426: Chapter 426 Have you ever saved a fox in the snowy mountains?

"Madam, give me a kiss."

"Husband, you're annoying~, you're so wicked."

In a large courtyard.

A handsome young man reclined on a lounge chair, his upper body bare, teasing the beautiful and moving woman in his arms.

The woman was dressed in sheer gauze, her figure half-revealed; the two of them engaged in their illicit tryst in broad daylight within the courtyard, completely ignoring the gazes of the servants.

Just then, a clattering sound rang out—it was a newly arrived maidservant.

She was still young and had never seen such a scene. She had been passing through the corridor carrying a water basin when she witnessed this sight.

Because the shock was too great, her hands slipped and the basin fell. Not only did she get splashed with water, but she also made quite a commotion.

"You wench, how dare you disturb my pleasure!"

Hearing the noise, the man looked displeased and threw the wine cup in his hand directly at her, hitting the maid right in the forehead.

Even after doing so, his anger wasn't appeased, and he made a move to go over and teach her a lesson.

"Eh? Is there someone like you in my manor?"

The maid looked at the man who had suddenly appeared in front of "her." She slumped weakly into the puddle on the ground, her face looking pitiful and her collar slightly dampened.

"Young Master, do you remember that you once saved a fox on a snowy mountain?"

The man originally saw that the girl was weak and beautiful, and his lust was instantly piqued, but he was stunned by "her" words.

"Ah, a fox?"

Seeing his hesitation, the woman still on the lounge chair immediately grew furious. She rushed over and pointed at the maid, cursing.

"What are you talking about!"

"The one he saved was clearly me! Back then on the snowy mountain, he saved me with a piece of Spiced Pressed Duck. What kind of thing are you to come here and talk nonsense!"

Only then did the man react.

That's right, the fox he saved that day had returned long ago to repay his kindness and became his Dao Companion. Then she is... Eh? Wait, why does this little girl look more and more handsome the more I look at her?

For a moment, the man was entranced. He felt that the girl, who initially just seemed pretty, suddenly gave off the feeling of a celestial fairy after looking at her for a while. Could it be that he really recognized the wrong person back then?

Could it be that the one he saved was her, but his Dao Companion had intercepted the credit?

Seeing the man's drool almost leaking out, the woman's willow-like brows furrowed, and she wanted to slap this wench to death.

But just as her palm was about to fall, her wrist was caught by the man, preventing it from landing.

"Husband! What are you doing!"

The woman's face was full of disbelief, but the man just waved his hand dismissively.

"It's a small matter, why be so angry, Madam? Why don't we listen to what the girl has to say first? What if we still have a connection of fate? This house is so big, we aren't lacking for one more mouth to feed, right?"

After saying that, he ignored the woman's dissatisfaction, turned around with a lecherous grin, and said to the maid.

"You mean you are the fox I saved, and you've come back to repay the favor?"

Seeing this, the woman grew even angrier and began to pull her wrist, wanting to strangle this wench who was seducing her man.

But the maid only lowered her head slightly, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"I am that Spiced Pressed Duck!"

"You adulterous couple, go to hell!"

As she spoke, the maid threw out a Talisman from her bosom. With a loud explosion, the man was blasted away and embedded into the wall.

The woman didn't fare well either; her already thin gauze clothing was reduced to shreds. Amidst the debris lay a fox—it was the woman's true form. Apparently, she had been beaten back to her original shape by the single strike, and even her fur was scorched black.

"You guy, wouldn't it have been better to act a bit longer? Letting them fight each other would have been more interesting."

At this moment, a man with a rugged appearance dressed like a scholar was holding a brush in one hand and a book in the other, as if writing something.

And the previously lovely woman also transformed into a man—it was Third Brother Chen.

Seeing Wu Dahai walk over, Third Brother Chen simply stood up and shook off the water stains on his body.

"You guy with your twisted sense of humor, if you wanted to watch a good show, why didn't you step up back then?"

"I couldn't stand these two being in front of me for even a single breath of time."

After speaking, Third Brother Chen went over and grabbed the fox by its tail, then pried the man off the wall, dragging him by his feet all the way toward the main gate.

During this time, some servants and attendants saw Third Brother Chen; they all looked terrified and shrank to the side, none daring to make a sound.

"Tsk tsk tsk, how truly boring."

Wu Dahai watched Third Brother Chen leave, blew the ink dry, tucked away the book and brush, and followed.

