Chapter 455: Standing Shoulder to Shoulder

Zu'an involuntarily looked towards Yun Yuqing, who was beside him. Seeing her secretly looking at him, he couldn't help but smile and quietly winked at her.

Yun Yuqing blushed and quickly turned her face away.

She was both physically and mentally exhausted today and didn't really want to come out. However, thinking this might be her last chance to see Zu'an, she inexplicably found herself there.

The exchange of glances between them did not escape King Wu's notice, and his heart burned with rage.

Rage points from Zhao Yan: 1024!

However, with so many eyes on him, he couldn't openly react. He pretended as if nothing had happened and continued to exchange pleasantries with King Liang, Liu Yao, and others.

After leaving the city, the two parties were finally to go their separate ways.

As Zu'an's carriage passed by, Yun Yuqing sent a qi-transmitted message: "Take care on your journey!"

Sensing the sadness of farewell in her tone, Zu'an laughed heartily, "Jibei City is a wonderful place, not only for its beautiful scenery but also for its beautiful people. I will definitely be back next time, hahaha."

Yun Yuqing's face flushed slightly. She knew he was saying it specifically for her to remember their agreement, but she genuinely couldn't imagine how Zu'an could survive this journey.

Those around them were puzzled, wondering why a mere prisoner passing through would have anything to linger over or return for.

Only King Wu understood the meaning behind his words. Instantly, his handsome face turned extremely grim, and the killing intent in his eyes intensified.

Rage points from King Wu: 444!

Huang Huihong, exasperated, closed the carriage door for him. "Shut your mouth," he snapped. "You're a condemned criminal, and you still dream of coming back."

The surrounding people burst into laughter, clearly mocking his overestimation of himself.

Zu'an remained unconcerned. *How could you lowly scoundrels understand my joy?* he thought.

"Is there something going on between you and the Princess?" Zheng Dan wrote invisibly on the table with her finger. She had been standing next to Zu'an and noticed the subtle glances between them.

Zu'an smiled slightly and also wrote on the table: "Indeed, she couldn't resist my handsome face and has completely fallen for my charm."

Zheng Dan rolled her eyes. "..."

*I don't believe a word of it,* she thought. *Someone of the Princess's noble status, an ethereal beauty like her, would be interested in you?*

If they had spent more time there, it might be possible, but they had only been in the Prince's mansion for two days and were kept in the separate courtyard, unable to even see the Princess. How could they have interacted?

Realizing this, she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she had overthought things.

Meanwhile, Sang Hong, in the prison carriage behind them, was also full of doubt. He felt as though he had forgotten something, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall what it was.

Only Sang Qian gazed wistfully at the woman in the white fox fur from afar, lamenting how such a perfect woman could exist in the world, and simultaneously envying King Wu.

The group, each lost in their own thoughts, continued northward. They reached a small town as dusk approached, and King Liang ordered them to set up camp there.

The town was very small, with only one inn. King Liang's subordinates quickly booked the entire inn. Of course, most of the imperial guards had to camp outside the town.

Due to the shortage of rooms, Zu'an naturally couldn't have a private one and had to share with Sang Qian and his father.

Sharing the same room, Sang Qian looked at Zu'an with intense animosity, as if seeing an arch-enemy.

Seeing him poised to attack, Zu'an said disapprovingly, "Aren't you being a bit ungrateful?"

"Ungrateful?" Sang Qian laughed in exasperation. He wondered where this guy got the nerve to say such a thing. What favor had he ever done?

Rage points from Sang Qian: 666!

"Let's not even talk about saving you earlier. Just look at now," Zu'an scoffed. "If it weren't for me, you'd still be in the prison carriage below. Would you have had this chance to stay in a proper room, especially with rooms being so scarce?"

Sang Qian gasped. What the fellow said was indeed true.

Originally, they were all supposed to stay in the prison carriage. However, Zu'an had been loudly complaining all along that if he wasn't comfortable, he would conveniently "forget" some parts of the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" when presented to the Emperor, blaming the accompanying escorts for deliberately targeting him because they didn't want the Emperor to achieve immortality.

