The servant gave Zu An a look and immediately hesitated.
The great elder said, “You can speak.”
The servant said, “This one led the two ladies to the medicine garden and everything was good at first, but then Manager Pi showed up.”
“Manager Pi!” The great elder’s expression changed when he heard that.
Zu An was curious. Just what kind of background did this Manager Pi have? Why had the great elder reacted that way?
The servant carefully looked at Zu An before continuing, “As soon as he saw the young master’s servants, Manager Pi felt that the two women were pretty, so he wanted to take liberties with them. The older one protected the younger lady, and there was a conflict…”
Zu An disappeared before the servant even finished his sentence, heading straight for the medicine field.
The great elder’s expression changed. He quickly followed behind Zu An, saying, “Young master, do not act rashly.”
Zu An harrumphed. “What, I can’t do anything when they are already stepping all over my face?”
The great elder said with a bitter smile, “Do not forget that Manager Pi is the lord’s… trusted aide. The lord favors him a lot. There will be no good end if you provoke him.”
Zu An scowled. He wasn’t Donaire, so why would he care about all of that?
The great elder quickly said, “Young master, we still haven’t received the ancestor’s inheritance, so we still need to bide our time. It is just a few women; it isn’t worth becoming hostile with Manager Pi.”
Zu An said with a cold snort, “There are some things that I can back down on, and some things that I cannot. The Monster World is one where the strong reign supreme, anyway. If I let my women be stolen right in front of my face, how will the other clans view our True Demon race?”
Sensing the rage in Zu An’s voice, the great elder was now really panicking. “Wasn’t the way the young master dealt with Manager Pi before great? You even gave him a servant. Why are you unable to remain calm this time?” There was a bit of suspicion in his voice this time.
Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected to end up slipping up here. However, he reacted quickly and said, “That was then, this is now. I yielded back then, and yet I’ve never seen him remember that favor, and it's only encouraged his behavior. If I back down here too, won’t he end up demanding something even more absurd from the True Demon race in the future? Then, all of the other clans will think that our True Demon race is easy to take advantage of and try to take a bite out of us. No matter how strong our True Demon race is, we still won’t be able to handle it.”
When he heard what Zu An said, the great elder was a bit moved. It seemed to make some sense. This Manager Pi really was crossing the line! Still, he couldn't help but say with a smile, “The young master is making a lot of excuses, but in the end, it’s because you care a lot about those servants, right?”
Zu An sensed the elder's more relaxed tone and knew he was fine this time. “I won’t deny it. That is part of the reason.”
Meanwhile, they arrived next to the medicine field. There was a large group of monsters in the area who were taunting and provoking the two women. From time to time, they tried to touch the women, but Jiang Luofu always stopped them. She stood protectively in front of Ji Xiaoxi so as to ensure the lascivious monsters wouldn't be able to get what they wanted. She used all sorts of skills to protect Xiaoxi. Ji Xiaoxi was also doing her best to help her take on a share of the burden, but her cultivation was too low, and she couldn't do much.
Meanwhile, there was a group of monster guards surrounding a pale and chubby monster. He was watching the situation with a big smile. When he saw Jiang Luofu’s beautiful legs swing around, he couldn't help but blow a whistle.
The great elder couldn't help but give Jiang Luofu a second look too.
No wonder the young master likes them so much. They are indeed quite beautiful.
Legs like these weren’t only attractive to those youngsters. If he were twenty years old again, perhaps even he'd be tempted. The younger woman was even more alluring, with a timid and delicate presence that easily triggered a man’s protective instincts.
“Beauties, stop resisting and just follow the manager. The manager actually dotes on others well.”
“That’s right, Manager Pi is now someone who serves under one monster, but above all others. As long as you serve him, you can enjoy endless glory and wealth!”
“If you do not obey him, your end will only be worse than death.”
The monsters continued to fly around the women while harassing them with evil smiles. Even though they had humanoid bodies with four limbs, their skin was entirely gray. There were two sharp horns on each of their heads, and their lower jaws were long and thin. Their heads were like inverted triangles. Some of them had swords in hand, while others were armed with weapons that resembled lances. They attacked the twowomen from all different directions.
But Jiang Luofu had eight ‘flying swords’ flying around her, completely protecting the two of them so the monster couldn't get any closer at all.
A lesser monster that was really deferential to the fat white monster couldn't hold himself back and hollered, “Have you guys been starving recently or something? Why can’t you handle two women?”
The lesser monster’s skin was earthen brown, and his large mouth took up nearly half of his face. That and the disgusting lumps all over his body made him look like some kind of toad spirit.
When they heard his shout, the guards didn’t dare to hold back anymore. “This woman really is a bit tricky to deal with. Everyone, let’s not show leniency because they’re women and use our real strength.”
The rest voiced their agreement and started to attack the two women with greater intensity.
Jiang Luofu immediately felt the pressure increase severalfold. She was feeling worried when several black ki swords flew forth and passed straight through the surrounding monsters.
“Aaaahhh!”
Miserable screams filled the air one after another as the surrounding monsters were all nailed in place.
The women turned around and saw that Ah Zu had arrived. Ji Xiaoxi was shocked and surprised, beginning, “Zu…”
Jiang Luofu cut her off and immediately shouted, “Master!”[1]
Ji Xiaoxi immediately reacted and also shouted, “Master!” Her little face was entirely red.
Jiang Luofu’s face also heated up a bit. This was the first time she had called him master, and it was in front of so many people, no less. More importantly, he was younger than her, and he had been her student in Brightmoon City. She suddenly felt an indescribable sense of shame, as well as something different that was unique.
When he saw that the two were safe and sound, Zu An sighed in relief. He was also a bit stirred up when he heard these two women who were entirely different in style call him master.
But he quickly focused, shifting his gaze to the fat white monster in the lead. He couldn't tell what the monster’s original form was, but the latter had smooth skin and a face that resembled Majin Buu, with sideburns that wrapped all the way around. Both of those things together looked very strange.
This was likely the Manager Pi that the great elder had been talking about.
When he saw what Zu An did, Manager Pi’s face darkened. The toad spirit was the first to shout, “How audacious! You actually dare to harm Manage Pi’s subordinates? Are you thinking of committing treason?”
1. 'Master' is 'zhu ren'. The first character sounds like Zu. Ji Xiaoxi wanted to call him 'big brother Zu', and in Chinese, they would say 'Zu big brother', which is why the first syllable she said was 'Zu'. ☜