Chapter 616: Want to Come, Want to Leave

Zu An panicked and pulled her back. "Before, we were just caught off guard, but now the palace guards have reacted, and the entire defense system is fully operational. Wouldn't you be walking to your death if you went back now?"

"But my master has been incredibly kind to me; how can I stand by and do nothing?" Qiu Honglei was agitated.

"'Old woman'?" Zu An's expression turned strange. That long-haired woman didn't look old at all. Damn it, the cultivation world is so unreliable. Someone might look like a young girl, but actually be older than your grandmother.

But then he thought about the goddesses in ancient myths, who were at least thousands of years old. Yet perverts throughout history have still fantasized about them—like Chang'e, or the Seven Fairies... Do you think people cared about their age?

Not to mention celestial maidens, even attractive rich women make many people eager to say, "Auntie, I don't want to work hard anymore..."

He cleared his throat, dismissing those wild thoughts. He quickly said to Qiu Honglei, "But you can't throw yourself in to save someone. Just now, I saw you holding a dagger, ready to commit suicide. What if you go back into the palace now and get captured again?"

Qiu Honglei pursed her lips. "At worst, I'll die with my master. Master definitely needs help right now. If I abandon her, not only will my conscience trouble me for the rest of my life, but my dao heart will also be damaged, preventing me from making any progress in my cultivation."

Zu An knew she wasn't lying. Many cultivation sects in this world place great importance on cultivating one's mind and character. If there's a problem, let alone glimpsing the Heavenly Dao in the future, it would be difficult to even maintain their current level.

He had no choice but to say, "I'll first get you safely out of the palace, and then I'll go save your master."

"Really?" Qiu Honglei was overjoyed. She immediately threw herself into his arms and kissed him on the cheek.

Seeing his surprised expression, Qiu Honglei's face flushed as she stepped back. "What are you looking at? It's not like we haven't kissed before. I even sucked the poison from your wound on your back."

Zu An chuckled. "Does that count as a kiss?"

"Of course it does," Qiu Honglei snorted. Immediately, a look of worry appeared on her face. "Let me go with you. At least we can look out for each other."

Zu An shook his head. "No, I can't. I'm currently an Embroidered Uniform Guard, which allows me to do many things. If you're with me, it would only cause inconvenience."

Qiu Honglei nodded. She wasn't the type of woman to be stubbornly unreasonable. She naturally understood what was important. "Then I'll trouble you. Please make sure to save Master."

"Hmm, I'll do my best. You don't need to worry too much," Zu An said, comforting her and holding her hand. "After all, your master is a Grandmaster; it's not so easy for something to happen to her."

However, worry still lingered between Qiu Honglei's brows. "I wouldn't worry at other times, but this time she's up against the Emperor."

"Don't worry," Zu An said. "Even if it's for your sake, I'll do everything in my power to save her."

Qiu Honglei gazed at him with her beautiful, limpid eyes. She was deeply moved. "Ah Zu, you're so good to me."

Any lingering resentment she had from him helping the Crown Princess against her side had long since vanished.

Zu An said with a grin, "Since I'm so good, how about another kiss?"

Qiu Honglei's face flushed slightly. She stood on tiptoe, ready to kiss his other cheek. Who knew he would suddenly turn his head, meeting her with his lips?

Caught off guard, their lips pressed tightly together. She was mortified, immediately pulled back, her pretty face beet red. "You... you cheated!"

Zu An burst out laughing. "Having received Honglei's sweet kiss, I'm now even more motivated to save our master!"

Seeing him so unceremoniously call her "our master," Qiu Honglei couldn't help but roll her eyes. This guy was indeed as shameless as ever, but... she liked it.

She felt her cheeks burning. She quickly said, "But my master is wearing a mask. How will you know who she is later?"

Zu An's expression was strange as he recalled the woman's demeanor in the Eastern Palace just now. "With hair that long, it would probably be hard *not* to recognize her, wouldn't it?"

"That's true." Qiu Honglei couldn't help but laugh as well. For years, she had envied her master's beautiful, waterfall-like hair.

