Chapter 288: Fury Strikes

Chu Chuyan realized she had misunderstood. A faint blush spread across her pale face, and her cold body warmed slightly with embarrassment.

Feeling her body's sensitive tremor, a mischievous smile played on Zu An's lips. "Wife, you haven't answered my question yet. Where in your body are you most uncomfortable right now? Shall I start there?"

Chu Chuyan bit her lip. This man was truly taking advantage and then feigning innocence!

In their current state, what could she possibly say?

"Since you're not speaking, I'll just treat you my own way, alright?" Zu An whispered with a playful grin, leaning close to her ear.

Sensing his movement, Chu Chuyan furrowed her delicate brows and quickly held him back. "Wait..."

Noticing his questioning gaze, Chu Chuyan's eyes shimmered, as if on the verge of tears. "Don't move yet. Let me compose myself."

Although it wasn't their first intimate encounter, her memory of the last time in the secret realm was somewhat blurred for reasons unknown.

She only remembered a mix of complex emotions: anger, shyness, and bewilderment.

In truth, this was the first time she had been relatively clear-headed as she felt him completely take possession of her.

"Are all men this intense?" Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth, enduring the sensation. The thought alone made her blush furiously, and her upbringing made her too embarrassed to dwell on it further.

She could only nervously clutch his lapels, taking deep breaths to gradually accustom herself to a man's body.

Seeing the beautiful woman's slightly furrowed brows, Zu An was filled with tenderness and couldn't help but lean in to kiss her red lips.

With a soft moan, Chu Chuyan trembled all over. She suddenly felt as if her body had completely opened up.

Zu An was surprised. He hadn't expected this ice queen to be so sensitive.

A playful smile touched his face. "Shall I begin then?"

Chu Chuyan was too shy to meet his gaze. She turned her face to the side, revealing her neck, which had already turned a soft blush, and let out an almost inaudible hum.

She didn't understand why she had inadvertently hummed in agreement. The old her would never have allowed a man to treat her this way.

Even the her from yesterday would absolutely not have agreed.

But now...

She didn't understand.

And she didn't want to understand now.

Soon, she had no mind for such thoughts. She felt like a small boat tossed on a raging sea, caught in a storm, carried by the waves, sometimes soaring to the clouds, sometimes plummeting into the abyss. She didn't know when she would finally sink...

Who knew how much time had passed, but outside the door, the Chu family members were pacing anxiously.

"We don't know what's happening inside now," Qin Wanru said, pacing back and forth by the door.

Because their daughter had been sensible since childhood and her temperament had grown increasingly cold, she had set up special runic arrays on her room's doors and windows, isolating sounds from inside and out.

Therefore, those outside had no idea what was happening inside.

Qin Wanru thought, if Xue'er were here, she could have sent her to check the situation inside.

Since Xue'er left, Chuyan had not sought any other maids.

"Why don't you go in and check?" Chu Zhongtian said from beside her. He had heard his wife mention that their daughter would need to remove her clothes for the treatment, so it was indeed inappropriate for him to enter.

But his wife had no such problem.

Qin Wanru realized he was right. It wasn't convenient for others to go in, but as her mother, it was certainly fine for her.

So she went to the door and knocked. "A'Zu, how is Chuyan doing now?"

"If you don't answer, I'm coming in!"

There was no response from inside. Ultimately, concerned for her daughter's safety, she rushed to push the door, but it didn't budge.

"That fellow actually locked the door from the inside!" Qin Wanru huffily turned to her husband.

Chu Zhongtian nodded. Their daughter, though young, had high cultivation, and the restrictions she placed were not easily undone by ordinary people.

He walked to the door, placed his hand gently on it, and released his Yuan Qi, breaking the restriction. "It's done."

"You wait here, I'll go check the situation," Qin Wanru instructed. If too many people accidentally rushed in later and saw their daughter undressed, what would become of her reputation?

She could only feel at ease if her husband stood guard.

Chu Zhongtian nodded, giving her a reassuring look.

Only then did Qin Wanru push open the door and enter. Once inside, she quickly closed it again, even making sure the bolt was reset.

Then she walked further in.

As the daughter of a ducal household, the boudoir was quite large, and Qin Wanru found it difficult to discern the situation further inside at first.

Worried that the two might be at a critical point in their healing, she dared not call out loudly. She planned to quietly take a look, and as long as she confirmed her daughter was fine, she would leave without disturbing their treatment.

As she walked from the outer room inward, she suddenly heard a strange sound, as if deliberately suppressed, like a weeping lament.

"Hmm?" A flicker of doubt crossed Qin Wanru's brows. As someone experienced, she was not unfamiliar with such sounds, but then she thought, how could it be!

It must be that Chuyan's injuries were too severe, causing her to groan.

