That person didn’t walk in on her own; rather, she was brought in through Yun Jianyue’s ki. Even though Yun Jianyue didn’t just throw the person onto the ground, it was definitely not a smooth ride.
Zu An was shocked when he saw who it was, exclaiming, “Pink!”
The woman before him was actually that missing courtesan from Jasper Lane! Pei You hadn’t able to find her the entire time, and yet now, Yun Jianyue had actually captured her!
“Big sis sect master, this is…” Zu An began. He noticed that Pink seemed to have her acupoints sealed. Her expression was full of alarm.
Yun Jianyue said indifferently, “I heard that your group made some arrests at the Pegasus Merchant Group. I’m using her as our bargaining chip. Let those who should go, go.”
Zu An only hesitated slightly, but he quickly agreed. “Fine!”
It was Yun Jianyue’s turn to be surprised. She said, “Those who are captured by the Imperial Envoy aren’t so easily released. Are you sure you should be agreeing so quickly?”
Zu An gave the incredible long-haired beauty a look. It really was hard for him to associate her with the demoness the world made her out to be. He said, “Big sis sect master has already asked me for this favor, so I’d do my best to help no matter how difficult it was, let alone in this situation where you’ve brought me a gift in exchange.”
Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “Smooth talker.” Even though she sounded reproachful, there was a smile on her face.
“Right, I made Honglei go back into secluded training. Her mental state is always disturbed whenever she meets you. She has to fight against that stone cold woman’s disciple next year, so now isn’t the time for her to make any mistakes.” She paused for a moment before giving Zu An a look, saying, “I’m forcefully intruding between you two. You won’t blame me, will you?”
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything. I always have to be apart from Honglei for a long time again as soon as we meet.” Zu An sighed. He continued, “But I can’t be so selfish as to affect Honglei’s prospects. Big sis sect master is doing the right thing, so how can I blame you?”
Yun Jianyue nodded in satisfaction and said, “Very good. You aren’t as hypocritical as those so-called gentlemen. I’ll allow you two to meet again if there’s a chance in the future. Now that things are done here, I need to leave. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
She was just about to leave when Zu An called out to her. Seeing her confused expression, he lowered his voice and asked, “Big sis sect master, are you guys secretly working with King Yan?”
Yun Jianyue’s expression changed a bit. After some hesitation, she nodded and said, “Indeed.”
Since he had suddenly asked the question out of the blue and investigated the Pegasus Merchant Group, that meant he knew something. That was why there was no need to hide anything.
Zu An said, “Big sis sect master, you need to be careful. King Yan is just using you guys! For example, he’s clearly abusing your relationship to seize the court’s resources, making you take all the blame. Not only is he not telling you anything, he’s instead using your help to seize Zhenyuan Merchant Group’s market share in this place.”
“I’m fully aware that King Yan is using us; do you think we aren’t using him too?” Yun Jianyue chuckled. “But you’ve told me something important today. You haven’t let down Honglei’s kindness toward you.”
Zu An couldn’t help but say, “I’m not doing this only for Honglei. Sect master, you’ve treated me really well too!”
Yun Jianyue’s expression turned dangerous. She retorted, “Do you have no more attachments to this world? Are you really going after both master and disciple?”
Sensing an overwhelming pressure, Zu An quickly explained, “Big sis sect master, please don’t misunderstand. We know our boundaries. Honglei calls you master; I call you big sis. I’m really only treating you as my friend.”
“That’s more like it.” Yun Jianyue’s expression eased up a bit and she said, “I’m going.” She kicked off lightly against the ground, then disappeared into the distance.
…
Zu An secretly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. What is going on with this woman? She said all of those things in front of Yan Xuehen, and yet now, she got angry because of that?
“What happened just now? Why was she angry?” Yu Yanluo called out. She sensed Yun Jianyue’s sudden release of pressure and quickly came over to check on Zu An.
“Maybe that’s just how the Devil Sect does things. They’re a moody bunch.” Zu An obviously couldn’t tell her the real reason. The worst part was that he really was innocent!
“That makes sense.” Yu Yanluo didn’t suspect anything and instead looked at Pink, asking, “This is…?”
