Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

"You've got a good way of managing people." Ao Xiu turned to look at Chu Xunfeng.

Snake King and Chu Xunfeng had not seen each other for half a year. Now that they had met again, Snake King had heard about Chu Xunfeng's overall plan and knew what stage Chu Xunfeng's plan had reached. It was inevitable that he would feel emotional.

Back when he was with the demon race, he felt that if Chu Xunfeng joined the Demon Suppression Division, he would definitely become his right-hand man in the future.

But now it seems that what Chu Xunfeng is showing is already on par with his own; all he lacks is the energy he can use and a stage to showcase his abilities.

"Not really, just some readily available benefits. I haven't specifically considered how to manage people or anything like that." Chu Xunfeng shook his head, refusing the Snake King's flattery. "But you, how are things going in Xu Kingdom?"

Upon hearing Chu Xunfeng mention matters concerning the Xu Kingdom, Mo Xun also put down his wine cup and looked intently at the Serpent Lord.

“You might not believe it if I told you,” Snake King’s expression also turned serious. “I thought the whole thing would be fraught with obstacles, but in fact, the whole thing has been rather… eerie from beginning to end.”

"Strange?" Chu Xunfeng perked up and looked at Ao Xiu, intrigued by Ao Xiu's comment.

"To put it bluntly, the banner we're raising is naturally based on your identity as a true dragon descendant. During the autumn hunt, you were treated as a descendant of our dragon clan by the White Tiger God. That's one point."

"Secondly, after you leaped over the Dragon Gate and obtained the True Dragon's inheritance, according to the rules of my Dragon Clan, you are already considered the adopted son of the Queen Mother. When you communicate with the Xu Kingdom, you are naturally also known as Han Li's husband. If other countries issue arrest warrants for my Demon Clan's royal family, wouldn't that cause a diplomatic problem?"

Chu Xunfeng's lips twitched. Seeing that Ao Xiu still looked serious, he refrained from expressing any objection. Since the die was cast, discussing these matters now would not even be considered hindsight and would be completely meaningless.

"To put it bluntly, these two reasons are very strong." Ao Xiu looked at Chu Xunfeng. "Not to mention that our intention from the beginning was to slap them in the face. According to Fourth Brother's prediction, after the whole thing is done, I basically have no chance of getting a good look from Xu Guo."

Chu Xunfeng's mind stirred, and he turned his gaze to Mo Xun, who nodded in return.

"So, in fact, some people treat you badly, but not to the point of breaking off relations. However, most people are neutral, and a small number are even mild-mannered towards you?"

"It seems you also have some information that I don't know about." Ao Xiu nodded slightly, confirming Chu Xunfeng's guess.

"It seems the changes in the imperial court are even greater than we imagined," Chu Xunfeng said, stroking his chin.

"In short, the final result of the whole matter is that due to the strong pressure from the demon race and the advice of many officials in the court, the emperor chose to relent and will probably remove your status as a wanted criminal soon." Ao Xiu looked at Chu Xunfeng.

The young man picked up his glass, downed the savory liquor in one gulp, let out a long sigh, and unconsciously shook his head.

Although Ao Xiu only mentioned a few words and a result, Chu Xunfeng understood very well that the whole matter was full of back-and-forth exchanges, and even deception, in addition to the judgment of positions and the betting.

This outcome has been achieved. Even if I really didn't want it to happen, as I said before, what's done is done, and there's no point in discussing it any further.

"Thank you. I imagine there are still many things waiting for me in the demon realm. Once this matter is settled, let's return to the demon realm together to see the Divine Lord." Chu Xunfeng rallied his spirits. "As for the different attitudes of the officials in the imperial court..."

"It is likely that the influence of Prince Zou was behind this."

"It's possible that he helped me out of respect for my father."

"As for the specifics..." Chu Xunfeng put down his wine cup, glanced at the empty jar beside him, "Why don't we go see Prince Zou, and then we'll have a result."

Chapter 42, Starting with Cooperation

Since the emperor in the imperial court was forced by pressure to say that he would remove Chu Xunfeng's status as a wanted criminal after a period of time,

However, this identity still weighed heavily on Chu Xunfeng at this moment, so he couldn't openly approach Prince Zou. It was unlikely that the royal uncle would risk giving others cause for criticism by meeting Chu Xunfeng directly.

Previously, Mo Xun's visit to Prince Zou could only be described as a joke, forcibly getting close to Prince Zou. Now that Ao Xiu has arrived in the Black Forest, his official identity naturally needs to be utilized.

An invitation, a few words, and the Serpent King's mark ring were all that was needed to arrange a time and place for the meeting, which naturally followed a logical course of events.

