Chapter 225: Not a Drop Left

At this moment, the other person saw his appearance clearly and stopped their attack. Their voice was tinged with surprise and joy: "Is that you?"

The young woman before him had red lips and white teeth. Her exquisite oval face was framed by beautiful pigtails, tied with pale blue ribbons, making her look exceptionally charming and captivating. Who else could it be but Qiao Xueying?

"Why are you suddenly at the Chu family estate? Did you miss me?" Zu An joked, but he was very puzzled. Logically, she had defected from the Chu family, so it was highly unlikely she would come here.

As he spoke, he noticed her face was unusually flushed, more so than usual.

Qiao Xueying evidently realized something at this moment, and a hint of panic appeared on her face. "Quick... quick, go get Lord Brightmoon!"

"What's wrong?" Feeling the alarm in her voice, Zu An dared not delay. He helped her up while secretly concentrating his senses and preparing for defense.

"It's no use. I just received intelligence that Lord Brightmoon is no longer in the estate." A mocking voice came, and then an old figure stood atop the wall, hands clasped behind his back, watching Qiao Xueying with eyes like a cat playing with a mouse.

"Shi Lezhi!" Zu An was startled. Even though the other person's face was deliberately covered, he recognized him instantly.

The old man was surprised, his eyes instantly darkening. "How did you recognize me?"

Zu An shielded Qiao Xueying behind him and smiled faintly. "Your sinister gaze and your sleazy aura deeply betrayed you."

Shi Lezhi: "..."

Anger value from Shi Lezhi: 598!

"I've long known you're a glib-tongued bastard," Shi Lezhi said, his voice utterly cold. "But soon I'll make you understand that this world doesn't rely on mere talk. By then, you'll deeply regret ever having a mouth."

Zu An's expression turned serious, and he spoke in a strange voice: "Usually, my jesting and insults are just a disguise for others. Do you think I'd dare be so reckless if I truly only had a mere third-grade cultivation? Since that's the case, I won't pretend anymore. Let me show you my true power."

Sensing his aura, Shi Lezhi's pupils constricted slightly. He quickly circulated his full primal energy, secretly on guard. There was indeed some truth to what this fellow said. Despite only having a third-grade cultivation, he had always been so high-profile. Anyone else would have died countless times by now, yet he was still alive and well.

He and Shi Kun had been pondering why the assassination in the secret realm had failed. So many fourth- and third-grade masters had ambushed Zu An alone; each of them had a higher cultivation than him, so it should have been an easy capture. But the outcome was their complete annihilation.

They had never figured out what happened.

Now, hearing his words, Shi Lezhi's heart suddenly stirred. Could it be that this fellow was actually a highly cultivated individual, merely using secret techniques to deliberately suppress his cultivation and lull those around him?

He recalled how the other person had split Shi Kun's weapon with a single sword stroke in the back mountains. If he hadn't intervened, the young master would likely have been instantly killed by him.

Which third-grade cultivator possessed such ability?

Not to mention third-grade, even fourth- or fifth-grade cultivators absolutely could not instantly kill the young master with one blow.

Now it seemed, he had most likely hidden his true strength.

To defeat the young master, he must be sixth- or seventh-grade. Surely not eighth-grade, right?

Shi Lezhi's expression was grim. The other person was so young, yet his cultivation was so high, he couldn't help but be wary.

At this moment, Qiao Xueying also looked at Zu An with a surprised expression, thinking, "Could this guy really be some kind of super master?"

In the storybooks she and the young lady used to read, they often encountered similar plots: a rich young master pretending to be an ordinary person to work, or a super sword immortal pretending to be a commoner to pursue a mortal woman, and so on...

Could he be like that too?

Just then, Zu An grabbed her hand and turned to run. "What are you staring at? Run!"

Having said that, he immediately summoned 'Great Wind' and instantly appeared dozens of yards away.

Qiao Xueying: "..."

Shi Lezhi: "..."

The huge contrast in his behavior completely baffled Qiao Xueying. After a moment of slight astonishment, Shi Lezhi finally reacted. The thought that he had been so thoroughly on guard, scared by a mere third-grade nobody, filled him with both shame and burning rage.

"Bastard, I'll tear you into ten thousand pieces!"

Anger value from Shi Lezhi: 1024!

He pushed off with his foot, and like an arrow released from a bow, swiftly chased after the other party. However, to his surprise, an eighth-grade cultivator's speed should far exceed a third-grade's. Even if a fifth- or sixth-grade cultivator ran first, he should still catch up quickly.

Yet, after chasing at full speed for a while, he couldn't catch up!

"How is that possible!"

Shi Lezhi was filled with doubt and alarm. Could this fellow truly be hiding something?

At this moment, Zu An ran while shouting, "Help! There's a killer!"

The piercing sound carried far into the night sky, drawing significant attention.

Qiao Xueying's lips curved slightly upward. She used to think this guy had no master-like demeanor at all, but now she found his methods quite practical. At least the estate guards rushing over from not far away proved his shouts were effective.

The two guards saw the group and drew their swords. "What are you doing here?"

Zu An quickly shouted, "I am your young master-in-law, and the person behind me is a thief who infiltrated the Chu family!"

