Chapter 1704: Spy
“Fine!” Zu An immediately agreed.
“You’re not even going to ask who it is we want you to save? You’re just going to agree?” Qiu Honglei asked, stunned.
Zu An said with a smile, “If it’s you two asking me for help, forget about one favor, even if it were ten or a hundred, I’d still brave any dangers to achieve them.”
Qiu Honglei had a strange expression as she thought, Wasn’t it just me who was asking for a favor? Why are you saying ‘you two’?
“Look at this slick kid. I really wonder just what part of you Honglei likes so much,” Yun Jianyue said, rolling her eyes as if she were looking down on him.
Zu An smiled. This woman really is interesting. She’s going so far as to put up an act even in front of her disciple…
Even though Qiu Honglei felt that the other two’s expressions were a bit strange, she didn’t think too much about it. She said, “Ah Zu, this is the situation. You should know the Imperial Palace’s Concubine Bai, right?”
“Concubine Bai?” Zu An repeated, stunned. He suddenly recalled the beautiful woman who always gave off the scent of flowers. He continued, “Don’t tell me she’s the one you want to save?”
Yun Jianyue said with a nod, “Rouxue is my junior sister. In the past, she received a mission from the Holy Sect to infiltrate the Imperial Palace as a spy, but we suddenly lost communication with her a few days ago. According to our sources, her ident.i.ty might have been exposed. That’s why we need your help.”
Zu An was a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected that delicate and gentle woman to be someone from the Devil Sect. Still, it wasn’t all that shocking. After all, Concubine Bai had seemed to offer some help when Yun Jianyue and the others invaded the Imperial Palace. After he rescued Yun Jianyue, her att.i.tude had always been rather good to him.
Seeing as he didn’t say anything, Yun Jianyue continued, “From what I know, Rouxue has actually treated you quite well.”
Zu An sighed and said, “So it was because of that. I thought it was because she thought I was handsome, so she had a good impression of me.”
Qiu Honglei and Yun Jianyue were speechless. They both thought, I’ve never seen such a shameless person in my life.
Zu An put his smile away and said, “But from what I know, the emperor is already on the way to Violet Mountain. Was Concubine Bai brought out, or was she imprisoned in the palace? Or perhaps…” He refrained from mentioning the worst outcome. There was a high chance that she had already been secretly executed.
Qiu Honglei shook her head and said, “Our current intelligence is also limited. After our a.s.sault on the Imperial Palace, we lost a lot of our eyes in the palace. There’s been practically no useful information for us to obtain. In the end, we could only ask for your help.”
Yun Jianyue harrumphed. “Rouxue’s ident.i.ty is one of the Holy Sect’s greatest secrets. No more than three people know her ident.i.ty. If not for the fact that we’re treating you as one of our own, there’s no way we would have told you even if something happened to her.”
“Master~” Qiu Honglei called out, giving her an upset look. Her master’s temper was one thing, but they were asking for help right now… Couldn"t she sound a bit nicer?
Yun Jianyue naturally guessed what Qiu Honglei was thinking. She thought, This silly child, did she get confused from all of those battles? Why is she suddenly scared of upsetting that brat?
Qiu Honglei quickly realized that with both master and disciple asking him for help, if he refused, they would have really chosen to trust the wrong person.
Sure enough, Zu An quickly nodded and said, “Don’t worry. Leave this to me. But you two need to be mentally prepared, because I might not be able to save her.”
“Ah Zu really is the best!” Qiu Honglei exclaimed as she clung to his arm happily. She thought, He didn’t get angry even though master was so rude to him. He’s definitely so nice because of me! He really is so good to me.
Yun Jianyue felt a bit annoyed when she saw the two so close together. She said, “Don’t worry. I know this situation is a bit difficult. Whether you succeed or not, we’ll remember this favor.”
“Oh!” Zu An suddenly added. “If Concubine Bai is your junior sister, why has her cultivation always seemed to be nothing special?”
She had loaned him her spice bag that hid her cultivation, but that spice bag’s effects were limited. Yun Jianyue was a grandmaster, so wasn’t this junior sister of hers a bit too lacking?
“That little white flower in her hair is a special seal on her cultivation. After all, she was entering the imperial family, so having a high cultivation would only be a bad thing,” Yun Jianyue explained. “Furthermore, Rouxue walks a different path from me. She cultivates another special technique of the Holy Sect that’s a bit similar to the Voice of the Devil, but it doesn’t excel in fighting.”
Zu An suddenly understood everything. It was no wonder that, regardless of what kind of outfit Concubine Bai had, she always had that little white flower on her head. He had thought that it was just because she liked flowers before. If her cultivation technique was similar to the Voice of the Devil, could it also be a type of charm skill? Indeed, Concubine Bai had a gentle and delicate air about her that made men unable to help but want to cherish her. Was the flower fragrance she gave off also a unique trait of her cultivation?
Of course, he couldn"t ask these two about such things.
