Chapter 110: Bland and Tasteless

Ji Dengtu furtively looked around, his face turning into a lecherous grin every time he spotted a beautiful woman. His expression reminded Zu An of Mori Kogoro from his previous life.

After observing him for a while, Zu An noticed that Ji Dengtu focused mostly on mature women, including the wives of various family heads, none of whom escaped his gaze. Naturally, the person he stared at the longest was Qin Wanru, practically bug-eyed.

Zu An felt a pang of discomfort. Should he secretly tell his father-in-law? If he didn't, Chu Zhongtian had been kind to him, and he'd feel guilty if Chu Zhongtian were to be cuckolded. But if he did tell, Ji Dengtu hadn't actually done anything wrong; a mere look wouldn't cause any harm. Moreover, Zu An's future happiness depended on Ji Dengtu, so offending him now would be unwise.

On the other hand, given how lustful Ji Dengtu was, why didn't he look at Principal Jiang? Even disregarding her peerless beauty, her legs alone were enough to drive any man wild. Even a young kid like Wei Suo was hopelessly obsessed, yet Ji Dengtu seemed to ignore her completely.

It was also strange that his previous demands mentioned four women—Yu Yanluo, Shang Liuyu, Qiu Honglei, and Qin Wanru—but conspicuously left out Principal Jiang. This didn't make sense, especially since Shang Liuyu was also from the academy, so he couldn't be unaware of Principal Jiang's existence.

There had to be a reason for this.

"With Principal Jiang as a referee, the fairness of this grand competition is certainly guaranteed," Chu Zhongtian and others said as they greeted Principal Jiang. Jiang Luofu was as cold and stunning as ever, but this group of men found her captivating, their eyes filled with eagerness, some even unable to resist glancing at her legs from the corner of their eyes. Of course, this group's conduct was far better than others around them; after all, they were all prominent figures. Everyone else in the training ground looked as if they wanted to drill their eyes straight under her skirt.

Among this group, Chu Zhongtian was the only one whose gaze was clear, devoid of any desire, which made Jiang Luofu quite favorably disposed towards his gentlemanly conduct. "You flatter me," she said. "The Chu and Yuan families have many students in the academy, and I'm merely doing my part."

While the group exchanged pleasantries, Zu An secretly mused, "It seems he's still strictly under his wife's thumb." With Qin Wanru watching nearby, his father-in-law likely didn't dare show any unusual behavior.

Zu An thought his father-in-law should learn a thing or two about managing his wife from him, considering Chu Chuyan had already declared she didn't mind him seeking other women.

Of course, if Chu Zhongtian knew how he "bullied" his daughter like this, Zu An would probably get a good beating.

"The City Lord has arrived!"

A procession entered through the training ground's gate. Leading them was a slightly plump middle-aged man. Although a hint of a potbelly was visible, he still exuded an elegant and dashing air, suggesting he must have been a dashing handsome man in his youth. This was likely Xie Yi, the City Lord of Mingyue City.

Xie Xiu, with his effeminate appearance, followed behind him, a faint, almost imperceptible smile perpetually gracing his lips. This caused women passing by to gasp in admiration, their eyes sparkling.

Zu An immediately felt a pang of jealousy. In terms of looks, Xie Xiu was no less handsome than him, so why didn't Zu An receive such treatment wherever he went? Could it be that his usual uninhibited behavior overshadowed his true charm?

Bah! These women only cared about superficial appearances, not his interesting soul.

Superficial!

Oh, who was that beauty next to Xie Xiu? A new girlfriend? This guy certainly had a lot of luck with women, always surrounded by different ones, each stunningly beautiful. And today's companion was even more gorgeous than all the previous ones.

She had willow-leaf eyebrows, an oval face, and skin as luminous as snow. Dressed in a light green tunic, her figure appeared even more slender and graceful. A thin belt cinched her delicate waist, making it seem impossibly small and her whole posture light and ethereal.

In terms of looks and demeanor, she was no less striking than Zheng Dan and Wu Qing, whom he had seen before. Unlike Wu Qing's fiery allure or Zheng Dan's classical charm, her beauty was as gentle and refined as jade. Her whole being seemed imbued with an innate elegant temperament; standing there, she was as serene and natural as a wild orchid in an empty valley, seemingly detached from the world.

*A scholarly mind brings out natural grace!*

For some reason, these words suddenly popped into Zu An's mind.

After observing for a moment, he noticed that the woman bore a slight resemblance to Xie Xiu in her features. Just as he was wondering, Chu Huanzhao's annoyed voice reached his ears: "Lewd brother-in-law, looking at beauties again."

Zu An turned around to see Chu Huanzhao glaring at him indignantly. He couldn't help but chuckle, "You say I'm lewd, aren't you just as lewd?"

"How am I lewd?" Chu Huanzhao asked, looking puzzled.

Zu An replied, "What's the difference between you staring at your handsome brother-in-law's face and me looking at other women?" Chu Chuyan had just gotten up to accompany her father in greeting the various important figures; after all, she was now considered half a spokesperson for the Chu family, and often had to make appearances.

That's why he could joke so casually without much concern.

"Who was staring at you?" Chu Huanzhao's face flushed, and she wished she could run up and bite him fiercely.

"If you weren't staring at me, how would you know I was looking at someone else?" Zu An asked, his expression a playful smile.

