Chapter 361: You Want What?

Since she had already pursued them, their identities were certainly exposed.

Qin Wanru steeled herself, preparing to use her cultivation to flee with Zu An. Although she knew they would likely not escape the pursuit of a seventh-grade master, she had to try nonetheless.

Sensing the change in her body, Zu An hugged her tightly. "Madam, don't be impulsive!" he urged.

Qin Wanru was puzzled. With danger so imminent, fleeing now offered a sliver of hope. Once that woman revealed their identities, it would be too late to escape.

"Trust me, it should be fine," Zu An replied. He was actually quite nervous, knowing he was taking a gamble.

"Huh, why are you here?" the old man asked, seeing Qiu Honglei dressed in black. He glanced at Zu An and the woman slowly moving away. Seeing that they didn't look back, the murderous intent in his eyes diminished slightly.

"I'm pursuing someone; someone just escaped from that direction," Qiu Honglei answered.

Hearing the words from behind, Qin Wanru's body trembled slightly. She covertly pinched Zu An hard, blaming him for stopping their escape earlier. Now, it was too late.

Zu An gasped, wondering if all women enjoyed pinching people so much.

"Chasing someone?" the old man exclaimed, pointing at Zu An and the woman in the distance. "Is it them?"

Qiu Honglei watched the two figures, her expression playful, especially as she noticed Zu An's hand around the woman's waist. The corners of her lips curled into an even wider smile.

As if sensing the scrutiny of her gaze, Qin Wanru's entire body stiffened.

Zu An also grew tense. While he had some suspicions, a woman's heart was an enigma, and he truly couldn't predict what choice she would make.

After a long pause, Qiu Honglei shook her head. "It's not them. I'm chasing only one person," she clarified.

Upon hearing her answer, Qin Wanru froze, casting a puzzled glance at Zu An. Though she remained silent, her eyes clearly asked: *Why would she lie?*

Zu An also breathed a sigh of relief. He offered a slight smile, choosing not to explain, and focused on getting Qin Wanru away from the area first.

"Is that person highly cultivated, to have escaped from your grasp?" The old man didn't harbor any suspicion, as he saw no reason for Qiu Honglei to lie.

Qiu Honglei shook her head. "Their cultivation is slightly higher than mine, and they're very cunning. However, I landed a palm strike on a vital point, so even if they escape, they are sure to die."

Qin Wanru had kept her ears perked for sounds from behind, so even after they turned the street corner, she could still faintly hear the voices.

This only deepened her confusion. For the woman to speak this way, wasn't she deliberately misleading her companions and, in doing so, resolving their own concerns?

The old man nodded. "If a vital point was hit by your strike, they most likely won't survive, but we shouldn't be complacent. Men, go search the area and see if there are any suspicious injured individuals."

Soon, a group of subordinates departed as ordered. The old man then continued, "By the way, where is Gu Yueyi?"

"Senior Brother is over there dealing with Sang Qian," Qiu Honglei replied.

The old man snorted. "Gu Yueyi is probably no match for Sang Qian. Come, let's go help him!"

With that, his figure soared away like a large bird, streaking toward another direction.

Qiu Honglei glanced back at the direction where Zu An and the woman had disappeared, murmuring to herself, "You owe me a favor."

After speaking, she followed the old man away.

Once she confirmed the two had left, Qin Wanru, still hidden around the corner, finally relaxed. Yet, her mind was filled with questions. "Why did that woman let us go?" she wondered.

Zu An shook his head. "I don't know either. Perhaps they have some internal conflict and didn't want to give the credit to that old man."

Qiu Honglei had just spared him; he couldn't possibly betray her now, could he?

Qin Wanru was, after all, a duchess with countless resources at her disposal. Having suffered such a significant loss, if she were to send troops to the Immortal Abode to investigate the identities of those in black, what would Qiu Honglei do?

