Chapter 255: Li Kui Meets His Counterfeit

Zu An was stunned. "I just came out to flirt with a girl, and I run into robbers trying to kill me. What kind of damn luck is this?"

However, he wasn't too worried. After his adventure in the secret realm, his cultivation had skyrocketed. As long as he didn't encounter some supremely powerful experts, dealing with ordinary people wouldn't be a problem.

Just as he was about to comfort Qiu Honglei, a wisp of fragrant breeze passed, and she was already by his side.

"Don't be afraid, young master, I will protect you," Qiu Honglei said, shielding him behind her. Her face no longer showed its previous demure softness, but rather a hint of resoluteness.

Zu An: "???"

Did we get our scripts swapped?

While he was momentarily dazed, the door curtain was violently torn down, and several masked men burst in.

Seeing Qiu Honglei's graceful figure, the men couldn't help but whistle, their eyes filled with infatuation.

Qiu Honglei said in a deep voice, "Who are you, daring to cause trouble in Mingyue City? The Immortal Abode is not an establishment you can afford to offend. Retreat at once, and I can pretend nothing happened today."

Zu An couldn't help but feel a little impressed. Facing such a situation, she remained composed, and this demeanor clearly set her apart from ordinary beautiful women.

Hearing her words, the masked men were first stunned, and then burst into uproarious laughter:

"The Immortal Abode? Oh, we're so scared!"

"Compared to our Blackwind Fortress, the Immortal Abode is nothing but a fart!"

"We're robbing your Immortal Abode precisely!"

"Blackwind Fortress!"

Qiu Honglei's expression slightly changed. Clearly, she had heard of the Blackwind Fortress's reputation. Their leader, Chen Xuan, led his bandits through the mountains, plundering passing merchant caravans. Duke Mingyue and the City Lord had repeatedly sent experts and troops to suppress the bandits, but they had all returned without success, and several times they had even suffered heavy losses.

"You're from Blackwind Fortress?" Zu An was a little surprised. He had seen Chen Xuan before and had some impression of his subordinates.

Although these men were masked, they were clearly not the ones Chen Xuan had brought to the Immortal Abode earlier. Could they have been ambushing outside?

"What, scared now?"

The leader chuckled. "Hand over your woman. If we brothers have a good time, we might even let you live."

"Young master, quickly go! I'll cover your retreat!" Qiu Honglei hurriedly pushed him outwards.

Zu An was speechless, thinking, *We're in the middle of the river, where am I supposed to go?* However, he still nodded and said, "Alright, be careful yourself."

After saying that, he turned and walked out.

Qiu Honglei: "..."

She had expected him to decline politely and for her to then desperately protect him as he left. Who knew he would just run without hesitation?

The men on the other side also laughed, "My dear beauty, the man you chose is too pathetic. Why don't you follow us brothers instead? We'll guarantee you a life of luxury and excitement."

Zu An ignored the voices coming from behind him. He went to the bow of the boat and looked around. Aside from a small skiff alongside, there were no other bandits. In the distance, other pleasure boats were still leisurely drifting along, and the area was still filled with bustling noise.

He looked thoughtful, and then walked back into the cabin.

Seeing him return, Qiu Honglei became anxious. "Young Master Zu, why did you come back?"

Before Zu An could answer, the bandit leader's eyes lit up. "Surname Zu... Could you be Zu An, the son-in-law of the Chu family?"

"What? Am I that famous now?" Zu An looked surprised, his tone even showing a hint of smugness.

Qiu Honglei, standing beside him, cast him a resentful glance, thinking, *How could you admit it so easily?*

The bandit leader couldn't help but ask, "I heard you won 7.5 million taels at Silver Hook Casino, and nearly another million taels at other casinos?"

Zu An nodded. "There's nothing I can do; my luck has always been this good. Winning a little bit of pocket money, it's not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."

Qiu Honglei covered her forehead with her hand, clearly having given up on trying to help him.

The bandit leader burst into laughter. "It seems I'm the lucky one now! Today, I not only got a great beauty, but also a rich patron. Hand over the money, and maybe I'll consider letting you off the hook."

Zu An spread his hands. "But I didn't bring any money with me today. How about you go to Duke Mingyue's mansion and ask my wife for it?"

The bandit leader sneered, "Don't try to scare me with Duke Mingyue. When have we from Blackwind Fortress ever been afraid of someone named Chu?"

Zu An looked at him curiously. "Your tone is so arrogant, may I ask what position you hold in Blackwind Fortress?"

"Of course, I am the great leader, Chen Xuan. What do you say, scared now?" The bandit leader snorted. "Write a letter obediently telling the Chu family to pay the ransom, otherwise, I'll chop off one of your limbs and send it back."

"You're Chen Xuan?" Zu An couldn't help but laugh.

Qiu Honglei, beside him, tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Young master, it's best not to provoke them at this critical moment."

Zu An was noncommittal. Everything before him looked strange. If he hadn't known what the real Chen Xuan looked like from the Rage Value system, he might have actually been fooled by this guy.

This whole scene now, isn't it just a honey trap?

In his previous life, he often saw news online about people eagerly going to other places to meet young women, only for several burly men to show up and extort them.

What was happening now looked a bit familiar.

