Zhang Zijiang couldn't help but quietly say, “Sir, this Scarface Yang Shen is a great criminal. Taking him down is a huge achievement!”
Zu An shook his head and replied, “Yang Shen was still a strong and courageous person; there’s no need to shame him. Eliminating the Twin Dragon Mountain rebel army should already be enough of a contribution to benefit all the officers and soldiers.”
According to the court’s laws, even though Yang Shen was already dead, he would still be dragged back to experience a thousand cuts. Then, his head would be passed along to different lands to be shown around. However, even though he was an enemy, Zu An considered him worthy of respect and didn’t want him to experience such humiliation after his death.
“Understood!” Zhang Zijiang replied and withdrew. If it were anyone else, he would definitely have continued to argue with them. However, Zu An had already brought him a lot of shock in a short period. Right now, Zu An was at the peak of prestige, so Zhang Zijiang didn’t want to go against his orders.
Furthermore, Sir Zu wasn’t the sort of official who only knew how to talk and dream. He had already thought of giving them a share of the contributions for eradicating the Twin Dragon Mountain army. That was already enough.
Xie Daoyun blinked, dazed. As she looked up at Zu An, she began to feel that he was taller and more powerful than ever. His cultivation was high, but he was still able to retain a kind heart.
Big brother Zu really is a great hero!
…
The other soldiers cleaned up the area, then tactfully withdrew, leaving Zu An and Xie Daoyun alone.
Only then did Xie Daoyun realize what was happening. She suddenly leaped out of Zu An’s arms, but then she felt her knees suddenly buckle, and she almost fell.
Zu An chuckled and asked, “Is little sister Daoyun injured?”
Xie Daoyun pursed her lips. She shook her head and said, “I’m not. When Yang Shen approached the tent, my formation was activated, so I immediately woke up. Then, big brother Zu arrived.”
Just how many times has big brother Zu saved me now? I’ve always heard that a life saving debt can’t be repaid unless…
Ah, what am I thinking? Do you have no sense of shame?
When he saw her expression change several times, Zu An couldn't help but say with a sigh, “It’s still runemasters like you who have the most methods. Even a master rank expert ended up falling into your trap.”
When she heard that, Xie Daoyun’s cheeks turned a bit hot. She had actually set up the formation because she was expecting Zu An. Last time, he had appeared so suddenly and caught her off guard, which was why she set up a small formation outside. She had been incredibly happy when the formation activated, thinking that big brother Zu had finally come to look for her. How could she have anticipated that it would be the ugly Scarface?
“Right, do you know why he wanted to capture you?” Zu An asked the question that had been bothering him.
Xie Daoyun hurriedly shook her head and replied, “I don’t know either.”
She really was a bit stunned. Back when she lived in Brightmoon City, and even after moving to the capital, she had normally stayed inside and rarely gone out. There was no way she could have had any interactions with Yang Shen, let alone forming a grudge. It didn’t make any sense for Yang Shen to have taken such a huge risk to capture her.
“Little sister Daoyun, if you can’t figure it out, just don’t think about it. I’m here to protect you,” Zu An said, remembering what Xie Xiu had entrusted him with. He thought, I definitely can't let anything happen to her. Fortunately, he didn’t need to go all the way to Yi Commandery anymore. Even if something happened again, he would be present to take care of her.
Xie Daoyun interpreted things differently, assuming Zu An was just expressing his goodwill. Today had made her heart beat faster than ever before. She said, “Big brother Zu, you can call me Ling’er; that’s my nickname. My mom and dad both call me that.” Then, she ran back into her tent without even turning around.
Zu An stood still in confusion. What’s the meaning of this? Could it be that she considers me her senior?
…
After the incident, their group hurried along to Yi Commandery. Zu An and Xie Daoyun chatted about cultivation during the day, and shared poetry and songs in the evening. They talked about all sorts of topics. Xie Daoyun felt admiration for Zu An’s knowledge and experiences, as well as his different way of thinking. Meanwhile, Zu An admired how she was brimming with talent. Just like that, they learned more about each other.
As the saying went, however, joyous times always passed quickly. They arrived near Yi Commandery roughly ten days later. A group of troops was waiting at the city outskirts, carrying all manner of streamers and banners. They were clearly Yi Commandery’s local officials, who had come out to welcome them.
