Chapter 74: I Need to Become Poor

Chu Tiesheng remarked contemptuously, “How could he still be alive if a fifth rank cultivator wants to be alive?”

This was the doubt everyone in the room shared. Seeing that everyone’s eyes were on him, Zu An unhurriedly responded, “Her stomach suddenly started hurting halfway through, or else I would really have been dead.”

“Hurting?”

The crowd was stunned. They didn’t expect to hear such a childish excuse. A fifth rank cultivator actually suddenly had a stomachache in the midst of a battle and failed to kill a mortal—no, someone who was even weaker than an ordinary mortal. That was simply inconceivable.

While everyone was doubting Zu An, Chu Chuyan suddenly spoke up, “I don’t think he’s lying.”

“???”

Those words brought confused gazes upon Chu Chuyan.

Qin Wanru frowned a little, wondering if her daughter was speaking up for Zu An out of consideration of their marriage.

“Actually, I’ve long realized that there’s something wrong with Snow. She has hidden it well, but after the time we have spent together, it’s inevitable that she would let things slip from time to time. The reason why I didn’t say it out loud is because I wanted to investigate the person behind her. However, I don’t understand why she would make a move on you.”

Chu Chuyan turned to look at Zu An questioningly.

She commanded a composed disposition, and her words were slow and unhurried. Yet, for some reason, her leisurely attitude didn’t provoke one’s ire. Instead, it simply felt like it ought to be the case.

“I don’t understand it either,” replied Zu An innocently. Had I known that you weren’t the one behind her, I would have exposed her right from the start. I wouldn’t have to feel so jittery for so long around her.

The crowd was surprised to hear Chu Chuyan’s words. They were surprised by how well Snow had concealed her identity, and at the same time, they couldn’t help but wonder who the mastermind behind her was. No one else doubted what Zu An had said anymore.

Chu Zhongtian interjected with a cough before turning to Zu An, saying, “You should recuperate from your injuries first. I’ll send a few personal guards to protect you from now onward. We can’t allow the same thing to happen again.”

“Personal guards? How personal are they going to be?”

For some reason, Zu An’s mind suddenly drifted to the beautiful bodyguards he had seen on dramas in his previous life.

Chu Zhongtian calmly gestured to the buff men standing on attention by the doorway, shattering whatever unrealistic thought that was in Zu An’s mind. He spoke some words of consolation to the latter before indicating for the others to leave the room so as to let Zu An get some rest.

Chu Huanzhao was still reluctant to leave initially. She was bugging Zu An over the money he had won in the casino, feeling a little aggrieved that he didn’t bring her along for something that fun.

Qin Wanru had already walked out of the room, but when she noticed the conspicuous absence of her second daughter, she immediately turned around, only to see Chu Huanzhao acting chummy with Zu An. Once again, a frown formed on her forehead and she bellowed, “Huanzhao, let’s go!”

You have successfully trolled Qin Wanru for +3 +3 +3…

Zu An was amused by how hot-tempered his mother-in-law was. Are you afraid that I would steal your second daughter too? What are you so worried about? Is it because I’m too good looking?

It was only at the urging of her mother that Chu Huanzhao finally left reluctantly. Afterward, Chu Chuyan also walked out of the room with a brooding look on her face.

Once everyone was gone, Zu An took a look at the Rage points he had earned—6,929. Needless to say, most of them were from Snow.

He didn’t rush into drawing the lottery this time around. Based on his previous experiences, he still had too few Rage points at the moment to draw anything good. He might as well save up more. Perhaps, his luck might be better that way.

Also, he was also a deep believer in gambler’s philosophy. Given that he had just drawn an item, there was no way he could draw another one right away.

As his thoughts came up to this point, he couldn’t help but feel deeply regretful that he ended up using the Knock-You-Up Eyes here. It’s all Snow’s fault! I really need to give a good walloping in the future!

At the same time, he began contemplating over an extremely important question—his wealth. He was far too rich at the moment for his own safety!

What did 7,500,000 silver taels represent? Even in the whole wide world, there was probably less than a handful who was even richer than him.

To be honest, the only reason why it worked out was because the Silverhook Casino thought that they had him on the hook and intentionally removed the betting limit. Had it been any other customer, the casino would have never allowed such a huge bet on the higher payout choices.

Ultimately, this all could be traced back to Zu An’s wastrel image affecting other’s impression of him. The casino thought that it could take advantage of him, but they ended up doing themselves in.

Anyway, back to the topic, the earlier fight with Snow had reminded him of a major consequence as a result of his victory at the casino—he was no longer able to use the Heiress’ Ball of Delights anymore!

One of the requirements of the Heiress’ Ball of Delights was that the other party had to be a woman richer than him, but now that he had a debt note worth 7,500,000 silver taels on him, there was no way he could hit the requirement anymore.

The loss of this trump card could prove fatal to him. As important as money was, he treasured his life far more than that.

If he had been able to cash out the 7,500,000 silver taels, he could recruit a group of top-notch experts to protect him. Yet, of all things, he had to receive a debt note instead. This made things much harder for him.

He really had to think of a way to make himself poorer!

That being said, while it was indeed unlikely for him to be able to fully cash out the debt note, it was not as if it was completely useless at all. It would be a waste to simply dump away such huge leverage he had over the Plum Blossom Sect. It would be best if he could get something out of it somehow.

So, Zu An fell into deep thoughts. He wondered if he should emulate what he once saw in the movies and think of ways to squander his money. He actually had many ideas regarding that, but he soon shot them down one after another. He realized that it would be hard to realize most of the ideas he had in this world.

