Zu An was initially confused by what he’d heard. His first reaction was that this old man was trying to start something out of nothing.

I’ve never even been to the capital city before, let alone stolen something that belonged to the emperor!

However, his eyes suddenly widened as he remembered the conversation between Wei Dan and Old Mi. Old Mi apparently led a group of men in search of the ‘Phoenix Nirvana Sutra’, but he grew greedy, and killed the others. In the end, he made it seem that the whole group of them had been wiped out, and then he went into hiding.

Unfortunately, there were no absolute secrets in this world. The palace had still caught wind of it, and sent Wei Dan to investigate.

However, Wei Dan was already dead, and he never learned that Zu An possessed the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra before his death. Did he somehow manage to contact the imperial palace before he died?

Or was it because of something else?

He couldn’t be sure either. Lost in his thoughts, he only reacted as the soldiers approached him.

Sang Hong already had too many things to worry about, and did not resist. However, Zu An was a transmigrator, and the concept of imperial power had not been engraved into his mind. There was no way he would just let this happen.

When the soldiers appeared in front of him with shackles, he disappeared in a flash.

King Liang’s eyes narrowed. “You are quite daring! You dare to go against the imperial edict? The Chu clan is truly reckless nowadays!”

Zu An was afraid that the Chu clan would be implicated in his actions, so he said with a sullen voice, “I am myself, and the Chu clan is the Chu clan. Don’t throw your sewage water at the Chu clan too.”

King Liang sneered. “You seem to have a backbone. Unfortunately, all those who go against the imperial edict are traitors!”

Xie Daoyun quickly rushed forward just as he was about to issue another command. “Respected king, is there some type of misunderstanding here? From what I know, Zu An has never left Brightmoon City in his entire life, let alone gone to the capital city. How could he have anything to do with His Majesty, let alone steal one of his possessions?”

Everyone else present shared the same confusion. Zu An was merely a drafted son-in-law, and only began to show some promise recently. He was just a kid from the streets. How could he possibly have stolen something from the emperor?

Even Sang Hong was baffled. He had a clear understanding of just how terrifying the emperor’s cultivation was. Forget about Zu An, not even he could steal a single thing from the emperor. He really had no clue why a random person like Zu An would be accused of such an act.

Xie Daoyun’s appearance was exceptional. Her words were natural and unrestrained as well, and her bearing was extraordinary, which helped to draw King Liang’s attention. “You are…?”

“This humble one is Xie Daoyun. My father is Brightmoon City Lord Xie Yi.” Xie Daoyun greeted him in a graceful and dignified manner. Those around her were in awe. She truly had the bearing of a daughter from a distinguished clan.

“So, you are Miss Xie.” King Liang’s expression eased a little. He was clearly familiar with the matter of choosing the crown prince’s wife as well. “What’s wrong? Does City Lord Xie also wish to get involved with this criminal?”

Xie Daoyun hurriedly said, “Of course not! I am merely asking this in order to ease everyone’s doubts. After all, claiming that Zu An has stolen something belonging to the emperor is truly inconceivable. I fear that the common people will not be convinced with just that. I hope King Liang can tell us what he has stolen.”

Zu An sighed. Miss Xie really was too kind. They had only met a few times, yet she willingly spoke up for him in this moment of crisis.

Zheng Dan also gave Xie Daoyun a curious look. Even though her close friend always treated everyone with kindness and grace, she knew that Xie Daoyun was actually a sharp and intelligent girl. She really couldn’t understand why she would take such a risk for a man.

However, that was a thought best explored another day. The more people who helped out Zu An right now, the better.

King Liang puffed out his cheeks. “I apologize. The matter is confidential, and I cannot speak about it. I must ask Miss Xie to move aside, or else you will be treated as a criminal as well.”

“Confidential?” Sang Hong’s eyes narrowed, a pensive look appearing in his eyes.

Xie Daoyun gave Zu An an apologetic look. “Ah Zu, I’ve already done what I can. I cannot cause trouble for the Xie clan.”

Zu An smiled. “What do you mean, Miss Xie? I am already extremely grateful that you spoke up for me.”

