Chapter 995: True Master of Charm Arts
Those present were stunned. Everyone from the Governor Manor knew just how strong City Lord Liao Ling was. His grand sword ki was just too powerful; most evildoers weren’t his match at all. The black-clad individuals had fully experienced that.
But what was going on? Why was the City Lord’s ridiculously powerful sword actually clamped between just two fingers? Could the other party be a master rank cultivator? But even though that person was masked, he was clearly a young man. How could there be a master rank cultivator who was that young?
Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng was incredibly shocked. He and Liao Ling were colleagues, so he couldn't be more familiar with the other man’s cultivation. Even he would have no choice but to back off if he faced this sword, so how had this young man blocked it so easily?
Furthermore, he could see that Liao Ling’s face was entirely red. He was obviously not holding back at all,and yet his sword still couldn't move forward in the slightest. When had the Devil Sect ever had such a formidable young man?
Golden Token Seven was even more shocked; his eyeballs seemed about to pop out. He had already checked the other party’s cultivation, which was around the sixth rank. He had always thought that Golden Token Eleven was more of the intellectual sort and had even worried about his safety. Yet now, it turned out that the other party was actually this strong!
The most shocking part was that not even he could block Liao Ling’s sword. Does that mean his cultivation is higher than mine? How can that be?!
Only Qiu Honglei looked at the man in front of her with a gentle and tender expression. At that moment, there was no one else in her world. Only his familiar back remained. Even though there was a mask on his face, she had immediately recognized his familiar aura. She didn’t really care how high his cultivation was. Regardless of whether his cultivation was high or low, he was the one she loved.
What moved her the most was that he would always rescue her whenever she was in danger, regardless of what would happen to him. That had been the case in the Imperial Palace, and it was the case here.
The expression in her charming eyes was extremely gentle. She felt as if her heart would melt.
Zu An finally made his move. His forefinger flicked out, and a sharp scream emerged from the sword as it vibrated intensely. He took the chance to wrap his arm around Qiu Honglei’s soft waist, then quickly leapt into the distance. He instantly vanished into the forest in the blink of an eye.
Liao Ling raised his sword up to his eyes. He was disappointed and frustrated. The other party had actually held back, or else that flick would have already made his sword break apart inch by inch.
That was what he couldn't figure out the most. Why would someone from the Devil Sect let him go? He cultivated the sword of grandeur, so all of his time and will were concentrated into his sword. If his sword broke, he wouldn’t die, but his foundation would be seriously injured. That would be an injury he would take a few decades to recover from.
Meanwhile, Qiu Honglei leaned into Zu An’s arms. She reached out her hand and took off his mask. She raised her head to look at the man beside him; her voice was incredibly soft and gentle as she exclaimed, “Big brother Zu, you’re so great!”
Zu An almost fell from midair. As expected of the Devil Sect’s seductress, with just a few words his masculine instincts almost erupted. “Then why don’t you give me a kiss as a reward?” he asked jokingly.
Who could have thought that Qiu Honglei would immediately agree? She replied, “Sure!” Then, her soft lips pressed against him. However, it was just a light peck, like a dragonfly touching the water. When she saw that Zu An was moving in to return the kiss, she avoided him with a giggle.
Zu An became depressed. “It’s been so long since we met; did we end up drifting apart?”
Qiu Honglei said with a giggle, “Don’t you already know that the ‘Voice of the Devil’ I cultivate is special? I need to keep myself pure.”
Zu An was speechless. He eventually said, “It’s not as if you’ll lose your virginity if I kiss you.”
“If you really could do something like that, you could probably call yourself number one in this entire world.” Qiu Honglei was laughing so hard she was shaking. “Actually, it was my master who taught me that men will always cherish what they can never get, but once they do obtain it, they won’t cherish it anymore. I agree with what she says.”
“Big sis Yun did me dirty!” Zu An grinded his teeth in annoyance. He really wanted to pick up Yun Jianyue and give her a good spanking. But when he considered their difference in strength, he knew that was something he could only think about.
“Hmph!” Qiu Honglei harrumphed. “Why are you calling my master ‘big sister’? Do you want me to call you ‘uncle’ or something?”
“You can call me daddy too,” Zu An replied.
“You’re so bad…” Qiu Honglei’s eyes darted around. As a woman from the Devil Sect, how could she not understand the implied meaning behind his words?
While the two of them were teasing each other, they had already arrived at a secluded and safe place. Zu An lowered her to the ground and asked out of curiosity, “Honglei, why were you captured by King Yan?”
