Chapter 2021: No, You Came at the Perfect Time

Qiu Honglei had imagined countless possibilities, such as her master fighting bitterly with an enemy, or her being seriously injured and needing help. She had even considered the possibility that Ah Zu already saved her master.

However, she had never imagined that her master would indeed be fighting an intense battle... but with Ah Zu, and a battle of the flesh at that.

Master really is beautiful... Even as another woman, I feel extremely moved. Her perfect body looks as if it's covered in a layer of sunset glow. She really is a masterpiece of heaven. Her long hair that's sticking to her skin because of the water adds a bit more extravagance to her appearance too.

The master she respected and loved had her fingers interlaced with the one she loved the most, and she simply looked too happy. Everything seemed to be happening so naturally.

In that instant, Qiu Honglei felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. Her entire body went completely ice-cold. She didn’t feel any disappointment or anger. Instead, she felt completely numb. She said calmly, “Sorry, I came at a bad time.” She turned around and left afterward.

Zu An really wanted to act confident and at ease like suave brother Jiao, with the response "No, you came at the perfect time", but he discovered that he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

Both he and Yun Jianyue were stunned. They had imagined countless scenarios in which they would be seen, but they had never expected it to be like this, that they would be caught in such a sorry state.

Zu An was a bit vexed. Yun Jianyue’s injuries were too severe, so he had been completely focused on repairing her meridians. The slightest bit of carelessness could have resulted in failure. Furthermore, the defensive formations had been designed to not activate against people he was close to, so as not to accidentally harm them. That was why he had only noticed Qiu Honglei when she was already right in front of them, but it was already too late by then.

Yun Jianyue’s mind went completely blank. In that instant, she even had thoughts of ending her own life. The abrupt incident brought an extreme feeling of shock. Her entire body started shaking all over.

Zu An sucked in air through his teeth. In that instant, he couldn't hold it in anymore.

Now, Yun Jianyue became even more embarrassed. She quickly hollered, “Honglei, don’t misunderstand! This is just to get rid of Fang Zhonghe’s palm poison! Ah Zu is only doing this to save me!”

Qiu Honglei briefly paused, but she still continued walking without turning back.

Yun Jianyue was embarrassed and nervous. She quickly pushed Zu An aside, exclaiming, “Are you not going to chase after her?!” What kind of a situation were they already in?! And yet this kid was still moving on her body...

After some hesitation, Zu An shook his head and said, “Your injuries are at a critical point. I can't let my efforts be ruined because of this.”

“But...” Yun Jianyue wanted to say something else, but Zu An shushed her.

“I’ll treat you first, then look for Qiu Honglei,” Zu An said; his reason still won out in the end. He knew that if he left now, Yun Jianyue’s wounds could worsen, and she could even pass away. If that happened, then it would really be too late for regrets.

But Honglei...

Sigh, it really is hard to satisfy both sides in this world. Even if I'm already the strongest in this world, so what? I'm still so powerless in many affairs.

...

After what just happened, the spiritual spring had become much colder and cheerless. There was no more room for joy.

“I really am a bad master,” Yun Jianyue said. Normally, she was really tough. No matter how bad the injury, no matter how much she was wronged, her will had always been as hard as steel. And yet, right now, tears couldn't help but flow down from the corners of her eyes.

“It’s not your fault. It’s because I'm trash," Zu An said with a sigh.

“You were only doing this to save me...” Yun Jianyue said, becoming more and more dispirited as she spoke. It was clear that no one had done anything wrong, so why had they all been hurt so deeply?

The two became increasingly silent. There was no more of the usual passion.

After another two hours, Zu An finally finished treating Yun Jianyue. Yun Jianyue couldn't be bothered to get dressed again. She quickly pushed Zu An away and said, “Hurry up and go after Honglei!”

Zu An voiced his agreement. He hastily put on his clothes again and ran in the direction Qiu Honglei had disappeared in. He traveled for several hundred li. Along the way, he spread his divine sense and used the jade badge to aid in his search, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He realized that she had deliberately hidden herself, so he had no choice but to return to the Lake of Hatred first.

...

Inside the Devil Sect General Headquarters’ temple, Yun Jianyue was absent-mindedly handling all kinds of administrative affairs.

While he was treating her, Zu An had already given her a rough explanation of everything that happened. When she heard that an outstanding hero like Lu Sanyuan had ended up dying like that, she sighed, but she also felt really refreshed when she heard about what had happened while Zu An impersonated her. It was to the point that she even asked him to change into a woman again to show her what it was like. Of course, that ‘rude’ request was strongly refused by Zu An. But after what had just happened, it all just felt dull.

