Chapter 1593: Old Friends Reunite

The leader from Prince Yan’s manor was Chancellor Sun Xun. When Zu An and Sang Hong traveled to Yunzhong Commandery, they passed through Yi Commandery. While at the Carefree Pavilion, a conflict arose with Sun Xun’s son, Sun Ji. Because identities were kept confidential at the pavilion, Sun Ji did not know Zu An was an imperial envoy. Relying on his local influence, he intended to rob and kill Zu An for profit.

However, things did not go as planned. They encountered an evil master who double-crossed them, resulting in the massacre of Sun Ji and his group.

Afterward, Sun Xun was shocked and enraged. Based on the conflict at Carefree Pavilion, he suspected Zu An. Fortunately, Zu An cleverly investigated and found the true culprit, which prevented a direct confrontation between them.

Although Sun Xun outwardly accepted this outcome, no one knew what he truly thought. After all, his son had clashed with Zu An first and intended to harm him, which then allowed the evil master to take advantage of the situation. A narrow-minded person could easily blame Zu An, and the fact that they could raise such an eccentric fop like Sun Ji spoke volumes about their family’s values.

At this moment, Sun Xun and his retinue arrived. They dismounted and saluted Zu An and the generals. “I, Sun, represent Prince Yan in welcoming Lord Zu and all the generals!”

“Prince Yan is too kind!” Zu An cupped his hands in a polite return gesture. Internally, he marveled that Sun Xun showed no trace of anger, indicating how deep his cunning ran.

Then, Prefect Zhang Jie, standing nearby, suddenly spoke with a forced smile, “Lord Zu and his party are here for the Emperor’s Fengshan ceremony. For Prince Yan to only send you and not appear himself, isn’t that a bit of a slight?”

Although Prince Yan held high status, Zu An was in charge of a major event like the Fengshan ceremony and was accompanied by the Feathered Forest Army, the Emperor’s personal guards. To a certain extent, he represented the Emperor. According to protocol, Prince Yan should have greeted them in person.

As soon as these words were uttered, the atmosphere grew awkward. Zu An had not expected the conflict between the local officials of Yi Commandery and Prince Yan to be so openly displayed. When he had passed through on his way to Yunzhong Commandery previously, he hadn't deeply interacted with Yi Commandery’s official circles and thus hadn’t realized this.

Sun Xun calmly replied, “His Highness naturally intended to greet Lord Zu personally, but a distinguished guest happened to arrive at the manor, making it impossible for him to leave. Therefore, he specially sent me to welcome you. Additionally, His Highness has prepared a welcoming banquet at the manor and invites all lords to attend.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang couldn't help but frown. “What distinguished guest?” This clearly implied that the guest was more important than Zu An’s party. What could be more humiliating than that?

Prefect Zhang Jie and his group wore various expressions, many watching for entertainment, eager for the two sides to clash on the spot. They had heard that Zu An was a hothead who didn’t even give Prince Qi face and had once broken the leg of Prince Qi’s heir. They anticipated a good show today.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Zu An smiled slightly and said, “Then, I’ll trouble Lord Sun to lead the way.” He was already looking for an opportunity to investigate Mr. Huo, the guest advisor at Prince Yan's manor. He wouldn't let such a good chance slip by.

The officials of Yi Commandery, unaware of this, widened their eyes. Many immediately felt a hint of disdain. "Who said this guy was bold? I think he's just a coward." "Those wild rumors are probably false, likely spread by the Crown Prince's faction to discredit Prince Qi..."

While they all had various thoughts, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang had different ideas. They believed Lord Zu must have his reasons for acting this way. Having witnessed Zu An’s extraordinary actions, they now admired him immensely.

Sun Xun was also startled; he hadn't expected Zu An to be so amenable. A hint of contempt arose in him: "He's just a newcomer, how dare he put on airs in front of Prince Yan?" At the same time, he felt annoyed. He had deliberately said those things to provoke Zu An, hoping for an irrational reaction that he could then exploit. Yi Commandery was Prince Yan's and his own territory; no one could act presumptuously there unless the Emperor himself came. Clearly, he hadn't fully overcome the pain of losing his son. He had intended to use these opportunities to retaliate against Zu An, but the other party completely refused to engage.

