The group immediately became alert. Were they planning to separate them?

The palace ladies arranged for Zu'an to stay in the outer court wing. Many officials worked there during the day, and sometimes they needed to work overnight in special circumstances, so they would prepare some wing rooms for emergencies, but they were rarely used on ordinary days.

Yu Yanluo and the other girls naturally didn't want to be separated from him, so they suggested that they stay next to him as well.

The palace ladies-in-waiting said that having them stay in the outer wing would make it seem like Qingqiu Kingdom was neglecting its distinguished guests, and that if word got out, other tribes would laugh at Qingqiu Kingdom.

Since the other party had escalated the issue to the level of national dignity, Yu Yanluo naturally felt embarrassed to say anything, but everyone still showed some concern on their faces.

Fortunately, Tu Shanyu was understanding and arranged for the girls to be placed as close as possible to Zu An, which everyone reluctantly accepted.

Taking advantage of a moment of free time, Yu Yanluo instructed Zu An, "Be careful tonight."

Zu An laughed and said, "What do I, a grown man, need to be careful about? On the contrary, you are all injured and need to be extra careful."

"Who says men don't need to be careful? Legend has it that fox spirits can drain a man's life force. Considering the divination result from that fat Taoist priest earlier, you must not be careless." Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Yan Xuehen couldn't help but remind him.

The other two women looked at her in surprise. Yun Jianyue laughed and said, "Wow, our Ice Stone Maiden can actually care about people, even men?"

Yan Xuehen's cheeks flushed slightly, but she reacted quickly: "Companions should naturally help each other. Do you think everyone is like your demonic sect, killing each other?"

Yun Jianyue was about to argue with her when she saw Tu Shanyu walking over, so she swallowed back all her words and quickly said, "This is our Holy Sect's sentry arrow. It will be released if anything unexpected happens. Everyone should gather together as soon as possible."

Now that they were on someone else's territory, they had to be on guard. She distributed several whistle arrows to everyone and quickly taught them how to use them.

Next, Tu Shanyu personally led Yu Yanluo and the others into the inner palace.

Zu An was led to the outer court by another female official.

Along the way, the fox girls were quite curious about Zu'an and tried to make conversation with him.

However, Zuan wasn't in the mood for a romantic encounter and responded only half-heartedly.

Seeing this, the fox spirits lost interest and, after leading him to their destination, instructed him, "This is the royal palace, a place of great importance. Do not wander around at night, or you might offend some important person and cause trouble."

Zu An laughed and said, "Don't worry, I won't leave my house."

To avoid any potential romantic entanglements, he refused to leave even if the fox spirits asked him to. He simply planned to get a good night's sleep and leave peacefully the next day.

“That’s how a man should be; he shouldn’t show his face in public.” The fox women nodded in satisfaction and then left.

Zuan smiled and didn't argue. He looked around the room and found it to be much better than he had imagined. Although it wasn't spacious, it was clean and tidy.

After washing up, he sat on the bed and meditated.

Although outsiders think he spends his days flirting with women, he actually cultivates whenever he has free time. Otherwise, relying solely on external cheats would make him nothing more than a hothouse flower, unable to withstand the test of blood and fire.

Time passed by unnoticed, and suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Who?" Zuan opened his eyes.

"Young Master Zu, it's me." A gentle and pleasant voice rang out from outside.

Zu An's expression changed, because he had already sensed the other party's identity through his soul: Tu Shan Yu, the ruler of Qingqiu Kingdom.

He was quite surprised by this. You see, the other party hadn't even glanced at him once before, and they'd only exchanged three sentences in their conversation. His indifferent gaze made it seem like he was invisible. And now, this person came to find him in the middle of the night.

Zu An replied, "It's already late. It would damage my reputation for a man and woman to meet in private. Let's talk about it tomorrow during the day."

Tu Shanyu's smile froze on her face outside the door: "???"

She came with great enthusiasm, imagining how surprised and excited Zuan would be when he saw her, but instead she was turned away at the door.

With her beauty and status, she has always been the center of attention wherever she goes. When has she ever been rejected like this?

The anger from Tu Shanyu increased by 377...

However, the anger on her face vanished in an instant, and she quickly composed herself, saying in a soft voice, "I heard from Sister Yu that you need Qinghuo flowers. I just found some in stock, and thinking that you must be in urgent need, I sent them to you first."

Zu An was taken aback. Since it concerned the Qinghuo Flower, he naturally couldn't avoid seeing it.

When the door was opened, Tu Shanyu was standing gracefully at the entrance.

She had changed into a different outfit compared to the daytime clothes. The fabric was softer and more comfortable, and the collar was slanted, revealing her delicate, fair collarbone and her small, slender shoulders.

Although she exposed a lot of skin, her personal temperament and appropriate clothing matching prevented her from exuding any vulgarity or slutness. Instead, she appeared pure and lively with a touch of agility.

However, once a man sees such an outfit, the image of her fair and delicate collarbone and shoulders will linger in his mind. Even though only a little bit is revealed, it can still spark endless fantasies.

Zuan felt a pang of nostalgia. Back then, the streets were filled with young, beautiful girls dressed like you. Although this world is more open-minded, it's only relative to the ancient times of his previous life. Compared to the flamboyant style of those urban beauties, his imagination is still somewhat limited.

Let alone this kind of off-shoulder style, I've even seen clothes that are completely transparent, only covering the three most important parts, making it seem like you're not wearing anything at all.

The key is that their clothes are designed to be very elegant, so you can't see any hint of lewdness in them.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!