King Liang and those old foxes wouldn't dare bear such responsibility. Besides, giving him one more room wasn't a big deal.

So, they had provided him with a room throughout the journey. Of course, considering it wouldn't sound good if word got out that a dignified Grandmaster was being manipulated by a common hooligan, King Liang simply arranged for the other condemned prisoners, like Sang Hong, who were once high-ranking court officials, to also stay in rooms. This was to avoid future criticism from the Censorate.

In the past, when rooms were plentiful, it was fine. But today, the inn had few rooms, so the three of them had to share one.

"That's more like it," Zu'an huffed. "People should know how to repay kindness. Otherwise, if you provoke me, I'll just go stay in Miss Zheng's room next door. Let's see what you'll do then."

As a woman, Zheng Dan naturally couldn't share a room with others at night.

Since Sang Hong had not yet been formally convicted, King Liang, Liu Yao, and others still had to consider the public perception.

"You're going too far!" Sang Qian was nearly insane, roaring as he charged at Zu'an.

Rage points from Sang Qian: 999!

Because his spiritual energy was locked, his movements were no different from an ordinary person's, and Zu'an easily dodged him.

While dodging, he shouted, "Murder! Murder! I demand a room change!"

"What's all this noise about?" Huang Huihong came in and glared at both of them. "If you make another sound, you'll all sleep in the prison carriage outside."

Zu'an chuckled. "It's not me who wants to quarrel. It's this fellow who treats me like an enemy, wanting to fight and kill me on sight. I don't feel safe here. I request to move to Miss Zheng's room next door. We're quite familiar with each other, so I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"What the—?" Sang Qian suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen for this guy's trick again.

As he was panicking, Huang Huihong glared at Zu'an. "Move in and sleep with Miss Zheng? What nonsense are you thinking?"

Zu'an: "..."

*Why does this guy seem to dislike me now? Just a few glances with your goddess, and you have to make things difficult for me?*

Just then, a soldier ran in. "Commander Huang, the Prince requests your presence for a discussion."

Huang Huihong nodded and then warned the two again: "If you cause any more trouble, I truly won't be polite. Master Sang, you should also say something. Otherwise, if you're forced to leave, it won't look good."

Sang Hong nodded slightly. "Don't worry, I will restrain my son."

Huang Huihong glared at Zu'an. "The same goes for you."

Zu'an shrugged, looking completely unconcerned.

Soon, Huang Huihong left, and Zu'an began plotting how to extract more rage points from Sang Qian.

Sang Hong, however, spoke up: "Young Friend Zu, we are not enemies. Perhaps we will even fight side-by-side soon, so why engage in internal conflict here?"

"Fight side-by-side?" Zu'an was puzzled.

Sang Hong looked at the night sky outside and said faintly, "Many people want to kill you now, and quite a few want to kill my son and me. If the situation becomes chaotic, perhaps we can join forces against our enemies."

Zu'an curled his lips. "I thought you were going to say something important. I've heard you say before that many people want to kill you, but so far, everyone who's come has been after me. So, don't inflate your own importance."

Sang Hong remained unfazed. "This isn't something to boast about, so why would I inflate my own importance? As for those who want to kill us, by my reckoning, they should be arriving sometime tonight."

Sang Qian, who had been simmering with anger, was startled by his father's words and immediately forgot about squabbling with Zu'an.

Zu'an frowned, observing that Sang Hong seemed to have sensed something.

Just then, the door opened, and a waiter entered with a wooden box. "Your meals, gentlemen," he announced.

As he spoke, he quickly placed a meal in front of each of them. The dishes weren't lavish, but they looked appealing in color, aroma, and taste.

Sang Qian was already starving. Just as he was about to start eating, Sang Hong stopped him, and he looked at his father in confusion.

Sang Hong smiled. "Look, even Zu'an hasn't eaten yet. What are you rushing for?"

Zu'an chuckled. "Respecting the elderly and cherishing the young is a traditional virtue of our Great Zhou Dynasty. Of course, the elder should eat first."