Zu An jumped in fright when he sensed the old pervert’s killing intent. He hurriedly waved his hands and said, “I didn’t, I really didn’t!”

Fuck me! I’m super dead if he finds out that I saw his daughter naked and even laid a hand on her!

“Then why did Xiaoxi run away as soon as she saw you?” Ji Dengtu sneered.

Zu An’s mind moved at the speed of light. “Maybe I’m just too charming? It’s normal for girls to behave shyly in front of those that they secretly love, isn’t it?”

A wave of rage surged within Ji Dengtu. “Are you saying that my daughter would actually fall for someone like you?!”

You have successfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 444 Rage points!

Zu An changed his excuse right away. “That’s not what I’m saying! I meant that Xiaoxi is really, really kind and gentle, and she possesses the most delicate nature. It’s normal for her to act a bit awkwardly sometimes!”

Only then did Ji Dengtu’s anger subside somewhat. However, a kernel of doubt remained. “If I remember correctly, the two of you were on good terms before.”

“Elder should know that the thoughts of a young lady are constantly changing. No one knows what they are thinking sometimes,” Zu An said.

It was true that his daughter had been acting strangely recently. She didn’t talk to him no matter what he asked, and she would even yell at him sometimes. He nodded in understanding. “What you say does make some sense.”

However, something else immediately came to his mind. “Heh, I’ll let you off for now regarding what’s going on with Xiaoxi. I want to know, though—what kind of hot garbage did you lend me the last time?!”

You have successfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 666 Rage points!

Zu An smiled awkwardly. “What… what’s wrong?”

“Why were all the women close to the male lead…” Ji Dengtu began his angry tirade, but trailed off as a thought struck him. He looked behind him guiltily. Thankfully, his daughter wasn’t there, but he still lowered his voice and said to Zu An, “Why were they all humiliated instead?”

He got angry whenever he thought about this. That night, he’d finally been in the mood. He closed all of the doors and windows, and then jumped in bed to enjoy his book.

It was still all right in the beginning. However, as he continued to read, things started to take a strange turn.

The female lead was captured by the villain!

He expected the male lead to valiantly show up to save her at the crucial moment, but he never appeared, even after the female lead had been defiled several times…

You have successfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 696 Rage points!

He felt as if he himself had been cuckolded. He glared furiously at Zu An.

Zu An wore a puzzled expression. This guy is still thinking about that?

“That’s why you shouldn’t imagine yourself as the male lead…” Zu An advised.

Ji Dengtu was dumbfounded. “Who else would I imagine myself as, if not the male lead?”

“You can imagine yourself as the one who NTR… ahem, I mean, the villain who defiled the female lead. You could even put yourself in the shoes of the female lead.” Zu An shared the wisdom he’d gained from the online forums of his past world with Ji Dengtu.

“Villain? Female lead?” Ji Dengtu glared at him. “Why would I ever do that?!”

He had been left in a withered state for half a month after reading that book. A shadow still loomed over his mind whenever he recalled this.

You have successfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 999 Rage points!

“How about I give you a different story, then?” Zu An asked, seeing the extent of Ji Dengtu’s fury.

Ji Dengtu flat out refused him. “No way! I need to know the ending of this story.”

Zu An was speechless for a moment.

Bro, are you a masochist? You clearly hate it, so why do you have to finish it?

Ji Dengtu’s voice took on a threatening tone. “You’d better write the rest of this story properly! Make sure the male lead takes revenge and gets to experience the pure love that he deserves in the end! Don’t let any of this previous cuckolding garbage happen again!”

Zu An was completely bowled over by this request. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t write this book. I only transcribed it for you.”

“I don’t care! If I see any of that stuff again, I’m going to beat the crap out of you!” Ji Dengtu said angrily.

You have successfully trolled Ji Dengtu for 200 Rage points!

“Um, I’ll try my best.” Like hell I’ll go through the efforts of writing a new story just for you. I’m just going to give you the original story! It’s up to you if you want to keep reading.

I’ll just pick up more medicine today. I won’t come back here in the future, so you can keep dreaming about beating me up.

Ji Dengtu finally nodded in satisfaction. “That’s more like it. What did you come here for anyway?”

Finally, they had come around to the main matter at hand. “I wanted to purchase some medicine from you.”

Ji Dengtu examined him in a cursory manner, then nodded. “Indeed, you do need some supplementation after exhausting yourself so much.”