The reply came quickly. Even though it was past the hotel, the invitation that Mo Xun had personally delivered to the inn where Prince Zou was staying received a reply immediately.

Not only did Prince Zou accept the invitation to the meeting, he even took the initiative to change the meeting, which was originally scheduled for the evening of the following day, to the beginning of Hai hour tonight.

"It seems that Prince Zou is also quite impatient." Snake King looked at the gold-inlaid jade reply in his hand, and turned to look at Chu Xunfeng with a smile.

“His anxiety proves that he may also have his own grievances.” Chu Xunfeng pondered for a moment, then looked at his senior brother. “Senior brother, before you go to report back to Prince Zou, remember to go up and remind your senior sister to keep watch on the third floor tonight.”

"You're afraid..." Mo Xun knew that the array on the third floor of the main house in this villa was their biggest trump card, and they absolutely could not afford to make any mistakes.

"The formation isn't important. We can destroy it if necessary. What I really want to know is what kind of monsters and demons will take this opportunity to jump out tonight. I'll have to trouble you senior brothers and sisters then." Chu Xunfeng gave his senior brothers a look to reassure them.

That formation isn't important...

So, it's actually something that my junior brother can do if he wants to replicate it.

With Chu Xunfeng's words, Mo Xun was naturally relieved and accepted the task. He watched as Chu Xunfeng, wearing a fox mask and a black robe, followed Ao Xiu out of the mansion gate.

Chu Xunfeng couldn't show his face directly, but by posing as a secret agent of the Demon Exorcising Division and following Ao Xiu, he could naturally make many facts appear false.

Prince Zou changed the time and the location, so Ao Xiu and Chu Xunfeng left early to scout out the location that Prince Zou had chosen.

Tall buildings are rare in the Ghost Market, but Prince Zou chose the rooftop of the tallest restaurant in the entire Ghost Market as the meeting place.

"Didn't the Prince of Zou arrange for any extra personnel? Did he really only bring one guard?"

“Perhaps he is very confident in his guards.” Chu Xunfeng, wearing a fox mask, responded to Ao Xiu’s words in a high-pitched voice after adjusting his posture. “Mo Xun told me that when the Prince of Zou met him last time, he only brought one guard with him, whose strength was above Mo Xun’s.”

"The Life and Death Realm, huh?" Mo Xun's strength was already at the Human Profound Realm. As the eldest disciple of a prestigious sect, someone he couldn't see through with his limited understanding couldn't possibly be an ordinary person.

“We’ve taken some time, let’s go inside and wait.” Ao Xiu led the way, with Chu Xunfeng following behind the Snake Lord. The demon and the human walked into the restaurant named Lan Yue Ke, one after the other.

It seems that as soon as the reply was posted, someone came to the inn in advance to make arrangements. As soon as Ao Xiu and Chu Xunfeng entered the restaurant, the innkeeper greeted the two with great enthusiasm and a bright smile, and directly led the two distinguished guests upstairs.

Just as the two of them had seen, Prince Zou had arrived a moment earlier, and he really only brought one guard dressed in black robes.

"Snake Lord".

"Your Highness, the Prince."

On the thirteenth floor rooftop of the Lanyueke Restaurant, Ao Xiu squinted, a chilling smile on his face, as he met the delighted smile of Prince Zou.

"Please sit down." Prince Zou gestured, and after Ao Xiu sat down, Prince Zou took the initiative to start talking, "Although I had already set off for the Black Forest before the Snake King's trip to the Northwest, I have heard that the Snake King taught my nephew a good lesson."

"I wouldn't dare say that. After all, I was just conveying Mother's wishes. My brothers and I have all witnessed Mother's affection for Chu Xunfeng." Ao Xiu smiled and gently flicked his fingers.

Chu Xunfeng stepped forward and poured wine for the two people in the main seat.

“Chu Xunfeng…” Prince Zou picked up his wine cup and gently rubbed the rim. “His Highness the Serpent Lord also mentioned him on his invitation.”

"Yes, although His Majesty of Xu Kingdom in the capital city personally promised to revoke Chu Xunfeng's status as a wanted criminal, I also heard that His Highness the Prince had an imperial order to carry out, so I rushed here in a hurry."

"Hahaha, Snake Lord is joking." Prince Zou said, but his gaze unconsciously glanced at the black-robed man wearing a fox mask. "I owe the Chu family a lot, and even broke my promise to Duke Chu. I have no face to face Chu Xunfeng, let alone actually come to arrest any wanted criminals. If I really did such a thing, I'm afraid I would have no face to see anyone again."

"It seems His Highness the Prince has a story to tell." Ao Xiu smiled, knowing he wouldn't believe such polite words.