Her first reaction was to think Pink was another one of Zu An’s girls. But upon closer inspection, she saw that even though the girl wasn’t ugly, she couldn’t even compare to some of Yu Manor’s prettier maids. Furthermore, she seemed to be quite involved in the secular world, which didn’t seem to match Zu An’s tastes at all.
Zu An explained Pink’s background to her and said, “I’m going to bring her back for interrogation, so I’ll have to bid you farewell for now.”
Yu Yanluo nodded and said, “Proper matters come first.”
She froze up momentarily when she said that. It was almost as if the two of them being together wasn’t something proper. She couldn’t help but feel that their current relationship was a bit strange.
Zu An gave the ruins around them an apologetic look, saying, “I’m sorry. Your entire room ended up getting destroyed.”
“It’s fine; it’ll all be rebuilt soon.” Yu Yanluo gave the room a somewhat reluctant look. It was obvious that after all these years, she had developed some attachment to the place.
…
After exchanging a few more words of consolation, Zu An left Yu Manor and quickly returned to the temporary residence. Along the way, he interrogated Pink, asking her who had ordered her to do the things she did. However, she kept avoiding the question.
Eventually, Zu An didn’t even feel like asking any more questions. He simply handed her over to Xiao Jianren. Special situations had to be left to specialists, after all. The Embroidered Envoy were the best of the best at interrogating criminals.
Zu An went to see Sang Hong. With their current relationship, there was no need to hide anything. He asked Sang Hong to free Solitary Gold, Solitary Wood, and the others.
“Qiu Honglei sought you out?” Sang Hong asked. He knew that Zu An’s relationship with her was different from the time when all of them had been escorted to the capital.
Zu An gave him an ambiguous reply. He couldn’t just tell Sang Hong that it was Yun Jianyue, could he? After all, in theory, he shouldn’t have had any interactions with Yun Jianyue. The only chance when they could have met each other was during the attack on the Imperial Palace. Zu An didn’t want to bring that up and bring up more unnecessary drama.
Sang Hong frowned and said, “I know that witch is pretty, but the women from the Devil Sect are up to no good! She is the saintess of the Devil Sect. If you keep sticking around her, you will end up in trouble sooner or later.”
Zu An explained, “She risked her life to save me back then. I can’t be so ungrateful, can I?”
This time, Sang Hong surprisingly didn’t say anything. If Zu An really were someone so disloyal, Sang Hong wouldn’t have dared to form an alliance with him.
Seeing that Sang Hong remained quiet, Zu An knew he was hesitating. As such, he continued, “The Devil Sect Master, Yun Jianyue, appeared in the city not too long ago. Things will be disastrous if we aren’t careful and get her involved. Our mission is to deal with Cloudcenter Commandery. There’s no need to create new problems with the Devil Sect too.”
Sang Hong’s expression changed. He nodded and said, “Alright. Since we haven’t reported anything yet, you should find a chance to let them go. The best situation is to create a hole in our security and have them run away themselves, lest our enemies find something to use against us.”
Zu An thought, As expected of an old fox of politics; his thinking is so comprehensive. He replied, “Thank you, respected uncle.”
“You should do your best to distance yourself from the Devil Sect…” Sang Hong intended to dissuade Zu An, when suddenly, Xiao Jianren sent news that Pink had confessed.
…
“Speak! Who made you do all this?” Sang Hong arrived at the secret room and exclaimed seriously.
There was a distressed smile on Pink’s face as she replied, “I can tell you, but do you have the stomach to hear me out?”
Sang Hong’s expression changed. He gestured with one hand, having everyone else back down until it was just him, Zu An, Pei You, and Xiao Jianren present.
“Stop playing games and tell us!” Pei You exclaimed, a bit annoyed. He had really been toyed with by Pink for some time, so he was naturally upset.
Pink clenched her teeth and said, “I need you all to promise my safety first. Otherwise, I’ll still die even if I speak.”
“I am the Imperial Envoy, so please say what you wish to say,” Sang Hong said coldly.
“Imperial Envoy…” There was a hint of mockery in Pink’s expression. But she knew that she had no choice in the current situation. She then said a name. “If I said it was King Qi who would want me dead, would you still be able to ensure my safety?”
