Chapter 109: Thought you could hide by wearing a hat?

“Don’t worry, Miss Xue’er, we are well prepared.” Yuan Wendong smiled slightly and took out a mask as thin as a cicada’s wing. “This is a disguise mask made by the new rune master our family hired. Once worn, it can perfectly disguise one as a young person.”

The reason the Yuan family had the confidence to openly oppose the Chu family this time was mainly because the Wu family was assisting them from behind. They had provided a large number of masters to participate in the family competition.

Although both the Yuan and Chu families were well aware of this fact, they still had to maintain appearances.

With so many people watching, if it were discovered that all the participants were from the Wu family, it would be embarrassing for them.

To solve this problem, both families found a solution: they had their family rune masters create a batch of masks, mainly for concealing identity.

When worn, these masks were indistinguishable from real faces. Unless there was close physical contact, it was difficult to detect them.

The middle-aged man named Wu Di, after putting on the mask, indeed transformed into a cold, young man. A group of people gathered around, looking for a long time, but couldn't spot any abnormalities. They were all amazed.

Xue’er’s expression also changed slightly. “This mask is so incredibly ingenious. Doesn’t that mean one can impersonate anyone they wish?”

What if someone impersonated her young master? Would she be able to recognize him?

Yuan Wendong shook his head. “It’s not that easy. While such masks are exquisite, they can only change one’s appearance and hide their identity. It’s absolutely impossible to make them look exactly like a specific person.” He thought to himself, ‘When I first heard about this mask, I had the same thought. If one could disguise themselves as anyone they wished, wouldn’t I be able to sleep with anyone’s wife I desired?’

‘There’s no such good thing in the world!’

Hearing him say this, Xue’er finally relaxed. Her attention then returned to the family competition scheduled for tomorrow. She thought, judging by Yuan Wendong’s recent tone, even if that fellow Zu An didn’t die, he would be completely crippled.

What a pity, she didn’t get to do it herself.

Thinking of how her pure body had been touched by that fellow, Xue’er’s thin red lips almost bit until they bled.

“Achoo!”

Zu An sneezed. He wondered which little girl was thinking of him.

Old Man Mi had just drilled him for half the night, finally making his “Sunflower Phantasm” seem plausible. Only then did he leave, satisfied.

Zu An finally had some free time. Lying on his bed, he tallied the rage points he had received today. Adding them up... hmm, he had a total of 27,489 rage points.

Sigh, only this much.

Although it seemed like a lot, given the keyboard’s terrible lottery odds, it wouldn’t really buy him much.

As expected, after a round of draws, most of it went to “Thank you for participating.” The rest yielded 27 Qi Fruits. There were no skills or items whatsoever.

“I shouldn’t have held out any hope,” Zu An grumbled sullenly. Nevertheless, he swallowed all 27 Qi Fruits and refined them one by one.

The fourth array required 233 Qi Fruits. After working for half a day, he had only filled one-tenth of it.

Amidst his complaints and resentment towards the keyboard, he gradually drifted off to sleep.

When Cheng Shoubing returned and saw he was already asleep, he didn’t disturb him. He thought he would tell him after the young master finished his competition tomorrow. Hehe, the young master would surely be sad if he lost. He was sure that the money he won would give the young master a great surprise. It could also comfort his wounded heart.

He wondered how much silver the young master would reward him with then...

The venue for the family competition the next day, for the sake of fairness, was neither the Chu family’s estate nor the Yuan family’s. Instead, it was set up in a drill ground within the city.

Young masters and ladies from various prominent families in the city gathered there. Clearly, a competition between such top-tier families was a rare spectacle for the other smaller and medium-sized families. Whether they came to enjoy the excitement or to learn from the combatants, a trip there would certainly be worthwhile.

The Chu and Yuan families arrived the earliest. After all, both sets of participants needed to familiarize themselves with the venue beforehand. Of course, for someone like Zu An, who was just there to make up the numbers, everyone thought it didn’t matter whether he arrived early or not.

