Chapter 1230: Straight Man's Troubles

The women immediately grew wary. Was this an attempt to separate them?

The palace maid arranged for Zu'an to stay in an outer court wing room. Many officials worked there during the day, and sometimes, for special circumstances requiring overnight duty, wing rooms were prepared for emergencies, though they were rarely used on normal days.

Yu Yanluo and the other women naturally didn't want to be separated from him and suggested staying close by.

However, the palace maid said that housing them in outer court wing rooms would make it seem like the Qingqiu Kingdom was neglecting esteemed guests, and other tribes would mock Qingqiu if word got out.

Since the matter had been elevated to a point of national dignity, Yu Yanluo naturally found it difficult to object, though some concerns remained on everyone's faces.

Fortunately, Tu Shan-yu was understanding and arranged for the women to stay as close to Zu'an as possible, which they reluctantly accepted.

During a free moment, Yu Yanluo instructed Zu'an, "You must be careful tonight."

Zu'an chuckled, "What does a grown man like me need to be careful of? It's you all who have injuries; you need to be especially careful."

"Who says men don't need to be careful? Legends say fox spirits can drain a man's essence. Considering the divination from that chubby Taoist priest earlier, you absolutely must not let your guard down," Yan Xuehen couldn't help but remind him when she saw his indifferent reaction.

The other two women immediately looked at her in surprise. Yun Jianyue chuckled, "Well, well, our Ice Stone Maiden actually cares about someone now, and a man at that?"

Yan Xuehen's cheeks flushed slightly, but she quickly retorted, "Companions naturally help each other. Do you think everyone is like you demon cult members, always fighting among yourselves?"

Yun Jianyue was about to argue with her but swallowed her words when she saw Tu Shan-yu approaching. Instead, she quickly said, "These are our Sacred Sect's signal arrows. Release them if anything unexpected happens, and everyone should gather as quickly as possible."

Since they were on someone else's territory, they couldn't afford to be unprepared. She distributed a few signal arrows to each person and quickly demonstrated how to use them.

Afterward, Tu Shan-yu personally escorted Yu Yanluo and the others into the inner palace.

Zu'an, meanwhile, was led by another palace maid to the outer court.

Along the way, the fox maidens were quite curious about Zu'an and tried to strike up conversations with him.

However, Zu'an was not in the mood for romantic encounters and responded indifferently.

Seeing his lack of interest, the fox maidens lost their enthusiasm. After leading him to his destination, they cautioned, "This is an important area of the palace. Don't wander out at night, or you might accidentally offend someone important."

Zu'an chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't step outside my door."

To avoid any potential romantic troubles, he had no intention of going out even if the fox maidens had encouraged it. He just planned to get a good night's sleep and leave safely the next day.

"Men should be like this, not showing their faces everywhere," the fox maidens said with satisfaction, nodding before leaving.

Zu'an merely smiled without debating, observing the room's arrangements. It was much better than he expected; though not spacious, it was commendably tidy.

After washing up, he sat on the bed to meditate and cultivate.

Although outsiders might think he spent all his time pursuing women, he actually cultivated whenever he had free time. Relying solely on external aid would only make him a hothouse flower, unable to withstand the test of blood and fire.

Time passed without him realizing it. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Zu'an opened his eyes.

"Young Master Zu, it's me." A soft, pleasant voice responded from outside.

Zu'an's expression changed, as he had already sensed the identity of the person through his spirit perception: Tu Shan-yu, the Qingqiu Kingdom Lord.

He was very surprised. After all, from beginning to end, she hadn't even given him a direct glance before, and their conversations never exceeded three sentences. Her indifferent gaze had made it seem as if he were invisible. So why was she suddenly coming to find him in the middle of the night?

Zu'an replied, "It's late. A man and woman meeting privately at this hour would harm my reputation. Let's discuss whatever it is tomorrow morning."

Outside the door, Tu Shan-yu's smile instantly froze on her face.

She had come with great enthusiasm, expecting Zu'an to be surprised and excited upon seeing her. Instead, she was met with a slammed door?

With her beauty and status, she had been adored everywhere she went for years. When had she ever been rejected like this?

Rage points from Tu Shan-yu: 377377377...

However, the anger on her face vanished in an instant. She quickly composed herself and spoke in a gentle voice, "Sister Yu mentioned you needed Qinghuo flowers. I just found some in storage and thought you might need them urgently, so I brought them over to you first."

Zu'an paused. Since it concerned Qinghuo flowers, he naturally couldn't refuse to see her.

He went to open the door and found Tu Shan-yu standing delicately at the entrance.

Compared to earlier in the day, she had changed into a softer, more casual outfit. The asymmetrical neckline revealed her exquisite, fair collarbone and delicate, shimmering shoulders.

Although a good deal of her skin was exposed, her personal demeanor and well-matched attire ensured there was no hint of alluring vulgarity. Instead, she appeared pure with an added touch of agility and vibrancy.

However, such an outfit was enough for a man to glance at and have the image of her fair, delicate collarbone and shoulders constantly linger in his mind. Even though only a small part was revealed, it sparked endless imagination.

Zu'an felt a touch of nostalgia. Back in his previous life, the streets were full of beautiful young women dressed like this. Although this world's customs were open, it was only in comparison to ancient times in his past life. Compared to the flashy attire of modern city women, the imagination here was still somewhat limited.

Not to mention the minor revealing of shoulders, he had even seen clothes that were completely transparent, only covering the three most vital points, making it seem as if the wearer was almost naked.

Crucially, those clothes were designed with such elegance that they didn't convey any sense of lewdness.

Tu Shan-yu was ready to receive an admiring gaze. She was certain Zu'an would either stare continuously or pretend not to look while secretly glancing from the corner of his eye. She had long seen through all these male tricks.

To her surprise, he merely glanced at her before casually looking away. She could tell his gaze wasn't feigned. What's more, his expression seemed to carry a hint of looking at a village girl?

In that instant, she began to doubt her own existence.

Could it be that Medusa was too beautiful, and his long association with her had raised his standards?

Thinking this made her feel even worse. Didn't it prove that she was far inferior to Medusa?

Just then, Zu'an noticed the bouquet of Qinghuo flowers she held in her arms and instinctively took them. "Thank you, Qingqiu Kingdom Lord!"

With a bang, the door closed again.

Tu Shan-yu: "???"

Rage points from Tu Shan-yu: 444444444...

As soon as Zu'an entered the room, loud knocks began pounding on the door.

"Anything else?" Zu'an asked, confused.

Hearing the disdain in his voice, Tu Shan-yu gritted her teeth. "I gave you something so valuable, and you have no other reaction?"

"Didn't I just thank you?" Zu'an was getting annoyed. He wanted to help Daji break through to Rank 7 immediately, but this woman kept pestering him.

Tu Shan-yu: "..."

Rage points from Tu Shan-yu: 233233233...

She took a deep breath, barely suppressing the urge to explode. "Is 'thank you' all you have to say? Young Master, you're quite stingy. At least invite me in for a cup of tea, won't you?"