“Young master Zu, you need not worry about me. Please save the madam.” At that moment, Maid Xing made a decision to sacrifice herself. She didn’t want to become a burden and drag Zu An down.
Zu An didn’t reply and instead grabbed her shoulder. With a few leaps, they landed a few streets away. But he quickly frowned, because more and more people rushed over after hearing the news. The encirclement became more and more dangerous. It was becoming extremely difficult for him to hide with someone else in broad daylight.
He only felt an instant of hesitation. He took Maid Xing with him in a different direction, quickly arriving outside the Duke Manor. Maid Xing was overjoyed, exclaiming, “We can seek out the duke for help!”
Zu An thought, I wonder what kind of an expression she’ll have if she finds out I’m the duke. He didn’t reply and instead jumped straight over the courtyard walls with her.
Maid Xing was shocked. She watched as Zu An proficiently avoided the patrols along the way, almost as if he were in his own home.
When they finally gained a bit of a breather, Zu An asked, “Are Liu Ji and Chu Ji trustworthy?” He needed someone to help him take care of the wounded Maid Xing.
Maid Xing said, “Let us seek out Chu Ji. She is one of our clansmen.” Her words implied that Liu Ji was a human.
Zu An was stunned. So he had already unknowingly become someone like ‘that’? No wonder Chu Ji’s waist was so slender, and she knew how to use her hips…
But it wasn’t the time to think about all that. He quickly brought Maid Xing to Chu Ji’s residence. However, Maid Xing asked in confusion, “Huh? Why does young master Zu know where Chu Ji lives?”
She had every reason to be confused. The location of wives and children in a manor was confidential to the outside world. Even inside the Duke Manor, only the maids who worked in the courtyard would know such information. No one else would.
Zu An was speechless. What could he even say? That he had been there quite often before?
He placed Maid Xing down outside Chu Ji’s room and said, “You should talk to her. I’ll take care of some of our pursuers.”
He couldn’t meet with Chu Ji in his current state. He didn’t want their relationship to become too complicated. He quickly disappeared outside the courtyard after knocking on the door, and watched from afar. He only left in relief after Chu Ji emerged and took Maid Xing inside.
Outside, many soldiers were clamoring noisily. They clearly wanted to storm in and investigate.
Zu An used ‘Face of a Thousand Identities’ to change into Jian Yanyou’s appearance. Then, he found a random servant to use the Kawaii Waifu Voice Changer. Afterward, he went to his place of seclusion, pretending to have just come out.
“What happened? Why is it so noisy outside?” Zu An asked in a dignified manner using Jian Yanyou’s voice.
“Duke, you’ve come out?” a lesser servant outside immediately replied. He continued angrily, “Some soldiers claim to have chased a criminal all the way here. They want to enter to carry out an investigation. Just where did they get the courage to demand something so preposterous?!” As a member of the Duke Manor, he wasn’t happy at all to see someone disturb them like this.
Zu An didn’t say anything and walked straight toward the entrance. Even from afar, he could see that the manor’s guards were already confronting the troops. He called out, “Do you have no idea what kind of place this is? Is the Duke Manor even a place you can search as you please?!”
A military officer from the soldiers’ side said haughtily, “We are trying to arrest a fiend race criminal. Someone saw her run in this direction, which is why we want to investigate inside. You keep coming up with all sorts of excuses. Are you shielding a fiend race criminal?!”
The guards immediately lost some confidence when they heard the incident was related to the fiend races. They didn’t dare to bear such an accusation.
Zu An gave the surroundings a rough scan with his soul. There were quite a few soldiers present. But as for the random excuse they used, saying they had seen a criminal run inside, Zu An had personally escorted Maid Xing. If he couldn’t even discern whether those soldiers had seen them or not, he would have cultivated to his current level for nothing.
These people had clearly prepared in advance. Xu Yu knew about Yu Yanluo and Jian Yanyou’s relationship and had suspected that Maid Xing would escape toward the Duke Manor. That was why he had sent people over to search the area; it also served as a warning to Jian Yanyou not to interfere.
“Move aside already. If you let that fiend race criminal escape, all of your clans will be eradicated!” the officer roared aggressively.
The guards didn’t know what to do, and felt incredibly wronged. Who would have dared to strut around in front of the Duke Manor that way before? But recently, Second Master Jian, Uncle Ming, and several others had passed away one after another. The duke had disappeared for a long time as well, and he had gone into long-term seclusion after returning. The entire manor seemed to have lost its pillars of support. Faced with the overbearing soldiers, none of the guards dared to take on the accusation of sheltering people from the fiend races.
Just then, someone let out a cold snort and said, “How bold. All of you actually dare to behave so atrociously in my manor.”
All of the guards were pleasantly surprised when they heard that voice. The officer’s expression changed.
“Commandery Duke!” Many guards bowed down toward Zu An in greeting. Even many of the soldiers did the same.
