Chapter 37: Big Wind

Chu Zhongtian smiled wryly, "My dear, you know our daughter's nature. Once she has chosen someone, she won't change her mind, no matter how bad he is. Do you want her to remarry?"

Qin Wanru also looked bitter. "Even though Chuyan never said why she chose such a good-for-nothing, how could we, as her parents, not know? She was worried that if she brought in someone too strong and capable, he might covet our Chu family's wealth, making it very difficult for her to be caught between us later. Since she considers us so much, how can I, as her mother, not consider her as well? At the very least, I must train Zu An to be more like a normal person. That's why I've always been so strict with him."

Chu Zhongtian suddenly understood. "So that's the reason behind your strictness with him, my dear."

"Of course," Qin Wanru rolled her eyes. "Otherwise, would I let him copy the family rules? Are the Chu family's rules something just anyone can copy? It's to let him know that I already consider him part of the Chu family, to encourage him to mend his ways and strive for improvement in the future."

"But I heard you also made Cheng Shoubing copy them," Chu Zhongtian asked. "Do you consider him family too?"

"Pfft, I just can't stand him; it was merely an afterthought," Qin Wanru said, recalling how Cheng Shoubing, with a fawning smile, had brought a group of flirtatious and common women before her, asking her to help her husband choose concubines, and she couldn't help but feel enraged. "Besides, one hundred copies are simply too many. Without help, Zu An couldn't finish them even if he stayed up all night."

"I never thought you were so considerate, my dear," Chu Zhongtian laughed heartily. However, after a moment's hesitation, he couldn't help but add, "But that child Zu An has always been a bit foolish. Given his disposition, I'm afraid he might not truly appreciate your good intentions."

Qin Wanru was speechless. She also realized there was a high probability—no, it was a certainty. Otherwise, that fellow wouldn't be known as the city's famous good-for-nothing.

"How about I go play the good cop for you and give him a little guidance?" Chu Zhongtian tentatively suggested.

Qin Wanru feigned hesitation for a moment before humming in agreement, "Take some refreshments with you, so it doesn't seem too abrupt."

"Alright," Chu Zhongtian smiled. Everyone said he had married a shrew and scorned him for being afraid of his wife, but only he knew that his wife had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She was infinitely better than those 'white lotuses' and cheap hussies outside.

He had a servant bring a box of pastries, then made his way to the quiet study. From outside the door, he saw a silhouette through the window writing furiously and couldn't help but nod with satisfaction. "This young man has potential," he murmured.

"Tired from copying, aren't you? Take a break. Chuyan's mother asked me to bring you some..." Chu Zhongtian pushed the door open, and halfway through his sentence, the smile on his face froze. He was stunned to find that only Cheng Shoubing was in the quiet study; Zu An was nowhere to be seen.

Cheng Shoubing, emotional, rushed forward and hugged his leg, tears streaming down his face. "Master, you truly haven't forgotten me! All those years I diligently served you weren't in vain. You even specifically brought me food in the middle of the night! Master, I'm so touched!"

Chu Zhongtian suppressed the urge to kick him away. He patiently asked, "Where's my son-in-law?"

As if reminded of a painful memory, Cheng Shoubing immediately burst into tears. "The son-in-law came by, saw how many characters were in the family rules, and just dumped it all on me! He made me copy it all by myself here! Master, my hands are about to break from copying!"

Since Zu An wasn't there, he unhesitatingly sold him out.

"Scoundrel! This is outrageous!" Even a good-natured person like Chu Zhongtian was somewhat angered. Especially when he thought of his wife's painstaking efforts, only for this fellow to completely disregard them; he grew even more displeased.

He turned to go settle accounts with Zu An. Suddenly, he frowned and looked back at Cheng Shoubing, who was following beside him. "What are you doing following me?"

"I... I'll lead you to the son-in-law," Cheng Shoubing said, quite impressed by his own quick thinking. In such a rush, he had found a perfect excuse. He could avoid copying the family rules and also get close to the master. It was simply brilliant!

Chu Zhongtian snorted, "No need, I'll go myself. You just keep copying." This fellow was the one who spread the story about him getting his ear twisted by his wife years ago; otherwise, he wouldn't have been ridiculed by the entire city for being henpecked. So, he couldn't help but feel annoyed looking at him.

Cheng Shoubing's eyes widened in disbelief. "Master, do you really not favor me anymore? Master, what did I do wrong? Master..."

Luckily, the master left the food box. It seemed he still cared about him.

Meanwhile, in his room, Zu An was enduring his injuries when he suddenly noticed a message from his keyboard's backend system: "Rage value from Chu Zhongtian: 283!"

"Huh, what's wrong with my father-in-law?" he wondered. "Even a good-natured person like him got angry?"

While he was still wondering, an enraged figure burst in. "You brat, so you were here all along!"

"Greetings, Father-in-law," Zu An said, struggling to get up from the bed. "Please forgive me, Father-in-law, I'm injured and can't get up to salute you..."

Hearing the words "Father-in-law," Chu Zhongtian's eyelids twitched. He always felt a bit uncomfortable hearing those two words. But he immediately noticed the other person's next sentence and was surprised. "You're injured?"