Just as she was thinking this, she rounded the screen, and the scene before her left her completely stunned.

She had considered countless possibilities, even steeling herself for the worst—that her daughter's condition was beyond remedy—but she had never, ever anticipated this scene.

Zu An and Chu Chuyan hadn't expected her to enter either. Hearing the disturbance, they instinctively turned their heads, and then the three of them stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"You scoundrel, Zu!" After the initial shock and bewilderment, Qin Wanru finally came to her senses and erupted in fury.

Rage value from Qin Wanru: 1024!

In Qin Wanru's view, given her daughter's personality, she would never allow a man to treat her this way, not even her nominal husband.

There could only be one explanation: Zu An had taken advantage of her daughter's severe injuries and inability to resist, criminally violating her in a fit of madness.

The thought that her family had been waiting outside, completely unaware that her daughter was suffering such misfortune and humiliation inside the room, made her want to skin Zu An alive.

Rage value from Qin Wanru: 999,999,999...

Unable to control herself any longer, she launched herself directly at Zu An, striking without mercy, her attack a clear killing blow.

Zu An saw the string of "999" in the background and knew the situation was bad. Before he could react, she was already upon him.

He turned pale with fright and hastily dodged, but Qin Wanru was a sixth-rank cultivator; she wasn't so easily evaded.

In that critical moment, he quickly used Mi Li's improved Sunflower Phantasm, splitting into two figures that darted in opposite directions.

Qin Wanru's entire focus was on the figure in front of her. With a vengeful palm strike, she directly hit the opponent's back.

However, the empty sensation in her hand startled her, and then the illusory figure before her dispersed into a shimmer of light.

"A clone?"

As a duchess, she was well-traveled and knowledgeable, and quickly understood.

She quickly turned around, glaring fiercely at Zu An on the other side. Just as she was about to strike again, she suddenly heard Chu Chuyan's faint voice from nearby: "Mother."

"There, there, Mother's here." Qin Wanru rushed over to support her, a pang of sorrow in her heart. She thought of how proud and dignified her daughter had always been, only for her purity to be ruined by such a man.

It was all their fault for trusting him too much earlier!

With that thought, she was about to rise and attack again.

"No!" Chu Chuyan quickly grabbed her hand, while her other hand tightly clutched the brocade quilt wrapped around her.

Qin Wanru looked at her with some confusion. Her daughter's reaction was truly odd. Was it due to the immense shock?

"Actually... actually, he was... he was treating my injuries," Chu Chuyan mumbled, her head bowed, her face already crimson.

It was utterly mortifying to be seen by her mother.

She had initially been too shy to speak, but she worried her mother might actually kill Zu An, or that others would be alerted and rush in, which would be even more humiliating.

"Healing? Is that how you 'heal' someone?!" Qin Wanru assumed her daughter was too embarrassed to tell the truth after being violated. "Don't worry, this man has violated and humiliated you today. Your mother will definitely avenge you!"

Having said that, she charged at Zu An again.

Seeing that her mother didn't understand, Chu Chuyan became anxious and had to explain, "I... actually... it was with my... my consent."

Halfway through her charge, Qin Wanru abruptly stopped and turned back, incredulously asking, "What did you say?"

Chu Chuyan's expression flickered, changing from one shade to another. After a long moment, she finally made up her mind. "Actually... back in the secret realm... we... we already became true... true husband and wife."

Qin Wanru: "..."

No matter how she racked her brain, she had never imagined such a situation.

Zu An on the side was overjoyed. He knew that while they had been intimate before, it had always been to save someone, and both of them understood that their relationship was far from that of true husband and wife; Chu Chuyan hadn't truly accepted him.

But now, Chu Chuyan had actually admitted it herself. He felt like he was about to burst with happiness.

"You were already intimate in the secret realm?" Qin Wanru was stunned. A sudden realization dawned on her. No wonder her daughter, with her cold and proud nature, had been willing to remove her clothes for Zu An to treat her injuries. She should have realized it all along.

"But even if you're already true husband and wife, to be... to be doing such an outrageous thing at a critical moment like this... it's simply preposterous!" Qin Wanru no longer had time to delve into how they had become intimate. She just felt that her daughter was severely injured, a crowd of people were anxiously waiting outside, and yet the two of them were...

"I really am saving Chuyan," Zu An said with a wry smile.

"Shut up!" Qin Wanru shot him a fierce glare, and then her eyes suddenly narrowed.

She had been so consumed by rage earlier, eager to chase and kill him, that she hadn't paid attention to anything else.

Now, as she calmed down, she suddenly realized the other party wasn't wearing any clothes.

"How could this fellow be so..." Qin Wanru's face instantly flushed. She glanced at Chu Chuyan beside her, looking somewhat flustered, and wondered how her delicate and slender daughter could possibly endure this.