Chapter 1056: Sticking Out

Yu Yanluo stared at him calmly. When she saw that he hadn’t done anything disrespectful to her, she replied, “Your face and your voice really are identical to Jian Yanyou. But even though you managed to copy his appearance, you did not copy his mind.”

Zu An frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

Yu Yanluo explained, “Let me explain it like this. Others might not be able to notice any flaws if you tried to fool them, but for me, there are just too many flaws.

“I have a smattering of knowledge in illustration. In the dao of art, others might think that it is better the more accurately you draw the target, but in reality, that is not the case. It is not too difficult for a well trained artist to make a precise imitation of the target. In the domain of art, such an artist can only be considered to have rudimentary skill.”

Zu An’s face heated up. He had spent a long time practicing drawing for ‘Face of a Thousand Identities’ and had thought he was incredible for being able to produce such a lifelike copy, that he had become an art master so quickly. But who could have expected that Yu Yanluo only saw him as a beginner?

Yu Yanluo continued, “There are also some artists who pursue meaning rather than form. That is why some ordinary people would feel that their art is not similar to the real person at all, and think their skills were comparable to those of some random street peddlers. Those ordinary people are actually greatly mistaken. When these artists draw, they add in their understanding and insights regarding their objective, and they convey unique meaning. It is not something that others can easily imitate.

“But that is still not the highest level of art. The most profound artists often go back to their roots, attaching importance to both form and meaning. If an ordinary person saw their work, they would only feel that it resembles the original object, and thus be able to appreciate its beauty. Those who knew better would sense the meaning behind the illustration. Not only would it completely represent the original form, it would also contain the insights of the artist.”

Yu Yanluo’s gaze landed on Zu An’s face after she said that, and she continued, “The Jian Yanyou you have replicated mimics the form, but not the mind. An ordinary person might not be able to tell the difference, but it is full of flaws in my eyes.”

Zu An was speechless. Isn’t she saying that in her eyes, I’m just like a random street peddler artist?

“Enough. I have already answered your question. Can you tell me who you are now?” Yu Yanluo’s eyes stared calmly into Zu An’s as she spoke. They shone like the bright stars of the night sky, beautiful and enchanting.

Zu An thought for a bit, then said, “No wonder you used that painting to trap me. Looks like you have already achieved profound results in this domain. How high can you rank in this world in terms of art?”

Seeing that he had avoided her question again, Yu Yanluo was initially a bit unhappy. But when she heard he was going to talk about the dao of art, she couldn't help but blink. She seemed a bit more interested. She thought seriously to herself for a while, then replied, “I should be able to rank number two.”

“The world is so large; the fact that you can rank number two is already quite incredible.” Zu An sighed in praise. Afterward, he then asked, “Then who is number one?”

“I do not know.” Yu Yanluo’s voice was soft and moving, as if she didn’t realize that she was in a dangerous situation at all.

“You do not know?” Zu An was confused. “Then how do you know that you are number two?”

“I have not met anyone whose skills are above mine, but there will always be people better than you. Perhaps there is someone who is better than me somewhere in this world, but there are definitely not too many of them. After thinking about it, I decided that number two was a rather fair statement.” Yu Yanluo’s tone was serious, as if she were currently discussing an extremely serious matter.

Zu An was stunned. Are you kidding me?

He felt another huge mental blow to his confidence. Look at how innocent she looks while bragging about herself… But there really isn’t much you can do about it either….

He suddenly thought of something and looked the other party in the eyes, saying, “From what I know, the Royal Academy’s libationer has taken in a few disciples, and every single one of them excels in their own respective fields. The one who represents ‘art’ is extremely mysterious, with almost no one knowing their name. It is not even known if they are male or female. If I am not mistaken, that person should be you, though?”

Yu Yanluo hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she nodded and replied, “Indeed, that person is me. The reason I have concealed my identity is because my status is too special. Neither my teacher nor I wish to bring about any unnecessary troubles, which is why we did not announce it to the world.”

Zu An was immediately stunned. He hadn’t expected Yu Yanluo to be the libationer’s disciple[1]!

According to his interactions with the libationer’s other disciples, they were pretty much all pure and innocent individuals. They all had a mysterious bias and fanaticism toward their own domain.

“If you are the libationer’s direct disciple, why has this beauty committed such wrongs?” Zu An couldn't help but ask with a sigh.

Yu Yanluo harrumphed. “Someone barged into my bedroom in the middle of the night disguised as my husband. Who exactly is the wrongdoer here?”

Zu An’s face heated up. He replied, “Do not try to change the topic. I am talking about the death of Jian Yanyou.”

Yu Yanluo’s voice had a hint of sorrow as she asked, “Has he really died?”

“Do not tell me you did not know about this.” Zu An couldn't help but speak somewhat mockingly.

“I only know that something has most likely happened to him. I really did not know that he had already died.” Yu Yanluo paused for a moment, then asked, “From what you are saying, it seems to be Jian Taiding who has done the deed, no?”

Zu An frowned. Is this woman really innocent or is she acting? If she is, aren’t her acting skills just a bit too terrifying?

Suddenly, a snow-white arm shot out from under the covers. Zu An was alarmed and subconsciously raised his arm to block it, but a strange radiance suddenly fired from Yu Yanluo’s eyes. He immediately felt his body become exceptionally heavy. His movements became a bit slower than usual.

During that brief opening, the snow-white arm broke through his defenses and struck the major acupoint on his chest. Zu An’s entire body trembled. He sat down rigidly and couldn't move anymore. He could only ask, “Why were you able to move again?”

