Chapter 260: Misunderstanding
Translator: Pika
Zu An suddenly turned around. Just as he was about to release his charged up power, he suddenly noticed an old and wrinkled face.
“Elder Mi?” It was actually Old Mi. This fellow always came and went without a sound, just like a ghost.
Big sis empress said previously that he is at least at the ninth rank. It seems like her suspicions were right on.
“Correct. It seems like you have improved your vigilance.” Old Mi nodded. Despite his praise, there wasn’t even a trace of a smile to be seen on his face.
“Why did Elder seek me out today?” Zu An asked.
He felt extremely gloomy inside. Why did this old man have to always appear so suddenly?
If he appears when I’m alone, then whatever. But if he suddenly appears out of nowhere when I’m bonding with my close female friends, I would really have a heart attack!
Besides, as a man, he really didn’t want other men—even an old one like Old Mi—to see his women.
Unfortunately, Old Mi’s cultivation was way higher than his. There was no way Zu An could tell him what to do.
“I heard that you went to the Immortal Abode, and even managed to secure the affections of their courtesan queen?” Old Mi looked at him with a strange expression.
“Elder has received news very quickly indeed...” Zu An chuckled in an awkward manner. “I guess a guy with endless charm like me really is just naturally attractive to women, haha.”
Even he was somewhat embarrassed saying these words.
Old Mi’s brow furrowed. “Your mood seems to have improved a lot recently.”
“It’s been all right,” Zu An said with an embarrassed smile. He didn’t know what the other party was trying to say.
“You were so depressed that you were on the verge of hanging yourself before, so why are you suddenly so carefree and happy? Don’t tell me that you’ve already discovered a different method of treating yourself?” Old Mi’s eyes shifted to his crotch.
Zu An felt a chill run through his legs. He subconsciously turned his body to the side to evade that gaze. “Didn’t you say that everything would work out as long as I become a master? Why would I still feel gloomy when I have such prospects?”
Old Mi always exerted a strange pressure on him that made him feel uneasy, and so he didn’t dare reveal everything to him.
He also warned himself to be more careful from now on. If this old man even glimpsed his heaven-piercing pillar, things would turn sour very quickly.
“I see.” Old Mi softened his gaze, clearly accepting this response. He continued, “Since your body is no good, you should be more focused on raising your cultivation than chasing girls. It’s not like getting with them means anything to you.”
Zu An pressed his lips tightly together.
You really make too much sense, old man. I can’t argue against that at all.
Old Mi believed that his manhood was completely sealed, so the old man didn’t think there was any meaning in him chasing after girls. If he continued to pursue them even with ‘little Zu An’ out of commission, Old Mi will obviously be puzzled.
“There’s more to that Immortal Abode courtesan than meets the eye, so don’t get too involved. It’s for your own good,” warned Old Mi. This was going to be his precious vessel, so he naturally didn’t want anything to happen to it.
“Does Elder know anything about Qiu Honglei’s background?” Zu An had always been curious about Qiu Honglei’s background. However, he was slightly shaken to learn that, although this Old Mi only trimmed the grass around the Chu Estate day in and day out, he seemed to be aware of everything important within Brightmoon City. He really didn’t know how this old man accomplished this.
“I don’t know the exact details, but there is no way she could be just a simple courtesan. Don’t provoke her for no reason.” Old Mi stopped for a moment, and then looked towards the wall. “Also, that young lady from the Pei clan next door. I don’t know how you two ended up on good terms, but you shouldn’t play with fire. If the Chu clan ends up kicking you out because of this, heh...”
Even though he didn’t go into specifics, his tone of voice made the threat crystal clear.
Zu An shivered. “I understand.”
“Keep in mind what I told you before. Keep interacting with the Wei clan’s brothers. Report everything that happens in their family to me, regardless of whether it is big or small. Don’t leave out a thing.” With that, Old Mi tottered off. Although he looked like might be blown over by the wind at any time, it only took a few steps for him to vanish into the darkness.