Zu An clearly had no sense of being a participant. He didn’t bother to familiarize himself with the venue at all. Instead, he sat in his seat, looking around curiously as if everything was new to him.

Qin Wanru took in his reaction. Her brow immediately furrowed. However, it wasn’t appropriate to reprimand him in front of everyone, so she just quietly snorted.

Today was the first time Zu An had met the two sons from the second and third branches. Chu Hongcai, from the second branch, was quite handsome. His face showed none of his father’s gloominess; instead, there was a sense of aloof pride. It was clear that he was a very proud person at heart.

He heard that Chu Hongcai used to be quite high-spirited. However, on the way from the Chu family estate to the drill ground today, he seemed quiet and reserved. Zu An wondered if it was because he was still blaming himself for the incident where the spiritual spring was contaminated.

Chu Yucheng, from the third branch, was a chubby, adorable boy. With his squinting eyes and plump figure, it was clear at first glance that he was Chu Yuepo’s biological son.

Comparatively, he was much more amicable. He even approached Zu An to chat a few times during the journey.

After some interaction, Zu An thought to himself that these two young men from the second and third branches, the next generation, seemed much more pleasant than their fathers. The memory of Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo’s sarcastic and spiteful remarks directed at him in the ancestral hall was still vivid in his mind.

‘Hmm, could this chubby boy be even more cunning than his father, seemingly kind but actually just as insidious?’

Zu An secretly felt a surge of vigilance. He subconsciously glanced at the two men from the second and third branches. Chu Yuepo was chatting with someone next to him, while Chu Tiesheng’s gaze was fixed on…

‘Huh, it looked like he was staring at Qin Wanru’s back?’

To make an appearance at such an event today, Qin Wanru had clearly dressed up meticulously. Her expensive hair accessories further enhanced her noble elegance, and her silken gown perfectly accentuated her graceful figure.

‘Sigh, why didn’t that girl, Chu Huanzhao, inherit her mother’s ample genes?’

As if noticing his gaze, Qin Wanru turned around. She gave him a sharp look.

Rage points from Qin Wanru +69!

Zu An felt a wave of depression. He thought, ‘I wasn’t the one looking at you, why are you getting angry at me?’

When he looked at Chu Tiesheng again, he saw him chatting cheerfully with the person next to him. This made Zu An wonder if he had imagined it earlier.

“Patriarch Wang of the Wang family has arrived!”

Zu An looked in the direction of the voice. He saw a thin middle-aged man leading a group of people into the drill ground.

He had heard that Brightmoon City had four major wealthy merchant families: the Chu family, the Yuan family, the Zheng family, and the Wang family. This was the first time he had seen anyone from the Wang family.

He saw Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru smilingly stand up to greet them. Soon, both parties were chatting happily there?

Zu An was stunned. He couldn’t help but ask Chu Huanzhao, who was beside him, “What’s the background of this Wang family that your father has to personally greet them?”

If Zu An was the first one just there to make up the numbers, then Chu Huanzhao was the second. She clearly had no interest in familiarizing herself with the venue, nor was she nervous about the upcoming great battle. Instead, she was excitedly looking around.

Hearing his question, she replied, “They don’t seem to have any special background; I only know that the Wang family has a good relationship with ours.”

Chu Chuyan, who had been resting with her eyes closed nearby, slowly opened them. “The Wang family mainly deals in bulk grain, and they also operate the largest restaurant in Brightmoon City. The reason they have such a good relationship with our Chu family is because we have extensive business dealings. Our Chu family sells salt, which requires salt permits from the imperial court. The court issues these salt permit quotas based on how much grain salt merchants transport to the border. Our Chu family cannot do all this ourselves; we need the Wang family to help transport the grain to obtain the salt permits. That’s why Father and Mother value them so much. Xiao Zhao, you shouldn’t be so playful all day; you don’t even know these basic family matters.”

