Zu An replied in a deep voice, "Uncle, I have my reasons, but it's not convenient to explain right now. I hope you won't take offense."

Sang Hong gave him a deep look and finally said, "You've already called me uncle, so of course I believe you. Since you say so, I won't ask any more questions."

Do you think I don't know this brat? I used to be the governor of Mingyue City. He had an ambiguous relationship with Qiu Honglei, the most beautiful courtesan at Shenxianju. This guy is really a womanizer.

Thinking of his daughter, he felt inexplicably annoyed and said, "I'm going to the prefect's mansion now to discuss with Prefect Zhang the matter of escorting that demonic sect witch. You've been working too hard outside, go back and rest early."

"Thank you, Uncle." Zu An breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his agreement.

Just as he was about to leave, Sang Hong called out to him: "Azu, I must remind you, it is only natural to be attracted to someone when you are young, but you must also be clear about the other person's identity. There are some women you should not get involved with."

Zu An broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed he couldn't hide it from him after all. He could only say, "Uncle is right."

Seeing that although he said that, his expression was still somewhat dismissive, Sang Hong snorted sullenly and was too lazy to persuade him. Anyway, Qian'er was just borrowing him for a while, and she didn't really want to recruit him as her son-in-law. He only wanted a grandson.

Watching Sang Hong lead his men toward the Prefect's residence, Zu An returned to the dock. Gao Ying and Pei You asked him if Sun Xun had made things difficult for him earlier. He gave a brief account of what had just happened, and because he was worried about Qiu Honglei, he made an excuse to rest and went back to his room.

Gao Ying and Pei You had also been up most of the night and were exhausted, so they went back to their rooms to rest.

Zu An secretly changed into the clothes of the Embroidered Envoy in the house and went to Xiao Jianren's room.

Since Sang Hong and Zu An had left at the beginning, the main base on the ship ultimately needed someone to guard it, and Xiao Jianren was naturally the best candidate.

He was studying late into the night, his eyes practically touching the table; clearly, his nearsightedness was quite severe.

However, he had stood out from the many talented embroidered-robed envoys. Although his eyesight was not good, his hearing was very sharp. As soon as Zu An entered the room, he noticed something was wrong: "Who is it?"

“It’s me!” Zuan said in a deep voice. “I reminded you before not to read at night, your eyes won’t be able to take it. When you get back to the capital, ask the academy to get you a pair of glass glasses or an ever-burning lamp.”

Previously, Zaun had specifically inquired about the disciples personally taught by the academy's high priests. They all had all sorts of inventions, including eyeglasses, but instead of glass, they used crystal, engraved with special runes and arrays to achieve the same effect as eyeglasses, making them extremely expensive.

As for the ever-burning lamp, the one Zu'an gave Xie Daoyun before was one of those, only the most precious and high-grade one. Although Zu'an sympathized with Xiao Jianren, between a man and a woman, he would definitely choose the woman.

“It’s alright, I’ve gotten used to it over the years,” Xiao Jianren said, placing the bookmark where he had just seen it and carefully closing the book as if it were a precious treasure. “The glass glasses and ever-burning lamps produced by the academy are too expensive; they’re not something someone like me can afford.”

Zu An was speechless. In fact, as a silver-ranked embroidered-clothes envoy, his salary was not low. If he saved up for a few years, he could still earn enough. However, he always used the money to buy books first. Moreover, he read all kinds of books. As long as there were words, even the packaging bags of pastries from restaurants in the capital, he could read them with great interest for a long time.

He bought all sorts of books, making him the poorest person in the boudoir, so naturally he couldn't bear to buy anything from the academy.

"By the way, do you know the Demonic Sect's stronghold in Yi County?" Zu An didn't forget the important matter and hurriedly asked. He needed to contact Yun Jianyue as soon as possible so that he could discuss with her how to rescue Qiu Honglei.

Xiao Jianren couldn't help but say, "My lord, you flatter me too much. If the Demonic Sect's strongholds were so easily known, they would have been wiped out by the government long ago. However, I can try contacting the local Embroidered-Robe Envoy intelligence network to see if I can find some less secret strongholds. These strongholds are usually monitored by spies in each area, so that if they are destroyed, we don't have to spend effort to find new Demonic Sect strongholds. Of course, these strongholds are generally not of much value, I don't know if they will be of any use to you, my lord."

"Find it first." Zuan had no other choice but to give it a try.

If absolutely necessary, he will have no choice but to act alone.

"Alright!" Xiao Jianren cupped his hands in greeting and was about to leave when Zu An suddenly reached out and stopped him.

Just as he was looking puzzled, Zu An said in a deep voice, "Since you've come, why don't you show yourself?"

"Is anyone there?" Xiao Jianren was shocked. He was always cautious and had even set up some small traps around the room. He also had very sharp ears, so only someone like the Eleventh Lord could sneak into the room before he discovered him. It was difficult for others to escape his notice.

Even with the reminder from the Eleventh Master, he listened intently but could not hear any breathing or sense any fluctuations in vital energy. How high must the other party's cultivation be to achieve this?

Just then, a cold voice came from outside: "I was careful enough, but I didn't expect you to hear me. You truly deserve to be called the Gold Medal Embroidered Robe."

As soon as he finished speaking, the window was pushed open, and a dark figure flashed in. Xiao Jianren was about to draw his sword when he suddenly froze.

Because the dark figure directly ripped off the outer night clothes, revealing the clothes underneath. The distinctive cloud and dragon pattern was none other than the uniform of the Embroidered Robe Envoy.

Moreover, the other party's collar was trimmed with gold, and he was actually a gold-medal embroidered envoy!

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