She had to admit that Honglei was quite capable, taking care of everything in a clear and orderly manner. Even the following audit and the matter of guarding against th/e foreign monster parasites had been considered carefully. All she needed to do was just a bit more work here and there.

She suddenly thought of something. She tasked the other elders with continuing to make future plans before leaving. After seeing how ‘she’ had dominated the entire situation, who else in the Devil Sect dared to say anything against her? They even felt that it was inappropriate to trouble her with such trivial matters to begin with. They all worked enthusiastically, the discussion quickly entering full swing.

Yun Jianyue left the temple and quickly saw Zu An next to a pillar, all alone. Her expression immediately became a bit bitter as she asked, “Where is Honglei?”

“I didn’t find her," Zu An said gloomily. He gave her a rough account of where he had looked.

Yun Jianyue sighed and said, “I also called on some people to look for her, but I didn’t find her either. Honglei is very familiar with the Lake of Hatred. If she wanted to hide here, no one would be able to find her. Also, if I'm not mistaken, she has likely already left the Lake of Hatred and returned to the real world.”

That was the conclusion Zu An had come to as well. The outside world was just too large. If she really wanted to go into hiding, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“Once I finish dealing with the sect’s affairs, I’ll go out with you to look for her,” Yun Jianyue said, but shook her head as soon as she said that. “No, I can’t go with you. We’ll just do our own thing.”

Zu An was stunned, asking, “Why not?”

Yun Jianyue gave him an annoyed look and replied, “What do you think? If Honglei sees the two of us moving together, do you think she’ll show up and meet us?”

When he heard that, Zu An became quiet. However, after seeing how thin and pallid she was, he couldn't help but say, “Your serious injuries have only begun to heal, so you can't use any ki for a month. Otherwise, I might not be able to save you again.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Yun Jianyue replied.

Zu An knew that she was the famous and respected Devil Sect Master, so he couldn't really say much more.

Yun Jianyue seemed to have realized that her tone was a bit harsh. She said, “I helped move that little female friend of yours to the courtyard next door. It’s already quite late, so you should get some rest.”

Zu An was confused, asking, “What little female friend?”

“The one with the long legs. The foul Yin Yang Path isn't a good place for women,” Yun Jianyue said in annoyance. If it weren't for Fang Zhonghe, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a terrible situation all this time. She wondered how Honglei was doing now.

“That’s just an Embroidered Envoy subordinate,” Zu An said, a bit speechless.

“Fine, fine, fine. A subordinate it is,” Yun Jianyue said. She wasn’t in the mood to argue about that either. She left while brooding over her thoughts.

Zu An wanted to call after her, but he slowly lowered his raised hand. After what just happened, he could sense that not only had Honglei left, he even felt that Yun Jianyue was distancing herself from him.

...

Zu An put on his mask and returned to the courtyard.

Zhang Zitong had been waiting anxiously by the door of the room. She asked, “Sir, what kind of relationship do you have with that witch... ahem, Sect Master Yun?”

Zu An said coldly, “Back in the Embroidered Envoy, did no one tell you that the more secrets you knew, the more easily you’d be killed?”

Zhang Zitong stuck out her tongue and said, “That Sect Master Yun really is amazing. I only heard that she easily defeated a rebellion from the sect’s most powerful experts, and she even defeated a terrifying monster from another world. She really is a valiant heroine! I'm even starting to admire her. Only a woman like this has lived a true life without regrets!”

Zu An was speechless. He couldn't just tell her that the woman she spoke of was actually him, right?

“Sir’s mood doesn’t seem to be that great,” Zhang Zitong said; she finally realized that something was off with him.

Zu An had all kinds of thoughts running through his mind. He sighed and replied, “I seem to have lost an extremely, extremely important person today. Also, I might lose another one soon.”

Zhang Zitong blinked, asking, “With your incredible abilities, can’t sir just find that person?”

“What if I can’t?” Zu An replied.

“Who can’t the Embroidered Envoy find in this world?” Zhang Zitong asked.

“You couldn't even find the Lake of Hatred, right?” Zu An retorted.

“That's only because it’s the Devil Sect. Now that even the Devil Sect Master is your friend, she can just help you look," Zhang Zitong said.

Zu An was speechless.

“What is it? Did I say something wrong?” Zhang ZItong asked.

“Go away. I want some time alone," Zu An replied.

“Those two important people must be women. I didn’t expect sir to be someone with love troubles even with your status. I really don’t know just what kind of woman could actually receive sir’s favor. Alright, I'll write a novel called ‘The Adulterous Relationship of the Embroidered Envoy Chief Commander and the Devil Sect Master’. What does sir think?” Zhang Zitong continued.

Zu An suddenly turned around, a cold expression appearing in his eyes.