“What the hell?” Zu An’s eyes flew open in shock. His first thought was that he had suffered a sudden sneak attack, but he gradually relaxed when he recognized Yun Jianyue, her body tense and wound tight as a spring. “What was that for?”

“It’s your fault for disrespecting me!” Yun Jianyue blushed, but she quickly recovered her composure. At the same time, she was glad that she had made the first move. If he had awoken to see her entwined around him, her reputation would have been absolutely shattered.

When he noticed her gaze, Zu An grew furious. “This is a man’s natural state when he first wakes up. You’re sleeping in my house, and in my bed, and you’re still hitting me. Aren’t you going a little too far?!”

Yun Jianyue felt slightly guilty as well, but she huffed angrily and replied, “That kick was also a woman’s instinctive reaction.”

Zu An had no words for that.

What a shameless woman! It’s as though she’s inherited my teachings…

Embarrassed by her reaction, Yun Jianyue’s tone softened. “Thank you for saving me. My injuries have already healed quite a bit. There’s no need for us to bother each other anymore.”

She was a woman, after all, and she did not feel comfortable living under the same roof as another man, especially if they had to sleep in the same bed. If he had noticed the way she had been sleeping… Just the thought alone was embarrassing.

Zu An’s tone grew serious. “Your injuries were severe. How could you recover after just a single night? Besides, the entire imperial palace is under strict martial law, the defensive formation is up and running again, and His Majesty’s divine senses cover the entire palace. How are you going to escape?”

Yun Jianyue remained silent. Of course she knew about all this, but she was slightly embarrassed to bring them up. “All the members of my sect have either perished or escaped. They are definitely hiding in the imperial city, leaderless. I need to find a way to contact Honglei and have her take care of some things.”

After some thought, Zu An said, “You can’t leave the palace right now. I’ll contact her in your stead.”

He was still known within the palace as the crown prince’s secretary, and had to check in every day. It was impossible for him to go straight to the Eastern Palace from this residence, since all entry into the imperial palace was recorded. If anyone were to investigate and notice that there was no record of the crown prince’s secretary entering into the imperial palace, his identity as an Embroidered Envoy could be exposed.

Yun Jianyue hesitated, but did not argue. “Thank you for your trouble,” she said.

Zu An took out some food from his Brilliant Glass Bead. “I’m going out for a bit. Rest here. You absolutely cannot go out. Eat some of this first. I’ll bring back some better things later on.”

“Thanks.” Given Yun Jianyue’s cultivation, she could easily go for half a month without food. Despite this, she did not reject his kindness.

“By the way, if you have the chance, help me buy a proper hammock,” she added. Since she had decided to stay, she had to do something about her sleeping arrangements.

There was no way she would continue sleeping in his bed, but the silk ribbon was hardly an alternative. She needed a proper place to sleep.

A regular spatial storage artifact might not be able to store an entire bed, but a hammock could be rolled up, which made it less of an issue.

“Okay.” Zu An felt a slight tinge of regret. He’d wanted to pretend to be asleep the night before, but had accidentally fallen asleep instead. Not only had he wasted such an excellent opportunity, he’d even offended her.

As he left, Yun Jianyue felt a twinge of guilt. “Does it still hurt?”

Zu An froze for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. “So big sis does care about me after all!”

“Hmph! I’m just afraid that no one would be able to help me if you got injured.”

Zu An laughed. He left in a good mood.

After an entire night of rigorous investigation, the palace gates had been opened again. After all, hundreds of officials had to go about their duties within the imperial court, and it was impossible to maintain the lockdown.

Zu An’s status as a golden-token envoy allowed him to freely enter and exit the imperial palace. He noticed that the palace gate guards had acted strangely when they noticed his token, and was puzzled by their reaction. He increased his vigilance, and noticed that someone was indeed following him secretly.

Is that Cheng Xiong fellow still after me?

Zu An sneered. It wasn’t that easy to tail him, given his current strength.

He circled around the city a few times. Once he had thrown off his pursuers, he found a secluded corner to change in, then headed towards his own residence inside the city.

His entire body went taut as soon as he entered his residence, and he suddenly leaped to the side, striking out.

A lantern suddenly came into view, and someone rushed to meet his attack with one of their own.

The two of them immediately recognized each other and stopped.

“Honglei!”

“Ah Zu!”

