Zu An felt quite restless. Danger lurked around every corner, so he didn’t dare to act carelessly.

Even though his cultivation was quite high now, in a place like the imperial palace, there were too many people who were stronger than him. Furthermore, there were many techniques to hide one’s traces in this world. It wasn’t surprising at all if he couldn’t sense the other party’s aura.

As such, he quickly used the jade badge to communicate with the nearby little creatures. His line of sight expanded to over ten zhang around him through their eyes.

Apart from the patrolling guards, there was no one else…

Hold on… Zu An suddenly noticed someone familiar around the corner a few zhang out. It was a chubby and pale eunuch.

“It’s him?” Zu An frowned. This person was precisely Eunuch Wen who served at the emperor’s side.

Normally, Eunuch Wen was always smiling regardless of who he was around. Together with how chubby he was, he naturally gave off a friendly feeling. His current expression was overcast, completely different from his previous amicable feeling.

Was this his true self?

Zu An shivered. He really was tricked by this guy’s smiling face before.

He thought that it might have been King Qi who sent someone after him after suffering a loss last time. He didn’t expect it to be someone on the emperor’s side.

Did the emperor always have someone tail me?

That doesn’t seem right… With the emperor’s divine will, he doesn’t need anyone to tail him. Furthermore, this feeling only appeared recently, probably right after he offended King Qi. Hm? Is Eunuch Wen one of King Qi’s men?

Zu An immediately jumped in fright as soon as this thought emerged in his mind. After all, Eunuch Wen was someone who served at the emperor’s very side! If even he was bought out by King Qi, then it was easy to see just how terrifying King Qi was.

But didn’t this make the emperor seem a bit stupid? With how powerful he was, would he really be completely oblivious to the fact that those at his side were bribed? That shouldn't be, right?

But he recalled the shows from his past world. The more unlikely it was, the more deadly…

All types of thoughts rushed to his head. His head was all over the place.

Eunuch Wen was sorting out his clothes from the other side of the corner, and then he rubbed his chubby face. The smile he was used to seeing returned to his face.

He looked at Zu An with a look of pleasant surprise when he turned the corner. “Sir Zu, I was looking for you.”

Zu An forced out a smile. After knowing that this person had two faces, it really was hard for him to act with as much ease as before. “So it was Eunuch Wen! Is there anything you need from me?”

Eunuch Wen said with a smile, “His majesty wishes to meet with you. Sir Zu, please come with me to the imperial study.”

Even though the sun was hanging bright up in the sky, when he saw this eunuch’s smile, Zu An still couldn’t help but shiver. “I’ve troubled you. I’ll go over right now.”

“Sir Zu, please!” Eunuch Wen said with a smile.

Zu An bowed, and then he followed this man to the imperial study.

After meeting with the emperor again and again, he was now no longer as scared as before.

Either way, the emperor still had many things he needed Zu An to take care of. He’ll use his political tricks to scare him a few times at most, he wouldn’t really harm him.

It was instead this Eunuch Wen who hid behind his smile that he felt was hard to deal with.

Should he bring this up to the emperor later and find out if this guy really was working for King Qi or not?

But Zu An immediately cut this thought short as soon as it appeared.

If Eunuch Wen was sent by the emperor to monitor him, then he would instead be the one being exposed.

Even if there really was something wrong with Eunuch Wen, I have no proof. Now really isn’t the time to say strange things and ruin my relationship with the emperor. This man has served the emperor for so long, so he’ll definitely trust him more.

It’ll become really bad once Eunuch Wen gets revenge.

It’s better if I don’t expose anything right now. Eunuch Wen doesn’t know that I know his true side, so I am the one with the advantage. If I unmask him now, I’ll instead lose this advantage in information.

“Sir Zu, is there something on your mind today?” Eunuch Wen asked with a chuckle, “You seem much more quiet than usual.”

Zu An shivered. 

Did he notice anything? 

He quickly smiled and explained, “I can’t help but feel a bit of alarm when his majesty summons me.”

