Chapter 643: Face Bathed in Tears
Translator: Pika
In that instant, all of Zu An’s fine hairs stood on end. There was no escaping from the killing intent of a pseudo grandmaster under this amount of distance.
Even though Zu An fought against Yun Jianyue that evening by the eastern palace, she didn’t use her full strength back then to hide her identity. Later on, when Zu An fought her in the rock garden, she was already seriously injured by the emperor’s attacks, so her strength dropped considerably. It was to the extent where he subconsciously began to underestimate grandmasters.
Only after experiencing it directly like this did he understand how great the difference between them was. He even wondered if he could survive three attacks from the other party if they really fought.
While he was sweating, his reactions were fast as well. He forcefully suppressed any thoughts of resistance and replied, “What is the chief commander saying? I do not understand.”
Zhuxie Chixin sneered. His voice was incredibly sinister. “I’ve already investigated this on my own. Cheng Xiong did not suspect you without reason. That day, there were two golden token envoys who left the palace gates. However, I know fully well that the other golden token envoys had their missions, so there was no way they would appear in the palace.”
Zu An felt a thud noise sound inside of him. However, his mouth already instinctively began to refute. “I’m being wronged here! That’s the one-sided testimony of those palace guards, and they are Cheng Xiong’s subordinates. Wouldn’t they say anything Cheng Xiong told them to say?”
“Is that so?” Zhuxie Chixin stared at him. “It’s not difficult for us to prove whether you are being wronged or not. Hand over all of your uniforms for me to inspect. Every single Embroidered Envoy uniform is special, and their use is strictly recorded. They cannot be imitated through outsider methods.”
Zu An’s breathing stopped. He didn’t expect Zhuxie Chixin to actually want the uniforms. One set of uniform was taken by Snow, so how was he supposed to bring it out?
How was he going to explain that he was missing a set? No, he would become suspicious no matter how he tried to explain himself.
Zhuxie Chixin said, “I recall telling you that there is a small storage space in your waist tile. The goods of an Embroidered Envoy can all be stored there. Do not tell me that you cannot bring it out, or that one set was stolen.”
The waist tokens of Embroidered Envoy were indeed special. They could issue orders uni-directionally, and they had storage capabilities as well. As one’s rank climbed higher, the storage space would become larger and larger, but it would still only be a square meter at the greatest. It couldn’t compare to the Brilliant Glass Bead’s storage space at all.
As Zhuxie Chixin’s killing intent grew stronger and stronger, Zu An knew that his hesitation already drew suspicion. He could only brace himself and say, “The truth will reveal itself in time. I merely have to bring out my uniforms for the chief commander to see.”
He slowly took out his uniform one set after another. The other party couldn’t tell that he didn’t use the waist token but the Brilliant Glass Bead.
Zhuxie Chixin slowly nodded when he saw Zu An bring out the uniforms one after another. “You were issued eight sets of uniforms last time, four for winter, four for summer. You’ve brought out seven sets. Where is the last one?”
His eyes became incredibly penetrating while saying this, as if he would immediately act as soon as the eighth set didn’t appear.
Zu An swallowed. “Of course it’s…”
He paused for a moment, and then he said one word after another, “The eighth set of Embroidered Envoy uniform is in my waist token’s storage.”
Zhuxie Chixin frowned. Why was this fella’s tone becoming so strange?
However, his furrowed brows eased up, because the other party slowly removed another set of uniform.
He was still a bit worried and examined this uniform. It was indeed the golden token envoy uniform. These uniforms were specially crafted with many secret markings that not even the golden token envoy could know about. That was why no one could imitate them.
He thus smiled and said, “I was just going to say that there was no way you could have been colluding with the assassins. It was definitely Cheng Xiong who was trying to frame you.”
Zu An felt the pressure ease. The killing intent surrounding him instantly disappeared. He cursed inwardly, you almost killed me just now, yet you now look like you’ve always trusted me?
Bastard, where did that look of absolute confidence you showed me last time in my house go? Look at you now, turning against me so quickly.
