Upon seeing the other person's appearance, Zu An was shocked and hurriedly withdrew his palm strike to the side. The sudden withdrawal caused his blood and qi to churn, and he crashed to the ground like a large rock.

Qiu Honglei's face regained its usual charming smile: "What's wrong with you, young master? You want to kowtow as soon as we meet? How can I do that?"

To hell with that dignified and aloof attitude! This guy clearly prefers the flamboyant type. Compared to Zheng Dan just now, even though he'd been undercover at Shenxianju for a while, he was far inferior.

Zuan also got up somewhat awkwardly: "Haha, so it's Red Tears..."

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking: "What red tears? Do you think we're that close?"

Zuan: "..."

That's what we used to call you, and you were all smiles and happy about it back then.

Zuan had no choice but to skip that and continued, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Qiu Honglei snorted: "If we had told you beforehand, how could we have witnessed such a wonderful scene?"

"Um... haha..." Even with his thick skin, Zuan was extremely embarrassed at this moment. "I'm so happy to see you again."

Qiu Honglei sneered, "Is that so? I thought I had come at the wrong time and had just interrupted your good time."

"No disturbance, no disturbance, it's all over... cough cough, Red Tears, how did you know I was here?" Zuan changed the subject again. He felt that his bath was a waste, he had sweated so much, both hot sweat and cold sweat.

"Lord Ding here was originally a member of my Holy Sect, but you usurped his place. Can't I come and see him?" Qiu Honglei regretted it more and more. She should have sent her men to assassinate him and see if the adulterous couple would still dare to be so arrogant.

“So he was one of yours,” Zuan said apologetically. “I’m really sorry, but what happened back then was beyond my control. Zhu Xie Chixin’s men acted too quickly.”

"How can you stop Zhu Xie from killing someone he's determined to kill?" Qiu Honglei wasn't angry about that; she was mainly upset because she had dressed up carefully to see him, only to be met with such a disgraceful scene. She couldn't vent her anger.

Zuan said, "Honglei, could you please come down from the tree first? It's making my neck hurt when I talk with my head tilted back like this."

The two were positioned one in a tree and the other below, and they could only communicate by looking up.

"No way, I feel quite comfortable talking like this." Qiu Honglei's lips curled up slightly, her legs dangling in the air, feeling much happier.

Zuan had to remind her, "Uh, you're wearing a skirt, you're showing too much skin..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qiu Honglei exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly jumped down from the tree, clutching her skirt tightly while blushing and waiting for him: "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"I just subtly reminded you, but you didn't understand," Zu'an said, looking wronged.

Qiu Honglei: "..."

Zuan chuckled and said, "Red Tears, let's talk inside, it's windy outside."

"Who told you not to put your clothes on properly?" Qiu Honglei snorted, turning her face slightly away to avoid looking at his bare upper body.

Zuan chuckled awkwardly and immediately found a coat to put on.

Qiu Honglei observed the room for a moment and said, "Wow, you've decorated the room so elegantly in such a short time. I didn't realize you were so skillful."

"You flatter me, you flatter me." Zu An naturally dared not say it was Qiao Xueying's doing. Although he didn't have any specific relationship with Qiu Honglei now, his male intuition told him not to do anything reckless.

Qiu Honglei casually found a stool and sat down. After this while, her anger had subsided considerably: "I didn't expect you to actually turn this seemingly hopeless situation around. Whether as a friend or an enemy, I admire you quite a bit."

"It was just luck. I should thank you for taking care of me along the way, otherwise I might not have made it to the capital safely," Zu An said sincerely.

Qiu Honglei spat out: "Hmph, you make me sound like a traitor to the Holy Church, colluding with you from the inside. Your escape is your own skill, it has nothing to do with me."

Zuan nodded with a smile: "Yes, yes, yes."

The two exchanged glances, and everything was understood without words.

Qiu Honglei coughed lightly, then asked, "Did you really give the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra to the Emperor?"

Zuan hummed in agreement. Of course, no one could tell him that he had tampered with the scriptures.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have just handed you over to my master. Maybe he could have even appointed you as a vice leader. Wouldn't that be more prestigious than being a mere baron?" Qiu Honglei said, somewhat displeased.

Zuan replied, "But that would bring utter destruction to your sect."

Qiu Honglei remained silent, knowing that the Holy Sect was indeed powerless to deal with the Emperor's full-scale attack: "But why would the Emperor spare your life? Could it be that the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture cannot grant immortality?"

Zuan chuckled: "I wonder how many people have asked me the same question. That's right, the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra can't grant immortality."

This is not a lie; even the true "Phoenix Nirvana Sutra" cannot be mastered through solitary practice.

"Why didn't you tell the world sooner? You were chased all the way here." Qiu Honglei said with some resentment, thinking of the dangers he encountered on the road.

“No one would have believed me even if I had said it earlier,” Zuan said with a wry smile.

Qiu Honglei knew this was true, and after a moment of silence, she said, "I heard you became a Gentleman-in-Waiting for the Crown Prince?"

"Um."

"Does the Crown Prince's attendant accompany him during the day or at night?"

Hearing her question, Zu'an's expression was a little strange: "Of course it's during the day. You know, the Crown Prince's Palace is actually inside the palace. How could other men be allowed to stay there at night?"

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