Chapter 35: Your Excellency's Chest Muscles—Why So Ostentatious?

After inspecting the bed, Zu An noticed a row of cabinets nearby. He opened one to find it filled with beautiful dresses, each exquisitely made and smooth to the touch.

He opened the next one, and it was the same; he continued to open the third, and still the same...

Seven or eight large cabinets were packed with all sorts of beautiful clothes. Zu An couldn't help but click his tongue, marveling at how many clothes women accumulate.

When he opened the ninth cabinet, something was finally different. Zu An's face suddenly flushed red; inside, neatly arranged, were many pieces of intimate apparel.

He glanced around like a thief, then quickly snatched an item and tucked it into his embrace, muttering, "She has so many anyway, she probably won't notice if one or two are missing."

As he thought about it, he felt a surge of self-contempt. He had a wife as beautiful as a celestial maiden, yet he couldn't touch her, only secretly take her clothes. What was even more pathetic was that after taking it, he suddenly remembered his current physical condition – he couldn't even use it himself.

"This is truly messed up," Zu An muttered. Just as he was about to put the item back, an idea struck him: he could give this to Ji Dengtu as proof. He doubted Ji Dengtu would be able to tell whose it was anyway.

However, the thought that it belonged to his wife, despite their lack of a real relationship, still bothered him. He knew exactly what that lecherous middle-aged man would do with it.

"Fine, I'll just buy a new one from a random shop to hand over then," Zu An grumbled. But he immediately realized that the women Ji Dengtu had mentioned were no ordinary individuals, and an item bought from a street vendor would likely be easily exposed.

"Then I'll use Xue'er's!" Zu An recalled that although Xue'er was a maid, her attire was quite good; without being told, others might even mistake her for a young mistress from a wealthy family.

That girl tried to kill him; using her item for the task wouldn't cause him any guilt whatsoever.

Having made up his mind, he hurried to Xue'er's adjacent room and began searching. Xue'er's room was remarkably tidy. While Chu Chuyan's room might contain some "dark secrets" like romance novels, Xue'er's room, apart from a few scattered fruit peels, contained no other items that could reveal her personal interests or hobbies.

"Is this girl genuinely as simple as a blank slate, or is she just incredibly good at hiding things?" Zu An mused. He had intended to infer information about her background from personal belongings, but Xue'er's room offered no clues whatsoever.

Suddenly, his ears twitched. He seemed to hear a faint, almost inaudible sound, which startled him. Had Chu Chuyan returned early?

If she caught him sneaking in here, what then? Not to mention the incriminating evidence hidden in his arms – he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

He quickly hid behind a folding screen, held his breath, and peered out through a gap.

A figure in black quietly slipped in from outside and began rummaging through Chu Chuyan's room.

"A woman?" The figure was masked, but her silhouette was graceful and alluring. Although not short, she was considerably more petite than a man.

However, all these reasons paled in comparison to one definitive clue: no man's pectoral muscles would be quite so pronounced.

The mysterious woman searched the room for a long time but found nothing. Standing in the middle of the room, she murmured to herself, "It's not here either. Where could it be hidden?"

"Huh?" Zu An's heart leaped. The woman's voice sounded familiar—it was none other than Pei Mianman, Chu Chuyan's close friend whom he had met in the ancestral hall.

"Who's there!" The mysterious woman spun around, looking towards his hiding spot.

Zu An inwardly cursed. His emotional fluctuation had caused his heart to beat a few beats faster than usual, and the other party had detected it.

Just as he was about to flee, the screen shattered into pieces, and the mysterious woman thrust a palm towards him.

Normally, Zu An would have undoubtedly admired her delicate, jade-like palm, but at that moment, every hair on his body stood on end, and every cell screamed extreme danger.

He quickly met her with a punch, but the moment their fist and palm connected, he spat blood and was sent flying backward.

It was important to note that after his breakthrough, he now possessed the strength of twenty adult men. Yet, the slender, fair hand of his opponent contained power far surpassing his own.

Sensing her killing intent, Zu An disregarded all else and quickly shouted, "Help—"

Since she had infiltrated in a night suit, she clearly did not wish to be discovered. The Duke's manor, a prestigious establishment, certainly should have experts capable of dealing with her.

However, before his voice could fully rise, she appeared before him like a shadow, gently pressing a palm against his chest. He felt as if he had been struck by a speeding train, and his cry was abruptly cut short.

Observing him lying on the ground like a heap of mud, the mysterious woman scoffed. A mere second-rank individual dared to fight her.