“This way, everyone, please!” With the officials of Yi Commandery watching, he had no choice but to lead everyone towards Prince Yan’s manor in the city. At least he had publicly diminished Zu’s prestige today, which was a good gain. There would be plenty of time later to find other opportunities.

Prefect Zhang Jie hesitated for a moment, then decided to follow. He had originally wanted to use the imperial envoys to challenge Prince Yan, but now that the imperial envoy was being conciliatory, there was no point in him persisting alone. He decided to just deal with the current assignment for now. Public relations still needed to be managed. If the conflict with Prince Yan escalated too much and reached the court, who knew what new troubles might arise. Seeing him agree, the other Yi Commandery officials naturally followed.

However, the Feathered Forest Army was too large to all enter the city. Commander Yang Sheng was in charge of taking them to a nearby camp to set up quarters. Wang Bolin volunteered to stay behind. After all, military regulations stated that not all three high-ranking officers could be absent from the army, to avoid disorganization if something happened.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Zu An said, patting Wang Bolin’s shoulder in encouragement.

Wang Bolin proudly puffed out his chest, subtly glancing at Zhang Zijiang. "You're good at flattery, but I'm better at getting things done. Lord Zu is so wise and valiant, he'll surely know who's reliable." Feeling his challenging gaze, Zhang Zijiang secretly sneered, "Idiot!"

Yi Commandery was indeed a large city, no less grand than Brightmoon City. The city was extremely prosperous and lively. Besides local residents, merchants from all over the world could be seen, and cultivators were everywhere. However, many people still gathered to watch Zu An’s large procession along the way.

“Who has such influence that both Prince Yan’s manor and the Prefectural office are greeting them?”

“That person is so young yet holds such high status. Is he a prince?”

“Oh, he’s so handsome! If I pretended to accidentally fall in front of his horse, would it lead to a story like those in novels, where a domineering prince falls in love with me?”

At this moment, two elegant figures in a distant inn were also startled, simultaneously putting down their teacups. “Why is he here too?”

One of the two women was young and lively, the other mature and dignified, but both possessed captivating beauty.

“Master, this is truly destiny! I’m going to find him!” the younger girl said excitedly.

The mature woman’s expression became unnatural. “Have you forgotten our identities? We can’t be seen publicly. How can you approach him with so many officials around him?”

“Worst case, I’ll go at night,” the girl said dismissively.

Then the mature woman snorted. “To watch him display affection with the woman next to him?”

The young girl froze, then noticed Xie Daoyun next to Zu An. The two were talking and laughing, appearing extremely intimate.

“Ahhh, I’m so mad!” the girl instantly became frantic.

He took a deep breath of fresh air, his chest trembling slightly.

Confusion, bewilderment—various emotions surged into his heart.

Where was this?

Then, Shi Yu subconsciously looked around and became even more confused.

A single dorm room?

Even if he had been successfully rescued, he should be in a hospital room now.

And his body... why wasn't there a single injury?

With doubt, Shi Yu’s gaze quickly swept across the room, finally resting on a mirror by the bedside. The mirror showed his current appearance: around seventeen or eighteen years old, very handsome.

But the problem was, this wasn't him!

His former self was a handsome young man in his twenties with an extraordinary bearing, who had been working for some time. But now, this appearance looked like that of a high school student...

This change made Shi Yu stare blankly for a long time.

Please don’t tell him the surgery was successful... His body and appearance had changed; this wasn’t a matter of surgery at all, but rather immortal arts. He had completely become another person!

Could it be... that he had transmigrated?

Besides the mirror by the bed, whose placement was clearly bad feng shui, Shi Yu also found three books nearby. Shi Yu picked them up and looked. The titles instantly silenced him.

"Beginner Breeder’s Essential Beast Rearing Handbook""Care for Pet Beasts After Childbirth""Guide to Appraising Beast-Eared Girls of Different Races"

Shi Yu: ???

The first two book titles seemed normal, but what was up with the last one?

“Cough.”

Shi Yu’s gaze hardened, and he reached out, but his arm quickly stiffened. Just as he was about to open the third book to see what it was, his brain suddenly throbbed with a sharp pain. A flood of memories surged into his mind.

Icefield City.Pet Beast Breeding Base.Intern Pet Beast Breeder.Beast Master?