Chapter 159: Chased All the Way Here

"A-A-Azhu... Is what he said true?"

Rarely, Qiao Feng's voice carried a hint of a tremble.

"Hmph, it's not nearly as dramatic as he makes it sound! An assassination attempt? Does he really think he's somebody special? I was just playing a joke on him. Brother-in-law, you know him—tell him to let me go! My neck is about to hurt to death."

Azhu completely overturned what Zhu Yu had said. In her words, everything was nothing more than a joke.

However, Qiao Feng was no fool. When he first met Azhu, she had played a 'joke' on him too. But if one wasn't careful, that 'joke' was potent enough to catch even a top-tier martial artist off guard.

By now, how could Qiao Feng fail to distinguish between truth and falsehood in Azhu's words?

Qiao Feng's patience with Azhu had already been pushed to its absolute limit, and now, combined with Zhu Yu's identity, his defense completely crumbled.

While Azhu was looking at Zhu Yu with a smug expression, Qiao Feng suddenly delivered a fierce slap across her face. The sound was crisp and loud, bringing a sense of deep satisfaction to Zhu Yu's heart.

Clutching her already numb cheek, Azhu looked at Qiao Feng in utter disbelief and muttered, "Brother-in-law, you actually hit me? You hit me for the sake of a complete stranger? You..."

Before Azhu could finish her sentence, an exclamation echoed from the surrounding crowd.

"Azhu! Big Brother Qiao, what on earth is going on? How could you hit Azhu? And with such a heavy hand?"

Hearing the voice revealed the person; sure enough, Aju squeezed her way through the crowd.

Upon seeing Qiao Feng, the hand Zhu Yu was using to control Azhu had already eased its pressure, and now, seeing Aju, he smoothly withdrew his hand altogether.

Originally, Azhu hadn't shed a single tear, but the moment she saw Aju, her tears broke like a breached dam, flowing unstoppably.

This broke Aju's heart, and seeing Aju's eyes begin to turn red as well—

Good grief~ Is this a little-sister-obsessed complex? Or rather, a sister-complex?

Seeing this, Qiao Feng wanted to explain, but as everyone knew, Qiao Feng was not a man of many words. Although he had many friends, he won them over with genuine sincerity. Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, Qiao Feng swallowed back the explanation that refused to form into words, and instead pointed straight at Zhu Yu with his finger.

"Take a look at who this is!"

Qiao Feng's pointing and questioning left Zhu Yu bewildered. What was the meaning of this? Had his identity been exposed?

As for Aju, with reddened eyes, she followed the direction of Qiao Feng's finger to look at Zhu Yu. The moment she clearly saw Zhu Yu's face, the tears she had been brewing instantly evaporated.

The moment she saw Zhu Yu's face, Aju recognized his identity immediately. The emperor was only one reason; most importantly, Aju always remembered that Zhu Yu was her life-saver.

"This... this..." Although Aju couldn't find her voice, a terrifying conjecture surged deep within her heart.

Before Aju could ask, the words that spilled from Qiao Feng's mouth pierced through Aju's heart like a sharp sword.

"Have you forgotten the Young Master? Azhu actually tried to assassinate him just now! It's a blessing she didn't succeed. If the Young Master had suffered even the slightest injury, the two of us would become eternal sinners of history!"

Qiao Feng phrased it nicely, but to Zhu Yu's ears, it sounded rather off. Given the poison on those hidden darts, what difference was there between suffering a slight injury and death?

Of course, this was just a silent complaint in Zhu Yu's mind. Since Qiao Feng had already put things this bluntly, Zhu Yu had no choice but to step forward and smooth things over.

Yet the moment Zhu Yu stepped out and before he could speak, another crisp and loud sound rang out—Azhu didn't even spare her hands, covering her face tightly with both palms.

This time, the sound of Azhu's crying carried a genuinely heartbroken tone that Zhu Yu could truly perceive.

"This..."

Before Zhu Yu could even finish a single word, Azhu covered her face and bolted away, while Qiao Feng and Aju looked at Zhu Yu with apologetic expressions.

"What are you looking at me for? With your Azhu's temper and her current emotional state, if you don't chase after her and keep her in check, how many people are going to end up dead?"

Zhu Yu's words woke the dreamers. Without even a moment for polite pleasantries, the three of them whirled around and sprinted in the direction Azhu had fled.

Although Aju's martial arts were negligible to the point of being ignored, both Qiao Feng and Zhu Yu were more than capable.

In less than three breaths, the two men caught up to the running Azhu.

What followed was another round of commotion. Zhu Yu very sensibly stood aside, waiting until Qiao Feng and Aju had thoroughly placated Azhu before stepping forward again.

"Young Master, I truly apologize for today's events. Qiao does not know how to express his remorse, only hoping that Young Master will find a time in the future when Qiao's services might be of use."

"There's no need for such talk. You're already prepared to dedicate the rest of your life to serving me, so let's drop the matter. However, you'll need to keep a tight leash on her from now on. Otherwise, given Azhu's temperament, the Six Fan Schools will come knocking sooner or later, and when that day comes, I will only stand on the side of justice."

Hearing this, the expressions of the three differed. Qiao Feng wore a look of shame, Aju looked vexed, while Azhu rolled her tear-rimmed eyes as she stared fixedly at Zhu Yu, thinking to herself: Make her brother-in-law serve him? It seems he really is a major figure.

Azhu's eyes rolled twice before coming to a dead stop. Make her brother-in-law serve him? What if, because of her, this person right here made her brother-in-law do something dangerous? It seemed she really had messed up this time.

At this thought, Azhu felt extremely anxious, yet she had no idea how to voice it. This emotion undoubtedly transcended a normal 'relative' relationship, only she had no way to say it outright.

Had Zhu Yu known this, he would have sighed once again at the self-correcting nature of the plot—or rather, at the irresistible charm of Qiao Feng's personality.

Presently, this was hardly a suitable place for pleasantries. Zhu Yu stated directly that the inn ahead was where he was staying and invited the three of them to follow.

Hearing this, the sisters Aju and Azhu exchanged a telepathic glance before looking to Qiao Feng, waiting for him to make the decision.

And Qiao Feng had no reason to refuse. Besides, the inn Zhu Yu pointed to was also where the three of them were staying; if it weren't for searching for Azhu, they would have been inside the inn right then.

Seeing Qiao Feng follow the flow so readily, Zhu Yu was naturally quite satisfied and took the lead in walking toward the inn.

Just as they rounded a corner, they were spotted by the elite agents of the Western Depot lurking in the surroundings, who immediately hurried forward to welcome them.

Qiao Feng and Aju found this entirely natural, but it thoroughly piqued Azhu's curiosity, causing her to endlessly speculate about Zhu Yu's true identity.

As Zhu Yu and the others stepped into the inn, they caught sight of Jiang Yuyan, Wang Yuhua, and others seated in the main hall, along with someone Zhu Yu hadn't expected... Duan Yu.

"Big Brother!"

"Second Brother?"

"Why are you here?" (x2)

Qiao Feng and Duan Yu spoke in unison, then burst out laughing as they looked at each other.

The two of them were certainly happy, but Zhu Yu felt quite differently. Ask any man if he could be happy seeing his own wife being fawned over to such an extent?

Yet, upon second thought, Zhu Yu devised a foolproof way to put an absolute end to Duan Yu's obsequious fawning. Looking at Duan Yu's beaming, smiling face, a wicked smirk curled at the corner of Zhu Yu's lips.

Go ahead and laugh, laugh while you still can. In a moment, I'll present you with a grand gift, and we'll see if you can still manage a smile!