The two of them soon arrived at the main gate, where a woman was still standing in fear—it was the original maidservant from before.

Beside her sat a grandmaster's chair, and Zhou Yan was leaning back against it with his legs crossed.

Seeing them approach, he finally put his legs down and stood up to look over.

"You moved quite fast."

Zhou Yan looked at the fox and the man before him with satisfaction and began to ponder.

However, Third Brother Chen's expression was not good.

He had originally thought Zhou Yan would take action and kill them directly to avenge him, then wave his sleeves and leave gracefully; that was the style of an Immortal Master in his impression.

But Zhou Yan gave a different answer.

He did take action, but he didn't harm a single blade of grass or tree. He simply took a stroll through the Chen Manor and came back, leaving Third Brother Chen, who was waiting outside, very confused.

But on second thought, the Immortal Master must have his reasons. Although he felt a bit of resentment, he didn't voice it, simply waiting for Zhou Yan's next instruction.

Zhou Yan, of course, wasn't acting without purpose. Based on the principle of caution, he had gone in first to observe, confirming there were no secret passages, hidden rooms, or any concealed 'old grandfathers'.

He also went to determine the other party's Physique and Cultivation Technique.

The Physique was just an ordinary Mortal Physique, and the cultivation level barely touched the edge of an ordinary Core Formation in this place; clearly, the Breakthrough hadn't been long ago.

The health bar was only a bit over a thousand; one could see he was weak as death.

As for that fox, there was even less to say. All her cultivation was spent on shapeshifting. Originally, the Yao Race's Physique should be stronger, but because of what she did, she only had three hundred health. A few powerful Martial Artists could beat her to death.

Furthermore, the Cultivation Techniques of the two were a jumbled mess. At a glance, they had no proper Legacy; they were just two Loose Cultivators.

Presumably, they had found some Opportunity that allowed the man to increase his cultivation and obtain a secret technique.

Otherwise, if they had a master, it would be impossible to only teach professional skills without helping him change classes. How could someone use such a powerful sub-skill while their main Cultivation Technique was so poor?

And if he had gained an Opportunity, then his choice to come and seize the Chen family's foundation made sense.

After all, if he only had the Opportunity, his Foundation Establishment would be the end of the road. Even if he still had potential, it would be difficult to progress further. But if he wiped out the Chen family and took their wealth, with a steady stream of resources, he could naturally take another step forward.

Coupled with the decline of the Chen family, his strength was completely sufficient to steamroll them, and he didn't need to worry about subsequent retaliation.

If one had to say there was anything else noteworthy about him, it was only the faint national destiny protecting his body.

Presumably, he used the identity of the fifth son of the Chen family to pass a minor imperial exam or buy a small official post.

This was also the only troublesome part.

This official rank wasn't high and the national destiny wasn't thick, so while it wasn't very useful, it could help him find a backer. This was a large power where 'hitting the small one brings the old one' in the truest sense; hitting him would directly increase the trouble level by two stars.

So to avoid trouble, Zhou Yan first used the Power of Law to find a young maidservant who had just entered the manor and been sold into service. After explaining the stakes to her and promising to grant her freedom afterward, he had her swap identities with Third Brother Chen.

He used a Talisman to blast him first, letting Third Brother Chen have some fun and get his revenge, making it easier for him to operate afterward.

Being able to personally take revenge on this adulterous couple naturally made Third Brother Chen happy, but at the same time, he understood even less why Zhou Yan did this. Why not just slap them to death?

If it were a matter of slapping these two to death, Zhou Yan could certainly do it, and even the consequences would be easy to bear, but right now was perfect—Zhou Yan could conduct an experiment.

"The County Magistrate has arrived!"

A shout came from outside the gate, and then a group of government soldiers swarmed in, surrounding everyone.

Then, a pot-bellied middle-aged fat man with a handlebar mustache walked in with a swaggering, splayed gait.

"Who is so arrogant!"

"To dare cause trouble in our county and publicly injure an official of my dynasty!"

Third Brother Chen's expression tightened. Knowing the government had intervened, things would become troublesome. His face instantly changed, and he looked toward the maidservant.

"It's you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Zhou Yan slowly raise his hand and say leisurely,

"I was the one who reported it to the authorities."

Then Third Brother Chen watched in total confusion as Zhou Yan slapped the County Magistrate across the face, and it was a loud one.