Zu An was shocked. What the hell is wrong with this dude?

Chu Zhongtian reacted quickly, rushing to place himself between the two of them. “Brother Wang, there are many misunderstandings at play here.”

“What misunderstandings? How would this disaster have befallen Wang Yuanlong if he hadn’t invited him to that damned brothel today?!” Wang Fu roared in fury.

You have successfully trolled Wang Fu for 446 Rage points!

Zu An couldn’t help but say, “It’s not like brother Wang died. Aren’t you jinxing things by saying such a thing now?”

Wang Fu almost exploded on the spot. “Damned brat, what did you say?!”

You have successfully trolled Wang Fu for 514 Rage points!

Qin Wanru felt an inexplicable happiness when she saw this situation. She was usually the one being infuriated by this brat. Now, there was someone who shared her suffering.

Chu Zhongtian tried his best to placate Wang Fu. “Brother Wang, let’s have a proper talk inside. We’ll end up as laughingstocks if we cause a out commotion here,” he said with a bitter smile

“Hmph! You weren’t even scared of becoming a laughingstock by taking in this sort of person as a drafted son-in-law. What is there for me to be scared of?!” Wang Fu pushed him away.

Chu Zhongtian and Qin Wanru exchanged silent looks.

Zu An was also struck speechless. Even if you hit someone, you shouldn’t hit them in the face! Haven’t you gone a little too far?

He was just about to retort, but Chu Chuyan immediately grabbed his arm to prevent him from doing anything rash.

Only then did she walk up to greet Wang Fu. “I pay my respects to uncle.”

“So Chuyan was here.” Even though Wang Fu hadn’t treated Chu Zhongtian with any respect, his tone subconsciously softened when he saw Chu Chuyan.

Zu An scoffed inwardly. Pah, men!

“This matter cannot be laid at Ah Zu’s feet. The idea to invite Yuanlong to the Immortal Abode was mine,” said Chu Chuyan.

“Your idea?” Wang Fu was shocked. He really couldn’t figure out why a cold and aloof girl like Chu Chuyan would be involved in this matter. Was she saying this just to shield her husband?

“Indeed. We wanted a way to express the Chu clan’s goodwill without others finding out. I wanted to dissolve the crisis between us…” In a quiet voice, Chu Chuyan explained to him what had transpired.

Wang Fu’s expression grew gloomy. “Even though your plan was good and rather low-profile, why did something happen to Yuanlong as soon as they separated? Was it just a performance put on by all of you?”

“Why does uncle think this way?” Chu Chuyan replied. “Even though two hundred thousand taels of silver doesn’t seem like a small amount, it isn’t considered a large sum for either of our clans. Would we really put on such a performance just to get back this bit of money? I’m sure uncle understands our desire to ease the tensions between our allied clans.”

Wang Fu was shocked. “Could it be that Sang…”

Chu Chuyan shook her head. “I do not dare speak rashly. But your esteemed son should still be okay. Since Chen Xuan didn’t kill him outright, but instead went through the efforts of kidnapping him, this tells us he has other schemes in mind. He wouldn’t harm your son’s life if that’s the case.”

“Chen Xuan, that ruthless and cold-blooded Great Bandit!” Even though Chu Chuyan’s words were extremely logical, Wang Fu was still filled with endless worry. When he heard Chen Xuan’s name, his limbs immediately went cold.

He suddenly glared at Zu An. “It’s all your fault! I heard that Chen Xuan wanted to kill you. He surely ran into our Yuanlong while following you!”

Zu An was speechless. He really was being wronged!

Forget it. I won’t argue with you since you’re just concerned about your son.

Chu Zhongtian replied in his stead. “Brother Wang doesn’t need to worry. Our Chu clan will definitely do everything we can to rescue Yuanlong.”

“All right. For brother Chu’s sake, I won’t go too far today. However, pardon me for using such harsh words. If anything ends up happening to Yuanlong, me and your Chu clan will have unfinished business!” Wang Fu turned around with an angry huff and stormed off, his subordinates trailing behind him.

Qin Wanru quivered with anger as she watched them leave. “Absolutely preposterous! It seems like any random person dares to strut around our Chu clan now, almost as if they are the dukedom in Brightmoon City!”

Chu Zhongtian smiled bitterly. “There is no need to brood over this. You know just how grim our situation is as well. The Wang clan is one of our few allies, and we still need their help. Moreover, something happened to their clan’s beloved son. Surely we can forgive him some loss of self-control.”

Qin Wanru snorted. “You are always considerate to others, but when has anyone else been considerate to you?”

Chu Zhongtian’s voice grew heavy. “I do not treat others well in hopes that they treat me the same way. I only seek a clear conscience.”

Qin Wanru realized she had gone a little too far. She held his arm and said apologetically, “You really are a good person.”

Zu An rolled his eyes from the side. Can you two oldies get a room? If you keep doing this, Chuyan and I will give you something to watch too.

When he turned to Chu Chuyan, however, he saw that she was frowning, clearly trying to figure a way out of this situation. “If we cannot successfully rescue Wang Yuanlong, the alliance between the Chu clan and the Wang clan is done for.” She sighed. “If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have done all of this. I should have just sent the silver directly to the Wang clan.”

Zu An jumped in to console her. “How can you be blamed for this? No one can ever predict the future.”

“I’m not in a great condition now, though. I don’t have any ability to investigate Wang Yuanlong’s whereabouts.” Chu Chuyan bit her lip. These days, after undergoing Zu An’s treatments, normal activities weren't a problem for her. However, if she used any ki, her injuries could worsen.

