Jia Sili turned around and said with a charming smile, “Even though big sis really wants to tell you, I unfortunately made a vow, so I can’t tell you who he is. Otherwise, I’ll suffer from the wrath of heaven, you know?”

Zu An asked out of curiosity, “What does your wrath of heaven have to do with me?”

Jia Sili was stunned. “Stupid big brother, you need to say nice things at times like this!” Sheharrumphed. “But I’m sure someone as smart as you can easily find out who sent us.” Then, she drifted nonchalantly toward the corpses of the deathsworn soldiers.

Zu An knew she was giving him a hint. After all, these deathsworn soldiers had set out with siege crossbows and military blade formations. This was clearly the style of the army. Furthermore, the silver and gold rings, the golden hammer, and the red-tasseled spear were extremely unique weapons and fighting styles, and they were even at the seventh rank. They were definitely well-known individuals. It wouldn’t be too hard to look into their backgrounds.

Zu An gave the two of them a curious look and said, “By the way, I heard something from your conversation earlier. Wasn’t your mission this time to kill me? Won’t you suffer from the rebound of that vow if you form an alliance with me instead?”

Jia Sili sighed and replied “We already did everything we could, but all of our methods were defeated by you. I even lost an arm, so how could we kill you? The city defense is here too, so we have no choice but to run.”

Zu An was speechless. These fellows really are treacherous… They deliberately left behind some room even when making a vow.

“Enough, we’re leaving. Otherwise, we really won’t be able to leave once the City Defense Army arrives. I’m looking forward to our next meeting, cute big brother~” Jia Sili left, leaving a string of melodious bell sounds and charming laughter in her wake.

Yu Yuqing struggled free from Zu An’s embrace and said weakly, “Hurry and take me out of here.”

Zu An knew that she didn’t want to be seen by the City Defense Army. He gave the deathsworn corpses on the ground a look. After some hesitation, he decided to just collect all of them into his Brilliant Glass Bead. But after thinking about it, he put back a few, as well as the siege crossbow.

He didn’t know whether or not something would be wrong with the City Defense Army that rushed over. It would become troublesome if they ended up hiding the corpses, so he brought away some key evidence. And yet, he had to leave something behind. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to explain things to Zhuxie Chixin and the emperor later. After all, it would be extremely hard for a single person to transport such a large and clumsy siege crossbow.

After he finished, he quickly left while carrying Yun Yuqing. Not even a minute after they left, a group of soldiers arrived. They were all filled with shock when they saw the scene, especially when they saw the siege crossbow. The leader waved his hands and said, “Seal off this area! Everyone else, arrest anyone suspicious nearby!”

…

Zu An had already taken Yun Yuqing several li away. When he saw a bit of black energy come out from between her brows, he quickly took out the antidote Jia Sili had given him. He said a bit hesitantly, “I wonder if this medicine is real.”

Yun Yuqing took the bottle from him and gave it a whiff, saying, “I think it’s real.”

“You have medical knowledge?” Zu An was still cautious. It would be no joke if she was wrong.

Yun Yuqing nodded. “Rune Masters all know a bit about medicine. Even though I don’t have any profound achievements in that regard, I can at least tell if it’s an antidote.” She took the medicine, and then closed her eyes. “However, we still need hot water to get rid of the poison, and I’m still extremely weak. Sigh, I really was too careless just now. I ended up being affected by his corpse poison without even realizing it.”

Zu An recalled the methods of the yin-yang man. He said with a sigh, “His attacks are difficult to prepare against, so you can’t be blamed. By the way, where are you staying? Let me bring you back first.” Yun Yuqing was still weak right now, so he didn’t feel confident in leaving her alone.

Yun Yuqing didn’t refuse him and said, “Let’s return to the capital.”

“The capital?” Zu An exclaimed, shocked. In his opinion, she should have been hiding somewhere on the city outskirts. However, she actually lived in the capital! After all, according to the Great Zhou Dynasty’s laws, kings who didn’t have an official position there couldn’t casually enter the capital or bring their families to live there, or it would be a grave crime.

Yun Yuqing undid her veil, exposing her stunning face. She had a faint smile as she said, “We discovered a white deer auspicious sign in North Order Commandery, so I came to offer it to his and her majesty. Naturally, I’ll be residing in the capital during this time.”

Zu An sighed in amazement. This woman really was smart! After all, the emperor was already undefeated in this world and wanted for nothing. What he lacked the most was longevity. Meanwhile, the white deer was a sign of longevity. The emperor might scoff disdainfully at other auspicious signs, but he would definitely be pleased at the sound of this one.