"I'll get you out of the palace first," Zu An said, glancing at a nearby palace gate. "I'll distract the guards, and you can take the chance to climb over the wall."

He had specifically chosen this spot because the palace wall was relatively lower here.

"Alright!" Qiu Honglei assessed the situation. As long as no one was defending from above, with her cultivation, she should be able to climb out.

Immediately afterward, Zu An swaggered towards the nearby palace gate.

"Halt! Who goes there!" Soon, the guards at the gate spotted him.

He didn't answer, slowly walking out. The distinctive attire of an Embroidered Uniform Guard made the guards' eyes narrow.

"May I ask what you are doing here, sir?" a junior officer cautiously inquired. His gaze repeatedly darted to Zu An's waist token, growing increasingly surprised; it was a gold-token envoy.

"I need to leave the palace for a moment," Zu An said in a muffled voice.

The guards looked troubled. "Sir, there was just an assassin incident in the palace. The palace gates are now sealed, and no one is allowed in or out."

Zu An took out his Embroidered Uniform Guard gold token and held it before them. He deliberately roared in anger, "I am on an imperial mission! Do you dare to stop me? Can you bear the responsibility if you delay important matters?"

The guards exchanged glances and quickly tried to dissuade him. However, Zu An's arrogant 'you can't afford to mess with me' demeanor gradually made them furious as well.

"So what if he's a gold-token envoy!"

"Uh, well, actually, he is."

But with an assassin incident in the palace today, they truly dared not let anyone in or out. They also had the confidence to confront him.

As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, guards on the nearby city walls also slowly moved closer. After all, if a real conflict broke out, the people at the gate would likely suffer greatly against a gold-token Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Watching Zu An scold the many palace guards as if they were his grandchildren, Qiu Honglei, hidden in the shadows, had a hint of a smile on her face. This guy's ability to provoke people was truly top-notch.

She didn't waste the opportunity he created for her. Taking advantage of a momentary lapse in the guards' attention, she quietly climbed over the wall and escaped.

Seeing her leave safely, Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing more and more soldiers surrounding him, each with a hand on their saber hilt and a hostile expression, he cleared his throat. "Indeed, gentlemen, you are all dedicated to your duties. My purpose in coming here this time was to test your reactions, and your steadfastness has greatly pleased me. Remember, just like this, no matter who comes, unless they carry the Emperor's imperial decree, no one is to be let go tonight! Do you hear me?"

"Heard you!" He suddenly raised his voice at the end. The group of guards, startled, answered instinctively.

"You've all worked hard. I'll go notify the other palace gates," Zu An said, his face betraying no emotion, and quickly turned to leave.

The many palace gate guards: "..."

What a lunatic!

At a time like this, he's still conducting tests?

And he even yelled at us! Is he making fun of us?

But thinking of his status as a gold-token envoy, they could only stew in silent anger.

Rage points from the palace gate guards: 666666666...

Watching tens of thousands of rage points stream into his backend, Zu An felt refreshed and exhilarated. Sure enough, the more people he provoked, the more rage points he got. He wondered if he should try this at the military barracks in the suburbs sometime; the rage points would probably explode.

However, he soon started thinking about how to rescue Qiu Honglei's master. The palace was so vast, finding her would be quite troublesome.

He arrived at the Eastern Palace, originally intending to ask for details about the recent battle. However, seeing the Eastern Palace razed to the ground, his face was a picture of confusion.

The clash between the Emperor and a Grandmaster was so terrifyingly powerful?

He was about to ask someone when a bronze-token Embroidered Uniform Guard rushed over. "Sir, I've been looking for you for a long time."

Zu An was startled. "Why are you looking for me?"

This was the inconvenient part about being an Embroidered Uniform Guard: everyone wore masks and uniforms, making it impossible to tell who was who.

The man bowed and said, "The Emperor wishes to see you. We've been looking for you for a long time but couldn't find you."

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. "I'll go immediately."

He followed him all the way to the Imperial Study. Before even entering, he could hear the Emperor's furious voice from afar, "Is My Imperial Palace a vegetable market, where assassins can come and go as they please? Do you even want your heads anymore!"