Zu An stared at him in puzzlement.

Ji Dengtu stroked his beard, and he lowered his voice as if he were gossiping. “The young miss of the Chu clan seems so cold and indifferent on the outside, as if she was disinterested in worldly desires. Who knew she would have such needs?”

Zu An couldn’t contain himself.

“Stop, stop! I only want to buy some restorative medicine from you.”

What in the world are you talking about? Chu Chuyan will die from embarrassment if she heard what you’d just said! Also, what kind of a reputation would I have left if this sort of thing leaks out?

“Restorative medicine…” Ji Dengtu lost interest at once when he heard this. He randomly pointed to one side. “Help yourself over there. Ten taels of silver a bottle, take your pick.”

Zu An walked over and sampled them. He was unsatisfied. “These are just ordinary goods. I need the best stuff! I want the stuff you gave Xiaoxi. I tried them in the dungeon the last time, and the effects were pretty good.”

“Damn it! No wonder everyone always says that daughters only lose you money,” Ji Dengtu cursed. He rummaged through a side cabinet and fished out a porcelain bottle. “These are Soul Return Pills. No matter how serious your injuries are, you can be saved as long as you still have a single breath left in you. Of course, if you run into someone stronger than me, then this medicine might not be effective. One pill costs five thousand taels of silver—no bargaining! I’m only selling this to you at this price because you’ve given me some interesting stories. Anyone else would have to fork over ten thousand taels at least!”

“Five thousand taels of silver?” Zu An was shocked. Just how many taels of silver had he shoveled into his mouth in that dungeon?

“Hmph, if you think it’s too expensive, then don’t buy them.” Ji Dengtu reclined in his rocking chair and put on a ‘take it or leave it’ expression.

Zu An smiled. “How can life-saving medicine even be considered too expensive? How much more do you have? I’ll buy it all.”

This bottle looked like it had ten pills inside, which didn’t seem enough to him.

Ji Dengtu snorted. “I almost forgot that you were a walking moneybag. This medicine is hard to prepare, and the ingredients are rare as well. I’m not selling the rest. I need to save them for my Xiaoxi.”

There was no way Zu An could continue pressing him when he heard that they were for Xiaoxi. This old man really is crazy over his own daughter. He’s always thinking about her.

“Then I’ll buy some regular medicine as well.” He would definitely suffer injuries frequently, but he probably wouldn’t need to use the most precious medicine every time.

“Xiaoxi, help Zu An wrap up the medicine.” Ji Dengtu hollered. He didn’t feel like doing this stuff himself.

However, a long time passed with no response. His expression sank. “Xiaoxi?”

After calling out several more times, Ji Xiaoxi finally replied. “I’m not coming out! Wrap it yourself!”

“Heh, look at this silly girl. She’s becoming more and more rebellious.” Ji Dengtu got up, his expression that of a stern lecturer. However, he couldn’t bear to do it in the end. He turned around and glared at Zu An. “Are you certain you didn’t bully her?”

“Of course I didn’t! You can call her out and ask her if you don’t believe me!” Zu An said confidently. He thoroughly understood Xiaoxi’s nature. There was no way she could possibly be brave enough to speak about what had happened.

Ji Dengtu finally believed him. He personally wrapped up the medicine for Zu An.

When he saw just how much medicine Zu An was buying, Ji Dengtu gave him a strange look. “Just how many enemies did you end up provoking? What the heck do you need all this medicine for?”

“It’s always better to be more careful.” Zu An smiled innocently.

Ji Dengtu snorted. “You’d better stay further away from Ji Xiaoxi in the future. You’ll surely be a negative influence on her.”

Zu An smiled bitterly. Isn’t Ji Xiaoxi already staying far away from me? She doesn’t even talk to me anymore.

The total bill was sixty thousand taels of silver. Zu An stored the medicines in the Brilliant Glass Bead. He finally relaxed a bit.

With food in the pantry, the mind is at peace!

I should prepare some food and daily necessities as well.

Zu An strolled around the market. The storage space in the Brilliant Glass Bead was massive anyway, and stuff stored inside it didn’t spoil.

…

When he returned to the Chu Estate, he discovered that a heavy aura hung over the entire place.

“Something major has happened!” Chu Chuyan said as soon as she saw him. Her voice was gravely serious.