Chapter 465: Add Money Layman

The Night Elf leader frowned, clearly in a state of confusion himself. Although all signs pointed to the person in the groom's attire being the real Zu'an, he also worried that this might be a trick, an intentional misdirection. Furthermore, intelligence reports indicated that the real Zu'an had a distinct characteristic: he was notoriously low. And the loud, shouting man who had just betrayed his teammates perfectly fit this description.

With that thought, he immediately ordered, "Kill them all!" In this situation, it was better to kill mistakenly than to let someone escape.

Sang Qian, who had been shouting loudly, was dumbfounded. "What?" Why were these people not acting normally?

By this time, the Night Elf assassins had surrounded the carriage, all thrusting their swords into it. Pei Mianman quickly channeled her dark flames, blocking left and right. She knew that every single Night Elf's cultivation level was no less than her own. She didn't hope to defeat them but only to force them back and buy more time. She trusted that the other woman wouldn't stand by.

As expected, seeing the critical situation, Qiu Honglei quickly called out to her companions, "Go save them!" The Eight Rogue Cultivators also understood the purpose of their trip. Their Sect Master was determined to capture Zu'an, so they couldn't just watch these people be killed. Apart from the Earth-element rogue cultivator, who had the strongest defense and stayed to protect Qiu Honglei, the rest rushed towards the carriage.

Seeing this, the Night Elf leader disregarded his rapidly depleting energy, quickly drew his weapon, and re-entered the fight. As everyone was trying to achieve their goals in the shortest possible time, they held nothing back. Skills flew everywhere, and all were fighting in a "wound for a wound" style.

Zu'an watched the battle intently, worried about Pei Mianman's safety. Theoretically, her cultivation was the lowest on the battlefield, and she was only able to contend with these masters thanks to her impressive dark flames.

At this moment, Sang Hong couldn't help but exclaim, "Young people nowadays are truly stronger than the last generation! To be a young woman and already at the sixth rank, such talent is truly rare."

"Sixth rank?" Seeing that Sang Hong had been staring at Pei Mianman, Zu'an naturally knew who he was referring to. Upon closer inspection, he indeed noticed a layer of elemental armor formed by dark flames swirling around Pei Mianman. This was a mark of a sixth-rank cultivator, explaining how she could confront these powerful figures for so long. It seemed she had been hiding her true strength all along!

Zu'an clicked his tongue in amazement, wondering what was wrong with this world, where everyone was so discreet. It seemed he would have to be more careful when showing off in the future, lest he encounter someone pretending to be weak but actually powerful.

As he was marveling, the carriage suddenly lurched. Everyone inside stumbled and fell, and Zu'an directly tumbled into Zheng Dan's arms. She was truly soft! However, he didn't have time to dwell on that thought. He quickly looked back and saw that Huang Huihong, who had been severely wounded and on the verge of death nearby, had taken advantage of the chaos to jump onto the front of the carriage and was now driving it wildly into the depths of the mountains.

Both the Night Elves and the Demonic Cult noticed the situation and tried to give chase, but unfortunately, they were all tied up by their respective opponents and couldn't break away. Even Pei Mianman tried to follow, but she was intercepted by both sides. Clearly, neither faction wanted the other to have a chance at getting Zu'an.

The carriage Zu'an and the others were in belonged to Liu Yao. It was custom-made, drawn by exceptionally rare swift horses, and its wheels were carved with wind-element arrays, not only making the carriage light but also providing acceleration when galloping. Huang Huihong used this opening to escape the battle, vanishing into the mountain forest in a flash.

After galloping for an unknown duration, Huang Huihong looked back. Seeing no one pursuing them, he finally let out a sigh of relief. However, with this relaxation, his adrenaline faded, and his previous severe chest injury began to act up. He could no longer hold on and fell directly from the carriage.

Zu'an grabbed the reins, stopping the carriage. He looked at Huang Huihong, who had fallen nearby, and sighed, "Why did you go through all this trouble? At worst, I would have been captured by the Demonic Cult, and you could have just gathered more masters to rescue me. That would be better than you being half-dead now."

Whether he was taken by Qiu Honglei or rescued by Big Manman, both were good options. It was certainly better than being stuck with him for wilderness survival. Zu'an knew that the wilderness in this world was full of dangerous beasts, and now a group of them had their cultivation sealed, while the only one with cultivation was severely injured. If they ended up as food for beasts, that would be truly frustrating.

Huang Huihong: "..."

