However, Zu An’s account only intensified her doubts. “Why did someone suddenly pop out and attempt to take your life?”
Zu An shrugged calmly and replied, “How am I to know? Someone as outstanding as me tends to attract admiring gazes from beautiful women all around. Some men might have held a grudge against me due to that and sought me for revenge.”
“…” Qin Wanru.
“…” Yue Shan.
“…” The guards.
They suddenly understood that it was not anything weird for someone to be after his life. On the contrary, it would be weird if no one was trying to kill him.
Seeing the reactions of the surrounding crowd, Zu An knew that they harbored some doubts regarding his response. Haa, how ironic. You trust me right away whenever I’m lying, but as soon as I start speaking the truth, you immediately doubt me.
“How do you know he’s an eighth rank cultivator then?” asked Qin Wanru.
“I guessed it. He looks pretty strong,” replied Zu An with an innocent blink of his eyes.
Qin Wanru nodded in agreement. It would be impossible for an eighth rank cultivator to be killed by him so easily, so it was more likely for the black-clothed man to be at seventh rank or even just pinnacle sixth rank.
But regardless of which one it was, the black-clothed man still wasn’t someone whom Zu An could possibly deal with. So, she asked, “How did you kill him?”
“How? I was just stronger than him,” replied Zu An with a shrug. “Didn’t you see how cool I was on the dueling ring during the Clans Tournament? I’m also an expert too, so isn’t it normal for me to be able to kill another expert?”
Qin Wanru harrumphed upon hearing his response. She thought that he was simply unwilling to reveal his trump card to them, so she didn’t bother probing on.
“Speaking of which, where’s the woman?”
She suddenly remembered seeing Zu An pulling another woman’s hand, and her face immediately darkened.
“Ah, that woman ran off the first opportunity she got,” replied Zu An. Then, he smacked his fist on his palm as he remarked in realization, “Ah, I was just wondering how weird it was that someone would be after my life. Now that I think of it, that black-clothed man might have been after the woman. Haa, what a pity that she ran off too quickly. I didn’t even manage to ask her for her name! The least she could do is betroth herself to me for saving her life, right?”
Yue Shan stared at Zu An with eyes filled with admiration. What an incredible man our young master is. To think that he would be dreaming of having another woman betroth herself to him in front of his mother-in-law!
On the other hand, Qin Wanru’s thoughts went in a different direction. I was saved by him earlier too. Could he be trying to tease me here?
“Hmph! I reckon that he doesn’t have the guts anyway!”
Her thoughts left her feeling incredibly awkward, so she quickly turned her attention to the guards and began issuing orders. She instructed the guards to search the area to check if there were any other intruders in the area while assigning more guards to patrol the outer perimeters of the Chu clan.
Afterward, she summoned the members from the other branches, Yue Shan, Hong Zhong, and the other close aides of the Chu clan to discuss this matter.
Soon, the only one left in the courtyard was Zu An. After ensuring that everyone was gone, he carried Qiao Xueying out from the bushes, only to find that her body was searing hot, almost as if she had come right out of the furnace.
Worried that others would notice her, he quickly carried her back into his room.
It was fortunate that the guards assigned near his room had been dispatched elsewhere due to the sudden intruder, which made it easier for him to slip Qiao Xueying back into his room without getting caught by anyone.
He quickly poured out a cup of cooling tea and fed it to Qiao Xueying, but it didn’t seem to be working. He remembered how feverish patients in his previous world would usually have a cloth placed on their forehead to lower their temperature, so he headed out to fetch some water. However, before he could walk off, he suddenly felt something grabbing his arm.
He turned his head around, only to see that Qiao Xueying had woken up. Her eyes weren’t as clear as they usually were. Instead, they were glazed with amorous intent. “Don’t go~”
“I’m just heading out to grab some water to cool you down. Or should I bring you to the lake so that you can have a cold bath? That should help alleviate your effects of the poison, right?” asked Zu An anxiously.
However, Qiao Xueying shook her head and said, “There’s no way the Shi clan’s poison can be resolved that easily.”
“Ah, do you still have the Heartcalming Pill Xiaoxi gave you previously?” asked Zu An.
“I don’t have it.” Qiao Xueying shook her head while keeping her eyes intently on him.
“What do we do then?” Zu An frowned. “Should I carry you over to Xiaoxi’s place now?”
“You dummy, are you feigning ignorance?” Qiao Xueying’s usual sharp voice sounded incredibly sweet and pleasant, as if it had been mixed with honey.