Chapter 260: Misunderstanding

Zu An abruptly stood up, his whole body poised for attack, but as he was about to strike, he clearly saw the wizened old face before him.

"Senior Mi?" It was Old Man Mi, who came and went like a ghost all day long. Empress Sister had previously said he was at least a ninth-grade master, and it seemed her words were indeed true.

"Good, your vigilance is improving," Old Man Mi nodded. Although he was praising Zu An, there wasn't the slightest smile on his face.

"Senior, what brings you here so late?" Zu An asked cautiously. At the same time, he felt deeply annoyed, as this guy always liked to pop up unexpectedly. It was fine when he was alone, but if Old Man Mi suddenly appeared next time while he was having intimate moments with a confidante, he might be scared limp. Moreover, as a man, he really didn't want his woman to be seen by others, not even by an old man. It was a pity that the other party's cultivation was far superior to his, and for now, he couldn't find any solution.

"I heard you went to the Divine Immortals' Residence? And even gained the favor of the courtesan?" Old Man Mi looked at him with a strange expression.

"Senior, your information is truly well-informed," Zu An chuckled awkwardly. "Perhaps I'm just very charming and naturally appealing to women, haha." As he spoke, he even chuckled a few times awkwardly himself.

"You seem to be in a very good mood recently." Old Man Mi frowned.

"I'm alright," Zu An smiled awkwardly, not understanding what he meant.

"Before, you were clearly so sad you wanted to hang yourself. Why are you so relaxed and happy now? Could it be you've found a new method of treatment?" As Old Man Mi spoke, his gaze fell to below Zu An's abdomen.

Zu An felt a chill between his legs. He subconsciously shifted his body, avoiding Old Man Mi's gaze. "Didn't Senior say that once I reached the Grandmaster realm, I could break the seal myself? With that hope, I'm naturally not so depressed anymore." He didn't know why, but Old Man Mi always gave him an inexplicable sense of pressure, making him dare not reveal everything. At the same time, he thought to himself that he had to be careful from now on. What if one morning his "pillar piercing the sky" was seen by Old Man Mi? That would probably be bad.

"Oh." Clearly accepting his explanation, Old Man Mi withdrew his gaze and then said, "Since your body isn't functioning now, you should focus more on improving your cultivation and less on getting involved with those women. It's meaningless for you anyway."

Zu An: "..."

What you said makes so much sense, I'm speechless. In Old Man Mi's eyes, that part of him was still sealed, so indeed, flirting with women everywhere made no sense. The fact that he was "incapable" yet still behaved this way made Old Man Mi very puzzled.

"That courtesan from the Divine Immortals' Residence is not simple. You'd best not have too much contact with her, lest you invite trouble upon yourself," Old Man Mi warned. The other party was a "furnace" he had chosen, and naturally, he didn't want the slightest accident to occur.

"Senior, do you know Autumn Redtear's background?" Zu An was instantly invigorated. Firstly, he was curious about Autumn Redtear's identity. Secondly, he marveled that Old Man Mi, who spent his days watering flowers in the Chu Mansion, seemed to know all the major happenings in Mingyue City. He wondered how he managed it.

"I'm not exactly sure, but she's definitely not just a courtesan. Don't provoke her unnecessarily," Old Man Mi paused and glanced at the house next door. "Also, that Miss Pei next door... I don't know how you got involved with her, but don't play with fire. If the Chu clan finds out and kicks you out, hmph hmph..." Although he didn't explicitly say what would happen, the threat was clear in his tone.

Zu An's expression became stern. "I understand."

"Also, remember what I told you: get more in touch with the Wei brothers. Report everything that happens in their household, no matter how small, to me." Old Man Mi finished speaking and walked away unsteadily. He looked as if he would topple over with a gust of wind, yet in just a few steps, his figure had vanished into the night.

The pressure on Zu An suddenly lifted, but the thought that someone might be secretly watching him at any time from now on brought an overwhelming sense of discomfort.

"Why is he so interested in the Wei clan?" Zu An fell into deep thought.

As he fell into deep thought, Old Man Mi was clearly also puzzled. "Why does that guy have such good luck with women when he's 'incapable'..." After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't figure out the reason. In the end, he shook his head, too lazy to delve deeper. *Never mind, it's fine if he has more confidantes. They'll all be mine eventually anyway.* Speaking of which, how could that young lady named Pei be so well-developed?

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Zu An woke up and hurried to the next room to look for Pei Mianman. To his surprise, the blanket was neatly folded, and the beauty had long since vanished without a trace. He noticed a note on the pillow. Zu An walked over, picked it up, and saw a line of delicate handwriting: "Remember what you promised me yesterday." Smelling the lingering fragrance on the bed, Zu An chuckled to himself. Was this woman feeling guilty?

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Zu An's heart brightened. Could it be that she was reluctant to leave and had returned? He eagerly ran to open the door, but seeing a plump face, his enthusiasm instantly waned. "Oh, it's you."

"Who else did Brother Zu think it was?" Chu Yucheng asked curiously. Chu Hongcai, behind him, also looked puzzled.

"I thought a fairy from the heavens had come to visit," Zu An said with annoyance.

Chu Yucheng chuckled. "Miss Qiu from the Divine Immortals' Residence is no less than any fairy. How was last night...?" As he spoke, he winked and made suggestive gestures, his plump face looking extremely lewd and comical. Chu Hongcai, standing nearby, also pricked up his ears. At the same time, his hands were tightly clenched, clearly indicating his nervousness.

