Zheng Dan wasn’t all that worried that Sang Qian seemed so excited. That dragon wasn’t even there anymore. When they carried out their search and found nothing, they would just assume that the dragon moved its nest because it didn’t want to be disturbed.

At the same time, she praised herself for scouring that cave of any trace of her and Ah Zu. If she hadn’t, and such a large group ventured inside, there was no guarantee that no one would find anything. 

“Let’s return to the Whale Gang’s headquarters first. We need to deal with this mutiny,” said Zheng Dan.

Chen Xuan only colluded with the middle- and upper-level figures in the Whale Gang. Now that those people were all dead, she could bring the entire gang back under her control again.

“You should just return to Brightmoon City,” Sang Qian said with a heavy voice. ‘There is no need for you to go to Whale Island.”

“Why?” Zheng Dan was confused.

“My men have already eliminated everyone in the Whale Gang.” Sang Qian sounded as if he were merely talking about the weather.

“What?!” Zheng Dan turned pale with fright.

Sang Qian continued indifferently, “If they can betray you once, then they might betray you again.

“Besides, you’re going to marry into our Sang clan. If news of you being the Whale Gang’s boss gets out, it will cause huge problems for us. That’s why I took this opportunity to completely pull out this problem from its roots.”

Zheng Dan immediately grew upset. “Your actions have wasted many years of effort!”

“There is a time to let things go. The Whale Gang has already accomplished what it was meant to do over these years, and has instead become more of a liability. You should think about preparing yourself to become a good wife. That is what you, first miss of the Zheng clan, need to focus on.” Sang Qian waved his hand, gesturing for his subordinates to escort Zheng Dan back.

Zheng Dan felt her soul leave her body when she learned that the Whale Gang had been completely destroyed. The soldiers escorted her away, supporting her powerless body.

Zu An felt a chill run down his back as he watched this group leave. This Sang Qian looked rather suave and handsome from the outside, but his actions were truly vicious.

There had been at least several hundred people on that island. Together with their wives and children, the population of the island might have surpassed a thousand souls. Everyone had been massacred by him.

No wonder Zheng Dan stopped him from accompanying her. With this guy’s merciless nature, he really might have used this chance to kill him.

Zu An waited until Sang Qian and the others left, and then he rushed off in the direction of Brightmoon City. He finally returned to the Chu clan in the evening.

“The young master has returned!”

Cheng Shouping was squatting by the gate. He shouted with joy when he saw Zu An.

A huge commotion broke out in the entire Chu clan estate, and in an instant, quite a few people rushed out.

Surprisingly, Qin Wanru was the first one to appear.

When she saw that it really was Zu An, she was both surprised and delighted. “Where the heck have you been these past few days?!

“Thank heavens you came back. Go and contact the Master, Chuyan, and Huanzhao! They don’t have to keep searching for him!”

Zu An was perplexed that he hadn't seen Chu Chuyan around. He was completely stunned when he heard what Qin Wanru said. “Chuyan and the others are looking for me?”

“They are!” Qin Wanru said with a sigh, “When Miss Shang from the academy told us that something had happened, Chuyan couldn’t sleep for many days. She brought some men with her everyday, and went out looking for you.

“Even that brat Huanzhao is doing the same. I really don’t know why she is getting all worked up.

“She still hasn’t fully recovered yet…” Zu An was incredibly moved, but his heart was also overwhelmed with grief. Even though he had stayed in the cave to treat his injuries, the main reason he’d delayed his return was so that he could continue to act shamelessly with Zheng Dan.

Chu Zhongtian and the others quickly returned when they heard the news.

Even though Chu Chuyan was misty-eyed, she was still naturally more reserved, so she maintained some semblance of composure. However, Chu Huanzhao definitely couldn’t hold herself back. She threw herself into his arms and began to cry. “Brother-in-law, where did you go these past few days? All of us were worried to death…”

Chu Zhongtian exchanged a look with his wife. Qin Wanru’s brow was slightly furrowed, as was his own. However, seeing how emotional their second daughter was, there was little that they could say.

After a while, though, even Chu Zhongtian couldn’t stand his second daughter sticking so closely to Zu An. He coughed lightly and said, “Ah Zu, where did you go these past few days?”

All eyes turned on Zu An. Their gazes seemed to be burning hot as they stared at him, so Zu An awkwardly pushed Chu Huanzhao away. However, the front of his clothes had already been completely soaked by her tears.

The bodies of girls really were made of water.

Zu An sighed and replied, “I was out with some people from the academy that day. Later on, I discovered some news about the Whale Gang’s boss, so I decided to look into it. However, the enemy saw right through me and captured me, and brought me straight to Whale Island.”

Everyone’s faces changed. He said this casually, but they could well imagine how terrifying of an experience this was.

“Did you find out who the Whale Gang’s boss was?” Qin Wanru quickly asked. After all, the Whale Gang has stolen a huge share of the Chu clan’s market, and their boss was even more mysterious than Chen Xuan.

“I do not know. When I was captured, there seemed to be some internal strife going on in the Whale Gang. I used the opportunity to get away,” replied Zu An. What he said was still mostly true.

He felt guilty about all this, but there was no way he could just sell Zheng Dan out like that.

“How unfortunate! We still don’t know anything about them!” Qin Wanru’s annoyance was palpable.

“It is now completely meaningless whether we know their identity or not,” Chu Zhongtian said. “We have just received the news that Sang Qian found Whale Island. His River Patrol Army has already destroyed it completely.”

