Chapter 980: Seven Li Soulchaser Scent
Even after Zu An collapsed, Tang Tian’er still didn’t feel at ease. She reached out and struck several of his acupoints, then sighed in relief. Then, she sat down next to Zu An. Her small hands reached into his clothes, but after she groped around for a bit, she muttered to herself in annoyance, “Huh? Where did those things go?”
You have successfully trolled Tang Tian’er for +88 +88 +88…
She wanted to see if Zu An had any precious treasures or identifying things. However, she didn’t find anything apart from some silvers.
“Where is the pouch I gave him just now?” Tang Tian’er didn’t find anything even after a long time. However, she realized he probably had some kind of spatial storage item. Unfortunately, she still didn’t find anything even after looking some more.
“He is from the ocean race after all; his body is full of mysteries…” Tang Tian’er stared at his mask, then suddenly thought of something. “I wonder what he looks like?”
She reached out and undid his mask. She was completely stunned by what she saw. After staring for a while, she suddenly blushed and remarked, “You’re more handsome than I expected. If I knew that earlier, I wouldn’t have moved out of the way, hehe.”
Someone knocked from outside. Tang Tian’er frowned and said, “Stop rushing me, I’ll be out soon.” She gently blew a breath of warm air against Zu An’s ear, then quietly whispered, “Sweet dreams. I hope we’re having a wonderful time in your dreams.” She turned around and walked away while giggling.
Chubby Senior was waiting outside when Tang Tian’er opened the door. He looked inside through the door crack. When he saw that Zu An was already asleep, he sighed in relief before asking, “So? Did you find out anything?”
“He really is from the ocean races, and his status is probably quite high,” Tang Tian’er closed the door while replying. Someone who didn’t even care that much about King Yan and Sun Xun definitely had a powerful background.
Chubby Senior nodded and said, “As expected. The Hub of Freedom has never been able to establish a relationship with the ocean races. Looks like we’ll have to invest in him.”
Tang Tian’er was about to say something when her expression changed a bit. She and Chubby Senior both hid in a nearby corner. The moment their figures disappeared, a shifty-eyed individual appeared nearby. Even though he was trying to hide it, he still looked toward Zu An’s room from time to time, giving away his real objective.
“Sun Ji’s spy.” Tang Tian’er’s pretty brow furrowed.
“Indeed. Sun Ji has just left in a hurry, most likely to return that jade pendant to his clan, but he doesn’t plan on letting guest 333 go. That’s why he assigned someone here to keep an eye on him,” Chubby Senior explained.
Tang Tian’er was a bit worried. “Is the Hub of Freedom really not going to do anything about it? Even though young master An is from the ocean races, we’re far from the seas right now. He might end up in big trouble.”
Even though Zu An had had a lot of confidence earlier, she just treated it as a man’s boasting when trying to impress a girl and didn’t take his words seriously.
Chubby Senior frowned, saying, “The Hub of Freedom has never gotten involved in the private matters of guests…”
Tang Tian’er grabbed his sleeve before he even finished what he was saying, exclaiming, “Chubby uncle, young master An isn’t like other people! We’ve finally established a connection with the ocean races, so we can’t miss this chance. I’m thinking for our establishment’s interests here!”
Chubby Senior rolled his eyes. “Isn’t this because you’ve taken a liking to that kid? Hmph, I guess it’s fine. The Hub of Freedom will ensure his safety, but we can’t interfere too early. We’ll let him suffer a bit under Sun Ji’s men, then help him afterward. He’ll feel more grateful then.”
Tang Tian’er giggled and had a huge smile on her face as she replied, “Chubby uncle is the wisest after all. I really, really admire you.”
“Stop with the flattery already.” Chubby Senior harrumphed. “I’m warning you ahead of time. You can play around with him, but don’t end up throwing yourself away in the process.”
Tang Tian’er snorted. “Do I seem like that type of person?”
“I guess you’re right.” Chubby Senior couldn't help but smile. This little girl had toyed with so many young masters over the years, and yet she had never gotten into any real trouble over it.
