Qiao Xueying giggled. “She rarely visits the capital. They haven’t met that often.”

Zu An knew that he had been overly worried. The two of them carried on with more personal matters. He asked her about what she did after she returned to the capital, and she was also curious about his encounters during this period. Both of them were amazed at the other’s experiences.

A while later, Qiao Xueying got up. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” Zu An asked.

Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. “To visit Chuyan in the Qin Estate, of course. I can sense that you’re feeling a little unsettled.” 

Zu An smiled in embarrassment. “It wasn’t that obvious, right? She was trying to save me, yet she ended up being placed under house arrest by the Qin clan. I’m worried that she might do something stupid.”

The dramas of his past world always had such stupid plots, which left him rather traumatized.

“We should let her know that you’re safe and sound.” Qiao Xueying held his hand. “You aren’t familiar with the capital, so you probably don’t even know where the Qin Estate is. I’ll take you there.”

The two of them headed for the exit. Qiao Xueying suddenly thought of something and turned around. Zu An stared in shock as she stored all of the remaining seeds into her pouch.

“You really do like chewing those seeds…” Zu An tapped her cheeks. Her teeth were still white and sparkling, showing no wear from the constant chewing. Uh… I suppose the bodies of cultivators really cannot be judged based on what I know from my previous world.

Qiao Xueying blushed. “It’s only because I’ve been busy. I haven’t had the spare time to chew on them, not like when I was in the Chu clan.”

Zu An chuckled and patted her head. “I’ll buy some more for you next time.”

“No! If you buy too many and they get damp, they won’t taste good anymore!”

“I can wield the fire element now. I’ll help you roast them again later.”

“Hmph, I’m a wood element cultivator, so I hate things like fire. I suppose I’m doomed to be curbed by you for the rest of my life.”

“You can actually use water too. You can put out a fire if you try a little harder.”

“What do you mean I have water…” Qiao Xueying looked confused. When she saw his strange smile, she immediately realized what he meant and started hitting him. “You’re a horrible person after all! I knew it from the moment I first saw you!”

“Hahaha…”

The two of them traded jokes as they walked. Eventually, they found themselves in front of a grand residence.

Qiao Xueying gestured at what was in front of them. “There. All of that is the Qin clan’s property.” 

Zu An was stunned. He thought that the Chu Estate was already large enough. However, it was nothing compared to the Qin Estate.

There was no end in sight. It was basically a small-scale imperial palace! All of this, even in an expensive place like the capital.

“Bloody rich bastards!” he spat mockingly.

Qiao Xueying shared his sentiment. “The Qin clan is the most important military clan, so it is indeed much more powerful than the Chu clan. However, this is still nothing compared to the Yu clan. Theirs is true extravagance, comparable to the imperial palace.”

Zu An remembered Chu Chuyan mentioning that the Yu clan was not only of the highest echelon of authority within the court, but that their clan also ran a ki stone business. They were the pinnacle of wealth.

Yu Yanluo appeared in his mind, in all her devastating beauty. His soul had been stirred by her previously, but it had already been so long that he wasn’t as enamored as before.

Hmph, Yu Yanluo, you’d better not let me catch you again. If you ever ghost me again, there’ll be hell to pay! 

Qiao Xueying said, “Ah Zu, I won’t go in with you. I have a lot of things to take care of myself, and given who I am, it might not be best for me to meet with them.”

“Okay, go take care of what you need to first.” Zu An remembered that she used to be a spy within the Chu clan. Even though Chu Chuyan had forgiven her in the end, Chu Chuyan clearly did not hold much sway within the Qin clan. It would be terrible if the Qin clan ended up doing something to her.

Qiao Xueying was slightly saddened, but she then heard him say, “Are you going to come to my place later, or should I head to yours?”

Qiao Xueying’s cheeks immediately turned red. “I don’t know when I’ll be done… It’ll be more convenient if I went to you.”

Zu An wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her gently on her small lips. “I’ll be waiting.”

When she remembered how she had almost been snapped like a twig the night before, Qiao Xueying’s face reddened further. She wanted to refuse him, but to be honest, she felt an urge to carry on as well.

I’ll definitely figure out what a steering wheel is today…

When Qiao Xueying left, Zu An smoothed out his clothes before walking towards the entrance to the Qin Estate. He thought about sneaking in, but changed his mind. He wasn’t a criminal anymore, so there was no need to sneak around like that.

He arrived at the entrance and informed the guards of his name and his reason for his visit. The guards were all shocked. They did not dare let him in right away, and told him to wait outside before rushing in to inform the master.

Zu An had a strange look on his face. He expected that he’d have to face some arrogant and condescending people who’d try to stop him, like in the fiction novels he’d read. He didn’t expect things to go so smoothly.

As soon as the thought emerged, a female voice interrupted him. “So, you’re Zu An.”

The voice was rather pleasant, but had a cold edge.

Zu An turned around and saw a tall and slender woman eyeing him from not far away.

This young lady was clearly beautiful, but it was her tall, graceful figure that truly caught the eye. She was not wearing a dress, like other demure young women, but a set of tight-fitting clothes, and she stood straight as a spear. He could tell from a single look that there wasn’t a single ounce of unwanted fat on her body.

Yup, even her breasts are nice and firm. It’s not too exaggerated, but they are large and perky enough.

Her skin was also different from that of women from distinguished clans who rarely went out. It was nicely tanned, clearly from a healthy amount of sunlight, yet it did not seem crude on her. On the contrary, it seemed like honey-colored jade, smooth and exquisite.

Together with her long, straight legs, she was the perfect example of a tall, athletic beauty, with a hint of wildness to her. Even though he didn’t know her, he could tell that she was a girl who loved life, someone who was full of energy.

The young lady’s face immediately darkened when she saw his probing look. “What are you looking at?”

You have successfully trolled Murong Qinghe for 244 Rage points!

Murong Qinghe?

Zu An searched through his memories. He hadn’t heard of this name before.

Seeing her furious expression, Zu An smiled and said, “You were the one who called out to me. Of course I have to look at you closely to see if you’re a friend of mine.”

The young lady snorted. “Who are you calling a friend?”

“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions.” Zu An said. “I had a dream in which you were a good friend of mine. I remember that you told me your name was Murong Qinghe. Is that your name?”

The young lady was clearly startled, and subconsciously took a few steps back. She was sure that she had never met this fellow before. The only reason she knew his name was because he had just announced his identity at the gates of the estate. Why did this guy know her name? Could it be that they had really crossed paths in a dream…?

Pah!

The young lady’s face turned completely red. “How could I possibly have met someone like you in a dream, let alone reveal my name to you? Hmph! Many people in the capital know my name. You definitely saw me in the city while hiding out somewhere. That’s surely it!”

Zu An couldn’t help but sigh. Are all pretty girls really this self-confident?

“Since you seem certain that we never met in a dream, why do you recognize me?” Zu An noticed that no one from the Qin clan had come to receive him yet. Since he was bored, playing around with a young lady didn’t seem all that bad.

“You just said it…” Murong Qinghe suddenly reacted. “I was almost distracted! Mister Zu, since I just happened to run into you here, I’ll use this opportunity to settle our debt!”

With that, she charged at him. Her body was strong and healthy, and  she had covered the distance in the blink of an eye. With her long legs extended, she aimed a kick squarely at his chest.