Chapter 2022: Secrets Covered in Dust

Zhang Zitong was startled by Zu An's reaction. She quickly waved her hands and said, “I was just speaking randomly! Sir, please don’t treat it as anything serious.”

At the same time, her heart was beating crazily. She had only planned to tease sir a bit, since no matter how she thought about it, that seemed like the most impossible situation. However, judging from sir’s reaction, her guess didn’t seem to be that far from the truth!

I’m finished, I’m finished! Why did I just have to be such a gossiper? Now sir is going to silence me! I’m dead for sure, sniff...

When he saw her huddle up nervously like a kitten, Zu An said with a sneer, “Don’t speak randomly in the future, or else you’ll die without even knowing why.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Zhang Zitong said, nodding like a little chick, but she was extremely grateful.

Sir really treats me differently. He actually couldn't bear to silence me.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Zhang Zitong hurriedly asked.

“Me,” Yun Jianyue replied from outside.

Zhang Zitong immediately had the look of a gossiper again. However, when she recalled how she had almost lost her life just now, she could only struggle to hold back the grin on her face.

Zu An opened the door and asked, “Why are you here?”

Yun Jianyue ignored him and looked at Zhang Zitong instead. When she saw that their clothes were still in order, she nodded in satisfaction and said, “I just received some news and came to tell you.”

Zu An turned around to give Zhang Zitong a look. Then, he closed the door and entered the courtyard, asking, “What did you find out?”

Yun Jianyue reached out her hand, and a shining gold cicada appeared in it. She said, “This was found in Lu Sanyuan’s treasury. It seems to be something called a Blacklight Golden Cicada. I heard that you’ve been refining artifacts recently, and figured you might have some use for it.”

Zu An was immediately overjoyed. He held the golden cicada admiringly. He replied, “It’s not just some use; you’re really helping me in my hour of need!”

This was precisely the material Mo Xi needed to break through into the master rank! Apart from coming to the Lake of Hatred to save Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, that was his only other main objective. He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly!

A happy look also appeared on Yun Jianyue’s face. Then, she gave him a ring and said, “This is Lu Sanyuan’s storage pouch. You can take it as well.”

Zu An was stunned, replying, “Isn’t it fine for you to keep this?”

Yun Jianyue shook her head, saying, “You were the one who defeated Lu Sanyuan, and I should be thanking you for that. This should be yours to begin with. If you refuse me here, I'll only think that you want even more.”

When he heard what she said, Zu An really couldn't bring himself to refuse. He said, “Then, thank you.”

At the same time, he felt extremely strange inside. Could it be that he really was born to be a moocher? Bi Linglong provided for him, Liu Ning provided for him, and now, even Yun Jianyue was taking care of him!

When she saw him take it, a faint smile appeared on Yun Jianyue’s face as well. She said, “Get some rest. I’ll be leaving first.”

As he watched her beautiful figure begin to leave, Zu An thought of something and asked, “How are your injuries now?”

Yun Jianyue’s body trembled. She quietly replied, “How could they possibly heal that fast?”

Zu An suggested, “Should I help you a bit?”

What he received in reply was a mysterious silence. However, just when he was even starting to regret what he said, Yun Jianyue said, “Okay.”

Then, she quickly left as if she was embarrassed, leaving only a faint fragrance in the air. Zu An was a bit stunned, but then he followed excitedly.

When she saw them leave one after the other, Zhang Zitong, who was secretly watching them, scoffed. “Hmph, look at those adulterers!”

...

Meanwhile, when Yun Jianyue returned to her own courtyard and saw the man following her, she asked stiffly, “What did you follow me for?”

“To help you out a bit, of course,” Zu An said with a deadly earnest expression.

Yun Jianyue bit her lip and said, “You clearly already healed me before.”

“That was all just done in a rush. There are still some things I haven’t taken care of yet,” Zu An said quickly.

Yun Jianyue was about to say something, but then stopped. In the end, she didn’t reply and turned around to enter her room. She didn’t close the door behind her, hhowever.