"What, doesn't it look like me?" Zu An's gaze made the man feel offended.

Rage value from Gu Yueyi +233!

"Gu Yueyi?" Seeing this name in the system logs, Zu An was stunned. He thought carefully, he had never heard of it before.

"Yes, of course it does," Zu An said, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm. However, he didn't expose the other party; he wanted to see what these guys were really up to.

Although masked, it was vaguely discernible that Gu Yueyi was not very old. He frowned, clearly feeling that the other party's reaction was a bit off. "Stop with the nonsense, quickly write the note so I can inform the Chu family to bring the ransom."

Zu An shook his head. "I don't think what you're doing is very smart."

Gu Yueyi's brow furrowed. "Are you telling me what to do?"

Zu An smiled. "I'm just helping you analyze this situation. Look, even if I write a plea for help and you send someone to the Chu family, the Chu family, a dignified ducal mansion, if they obediently hand over the money to you, where would the Chu family's prestige go?"

"What's more, everyone in Mingyue City knows very well that I, their son-in-law, am not well-regarded in the Chu family. They might just take advantage of the situation, let you kill me and dispose of the evidence, essentially 'killing with a borrowed knife', and also conveniently swallow my several million taels of silver."

"This way, no one will blame the Chu family for being heartless; they'll only accuse you of being ruthless."

The men looked at each other in dismay, and finally, Gu Yueyi asked blankly, "Then what should we do?"

"How about this: you come back to the Chu family with me, and I'll get the silver notes out for you," Zu An said.

Gu Yueyi sneered, "Do you think I'm stupid? If I go back to the Chu family with you, what if you don't come out afterwards?"

Zu An pointed to Qiu Honglei beside him. "Isn't she here? With this hostage, I'm sure to come back to redeem her, so don't harm her. Otherwise, I won't give you any money."

Seeing that everyone was hesitant, he continued, "Although Miss Qiu is beautiful, one person isn't enough for all of you. I have several million taels in silver notes; that's enough for you to have a new bride every day! Wouldn't that be better?"

Gu Yueyi was somewhat undecided. He subconsciously glanced at Qiu Honglei, and Qiu Honglei nodded subtly.

Only then did he say, "Alright, don't play any tricks, otherwise, we won't just take turns with this woman, we'll also find every opportunity to kill you."

Zu An took in their eye contact. "Don't worry, I'm more afraid of death than anyone."

But in his heart, he wondered, *What exactly is Qiu Honglei after? Is she also coveting my several million taels of silver?*

But being in a place like the Immortal Abode, where information circulated freely, she couldn't possibly be unaware that most of that money was in IOUs, and whether it could be collected was a question in itself. What could she possibly do with it?

"Alright, then we'll go to the Chu Mansion!" Gu Yueyi waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to row the boat, and they headed towards the Chu family's residence.

"You two, don't try any tricks." After doing all this, Gu Yueyi led his subordinates behind the two, with two gleaming knives held behind their necks.

Qiu Honglei said apologetically, "I'm sorry; you're going to lose so much money because of me."

"I'm the kind of person who loves beauty more than power. Money can be earned again, but if you're gone, you're truly gone," Zu An said, but inwardly sneered, *Once we're back at the Chu family, I won't bother coming out to save you. Anyway, you're probably all in this together.*

Then, I'll have Yue Shan bring a team to capture these people and interrogate them thoroughly, to see what they're really planning.

Hmm, and then I'll take this Qiu Honglei back to my room for a personal interrogation.

The reason Zu An wasn't acting now was mainly that Gu Yueyi's cultivation was not low; the spiritual energy fluctuations around him seemed to be at the Fifth Rank. Of course, if it were just him, Zu An wouldn't have been concerned.

But there was also Qiu Honglei beside him. Although this woman appeared delicate and weak on the surface, after some interaction, he still couldn't gauge her true strength.

The reason for this situation was either that her cultivation was several levels above his, or she possessed a magical artifact that concealed her aura.

Regardless of which it was, he dared not be careless. After all, this wasn't a game where he could respawn after dying.

Moreover, there was also the empress sister. If he dragged her into dying with him, he would be truly sorry.

Qiu Honglei, however, had no idea of his thoughts. Hearing him offer millions of taels to save her without batting an eye, her expression became somewhat complex.

Both had their own thoughts, and the cabin immediately fell into an eerie silence.

The small boat proceeded for a while like this, when suddenly the entire vessel shook violently, as if it had hit something.

Then a haughty voice rang out from outside:

"Hahahaha, we finally found Miss Qiu's pleasure boat!"

Gu Yueyi sprang to his feet. "What's happening outside?"

But his reply was met with several muffled screams.

His expression changed, and he hastily ran out with his knife. But shortly after he went out, he suddenly recoiled backward in a pathetic state, as if he had been struck by a cannonball.

The entire cabin was also shattered by a powerful force, and only then did everyone clearly see the situation outside.

They saw several small boats surrounding their vessel, and a red-haired man stood arrogantly at the bow of one, looking down at Qiu Honglei as if she were his trophy.

His gaze then fell upon Zu An, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips.

The minor character Gu Yueyi in this book was provided by reader Tianchao Yermen. He had actually appeared in the plot before, but hadn't been given a name at that time.