"Is that truly the case?" Qin Wanru asked, her face full of suspicion. "But I always felt that you two must know each other. Otherwise, how would you have dared to stay there just now?"

"Is that so?" Zu An feigned ignorance. "I simply thought running in that situation would be too obvious. It was better to take a gamble, and fortunately, I won. It seems my luck at gambling has always been quite good."

"The Chu family's tradition has always been against gambling!" Qin Wanru snorted. However, remembering that he had won 7.5 million taels from the Silver Hook Gambling House and another million in the family competition—and now, even in a matter of life and death, he had gambled and won—she found herself unable to utter the many reprimands she had in mind.

Suddenly, she realized something was amiss and glared at him coldly. "How much longer are you going to hold me?" she demanded.

Only then did Zu An realize he was still embracing her. A cold sweat instantly broke out. He quickly released her and jumped to the side. "I hope Madam doesn't mind," he stammered. "It was an urgent situation just now, and I had no other choice."

As he continued to explain, Qin Wanru's face remained impassive, and she stayed silent.

Zu An felt a chill, realizing he had likely offended her.

While this world wasn't as strict about interactions between men and women as ancient China, it certainly wasn't so liberal as to permit a son-in-law to embrace his mother-in-law.

However, he truly had no other option at the time. Furthermore, coming from a modern era, he wasn't as sensitive to such etiquette, which led him to make that astonishing gesture.

After a long silence, Qin Wanru finally spoke. "Where are those salt warrants?"

"The situation was critical just now," Zu An answered. "I hid them in another location. I can bring them to you tomorrow."

The matter of the Glazed Pearl was of great importance. Mi Li had once told him that such an extensive storage space was unprecedented, so he absolutely could not reveal its secret to anyone, or it could easily lead to his demise.

Qin Wanru's expression finally softened slightly. "Considering your service to the Chu family today, I will not pursue your recent impudent actions. However, let there be no next time!" she warned.

"Yes, yes, yes, there definitely won't be a next time," Zu An agreed, thinking, *Am I tired of living that I'd dare risk another time?* "By the way, Madam, I performed such a great service today. Shouldn't there be some reward?"

"You dare to ask me for a reward?" Qin Wanru's eyes widened. *This fellow truly has reached a new level of audacity,* she thought. *I'm not even pursuing his impudent actions, and he still wants a reward?*

It was important to remember that in this world, no man other than her husband, Chu Zhongtian, had ever touched her. As a duchess, she had the right to immediately imprison any man who dared to touch her, and in cases of severe offense, even immediate execution was protected by imperial law.

Zu An, unaware of this, retorted discontentedly, "Of course! The Chu family manages so many people; fair rewards and punishments are the least to expect, aren't they? I retrieved the salt warrants this time, which was, at the very least, a feat that turned the tide. If there's no reward, who will risk their lives for the Chu family in the future? Or let's find others to arbitrate; I have served the Chu family, I have bled for the Chu family..."

"Shut up!" Qin Wanru snapped, looking around nervously as he ranted, thankful no one else was present. "What reward do you want?"

"I want..." Zu An paused mid-sentence, suddenly realizing his dilemma. *What *do* I want?*

The Chu family might not even be as wealthy as he was now.

Besides, once wealth reached a certain point, more was just a number.

He had no interest in it.

He considered something else that seemed quite good, but then reconsidered. Making such a request in front of her would be absolute suicide.

"Fair rewards and punishments are for outsiders. You're family; why would you need such things? Besides, with Chuyan, what more could you possibly want?" Qin Wanru scoffed, turning and walking away, clearly disinclined to discuss the matter further.

Zu An could only smile helplessly and follow her.

Unexpectedly, Qin Wanru suddenly stopped ahead, catching Zu An off guard; he nearly collided with her.

Seeing his flustered appearance, Qin Wanru said coldly, "Right, you are not to tell anyone about today's events, including Chuyan."

Zu An replied with an "Oh," then suddenly asked, "Can I tell my father-in-law?"