Chapter 1854: Return
Yan Xuehen, who had been jerking from side to side from the discomfort of being carried, also quieted down. She perked up her ears to listen to his reply.
“We don’t have much of a relationship. We just met once before in King Yan Manor. Big sis Yan was there at that time too,” Zu An said, feeling a headache coming on. “At the time, King Qi was desperate for any help he could get, so it was just an empty promise he made to rope me in.”
Yun Jianyue gave Yan Xuehen a curious look. Yan Xuehen said calmly, “She clearly didn’t like you very much the last time we met. Why does it seem as if her attitude toward you is now entirely different? She even recognized you with your mask on.”
Yun Jianyue raised her brows, saying, “Stone cold woman, I’ve never seen you speak so much at once. I didn’t expect you to be so interested in these love affairs of his.”
Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “Can’t I just ask a bit for Chu Chuyan’s sake?”
“Right, I’m also asking for Honglei’s sake,” Yun Jianyue said as she pinched Zu An again. “Hurry up and tell us honestly. Just what kind of relationship do the two of you really have?”
When she saw Yun Jianyue’s movement, Yan Xuehen couldn\'t help but also reach out her hand.
I didn’t expect pinching to be such a good source of stress relief. My mood seems to be better already.
Zu An was speechless. He could only reply, “I really don’t know how she recognized me… I’m just as confused as the two of you!”
“She was still able to recognize you even after you completely changed your face! Unless something really intimate happened between the two of you and she was really familiar with your body, how could she immediately recognize you from a single glance at your build?!” Yun Jianyue exclaimed, analyzing the situation as she spoke. Her expression also changed a bit.
Even Yan Xuehen looked at him with a cold expression. Wasn’t this guy a bit too ridiculous?
You have successfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +233 +233 +233…
You have successfully trolled Yan Xuehen for +233 +233 +233…
When he saw that these two really were getting angry, Zu An also became really depressed. He replied, “I vow that I really have nothing to do with her! If the kind of relationship you two are talking about happened before between us, then let me be struck by heavenly lightning!”
When she saw how serious he was, Yun Jianyue finally started to be convinced.
Just then, Yan Xuehen said with a harrumph, “You have that Faraday Cage anyway. It’s not as if you’re scared of any heavenly lightning.”
Yun Jianyue was stunned.
That’s right, this brat is actually playing word games with us!
You have successfully trolled Yun Jianyue for +300 +300 +300…
Zu An was speechless. He gave Yan Xuehen a look and said, “I didn’t think you were someone like this, big sis Yan.”
Yan Xuehen looked away. Her face heated up a bit.
…
In the end, after Zu An’s explanations, the two still trusted him. Yan Xuehen couldn\'t help but say with a sigh, “She probably still doesn’t know about what happened to King Qi.”
Zu An became a bit quiet. Zhao Xiaodie had been a woman blessed by the heavens, the daughter of King Qi; and yet, once she left this secret dungeon, her status would likely no longer be so glorious. It could instead become a burden.
Yun Jianyue waved her hand, remarking, “What are you worrying about all of that for? It has nothing to do with us either way. Right, we can’t go back yet.”
Zu An was stunned, asking, “Why?”
He had wanted to reunite with Chu Chuyan’s group sooner so that they wouldn’t get worried. After all, in the eyes of the others, being chased by Zhao Han only signified inevitable death.
“How can we go back in our current state? Do you want them to see you carry us in your arms?” Yun Jianyue replied, shooting him a glare.
Yan Xuehen nodded in agreement. Even though the witch was shameless, she definitely didn’t want to be looked at strangely by those people.
“So that was it,” Zu An said, feeling a bit happy. Yun Jianyue wanted to hide their relationship from other people, and so did Yan Xuehen.
Watching them put on this performance really is interesting. I definitely can’t let them find out the truth.
As such, he agreed. Then, the two ladies both took out pills from their sects before sitting down to adjust their breathing. Meanwhile, Zu An provided them with ki to help them digest the medicinal strength.
“Don’t use that… shameless skill of yours,” the two women said, shooting him a look. As soon as they recovered a bit of cultivation, they immediately gave him that warning through ki transmission. It was clear that they both knew what kinds of strange effects being affected by his ki brought.
Zu An naturally wouldn’t use that technique in such a situation. He helped them recover properly.
…
Soon after, the two women recovered the ability to move. They didn’t dare to stay for much longer; they were in a different world, after all. Who knew whether the others would encounter danger, or if they would do some foolish things because they hadn’t received any news from Zu An yet? The three sped along and finally returned to where they had been before.
Chu Chuyan’s group was pacing back and forth anxiously. There had been several times when they almost couldn\'t hold themselves back from running off to check on the situation, and yet they had been worried that they would only be a burden on Zu An if they did. They had felt extremely conflicted.
When they suddenly heard the sound of air moving, they turned around and saw Zu An descending on the Wind Fire Wheels. They were all shocked and happy, immediately rushing over to him.
“Ah Zu!”
This time, none of them backed off for each other. Chu Chuyan, Pei Mianman, and Qiu Honglei all ran straight into his arms. They were all crying tears of joy and couldn\'t be bothered with jealousy at all.
At first, Xie Daoyun wanted to run over too, but when she thought about how she was different from the others, she could only stand off to the side while looking at the others with a pitiful expression.
In the distance, Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue’s eyelids both twitched when they saw the scene.
“Absolute trash!”
