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Chapter 1668: An Hour

"You!" Yan Xuehen glared at him, her chest heaving, her emotions clearly in a tumultuous state.

After a long moment, she took a deep breath. "I told you, I've forgotten about what happened that time."

"Have you really forgotten?" Zu An checked his system backend. Seeing no rage points, the corners of his mouth curved into a slight smile.

"Of course!" Yan Xuehen's face was frosty. She turned and walked away.

Zu An sighed. "If you had really forgotten, you would have drawn your sword and fought me to the death right after that kiss."

Knowing Yan Xuehen's usual temperament, she'd draw her sword if a man so much as touched her hand, let alone kissed her.

Hearing his words, Yan Xuehen nearly stumbled. She turned back, glaring at him. "Are you looking for trouble? Are you not satisfied if I don't kill you?"

Zu An chuckled. "I'm beyond satisfied; I'm thrilled! It proves that I'm still on your mind."

Yan Xuehen took a deep breath, barely managing to calm her agitated emotions. "Don't be so narcissistic. The only reason I'm not killing you is because you're Chu Yan's husband, and I don't want to upset her."

"Alright, alright, I believe you." Zu An grinned as he looked at her. This woman had a unique charm even when she was angry.

Hearing his clearly insincere words, Yan Xuehen almost lost her temper. "What exactly do you want?"

She made up her mind that if he dared utter any more foolish words about "embracing both," she would immediately draw her sword and cut out his tongue.

Zu An dropped his smile and said earnestly, "I know there are many difficulties between us, and I truly don't know how to resolve them. I also don't want to make you unhappy... So, how about you be my girlfriend for one hour? After that, we go our separate ways, and I'll stop bothering you."

"A one-hour girlfriend? What does that mean?" Yan Xuehen frowned slightly. She should have felt relieved hearing him say he wouldn't bother her anymore, but she wasn't as happy as expected.

"It takes about an hour or so to return to Mount Zi from here. During this journey, let's simply be a couple. Once we reach Mount Zi, we'll become complete strangers, and I'll forget everything that happened and stop bothering you," Zu An explained.

Yan Xuehen's heart stirred. If this meant he would stop pursuing her, it didn't seem like a bad deal...

Ultimately, her rationality prevailed. There had to be a clear resolution between them.

Being a couple for just one hour and then sealing that memory could finally bring her peace of mind, freeing her from the anxiety and indecision she had felt before.

She took a deep breath. "Alright, but you're not allowed to do anything strange!"

"Of course, couples do couple things," Zu An said. Seeing her face flush, he quickly added, "But it certainly won't be what you're imagining. After all, we'll be flying back."

As he spoke, a memory from Qingqiu Kingdom flashed through his mind—it wasn't impossible in the sky, and that Fox Queen had indeed been quite alluring...

"I get the feeling your smile is mischievous," Yan Xuehen frowned slightly. However, she reasoned that since they would be flying, he wouldn't have the opportunity to do anything excessive. "Alright," she conceded, "I hope you keep your promise."

As soon as Zu An heard her agreement, he eagerly rushed over and took her hand. It was cool to the touch, yet felt as smooth as jade.

Yan Xuehen's body stiffened, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand away. "What are you doing?!"

"Isn't it normal for couples to hold hands?" Zu An asked, looking at her with an innocent expression.

Yan Xuehen's breath hitched. But considering it was only for an hour, she hesitated for a moment and ultimately didn't resist.

The two of them strolled beneath the night sky. The occasional chirping of insects only made the surroundings feel quieter.

Feeling the warmth of his palm, Yan Xuehen felt a little uncomfortable. To ease the awkwardness, she asked, "What exactly happened at the Governor's mansion earlier?"

Zu An gave her a general account of what had just happened. Inhaling the faint fragrance that drifted through the air made the conversation quite pleasant for him.

"The Emperor is truly powerful. I didn't even dare to get close just now, fearing he'd detect me," Yan Xuehen said, still a little shaken.

"Was that the Earth Immortal's Yin or Yang Spirit just now?" Zu An asked. She was a long-established Grandmaster and understood these matters far better than he did.

"From your description, that was clearly his Yang Spirit," Yan Xuehen mused. "But over all these years, while I've heard of him manifesting a few times, I've never heard of him revealing his Yang Spirit. It seems he truly views you as special."

"What's so special about it? He just assumed there was some disturbance here at Mount Zi," Zu An said dismissively.

"What do you mean?" Yan Xuehen paused, naturally picking up on his underlying implication.

Zu An didn't hide it from her, explaining that Zhao Hao had sent him here ostensibly to renovate the Mount Zi palace, but in reality, to eliminate potential security threats.

Yan Xuehen smiled, pursing her lips. "So you suspect the gathering of the Nine Daoist Sects at Mount Zi might be a threat to the Emperor? If that's the case, why are you telling me? I'm also a member of the Nine Daoist Sects."

Zu An quietly gazed at her delicate, flawless face. "Because we're a couple. Couples are the closest people in the world, so why would I need to hide anything from you?"

Yan Xuehen's heart fluttered. Was this the true weight of the word "couple"?

However, she couldn't quite endure his intense gaze and shifted her eyes slightly. "Don't worry," she said. "The Emperor is so powerful. Even if the sect leaders of the Nine Daoist Sects combined, they wouldn't be his match. Why would they attempt something so futile?"

"You never know..." Zu An's expression suddenly changed. "Oh no, if I can summon the Emperor's presence through the golden token, could he also be monitoring my every move through it?"