Zu An, of course, tactfully entered. Soon after, a sob emerged from inside.

“I feel that this isn’t fair for Honglei.”

“Me too.”

“???”

“I’m only doing this to heal you. That way, you can heal faster, and then you can look for her.”

“That mouth of yours is way too sweet. No wonder so many women have fallen for your tricks.”

“Sigh, I’m clearly speaking the truth here though.”

“Hmph, if you had to choose between me and Honglei, who would you choose?”

“...Those aren’t words that should be coming out of the mouth of the glorious Devil Sect Master.”

“I don’t care. You have to pick one.”

“Fine, I want everything!”

“Go... to hell!”

“...You were the one who made me answer.”

“You silly man. Remember, no matter who asks you this question in the future, you have to choose them. You must remember that. In the future, if Honglei asks you this question, you have to say you would choose her.”

“But I can’t bear to part with you either...”

“The fact that I can be together with you now is already the greatest happiness of my life. You belong to Honglei, and I’ve already stolen from her tree something that should be returned to its rightful owner.”

Zu An was speechless.

“Hey, annoying mister, are you listening to me?”

“Of course.”

“Then why do I feel as if your attention is all down there?”

“There’s no need for this to be either-or, I think.”

“Huh? I’m going to bite you!”

“Don’t be so tense, or else I won’t be able to treat you properly.”

“Forget about the injuries!”

...

The next morning, when Zu An returned to his courtyard while rubbing his lower back, he saw Zhang Zitong stare at him with a strange expression. He immediately lowered his hand and asked with a cough, “Were you standing here all night?”

Zhang Zitong muttered, “Do you take me for a husband-longing rock...” As if realizing that what she'd said was a bit inappropriate, she immediately added, “I was worried that sir would be befuddled by that witch, so I waited here for further instructions.”

Zu An was speechless. He retorted, “Go to sleep already!”

“Oh.”

Zhang Zitong had indeed stood outside all night. Now that she loosened up again, she quickly fell asleep.

Zu An took the chance to summon Mo Xi. Mo Xi was incredibly beautiful to begin with, but her fur clothing and miniskirt made her look even more charming and seductive. She clearly didn’t have Daji’s charm skills, but her entire body gave off a sense of vigor. Whenever one saw her, their first reaction would likely be to take her to bed and subdue her.

Unfortunately, Zu An was currently experiencing absolute ‘clarity’. He calmly took out the Blacklight Golden Cicada to help her with her breakthrough.

Mo Xi could clearly sense the allure of the golden cicada in his hands. Her slightly vacant eyes erupted with strange light, and she moved over with an eager expression.

In response, Zu An couldn't help but smile. He didn’t let her eat the Blacklight Golden Cicada, and instead placed the item by her navel like the system instructed; he then used it together with the other breakthrough materials. Perhaps because she could feel that she was making a breakthrough because of his help, or perhaps because she couldn't sense the slightest bit of desire from him, Mo Xi didn’t refuse the physical contact. Instead, she closed her eyes in enjoyment.

Streaks of golden light erupted from Mo Xi’s body. Ki surged from her entire body and released a kind of special aura. She quickly broke through into the master rank.

Even though Mo Xi couldn't speak, Zu An could clearly sense that she seemed to be thanking him, noticing the joy she felt.

Zu An then thought of something. He took out the storage pouches of Old Mi and Eunuch Wei, placing them in front of her. Mo Xi was already at the master rank, so the ‘Farewell Nanchao’ skill would now be able to easily sever the imprints left on them.

Sure enough, with a cut from her, the storage pouches that had been filled with defenses were easily opened. Zu An reached inside one and found a notebook. After some hesitation, he opened it up. When he finished reading the contents, his expression turned dark.

After an unknown amount of time passed, an ember appeared at the center of his palm. The notebook quickly burned to ashes. Under the light of the flames, Zu An’s face flickered between light and dark.