But he didn’t reveal any of this on the surface. He said with a smile, “It is natural for the chief commander to be suspicious. We indeed cannot let any point of suspicion go. I’ve learned quite a bit from this matter.”
The reason why he was able to bring out the disappeared uniform was because he used the ‘Keyboard Come’ ability. He didn’t expect to be able to make an identical set of uniform out of nothing!
This shouldn’t be too major, right? I hope the rebound isn’t too serious.
Zhuxie Chixin’s expression became more gentle. This junior knew how to speak well, and he was also tactful as well. He’s a capable man. “It looks like Cheng Xiong is trying to frame you. Brother Zu, is there anything you need help with? This big bro will help you out.”
Since he suspected the other party just now, he obviously needed to ease the relationship a bit. This kid is a smart person, so he should be able to tell what to do.
Sure enough, Zu An looked extremely happy and said, “Thank you, chief commander! There really are some matters I need your help with.”
“Please speak freely.” Zhuxie Chixin’s expression eased even more. He remembered what he shared with Zu An in private, so he definitely didn’t want to tarnish this friendship.
“I wanted to ask the chief commander to help me keep an eye on Cheng Xiong and his clan. I wish to know everything about him in detail.” Zu An wanted to take down Cheng Xiong, but he didn’t know enough about this person. He needed to investigate a bit first and then see if there were any areas he could make use of.
He was already overloaded from his roles as an Embroidered Envoy and the crown prince’s secretary, how could he have the extra time to pay attention to that side? He could only seek out the help of others.
Unfortunately, even though he was a golden token envoy, it was only a nominal position. The emperor didn’t actually assign him any subordinates, so he could only ask Zhuxie Chixin for help.
“That’s not an issue at all. Keeping an eye on someone is the Embroidered Envoy’s specialty. We will send a silver token envoy and some subordinates to take care of this matter.” Zhuxie Chixin immediately agreed. This wasn’t anything too hard, and doing so would easily improve their relationship. Furthermore, if he really did find out something, then his majesty would consider it his contribution as well, so everything worked out.
Zu An sighed in relief. Then, perhaps it was because Zhuxie Chixin felt guilty, but he stayed behind for some tea and they chatted for a while. When he felt like their relationship’s tension had eased a bit, he then let Zu An go.
Zu An’s smile immediately vanished when he left the Embroidery House. His expression was incredibly pale, and there was a stinging pain in his brain. The back of his head felt a bit chilly, as if something had been fished out.
He felt like vomiting. It was similar to the nausea of playing a 3D game for too long.
Zu An immediately realized that this was the rebound of using Keyboard Come. It used up his soul force, which was equivalent to wounding his soul.
His breathing became more and more rushed. He didn’t want anyone to see that something was wrong, so he quickly returned to his own residence.
His hands were shaking as he unlocked the door. Then, he felt dizzy and collapsed.
I’m done for… my handsome face is going to be ruined if I fall flat on it… I depend on this face for a living…
Huh? What is this? So big… so soft…
He felt like he fell into a warm embrace. There was a nice smell, and then he heard a cry of alarm. Then, he didn’t remember anything else.
…
Yun Jianyue was resting in the room. When she heard the noise outside, she knew that Zu An returned.
She didn’t really feel like doing anything. After all, why would the dignified sect master of the Holy Sect greet a man’s return like a married woman?
However, she quickly frowned, because she heard that Zu An’s steps were unsteady. He seemed to have been injured.
Why would he be injured though? To the extent where even his steps would become unstable?
Her expression became serious. She understood Zu An’s cultivation well. Even though his rank wasn’t high, his real strength was powerful. Even though she was seriously injured back then, her strength couldn’t be evaluated through conventional means. However, she was almost done in by him.
With this type of cultivation, who could hurt him?
Could it be that Zhuxie Chixin did something?
She couldn’t sit still any longer when she thought of this. She quickly rushed out to greet him. After all, Zu An’s safety was tied to her own.
Yet when she opened the door, he fell right into her arms, his face falling straight into her soft chest.