Zu An looked at the officer who had still been acting haughtily a moment before and asked coldly, “Who are you?”
“I am the Martial Affairs Manor’s Assistant Regional Commander Fei Xun,” the officer quickly replied.
“Fei Xun? Why have I never heard that name before?” Zu An replied with a frown. He and Yu Yanluo had reviewed all of the Martial Affairs Manor’s important officers previously, when they had been fighting over control of the Martial Affairs Manor. However, he had absolutely no impression of Fei Xun.
“I was recently promoted by Sir Xu,” Fei Xun quickly said. The pressure of facing the duke was a bit too great, but when he mentioned Xu Yu, he immediately felt more confident again.
“Xu Yu…” Zu An sneered. As expected, dogs who bite don’t bark… He had been fighting so bitterly against Jian Taiding before, and yet now, it turned out this fellow Xu Yu had secretly planted many of his own trusted aides in various key positions.
“Was the duke not training in seclusion? Why did you emerge so quickly?” Fei Xun asked to test the waters.
“So it was because you saw that I was in seclusion that you wanted to take the chance to show off your strength,” Zu An said, his expression darkening. “If I were not here, does that mean you would have taken apart this entire Duke Manor?”
Fei Xun’s expression changed and he said in embarrassment, “This humble official would not dare! It is only because we are here to capture a fiend race criminal that we are here. I hope that you can forgive us if we have offended the duke in any way.”
“If you are chasing a fiend race criminal, go and chase them. Why are you causing trouble in the manor?” Zu An berated him.
Fei Xun said grimly, “Because we saw that fiend race criminal escape into the Duke Manor.”
“Who saw it? Have them come out and speak clearly.” Zu An knew Fei Xun was speaking drivel, just throwing out a shot in the dark.
Fei Xun secretly gave a few of his subordinates a look. Those people felt guilty and lowered their heads, not willing to look him in the eye. Trash! he cursed inwardly. With things the way they were, he could only step forward and say, “Replying to the duke, I saw it!”
He knew he had personally been promoted by Xu Yu. The reason for that was because he listened to instructions and was bold. If he disappointed Sir Xu here, his prospects would also be finished.
Either way, Yu Yanluo was a fiend race individual, so the Yu clan was already doomed. Jian Taiding was already dead, too. The Jian clan’s smuggling deal with the fiend races had already been confirmed. The Jian clan would most likely be finished as well after the follow-up investigation.
Furthermore, Jian Yanyou had disappeared for so long. Cloudcenter Commandery had already completely changed. Even though he had come back, he had been seriously injured, and Xu Yu’s people had heard that he would need to remain in seclusion for a long time to keep his life.
In that case, what did he have to fear? Fortune favored the bold!
If he could face the duke head-on without backing down here, his prestige would rise. Once the Jian clan and Yu clan’s positions of authority opened up, he would be able to climb up the ranks easily.
“You saw it?” Zu An asked as his expression grew cold. He obviously knew Fei Xun was lying.
“Indeed, I saw it. I must ask the duke to step aside and let us search for the fiend race criminal. Otherwise, if they escape, the manor will be unable to escape blame. I believe that the duke does not wish for such trouble either.” Fei Xun understood what kind of situation he was in. He straightened his waist.
He was a glorious court official, and the Imperial Envoy was still stationed in the city. Even if the duke was unhappy, he didn’t believe the duke would really do anything to him. That would be publicly going against the court!
The Jian clan was already tottering on the verge of collapse. Jian Yanyou couldn’t even protect himself; how could he make such an unwise choice? Fei Xun became more and more excited the more he thought about that. Soon, news of him publicly shaming the duke would spread throughout the entirety of Cloudcenter Commandery.
Times had changed; it was now time for people like him to rise up.
The soldiers were becoming more and more eager over time. When he saw the bloodthirsty glint in their eyes, Zu An immediately knew what they were all thinking.
“Guards, send someone to break this man’s legs. Cloudcenter Commandery does not permit the existence of someone this bold and domineering,” Zu An ordered.
The guards were stunned. Then, they immediately rushed toward Fei Xun. They had all been furious at how arrogantly this guy had been acting, and now, the tides were finally changing.
Fei Xun was stunned. He clearly hadn’t expected to hear such an order. He felt shocked and furious, exclaiming, “We are carrying out our duty, and yet you dare attack us? Are you looking down on the law?!”
You have successfully trolled Fei Xun for +253 +253 +253…
His subordinates drew their blades one after another. It looked as if a battle might happen at any time.
The Duke Manor’s guards felt troubled. There were so many soldiers on the other side. If they really fought, there would definitely be great casualties. Things would really get out of hand then.
Zu An harrumphed. He swung his hands outward, and a powerful force swept toward Fei Xun’s legs.
With a brittle crack, Fei Xun’s legs broke, and his entire body came crashing down, bringing him to his knees.
Zu An remarked coldly, “What kind of place is Cloudcenter Commandery? Here, I am the law!”
