Qin Wanru just stared at him.

You have successfully trolled Qin Wanru for 666 Rage points!

How can someone so irritating exist in this world?!

She really wanted to grind his head against the ground and then stomp on it a few times.

She turned and walked off with a loud snort. She doubted she would be able to hold herself back if he said another word.

She deliberately set a quick pace to lose that annoying fellow, but each time she turned around, she saw him following behind her in a carefree manner.

Even though this kid’s cultivation isn’t anything special, he really moves fast. Qin Wanru was slightly surprised, but then she suddenly remembered what Chu Chuyan had told her before she left. Qin Wanru had to admit that her daughter seemed to be better at judging people than she was.

The two of them quickly returned to the Chu Estate.

Zu An wanted to give her the salt permits right away, but felt it would seem a little strange if he suddenly pulled them out of thin air.

As such, he returned to his own residence to get some rest first. He wanted to sleep in the Unvoiced Residence, since Chu Chuyan’s fragrant sheets were a billion times better than the ones in his own doghouse. However, he quickly dismissed this idea. He didn’t want to give Old Mi any chance to realize the truth about him.

He already had a good idea of the old gardener’s identity. Old Mi was most likely a court eunuch. This old man was always so attached to him, and acted so weirdly. He might even have some mental perversion.

Zu An had yet to tell him about his recovery.

His mind turned to the night’s events. Qiu Honglei had actually let him go this time. Seems like this girl still has some loyalty to me. I should find an opportunity to pay her a visit and thank her…

Exhausted by the day’s exertions and these random thoughts, he quickly entered dreamland.

…

The next morning, Zu An went looking for Qin Wanru.

He had no desire to wake up this early, but he was sure that Qin Wanru was worried about the salt permits.

She had been too angry to ask him for them the day before, but what would he do if she asked him for them early in the morning? Would he make them appear out of thin air for her?

He ran to the Unvoiced Residence first and removed the large chests from the Brilliant Glass Bead. Then, he went to find Qin Wanru.

He saw her hurry out of her own residence as soon as he arrived. There weren’t even any maids following her.

She hadn’t put on much makeup. Compared to her usual extravagance, her appearance held an elegant simplicity.

Unfortunately, her countenance was still slightly sallow. She probably hadn’t slept well the night before.

She was surprised to see Zu An. “I was just about to go looking for you. I’ve been fretting over the salt permits the whole night. Where did you put them?”

Zu An thanked the heavens that he’d come early. “I was just about to give you a report,” he said quickly.

He brought her over to the Unvoiced Residence and pointed at the chests. “They’re all here.”

Qin Wanru rushed over to check the contents. When she saw the orderly stacks of salt permits, the tension finally drained out of her. “These are the exact salt permits that had been stolen. The Chu clan is saved. Zhongtian is saved…”

She turned to Zu An. “Ah Zu, thank you,” she said sincerely.

Zu An smiled. “It was my duty, after all.”

Qin Wanru opened her mouth. She recalled their conversation the night before, and was just wondering what to give him as a reward. However, she couldn’t actually think of anything to reward him with. He didn’t lack money, and he even had her precious daughter. There was no way she was going to give Huanzhao to him as well!

“Oh, right, I forgot to return this mask to you.” She quickly changed topics to cover her awkwardness. “This is a rare treasure. You need to take good care of it.”

“Thank you for your reminder, Madam.” Zu An put away the thin mask. “By the way, since we have the salt permits back, can’t we just ask Chuyan to come back?”

Qin Wanru shook her head. “The Sang clan is already dead set on dealing with us. There’s no point in remaining on the defensive. We should use this chance to deal with any future problems once and for all. However, we can still let Chuyan know. That would help to ease her mind.”

“How do we contact her? Carrier pigeons?” Zu An stared blankly at her.

Qin Wanru rolled her eyes. She produced a mirror from within her sleeves, then poured some soul ki into it. Soon afterwards, the surface of the mirror rippled, and a layer of mist appeared.

Zu An eyes widened. The face in the mirror was Chu Chuyan’s!

“Mom, what’s happened at home? Why did you use this mirror to contact me?” Chu Chuyan’s voice was clouded with worry.

Qin Wanru said quickly, “Chuyan, there’s no need to feel anxious. I actually wanted to share some good news with you. We’ve found the salt permits that Chen Xuan stole from us.”

