Zu An frowned. He had been completely focused on drawing Daji, and this was the imperial envoy’s ship, with guards patrolling everywhere. That was why he had ended up lowering his guard a bit.
But even if he had lowered his guard, with his cultivation, it shouldn’t have been that easy for ordinary cultivators to approach him at all. And yet, he had only noticed this person after they had already made their move! This person definitely had some special concealment skill.
Zu An didn’t dare to show any carelessness. His fingers struck the dagger, and while the other party’s fingers were trembling, he rammed right against the person’s chest. However, the other person reacted quickly as well, their body bending at an inconceivable angle to evade his attack.
Zu An used the Feathersilk Entangling Art to prevent the other person from widening the distance between them. His opponent was also well versed in techniques, countering right back. They exchanged more than ten moves in a row.
Zu An noticed that the other party’s figure was graceful and their movements ingenious. They used some evasive maneuvers that even left him in admiration. However, the other person’s cultivation was clearly a bit beneath his own.
That person could still barely keep up at first, but as Zu An began to use his skills, his opponent began to feel pressured. Their figure stopped for a moment. Zu An seized that moment to smash through their defenses, slamming a palm into the person’s chest.
“Ah…!” the person cried in a sharp and clear voice, slamming into a wall like a broken sack.
“A woman?” Zu An exclaimed. Both the feeling of her chest and her voice pointed to the fact that the other person was a female assassin. However, he didn’t show any mercy just because she was female. Since she had come to kill him, there was no reason for him to hold back.
He was about to walk forward when he felt as if he had stepped on something. When he lowered his head, he discovered with shock that it was a jade token! The shape of the jade token was quite unique, and he could tell right away that it was from the Hub of Freedom.
What was more shocking was that the number on the jade token was actually 333! Zu An thought, Why does she have my jade token?
The jade token seemed to have fallen from the woman’s body. The woman took off her veil and said weakly, “Young master… It’s me…”
Tang Tian’er’s usual sweet smile was nowhere to be seen. Now, only her pale face and a trickle of blood seeping out from the corner of her mouth were visible.
“Why did you attack me?” Even though they were acquaintances, Zu An’s expression didn’t change at all. He continued to look at her coldly.
“I didn’t…” Tang Tian’er was about to say something, but her injuries were too severe and she was extremely weak. She fainted before being able to say what she wanted.
Zu An was worried that she was feigning injury to lower his guard, so he didn’t relax his vigilance. But a while later, he sensed that her ki was extremely faint, so he then squatted down to examine her.
“She really is seriously injured…” He knew that even though he hadn’t used all of his strength, his palm strike just then wasn’t something anyone could handle.
In fact, it was a miracle that Tang Tian’er hadn’t died on the spot. It was probably because of some kind of protective treasure that preserved her life. However, she was still going to die soon if nothing was done.
Someone knocked on his door. “Sir Zu? Sir Zu?” The nearby guards had heard the noise and came over to check on him.
“It’s nothing, just a thief who has already been dealt with. You all can withdraw for now.” Zu An showed himself at the entrance. The guards thus felt relieved and resumed their patrol after bowing.
Zu An closed the door and looked at the black clad woman on the ground, muttering, “Should I save her or not?”
The one he was asking was Daji. But unfortunately, Daji stood in place without moving at all. There wasn’t even a trace of life coming from her body.
Zu An sighed. He had thought that she was already starting to obtain a soul, but she still didn’t react no matter what he tested her with.
“By remaining silent, you’re saying I should save her, right? Fine, I wanted to know why she came to kill me too,” Zu An said confidently. Daji only continued to stare at him without any sign of pleasure or displeasure.
Zu An lifted Tang Tian’er up. Her body was so soft, it was as if she didn’t have any bones. No wonder she had been able to evade in such inconceivable ways. He fed her a pill. He wasn’t willing to feed her a Soul Return Pill; rather, he just used some pills Chu Youzhao had given him before. This person had been trying to kill him, so the fact that he was saving her life was already pretty good.
Zu An propped her up on the bed. Unfortunately, she couldn’t sit up at all and quickly fell over. He reached out and prodded her body a few times with her finger to keep her in place. Then, he used his Primordial Origin Ki to help her absorb the medicinal strength, as well as simultaneously treating her injuries.