Zu An just happened to recognize the ones in front, so he introduced them to the people around him. “The man with the stern looking face and a goatee is Yi Commandery’s Governor Zhang Jie. The general with the long lance next to him is Martial Supervisor Yang Sheng. That fairly handsome middle-aged man is Yi Commandery’s City Lord Liao Ling. His Boundless Sword Energy is quite unique…”
Zhang Zijiang sighed in admiration, remarking, “Sir Zu really is intelligent. You only passed by Yi Commandery once, and yet you already know so much about the local officials…”
Wang Bolin frowned. That bastard had cut in front of him to flatter Zu An again! Damn it!
Zu An didn’t feel much about the praise, but Xie Daoyun really enjoyed it. When other people praised Zu An, she felt as if they were praising her.
…
The two sides quickly met, then exchanged conventional greetings. When Zu An introduced Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang to Yi Commandery’s officials, both of them couldn't help but puff out their chests, their previous bootlicking nowhere to be seen. Even though there were many people present with higher official ranks than them, they came from the capital and were from the emperor’s private army. They still felt a sense of superiority when facing such local officials.
Yi Commandery’s officials naturally didn’t want to offend them. They all greeted the deputy generals and claimed to have long looked forward to meeting them, which made the two feel great.
Only Yi Commandery City Lord Liao Ling remained silent. With his personality, he didn’t really approve of his colleagues’ actions. When they saw that he didn’t give them any face, Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang couldn't stand it.
Concerned that some unnecessary conflict could arise, Zu An introduced Xie Daoyun to Liao Ling just in time, saying, “Lady Xie is Master Yan Xiangu’s disciple. The two of you actually have some relationship.”
Liao Ling’s proud nature was partly because of his background from the Royal Academy. As he had spent some time studying there, he and Xie Daoyun could be considered fellow alumni. Thus, his eyes quickly lit up as he exclaimed, “So it was Great Sir’s disciple! As expected, you do have a scholarly air about you.”
“I greet my senior!” Xie Daoyun replied, showing him a gentle and refined greeting; there was a hint of happiness on her face too. Even when they came from different places, the academy’s disciples all felt a sense of familiarity around others from the academy. They naturally felt closer to their schoolmates than normal people.
The officials had previously only treated Xie Daoyun as a close female friend Zu An brought along with him. Many of them had even thought that Zu An was quite daring, to have actually brought a beautiful young lady with him when carrying out his majesty’s orders. Was he not scared that he would be criticized severely if that were reported to the capital’s Imperial Censors?
Upon learning that Xie Daoyun was Yan Xiangu’s disciple, however, they immediately treated her with more importance. They politely greeted her and asked about how Yan Xiangu was doing.
Yan Xiangu was the empire’s number one runemaster. Whether it was the Imperial Palace’s inner courtyards, the local manors, or the military barracks, their countless formations were the result of his brilliance. Countless officials wanted to obtain a magic artifact from him, but unfortunately, Yan Xiangu rarely created objects for personal use. As such, his works only became more and more precious over time.
For local officials such as the ones from Yi Commandery, they couldn’t even vainly hope for one of Master Yan’s works. Still, if they had a chance to get to know his disciple, by improving their relationship, perhaps they would be able to obtain some magic artifacts from her. Even if they couldn’t compare to Master Yan’s, as an important disciple of his, she would most certainly become a great master too. How could the officials not become excited when they thought of that?
Zhang Zijiang and Wang Bolin saw that Zu An seemed to appreciate Liao Ling quite a bit, so they naturally didn’t want to make trouble for him for no reason. They took the chance to praise Xie Daoyun more, thinking that making her happy was the same thing as making Zu An happy.
Being praised so much left the usually gentle and refined Xie Daoyun highly embarrassed. She instinctively moved behind Zu An.
When they saw that, the old foxes of the officialdom exchanged a few looks. It seemed this woman’s relationship with Zu An ran quite deep.
Fortunately, the sound of hooves interrupted the awkward situation. Those present turned around and saw a pair of black armored horsemen approaching quickly. Their steeds were handsome and their armor was bright and fierce. Their equipment wasn’t inferior to that of the emperor’s personal army, the Armed Escort Division, at all. When he saw the two horsemen, Yi Commandery’s Governor Zhang Jie couldn't help but frown.
Zu An looked pensive as he observed the sight. It seemed that Yi Commandery’s local officials didn’t really get along with King Yan Manor. He recognized the incoming troops’ outfits. They were King Yan Manor’s Black Cavalry, and he shared ‘implacable enmity’ with the one at the very front.
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