"Yes," Zu An said, looking at him with a wronged expression.

Chu Zhongtian quickly examined him. "You're so badly hurt! How did this happen?"

Zu An thought to himself that his injuries had mostly healed thanks to Ji Dengtu's miraculous medicine. If Chu Zhongtian had seen him earlier, he would have been scared to death. "I don't know either," he said aloud. "I was just walking along when a black-clad figure suddenly jumped out and gave me a good beating. If it weren't for alarming the manor's guards, I might not have survived."

He spoke half-truths. It just so happened that someone in the manor wanted to kill him, so he could have Chu Zhongtian investigate. If the person who kept trying to kill him was found, everything would be fine.

Originally, he intended to pin the blame on Plum Blossom Thirteen. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use this opportunity to have the Chu family eradicate the Plum Blossom Gang. But he immediately remembered that Cheng Shoubing had mentioned earlier that the Chu family strongly disliked gambling among its members. Once, a cousin lost a large sum gambling, and the bookmakers came to their door, which infuriated Chu Zhongtian so much that he broke both the cousin's legs.

Zu An recalled that the Plum Blossom Gang still held his IOU, so he really didn't want to risk breaking that rule himself.

"Such a thing happened?" Chu Zhongtian frowned, clearly considering many possibilities. "Don't worry, I will strengthen the manor's security to prevent such incidents from happening again."

"Thank you, Father-in-law!" Zu An looked utterly grateful.

Chu Zhongtian nodded, then ordered a nearby attendant to summon the manor's doctor. He then said, "You don't need to worry too much. Your injuries aren't fatal; you'll recover with some rest. I'll go investigate your attackers first. You get some good rest."

"But I still haven't finished copying the family rules; I need to go back to work..." Zu An struggled to get up, feigning diligence.

The guards beside Chu Zhongtian looked at him with disdain, thinking, *Who are you trying to fool? Everyone knows your true character.*

Chu Zhongtian, however, harbored no suspicion. "Don't worry, just leave the copying to Cheng Shoubing. You don't need to bother with it," he said. With that, he hurried away. He had already suspected that someone was targeting Zu An, and now that it was confirmed, he needed to return immediately and discuss it thoroughly with his wife.

Zu An could only feel sympathy for Cheng Shoubing. *Better you than me,* he thought. *My apologies for your hard work.*

Not long after Chu Zhongtian left, someone brought a doctor, who prescribed medicine and bandaged his wounds.

Zu An knew he didn't actually need any of this. Ji Dengtu's medicine was very effective; he only needed time to recover. However, he couldn't say that directly, so he just let them fuss over him.

After a while, they finally left. Zu An finally had time to check his own physical condition.

Earlier, he had been too severely injured to check. But now, upon inspection, he was astonished to find that all nine magic arrays on his skin were fully filled. Immediately afterward, another nine magic arrays appeared in the muscles throughout his body.

What was going on? Before, only six magic arrays had been full.

Zu An could hardly believe his eyes. He rubbed them hard before confirming that he hadn't misread.

Was it because of the fierce battle he just had with Pei Mianman?

Throughout the entire process, he had taken countless heavy blows, punches, and palms. He didn't know how many of his ribs had been broken by that woman's elbow strikes.

If not for the existence of the "Rich Lady's Happy Orb," the injuries he sustained would probably have been enough to kill him ten times over.

Although he knew that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra's characteristic was that the more severe the injuries sustained, the faster his cultivation would improve, he hadn't expected it to be so fast.

According to his estimations, filling the seventh magic array would require 13 essence fruits, the eighth would need 21, and the ninth would need 34. This single brutal beating he endured was equivalent to a full 68 essence fruits!

Converting that to rage value, even if he got one fruit every 10 draws, it would still require at least 68,000 rage value.

In comparison, earning rage value to upgrade was far less efficient and slower than upgrading by getting beaten up.

So, should he get beaten up more often in the future?

Although this idea seemed a bit perverse, the high returns were undeniable.

However, after a brief moment of excitement, Zu An dismissed the idea. After all, today's huge gain was dependent on the "Rich Lady's Happy Orb." Without it, he would have died countless times.

After all, the "Rich Lady's Happy Orb" could only be used one more time. What then? Without its protection, first, getting beaten would hurt a lot. Second, he could easily die if he wasn't careful. Zu An didn't believe he was lucky enough to sustain sufficient injuries while surviving every time.

It seemed this method could only serve as an auxiliary. The main reliance still had to be on essence fruits; though slower, they were stable and sustainable in the long run.

As he observed more closely, he suddenly noticed some lines between the nine magic arrays on his skin. Together, they vaguely formed the pattern of a strange, large bird.

It appeared to be spreading its wings, ready to fly. Its entire body was pure white, with crimson tail feathers interspersed with yellow spots, like numerous eyes.

Even more striking was its head. It was neither quite tiger-like nor quite demonic. The first glance would fill anyone with a sense of ferocity and terror, making their hair stand on end.

"What in the world is this?" Zu An was startled. He suddenly noticed what appeared to be a seal-like object in the bottom right corner of the strange bird's pattern. On it, two characters were written in small seal script: "Da Feng."