Chapter 999: Deceived an Undercover Agent

Zu An said calmly, "You are indeed very clever, knowing how to pretend to be my woman in front of outsiders. But do you think that will make me let you go?"

Tang Tian'er instantly felt as if all her strength had been drained. With a tearful face, she pleaded, "My lord, I truly didn't come to assassinate you. It was just for fun; I wanted to test you. But I didn't expect your cultivation to be so high. Your attack was so fast I didn't even have time to explain before I was severely wounded."

"My lord, you should know I held back when I attacked," she continued. "Although the momentum was fierce, I didn't actually aim for your vitals. With your high cultivation, you should have been able to sense that."

Zu An snorted. "If I hadn't realized that later, do you think I would have expended my energy to save you just now?"

Hearing his tone soften, Tang Tian'er couldn't help but feel delighted. She leaned closer to him and said sweetly, "My lord, you're so naughty; you truly scared me just now."

"Did you come on your own initiative or on behalf of the Soaring Pagoda?" Zu An asked in a deep voice.

"Of course, it was my personal decision," Tang Tian'er said softly. "Everyone in the Pagoda still thinks you are a sea-race member. I was just very curious about you, which is why I came to test you. I didn't expect things to get out of hand."

"Sea-race, huh..." Zu An probably also guessed why they thought that.

Tang Tian'er quickly said, "My lord, please rest assured, only I know your identity. I absolutely will not tell anyone else."

"A woman's word and a man's words in bed are equally unreliable things," Zu An chuckled.

"Then how can I make you believe me, my lord?" Tang Tian'er suddenly said with a shy expression, "If you are willing, I can also become your woman. That way, you can finally feel at ease about me."

"Put away your attempts at probing," Zu An directly exposed her lie. "If you were willing to use your body as a weapon in a complicated place like the Soaring Pagoda, you wouldn't still be a virgin by now."

Tang Tian'er put away the formulaic smile on her face and sighed faintly. "I've encountered all sorts of men, but my lord is the only one who understands me... This isn't flattery; it's what I truly feel from the bottom of my heart."

"Flattery is useless," Zu An said. He then took out two pills, one red and one blue. "Choose one and take it; then I'll be at ease."

Tang Tian'er's expression subtly changed. "What are these?"

Zu An said indifferently, "The red one is called the Three-Corpse Brain-Destroying Pill, and the blue one is called the Leopard Fetus Marrow-Changing Pill."

"The Three-Corpse Brain-Destroying Pill is made from three kinds of corpse worms. After consumption, there's no noticeable effect on ordinary days. But every year before noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, if the antidote to suppress the corpse worms is not taken in time, the worms will hatch. Once they enter the brain, the person who took the pill will act like a ghost or a demon, even biting and devouring their own parents and spouse."

Tang Tian'er's face finally changed completely. Although she had guessed it was some kind of poison, she didn't expect it to be such a sinister and vicious one.

"What about this one?" she asked, trembling as she pointed to the other blue pill, subconsciously feeling a strong aversion to anything involving corpse worms.

"This one is called the Leopard Fetus Marrow-Changing Pill," Zu An introduced with a playful expression. "It's made from precious and highly potent medicinal ingredients like leopard fetus, deer fetus, placenta, and sea dog kidney, refined using special techniques. Within a year of taking this pill, it can strengthen the body and improve health. But if you don't take the corresponding antidote for more than a year, its potent toxicity will activate. It can make a stout person suddenly stretch three feet taller within three months, with their skin bleeding profusely all over. It can also make a thin person shrink by half their height, transforming them into a bloated, unsightly ball of flesh. With your figure, you'll most likely turn into the latter."

"So, have you decided which one to choose?"

Tang Tian'er's small face turned pale, and she said tremblingly, "Can I not choose?"

The other party had explained the effects of each pill so clearly, it was clearly not something made up on the spot. She was truly panicked now.

Zu An shook his head. "You must choose one, or die now."

Tang Tian'er's face alternated between green and white, her breathing became rapid, as if she was struggling internally.

"What, do you want to make a desperate move before you die?" Zu An said calmly.

After being seen through, Tang Tian'er finally lost her resolve. "Your cultivation is far superior to mine; what right do I have to fight?"

After speaking, she tremblingly chose the blue pill. Compared to having corpse worms inside, which would eventually gnaw at her brain, the other one was more acceptable.

After receiving the pill, she suddenly looked at Zu An. "You want me to be your spy in the Soaring Pagoda?"

"Miss Tang is indeed clever," Zu An nodded approvingly. "As long as you are obedient, I will give you the antidote in advance every year. That way, you won't have to worry about any problems."

