Chapter 809: Dead

"What!" The Gu brothers were both shocked and furious to hear that Zu An had also embraced Bi Linglong.

It was well known that the two brothers and Bi Linglong had grown up together. In fact, since childhood, both brothers had secretly admired the beautiful and noble young girl. Unfortunately, due to the significant difference in their family statuses and her marriage into the royal family as the Crown Princess, their unspoken affection never materialized. However, their admiration was merely buried deep in their hearts, not truly gone.

They had grown up together, yet they had never even touched fingers. And now, that fellow Zu An had embraced her?

Rage points from Gu Heng: 888,888,888...Rage points from Gu Xing: 888,888,888...

Zu An, who was nearby, was startled. What was wrong with these two? Why were they suddenly generating so much rage?

The Gu brothers had no time to look at him. Instead, they stared blankly at the Crown Prince beside them, taking a long time to recover their senses. What kind of reaction was this from the Crown Prince?

Your wife is acting intimately with another man, and you don't care? Instead, you respond by saying that man also hugged your wife. Can someone be so heartless? Or does this guy have some unusual preferences?

As soon as they thought about it, their breathing quickened, and their previously dormant hearts became active. Did this mean they could too...

Seeing the Crown Prince's indifference, the two quietly moved away, lest Bi Linglong discover their thoughts.

Their gazes, secretly fixed on Bi Linglong's graceful and beautiful figure, became incredibly fervent.

Suddenly, a small commotion erupted ahead. Various elemental skills instantly rained down, then peace quickly returned.

It turned out that a group of fierce beasts had just appeared. The young disciples of the noble families, already on edge, immediately took action upon seeing them and quickly dealt with the beasts.

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. The beasts that had appeared this time were old acquaintances: a pack of Ferocious Jackals.

He recalled how troubled he had been by that pack of Ferocious Jackals in Brightmoon City, eventually having to rely on strategy to defeat them. Yet now, he didn't even need to intervene; others had easily dealt with them.

It made sense. Ferocious Jackals were only around rank three in strength, their advantage lying in their large numbers. However, the Crown Prince's examination team included many experts of rank five and six, and their numbers were also considerable. Facing a pack of Ferocious Jackals, it was naturally a complete rout.

Along the way, they encountered several more small groups of fierce beasts, but these too caused no significant disturbance and were easily resolved by Zhao Xi and others.

The morale of these noble disciples was immediately boosted. They felt that what Zu An had described as so dangerous was, in reality, nothing much.

Meng Pan scoffed, "That guy is barely rank six. Of course, these seem dangerous to him."

"Exactly, we don't need Zu An for this journey at all." Pei You was also displeased. He was the one who could track the Heaven-Measuring Azure Moon Dragon; by rights, he should be the one setting the route. Yet, now he had to consult Zu An on everything.

Afterwards, when the Crown Prince rewarded merits after the examination, wouldn't Zu An receive the greatest credit for doing nothing?

Gao Ying, the Liu family's nephew, couldn't help but interject, "But the Crown Princess said Zu An's strength is far beyond that. And you all saw it yourselves earlier in the academy's back mountain; those teachers there were all so fawning towards Zu An. That couldn't have been fake, could it?"

Liu Xian chuckled, "Maybe he bribed those teachers to put on a show with him. The Chu family has the salt and iron trade; they must be very rich."

"Absolutely not!" The others, for once, agreed. "Those teachers in the National Academy's back mountain hold extraordinary status. They cannot be bribed by money, nor can even Prince Qi command them, let alone Zu An."

"But it's also true that they respect, even fawn over, Zu An. Why is that?" Liu Xian wondered.

Meng Pan said, "As far as I know, those teachers in the back mountain are very powerful, but each has their own strong preferences. For example, Hei Baizi loves chess, Yin Shi enjoys debates, and Wang Weiyang likes gardening... It's likely that Zu An, coming from the common folk, has dabbled in these miscellaneous arts, and happened to cater to their interests. That's why they value him so much."

"That's most likely it! Meng kid, you rarely make a good point, do you?" Zhao Xi clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

"Crude," Meng Pan snorted.

Gao Ying frowned. "Those teachers in the academy's back mountain barely have enough energy to specialize in one field each. Why does Zu An know so many fields?"

"Broad but not refined, knowledgeable in many things but not expert in any," Pei You sneered. "That's why his cultivation is so mediocre."

Several people nodded, thinking this was most likely the case. Their concerns about Zu An, stemming from the solemn declarations of the academy teachers and Bi Linglong, gradually vanished.

After an unknown period, night gradually fell. It was common knowledge that mountains were more dangerous at night, so everyone stopped traveling and set up camp, intending to continue their journey at dawn.