The pressure on Zu An immediately lessened considerably. However, just knowing that there might always be someone secretly watching him left him with an uncomfortable feeling that he just couldn’t shake off.
Why does he keep telling me to pay attention to the Wei clan? Zu An thought to himself.
While he wondered about this, Old Mi struggled with his own puzzle. Why do women have such a natural affinity for that brat? He is clearly no good down there...
He turned it over in his mind for a long while, but couldn’t find a satisfactory reason. With a shake of his head, he let the matter go.
Forget it. What’s wrong with having some close female friends? They’ll all be mine eventually anyway.
...
When Zu An woke up the next morning, he hurried next door to look for Pei Mianman. However, the room was empty, and the blankets had already been neatly folded. The beauty herself was nowhere to be seen.
He noticed a letter by the window. Zu An walked over and picked it up. There was a single line, written in graceful handwriting: Remember what you promised me yesterday.
Filling his nostrils with the fragrance that had been left behind on his bed, Zu An couldn’t help but laugh. Did this woman have a guilty conscience?
Just then, a knocking came from outside. Zu An immediately grew overjoyed. Maybe she regretted leaving just like this and decided to come back. When he opened the door, however, he was instead greeted by a chubby face. His interest instantly vanished. “So it’s you...”
“Who else did bro think I was?” Chu Yucheng said in confusion. Behind him, Chu Hongcai also wore a puzzled expression.
“I thought that some goddess had come looking for me,” Zu An said in irritation.
Chu Yucheng laughed heartily. “Immortal Abode’s Lady Qiu is indeed nothing less than a goddess. So... how was last night?”
He winked at Zu An with an extremely lecherous expression.
Chu Hongcai pricked up his ears as well, his fists clenched tightly. He was clearly extremely anxious.
“Of course it felt so good that I went straight to heaven.” Zu An returned his look with a knowing smile.
Chu Yucheng was all smiles when he heard this, but Chu Hongcai almost imploded from anger. He turned on Zu An with an angry huff.
You have successfully trolled Chu Hongcai for 999 Rage points!
Chu Yucheng immediately held him back, and then said to Zu An, “Ah Zu, you know that he’s a crazy Qiu Honglei fan, so this really is something hard for him to accept right away. You don’t need to worry too much. It’s not you that he is angry at.”
Zu An said with a chuckle, “I was just joking around. Qiu Honglei invited me to take a boat ride with her, but who did we run into but the Blackwind Stockade? We barely escaped with our lives. It really was the worst.”
“What? What about Lady Qiu?” Chu Hongcai demanded in a panic.
“Mister Hoes-before-Bros, aren’t you worried about me at all?” Zu An said in annoyance.
“You look perfectly fine to me,” Chu Hongcai mumbled.
“Don’t worry, your Lady Qiu is fine. A mysterious person came to save us. When the City Defense Army finally arrived, that Great Bandit Chen Xuan had already fled,” Zu An explained, giving a series of half-truths.
“Chen Xuan was actually there?” Chu Yucheng cried out in alarm. “That bastard has plundered our caravans several times already. Our Chu clan has dispatched our troops to track him down many times, but we’ve never succeeded. Now, he even has the nerve to brazenly enter Brightmoon City!”
After leaving the Immortal Abode last night, Chu Hongcai had been so brokenhearted with grief, all he wanted to drink his sorrows away. Naturally, Chu Yucheng had followed him. The two of them ended up drinking until they both passed out, and only woke when the sky brightened. That was why they weren’t too clear on what had transpired the night before.
Chu Hongcai nodded in agreement. “We participated in those attacks on the bandits as well, but that fellow is just too elusive. He’s slippery as an eel. No one has ever even seen his true appearance.”
Zu An wore a strange expression. “The two of you have actually seen him before.”
“We have?” The two of them were dumbfounded.