“So that was it.” Eunuch Wen felt relieved. “Actually, there is no need for Sir Zu to feel too worried. His majesty’s mood seems to be quite good today.”

“Thank you for letting me know.” Zu An gave him two more hundred tael silver notes. It was always better to appease this type of cunning fella first.

Eunuch Wen’s smile became even bigger when he saw the silver notes. His eyes were about to turn into slits.

…

When they arrived at the imperial study, Eunuch Wen waited outside. When Zu An walked in, the emperor was currently reading a book on his dragon throne. His expression seemed quite relaxed.

“I pay my respects to your majesty.” Zu An greeted him.

The emperor voiced his reply. A while later, he lowered the book and said, “You already released the assassins in the imperial prison?”

“I am fortunate to have not disappointed his majesty with this task.” Zu An cursed inside, aren’t you asking a question you already know the answer to? Your freaking divine will even swept by.

The emperor nodded in satisfaction. “Does the Devil Sect suspect anything?”

“I don’t think so, I pushed all of the blame onto King Qi…” Then, he told the emperor what happened while leaving out only a bit.

“You are quite sharp. Now, those people in the imperial prison won’t suspect anything, and no news will get out.” The emperor smiled. 

This kid from the streets is much better than those well studied children of nobles! I don’t think there are many others who could take care of this matter as cleanly as he did.

Zu An quickly replied, “However, I ended up accidentally bumping into King Qi when I left the imperial prison. Back then, he was suspicious of those assassins that were disguised as imperial guards. In a moment of desperation, I could only say that the guard leader Liu Chenyu was called over by your respected self…”

The emperor laughed out loud. “I didn’t expect that resourceful little bro of mine to be completely fooled by a kid like you.”

Zu An’s expression grew strange. He knew that the two of them were brothers. The emperor was the older brother, while King Qi was the younger, making him number two. However, calling him little bro just sounded so weird.

[1]

He didn’t want to draw any suspicion and quickly said, “I’m only clever in trivial matters. King Qi was only tricked because of his carelessness. Once he looks into it, he will know that I was lying.”

He had a worried look on his face when he said this.

Sigh, I’ve hung out with these old foxes for so long that I’m about to become one myself.

The emperor waved his hand and said, “You don’t have to worry about that, I will make some arrangements.”

Zu An sighed. He was scared that King Qi would look into Liu Chengyu’s whereabouts. Now that the emperor said he would take care of it, then there was definitely nothing to worry about anymore.

The emperor remained quiet for a moment, and then he said, “You’ve now offended King Qi. How are you going to complete the first task that I have given you?”

Zu An explained, “King Qi is full of suspicion and incredibly shrewd. If I hand him the fake manual directly, he will instead become more suspicious. By doing the exact opposite and making him think that he obtained the manual through his own methods, things will go even more smoothly.”

“Hmph, not bad. What you say makes sense.” The emperor nodded. With his understanding of his little brother, he indeed did fit this description.

Zu An suddenly thought of something and quickly said, “Your majesty, I was patted three times by King Qi just now. I’m worried that he might have used something like a bone melting palm treacherous technique on me, but I won’t know anything immediately. Can you help me take a look? My life is so petty that I fear I will fail to carry out your majesty’s mission!”

The emperor was stunned. When he heard what Zu An said, only then did he react to what this bone melting palm was. He became serious as well. “Come over and let this emperor take a look.”

“Yes!” Zu An was overjoyed. With the number one expert helping him out, even if King Qi really did place any restrictions on him, he could still easily deal with it.

The emperor looked him over. Suddenly, he patted his body gently three times. “It’s done.”

Zu An was overjoyed. “Thank you, your majesty!”

The emperor sneered and said, “It’s too early for you to be happy. King Qi doesn’t know the restriction methods that you described, but I just happened to know them. You’ve reminded me about it just now, so I set up some restrictions on your body. This way, you’ll carry out the tasks I have assigned you with more care.”

Zu An: “???”