“How could he still be alive if a fifth rank cultivator wanted him dead?” Chu Tiesheng remarked contemptuously.

This question was shared by everyone in the room. Seeing that everyone’s eyes were on him, Zu An responded slowly, “Her stomach suddenly started hurting halfway through, or else I would really have been dead.”

Hurting?

Everyone was stunned. They hadn’t expected such a childish excuse. For a fifth rank cultivator to fall victim to a stomach ache in the midst of a battle and fail to kill a mere mortal—no, someone even weaker than an ordinary mortal—was simply inconceivable. 

Doubt was plastered on everyone’s faces, except for Chu Chuyan’s. “I don’t think he’s lying.”

The other clan members looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.

Qin Wanru frowned, wondering if her daughter was speaking up for Zu An out of consideration for their marriage.

“I realized some time ago that there was something wrong with Snow. She hid it well, but after all the time we have spent together, it was inevitable that she would let things slip now and then. I kept it a secret so that I could investigate who was directing her.” 

Her words were slow and unhurried, but her leisurely and composed manner seemed appropriate to the situation at hand.

She continued, “However, I don’t understand...