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were Eastern Palace guards who had undergone strict military training. Therefore, Zu An assigned them to arrange for experts from each family to stand guard around the camp.

As for the young noble masters, they naturally didn't need to do such rough work. They gathered around the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, recounting their triumphs over the fierce beasts during the day. The Crown Prince exclaimed repeatedly, declaring that he definitely wanted to catch a fierce beast tomorrow to deal with himself.

Meanwhile, the Gu brothers seized the opportunity to hand a carefully roasted chicken to Bi Linglong:

"Crown Princess (Linglong), you've had a tiring day. Have some chicken."

Both saw the roasted chicken in the other's hand, and their eyelids involuntarily twitched.

The brothers truly had a telepathic connection.

"Thank you!" Compared to the carefree Crown Prince, who seemed to be listening to a play in the distance, Bi Linglong was not feeling as relaxed at the moment.

She took the roasted chicken and casually handed it to Zu An, "You must be hungry too. Here."

Zu An didn't stand on ceremony. He took the roasted chicken and began to gnaw on it. Having cultivated the *Primordial Chaos Scripture*, his physical strength and recovery ability far surpassed ordinary people. Similarly, his appetite was much larger than average, requiring frequent energy replenishment.

He had to admit, although the two brothers' remarks were annoying, their roasted chicken was indeed quite good.

Seeing Zu An eat with such relish, a faint smile appeared on Bi Linglong's face. "Don't choke. There's more; this chicken is also for you."

The Gu brothers: "..."

The two brothers were on the verge of tears. *We worked so hard to roast these for you!*

Zu An chuckled inwardly. Their expressions reminded him of online posts from his previous life, where men would save several months' worth of living expenses to buy a precious gift for a "goddess," hoping to win her smile, only for the goddess to immediately pass it on to her own "male god."

Indeed, in any world, simps truly have no future.

Thinking of how these two brothers had been constantly trying to slander him along the way, Zu An wouldn't be Zu An if he didn't retaliate.

He dangled a chicken bone in front of them. "Your cooking is pretty good! How about you roast two more for me? I'm still hungry."

"We're not cooks!" the Gu brothers retorted furiously, turning and walking away.

Rage points from Gu Heng: 666,666,666...Rage points from Gu Xing: 666,666,666...

Bi Linglong couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You deliberately provoked them, didn't you?"

"Isn't it better with two fewer flies around?" Zu An said with a grin.

Bi Linglong's face flushed. This fellow was getting bolder and bolder; she needed to find a time to put him in his place.

As time passed, night deepened. The disciples from the various noble families gradually fell asleep in their respective tents.

As for the Crown Prince, after eating and drinking his fill, he was already snoring loudly in his tent.

Bi Linglong, meanwhile, sat with Zu An, discussing details for the next few days. However, she had barely slept the previous night, and as they talked, drowsiness overcame her. Unconsciously, she leaned against Zu An's shoulder and fell asleep.

Smelling the faint fragrance emanating from the young woman, Zu An also entered a meditative state to cultivate. His cultivation had jumped two ranks, and he needed time to consolidate it.

Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun had just completed a patrol outside. They were preparing to return and chat with Zu An, entering with smiles and laughter, when they saw the scene before them. Their smiles instantly froze on their faces.

The two exchanged a glance and hastily retreated outside.

Pu Duandiao wiped cold sweat from his forehead. "It's over, it's over. What do we do?"

Jiao Sigun's face was also pale, but he remained relatively calm. "What's over? Nothing actually happened between them."

"That's still nothing? If anyone finds out, not only will Brother Zu be in trouble, but the Crown Princess herself might not be able to protect herself," Pu Duandiao murmured. "How could Brother Zu be so foolish? Is the Crown Princess someone you can just touch?"

"I don't think it's as serious as you're making it out to be," Jiao Sigun swallowed hard. "I imagine they were just too tired and fell asleep without realizing it."

"Do you believe that?" Pu Duandiao stared at him somberly.

Jiao Sigun forced a bitter smile. "Whether I believe it or not, I have to. If this gets out, Brother Zu will be finished."

Pu Duandiao hesitated. "But if we know and don't report it, that's a capital crime punishable by clan extermination."

"Brother Zu has been so good to us; we can't harm him. How about this: since nothing actually happened between them, we'll just pretend it didn't happen, and then quietly advise him later," Jiao Sigun suggested.

"That's all we can do," Pu Duandiao said after a moment's thought, standing up. "I'll move the patrol guards further away. You stay here and keep watch, so no one else sees."

"Alright!"

Soon, the night passed, filled with the two men's trepidation.

The next day, as the morning light illuminated the mountain forest, a piercing scream suddenly echoed through the camp: "Someone's dead!"