Chapter 845: Deadly Misunderstanding

Zu An hastily asked Mi Li about this. Mi Li also fell into thought. "There are three possibilities," she said. "First, the world is in chaos, and the arrays are restructuring. Many abilities that were once usable are now ineffective, and your skill might have been affected. Second, the power of that lightning strike. Lightning is the purest force between heaven and earth, capable of expelling all evil..."

Zu An immediately grew displeased. "Are you calling my skill evil?"

Mi Li let out a wry chuckle. "Your skill is indeed quite sinister. It seems to inflict a negative status on people, affecting their souls. It's not surprising that it was cleansed by such a powerful lightning strike."

Zu An was speechless.

Mi Li continued. "The third possibility is that the Emperor is simply too powerful. His divine soul has surpassed ordinary people's imagination. Even if he was hit by your skill, he could maintain a certain degree of sanity. After that lightning strike, he might have decided it was too dangerous to come kill you right now, and so he'll wait for the world to stabilize before finding another opportunity."

Zu An's face immediately fell. "That's the worst-case scenario."

In his mind, the abilities from his keyboard system were always the highest priority. If even these abilities had no effect on the Emperor, wouldn't he be doomed?

Unwilling to give up, Zu An decided to provoke the Emperor further. So he shouted loudly, "Hey, fatty!"

Zhao Ruizhi, who had been meditating under a large tree, suddenly looked up. He Li, standing nearby, couldn't help but stare at Zu An. *This guy is truly bold! Everyone else who offends the Emperor wishes they could get as far away as possible from him, but this guy is actively provoking him?*

*What kind of trick was he going to pull now?*

Bi Linglong also looked up at him, bewildered. She didn't understand what he was doing.

Just then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Zu An leaned down and kissed her vibrant red lips. Her lips were incredibly soft, and there was a sweet scent about her.

Bi Linglong's mind went blank, as if it had exploded.

The Prince Qi's mansion's elite guards were speechless.

He Li was speechless.

"Damn it, this guy is really asking for it!" He Li thought. "This is simply outrageous! Even I can't tolerate this, let alone the Emperor!" He Li quickly turned to observe Zhao Ruizhi's reaction. He saw the Emperor's eyes redden, and a terrifying aura spread outwards.

Rage points from Zhao Hao: 777,777,777...

What surprised He Li, however, was that the Emperor quickly closed his eyes, as if everything before him ceased to exist. He couldn't help but feel admiration. *He tolerates what ordinary people cannot. No wonder he's the Emperor and I'm not.*

Zu An was equally surprised. *The Emperor can even tolerate this?* However, he had confirmed one thing: his 'Verbal Floral Deluge' skill had indeed become ineffective. During the activation of that skill, he wouldn't be able to receive rage points from the target.

Seeing that the Emperor could still maintain his composure, Zu An even considered using the ultimate move, "Your wife is amazing," to make him lose his mind. But considering Bi Linglong's reputation, he decided against it.

At that moment, Bi Linglong finally snapped back to reality. Blushing furiously, she pushed him away. Then she nervously ran into the small grove behind them. Such a rebellious act had already challenged her years of aristocratic etiquette training. And to be watched by so many people — how could she bear it?

Zu An glanced at Zhao Ruizhi, then quickly pursued her.

From a distance, He Li was dumbfounded. *Those two went into the grove. Who knew what might happen between a man and a woman alone? Could the Emperor truly tolerate even this?* Seeing Zhao Ruizhi feign calmness, even as his cheek twitched inadvertently, He Li decisively chose not to approach and stir up trouble.

Meanwhile, Zu An caught up with Bi Linglong. He asked softly, "Why are you running?"

"How can you even say that?" Bi Linglong looked at him, both embarrassed and annoyed. "Doing that... to me, in front of so many people!"

Zu An looked wronged. "Didn't you kiss me first?"

"That was just... just to anger him. It wasn't really... anything for you, don't overthink it," Bi Linglong's voice was flustered. Then, as if possessed, she added, "And even if... even if it was something, don't think I'm that kind of casual woman."

Zu An smiled. "You don't need to overthink it. I was also trying to anger the Emperor. I wanted to provoke him into losing his mind and coming to retaliate, then use the power of the heavens and earth against him. But I didn't expect him to be so composed."