That was what he couldn't understand. Qiu Honglei had always been rather quick-witted, and her cultivation wasn’t low. She had been able to easily execute most of her missions. Yun Jianyue wouldn’t have assigned her to a mission that was outside of her ability either!
A bit of hesitation flickered across Qiu Honglei’s face, but she still replied, “In recent years, Cloudcenter Commandery keeps claiming that the ki stones that they promised to ship out have been plundered by our Holy Sect. Even though we did steal some sometimes, there’s no way we stole as much as they say we did. That’s why we came to see who was impersonating us and doing those kinds of things.
“Moreover, Yi Commandery is a place that has dealings with the north. The ki stones Cloudcenter Commandery sends southward always pass through this place, so I came here to investigate what was going on. But soon after I arrived, King Yan personally came over. We were caught unprepared and suffered severe losses. Not even I was able to get away.”
“Then could it be that King Yan Manor stole the ki stones, then framed you?” Zu An mused with a frown. If that was the case, this really was a huge case! If it were reported to the higher-ups, many people would end up losing their lives.
But he didn’t expect Qiu Honglei to shake her head and say, “Even though I really want it to be him, based on my investigation, something happened to the ki stones from Cloudcenter Commandery even before they arrived in Yi Commandery. Furthermore, according to our insider sources, it was only because someone contacted King Yan ahead of time that King Yan just happened to ambush us at the perfect time. There’s definitely someone else who wants to borrow King Yan’s strength to get rid of us.”
Zu An was shocked, asking, “Then are you saying that Cloudcenter Commandery caused the deficit, then framed you? Then, they also secretly contacted King Yan Manor to ambush you guys?”
“I don’t have any proof.” Qiu Honglei was a bit distressed. “But there is definitely something wrong with Cloudcenter Commandery.”
Zu An began to think to himself. He obviously knew that there was something wrong with Cloudcenter Commandery. At first, he had thought that it was just a struggle within the clan for the family property, but now, it seemed the problem was much more serious.
After all, the amount of ki stones Cloudcenter Commandery had reported as plundered was a huge figure. Where had that huge deficit gone? That amount of resources would be enough to maintain an entire army!
Qiu Honglei looked at him curiously, saying, “I heard you were going to Cloudcenter Commandery this time.”
“Yeah.” Zu An gave her a rough summary of his mission, naturally omitting some things that weren’t suitable for the Devil Sect to know.
“That Yu Yanluo was the number one beauty in the past. You’d better not let her seduce you or something,” Qiu Honglei said with a smile.
“Do I look like that type of person?” Zu An replied in an upright manner.
“One hundred percent.” Qiu Honglei laughed in her beautiful voice. After the two of them teased each other a bit, she said with a serious expression, “I wasn’t joking with you. You really have to be careful of that woman. There’s definitely more to her than meets the eye. She isn’t as gentle and kind as she looks on the surface.”
Zu An was stunned, asking, “What do you mean?”
Qiu Honglei seemed to be thinking of what to say. “You know that the technique my master and I cultivate is one of the charm arts. But even after cultivating it to my current level, the charm I exude can make others immediately think of taking me to bed when they see me. However, Yu Yanluo is different. She’s the kind of woman who can make any man feel love when they see her. The men who see her don’t feel lust, but rather passion.
“Others might not feel that anything is strange, but we who also cultivate charm arts are especially sensitive to these things. She’s already reached the highest level of charm arts, reaching a level even higher than my master’s.”
“Even higher than big sis Yun?” Zu An was shocked. Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster, and she had already reached an extremely high level in ‘Voice of the Devil’ too.
“It isn’t tied to cultivation, but rather to her achievements in the charm arts,” Qiu Honglei explained. “According to our investigation, Yu Yanluo seems to have had some secret dealings with the fiend races.”
Zu An became quiet. He really couldn't associate that goddess-like woman with a scorpion woman. But Qiu Honglei wouldn’t speak without thinking. She was talking about charm arts too, which had been her specialty to begin with.
Don’t tell me Yu Yanluo is a master of seduction? He was no longer sure either, when he recalled how his heart would pound with eagerness whenever he met her.
Qiu Honglei sighed. “Big brother Zu, you need to remember something. The prettier the girl, the better they are at lying. You need to be careful.”
Zu An replied with a smile, “Then what about you? Will you lie to me?”
“Well, if you find out that I lied to you, will you hate me?” Qiu Honglei stared at him with her sparkling eyes.