While he was feeling deeply stressed, a shadow suddenly loomed over him. A hunched figure had suddenly appeared by the side of his bed, giving him the shock of his life. He hurriedly raised his head, only to see that it was Old Mi.

“Elder, you keep appearing out of nowhere. One of these days, I’ll really get a heart attack.”

As Zu An said those words, he discreetly glanced at the doorway. Chu Zhongtian should have assigned some guards to protect him, but why did they still allow Old Mi to slip in?

“Don’t bother looking. Those children can’t possibly sense my presence,” said Old Mi with a hint of smugness on his face.

Zu An’s face immediately turned bitter. “It looks like the Chu Estate is really lacking in talents. I heard them talking about how their guards were carefully selected but groomed, but it seems like it was all talk.”

Old Mi harrumphed in response to Zu An’s grumble. “What do you know? Just because they aren’t able to stop me doesn’t mean that they are helpless against other intruders. Those guards are actually quite decent. They would be enough to ensure your safety in Brightmoon City. Even if Snow returns, she won’t be able to harm you under their protection. At the very least, they’ll be enough to buy time for the arrival of reinforcements.”

Zu An finally heaved a sigh of relief. It was only then that he finally felt the benefits of having a powerful backing. This is how it’s supposed to be. As a young master of a ducal clan, it doesn’t make sense for me to deal with my own enemies personally. I should have an army of guards to wallop anyone who stands in my way!

“I didn’t think that something would happen as soon as I’m gone. You need to be more careful in the future. Don’t go around causing trouble anymore,” instructed Old Mi.

Zu An felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He didn’t think that Old Mi would be so concerned about his safety. “Thank you for your concern, elder. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

Old Mi replied with a nod before walking over to the bedside to feel Zu An’s pulse. “Your injuries are a little severe, but it’s fortunate that there isn’t any lasting problem after the prompt treatment you received. Also, it seems like your cultivation has risen quite a bit due to this encounter too.”

Zu An hadn’t been able to check on his own condition earlier. He quickly inspected his own condition and noticed that the second formation had been completely filled, and the third formation was around one-third full. This meant that he had reached the third step of the third rank.

He had to eat 58 Ki Fruits just to fill the second formation by two-thirds, and the third formation was bound to require more—to be exact, 144 of them. That equated to 150,000 Rage points or so.

So far, the most he had earned in a single setting was around 60,000 to 70,000 Rage points, and that was when he had the support of a crowd around him. Such opportunities were actually rare, and he didn’t have the confidence that he would be able to pull it out often.

On the other hand, the injuries he suffered from fighting with Snow earlier, through the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, raised his cultivation by the equivalent of 80 Ki Fruits. That was far more than any Rage points he had earned in a single event.

However, the entire situation was like walking on a tightrope between two tall mountains—it was simply too dangerous! All it took was a moment of carelessness for him to fall to his death!

One must know that this was real life; he couldn’t just set a save point and restart if things went awry. It was simply too dangerous to rely on the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to raise his cultivation. At the very least, he wouldn’t rely on it unless he was really desperate.

Anyway, Old Mi continued to relay some instructions to Zu An before leaving the room. Oddly enough, even though he was looking at the hunched old man all this while, he realized that he wasn’t sure how the latter even walked out of the room. Once again, he affirmed his view that Old Mi was truly an unfathomable expert.

Once Zu An was left alone in the room, he began to devote his attention toward how he should squander off the fortune he had just earned.

…

Meanwhile, in a courtyard several li away, a teacup was smashed to the ground with a loud ‘clink’.

A beautiful figure was rolling around restlessly on her bed, grabbing her blanket tightly. Her hair was completely soaked in sweat, and her maidenly face was scrunched in pain. “Zu An, I swear that I’m going to take your life if that’s the last thing I’ll do!”

Of course, this person was no other than Snow.

She knew that she had already alarmed the members of the Chu clan, and her abdomen was simply hurting too much, so she dared not to return. Instead, she escaped into a residence she had prepared beforehand.

She was confident in pulling off today’s assassination, but who could have thought that she would end up getting done in by that scum? Just what kind of sorcery did that bastard cast on me to make me suffer such unbearable pain?

She even suspected that it was some kind of hidden injuries she had incurred unknowingly. She found it hard to believe that Zu An had the ability to pull off something like this.

Regardless of what the truth was, it was a fact that she had failed, and it would be safe to assume that her identity as a spy in the Chu clan had been revealed too. She had put an unimaginable amount of effort in order to infiltrate the Chu clan, but she ended up failing her mission just because of a mere ant. This turn of events made her feel so indignant that it was driving her insane.

Some time later, the unbearable pain suddenly vanished without a trace. It wasn’t a gradual recovery but an instantaneous disappearance.

A second ago, Snow was still rolling around the bed, and in the next, the pain had already flown away.

She initially thought that she must be hallucinating, but when the pain didn’t return after some time, her heart was finally put at ease.

So, what in the world was that?

Snow rose from her bed and wiped off the cold sweat trickling down her face. She felt incredibly fatigued, and her clothes were completely soaked too.

She quickly grabbed a new pair of clothes and changed into it. She felt that she should get her condition checked at a physician in the off case that she had been inflicted with some sort of weird disease.

However, for the time being, she had something more important to attend to. Once she was done changing into a fresh set of clothing, she hurriedly left the residence.

…

Over at the headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect, Mei Chaofeng widened his eyes in astonishment after listening to Snow’s story. “What? The assassination failed even though you had made a move personally?”

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