Chapter 707: Mountain Desperation

The Crown Princess's heart sank. These Imperial Guards were all fourth or fifth-rank cultivators. Their standard-issue armor and weapons were inscribed with runic arrays; the armor alone could withstand a full-force attack from a peak sixth-rank master and even diminish the power of a seventh-rank expert's assault.

Furthermore, their waist knives had different elemental attributes. When working together, they could gradually break through any elemental cultivator's protective shield.

Coupled with their combined attack formation, capturing a sixth-rank master was not difficult, and they could even put up a fight against a seventh-rank expert.

Regardless, once entangled by them, escape would be impossible for some time. Soon, other pursuers would arrive, and that would be their end.

The Crown Princess gritted her teeth, "Let me go; we'll fight them together!"

She no longer cared that she was unclothed, despite knowing the guards would see her if she engaged in combat.

If they couldn't dispatch these guards quickly, she would be seen by even more people later. It was better to fight with all her might now.

Zu An ignored her. With a flick of his wrist, he produced the poisoned dagger, "Poisoned Inside," and held it. Activating Sunflower Phantoms, his entire presence instantly became sinister. In an instant, he dissolved into countless afterimages. The guards' armor offered no resistance, tearing open as if made of paper.

He did not target exposed areas like their hands or necks, as those targets were too small, and he wasn't confident in a single, precise strike—time was their most critical resource.

The guards had too much faith in their armor's protective capabilities, even contemplating trading blows. But they had no idea that "Poisoned Inside" could cut through iron like mud, piercing even the vital energy shields of cultivation masters, let alone their lower-grade armor.

The guards felt only minor wounds, somewhat disregarding them, and intended to continue their encirclement.

But their bodies suddenly stiffened, then many dark, obscure runes spread from their wounds. Their vision immediately went black, and they all collapsed limply to the ground.

In such a critical moment, Zu An dared not hold back in the slightest. Moreover, these guards had appeared conveniently nearby, undoubtedly arranged by those setting the trap. Naturally, he would show no mercy.

The Crown Princess's beautiful eyes widened. A second ago, she had been prepared to risk everything and team up with him to quickly deal with these guards, but to her surprise, he had already dispatched them the next second.

"How did you do that?" she couldn't help but ask, even though she knew it wasn't the time to be concerned about such a question.

It was widely known that previous intelligence reported his cultivation as only fifth or sixth rank. Although even the eighth-rank Prince Qi's heir had fallen to him previously, everyone's analysis concluded that his own strength didn't surpass Prince Qi's heir, but rather that a mysterious expert had secretly assisted him. Additionally, Zhao Zhi, being notoriously arrogant and looking down on others, had most likely underestimated him, leading to that outcome.

But now, having witnessed this scene with her own eyes, the Crown Princess felt she needed to reassess his strength.

Zu An did not answer. Instead, he glanced at the guards, then stretched out his hand and, with a sucking motion, drew their bodies into the space within the Glazed Pearl.

"A storage artifact!" The Crown Princess was a discerning person. She immediately realized that the space in ordinary storage artifacts wouldn't be very large, making it difficult to fit the bodies of four large men. He actually possessed such a divine artifact.

She reacted quickly, immediately saying, "Why are you hiding them? Quickly hide me too!"

She just wanted to find a safe place to hide. If she could be hidden within the storage space, she wouldn't be discovered.

Zu An said grumpily, "Storage spaces can't hold living things. If you want to become a corpse, you can certainly try."

The Crown Princess bit her lip tightly, then continued, "If there's no way to escape, just hide me in there. I'd rather become a corpse than be seen like this!"

Her not being the Crown Princess anymore was secondary. The main issue was that she was currently unclothed; being exposed publicly like this would truly be beyond endurance. Moreover, it would implicate the Bi family. In that case, she might as well die and get it over with.

Zu An was somewhat surprised. He had largely guessed her thoughts and couldn't help but secretly sigh at the strong sense of family honor possessed by women in this world.

Chu Huan chose to marry a useless man as a live-in son-in-law for her family. Zheng Dan chose to marry into the Sang family for her family. Now, the Crown Princess was willing to sacrifice even her life for her family.

He did not stop. Instead, he continued carrying the Crown Princess and fled into the distance.

"Back to the Eastern Palace!" the Crown Princess immediately said. She knew that since Consort Bai was targeting her, she wouldn't just send this group of people. People would also go to the Eastern Palace to confirm her absence. The best way to clear her name was to return to the Eastern Palace; that way, as long as she firmly denied everything, the other party's trap would be meaningless.