“We can’t enter the capital like this,” Yun Yuqing removed her black clothes. Beneath them, she was dressed in ordinary clothing. She drew a rune, and the black outfit was burned to ashes.

Zu An couldn’t help but exclaim, “But your simple outfit still can’t hide your stunning beauty! You’ll only draw more suspicion when you arrive at the city gate.”

“I just need to wear a mask.” Yun Yuqing smiled. She fished out a thin mask and covered her face with it. Her stunning appearance became that of an ordinary woman.

Zu An felt relieved. This woman was a glorious king’s wife, and she was also a Rune Master. How could she not have something like this?

Yun Yuqing asked Zu An, “Are you not going to use a mask?”

Zu An shook his head. “There’s no need. I can just enter the capital like this.”

“But I’m scared that this will bring you more trouble…” Yun Yuqing said, feeling a bit apologetic. She was a bit weak and needed to lean against Zu An. If someone saw them, there would definitely be curious people wondering what was going on.

Zu An thought for a bit. In the end, he decided that he couldn’t tarnish his reputation. It was one thing if he was seen with other girls, but Yun Yuqing’s current appearance was too ordinary. If someone saw this, wouldn’t they think he had no taste? As such, he still accepted the mask she offered him. Then, he picked up Yun Yuqing’s soft body and hurried to the city gate.

Along the way, Yun Yuqing lay in his embrace. Even though her expression remained neutral, her eyes became misty as she asked, “You were really even willing to face the emperor for my sake?”

Zu An smiled and replied, “Didn’t you save my life several times as well? How could I just watch you suffer without doing anything?”

“You did all that just because I saved you?” Yun Yuqing’s small mouth opened, as if she were a bit disappointed.

“Of course not. I had to save you because you were in danger!” Zu An immediately realized what he had done wrong. Sweet talk was the basic skill of a playboy.

Sure enough, Yun Yuqing immediately beamed when she heard him, saying, “Ah Zu, you’re so great.”

The two chatted happily along the way. They quickly entered the capital, and Yun Yuqing guided them to an imposing manor inside the city. Zu An was stunned when he saw the large words ‘King Wu Manor’ on the main gate’s placard.

Yun Yuqing said with a smile, “Every king has a residence in the capital; it’s just that we rarely have a chance to stay here. Now that I’m here in the capital, of course I would live here.” Then, she said with a frown, “I left secretly today to avoid prying eyes. That’s why you need to sneak back in with me.”

Zu An felt some misgivings and remarked, “But the security in this king manor is strict…” After all, even his residence in Brightmoon Academy had a defensive formation. This was a king manor here! How could it lack defensive formations and restrictions?

Yun Yuqing dangled a token in her hand and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t set off any of the security with this tile.”

Zu An couldn’t help but laugh. The security of a prison was nothing before a traitor after all. With Yun Yuqing leading the way, as well as her warning him ahead of time, he didn’t activate any of the manor’s security. At the same time, he avoided the patrolling guards.

Of course, in the end, it was still only possible because this was a king manor that had remained empty for a long time, so there weren’t many guards. Otherwise, even if they made it past the outer security, he would still have easily been discovered inside.

Yun Yuqing finally sighed in relief when she entered her inner chamber. The entire room seemed to become a bit brighter when she removed her mask and returned to her original appearance. She walked over to an empty pool nearby and gently twisted the valve. Clear, hot water poured out from the mouth of a few sculptures.

Zu An was stupefied. “A water heater?” he asked.

“Water heater?” Yun Yuqing replied, stunned. “A rune formation takes in water from a nearby hot spring. The surrounding nobles all have similar pools.”

Zu An sighed in amazement. These people really understood how to enjoy themselves. He had already seen many ways in which rune formations were used to raise their quality of life.

“By the way… You were actually a Rune Master!? Where did you learn all this stuff?” Zu An asked curiously. After all, Rune Master was an occupation exclusive to the human race, and this woman was of the demon race. How had she learned these secrets of the human race?

Yun Yuqing looked apologetic as she replied, “Sorry, I promised my master that I wouldn’t divulge who he was.”

“It’s fine, I was too hasty,” Zu An didn’t really mind. He added, “By the way, you should hurry and get rid of the poison. Otherwise, it’ll be really bad if the corpse poison seeps in deeply.”

Yun Yuqing voiced a response. But just as she was about to undo her collar, she blushed. She opened her mouth, but fell silent for a moment.

Eventually, she asked, “Ah Zu, can you help me keep watch?” Then, her beautiful fingers gently flew about. Piece by piece, articles of clothing slid to the ground, exposing her perfect, shining white body.