"I..." Chu Huanzhao was speechless for a moment, but she was quick to react, immediately finding an excuse. "I just wanted to remind you that the grand competition is coming soon, and you need to calm your mind and not look around."

Seeing his sister-in-law's face turn as red as an apple, Zu An couldn't bear to tease her further. "Alright, alright, I get it. By the way, who's that woman next to Xie Xiu?"

"She's Xie Xiu's older sister, Xie Daoyun, the foremost talented woman in Mingyue City," Chu Huanzhao grumbled. "Hmph, instead of cultivating properly, she spends all day studying music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She's not doing anything productive."

Zu An was amused. "You have the nerve to criticize others? You, who are 'productive' all day, tell me, is your cultivation higher than hers, or is your scholarship better?"

Chu Huanzhao immediately got angry. "If you keep this up, I'm cutting ties with you!"

Zu An chuckled, about to say something, when suddenly a sweet, charming laugh rang out. "It seems many interesting things have happened since I've been away."

A refreshing, delicate fragrance wafted towards him. Zu An turned around and saw a graceful, captivating figure standing before him. With those amorous peach-blossom eyes and that proud, "evil" pair of breasts, who else could it be but Pei Mianman?

"Sister Pei," Chu Huanzhao greeted her with a bow. The woman had a good relationship with the Chu family and was Chu Chuyan's close friend, so they were naturally acquainted.

Pei Mianman smiled, pursing her lips. "Haven't seen you in a few days, and Xiao Zhao's words have gotten sweeter." She then sat down next to Chu Huanzhao and started chatting with her.

Chu Huanzhao's gaze fell on the generous curves of Pei Mianman's chest, then she subtly glanced down at her own modest chest, her lips unconsciously pouting. She responded weakly, "Sister Pei, why haven't I seen you these past few days?"

"I was out of town for a few days on some business."

"Oh, my sister is just like you, always acting like a busy person."

Seeing Pei Mianman pretending not to know him from start to finish, Zu An thought, *Women, truly natural actresses.*

However, smelling the subtle fragrance on the young woman and seeing her graceful, voluptuous curves so close was quite a pleasant experience.

"You promised to help me find the ledger. Have you found any leads?"

Zu An was originally enjoying the visual feast when he was suddenly startled by Pei Mianman's voice. He looked carefully and found that she was still facing away from him, seemingly engrossed in a pleasant conversation with Chu Huanzhao.

*This woman is cunning. Flirting with her brother-in-law right in front of his sister-in-law?*

Zu An couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"I'm asking you a question, why aren't you answering?"

Zu An knew this was elemental energy transmission, but he didn't know how to do it. If he spoke aloud, wouldn't he be exposed?

He had no choice but to stretch out a finger and write on her back: "You also promised to help me pursue Chu Chuyan. Have you found any leads?" He had been swamped with various matters lately and had no energy to help this woman search for any ledger.

When his finger touched her back, Pei Mianman suddenly stiffened. A faint black flame flickered around her body. Only when she realized he was writing on her back did the black flame gradually dissipate.

"You can't do elemental energy transmission?" Pei Mianman asked, a little surprised. After all, that night they had truly fought seriously; without using her elemental abilities, she couldn't even subdue him. With such cultivation, how could he not know elemental energy transmission? Or was this brat deliberately trying to take advantage of her?

Thinking this, her expression turned cold. Though she was still smiling at Chu Huanzhao, a hint of killing intent flickered deep in her eyes.

Rage points from Pei Mianman +399!

Zu An, being sharp, guessed her thoughts and immediately explained, "I'm a self-taught practitioner. My cultivation methods aren't systematic, so I haven't learned that."

Pei Mianman couldn't help but squirm; his fingers were tickling her too much.

Hearing his words and recalling his earlier reputation, she grudgingly accepted his explanation. "Don't touch me again. I'll teach you the method for elemental energy transmission."

"Sister Pei, what's wrong?" Noticing her unnatural fidgeting, Chu Huanzhao asked curiously.

"Nothing, just a sudden itch on my back." Pei Mianman's face flushed. She thought, *Good thing this naive little sister is here. If it were Chu Chuyan, I definitely wouldn't be able to hide it from her discerning eyes.*

*Hmm, doing this with her husband right in front of Chu Chuyan would be quite stimulating.*

*What a pity, this guy isn't Chu Chuyan's actual husband, which makes it a bit dull.*

And so, while chatting with Chu Huanzhao, Pei Mianman taught Zu An the method of elemental energy transmission. The two quickly began communicating:

"You help me find information about the ledger first, and then I'll help you pursue Chu Chuyan."

"You help me win over Chu Chuyan first, and then I'll help you investigate the ledger."

"Are you testing my patience?"

"Tsk, at worst, I'll tell the Chu family, and we'll both go our separate ways."

As the two reached an impasse, another commotion arose at the training ground's entrance:

"The Administrator has arrived!"

"Lord Yangquan has arrived!"

"Young Master Shi has arrived!"

This time, even Chu Huanzhao looked over, muttering as she watched, "That Sang Hong was originally the Grand Administrator of Agriculture, specifically managing salt and iron. But this time, he's been sent to Linchuan Commandery as the Administrator. Our family's main business is salt and iron, so it's clear they're coming for us."

"And Lord Yangquan, that woman Wu Qing's father, has always been at odds with us."

"The Shi family isn't on our side either. It looks like they've openly united."

Pei Mianman, standing nearby, wore a half-smile. For her, this situation couldn't be more perfect.