Chapter 1246: Hit the Mark by Accident

Zu An was so furious with the fatty, he could have killed him. He had just managed to downplay that topic, and now, merely by running into him, it was brought up again?

He said coldly, "What 'good fortune in romance' or 'romantic calamity'? Your predictions were completely off. It's a miracle I didn't demand compensation from you, and you still have the nerve to gloat here."

Yu Yanluo nodded discreetly. For the past few days, Zu An had indeed stayed indoors, a model of male virtue, so where could he possibly have had any romantic encounters?

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue, however, thought differently. They had personally witnessed Zu An and Yu Yanluo secretly meeting late at night.

However, since they were already a couple, if that counted as a romantic encounter, it would be a bit far-fetched.

Wu Liang exclaimed in surprise, "That's not right, how could I have miscalculated?"

As he said this, he began to make calculations with his fingers again. Zu An felt his scalp prickle and quickly changed the subject: "Fatty, what were you just selling?"

Hearing him mention this, Wu Liang's eyes lit up immediately. "Young Master, would you like to buy one? This is a treasure map I acquired through great hardship. It contains priceless treasures that can change a person's destiny! I'll sell it to you for only 100 taels of silver. Where else in the world can you find such a good deal? If you miss it, it's gone forever."

Zu An was speechless. "But I clearly just heard you selling it to them for ten taels of silver. Now you're turning around and selling it to me for 100 taels?"

The women beside him also looked displeased. This guy was indeed a swindler; was he trying to fleece them like fat sheep?

With this, the credibility of the romantic calamity he had mentioned earlier drastically decreased.

His trick exposed, Wu Liang didn't bat an eye. He said unhurriedly, "Young Master, you don't know. What I sold to them was a copied version, lacking many details and information. This one, however, is the original. Charging you only 100 taels is because you're my old custo... Ptooey! No, it's because you have a special connection with this humble Daoist."

Zu An was amused. He directly grabbed Wu Liang's hand and shouted loudly, "Come over and see! He says the treasure maps he sold to you are shoddy, cut-corner versions!"

As soon as he said this, many people immediately cried out that they had been swindled. Then, seeing the expressions of those around them, they realized he had sold it to more than just one person. A group of furious people rushed towards them, looking as if they wanted to flay him alive.

Wu Liang was scared out of his wits. "Young Master, you've ruined me! Take this original treasure map as a gift!"

With that, he shoved the map into Zu An's hand. His wrist then suddenly became slippery, and he slipped out of Zu An's grip at once, disappearing around the street corner in a flash.

Zu An was a bit stunned. Although he hadn't deliberately used much force when grabbing him, the other party had broken free far too easily.

"It seems to be a very advanced bone-shrinking technique," Yan Xuehen commented from the side. "It's more advanced than any such technique I know of. I wonder which sect he learned it from."

Yun Jianyue said coldly, "Based on my usual temperament, if I were to capture this guy and torture him, everything would become clear."

Zu An shook his head. "We don't know if this guy is an enemy or a friend; there's no need to rashly offend him."

Earlier, he had deliberately exposed the fatty's trick, yet the fatty hadn't shown any anger, clearly indicating he didn't harbor much malice.

Yu Yanluo leaned closer to him. "Let's first see what's up with that map."

Zu An hummed in agreement. He unrolled the map in his hand. Its texture was similar to parchment, but it had clearly undergone special treatment, making it less susceptible to damage from water or fire.

"Oh, this thing indeed looks quite old," Yun Jianyue said, noticing immediately. "Could it be that the guy was telling the truth about it being the original?"

"But if it really is the original," Yan Xuehen asked, quite puzzled, "why would he give us something so precious?"

Zu An thought for a moment and said, "From what we just saw, he sold the treasure map to many people. So there are two possibilities. One is that this treasure map is just a scam, and he just wants to profit from it."

Yu Yanluo shook her head. "Not likely. That person was wearing something that concealed his aura, which even you two couldn't see through, proving he's truly extraordinary. Ten taels of silver per map is a good sum for ordinary people, but even if he sold thousands of them, the income wouldn't mean much to someone like him."

Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue nodded in agreement. Although they were a bit annoyed that Yu Yanluo had claimed him, they still highly acknowledged her judgment. Given the fatty's displayed abilities, acquiring tens of thousands of taels of silver would be effortless for him. Why would he go to such trouble?

Zu An said in a deep voice, "Then it's the second possibility. This treasure map is indeed real, but for some unknown reason, he needs many people to go there and help him."

Yun Jianyue speculated, "Perhaps he can't open the treasure with his own abilities, so he distributed treasure maps everywhere to gather the strength of many to help him. And you, fellow, are clearly extraordinary at first glance, so he naturally wants to find a way to lure you there too."

Zu An laughed. "I'm just an ordinary guy; where do I look extraordinary? He probably saw you three celestial beauties with me, and that's why he thought highly of me."

"You rascal, always so glib-tongued," the women playfully scolded him. But being praised by him in various ways, each of them still couldn't hide their happiness. The strange atmosphere that had been between them earlier finally disappeared.

After joking around for a while, the group began to study the map.

Although Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue were exceptionally intelligent, they didn't know much about the Beast Tribe's information. Staring at the lines for a long time, it was difficult for them to discern anything.

Although Yu Yanluo was the Snake Tribe's leader, she primarily held a human identity and mostly lived in the human world. While she knew a bit more about the Beast Tribe than Yan and Yun, it wasn't by much.

Zu An, however, stared intently at the map. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "I think I know this place! It's about eight hundred li from here, in that direction." After speaking, he roughly pointed.

The women blinked. "How can you tell?"

Zu An's expression stiffened. This was because last night, while he was "cloud-quaking" with Tu Shan-yu in the sky, they happened to pass over that area. At the time, as he observed the magnificent and imposing mountains of the Beast Tribe below, he was also conquering the famous beauty of the Beast Tribe, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment, leaving a deep impression.

Of course, those mountain ranges were indeed very unique, which allowed him to quickly match them with the map.

Who knew that philandering could actually help with serious matters?

But how was he to explain this to the women?

He couldn't possibly explain that he discovered it while engaging in a "binding exercise" with Tu Shan-yu in the sky, could he?

"Cough, cough," Zu An explained, "I was testing out the Wind-Fire Wheels earlier and discovered it while flying in the sky."

"Wind-Fire Wheels?" The other three women were indeed drawn by this.

"Oh, haven't I told you yet?" Zu An feigned surprise and said, "This was the life-saving payment from Chi Wen earlier..."

He then briefly recounted the entire process.

After listening, the women's expressions immediately became very interesting. Yun Jianyue, having fewer reservations, directly said, "You really know how to live off women!"

After saying that, she glanced at Yu Yanluo, making her blush deeply. Yu Yanluo thought, "Why are you looking at me? Don't you all let him do the same?"

Next, the group headed in the direction indicated on the map. Although it was eight hundred li, it wasn't too far a distance for them.

As they were about to reach their destination, Yan Xuehen's expression became somewhat solemn. "There seem to be more experts from various tribes around," she observed, "and their cultivation levels are higher than those we saw earlier in Qingqiu City."

There were many cultivators of the seventh and eighth ranks here, and even some of the ninth. Crucially, none of them seemed very old. They wondered if there were any senior experts hidden in the shadows.

These people were clearly all here for the same purpose.