However, Chu Xunfeng, who had retreated behind Ao Xiu, felt that Zou Junwang's words could not be entirely trusted, but it was not necessarily true that not a single word of them could be believed.

“Since we’re talking about Chu Xunfeng, let me also mention this. I hope Snake Lord can pass on my message to Chu Xunfeng.” As he spoke, Prince Zou turned his gaze slightly to the fox-faced man in black robes behind Snake Lord. “I have indeed wronged the Chu family. I know I am guilty. If Chu Xunfeng can put aside his grudges and wariness, I will do my best to make it up to him.”

Chu Xunfeng, whose face was covered by a mask, did not respond at all, and did not even move his gaze.

The scene fell silent for a moment. After a long silence, Ao Xiu couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Your Highness, my subordinate here is definitely not Chu Xunfeng in disguise."

Prince Zou smiled and looked away. "I just wanted to give it a try... After all, it would be much easier if I could talk to my nephew about things directly."

"Haha, Your Highness, I'm not afraid to tell you, and you surely understand, that I am Chu Xunfeng's friend. Before I came here, he said something to me."

“You must have something to ask for, otherwise you wouldn’t have been so eager to move the meeting, which was scheduled for tomorrow night, to tonight after two days of silence.”

"Since you want to gain his trust, how about starting with a collaboration? What do you think?"

Prince Zou was taken aback for a moment, then pondered briefly, "Cooperation...how do we cooperate?"

“He needs some information, and you, or someone close to you, definitely have that information.”

"What?" Prince Zou raised an eyebrow.

"The whereabouts of a former deputy commander of the Bronze Beasts who betrayed the cause more than fifty years ago," Ao Ning whispered, revealing the request Chu Xunfeng had used to probe the Prince of Zou.

But Prince Zou shook his head. “I don’t know about things from so long ago. I’m not a cultivator. I look young because I’ve tried my best to maintain my youth. I’m not even fifty years old yet.”

Ao Xiu simply smiled and turned his gaze to the black-robed man behind Prince Zou.

"I need to think about it."

"Of course, no problem. Of course, if it takes too long, we might have to meet in the inner city next time."

“Sure, let’s drink.” Prince Zou laughed and picked up his wine cup.

"Let's drink, this toast is for you."

Chapter 43, Facing the Prince

“Your Highness, I have a question, but I’m not sure if I should ask it.” Ao Xiu looked up, but his gaze fell on the black-robed man standing behind Prince Zou.

The other party, like Chu Xunfeng, concealed their identity and wore a mask, but the crescent-shaped mask only covered half of their face, revealing large areas of burn scars from the dissolution and coagulation of muscle.

"Xie San, why don't you step aside for a moment?" Prince Zou raised his hand and waved it behind his back to Xie San.

"Yes, I'll wait a moment." Xie San nodded slightly, then turned and retreated twenty feet away. He raised his hand, ignited his qi and blood, and pressed two fingers against the back of his ears, sealing off his hearing.

"Your Highness is indeed deeply trusted by the Bronze Beast," Ao Xiu said with a smile, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"Serpent King, you flatter me. For the bronze beasts, the only thing they can trust is a strong nation. This has always been the case since the founding of the kingdom." Prince Zou shook his head, casually brushing aside Ao Xiu's probing, and returned the topic to the main matter. "May I ask, Serpent King, if you have any questions, please feel free to speak them."

"Then please forgive my intrusion." Ao Xiu put down his wine cup, his vertical-pupiled snake eyes staring at the square face of Prince Zou. "Your Highness, do you wish to befriend Chu Xunfeng? Can I interpret this as you, in some sense, wanting to gain the friendship of our demon race?"

This is a very clever question.

So skillful that even with the shrewdness of Prince Zou, he was unusually momentarily stunned when faced with Ao Xiu's sudden question.

"I can't say it's all of it, but I can't say there's no such consideration either." Realizing he had lost his composure, Prince Zou didn't reveal any more emotion, but simply shook his head. "Making friends with the demon race is beneficial to both countries. If we can achieve some results, I will naturally be happy to see it happen, but my desire to make amends to Chu Xunfeng is also genuine."

"Unfortunately, after the great chaos in the demon race last year, I was ordered by my mother to discuss trade with the Xu Kingdom. Not only did I encounter numerous obstacles, but the envoys sent by my demon race were also repeatedly harassed by the Emperor of Xu in the capital..." Ao Xiu's vertical pupils narrowed slightly as he looked at the bitter smile on Prince Zou's face and slowly added, "It seems that the Emperor of Xu and Your Highness have completely different ideas."

Prince Zou sighed helplessly.