this world have so many unexpected things? One Zu An was already enough. How could there just happen to be another one like him?

Then who is she? Why is she in Zu An’s room? Qiu Honglei was puzzled, but her confusion contained an excited quality to it.

She decided that she would capture this woman. She felt like she was about to stumble upon a great secret.

Unfortunately, this woman’s cultivation was ridiculously high. Although Qiu Honglei didn’t hold back at all, the other party easily blocked all of her moves, and had almost turned the tables on her several times.

Afraid of alerting the members of the Chu clan, Qiu Honglei didn’t dare use her elemental ability. The two combatants continued to exchange physical blows.

However, the longer the fight wore on, the more worried she became.

Pei Mianman was similarly shocked. She had been waiting in this room for Zu An. To be honest, not even she knew why she kept running over to this place.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t had many friends ever since she was young, and Zu An was different from others. She treasured their period of association greatly.

Of course, if you asked her, she would say that she was merely doing this to prevent Zu An from being assassinated by Chen Xuan.

She had arrived slightly earlier than usual. She had been full of expectation, thinking that the person approaching was Zu An, returning from whatever hubbub was going on outside. In the end, it turned out to be a woman instead.

Even though she couldn’t see clearly, the person’s aura made it clear that it was not Chu Chuyan, Chu Huanzhao, or anyone else from the Chu clan.

From the way she had sneaked in, she assumed this was an assassin sent by Chen Xuan, and immediately went on the offensive.

She fully expected it to be easy. However, her opponent’s cultivation was actually ridiculously high!

Every single exchange was dangerous. They traded several dozen blows, but nothing she tried seemed to work.

Pei Mianman almost used her black flame several times. However, she held herself back, not wanting to let Chu Chuyan know that she was here.

The two of them continued to fight hand-to-hand, both with their own ulterior motives.

...

Zu An obviously didn’t know that such an intense battle was playing out in the room. He was fully concentrated on treating Chu Chuyan.

Chu Chuyan had subconsciously rejected him at first. However, she also knew that her resistance was weak.

A while later, her entire body suddenly went rigid, her face becoming completely red. “You scoundrel!”

When she said this, she bit down fiercely on his shoulder.

She was going to return to him all the pain she felt!

Zu An gasped. It wasn’t because of the pain, but rather because she really was cold.

Who was it who said that even the coldest woman was warm inside?!

That had indeed been the case last time.

But today, it felt as if he had entered into a world of ice and snow.

It was the tempering effect of the Primordial Origin Sutra that saved him. Any normal man would have immediately shriveled up, and could even have been maimed for life.

Zu An gently smoothed out the tangles in her hair, saying tenderly, “Your body is already so cold! You’ve always pretended to be strong. It really must have been tough.”

Chu Chuyan’s eyes instantly grew red. His words had shattered her toughest shell, exposing her weakest parts.

After her initial embarrassment had passed, Chu Chuyan instead felt slightly apologetic. “Are you getting hurt?” she asked.

Zu An laughed loudly. “This is exactly what I’ve been looking forward to! How could I be hurt?”

“You rascal!” Chu Chuyan pinched him in anger. However, he really was like a scorching sun, releasing endless warmth through her body.

“How does it feel?” Zu An suddenly asked.

Chu Chuyan was at a loss for words.

This guy is actually asking such a shameless question! How am I supposed to respond?

She turned to the side, biting her lip and not saying a word.

Zu An knew that she was conflicted when he saw her expression. He explained with a bitter smile, “I am asking if you feel better now. I’m using primordial ki to nurture your body. If any of it feels wrong, you need to tell me immediately. How else would I be able to treat you as quickly as possible?”