Knowing he wouldn't survive, she knelt before him and reached out to pull off his mask, wanting to see who he was.

Just then, Zu An's eyes suddenly opened. Seizing her moment of shock, he wrapped himself around her like an octopus, executing the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rear-naked choke he had once seen online!

In his previous life, as an internet keyboard warrior, pontificating knowledgeably about various industries was a basic skill. However, his physical condition then prevented him from actually applying such techniques. Now, with his current physique, which was likely superior to those of former golden-belt fighters, performing it came naturally, without any pressure.

He knew this woman's cultivation level was far above his own, and her footwork had been so fast he could barely see it. If she created distance, it would be a dead end. He had to engage her in close quarters, hoping to exploit the differences in male and female physique to turn the tide.

He secretly shivered with fear. If he hadn't decisively used the "Rich Woman's Joy Ball" just now, that palm strike would have surely left him a corpse.

He hoped that item truly could, as described, lock his HP at its last drop, which was the confidence behind his desperate gamble.

The mysterious woman hadn't anticipated this turn of events. She quickly elbowed him, but he remained completely unmoving.

Feeling him clinging tightly to her, her legs forced wide apart by his, and her chest pressed into various shapes by his elbow, the mysterious woman was enraged. Never in her life had a man been this close to her, let alone in such a humiliating position.

Rage points from Pei Mianman +999!

Thus, she held nothing back, launching a direct killing blow.

But her opponent cunningly used an odd posture to cling to her from behind, making it difficult for her to land effective strikes.

However, her body was naturally flexible. She twisted frantically, trying to break free from his grasp. She was absolutely furious, vowing to grind this scoundrel's bones to dust once she escaped.

Rage points from Pei Mianman +999!

Zu An had no time to check his backend income at this moment. He was fully focused on wrestling with her, knowing that the consequences of her breaking free would be dire.

For some reason, he felt his strength had increased significantly. Based on their initial exchange, he should have struggled to hold her, yet now, though it was difficult, she also seemed to be struggling to break free.

Not only him, but Pei Mianman felt the same way. No matter how much she struggled, the person clinging to her wouldn't let go. She even had a strange sensation that his strength was increasing with her efforts.

Old Mi hadn't told Zu An that, besides upgrading through taking hits, the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture had another miraculous effect: the more severely injured the user became, the more their attributes and strength would temporarily multiply. The closer they were to death, the greater the increase.

Of course, under normal circumstances, a severely injured person would become weaker, with their attributes significantly reduced. Being on the verge of death was an extremely dangerous state; a single hit from an enemy would be fatal. Therefore, the full potential of the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture's amplification was difficult to achieve.

However, Zu An had the "Rich Woman's Joy Ball" buff, which allowed him to remain in a near-death state without actually dying, and it also shielded him from the negative effects of his injuries. By a stroke of luck, this allowed him to unleash the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture's maximum amplification.

The two continued to wrestle, rolling around on the floor. Eventually, Zu An gradually gained the upper hand, pinning her tightly to the ground from behind, rendering her completely unable to move.

With her neck tightly constricted, Pei Mianman found it increasingly difficult to breathe. She desperately clawed at his hands, but they were unyielding as steel.

She tasted death, and a ruthless glint flickered in her eyes. Suddenly, a faint black flame appeared at her fingertips.

She had refrained from using elemental power, fearing that the resulting fluctuations would alert the Chu family's experts. If her identity were exposed, all her previous schemes would turn to naught.

But now, with her life on the line, she could no longer hold back.

Just as she was about to strike, the man's voice suddenly reached her ear: "Pei Mianman, I think we can cooperate."

Zu An actually had the opportunity to summon the "Deathly Dagger" and end her life with a single light cut anywhere on her body. But for some reason, the thought of her enchantingly seductive figure in the ancestral hall, her captivating peach blossom eyes, and the indescribable smile always gracing her beautiful face made him hesitate to do so.

As the saying goes, if the villain is good-looking, your principles follow your aesthetics.

Zu An considered himself an ordinary man and saw nothing wrong with that.

Hearing his words, Pei Mianman was startled. Not only had he revealed her identity, but his voice also sounded familiar. "Who are you?" she demanded.

Feeling the pressure on her arms lessen slightly, she hesitated, and the black flame in her hand vanished.

"You almost got me killed in the ancestral hall today. Have you forgotten so soon?" Zu An scoffed.

Pei Mianman's eyes widened in realization. "You're Chu Chuyan's useless husband, the one called... wait, what was your name again?"

Zu An: "..."