“Just what kind of relationship does Whale Island have with the Zheng clan? Where are the captives from the island? Tell Xie Yi to interrogate them,” Qin Wanru demanded hastily.

Chu Zhongtian shook his head. “They didn’t spare a single person on that island!”

Qin Wanru gasped. “That Sang Qian really is a vicious man.”

Zu An’s face sunk as well. He had only suspected this to be the case before, but he now had confirmation.

Chu Chuyan’s voice was icy cold. “It seems like the Whale Gang really is connected to the Zheng clan. Otherwise, Sang Qian wouldn’t have to go so far as to silence everyone.”

Zu An secretly gave his wife a thumbs-up. His main wife really was a smart one! Dandan, you can’t blame me for this one. They reached these conclusions themselves.

“Oh, right. Ah Zu, why did the Whale Gang suddenly suffer from internal strife?” Chu Chuyan looked at him with her beautiful eyes. This was a well-organized group that had brought the Chu clan countless headaches over the years. She just couldn’t figure out why they would suddenly turn on each other.

“Chen Xuan paid a visit to the island. He incited many people in the Whale Gang to betray the boss. Those members were already dissatisfied with how conservative their boss was, and wanted to widen the scope of their illicit salt business. A fight between the different factions broke out, allowing me to escape.” Zu An told them all of this plainly, as there was no need to hide anything.

“Chen Xuan!” Even Chu Zhongtian was shocked when he heard this name.

“What was the result of this battle?” Qin Wanru asked hurriedly.

“They should all be dead,” replied Zu An.

“Dead?” All of them were puzzled. They clearly couldn’t get over the fact that someone like Chen Xuan could die so easily.

Zu An told them the story he and Zheng Dan had agreed on. “As I was running away, I suddenly heard a dragon’s cry. Immediately afterwards, a terrifying pressure spread in all directions. There was a giant dragon flying in the air far away. I believe Chen Xuan and the others caught up to the Whale Gang’s boss, but they ended up accidentally stumbling upon a dragon’s lair.

“That dragon flew about in the air and breathed fire continuously from its mouth. No matter how strong Chen Xuan’s cultivation is, there’s no way he could defeat a dragon.

“A while later, I snuck closer to take a look, and saw a huge pile of burned corpses, as well as a messy pile of trampled flesh. Chen Xuan’s blade was right next to it, so that was probably his corpse.”

Chu Zhongtian could barely contain his shock. “Giant dragon! Our ancestors have left us with records stating that Hidden Dragon Mountain did indeed house a dragon in its depths. However, it has been centuries since anyone saw it, so we all thought that there was some error.

“It seems like I’ll have to bring some old friends with me and make a trip through Hidden Dragon Mountain to search for this dragon’s whereabouts.”

Not even he could resist the temptation of a dragon! At the same time, he knew full well that he had no chance of defeating something on this level by himself.

Like hell you guys will be able to find it. That dragon is sitting inside my Brilliant Glass Bead right now.

Qin Wanru smiled. “Despite all the dangers involved, we’ve received two important pieces of information. The Whale Gang and Chen Xuan were both major sources of trouble for our Chu clan, but both of them have finally been eliminated.”

Chu Zhongtian smiled as well. “Indeed, indeed! Who would have thought that Zu An would be our lucky star!”

Chu Chuyan walked over to Zu An’s side. “Ah Zu, don’t do such dangerous things in the future,” she said quietly. “Send us word first if you notice anything. I’ll go with you.” 

Zu An felt his heart melt. He couldn’t help but reach out to hold her small, cold hand.

Embarrassed, Chu Chuyan subconsciously tried to pull back, but Zu An had moved too quickly, and his grip was firm. She couldn’t pull back in time, and could only let him get away with it.

Chu Zhongtian’s eyes went round when he noticed this. He couldn’t help but give his wife a look.

Qin Wanru returned his look with a flat stare. What the heck are you looking at me for? You might just die from anger if you knew what he had been up to with your daughter in bed.

With the most pressing questions out of the way, Chu Chuyan ordered some servants to prepare a hot bath, clearly worried that Zu An was too exhausted.

Chu Huanzhao headed off to the kitchen, announcing loudly that she was going to make something for her brother-in-law.

Zu An had settled into his bath comfortably, and was just enjoying himself when his heart suddenly jumped. He turned around in panic.

A shriveled elder stood next to the bathtub. He chuckled in a terrifying manner. “Your vigilance has grown again.”

“Elder.” Zu An felt extremely uncomfortable when he saw Old Mi. He subconsciously curled up inside his bathwater to prevent the old man from seeing that his seal had already been broken.

Fortunately, Old Mi had his own traumas, and instinctively refused to look in that direction. “Brat, you’re growing more and more reckless. You will really end up throwing your life away one day.”

Zu An laughed in embarrassment. “I didn’t want to do anything to do with that either, but heaven’s plans are greater than our own.”

“I’m glad that you’re back.” Old Mi harrumphed. He had been incredibly worried about Zu An these past few days. In fact, he was probably one of the top three people most concerned about Zu An’s safety. After all, there was no time for him to look for another suitable candidate.

Secretly, he considered whether he should break one of Zu An’s legs first, so that Zu An would stay home instead of running about outside and encountering danger after danger.

However, there were still things that he needed Zu An to do for him, so he dispelled this tempting thought.

“I have a new task for you,” Old Mi said with a grave voice.

“New task?”

Old Mi brought out a small, finely-embroidered box. “Find a case identical to this one in the Wei clan estate and bring it to me.”