That guy might just have hugged them all if his arms were long enough, right?
How did Chuyan find such a fickle man? If this were before, I definitely wouldn’t have agreed to the two of them being together. Unfortunately, I don’t have the right to say anything anymore…
Honglei will really have to face a lot of pressure in the future… The stone cold woman’s disciple used to be his proper wife, and that big-boobed woman’s relationship with Zu An seems to be special too. Sigh, I’m getting more and more worried for Honglei. However, I can’t do anything to help her out myself!
On the other hand, Zu An continued to console the sobbing women.
“I’m fine, aren’t I?”
“I’m not missing an arm or a leg, nor am I missing any other parts.”
“I’m really not lying to you! If you don’t believe me, you can ask big sis Yun and Yan.”
…
The young women all looked at Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. The two’s faces heated up.
Why are you asking us about something like that? How could I know?!
“Master, is the emperor truly dead?”
“Yes!” the two replied, finally realizing that their thoughts had gone in the wrong direction.
It turned out that Zu An had told the others the emperor had been defeated, and just found it unbelievable that the three were all fine. When they received the two women’s confirmation, they all sighed in relief. The pressure Zhao Han had given them was just too great. They had never expected him to be dealt with just like that!
Their group continued to ask what exactly happened. Zu An wanted to explain it to them, but they didn’t listen to him at all, and instead surrounded Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue. Zu An was normally too frivolous, so they still found Sect Master Yan and Yun a bit more reliable. Furthermore, their cultivations were higher, so the three assumed they had contributed more.
Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen both couldn\'t help but feel a bit embarrassed when they saw the admiration in the young women’s eyes. They could only talk about what had happened in a roundabout way.
At first, they were a bit embarrassed since they hadn’t really done much, but they got more and more excited as they continued to tell the story. After all, even now, they were still amazed by what had happened. They glanced at Zu An from time to time, their expressions full of admiration.
Of course, they tacitly decided to omit the fact that all three of them had been crammed into a tiny cage, and that he had been hugging them with both arms.
The others were amazed as they listened. Even though Ah Zu was already extremely capable in their eyes, killing Zhao Han all by himself was still beyond their wildest imaginations.
“Ah Zu is so amazing!” the young women exclaimed. They couldn\'t help but go round and round around Zu An. Even the usually cold Chu Chuyan was really lively. As they looked at Zu An, their eyes all sparkled.
Everyone admired the strong. Zhao Han had already been acknowledged to be the strongest, and yet he had been defeated by their lover. If not for the other women here, they would already have thrown themselves into his arms.
Xie Daoyun silently touched her storage pouch, saying, “Libationer, big brother Zu has helped you get revenge.”
Even though strictly speaking, the Xie clan belonged to the emperor’s faction, after she became an academy disciple, she had naturally grown closer to the libationer. That was especially true after witnessing Zhao Han’s heartlessness and brutality, and more importantly, her big brother Zu becoming an enemy of his majesty.
She suddenly asked worriedly, “Big brother Zu, what do we do if others ask us about this once we leave this place? There are still many forces in the imperial court who are loyal to his majesty!”
If others found out that he had committed regicide, the entire empire could come after him. The other women immediately realized that problem too. All of them became worried.
“What are you scared of? If push comes to shove, you can just… come to our Holy Sect?” Yun Jianyue began speaking quite proudly, but she quickly sensed the killing intent coming from the other women. She suddenly felt a bit guilty too.
It’s one thing if the others look at me like that, but Honglei, what is with that look of yours? Don’t tell me our Holy Sect is really that unsightly?
Do you really think your lover will be wronged by going there?
Zu An said with a carefree expression, “Don’t worry. Zhao Han died in that great tomb. It wasn’t me who killed him, so what do I have to fear?”
The others’ eyes lit up. The great tomb was mysterious and terrifying, and there were probably others who entered this secret dungeon who could serve as witnesses. The emperor had gone missing inside; that was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
As they looked at Zu An, they all had strange expressions.
This guy really is good at lying. Not only is he good at lying to women, he’s good at lying to men too.
Suddenly, a bright gate of light appeared not too far from them. They were all overjoyed, because that familiar aura was clearly the exit out of the secret dungeon.
“Why did the gate suddenly appear in front of us?” Yan Xuehen wondered. After all, in the past, the exits of the secret dungeons had almost always been located where they entered. “I wonder if those of the other sects will be able to rush here in time.”
They were all from the daoist sects, so she was naturally a bit worried for them. There were quite a few who had entered the secret dungeon this time.
“I think the gate appeared in front of everyone who’s still in this secret dungeon. This place is rather special. It was strange when we entered, so it shouldn’t be too hard for it to make something like that happen on the way out,” Yun Jianyue said pensively. While traveling with Zu An, she had previously experienced leaving through a secret dungeon exit that appeared right before them.
Yan Xuehen nodded. This world was so large that there was no way she could find all of the others. If they stalled for too long, the gate could just disappear, which would be really bad. Then, they would all be trapped here forever.
Hm? But being trapped in this world doesn’t seem to be that bad either. That way, apart from a few people, no one else in this world would know who Zu An and I are…
However, she was quickly alarmed and shook away this thought. Even though others wouldn’t know, the witch and Chuyan knew! She didn’t have the shamelessness to face them if they found out the truth.
They were about to enter through the gate when Xie Daoyun suddenly called out to Qiu Honglei, asking, “Big sis Qiu, it won’t be too good to just leave like this, right?”