"Of course, it was heavenly." Zu An also gave him a knowing look.

Chu Yucheng's eyebrows danced with delight as he listened, but Chu Hongcai, standing by, was almost exploding with anger. He huffed and was about to turn and leave.

Fury value from Chu Hongcai: 999!

Chu Yucheng quickly pulled him back and said to Zu An, "Ah Zu, you know he's a huge fan of Autumn Redtear. He probably can't accept such things right now, so don't take it too much to heart. He's not targeting you."

Zu An chuckled. "Don't worry, I was just teasing you. Yesterday, Autumn Redtear and I went boating on the river. Who knew we'd suddenly encounter the notorious bandit from Blackwind Fortress? We barely escaped with our lives. It was utterly unlucky."

"Ah? What about Miss Qiu?" Chu Hongcai, standing nearby, became anxious.

Zu An couldn't help but say, "You guy who forgets loyalty for beauty! Shouldn't you worry about me first?"

Chu Hongcai mumbled, "Aren't you perfectly fine here?"

"Don't worry, your Miss Qiu is fine. A mysterious person appeared midway to save us, and later, the city guards arrived, so the great bandit Chen Xuan retreated," Zu An explained, half-truths mixed with lies.

"Chen Xuan himself came!" Chu Yucheng exclaimed. "That guy has robbed our Chu clan's merchant caravans multiple times, and the Chu clan tried to encircle and annihilate him several times without success. He actually dared to come to Mingyue City!" After leaving the Divine Immortals' Residence last night, Chu Hongcai was heartbroken and went to drown his sorrows, and Chu Yucheng accompanied him. The two later got drunk and only returned when it was almost dawn, so they weren't very clear about what happened last night.

Chu Hongcai also nodded in agreement. "I also participated in several encirclement attempts. Unfortunately, that guy comes and goes without a trace, as slippery as an eel, and no one has ever seen his true face."

Zu An's expression was strange. "Actually, both of you have seen him."

"We have?" Both looked utterly confused.

"Not only seen, but also fought him," Zu An said with a smile. "It was that redhead who fought you guys in the building last night."

"It was him!" Both exclaimed in unison.

Chu Yucheng cursed, "That guy didn't look like a good person at first glance. I can't believe he's the notorious Chen Xuan!"

Chu Hongcai, on the other hand, was excited. "This Chen Xuan is truly asking for death, to openly come to Mingyue City. Before, no one knew what he looked like, but now that we do, it won't be so easy for him to escape! That guy must be out of his mind."

Zu An rubbed his nose. *The "madman" you're talking about came to seek revenge on me, of course, there's no need to tell them this.* "By the way, why are you two here so early?"

"Look at my memory." Chu Yucheng slapped his forehead and took out a food container. "Cai Ji's steamed buns and He Ji's tofu pudding are the most famous in the city. They're usually hard to get, but we came back early today, so we brought you a portion too. Let's eat together."

"An unexpected show of courtesy bodes ill," Zu An thought to himself. *These two guys wouldn't poison it, would they?*

Chu Yucheng's face stiffened, and he said faintly, "Last night, Hongcai drank himself silly all night. He thought Miss Qiu had been... hehe, 'ruined' by you. So I specifically dragged him over to ask you for information. It wouldn't be good to come empty-handed, right? I didn't expect Hongcai was just overthinking it last night, haha." He also realized that saying this sounded a bit gloating, so he quickly arranged bowls and chopsticks. "Eat quickly while it's hot, it won't taste good when it's cold."

Seeing that both of them were also eating, Zu An finally felt relieved. He scooped a bowl of tofu pudding. "Mmm, so fragrant. It's been a long time since I've tasted something like this." As the group walked towards the main hall, he kept praising it. "It's truly white, tender, and smooth. I must try it again next time."

"Haha, Ah Zu, you truly are one of us. Next time, I'll take you along."

Just then, a furious voice suddenly sounded not far away. "Despicable, shameless, vulgar!"

Zu An looked up and saw Chu Hanzhao glaring at him, her face flushed crimson.

Fury value from Chu Hanzhao: 444!

Chu Yucheng said gloatingly, "Ah Zu, when did you offend our Xiao Zhao?"

"And you, you dead fatty! You're no good either. My brother-in-law was led astray by you two!" After speaking, she stomped her foot, then turned and angrily ran away.

Chu Yucheng looked utterly bewildered. *Whether your brother-in-law is bad or not, what does that have to do with us? We were just discussing tofu pudding.*

"Young Master, Young Master, it's time for school. Your horse is ready," Cheng Shoubing ran out from somewhere and said eagerly.

Zu An then realized that the three-day holiday after the secret realm had ended, and today was indeed a school day. His face fell at the thought of school. However, when he thought of the beautiful Principal, the lovely Teacher Shang, and the classmates who provided fury values, his mood instantly brightened considerably.

"Why are you so obsequious today, lad?" Zu An asked curiously as he walked towards the main gate.

"I've always been this dedicated to Young Master..." Cheng Shoubing spouted a bunch of jumbled words, before finally changing the topic. "It would be even better if Young Master could take me to the Divine Immortals' Residence next time to see the world."

"You dog slave, how dare you encourage your master to go to such a sordid place!" Just then, a whip whistled as it lashed out, followed by Cheng Shoubing's shrill scream.