He already knew from associating with Zheng Dan that the daughters of great clans had many things to worry about. Every action they made would invariably involve their clans. That was why there was no way for them to act willfully on their own.

Xie Daoyun was stunned by his smile. She was always surrounded by cocky and arrogant men, but all of them revealed their true selves the moment they ran into trouble. Meanwhile, Zu An had offended the emperor himself, yet he was somehow still so optimistic! She really admired such boldness.

King Liang waved a hand. “Arrest him!”

With his status, there was no way he would arrest such a junior himself.

After what had just happened, the soldiers didn’t dare to be careless. More than a dozen soldiers surrounded him, activating formations and techniques together. This was already more than enough to capture a normal cultivator.

“Who dares harm our young master?!” A troop of red-cloaked soldiers charged in and surrounded Zu An, confronting King Liang’s troops.

“The Red Cloak Army?” King Liang instantly recognized who these men were. He sneered and said, “I’ve heard about the reputation of the Chu clan’s Red Cloak Army. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, this army truly is quite something. You all actually dare to openly defy the royal court!”

A red-robed officer walked up to Zu An and asked quietly, “Young master, what is going on?”

This was a king, and he had even come bearing an imperial edict. The pressure that he gave off was way beyond Liu Yao’s. Furthermore, only a small detachment of the Red Cloak Army was present. Things would not go well if they really clashed with each other.

“I don’t know either.” Zu An smiled helplessly. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t want to drag the Chu clan into this mess.”

The officer said, “The young master does not need to worry. We are all good men. None of us fear death!”

How could their conversation escape the ears of King Liang? He sneered and said, “You all really are something! I wouldn’t have believed it if someone else told me that the Chu clan intended to rebel, but it seems clear to me that the Red Cloak Army really does plan on defying His Majesty!”

Zu An said quickly, “You all are not to get involved in this matter! Quickly, return to the Chu Estate to protect Master and Madam! That’s an order!”

The two young women, Zheng Dan and Xie Daoyun, had been unwilling to involve their clans in their own troubles. As a man, how could he do something like that?

He didn’t even wait for a response. With a light tap of his toes, he rushed off.

Even though he didn’t want to involve the Chu clan, there was no way he was going to let himself get captured so easily!

Two pitch-black chains appeared in front of his eyes as soon as he began to move. They moved at a shocking speed, yet made no sound. It was as if night was descending upon this world, and the darkness seemed to contain a demonic aura.

He trembled. He tapped his toes against the ground again, forcefully changing his path and dodging to the side.

Before he could catch his breath, two more chains flashed over, shooting towards his feet.

He tumbled awkwardly, evading the chains. He already felt taxed to his limit.

Another six iron chains flew at him from all directions, aiming at his limbs, waist, and neck, and sealing off every possible direction of escape.

Seeing that there was no way he could avoid them, Zu An took out his Tai’e Sword in a panic and hacked at the chains.

*Clank clank clank!*

Sword and chain collided continuously. Sparks flew in all directions. Not even the razor-sharp edge of the Tai’e Sword could cut through these chains! Only sparks flickered in the darkness.

He felt his hands go numb. The ki within his body was surging wildly.

He finally caught a glimpse of his attackers. These were the ten warriors who had escorted King Liang. Their clothes were clearly different from an ordinary soldier’s garb, and every single one of them had what looked like a unicorn embroidered on their collar. He’d learned from one of Shang Liuyu’s classes that these creatures were xiezhi, creatures that were rumoured to be able to distinguish between good and evil.

These soldiers held pitch-black chains in their hands. These chains were still moving, and it looked as though they might attack again at any time.

King Liang was shocked. “You actually managed to escape from the Embroidered Envoy’s Demon-capturing Prison! I am quite surprised.”

“The Embroidered Envoy?” Sang Qian was incredibly shocked. He glanced towards his father.

Sang Hong said in a low voice, “The Embroidered Envoy is a special force that serves at His Majesty’s side. All of them are extremely skilled, and act on behalf of the Son of Heaven. Even though they act as bailiffs who are responsible for capturing criminals, they do not actually report to the court’s Commandant of Justice. I thought that the emperor assigned them to King Liang to deal with us, but it seems like that isn’t the case at all.”