As she spoke, she turned the mirror to face the chests of salt permits.

Zu An was completely stupefied. Wasn’t this equivalent to a video call from his previous world?

After arriving in this world, he’d discovered that many of the things that were done using technology in his previous world could be done through cultivation and the use of runes in this world.

“Really? How did you find them?!” Chu Chuyan’s voice was full of surprise.

“It was obviously all because of your talented, brave, awesome, and suave husband!” Zu An moved over and smiled towards the mirror.

Chu Chuyan blushed immediately. “Can you show some restraint, please? Mother is still here.”

Qin Wanru smiled. “Ah Zu is right. He was the one who found them. You were right about him.”

Zu An gave her a look of surprise. Did the sun rise in the west today? Did I just hear words of praise from her?

“Oh man, that feels so good. Madam, can you please compliment me a few more times?” Zu An said, laughing.

Qin Wanru sighed and narrowed her eyes at him.

Chu Chuyan buried her face in her palm as well. She clearly couldn’t handle his shamelessness either.

Qin Wanru couldn’t be bothered with him anymore. She addressed her daughter instead. “Chuyan, let’s proceed as planned. We only wanted to tell you this to help ease your worry, and to let you know that you don’t have to take too many risks.”

Chu Chuyan nodded. “Understood! Thank Ah Zu for me.”

Qin Wanru gave her acknowledgement. Chu Chuyan’s image rippled a few times, and the surface of the mirror reverted to its original appearance.

Zu An was startled. “I still had things to say to Chuyan! Why did you cut the connection?”

Qin Wanru was clearly annoyed. “Each use of this mirror consumes a large amount of ki stones. We need to wait a full month before it can be used again, and the duration of each use is limited. We only use this for the most urgent matters. How can I let you use it for idle chatter?”

Zu An was full of disappointment. “Tsk. I’ve overestimated you guys. This world still lags far behind.”

His tone irked her further. “I won’t blame you for saying that, since it’s the first time you’ve seen something as precious as this. Perhaps you’ll understand how precious it is in the future. This might be the only one in all of Brightmoon City! It was something that the ancestors of the Chu clan obtained through a fortuitous opportunity.”

“Only you guys would treat that dumb toy like a treasure.” Zu An curled his lips in a sneer. “In my hometown, everyone had one, and we could all chat for as long as we wanted.”

“Hah! You really know nothing.”

Zu An pressed his lips together.

Sigh, life is lonely and desolate, like a barren field of snow. No one ever believes me.

Qin Wanru instructed him to keep the salt permits a secret for now. She had yet to come up with a way to use them to their greatest effect.

...

Zu An was overjoyed and at peace, now that such a huge matter had been settled. His mind and spirit were completely relaxed.

He headed to the academy as usual. He teased Huanzhao a little, and played around with the female teachers. His days were peaceful and comfortable.

There was only one regret. He’d gone to the Immortal Abode to thank Qiu Honglei, but when he got there, the staff informed him that she had already left.

As for where she had gone, no one knew.

He hadn’t expected that night to be their final meeting. He didn’t know if they would ever meet again. He thought about the time they spent together, and he couldn’t help his feelings of disappointment and frustration.

However, soon afterwards, Zu An found out the reason why she had left. One day, Qin Wanru sought out Zu An privately. She had a grave expression on her face. “Those black-clad men were both mysterious and ruthless. They didn’t even hold back when dealing with Sang Qian,” she said.

“He’s dead?” Zu An was shocked by her statement.

“They didn’t go that far,” Qin Wanru said, “but his injuries are extremely grave. Sang Hong even invited Ji Dengtu to examine his injuries. The divine physician could only keep him alive for now. Whether or not he will remain in critical condition or recover, it’s an even chance either way.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, especially since Divine Physician Ji visited him personally.” Zu An was still in a daze. What in the world was Qiu Honglei’s organization up to? How could they even dare to do such a thing?

Did they take their anger out on Sang Qian because they lost the salt permits?

“There’s no guarantee. The Sang clan plans to bring forward his marriage to Zheng Dan, to ward away bad luck. This means that they aren’t optimistic about his situation at all,” Qin Wanru said.

Zu An suddenly shot up. “What?!”