…
Zu An opened his eyes when the two of them left. He had played nice with Tang Tian’er not because he really was charmed by her beauty, but rather because he was going to use her as a witness. After the matter, she would prove his innocence. After all, this was King Yan and Sun Xun’s territory, so it could get pretty annoying if things got too out of hand.
But he had previously been annoyed thinking about how he was going to get Tang Tian’er to play along. It would have been easy enough to knock her out, but she would definitely know what happened once she woke up. His intention for her to become his alibi would then be ruined.
If Tang Tian’er had been a man, he could use Daji to charm her. Tampering with her memory wouldn’t have been too difficult either. But she was a woman, so Daji’s charms wouldn’t work. He had thought about using Keyboard Come, but he never tried memory alternation yet and didn’t know what would happen or how strong the rebound would be.
Zu An hadn’t expected her to knock him out first! He had almost burst out laughing with joy when he saw the mist that sprayed out of her lips.
He had always been careful, so he hadn’t breathed in the smoke at all. Even though he was already impervious to most poisons, who knew what kind of stuff that mist was made of? What if it hadn’t been a poison, but rather an aphrodisiac? Then things would really be troublesome.
When he heard Chubby Elder and the others leave, he called out Daji. He covered her in his own clothes and made her wear his mask. Then, he put her back where he had been to pretend that he was asleep.
He left after completing all of his preparations. He quickly sealed the acupoints of the spy Sun Ji had left behind and had Daji use her ‘Fox Charm’ on him. That meant even Sun Ji’s own subordinates could be used as witnesses. No one would suspect thim then.
He didn’t contact Gao Ying and Pei You beforehand, and secretly snuck out of the Hub of Freedom. The Hub of Freedom was mainly on guard against outsiders coming in. The inspection for leaving wasn’t nearly as strict. He was able to accurately pinpoint where Sun Ji’s group was using the jade badge and the surrounding animals.
An hour later, he finally caught up to Sun Ji’s carriage. He made his way ahead of them and looked for a good chance to strike. After all, this was Yi Commandery, so he had to act quickly, or else it would be troublesome if some new variable popped up.
He might have ignored Sun Ji if it were just because of their personal grudge. However, he couldn't be bothered to weigh the consequences because he had to save Mi Li.
Just then, he had even learned from Sun Ji’s subordinate that Sun Ji had planned to bring back people to kill him right after he delivered that jade pendant. Zu An was no saint, so he obviously naturally wanted a tooth for a tooth.
When he saw the carriage quickly arrive, he prepared to strike, but suddenly noticed something odd. He looked in a different direction.
Several dozen pieces of bamboo flew over, tearing through the air with a scream. Close to half of Sun Ji’s subordinates were instantly wiped out.
A figure shot out from the carriage. It was Sun Ji’s guardian Yang Long. His palms moved together, and a blast of energy instantly crushed the incoming bamboo strips into small pieces. He exclaimed, “Which scoundrel dares to attack the Sun clan’s carriage?!”
Sun Ji quickly came out from the carriage as well. His guards immediately surrounded him to protect him.
“You really are quick to bring out the Sun clan. What I absolutely loathe the most are idiots like you who rely on your family background to step on ordinary people,” said a sinister voice. Then, a black-robed figure slowly walked out from the bamboo forest.
“It’s you!” Yang Long immediately recognized that the figure was the one who had appeared in the auction hall previously. He even vaguely sensed that the other person’s ki fluctuations were stronger than his own. However, he had a numbers advantage, so no one knew who would come out on top in the end.
“Leave your belongings behind, and I can consider sparing your lives.” The black-robed individual’s voice didn’t carry a shred of emotion.
“How did you find us?” Yang Long’s expression was ugly. After all, the identities of every single guest from the Hub of Freedom were a secret. Even though his clan’s young master had still clearly expressed his identity, their departure from the Hub of Freedom had been in secret, and only those from the Hub of Freedom had known that they left. There should have been no way any other guest could track them down. Don’t tell me the Hub of Freedom was scheming something?
“I planted a Seven Li Soulchaser Scent on you. I can find you all even if my eyes are closed,” the black robed man said proudly.
“Seven Li Soulchaser Scent? It’s you!” Yang Long’s expression immediately changed greatly.