Chapter 768: How to Be Fair

The two fought at extremely close quarters, almost body-to-body. No matter how Bai Fei attacked, her opponent’s hands, like agile snakes, would always entangle her.

At first, she could swiftly change her moves and continue attacking. But gradually, the entanglement restricted her dodging space more and more, until finally, her hands were completely controlled, leaving her unable to move an inch.

Never before had she been in such close contact with a man. Feeling both embarrassed and anxious, and with her hands immobilized, she lifted her leg and forcefully thrust it towards his lower abdomen.

However, since the Feather Robe Entangling Hands technique specialized in close-quarters grappling and seizing, it certainly had a counter for such an attack.

Zu An also raised his leg to block, then kicked her behind the knee, naturally causing her legs to spread apart.

Bai Fei squirmed, twisting her waist and body into incredible angles due to her excellent flexibility, but she still couldn't escape Zu An's control. Instead, the close physical friction made her face flush crimson.

Zu An chuckled, "My Lady, you're out of options now, aren't you?"

Just as he was about to continue negotiating with her, Bai Fei suddenly smiled seductively, then exhaled a puff of pink mist from her cherry lips directly onto Zu An's face.

Caught off guard, an unnatural flush appeared on Zu An's face. He swayed, then collapsed limply to the ground.

"Hmph!" Finally pulling herself free from his grip, Bai Fei scoffed, then couldn't resist kicking him. "Stupid man!"

"Weren't you so smug just now? Why aren't you moving?" Bai Fei muttered sullenly, thinking about how she had been at a distinct disadvantage in their close-quarters fight.

Lifting her skirt, she squatted beside him and produced a dagger from who knows where. She gestured with it at Zu An's neck several times. Seeing that he remained unresponsive, she finally felt relieved. "He really passed out," she snorted. "My Rose Red Dew will make sure you suffer enough."

Immediately, she found herself in a dilemma. "Should I kill you or not?" she wondered aloud. "If I don't, this guy is too smart, and I'll be in danger in the palace later. If I do, the Cult Master will probably be angry, won't she? And there's my niece Hong Lei... Ugh, what a headache."

"If it's such a headache, then it's better not to kill him." At that moment, a playful male voice sounded beside her ear.

Bai Fei gasped in fright, her face drained of color. She frantically swiped the dagger towards Zu An's neck, but she was a step too slow. She felt a numbness in her chest, and then her acupoints were sealed.

Zu An scrambled up from the ground, grinning. He looked at the beauty before him, who now wore a hint of annoyance. "My Lady, you just kicked me a few times. How do you think I should get my revenge?"

Bai Fei looked utterly shocked. "Why aren't you unconscious?"

At such close range, and having just undergone such an intense fight, his breathing would certainly be rapid. Thus, it was impossible for him not to have inhaled the toxic mist she sprayed. And even a tiny inhalation of her unique secret drug was enough to cause instantaneous unconsciousness.

"My luck has always been good," Zu An secretly mused, congratulating himself. Fortunately, his Primordial Chaos Origin Scripture had just broken through to the third level, making him immune to all poisons. Otherwise, he would have truly been affected this time.

"What's the name of this poison of yours?" Zu An asked curiously.

Bai Fei snorted and ignored him completely.

"Even if you don't tell me, I can probably guess," Zu An said. He used the *qi* from his Primordial Chaos Origin Scripture to sense the poison. Although he couldn't completely reverse-engineer it, he could still roughly analyze its toxicity and purpose.

"Oh, this poison doesn't actually harm the body; it just causes unconsciousness and hallucinations," Zu An said, a little surprised. "Why would you use such a non-lethal poison as your trump card?"

"Mind your own business!" Bai Fei snapped, now both annoyed and regretful. If she had known, she would have slit his throat with one stroke earlier. Hmph, she wondered how this guy had the nerve. When her dagger was at his throat earlier, he showed no reaction at all, which was why she believed he was truly poisoned.

Anger value from Bai Rou Xue +233233233...

"For some time, the Emperor has been investigating who the Demon Cult's mole in the palace is. The investigation kept pointing to General Cheng Xiong of the Left Guard and his son," Zu An said with a smile. "But I knew it wasn't them, so I was always very curious about who was actually leaking information to the Demon Cult."

"This person's status couldn't be too low, otherwise they wouldn't know core secrets like the Emperor's whereabouts or palace defenses," Zu An continued. "But if their status was too high, I couldn't understand why they would help the Demon Cult." He looked at Bai Fei. "It turns out it was you all along, My Lady."

He had deliberately feigned unconsciousness, hoping to seize the opportunity to gather information while she was off guard. He never imagined he would stumble upon such crucial intelligence.

Bai Fei was now filled with regret, wondering why she had just spoken aloud to herself. But she quickly composed herself. "Hmph, speaking of moles for the Demon Cult, am I the only one in the palace?" she retorted. "Sir Zu, aren't you also colluding with the Demon Cult members? You even saved their Cult Master and Saintess."

Zu An wasn't too surprised. It was easy to hide these things from others, but difficult to conceal them from her, the Demon Cult's top spy. After all, Yun Jianyue had been staying in his White Sand Courtyard during that period, and he was often away, so it was likely they had secretly established contact long ago.

Oh, right. Thinking back now, Yun Jianyue's reaction at the time Bai Fei had given him a lot of gifts was a little strange. It must have been the start of their communication.

