Chapter 338: Out of Trouble

Seeing murder in his eyes, Zu An flinched, quickly waving his hands. "No, no, absolutely not."

Are you kidding? If he found out Zu An had seen his daughter naked, and even touched her... it would be a miracle if he didn't kill him.

"Then why does Xiao Xi run away when she sees you?" Ji Dengtu sneered.

Zu An's eyes shifted as he quickly came up with an excuse: "Perhaps my charm is simply too great. It's only normal for a young woman in love to feel shy and embarrassed."

Ji Dengtu's temper flared. "You think my daughter would fall for you?"

Rage from Ji Dengtu: 444!

Zu An quickly changed his tune: "That's not what I meant. I was saying that Xiao Xi is gentle and kind, with a delicate nature, so it's normal for her to feel a bit uncomfortable around the opposite sex."

Ji Dengtu finally relaxed, though he still looked suspicious. "But I remember you two used to be quite close."

"Senior, you should know that a young girl's mind is the most fickle. No one ever knows what they're thinking sometimes," Zu An said.

Ji Dengtu recalled how his daughter had been acting strangely recently, refusing to say anything when he asked and occasionally throwing tantrums. He couldn't help but nod in deep agreement. "That makes some sense."

However, he quickly remembered something else. "Hmph, I'll let you off the hook about Xiao Xi for now, but what kind of rotten storybook did you give me last time?!"

Rage from Ji Dengtu: 666!

Zu An gave an awkward smile. "What... what's wrong?"

"Why were all of the protagonist's female confidantes..." Ji Dengtu said angrily, then suddenly remembered something. He glanced guiltily behind him. Seeing his daughter wasn't there, he then lowered his voice and said to Zu An, "Why were they all violated by the villains?"

He got angry just thinking about it. Earlier, he had excitedly picked a dark and windy night, closed the door, drew the curtains, and hid in bed to enjoy the storybook Zu An had given him.

At first, it seemed normal, but the more he read, the more something felt off.

How did the female lead get captured by the villains?!

He thought the protagonist would descend like a divine soldier to stop them at the crucial moment, but the protagonist never showed up, even after the villains had their way with the female lead several times.

Rage from Ji Dengtu: 696!

He suddenly felt cuckolded, so he glared at Zu An with an unfriendly expression.

Zu An's expression was strange. This guy was still thinking about that.

"You can't identify with the male protagonist in this one," Zu An advised.

"If not the male protagonist, then who should I identify with?" Ji Dengtu looked completely bewildered.

"You can identify with the 'other guy'... ah, no, scratch that. Identify with the villains who violated the female lead, or you can even identify with the female lead herself," Zu An said, sharing with him the accumulated wisdom from forums and online communities of his previous life.

"The villains? The female lead?" Ji Dengtu's expression soured. "How do I identify with that?!"

Thinking back to when he first read this storybook, it had left him feeling dispirited for half a month. Even now, recalling it gave him psychological trauma.

Rage from Ji Dengtu: 999!

Sensing his immense resentment, Zu An tentatively suggested, "How about you try a different storybook?"

Ji Dengtu flatly refused. "No, it has to be this story. I must see the ending."

Zu An was speechless.

This guy had a masochistic streak; he clearly felt uncomfortable reading it, yet he insisted on finishing it.

Ji Dengtu threatened, "Finish writing the second half soon and give it to me! In the rest of it, the protagonist must have a comeback, it must be pure love, and there must be no more plots like before!"

Zu An looked exasperated. "How many times have I told you? I didn't write this storybook; I only transcribed it."

"I don't care! If I see anything like that again, I'll beat you up!" Ji Dengtu said huffily.

Rage from Ji Dengtu: 200!

"Uh, I'll try my best." Zu An thought to himself, *I don't have the time to invent a new story for you. I'll just stick to the old script, take it or leave it.*

*Anyway, I'll buy more medicine this time and then stay away from here, so you won't be able to hit me even if you want to.*

Ji Dengtu finally nodded in satisfaction. "That's better. Now, what did you come to see me for today?"

Speaking of serious matters, Zu An's spirits immediately lifted. "I came to Senior to buy some medicine."

Ji Dengtu scrutinized him, then nodded. "Not bad. You've overexerted yourself. It's time to replenish your vitality."