She had always been strong since she was young, and her current weakness made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry,” Zu An said, “just leave it to me. I will definitely rescue Wang Yuanlong.”

“How will you find him?” Chu Chuyan said nervously.

Zu An said, “We’ll start with Plum Blossom Sect’s properties in the city. I’m positive that Chen Xuan should be hiding out in one of them.”

“All right, but be careful. Bring a few more guards along with you,” Chu Chuyan said.

Zu An laughed loudly. “I definitely can’t bear to have anything happen to me with such a pretty wife waiting for me at home!”

Chu Chuyan blushed. “Pah! Not even a single shred of decency.”

Zu An left the Chu clan estate, heading straight for the academy to find Jiang Luofu. Since the other party was already making preparations to aid his takeover of the Plum Blossom Sect, she would have looked into the details. With her input, it would make it that much smoother to find Chen Xuan.

…

While Zu An hunted for Chen Xuan’s whereabouts, Chen Xuan found himself on an island, located in the center of the lake that sat on the outskirts of the city.

He was currently surrounded by a large group of tough men wielding blades.

Chen Xuan stood at the very center, completely unfazed. “I came to meet with the boss of your gang. Is this how the Whale Gang treats their guests?”

“Disgraceful! Do you think our boss is someone you can meet with just because you want to?!”

“How did you even find out that our Whale Gang was here?”

“There are so many guards patrolling this place as well. How did you get all the way here?”

…

Chen Xuan laughed loudly when he heard their questions. “The authorities might not be able to find your Whale Gang, but how could I, Chen Xuan, have any trouble?”

“Chen Xuan?”

“Blackwind Stockade’s Great Bandit!”

Chen Xuan was so infamous that his name was used to scare children at night.

These men, who had acted tough in the beginning, immediately grew uneasy when they learned his identity. All of them backed up a few steps.

Bracing himself, a daring troop leader spoke up. “Our Whale Gang has never interfered with your Blackwind Stockade. What did you come here for?”

Chen Xuan shrugged, his palms open. “Relax, I didn’t come here today to kill. I wanted to discuss a potential business opportunity with your Whale Gang boss.”

“Since Stockade Master Chen roams the underground world as well, you ought to know that our boss never receives guests,” replied the troop leader.

Chen Xuan smiled. “I heard that the boss of the Whale Gang is extremely mysterious, and has never been seen in public before. Some say that the leader is a beautiful woman, while some say that it’s a hunchbacked elder, yet others say that he is a tough and domineering man. I really am interested in seeing what your boss looks like.”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to get in through brute force?” The Whale Gang members’ expressions grew worried, and they tightened their grip around the hilts of their blades.

“If I, Chen Xuan, wish to go somewhere, would you all be able to stop me?” Chen Xuan snorted arrogantly. He released a powerful, oppressive aura.

The Whale Gang members weren’t his match at all. It immediately became hard for them to breathe, and they subconsciously backed away.

Only a few who still possessed some strength held on bitterly.

“Let him come in.” At this moment, a soft and gentle voice suddenly came from a distance away.

The voice was clearly altered. It was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman.

The Whale gang members showed no surprise by this interruption. Instead, they respectfully moved to the side to open up a path.

Chen Xuan walked straight through with a smile.

He arrived in front of a house, and the two doors opened on their own.

Confident in his own strength, Chen Xuan felt no fear. He went in.

A figure sat behind a screen. “On the topic of maintaining mystery, Blackwind Stockade’s Master Chen isn’t inferior to me at all. Why have you suddenly decided to appear around the city?” It was the same voice as before.

“The reason I came to visit the gang boss is naturally to express my sincerity.” Chen Xuan smiled and said, “I just never expected the illustrious boss of the Whale Gang to actually be a woman.”

“Oh? What makes you so certain that I am a woman?” The one behind the screen said with genuine curiosity.

“I am someone with a special skill that makes me extremely sensitive to women. Even without looking, just a whiff of the surrounding air is enough for me to know that the gang boss is a woman, and quite the beautiful woman at that.” Flames filled Chen Xuan’s eyes. His plan had been just to conduct some business, but he had never expected this pleasant surprise.

Light laughter drifted out from behind the screen. The voice lost its deliberate alterations. Sure enough, it was the voice of a woman, delicate like that of an oriole, but also full of warmth, like enjoying a cup of tea on a rainy night.

“I didn’t expect Stockade Master Chen to have such a miraculous ability. I won’t treat my exposed identity as a loss.” The woman laughed gently. “Stockade Master Chen has good luck. I’m not usually on the island. If not for some special circumstances that happened today, you might not have been able to meet with me.”

Chen Xuan laughed loudly. “My luck has always been good.”

“Anyone who can remain free and unfettered while under the constant attentions of Brightmoon Duke and the City Lord obviously has good luck,” the woman sighed in admiration.

“The same could be said about you, my lady. Do we not share the same fate?” Chen Xuan was curious about how she looked. Her pleasant-sounding voice truly caressed one’s heart.

If it was a different time, he would already have ripped the screen apart.

But the Whale Gang had done quite well for themselves these past few years, and not even he knew how much strength they had backing them. He dared not act too recklessly.

He pulled a chair over and sat down. He needed to better understand the situation first.

That woman clearly didn’t have much interest in idle chatter. She immediately brought up the main matter at hand. “Why did the stockade leader insist on meeting with me today?”

Chen Xuan’s tone grew serious. “I came here to offer you a business opportunity.”