Zu An smiled. "My Lady, do you think I'll let you go just because of this connection? If I just kill you, no one will know any of this, and wouldn't I be safer?"

Bai Fei watched him silently for a long time before speaking. "You don't need to deliberately try to scare me like this. Someone the Cult Master and Saintess value would hardly be a despicable and shameless scoundrel."

Zu An felt a headache coming on. "Ugh, getting a 'nice guy' card never feels good."

He stopped pretending and casually unsealed her acupoints.

As soon as Bai Fei was freed, she instinctively retreated a few steps to create distance. Then she rubbed her chest, which was still faintly aching where he had pressed her acupoints.

Only then did Zu An speak. "Since we're allies on the same boat now, can we speak frankly about some things?"

"What do you want to know?" Bai Fei said, sitting back on the swing. With a flick of her sleeve, the surrounding flower petals gradually vanished, and the figures of the palace maids and nannies in the distance became faintly visible again.

"That move of yours is quite remarkable," Zu An couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Just a little illusion," Bai Fei replied indifferently.

Zu An nodded. Only then did he continue asking, "This time, framing me and the Crown Princess—that was a joint effort between you and King Wu, wasn't it?"

Bai Fei hesitated, then nodded. "That's right. Your previous analysis was pretty much spot on."

"Where is Xin Rui?" Zu An asked.

"She returned to the main headquarters after completing her mission," Bai Fei replied.

"Her 'mother' and 'brother' were probably fake too, right?" Zu An asked, disbelieving that the Demon Cult would leave such a huge flaw, allowing Xin Rui's relatives to be easily controlled.

"That's right, they were all disguised cult members," Bai Fei replied. "Otherwise, trying to escape from the Shi family's surveillance and then being found by the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the gambling house, even with assistance, wouldn't have been so easy."

"Your scheme is truly far-sighted," Zu An said, taking a sharp breath. Their meticulous planning couldn't have been an impulse; it must have been prepared years in advance.

But if it was years in advance, did they plan to target the Crown Princess even back then?

"It was just early preparation," Bai Fei explained. "It just so happened that the Shi family members fell into our trap."

Zu An felt relieved. "Why did you choose me and the Crown Princess?" he asked. He still felt like he was just collateral damage.

"King Wu's side proposed it," Bai Fei said. "He specifically requested you, and seems to harbor intense hatred for you." She couldn't help but glance at him in surprise. "What exactly did you do to him to make him hate you so much?"

Zu An's mind raced. It seemed she didn't know about him and Yun Yuqing. Hmm, both sides in this alliance were still holding back information.

"No choice, I'm just naturally too charming," he shrugged. "Perhaps when I passed through Ji County, I unknowingly made King Wu jealous."

Bai Fei was speechless.

"The reason you let me go initially, besides the reasons I just analyzed," Zu An asked curiously, "was it also because I saved Yun Jianyue and the others before?"

"That's right," Bai Fei said softly. "To save you and at the same time avoid King Wu's suspicion, I put in quite a lot of effort, you know."

Zu An chuckled, "So, I guess I should thank you for sending me to the gates of hell and back a few times?"

"You didn't really lose anything anyway," Bai Fei said with a suppressed smile. "The Crown Princess is a rare beauty. Even the Crown Prince hasn't touched her pure body, so didn't you get a good deal?"

"You were the one who undressed us back then?" Zu An's face twitched.

Bai Fei recalled the situation back then and instinctively glanced at his lower abdomen. Her pretty face flushed slightly. "What's the point of asking that?" she retorted.

"Of course there's a point," Zu An snorted. "You saw me naked, so I have to see you naked to make it even, right?"

Bai Fei smiled charmingly. "You want to see me? Alright, I'll just sit here without moving. You can come over and take off my clothes; I promise I won't resist."

Zu An was annoyed. "Woman, do you really think I wouldn't dare?"

"Then come on?" Bai Fei provocatively lifted her chin, glancing at the palace maids and nannies not far away. *With so many people watching, do you dare?*

Zu An's eyes narrowed. "My Lady, I have a friend—he's really my friend, mind you—he can't stand being provoked. The slightest provocation makes him impulsive; he completely disregards consequences and just acts on his impulses until he feels satisfied..."

He hadn't finished speaking when Bai Fei suddenly rose, urgently saying, "Don't you dare act impulsively, or we'll both be finished!"

In front of so many people, Zu An would certainly be ruined. And if she herself were touched by another man, rumors would inevitably spread throughout the palace, making her an impure person in the eyes of the royal family and rendering years of effort completely wasted.

"But my friend is really angry now; he can't hold it back anymore," Zu An said, secretly chuckling. He had drawn the "I have a friend" skill earlier but hadn't had a chance to use it. He never expected its first use to be in this situation.

Hmm, judging by Bai Fei's panicked eyes, she clearly believed that the "friend" he spoke of was himself. It seemed that using this skill to trick people in the future would be quite effective.

Bai Fei's pretty face flushed then paled repeatedly. She secretly regretted why she had to provoke him just now.

She gritted her teeth. With a flick of her sleeve, a shower of flower petals fell once more, at least blocking the servants' view for now. That way, even if something did happen, there would still be time to salvage the situation.

Looking at the surrounding rain of petals, Zu An's expression became exceedingly strange. "My Lady, with you doing this, can I take it to mean you've tacitly approved of my next actions?"

That's all for today's chapter. There will be three updates tomorrow.

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