Chapter 2161: Bottom Card

Sensing the sternness in his eyes, Meng Chan felt a momentary panic. She no longer dared to play coy. "I heard you're looking for the horn of a Baize?"

Zu An's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "Who told you that?"

Meng Chan replied, "The Regent doesn't need to know who told me. What's important is that I can acquire the horn of a Baize."

Zu An scoffed. "Now I find it even more important to know how you knew I was looking for the horn of a Baize."

Initially, he had only mentioned it to a few people at the academy. Later, he arranged for the Embroidered Uniform Emissaries, Nan Xun of the Demon Race, and some Eastern Palace officials to help with the search. No matter how she got her information, it didn't seem like a minor matter.

"The Regent is at the height of his power now; countless eyes watch his every move. When you sent those people to inquire, well, there's no such thing as a watertight wall in this world," Meng Chan said with a self-deprecating smile. "Although the Prince Dai's Mansion and the Meng family have fallen, we are, after all, a family with a thousand-year legacy. Some old acquaintances still remember our kindness. They might not be able to help with major tasks, but simple favors like this are manageable."

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. He had worried she might have deduced his connection to the Golden Badge Eleven or the Grand Marshal from the Embroidered Uniform Emissaries, but it seemed his concerns were unwarranted. In any case, given his current status as Regent, it was perfectly justifiable for him to commission the Embroidered Uniform Emissaries to search for the horn of a Baize.

"Can you truly acquire the horn of a Baize? Few in this world have even heard of such a legendary divine beast." Zu An couldn't help but be skeptical. Even figures like Shen Xuzi and Ji Dengtu were unaware of it. How could a noble lady like her get her hands on one?

Meng Chan cast a deep, lingering glance at him. "Can I put my clothes back on first? I'm really quite embarrassed like this."

Zu An was speechless. *Now she feels embarrassed? Then why did she take off her clothes the moment she came in?*

But as things stood, he found it awkward to press the matter further. He turned away and casually waved his hand.

Blushing, Meng Chan pulled her clothes back on. As she fastened her belt and buttons, she mused, "Rumors outside claim the Regent is extremely lustful, but seeing you today, I find you far more of a gentleman than I imagined."

"You don't need to flatter me. All I need now is the horn of a Baize. If you're deceiving me, the Meng family and Prince Dai will suffer even more than they already have," Zu An said coldly.

"The Regent is truly unromantic," Meng Chan said with a hint of resentment in her eyes, finally adding, "All right, I'm dressed now."

With Zu An's divine sense, he naturally knew she was fully dressed. "Can you elaborate now?"

Meng Chan hummed in assent. "The Meng family is a long-standing historical family. I'm not boasting; I'm merely stating a fact."

Zu An nodded, motioning for her to continue.

Meng Chan continued, "Many years ago, the Meng family had a prodigious talent. He loved exploring various secret realms in his spare time. On one occasion, he returned with the corpse of a strange animal. At the time, no one in the Meng family knew what it was. That prodigy said the animal was a Baize and instructed the family to preserve it well, stating it might prove greatly useful in the future."

"Unfortunately, not long after, that prodigy died while exploring another secret realm. No one knew what use the Baize was. However, the Meng family still preserved its body by turning it into a specimen."

"But as time passed, its body slowly decayed, and eventually, only one horn remained."

Zu An interrupted her. "That's not right. A Baize is supposed to be incredibly mystical. Even after death, its body shouldn't decay within just a thousand years."

This world is unlike his previous one. Even after powerful beings die, their lingering aura can still kill, and physical immortality is a basic ability here. Perhaps after thousands or tens of thousands of years, it might turn to bone, but according to her, it's been at most a thousand years. How could only a single horn remain?

Meng Chan sighed. "Regent, I am, after all, the legitimate daughter of the Meng family and Princess Consort of Dai. How could I be so ignorant as to not know that the remains of divine beasts can be preserved for a long time, and then concoct such a flawed story? This is indeed what happened. The Baize's corpse decayed at an unimaginable speed. In fact, it began to decompose at an alarming rate not long after our prodigy ancestor brought it back, possibly due to the influence of being out of its secret realm."

Zu An frowned. What she said did make some sense. Such an obviously false statement paradoxically lent it a hint of truth. As for the strange decay rate, he figured it must be because the Baize had left its secret realm. The environments were different, and perhaps the laws of nature here were somewhat incompatible with it?

He considered this for a moment, then said, "But as far as I know, the Meng family's treasury has been sealed by the imperial court. Are you trying to trade something with me that no longer belongs to you?"

Meng Chan shook her head. "A family like the Mengs, with a thousand-year heritage, surely understands the wisdom of a cunning rabbit having three burrows. Many collections are hidden elsewhere."

Zu An scoffed. "According to you, the Meng family's thousand years of accumulated wealth should be an astronomical sum. With so many treasures, how could you coincidentally know about this particular Baize horn?"

He found everything too coincidental. Furthermore, this woman was known for her cunning and resourcefulness, making him worry she was plotting something.

"There aren't as many treasures as people imagine," Meng Chan sighed. "While ancient aristocratic families like ours accumulate a lot, they also have significant expenditures. Especially later on, the common ailments of large families kept emerging: more and more dissolute offspring, and the family became too entrenched in its ways to recover. Our Meng family has been relatively prosperous in recent years, barely managing to break even due to our political influence. Many other ancient families have long been living off their savings and are now depleted."

