Chapter 28: Aunt and Best Friend

Mobile users, please visit The Pavilion of Pen's Pleasures to read! Erbi Quger

***

### Volume 1: First Steps into Another World

Ji Xiaoxi stuck out her tongue. She suddenly noticed a picture book left on the armchair and, curious, went to pick it up. As soon as she flipped to a page, her face flushed crimson. She quickly chased after him, “Daddy, why do you always look at this kind of rubbish? If Auntie sees it, she’ll argue with you again.”

Ji Dengtu then remembered he had left something behind. He quickly ran back and snatched it away. “Hmph, your mother and I separated long ago. Your aunt has even less say over me.”

Ji Xiaoxi stamped her foot. “It’s because you’re always like this that Auntie doesn’t come here anymore.”

“Bah, I’m perfectly free on my own now. I don’t need her to come.” Ji Dengtu waved his hand, clearly impatient to discuss the topic. “You go to bed early. You have to go back to the academy tomorrow. You can complain to your aunt all you want then.”

With a bang, he closed the door behind him and retreated into his room.

Meanwhile, as soon as Zu An returned to the Chu family residence, he saw a message pop up in his system:

**Received 345 Rage points from Ji Dengtu!**

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed Ji Dengtu had discovered he had sold the "dog treasure" to Ji Xiaoxi. He felt a little guilty for swindling the kind young girl.

Back in his room, he filled a basin with water to wash his face and hands. Just as he was about to begin the lottery draw, an elder suddenly walked in. The elder's clothes were meticulously neat, without a single wrinkle. His hair, though somewhat gray, was perfectly combed, showing his meticulous nature.

Zu An paused, vaguely recalling that the man before him was the Chu family’s steward, Hong Zhong. He was known for his diligence and loyalty, highly trusted by the Chu family head.

“Is something wrong?” Zu An asked.

Hong Zhong glanced at him before speaking, “According to the master’s previous instructions, the son-in-law is to attend the academy once his injuries have healed. Tomorrow morning, Shoubing will escort you there. Please prepare in advance.”

Zu An was stunned. “My injuries aren’t healed yet, oh, it hurts so much…” What a joke. He had many things to do; where would he find time to study?

Hong Zhong calmly replied, “There’s no need to pretend, son-in-law. You spent the whole day out enjoying yourself. How does that look like an injured person? There’s no more to discuss. Tomorrow, a dedicated escort will take you to the academy.”

Zu An was wondering how he knew when he suddenly noticed Cheng Shoubing’s shifty gaze nearby. His heart immediately filled with rage. This guy had promised to keep quiet, but he sold him out as soon as they returned.

After giving a few more instructions, Hong Zhong turned and left, leaving only Zu An and Cheng Shoubing staring awkwardly at each other.

“What happened to ‘keeping it a secret’?” Zu An cracked his knuckles, grinning menacingly at Cheng Shoubing.

Cheng Shoubing immediately rushed over to massage his back, a fawning smile on his face. “It’s because the steward came to check on your injuries, son-in-law, and found you weren’t here. He questioned me, what could I do? I didn’t want to!”

Zu An chuckled coldly, “But what exactly did you promise me before?”

Cheng Shoubing quickly explained, “Son-in-law, I didn’t say anything about you visiting Divine Physician Ji. No matter how the steward threatened or tempted me, I didn’t betray you.”

Zu An was amused. “So, according to you, I should thank you, right?”

“Actually, I’m not *that* good,” Cheng Shoubing rubbed his fingers, looking embarrassed. “Of course, if the son-in-law really wants to reward me, that wouldn’t be a problem…”

Zu An, exasperated, burst into laughter and slapped him. “Do you think I’m praising you?”

Cheng Shoubing, feeling wronged, adjusted the two hair buns on his head. He said somewhat piteously, “Son-in-law, could you please not hit my head? I told you before, these hair buns are very difficult to comb.”

“Don’t talk to me in that tone,” Zu An shivered with disgust. “By the way, where’s my wife?” He had been out all day and wondered if that girl missed him.

“Who is your wife?” Cheng Shoubing blinked.

Zu An: “…”

Cheng Shoubing then realized, “Oh, you mean the Young Mistress, son-in-law! She took Young Lady Pei out sightseeing during the day. Later, when she returned, she learned there was a problem with the family business, so she rushed out to deal with it. The Young Mistress works so hard! She supports half of this family; nothing can be done without her. It would be great if she were a man.”

Zu An’s face darkened. “Is your skin itching for a beating, you scoundrel? If she were a man, what would I be here for?”

“Son-in-law, I didn’t mean it that way.” Cheng Shoubing quickly poured him tea, trying to appease him.

Seeing his subservient demeanor, Zu An always felt an urge to punch him. He roughly understood why Cheng Shoubing, once close to Chu Zhongtian, had ended up in the kitchen. “By the way, what’s the deal with that Young Lady Pei?”

He still remembered that woman. A few words from her in the ancestral hall had almost killed him. Yet, for some reason, he found it hard to truly hate her. It wasn’t that he couldn’t hold a grudge; it was just so… prominent.

“Oh, son-in-law, you’re so naughty, still thinking about the Young Mistress’s best friend,” Cheng Shoubing winked and stretched out his words deliberately. “But Young Lady Pei is indeed beautiful. When she first arrived, all the men in the manor couldn’t take their eyes off her. Son-in-law, I’m rooting for you!”

Zu An couldn’t help but say, “It’s a miracle the Chu family hasn’t sent you to the Imperial Eunuch Office.”

