Chapter 1133: Tactic to Lure the Tiger Away from Its Mountain

Zu An's expression changed. "Prefect Xu, what are you doing here?"

Seeing Zu An's expression, Xu Yu felt a surge of secret satisfaction. However, being deeply cunning, he forced a tight smile. "Mainly, we received intelligence that some demon remnants might take this opportunity to stir up trouble recently, so I specially brought people to patrol. Duke, you must be careful not to get entangled with any demon remnants."

Although Xu Yu offered constant warnings and feigned concern, both parties clearly understood the true reason for his presence. It was as if he was just short of saying, "We know you're colluding with demons, come with us."

Zu An, however, remained calm. "I have governed Yunzhong for many years, subjugating countless demons. They flee from me; why would they appear by my side?"

"You're quite good at pretending," Xu Yu thought to himself. Aloud, he said, "The Duke is indeed formidable. By the way, we need to conduct a routine inspection. I hope the Duke doesn't mind."

"Hmph, let's see how you'll deal with this later!"

As he spoke, he gave a look, and his already prepared subordinates quickly rushed towards the convoy, intending to inspect the contents of each carriage.

Zu An immediately shouted, "What are you doing?"

The Duke's mansion guards also raised their weapons, creating a tense standoff that could erupt at any moment.

Xu Yu chuckled. "Duke, please don't misunderstand. To prevent demons from harming the populace, all carriages entering and leaving the city must undergo strict inspection during this period. Whether it's common folk or high-ranking officials, we must set an example, mustn't we?"

Some common people were already observing nearby. Upon hearing this, they began to murmur and stir, as if Zu An refusing the inspection would be an abuse of power and an act of privilege.

Seeing the reaction of the surrounding crowd, Xu Yu smiled faintly. He had deliberately not driven away the people, precisely to achieve this effect.

Taking the opportunity, he approached Zu An and whispered, "Duke, there's no need to worry. We're just performing a perfunctory inspection, just to show the public that we're doing our job."

"I'd believe a ghost before I'd believe you, you devious old man," Zu An thought to himself.

He had to admit, he was increasingly impressed by these figures in officialdom, who could lie through their teeth without revealing a single flaw.

He said coldly, "What if, after your inspection, you don't find what Prefect Xu is looking for?"

Xu Yu stated earnestly, "Duke, you misunderstand. I'm merely conducting a routine patrol. There's nothing specific I'm looking for from you."

Zu An snorted. "Is that so? You seem quite zealous, Prefect Xu."

Xu Yu gave an apologetic smile. "I understand this might cause the Duke some inconvenience. How about this: if there are no issues, I will personally visit your residence afterward to apologize."

Such words were merely for show. Once the snake tribe was discovered, the charges against Jian Yanyou would be enormous. Even if his noble status could save his life, his ducal title would certainly be stripped away. How could he possibly go and apologize to the other party then?

"I hope Prefect Xu doesn't regret this later," Zu An said coldly.

Xu Yu smiled. He didn't reply, instead gesturing with his eyes for his subordinates to proceed. He, meanwhile, secretly prepared for Zu An to suddenly lash out. For days, he had been sending people to investigate and was certain that Zu An was transporting remnants of the snake tribe. Now that he had caught him red-handed, he was worried Zu An might resort to desperate measures, so he secretly clutched an imperial edict, ready to suppress him at any moment.

His subordinates began inspecting the convoy roughly, even occasionally thrusting their weapons into piles of goods.

Zu An frowned. "Is this really necessary? What if the goods are damaged?"

"You're worried the snake tribe members will be stabbed to death, aren't you?" Xu Yu thought. Aloud, he said, "The Duke is right to admonish me. I'll speak to them."

He then walked to the carriages, reprimanding his subordinates for their rough handling, while secretly placing his hand on a carriage and sending a burst of vital energy inside. However, the smile on his face quickly froze. He had detected no living beings inside the carriage.

At that moment, his subordinates also came over to report, subtly signaling with their eyes that they hadn't found anything.