He was, after all, a major rebel, with far too many secrets he couldn't let the Emperor discover.

Seeing his anxious look, Yan Xuehen couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry," she said. "He merely left a wisp of his essence on your golden token. He can only sense your summons when needed. To achieve constant monitoring, he'd have to attach a part of his Yang or Yin Spirit to it, which would be a potential danger even for an Earth Immortal. If you encountered a powerful enemy who then managed to destroy that wisp of spirit on the token, it would be a significant blow to the Emperor's power."

She looked at Zu An. "Even though you have many secrets, in the Emperor's eyes, you're definitely not worth him taking such a huge risk. Besides, you usually keep the golden token in your storage space, so even if he did manage to tamper with it, he wouldn't be able to monitor your movements."

Zu An let out a sigh of relief, his mood instantly lighter. "It seems you really are always paying attention to me; you even know I keep the golden token in my storage space."

Yan Xuehen's expression became a little awkward, and she scoffed, "I'm not blind."

"By the way, from your tone just now, it sounds like you believed King Yan and don't think he was the killer of Golden Token Number Seven?"

"Hmm, that old fox was in such a desperate situation and still wouldn't tell me the truth, just vaguely told me to investigate the Carefree Pavilion," Zu An sneered. "If that's the case, he got what he deserved."

"It seems you don't want to investigate the Carefree Pavilion," Yan Xuehen said, blinking as she studied him.

Zu An hesitated for a moment before nodding. "To be honest, someone from the Carefree Pavilion is my friend, and she's been good to me. Why would I investigate them just because of a single statement from King Yan? King Yan had the motive and the ability, and there's already enough evidence."

"Your friend from the Carefree Pavilion must be a woman, and a beautiful one at that," Yan Xuehen sneered, though her heart warmed slightly that he had confided such a private matter to her.

Zu An's expression stiffened. "It has nothing to do with whether she's beautiful or not; it's mainly because she's my friend."

"Of course," Yan Xuehen rolled her eyes, immediately exposing his true nature. "Ugly ones wouldn't be your friends."

Zu An was speechless. On the surface, this woman was a quiet ice beauty, but he never expected her to have such a sharp tongue.

Just then, Yan Xuehen suddenly spoke. "You'd better keep your distance from the Carefree Pavilion in the future. Being too close to them won't benefit you."

Zu An paused, sensing a deeper meaning in her words. "Why?"

Yan Xuehen hesitated for a moment, then slowly began, "What I'm about to tell you, you cannot reveal to anyone else, especially not to those in the imperial court."

Zu An's heart tightened. "Understood."

"Because of certain historical reasons known within White Jade Capital, I've learned that the Carefree Pavilion is likely connected to the Meng Dynasty imperial family," Yan Xuehen slowly stated.

"The Meng Dynasty? The one our current dynasty's High Ancestor replaced?" Zu An asked, startled.

Yan Xuehen nodded. "Truth be told, the Great Zhou Dynasty's strength was actually built upon the foundations laid by the Meng Dynasty. Back then, the Meng Dynasty was a glorious empire, and the Daoist sects were highly respected. However, one Meng emperor, after a succession struggle with his brothers, became highly paranoid of his siblings and other imperial grandmasters once he took the throne. Later emperors continued this policy, becoming extremely wary of the imperial clan and preventing them from holding any real power."

"While this might have been understandable, by coincidence, the next few emperors had remarkably short reigns. As a result, several ministers became powerful veterans spanning multiple reigns. With young emperors constantly at war with the demon race, power gradually shifted into the hands of these influential elder officials."

Zu An sighed. "Our dynasty's Founding Emperor was the most powerful of those influential officials."

Since arriving in this world, he had diligently sought out historical knowledge. Although this particular period was deliberately obscured by official records, as a Brocade Guard, he had access to information ordinary people couldn't obtain.

Yan Xuehen nodded slightly. "Precisely. Our dynasty's Founding Emperor accumulated immense prestige during his campaigns against the demon race. Replacing the Meng Dynasty was a logical progression. The imperial clan, who should have defended the Meng Dynasty, had been suppressed for so many years that their power was insufficient to stop any of it."

"Of course, it had been a glorious dynasty. The Meng imperial family, initially dissatisfied with Emperor Zhou's usurpation, gathered strength and launched several significant rebellions. However, they all ultimately failed, and the Zhou dynasty brutally suppressed these Meng loyalists. After many years, the Meng imperial family's influence dwindled and was rarely heard of."

She paused, then added, "And the Carefree Pavilion emerged during that very period."

"No more than three people in all of White Jade Capital know this secret, so I hope you won't put me in a difficult situation."

Zu An's mind reeled. He never imagined the Carefree Pavilion could be connected to the former imperial family. Even the Embroidered Tower might not know this; for Yan Xuehen to be aware, it likely meant White Jade Capital had a deep connection with the Meng Dynasty in the past.

He couldn't help but grasp Yan Xuehen's hands, saying emotionally, "You actually told me such a sensitive secret of White Jade Capital."

A faint blush appeared on Yan Xuehen's face. She pursed her lips and whispered, "Aren't we a couple? You just said couples shouldn't hide things from each other."

Illuminated by the moonlight, her entire being seemed to glow, as translucent as jade, radiating a soft, captivating aura.

Moved by her words, Zu An couldn't resist pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly.

Yan Xuehen's body stiffened, and she instinctively wanted to push him away. Yet, her hands, after several hesitant lifts, finally rested gently on his shoulders. After all, it was only for one hour...

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