Cheng Shoubing’s smile froze. “Son-in-law, don’t scare me.”

Zu An couldn't be bothered with his nonsense. “I wasn’t asking if she was pretty. I want to know about her background.”

“I heard Young Lady Pei is from the He Dong Pei Clan. That’s a grand family with a thousand-year heritage, even more prestigious than our Chu family. She has a very good relationship with our Young Mistress and is here to study at Mingyue Academy.” Cheng Shoubing replied.

Zu An was surprised. “She’s here to study too?” This private academy of the Chu family accepts outsiders? However, remembering her relationship with Chu Chuyan, he understood.

“Of course! Our Mingyue Academy is famous far and wide. Many people from other commanderies come here specifically for it,” Cheng Shoubing said proudly.

Zu An didn’t understand why this fellow was so proud of someone else’s academy’s prestige. However, he also mused, the Chu family managed to make their private academy so renowned. It seemed his cheap father-in-law cared quite a bit about his reputation.

But he didn’t have the energy to worry about such matters now; his focus was on how to complete that task.

Ji Dengtu was truly a pervert!

He grumbled to himself for a moment before continuing to ask, “By the way, do you know about Yu Yanluo?”

“Yu Yanluo?” Cheng Shoubing’s eyes lit up. “Of course! She was the capital’s number one beauty back then, the dream lover of countless men.”

“You, a mere servant, seem to know too much.” Zu An looked at him suspiciously.

Cheng Shoubing glanced around, then leaned in and whispered, “Son-in-law, I’ll tell you something, but you absolutely must not tell anyone else. Our master was one of Yu Yanluo’s suitors back in the day, but unfortunately, he didn’t succeed.”

Zu An looked astonished. He hadn’t expected Yu Yanluo to have such a connection to Chu Zhongtian. But as that beautiful figure appeared in his mind, she didn’t seem very old. Could she really be Chu Zhongtian’s contemporary?

“Oh, by the way, every time the mistress brings this up, she flies into a rage. The master’s ears have almost been pulled off several times,” Cheng Shoubing chuckled, covering his mouth.

Zu An rolled his eyes. If he had only suspected it before, now he was absolutely certain. His cheap father-in-law had been merciful enough by sending him to the kitchen. No wonder he was eventually assigned as his personal attendant; with that loose tongue, this guy was probably disliked everywhere.

“Son-in-law, I’ve only told you about this. Remember, you absolutely must not tell anyone else,” Cheng Shoubing reminded him again.

Zu An sneered. He’d bet fifty cents that with this guy’s mouth, everyone in the manor probably already knew.

“Where does Yu Yanluo live in Mingyue City?” he thought for a moment and asked again. He needed to find an opportunity to look for her. Setting aside Ji Dengtu’s task, he also needed to retrieve that reward of a thousand taels of gold.

“She doesn’t live in Mingyue City,” Cheng Shoubing said with a blank expression. “She married the Duke of Yunzhong back then, so she should be living in Yunzhong Commandery, right?”

“What?” Zu An was startled. “That woman is so dishonest! She gave me an empty promise?”

“However, their family deals in elemental stones, and the Yu family has branches in all major cities across the land, including Mingyue City. She might come here to inspect them at any time,” Cheng Shoubing chuckled.

Zu An finally breathed a sigh of relief. That settled it. Based on previous circumstances, she should be staying here for a while, so he still had a chance.

After asking a few more questions, he sent Cheng Shoubing away so as not to disturb his lottery draw.

Confirming he was alone, Zu An summoned the keyboard. He then tallied his total Rage points. After drawing the Marrow Cleansing Pill, he had 3000 points left unused. He had later earned a lot more from the Yu family guards and the Black Wind Fort mountain bandits. In total, he now had…

**22,269 Rage points!**

He was about to strike it rich!

Zu An instantly felt like a rich tycoon and eagerly began the lottery draw.

As expected, the first one was 'Thank you for participating!'

“No worries, I’m loaded!” Zu An didn’t care and pressed for the next draw.

'Thank you for participating…' 'Thank you for participating…'

It wasn't until the thirteenth draw that the cursor finally stopped on the number 4 key.

Zu An breathed a long sigh of relief. It seemed it wasn't good to tempt fate.

Noticing that this number was different from previous ones, he quickly focused his gaze. In the center of the screen was a fruit emitting a golden-yellow glow.

**Description: Primal Qi Fruit. Can increase a cultivator’s maximum Primal Qi.**

With his extensive gaming experience, Zu An instantly understood: this item was like a max-stat potion from games in his previous life.

Of course, such a good item felt more secure once consumed. Zu An quickly took it out and swallowed it. Instead of the imagined gushing juice, the fruit seemed to melt in his mouth and vanished instantly. It then transformed into a surge of Primal Qi that dispersed throughout his body. However, it soon seemed to be drawn by something, gathering entirely towards the fourth array on his skin.

The fourth array was significantly larger than the first three. Once the scattered Primal Qi completely merged into the array, Zu An found that the array was filled by one-third.

“That’s it?” Zu An was immediately dissatisfied. What kind of Primal Qi Fruit was this? It sounded impressive, but it wasn't even as effective as getting whipped before.

Thinking of this, he felt a pang of frustration. Would he mainly have to rely on getting beaten to level up from now on? That would be too demeaning.

***

*Special thanks to Pale_Cheung and other readers for their rewards and monthly votes.*

*Chapter List*