"Still can't speak?" Seeing his expression, Zu'an couldn't help but complain, "You Embroidered Uniform Envoys usually act so smug, talking about how mighty you are, acting on behalf of the Emperor. Yet you're so easily suppressed, and now almost completely wiped out. I feel embarrassed for you."

Huang Huihong: "..."

Rage value from Huang Huihong +611!

Zu'an asked curiously, "By the way, I'm a bit puzzled. Since the Emperor values my *Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* so much, why didn't he send some truly powerful masters? Among you Embroidered Uniform Envoys, only you are a sixth-rank, the others are merely fifth-rank. Even with special formation cooperation, if the enemy doesn't confront you head-on and just ambushes you directly, wouldn't it be easy to wipe you out? It's really pathetic."

Huang Huihong turned his face away, clearly disheartened by Zu'an's words and not wanting to engage.

At that moment, an angry voice came from nearby: "Zu, can you get out of my wife's arms before asking all your questions?"

Rage value from Sang Qian +666!

Sang Qian was glaring at Zu'an with wide eyes. From earlier until now, Zu'an hadn't gotten out of Zheng Dan's embrace, and his head was conveniently resting against her chest, even occasionally rubbing against it. How could he tolerate this?

Zu'an scoffed, "Who says she's your wife? Miss Zheng hasn't completed the wedding ceremony with you, so strictly speaking, she's not your wife. And now I'm wearing the groom's attire. Anyone who sees us would think we're the couple."

"You..." Sang Qian was dizzy from Zu'an's sophistry and couldn't think of a rebuttal for a moment.

Rage value from Sang Qian +888!

Zheng Dan, however, was not as thick-skinned as he was. In front of so many people, how could she be intimate with him? Blushing, she pushed him aside. Not wanting to make things difficult for her, Zu'an used the momentum to sit up.

Sang Hong cleared his throat, clearly not wanting to see his son bullied by Zu'an. He directly answered the previous question to change the subject: "As I deduce, the Emperor was likely a bit too careless this time. He probably thought that with grandmasters, ninth-rank experts, the Imperial Guards, and the Embroidered Uniform Envoys who could always invoke an Imperial Decree, they could theoretically handle most situations. He just didn't expect the *Phoenix Nirvana Scripture* to be so tempting to various factions." There was another thing he didn't say: the various factions dispatching their forces weren't necessarily all trying to obtain the *Phoenix Nirvana Scripture*; it was very likely that they simply didn't want the Emperor to acquire it.

Zu'an rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like everyone's after me. Haven't many assassins also come for you? Look, I bet that guy coming from over there is after you two."

Sang Hong was startled and quickly followed Zu'an's gaze. A figure slowly emerged from the distant woods—an unkempt, slovenly man. A long, slender blade rested horizontally on his neck, his hands naturally draped over it. His entire gait gave off a dissolute and unrestrained impression.

"Sir Add-Money Ding Run? What are you doing here?" Sang Hong's expression immediately turned solemn as he recognized the man.

"Sir Add-Money?" Zu'an was taken aback. The name sounded familiar.

Sang Hong said in a deep voice, "This fellow is a renowned assassin in the underworld. He's always been known to be money-oriented, not people-oriented; as long as there's money, he'll even kill friends and family. Because his prices are much higher than his peers, and he constantly demands additional fees on the spot, everyone calls him Sir Add-Money. However, his cultivation is exceptionally high, and he completes every mission, no matter how difficult, which is why people are willing to pay him extra."

The slovenly man casually propped his blade on the ground and leisurely clapped his hands. "I didn't expect Lord Sang to know so much about me. It makes me wonder if you used to work for the Court of Judicial Review instead of the Grand Minister of Agriculture."

Sang Qian had clearly heard of this man too. He had been furious moments ago, but now he involuntarily recoiled, his body trembling slightly. Noticing Sang Qian's unusual reaction, Zu'an frowned. If even the usually proud and arrogant Sang Qian was this terrified, then this guy must be a tough opponent.

Sang Hong asked, "May I ask who you are here to kill this time, Zu'an or us, father and son?"

The slovenly man grinned, revealing a set of surprisingly white teeth that contrasted sharply with his appearance. "Someone paid for the lives of you two, father and son. Of course..." He paused, his gaze falling on Zu'an. "I also have some interest in this fellow. After killing you, I'll have a good 'exchange' with him. No extra charge for that this time."

Zu'an felt a chill. "Exchange"? Could this guy be an old pervert?