Seeing as Zu An had agreed, Yun Jianyue nodded. She was about to leave with Qiu Honglei when she suddenly noticed her disciple’s reluctant gaze. After some hesitation, she said, “I’ll wait for you two outside.” She turned around and left afterward. If she didn’t see them doing it, she wouldn’t get as annoyed.
Qiu Honglei felt a bit embarra.s.sed. Suddenly, she didn’t know what to do.
Zu An laughed when he saw her bashful appearance. He remarked, “Where did that flower courtesan who enchanted everyone in all of Brightmoon City go? Why is the Devil Sect Saintess who left all of those daoist sect disciples speechless with her dance suddenly so shy?”
“Come on, you’re different from other people!” Qiu Honglei replied with a pout.
…
Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue was nearby, leaning against a tree. Even though she looked calm on the surface, she actually perked up her ears. She felt a bit irritated as she listened to their lovers’ talk. Still, she knew that she didn’t have the right to feel angry in the current situation. She felt even worse when she realized that.
Suddenly, she shivered and backed up roughly a dozen meters. She looked in a certain direction vigilantly. There, a woman in white was standing in the entryway. Her stunning face lacked all expression, as if she were a thousand-year-old glacier.
“If I decided to ambush you just now, you might have already died,” Yan Xuehen said with a frown. “That’s not like you. Why were you so distracted?”
Yun Jianyue was relieved, but she didn’t dare to admit it on the surface. She retorted, “Wow, what a shameless boast. I was clearly baiting you on purpose earlier. You don’t know how lucky you are.”
“Is that so?” Yan Xuehen replied, staring blankly for a moment, but she didn’t suspect much. After all, with Yun Jianyue’s cultivation, her opening statement was a bit excessive.
Yun Jianyue was really confused. She fired back, “Why are you suddenly coming to your disciple’s place when she’s in the secret dungeon? Won’t rumors start if news of that gets out?”
Yan Xuehen’s ice-cold expression revealed a hint of a blush. She was alarmed, wondering if Yun Jianyue somehow knew about her and Ah Zu. However, she was a smart person and quickly calmed down. She retorted, “Isn’t there someone else who’s also running to their disciple’s place?”
Yun Jianyue was alarmed. At that moment, both women panicked, standing stiffly in place.
Fortunately, Zu An came out to check on the situation when he heard the noise. He was extremely happy to see Yan Xuehen, saying, “Big sis Yan, you also came.”
Yan Xuehen saw that Qiu Honglei’s upper body was practically sticking to him. Her expression turned cold as she said, “Sir Zu, you are a court official, yet you are playing around with a Devil Sect witch. Furthermore, the daoist sects have gathered all over this mountain. If they found out about this, how would you deal with that situation then?”
“Stone cold woman, can you clean your mouth before you speak? Who are you trying to scare here? The two of them are perfect for each other, so stop trying to drive a wedge between them,” Yun Jianyue snapped in annoyance. She just felt like Yan Xuehen was trying to help her own disciple by spouting some so-called righteousness.
Yan Xuehen frowned. Her expression became even colder.
Sensing that the temperature in the entire courtyard seemed to be dropping, Qiu Honglei was too embarra.s.sed to be so intimate with Zu An anymore. She quickly stood up and greeted Yan Xuehen respectfully. “Many thanks to senior and Lady Chu for helping me that day.”
Yan Xuehen said indifferently, “I am different from those who let l.u.s.t dominate their thoughts. Why would I ever let you go on purpose?”
Yun Jianyue said with a smile, “This stone cold woman is always so hypocritical. She clearly did it, and yet she can’t admit it. You didn’t join those people in going against me, so I still owe you a favor. If you ever end up surrounded by the Holy Sect’s people, I’ll let you go once too.”
“I don’t need it!” Yan Xuehen snapped, looking away.
The two were arguing against each other on the surface, but they both knew that after fighting together in the Fiend races’ territory, there was no way they could do something so shameless as attacking the other side with a group. Of course, they were still on opposing sides. If they faced each other in a fair battle, they would still fight properly.
Yun Jianyue gave her a look of disdain and said, “Hmph, if you ever find a man, sooner or later, you’ll definitely lose him because of that duplicity of yours.”
However, she almost laughed in self-mockery after saying that. If Yan Xuehen were to look for a man, the line to talk to her would probably reach all the way from Violet Mountain to the capital. Who would be willing to let her go?
Unbeknownst to her, those words struck a sore spot, leaving Yan Xuehen alarmed for a moment.
Because of Yan Xuehen, Qiu Honglei couldn"t continue to talk intimately with Zu An. Furthermore, there were all sorts of troublesome things to take care of back in the Devil Sect, so they found some excuse to leave. Soon after, only Zu An and Yan Xuehen were left in the courtyard.
“And here I was thinking you would never look for me again,” Zu An said happily. After all, she had been avoiding him whenever he looked for her.
Yan Xuehen was startled. She quickly said, “I came because there’s something important to talk about. I think there’s something wrong with w.a.n.g Wuxie right now.”