Zu An was both surprised and overjoyed. “Thank goodness you’re okay! His Majesty sent General Liu Yao and Guerilla Warfare General Zhao Yuan to search the capital city. I was worried that something might have happened to you.”

Qiu Honglei smiled. “I may be a woman, but I’ve spent many years as a warrior. Do you think those imperial dogs have a chance of catching me?”

She realized that she had chosen her words poorly, and quickly apologized. “Ah Zu, I didn’t mean to include you in that.”

“I know.” Zu An smiled. He held her hand and walked inside. “Let’s talk inside, so no one can eavesdrop on us.”

“Okay.” Qiu Honglei subconsciously wanted to free her hand, but his grip was tight. She bit her lip and let him have his way.

Zu An was glad. This girl was already getting used to physical contact, such as holding hands, and even hugging her seemed to be okay. Unfortunately, even though he’d worked so hard to get to this point, there was no future beyond this point.

Hm? Wait a minute… Even though they can’t lose their virginity because of the method they cultivate, there are other ways to play around! I didn’t own a stash of Japanese snuff for nothing!

“Ah Zu, did you find my master?” Qiu Honglei asked anxiously. She had been raised by her master, and she had taught her all she knew, so she really respected her master. She was extremely worried about her right now.

“I found her, and we slept together.” Zu An replied subconsciously, his mind clearly elsewhere.

Qiu Honglei almost fell over. “Huh?”

“Ahem…” Zu An felt his face heat up. “I saved her life and brought her to my residence within the imperial palace,” he said.

“How is my senior master?” Qiu Honglei nervously grabbed his hand.

“Um, your master isn’t old at all,” Zu An said curiously.

Qiu Honglei stuck out her tongue. “I was just being respectful…” She remembered being beaten several times in the past for calling her that. It seemed that all women cared about their perceived age. Then again, given her master’s appearance, she supposed that she could at most be considered her older sister.

Zu An replied, “Her soul was injured in her battle against the emperor… But there’s no need to worry. I’ve already given her a Five Aggregate Root to treat her injuries, and she’s doing well. She was more worried about you guys, and asked me to tell you guys about her upcoming plans.”

“That’s good.” Qiu Honglei sighed in relief. “We went into hiding after leaving the imperial palace. We’ve done business in the capital for many years, so hiding a small group of us isn’t too big of a problem. I mostly feel bad about the ones who were captured last night.”

Even an elder had been captured, all because of her. She felt more and more awful. She was about to say something, but then hesitated. She wanted to ask Zu An to help those people, but it would be next to impossible to rescue them. He had already taken a huge risk trying to save her master. How could she burden him with the lives of the others as well?

Qiu Honglei gave Zu An her sweetest look. “Ah Zu, you’ve really helped us out a lot. We don’t even know how to properly thank you.” 

Zu An laughed and said, “We’re so close, yet you’re treating me like a stranger by saying these things! Of course, if you really want to thank me, why don’t you offer yourself to me?”

As he said this, he pulled her into his arms. He wanted to see if Yun Jianyue had deceived him.

Qiu Honglei’s face reddened as he held her. “Ah Zu, the technique I cultivate is a special one. My body has to remain pure for a very long period of time.”

Zu An’s heart sank, and he sighed. It was true after all.

Qiu Honglei thought that he was merely disappointed. She bit her lip, then suddenly said, “Ah Zu, even though I can’t give myself to you, I’ve seen what those girls in Immortal Abode can do. I can take care of you in other ways.”

Zu An’s heart immediately began to pound, while Qiu Honglei’s cheeks slowly reddened. She was lying in his arms, after all, so there was no way she could have missed the way his body was reacting.

…

Meanwhile, a few streets away, a beautiful woman in white was walking over, accompanied by a handsome young master. They were both ridiculously good-looking, and drew eyes from all directions.

“Big sis, their looks are really annoying!”

“You’re acting as a man right now. What’s there to be scared of?”

“Hmph, I just don’t like it,” The youngster replied. Her big sister seemed to share her feelings, but she didn’t look as though she hated it as much.

“Your brother-in-law lives here?” The goddess dressed in white did not sound as cold and indifferent anymore. A hint of urgency had entered her voice.

“Two more streets. We’re not far away.” Seeing her expression, the young master couldn’t help but remember the scene from the other day, and his cheeks grew pink as well.