"That... that's for the best." Hearing him say that, for some reason, Bi Linglong felt a pang of disappointment. She immediately turned away, not wanting to look at him.

Gazing at her snow-white hair, Zu An pondered, then took out some pills and handed them to her. "Oh right, your life force was severely depleted after you used that secret technique. Here are some vitality-restoring pills. Take them, and I'll help you meditate to absorb their medicinal properties."

He had bought many medicines from Ji Dengtu earlier. Moreover, before entering the secret realm, Chu Youzhao had prepared various kinds of medicine, many of which were for strengthening the body and cultivating vitality. Zu An had taken all of them out.

Seeing this, Bi Linglong's heart warmed. He still remembered her condition. After her little tantrum, she was initially a bit embarrassed to accept them, but seeing her white hair, she reached out and took them. "Thank you!" What woman wouldn't care about her appearance?

Ordinarily, she would never dare to casually consume medicine given by other men. But this time, she didn't hesitate for a moment. She popped the pills into her mouth, then sat cross-legged and began circulating the nearly depleted vital energy within her body.

Zu An sat behind her. He placed his hand on a major acupoint on her back, channeling immense vital energy into her. He couldn't help but secretly lament, *In my previous life, the young heroes in historical dramas always had women remove their clothes for healing. Compared to that, I'm truly an honest and pure person.*

Bi Linglong, of course, had no idea what he was thinking. With his help, she began to refine the medicinal properties within her body. A warm sensation spread throughout her limbs and bones, and her complexion became noticeably more rosy. Although these medicines were far from enough to completely replenish her lost life force, they still nourished her currently weakened body.

Zu An clearly noticed this. He thought about the items he had on him and took out a large ganoderma lucidum (spiritual mushroom). "This thousand-year ganoderma contains abundant life essence. Taking it should help with the depletion in your body."

Bi Linglong opened her eyes, immediately confused. "Isn't this something I gave you before?" She felt a wave of wistfulness. Back then, she was the lofty Crown Princess. She had given it to him simply to win over a capable subordinate. Little did she know then that so many things would happen between her and that subordinate in the future.

Zu An's face showed no change, his heart rate steady. "Doesn't this just prove it's fate? There's a destiny guided by heaven."

Hearing his words, Bi Linglong's heart thumped rapidly. *Could this really be destiny?*

Mi Li, bored and watching the drama unfold, curled her lips. *This guy is really something. He's using something a woman gave him to court her. And the key is, she's actually falling for it.*

Zu An tore off a piece of the ganoderma and brought it to Bi Linglong's mouth. "Conditions are limited right now, just eat it like this." Normally, refining ganoderma into elixirs would make more effective use of its medicinal properties. Unfortunately, Zu An currently only knew how to refine Vitality Gathering Pills. If he tried to refine other elixirs and failed, he would ruin this precious ingredient, so it was better for her to eat it directly.

Bi Linglong hummed in acknowledgment. She took the piece of ganoderma, parted her red lips slightly, and began to suck on it in small bites.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ruizhi was waiting for the spatial distortion to stabilize so he could go teach Zu An a lesson. But after waiting for so long, there was no sign of stabilization, and he grew increasingly restless. He hadn't originally intended to find out what the two were doing. Out of sight, out of mind. Anyway, based on his understanding of Bi Linglong, he knew she would never truly do anything that would compromise her status. But now feeling somewhat bored and agitated, he decided to listen in on their movements.

He Li had been trying to eavesdrop all along. With his cultivation, he could easily eavesdrop from a hundred paces away if he truly wanted to. Unfortunately, bursts of violent storms and the chaos of elemental energies in the world made the sounds from that direction consistently unclear.

But just then, the storm seemed to abate slightly. Bi Linglong's soft, seemingly wronged voice drifted intermittently from their direction:

"It's too big, I can't... take it all in..."

He Li: "???"

*What are those two doing? Are they really playing so wildly?* He Li quickly glanced at Zhao Ruizhi beside him. He saw the fat on the Emperor's face tremble wildly. Immediately after, a furious roar shook the heavens and earth:

"Zu An, I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!!!"

Rage points from Zhao Hao: 999,999,999...