"How is this possible?" Xu Yu was shocked and hurriedly ran to pull back the tarpaulins on several nearby cargo carts. As expected, they contained various kinds of goods, but no members of the snake tribe.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Zu An, who was now staring at him with a faint smile. "Prefect Xu, are you done with your inspection?"

Xu Yu knew he had likely fallen into a trap, but he refused to give up, walking directly towards the largest carriage. Without waiting for anyone to stop him, he directly lifted the curtain.

Two startled gasps came from inside, revealing two beautiful young women looking at him in alarm. Adorned with precious jewelry and possessing beautiful faces, they drew gasps of admiration from the common people watching nearby. Having been in Yunzhong Commandery for so many years, he naturally recognized these two as the Duke of Yunzhong's favorite concubines. He quickly lowered the curtain.

"My apologies for the intrusion. Please forgive me, ladies."

By this time, Zu An had walked over and angrily said, "Prefect Xu, what exactly are you looking for, to act with such a lack of official decorum..." He then took the opportunity to reprimand Xu Yu thoroughly.

Rebuked like a grandson, Xu Yu felt aggrieved but had indeed been caught red-handed and had no way to retort, so he could only apologize repeatedly.

Zu An said coldly, "As Prefect Xu said earlier, you should personally come to apologize at my residence. At that time, I will also invite other officials to witness it."

Xu Yu's face changed, and fury burned within him. *I was investigating you, and now you're cornering me?* Xu Yu's rage flared. But those were his own words just moments ago, and the other party's status was higher than his, leaving him unable to retort.

Zu An continued to mock him for a while longer before getting into his carriage and departing. The surrounding soldiers exchanged glances but found it unsurprising. Prefect Xu had just detained the Duke's concubines and now came to inspect him; it would be strange if the Duke showed him any kindness.

Back in the carriage, Chu Ji and Liu Ji leaned over, their faces filled with worry. "By being so ruthless and infuriating Prefect Xu, what if he keeps hounding us?"

Zu An smiled. "I'm only afraid he *won't* keep hounding us."

Using the jade cong, he observed the situation behind them. Sure enough, Xu Yu and his men were following from a distance, clearly intending to figure out what Zu An was truly up to.

Chu Ji couldn't help but pat her chest. "You startled me; I thought we were exposed just now! Where did you hide them?"

Zu An smiled but remained silent. Of course, they had been sent away through Tang Tian'er. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. The Zhenyuan Merchant Guild was so large; it was impossible that they hadn't prepared any escape routes. They had secret tunnels leading out of the city. This time, transporting the demon race was of great importance, so they dared not take any risks and secretly moved Xing Nu and others out through the tunnels.

However, Xu Yu's investigations had been strict recently. So, Zu An made a big show with numerous convoys, pretending to confuse everyone with the many carriages, and then using one of them to transport the snake tribe out. Xu Yu thought he had seen through Zu An's scheme, but he didn't realize that Zu An merely wanted to attract his attention.

"Where are we going next?" Liu Ji asked curiously.

"You two continue straight, pretending I'm still in the carriage, and stay for a while at the villa in the neighboring commandery," Zu An said, beginning to change his clothes. The big commotion he created was, of course, not just to cover Tang Tian'er's transportation of the snake tribe. It was to use this opportunity to draw the tiger from its mountain and create a perfect chance to rescue Yu Yanluo.

Liu Ji and Chu Ji's faces flushed slightly. Although they had already shared intimacy, they both knew that this man was not the Duke. Both women had their suspicions about his identity, but they always tacitly refrained from asking to see his true face. Only this way could they convince themselves to continue...

Soon, while one of the convoys stopped for supplies, Zu An secretly left the carriage. With such a large convoy and his current cultivation level, no one at all noticed his departure.

He rushed back to Yunzhong City at top speed, arriving at the room where Jiang Luofu had temporarily stayed. The room was empty, with only a specially sealed letter left behind. He took out the token Jiang Luofu had given him earlier and placed it on the talisman symbol on the envelope. After the two perfectly aligned, the envelope dissolved into specks of light, which then converged into a message floating in mid-air:

"I have lured away the drunkard. You have one hour..."