“Not only have you two met him, you’ve even faced him before,” said Zu An with a smile. “He is that red haired fellow the two of you fought against in the brothel last night.”
“So that was him!” The two of them cried out in alarm.
Chu Yucheng cursed. “I knew that guy couldn’t be anyone good. I never expected him to be Chen Xuan, the bandit leader who is guilty of such monstrous crimes.”
Chu Hongcai couldn’t contain his excitement. “This Chen Xuan is courting death! He even dares to run amok in Brightmoon City! We didn’t know what he looked like before, but now that we do, it won’t be easy for him to elude us anymore! I wonder what made him go so completely crazy as to do such a thing.”
Zu An rubbed his nose. He went completely crazy because he wanted to get revenge on me... Of course, there was no need to tell them that. “By the way, why did the two of you seek me out so early in the morning?”
“Look at this memory of mine.” Chu Yucheng slapped his forehead, and then brought out a box of food. “Here’s some steamed stuffed buns from the Cai stall, and some jellied tofu from the He stall. Both are quite famous in our city, and hard to get your hands on. Since it was already early in the morning by the time we returned, we decided to bring some of this back so that we could enjoy it together.”
“No one kisses ass without having ulterior motives.” Zu An secretly wondered if these fellows had poisoned the food.
Chu Yucheng’s face froze. “Hongcai drowned his sorrows in alcohol last night. He thought that Lady Qiu had been... ahem, ravaged by you last night. That is why I dragged him over this morning to find out what happened. There was no way we could come empty handed, right? We never expected Hongcai to be worried about nothing,” he explained with a chuckle.
When he noticed that the two of them seemed to be taking delight in Zu An’s disaster, he hurriedly brought out some bowls and chopsticks. “We should quickly enjoy these while they are still hot. They won’t taste as good when they get cold.”
Seeing the two of them dig in ravenously, Zu An let go of his worries. He scooped a bowl of jellied tofu for himself. Wow, this stuff is great! I haven’t enjoyed such wonderful flavors in a long time.
He continued to praise it as they walked to the main hall. “White, tender, and smooth. Absolutely delicious. I’ll have to get some more later.”
“Haha, Ah Zu is a kindred spirit after all. I’ll take you with me next time.”
An angry voice suddenly rang out. “Despicable! Shameless! Disgusting!”
Zu An raised his head. Chu Huanzhao was glowering at him, her face entirely red.
You have successfully trolled Chu Huanzhao for 444 Rage points!
Chu Yucheng said teasingly, “Ah Zu, what did you do to upset our little Huanzhao?”
“Damn fatty, you aren’t anything good either! Our sister’s husband is being ruined by the two of you!” Chu Huanzhao stormed off, huffing and puffing.
Chu Yucheng had a dumbfounded expression on his face. What does the character of your sister’s husband have to do with us? We were just talking about tofu just now...
“Young master, young master! It’s time to go to the academy! The horse has already been prepared for your amazing self!” Cheng Shouping said this eagerly while crawling out from who-knew-which corner.
Only now did Zu An realize that their three-day vacation that had been granted to them after entering the dungeon had already passed. Today was indeed the day he had to return to the academy.
The thought of attending the academy immediately made his expression sink momentarily. However, when he thought about the gorgeous principal, the beautiful Miss Shang, as well as the students waiting to have their Rage points farmed, his mood immediately brightened.
“Why are you sucking up to me like this?” Zu An asked while walking towards the entrance.
“I’ve always given you my everything, young master...” Cheng Shouping blabbered a load of nonsense before changing the topic. “If young master could broaden my horizons by bringing me with him to the Immortal Abode the next time, that would be so, so amazing.”
“You good-for-nothing servant! How dare you encourage your master to visit such a filthy place?!” There was a whistling sound as the tail of a whip flicked towards him. Chen Shouping’s miserable wail echoed throughout the Chu Estate.