His Primordial Origin Sutra had already been cultivated to the fourth layer. As long as it wasn’t a life-threatening injury, he could treat a patient. Strands of true ki left his finger and entered her body.
Tang Tian’er groaned, already starting to react somewhat. As the primordial ki flowed through her body, her entire body began to heat up. Then, she began to release white steam.
Just like that, after an hour passed, Tang Tian’er’s brows gently flickered. Zu An retracted his hand and said indifferently, “I know you’re already awake.”
Tang Tian’er thus opened her eyes, saying, “I wanted you to treat me for a while longer… I’m still far from recovered right now.” There was another more embarrassing reason that she didn’t want to mention, which was that when his ki moved through her body, it was warm and felt really good. She really didn’t want him to stop.
“Not dead and still capable of speaking is already pretty good. You still want me to treat you further? Perhaps you don’t understand the current situation?” Zu An couldn’t help but laugh.
“The current situation? Isn’t it just you touching my body all over, then making my entire body all wet?” Tang Tian’er replied while pulling up her clothes to show him how she was completely soaked in sweat.
Zu An was speechless. Can you not use such ambiguous words? Otherwise, other people might think I did something to you!
Tang Tian’er was blushing, because her sweat had made her clothes a bit transparent. What she had done just then only made her body even more visible. In order to get rid of her awkwardness, she quickly let go of her clothes and looked around her.
“Huh? Where did that woman from earlier go? I’ve never seen a woman that beautiful before!” she exclaimed. That was a sincere question she had. She hadn’t had much time to look at the woman in detail while they were hiding, but she had been shocked from just that glance. There was actually a woman as beautiful as that in this world? And that woman had been in the same room as Zu An in the middle of the night? She was growing more and more curious about this man.
Zu An had already recalled Daji. He didn’t feel like replying to her and instead said, “Stop beating around the bush. Tell me why you’re here, and then I’ll decide whether I’ll spare you or not.”
Tang Tian’er’s charming face fell. She could only say, “I heard that guest 333 came to the Hub of Freedom and thought it was you. I went over in high spirits to meet with you, but then I saw that it was two different people. I was so upset I took the jade pendant from them and came to give it back to you.”
Zu An had a strange expression. I wonder how embarrassing it will be later for Pei You when he finds out that he lost his jade token and that this trip won’t be free… But he obviously wouldn’t trust everything she said, and replied, “Do you think I’d believe that?”
Tang Tian’er pursed her lips and said, “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. I was curious about your identity, so I came to see if it was you or not.”
“So this is how your Hub of Freedom treats your jade token guests, by investigating them?” Zu An was getting a bit thirsty from treating her for so long. He left the bed and poured a cup of tea for himself.
“I want some too!” Tang Tian’er had just lost a lot of blood. Together with her injuries, she was extremely thirsty.
“Answer my question first.” Zu An ignored her.
“Stingy.” Tang Tian’er harrumphed. Then she said, “Of course we don’t investigate normal guests, but you’re different! How can I not even know the real identity of a man I spent a night of happiness with? Otherwise, if I get pregnant and my child asks me who the father is, I won’t even know what to tell him.”
Her expression suddenly changed and she exclaimed, “Oh no, do you think our child died from your palm strike just now?”
Zu An was speechless. What the hell is wrong with this woman? But he really did admire her acting ability. Anyone else might really have been fooled by her.
“You still have your virginity, so why do you insist on putting on this charming and seductive act?” Zu An handed over the tea cup in his hands when he saw her gulp her saliva several times.
Tang Tian’er had a grateful expression on her face. She immediately took the teacup and drained it in one gulp. “I want more~!” she said, raising her head and giving Zu An a pitiful look.
Zu An didn’t feel like pouring her a cup and just picked up the entire teapot, saying, “Open your mouth!”
“Ah~” Tang Tian’er was cooperative too and just opened her mouth, gulping down the tea. But she began to choke on it soon afterward. “Slow down a bit~!” She gave Zu An a resentful look.
Zu An completely ignored her and said, “You’ve had your fill now too. Isn’t it time for you to speak?”
Tang Tian’er’s expression became complicated. She said, “I just wanted to test you a bit. Now, I know you weren’t knocked out back then after all, and that I looked like a complete dummy in your eyes.”
Zu An narrowed his eyes, retorting, “Are you not scared that you’ll be silenced forever after telling me these things?”