Chu Huanzhao stuck out her tongue. She hugged her sister’s arm and whined playfully, “But I have you, Sister, don’t I?”

Chu Chuyan looked at her sister fondly. She shook her head helplessly.

Zu An couldn’t help but secretly disdain her. ‘So my sister-in-law is also a good-for-nothing.’ He paused. ‘Huh, why did I use ‘also’?’

“Patriarch Zheng of the Zheng family has arrived!”

Compared to the Wang family, Chu Zhongtian was less enthusiastic towards the Zheng family. Both sides merely nodded slightly from a distance. Zheng Yutang, the Zheng family patriarch, also implicitly walked towards the Yuan family’s area. He quickly engaged in lively conversation with the Yuan family members.

Zu An observed that Zheng Yutang was elegant and handsome. Even in middle age, he exuded a unique charm. No wonder he could have such a beautiful daughter as Zheng Dan.

He suddenly noticed a woman in a classical cheongsam from the Zheng family’s group looking at him. She had a slight smile on her lips and gave a small nod. Who else could it be but Zheng Dan?

Zu An winked at her. He gave her a look only they would understand. Zheng Dan’s face flushed slightly, and she quickly turned her head away.

“Sister, sister, this guy is flirting with Zheng Dan!” Chu Huanzhao, who was beside him, suddenly exclaimed.

“I’m not, I didn’t, don’t talk nonsense!” Caught red-handed in front of his wife, Zu An still felt a little guilty and instinctively denied it.

“I clearly saw it! You even gave him a flirtatious look!” Chu Huanzhao’s little face turned beet red with anger.

Chu Chuyan frowned slightly. “Lower your voice. What will people think if they hear you?” Fortunately, the drill ground was quite noisy, so no one noticed the commotion on their side.

After speaking, she turned back and looked at Zu An. Her eyes were as calm as a mountain lake. “Are you very familiar with Zheng Dan?”

For some reason, under her clear, limpid gaze, Zu An felt inexplicably guilty. “Not really that familiar. I just happened to save her once before.” He briefly described their relationship, naturally omitting what had happened in the academy dormitory.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m not blaming you,” Chu Chuyan said with a slight smile. “If you can truly capture Zheng Dan’s heart and mind, and draw the Zheng family to our side, I’d be overjoyed.”

Zu An blinked. He wondered if this woman was intentionally setting a trap for him.

“Sister!” Chu Huanzhao, standing nearby, immediately became displeased. “What kind of attitude is that? She’s not even as worried as I am!”

Chu Chuyan, however, murmured to herself, “It’s a pity that Zheng Dan is already engaged to Sang Qian. If we were to truly take her, it would mean an unending vendetta with the Sang family, which isn’t worth it…”

Zu An was instantly flustered. So she was actually considering the feasibility of it.

“Principal Jiang of Brightmoon Academy has arrived!”

Upon hearing that name, everyone, both from the Chu family and the Yuan family, stopped their conversations and went to greet her. Evidently, the identity of Brightmoon Academy’s principal warranted such respectful treatment from them.

Soon, sounds of gulping could be heard around them:

“Wow, those legs, I’m going to lose it! I’m going to lose it!”

“Where did she buy those stockings? I’m going to get a pair for my wife when I go back.”

“Does your old hag of a wife even compare to Principal Jiang?”

“Worst case, I’ll just cover her face. With stockings, it’ll be enough for my imagination.”

“Are you trying to die? How dare you gossip about Principal Jiang like that behind her back!”

However, Zu An spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. Ji Dengtu was sneakily hiding in the crowd. ‘With that lecherous aura of yours, do you think I wouldn’t recognize you just because you’re wearing a hat?’

That lecher was indeed taking the opportunity to look at beautiful women. ‘Huh, but why wasn’t he looking at Principal Jiang?’