"As for the Baize horn, I also find it quite coincidental. Perhaps it's fate's arrangement," Meng Chan said with a self-deprecating smile. "When I was a child, I loved playing in the treasury. The moment I first saw that crystal-clear horn, I fell in love with it. So, I begged my grandfather to give it to me. Therefore, even if the imperial court seized all the Meng family's treasuries, they wouldn't have been able to obtain that particular Baize horn."

As she spoke, a glint of confidence returned to her eyes.

Zu An snorted. "You don't need to be so wary of me. If you truly possess it, I'm not the type to seize things by force or trickery."

Meng Chan bit her lip, then seized the opportunity to say, "I am willing to offer this item to the Regent, asking only that you spare the Meng family and Prince Dai."

Zu An fell into thought. After a moment, he said, "I can prevent them from being completely expropriated and exterminated, but they can absolutely not return to their former glory. At most, I can allow the old, weak, and infirm within the manor to retain some ancestral land to make a living."

In fact, the Empress had privately told him earlier that the Meng family was simply too large and had various degrees of kinship with many influential families in the capital. If all of them were exterminated, it would inevitably provoke hostility from various factions and draw widespread criticism. He was indeed not a cruel and bloodthirsty person. He had already rounded up the principal offenders, and with the core strength of the Meng family completely destroyed, it would be impossible for the remaining members to regain their former prosperity and power.

Meng Chan's face lit up with joy. "This is more than enough! Thank you, Regent, for your generosity!"

To be honest, she was somewhat surprised. According to common practice in this world, such a situation would absolutely call for the extermination of the entire clan, rooting them out completely. She had initially thought it would be good enough if a few Meng family descendants could be spared, but she hadn't expected such a favorable outcome. This man was more merciful than she had imagined. A hint of gratitude involuntarily rose in her heart. At the same time, she felt a bit distracted, finding it hard to reconcile the man before her with the harbinger of death she had witnessed that day.

*Oh, if only she had met him earlier, she wouldn't have become his enemy. One wrong move, and the entire game is lost.*

"Where is the horn of the Baize?" Zu An quietly watched her.

Meng Chan looked a bit awkward. "I don't have it on me."

"Are you playing games with me?" Zu An's expression darkened.

"No, no," Meng Chan quickly explained. "Mainly, before coming here, I wasn't entirely sure of the situation. If I had brought it with me and was captured, I would have had no leverage whatsoever. So, I hid it somewhere. I can take you to retrieve it now."

Zu An was silent for a moment. "Lead the way."

Whether she genuinely wanted to make a deal or was seeking revenge, he would soon find out. However, after several interactions, he judged Meng Chan to be an intelligent woman who wouldn't be foolish enough to pull such a stunt.

Meng Chan said, "It's in the north of the city..."

She was about to lead the way when she suddenly felt her body lighten, finding herself soaring through the air, already airborne. The man held her by the shoulder. They kept a moderate distance as they flew steadily towards the north of the city.

Meng Chan was secretly alarmed. To her knowledge, the grand formation around the capital had established a no-fly zone. Had his power already completely disregarded these restrictions? What she didn't know was that Master Yan had specifically given Zu An a token earlier, which allowed the grand formation to perceive his aura and prevent it from attacking him for flying. After all, these formations were originally established to regulate cultivators across the land. True top-tier authorities had similar exemption mechanisms. Otherwise, if Zhao Hao had flown through the capital in the past, how would it look for the grand formation to attack him?

"That way..." Meng Chan pointed the direction, feeling a little dazed. She had flown before, carried by powerful family elders when she was a child. But as she grew older, she received more education befitting a noble lady, especially since her initial goal was to become the Crown Princess. Such 'barbaric' activities were naturally not permitted. It was even less conceivable for any other man to touch her body, not even family elders. A woman destined to be Crown Princess had to maintain absolute purity. If she wanted to fly again like this, she would have to wait until she cultivated to the Grandmaster realm. Everything was supposed to proceed in an orderly fashion; with her talent, becoming a Grandmaster in a few more decades was a natural progression. She often lamented that by the time she could fly, she would be old, and where would the youthful spirit of her maidenhood be then? It wasn't as if she hadn't fantasized about a handsome young swordsman carrying her across the world's famous mountains and rivers, but the moment that thought arose, she suppressed it.

She never imagined that a fantasy once hidden deep in her heart would be fulfilled by her 'enemy'. Her heart pounding with excitement throughout the journey, she soon arrived at a secluded, dilapidated small courtyard in the north of the city.

Zu An looked around. This place was effectively one of the capital's impoverished areas. Hiding something here was indeed the most discreet option. His divine sense swept the surroundings: no cultivators, no ambushes, no formations. He nodded inwardly. This woman wasn't foolish, after all.

Soon, Meng Chan took out a key, entered the house, lit a candle, and fumbled in a corner of the wall. She quickly opened a secret compartment, which contained a box. She carefully opened it and presented it to Zu An.

"This is the horn of the Baize. You... you won't go back on your word, will you?" Meng Chan's expression showed a hint of regret. She clearly realized her blunder, having handed over the item merely based on his verbal promise. If he were to kill her and take the treasure now, she would have no means of resistance, and the Meng family and Prince Dai would be utterly finished.

Zu An looked at her quietly but didn't reply. He directly picked up the Baize horn. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, and it was entirely crystal-clear. Although he hadn't seen one before, he knew this was the Baize horn; his keyboard system had already identified it for him.

Seeing his lack of response, Meng Chan grew increasingly anxious. However, when her gaze fell upon the burning candle, a sliver of confidence finally settled within her. Yet, the thought of what that implied made her cheeks flush involuntarily.