Zu An: "???"

Ji Dengtu stroked the beard on his chin and said somewhat gossipy, "That girl from the Chu family is usually so cold and aloof. She seems like someone with few desires. I never expected her to have such a high demand."

Zu An was speechless.

"Hold on, hold on! I came to you to buy healing medicine."

What nonsense was this guy talking about? If Chu Chuyan found out, she'd die of embarrassment. And if it got out, wouldn't I, Ah Zu, lose face?

"Healing medicine, huh..." Hearing this, Ji Dengtu immediately lost interest. He casually pointed to the side. "Those over there are ten taels of silver a bottle. Pick what you want."

Zu An went over and checked them. He said disapprovingly, "These are common. I need the best, like the ones you gave Xiao Xi. I tried them in the secret realm last time, and they worked quite well."

"Damn it, no wonder they say daughters are money pits," Ji Dengtu grumbled as he took a porcelain bottle from a nearby cabinet. "Jade Marrow Revival Pills. No matter how severe the injury, as long as there's still a breath left, they can basically revive them—though if you provoke someone much stronger than me, this medicine might not be effective. In short, one pill is five thousand taels, and that's a discounted price because you've been 'gifting' me storybooks. For anyone else, it would be at least ten thousand!"

"Five thousand taels?" Zu An was startled. *How much silver did I consume in the secret realm last time, then?*

"Hmph, if you think it's expensive, don't buy it." Ji Dengtu leaned back in his armchair and began to rock, looking like he didn't care whether Zu An bought it or not.

Zu An smiled faintly. "How can medicine that saves lives be called expensive? How many more do you have? I'll buy them all."

There were only a little over ten pills in this bottle. He felt it might not be enough in the future.

"I almost forgot you're a big spender," Ji Dengtu snorted. "This medicine is difficult to refine, and the ingredients are rare. I need to keep the remaining ones for my Xiao Xi's self-defense. They're not for sale."

Hearing that they were for Ji Xiao Xi, Zu An naturally felt awkward asking for more. *He's truly a doting father,* he thought, *always thinking of his daughter, no matter the time or place.*

"Then I'll buy some other ordinary healing medicines." *Given my cultivation method, injuries are sure to be common, and I won't necessarily need such precious medicine every time,* he thought.

"Xiao Xi, come out and pack some medicine for Zu An!" Ji Dengtu bellowed, too lazy to get up and deal with such minor tasks himself.

But there was no response for a long time, and he felt a bit embarrassed. "Xiao Xi?"

He called out several more times. Only then did Ji Xiao Xi's voice echo back: "I'm not coming out! Pack it yourself!"

"Hey, this little brat is less obedient than when she was a child," Ji Dengtu muttered. He rose as if to go teach her a lesson, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to. He turned back and glared fiercely at Zu An. "Did you really not bully her?"

"Absolutely not. If you don't believe me, call her out and ask her yourself," Zu An said with a calm expression. *He understood Ji Xiao Xi's personality. How could she possibly be comfortable saying something like that?*

Hearing him sound so certain, Ji Dengtu finally believed him. So he personally went to help him pack the medicinal ingredients.

Seeing the enormous quantity Zu An needed, Ji Dengtu looked at him strangely. "How many enemies have you provoked, you rogue? Why do you need so much medicine?"

"When one is out and about, it's always safest to be cautious," Zu An smiled harmlessly.

Ji Dengtu snorted. "I must make sure Xiao Xi stays far away from you in the future, otherwise, she'll eventually be implicated by you."

Zu An gave a bitter smile. *Ji Xiao Xi was already far enough away from him now; she barely even spoke to him anymore.*

In the end, he spent a total of sixty thousand taels of silver. Zu An secretly put the medicinal ingredients into the Glazed Jewel Bead, and only then did his heart feel a little more at ease.

*With provisions at home, one's heart is at ease!*

"Right, I also need to prepare some food, daily necessities, and such."

Zu An then swept through the market again. Anyway, the Glazed Jewel Bead had vast space, and things stored inside wouldn't spoil.

When he returned to the Chu family mansion, he suddenly found the entire mansion shrouded in a heavy atmosphere.

"Something happened!" Chu Chuyan said in a low voice the moment she saw him.