He was certain he had sealed up the other party. How had she recovered so quickly?

“Am I supposed to just lie here and continue letting you do whatever you want?” Yu Yanluo replied with a sneer. A proud look flashed through her eyes. She sat up. She was about to pick up her clothes off to the side, but when she reached out her hand, she realized that she really was dressed much too sparsely at the moment. She gave Zu An an upset glare, then threw her covers over his head to block his sight.

Her body’s warmth and enchanting fragrance were left on the covers. Zu An suddenly felt his mind wander a bit. He thought back to his previous world where there would always be some freaks who would buy used female stockings on the online forums. Just how much would the covers that carried the smell of the world’s number one beauty go for?

His view brightened soon afterward. The covers were removed; Yu Yanluo had already gotten dressed again.

“Why were you able to undo your seal?” Zu An asked again. He remembered that there were no errors in his seal. If the other party were a master rank, perhaps he might not be able to seal her, but she clearly wasn’t.

“I am the one asking you the questions now, and not the other way around.” Yu Yanluo suddenly felt a bit of delight. Just then, the other party had treated her exactly the same way. She had actually been able to get revenge so quickly!

“Who exactly are you?” she asked while sizing him up. “You resemble him, you really do… Perhaps only I alone, someone who understands the dao of art, and furthermore someone extremely familiar with Jian Yanyou, could tell the difference.”

She didn’t seem to mind too much that there was no response. She continued, “If you do not want to answer, I will just check for myself.” Then, she reached her hand out to his face, looking for a face mask to remove.

“Huh?” Even after searching for a long time, she actually couldn’t find the place where the mask and the skin met.

“Can you not be so… Ah…” Zu An exclaimed. Yu Yanluo’s hand was cold to the touch. To be honest, there were probably countless men in this world who were willing to be caressed by Yu Yanluo that way, but Zu An wasn’t one of them.

Yu Yanluo continued to pull at his face because she couldn't find a mask. Eventually, she used both of her hands. Even though there was no mirror, Zu An could imagine his own face being pulled every which way.

“There is no mask?” Yu Yanluo’s red lips opened wide in shock.

“I already told you, I am your husband.” Zu An tried to remedy the situation.

Yu Yanluo’s expression grew cold. She said, “I sensed that there was a fiend race aura coming from your body. Are you of the Peacock King race? But I have never heard of the Peacock King race having transformation abilities…” Her voice gradually became softer as she spoke her thoughts out loud.

Zu An was stunned. Is the fiend race aura she’s talking about the feather Kong Nanwu gave me?

“Indeed, I am a companion of Kong Qing. As for this transformation technique, it was a skill I picked up.” Zu An borrowed the situation to make up an identity. He wanted to take the chance to see if she had any connections with the fiend races.

Yu Yanluo looked at him coldly and said, “Your Peacock clan and I have always minded our own businesses. Why have you crossed the boundary?”

Zu An was alarmed. Judging from her tone, it seemed she really didn’t have any relationship with Kong Qing. After thinking about it, he replied, “There were just some things that I wanted to verify with the madam. If there are any ways in which I have offended you, I ask for the madam’s forgiveness.”

“Forgiveness? You barged into my room in the middle of the night and impersonated my husband. It is obvious that you had filthy designs.” Yu Yanluo sneered.

“I have truly offended you.” Zu An didn’t dare to take on that accusation. He explained, “I only came to confirm the matter of Jian Yanyou’s death. I did not have any intentions of offending the madam.”

“If not for the fact that you helped me cover myself up again and did not do anything else, you would already be a dead man right now.” Yu Yanluo’s expression was cold, as if she were speaking to someone whose life and death were completely within her control. She asked, “So Jian Yanyou really was killed by his younger brother?”

“I have obtained conclusive intelligence, but there is no proof,” Zu An replied ambiguously.

Yu Yanluo fell silent. A trace of sadness appeared between her brows.

“The madam seems to be extremely sad. According to our intelligence, madam and Jian Yanyou did not live together, so your affection for each other seemed to be limited,” Zu An said to see if there were any changes in her expression.

“He was my husband in name, and he has treated me well over these years. How can I be happy after hearing about his death?” Yu Yanluo sighed.

Zu An asked, “Can the madam help me with one of my misgivings? How did you break free from my control earlier?”

“My body is different from an ordinary person’s,” Yu Yanluo replied casually. “But I am even more curious about something else. Why is your Peacock clan looking into his affairs?” Her expression suddenly changed when she said that. She said, “No, there is no way you are from the Peacock clan. Who exactly are you? Restore your original appearance at once!”

Zu An suddenly moved. Under such close distance, there was no way Yu Yanluo could react at all. He continuously sealed several of her major acupoints. Having learned his lesson, he even took out the Jade Moon Serpent’s tendons, wrapping them around her several times and tying her up.

Yu Yanluo was ashamed and furious, exclaiming, “Why are you so lowly and vulgar?!”

You have successfully trolled Yu Yanluo for +555 +555 +555…

Zu An’s face heated up. He had never tied up someone before. He hadn’t paid much attention to how he tied her up, and only afterward did he notice that he had tied her up the way his many online teachers from various romance flicks taught him.

“Ahem, I had to do this to make sure you would not plot against me again.” He shifted his gaze a bit unnaturally. After all, being tied up like that really did make certain parts stick out.

1. This means that in terms of ranking, Yu Yanluo is the libationer’s sixth disciple.