"Alright!" Zu An pushed off with his toes, his figure swiftly darting away.

Along the way, figures flickered, but he always managed to dodge them in advance, as if he knew what was coming.

At first, the Crown Princess's heart was in her throat several times. But seeing him narrowly avoid danger each time, she couldn't help but let out a slight sigh of relief.

Only then did she have a chance to look up at him. It was then she realized that this fellow was quite handsome. His profile was as handsome as a marble sculpture, and his firm, steady gaze gave her an inexplicable sense of security.

She thought to herself, how good it would be if this guy was like this normally. Instead, he insisted on presenting himself as a shameless womanizer, which truly affected his demeanor greatly.

She felt her heart pounding intensely, experiencing an unprecedented sensation. Naturally, she didn't understand this was the so-called "suspension bridge effect." She could only subconsciously press herself a little closer against his chest.

His embrace was as warm as Lord Eleven's...

As soon as this thought arose, she hastily extinguished it. How could it be? How could he compare to Lord Eleven...?

But he certainly had some skill!

Zu An had no time to spare to notice her expression. At this moment, he was fully focused. He was using the Jade Cong to control various animals nearby, borrowing their eyes to scout ahead for the guards' encirclement directions.

It was as if he had a radar map in his mind, which allowed him to narrowly avoid danger each time.

But the commotion was growing larger, and more and more guards from the palace were rushing to the scene. The gaps were becoming fewer and fewer.

Several times, he was only half a second away from being discovered.

But fate would not always favor him. During one evasion, he was finally discovered by suddenly appearing guards. Although he quickly dealt with them, he still missed the opportunity to escape the encirclement. In reality, given the strict defenses of the Imperial Palace, this "opportunity" didn't truly exist; it was merely a matter of being discovered sooner or later.

Zu An, still holding the Crown Princess, flashed into the shadow of a rockery and gasped for breath. Clearly, the continuous flight had exhausted him greatly; both his vital energy and mental state had been depleted like never before.

"Are we trapped?" The Crown Princess, an extremely intelligent person, immediately understood.

"Yes," Zu An said, his expression grave. More and more guards were gathering in their direction; there was no longer any gap. He could only wait for a potential turning point.

The Crown Princess's face was pale. Suddenly, as if having made up her mind, she said, "Kill me. Hide me in your storage space. You might be able to find a way to slip through alone."

It wasn't entirely a selfless act. Rather, she understood her current situation: being completely unclothed, she couldn't face anyone.

Zu An was also deep in thought. He wondered if he could use the "Key" power to instantly transport the Crown Princess back to the Eastern Palace by asserting that she was currently there. However, he was unsure how much spiritual energy this would consume.

He recalled that the previous few times he merely made someone's pants fall down, he suffered from excruciating headaches, almost to the point of fainting. He hadn't reached the Grandmaster realm and hadn't condensed his spiritual energy, so using the "Key" was still too strenuous for him.

He worried that if he used the "Key" to directly send the Crown Princess back to the Eastern Palace, his soul might scatter. He dared not take such a risk.

He also considered conjuring a set of the Crown Princess's clothes for her, thinking that way, the two of them might still be able to bluff their way through.

But he didn't know the specific details of the Crown Princess's clothes. Several times when he tried to use the "Key," his mind was a blur.

He gradually realized that the "Word-Spirit" power of the "Key" was, to some extent, a materialization of his thoughts. He had been able to conjure Agent Eleven's uniform out of thin air before because he wore it daily and naturally knew all its details.

But the Crown Princess's clothes...

According to palace rules, even glancing at a concubine too much was a disrespectful offense for an official. Although Zu An was bolder and had looked at her a few times, he hadn't personally worn her clothes. How could he have noticed all the various details of her attire? Naturally, he couldn't materialize them.

Just now, he had been somewhat puzzled as to why those who framed them had removed their clothes. He had initially thought it would seem too deliberate, making it easy for people to suspect a setup.

But at that moment, he finally understood. What did it matter if it seemed like a frame-up? The crucial point was simply the Crown Princess being found unclothed and embracing another man. As long as they could definitively prove this, they would achieve their goal. Therefore, they would not allow any accidents, choosing to remove both their clothes even if it aroused suspicion.

As he was thinking, Zu An's expression suddenly changed. He saw through the eyes of a small animal that Zhu Xie Chixin was heading their way.

He could deal with ordinary guards, but against Grandmaster Zhu Xie Chixin, he had no chance of victory.