Hearing him say that, Tang Tian'er directly swallowed the "Leopard Fetus Marrow-Changing Pill." "Now you can finally be at ease, right!"

Anger value from Tang Tian'er +555555555...

Zu An smiled faintly. He didn't have any Three-Corpse Brain-Destroying Pills or Leopard Fetus Marrow-Changing Pills at all. He was just thinking about how to control her and thought of the famous poisons from the wuxia dramas he watched in his previous life. He didn't expect to actually bluff her.

Seeing her on the verge of tears, Zu An felt a little embarrassed instead.

"Sit properly."

"What are you doing?"

Tang Tian'er was now somewhat wary, no longer wearing her previous sweet smile. Instead, she looked at him as if he were a demon.

"Your injuries haven't fully healed. Since you are now my person, I naturally can't let you leave with injuries." *He had just given her the stick, so now he had to offer some carrots.*

"Hmph, who said I'm your person?" Tang Tian'er originally wanted to refuse with unyielding defiance. After all, this guy was truly despicable. She had specifically come for him, just like the love stories of beauties eloping in ancient tales, yet this guy had committed such an outrageous act against her.

However, recalling the comfortable feeling from just now, she ultimately couldn't resist the temptation and obediently sat closer.

Zu An extended his finger and pressed it against her back, guiding the Primal Chaos Qi to continue healing her internal injuries.

"Mmm," feeling that familiar comfortable sensation, Tang Tian'er couldn't help but let out a sweet, soft hum from her nose.

Zu An: "..."

"Can you not make it so... like that?" Zu An said. "Anyone who doesn't know better would think I did something to you." That kitten-like sound truly made him feel a bit flustered.

"My lord hasn't done anything to me yet?" Tang Tian'er said plaintively. "I'm almost broken by you already."

Zu An: "???"

"If you don't know how to use words, don't misuse them."

"But it's clearly like this!" Tang Tian'er gradually calmed down from her earlier anger. "If I obediently listen to you from now on, you'll give me the antidote, right?"

"Naturally," Zu An said, a slight smile appearing on his lips. He wondered what her reaction would be when she learned the truth in the future.

"Then how will I find you when the time comes?" Tang Tian'er asked anxiously. "What if, due to some accident, I don't get the antidote before the poison acts up? Wouldn't that be unfair to me?"

"Don't worry, I'll send you the antidote in advance," Zu An replied. "And I'm right here in the capital, so finding me will be easy. On the contrary, you are quite mysterious within the Soaring Pagoda; I might not be able to find you." *Zu An thought to himself: You only ate two candy pills; it would be a miracle if they were poisonous.*

However, next time when he gave her the 'antidote,' he could try giving her a real Leopard Fetus Marrow-Changing Pill or something similar, provided he had already refined such a medicine.

Tang Tian'er naturally didn't know she had been thoroughly outmaneuvered. "You now have a jade token from the Soaring Pagoda," she said. "As long as there's a Soaring Pagoda branch, you can contact me."

Zu An was a bit surprised. "It seems your position in the Soaring Pagoda isn't as insignificant as you claimed."

"Of course! I'm the belle of the Soaring Pagoda..." However, her expression quickly fell. "But alas, I still ended up in your hands."

"Oh, right, where's my reward?" Tang Tian'er held out her hand.

"Reward?" Zu An was stunned. "Don't move around; I'm still healing you."

Tang Tian'er murmured, "Oh." Then she continued, "Of course I want a reward. Even though you've coerced me and I have to work for you, there's a difference between doing it diligently and doing it half-heartedly. If you only threaten me, while I won't dare to disobey, I also won't take it seriously; I'll just do enough to humor you."

"But with compensation and rewards, it's different," she continued. "Not only will I complete the task, but I'll also think about how to complete it better."

"There's some truth to what you say," Zu An admitted. He didn't know whether to call her optimistic or something else; she had adapted to her new role so quickly. "What kind of reward do you want? Let me warn you in advance, I'm quite poor."

His current needs for alchemy, cultivation, and Daji's breakthrough all required a lot of spiritual medicine; he was practically a money-burning machine. The Soaring Pagoda auction, in particular, had made him realize for the first time just how poor he was.

"Whether you're poor or not, I don't know, but you're certainly stingy," Tang Tian'er said, rolling her eyes. She had seen him spend lavishly at the Soaring Pagoda before; how could such a person be poor? "Don't worry, I don't want your money, I just want you to..."

Halfway through her sentence, her face suddenly flushed slightly. "Just... spend some time with me like this every now and then."

Zu An: "???"