It was dark, so his identity was a bit unclear at first. But Shi Lezhi's night-suit attire immediately showed he was no good, so the two guards instinctively swung their swords to block him: "Who are you!"

Unfortunately, no sooner had they spoken than Shi Lezhi grabbed them by the neck. With a twist of his wrist, a crisp sound rang out, and the two vigorous guards breathed their last.

Zu An felt the hair on his body stand on end. This fellow's moves were truly vicious. Considering those two guards were also third-grade cultivators, they were instantly killed without any resistance.

Although he possessed some unique methods that couldn't be measured by normal third-grade standards, against an eighth-grade cultivator, he probably wouldn't last more than a second or two at most.

He ran for his life. At first, he led Qiao Xueying, but after the effect of 'Great Wind' wore off, Qiao Xueying ran faster, so it became her leading him instead.

Shi Lezhi's eyelids twitched. Earlier, he had been ordered to capture Qiao Xueying alive so the young master could toy with her, which was why he held back slightly. As a result, she found an opportunity to escape.

At the time, he thought she would run to the academy for help. Who knew she would feign a move and run towards the Chu family estate instead?

He chased her all the way here, wary of Chu Zhongtian. It wasn't until he recently received word that Chu Zhongtian had hastily left the city that he dared to pursue her without reservation.

Even so, he didn't want to alert the Chu family. He even covered his face to pursue her, but who knew that Zu An would start shouting without hesitation?

Had it been anyone else, he would have killed them before they could make a sound. But for some unknown reason, he couldn't keep up with the other party's speed in that instant, even though he had exerted his own speed to the limit, which ultimately alerted the Chu family's guards.

A ruthless glint flashed in Shi Lezhi's eyes. Since things had come to this, he only had one option: capture Qiao Xueying as quickly as possible and, incidentally, kill that bastard Zu An. This would prevent alerting more people in the Chu family, as it would be troublesome if someone recognized his identity.

Although the Shi family wasn't afraid of the Chu family, he was merely a guest elder and couldn't represent the Shi family.

The Shi family head would also never agree to a direct confrontation with the Chu family like this.

Feeling the pursuer getting closer behind him, Zu An grew increasingly anxious. Usually, there were so many guards in the estate; why had only two appeared after such a long time today?

It turned out that because Chu Chuyan was critically ill, the Chu couple were worried about any news leaking out. They had therefore specially sealed off this area, not only driving many people out, but also specifically instructed others not to intrude, no matter what they heard.

So, although some people on the outskirts of the Chu family estate noticed the commotion, they strictly followed the master and madam's orders, and none dared to trespass.

"Zu An, what are you howling about?" Just then, a sharp rebuke came from not far away. Qin Wanru stood there, her phoenix eyes glaring at him.

It turned out that the effects of the medicine had just worn off for her, and she felt a bit strange after waking up. However, Chu Chuyan and her sister both said in unison that she had merely fallen asleep due to overexertion and excessive worry.

Though she felt somewhat puzzled, how could she have expected her own daughters to drug her? Even less would she have imagined them colluding to deceive her.

Then Chu Chuyan told her that she felt a bit better. Qin Wanru was initially skeptical, thinking her daughter was just trying to comfort her.

However, when Chu Chuyan held her hand, she was astonished to find her daughter's hand much warmer than before. She also noticed that Chu Chuyan's spirits were much improved, so she quickly sent for Bao Youlu to examine her.

Soon after, she heard a commotion outside. She then told her second daughter to stay and accompany her elder sister, while she herself went out to investigate.

She happened to see Zu An holding the hand of a beautiful young woman, and she was absolutely livid.

"So, Zu An!" she thought. "My daughter just had an accident, and you're out here being so intimate with another woman?

"Do you think this is fair to Chuyan? Or are you simply disrespecting our Chu family?"

Anger value from Qin Wanru: 999!

Zu An quickly pointed behind him: "There's a villain who broke into the Chu family estate with ill intentions!"

He didn't expose Shi Lezhi's identity, worried that he would turn desperate and resort to lethal measures.

Qin Wanru frowned and looked behind him, following his pointed finger. She saw the masked Shi Lezhi, and her willow-like eyebrows shot up. "Who are you, sir, to dare trespass into the Chu family estate!"

Shi Lezhi's eyes lit up. He looked at the woman's graceful, voluptuous figure and secretly praised her:

"What an exquisite beauty!"

At any other time, encountering such a beautiful woman, with his nature, he would undoubtedly stop at nothing to capture her and toy with her.

Unfortunately, he had already recognized her identity: Lord Brightmoon's wife. He could only suppress this thought in his heart. At the same time, he secretly sighed: "Lord Brightmoon is truly blessed with such beauty. No wonder he hasn't taken any concubines for so many years. With such a captivating wife, he's probably already completely exhausted, with no energy left for concubines."

Feeling the disrespect in his gaze, Qin Wanru was furious. "You're asking for death!"

She raised her palm and attacked him.

Worried that she might suffer a great loss if caught off guard, Zu An quickly warned, "Be careful, he's an eighth-grade cultivator."