Nonconformist Youth

Zeng Anmin's words rang in everyone's ears.

Like a sudden thunderclap blasting through the fog.

Emperor Jianhong's fingers paused lightly over the chess piece as he looked at Zeng Anmin without expression.

Zeng Anmin's earlier speech had been clearly organized.

It carried the sense of parting clouds to reveal the light.

He had managed to infer so much from a single confession.

This boy... might be of some use.

"So, who was it?"

Ning An's little mind worked quickly. She raised her pointed chin and looked down at Zeng Anmin.

"You still haven't said who stole the Dragon Survey Map, nor have you said where it is."

She had grown up in the imperial palace. Everyone had always treated her with the utmost respect, and she had always spoken this simply and directly.

The corner of Zeng Anmin's mouth curled upward.

Here it came.

Now came the real show.

Everything he had said just now had ultimately been meant to make what came next go more smoothly.

Otherwise, no matter how eloquently he argued, if the Emperor did not believe him and everyone thought he was merely boasting nonsense—

Whether he could clear his father of suspicion.

Whether he could continue living a pampered life of hawking and hunting depended on what he did next!

Zeng Anmin slowly lifted his head, his gaze exceptionally gentle.

The boy's starlit eyes looked straight at Princess Ning'an.

He gave a light bow. Rather than answering directly, he asked in return,

"Your Highness, if tonight, this commoner were broken out of prison and rescued by my father's subordinates, and the entire Xuanjing Division flew into a rage and dispatched everyone to arrest me... what would happen?"

Though he had addressed Ning An, everyone who heard him seemed to stop breathing.

"You still want to escape?!"

Ning An's eyes widened round. She glared furiously at Jianhong and pointed at Zeng Anmin.

"Father Emperor, this criminal is utterly arrogant! Utterly arrogant..."

She was so angry that she could barely speak.

Zeng Anmin's mouth twitched.

If this woman had grown even a fraction of that venom in her brain, she would not have been so irritating.

She was truly foolish!

Helpless, he could only smile wryly and patiently look at Ning An.

"Princess Ning An, this commoner does not truly intend to flee. This is merely to lure the snake from its hole."

"For that thief to dare commit such a deed as an ordinary man shows that his nature is one to walk the blade's edge."

"To frame my father, the thief certainly would not allow the Dragon Survey Map to remain in this world. He will surely return to retrieve it, if only to make my father's guilt irrefutable."

"With the Xuanjing Division emptied out, he will definitely risk returning to the Division to take the map!"

"Because he knows full well that the longer he delays, the greater the chance that someone from the Xuanjing Division will discover the Dragon Survey Map. Therefore, he will never let this opportunity pass."

"And that is precisely our best chance to seize the thief, recover the Dragon Survey Map, and follow the vine to pull out the hidden mastermind!"

After saying this, Zeng Anmin cast a disappointed glance at the flat plain before Ning An's chest.

Then he turned toward Jianhong, his gaze calm and open.

He did not want to argue with Ning An anymore.

People said big breasts meant no brains.

The facts proved that a woman's intelligence had nothing at all to do with the size of her curves.

Emperor Jianhong narrowed his eyes.

He carefully savored Zeng Anmin's reasoning.

After sorting through it in detail, he found no loopholes.

Especially after considering that Zeng Shilin had always been an upright man, utterly loyal to the Holy Dynasty...

Zeng Anmin's reasoning became increasingly logical.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, looked at Zeng Anmin, and nodded slightly.

"Granted."

Upon hearing those words, the countless anxieties in Zeng Anmin's heart finally settled back into his chest.

He drew a deep breath and bowed to Emperor Jianhong.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

A quarter past Yin Shi.

A black-clad expert descended upon the Xuanjing Division and infiltrated the Imperial Prison.

Within a few blows, the prison guards all lay on the ground, their lives and deaths unknown.

He rescued Zeng Anmin, the son of Zeng Shilin, Governor of Fengqi Road, who had only just been imprisoned.

After being intercepted by several experts of the Xuanjing Division, he had no choice but to abandon any thought of rescuing Zeng Shilin and flee with Zeng Anmin.

For a time, the entire Xuanjing Division was enraged. Every expert was deployed, and all the Red-robed Guards were sent out to hunt the thief!

That night, flames shot into the sky across all of Liangjiang Prefecture City, and countless cries of battle and slaughter rang out.

Every commoner feared for their own safety.

Xuanjing Division.

After all its experts had departed, it seemed tranquil beneath the night curtain.

It was nearly October. Even in Jiangnan, the nighttime chill made one's ears and nose go cold.

Map Repository.

After the Dragon Survey Map had gone missing, the Imperial Inspector had flown into a rage.

He ordered Zeng Shilin and Wang Deli, commander of the Xuanjing Division in Two Rivers Prefecture, arrested and imprisoned.

The place now looked abandoned and desolate, carrying a bleak air.

As a breeze rose.

After accompanying them through the performance, Zeng Anmin was carried by the White-robed Venerable back into the shadows of the Map Repository at the Xuanjing Division.

The moment he landed, Zeng Anmin gave the White-robed Venerable a thumbs-up, his face somewhat flushed.

"My lord, your skills are remarkable, but they are a little... urgh... urgh."

Zeng Anmin was somewhat embarrassed. His motion sickness from his previous life had followed him here.

"Mhm."

The White-robed Venerable merely lifted his chin slightly, causing strands of white hair to sway, smooth and supple.

He said flatly,

"Let go."

Huh?

Only then did Zeng Anmin notice that, in his haste just now, he had accidentally grabbed the White-robed Youth's hair.

"Er, sorry."

Zeng Anmin smiled apologetically. Just as he was about to speak, he felt that his hand was somewhat sticky.

By the moonlight, he lowered his head for a look and found a viscous liquid on his hand, with the texture of glue.

Hm?

Zeng Anmin's expression turned astonished.

He raised his head and looked at the White-robed Youth's hair again, then lowered his head to look at his own hand.

Come on, brother...

So your flowing white hair was... dyed???

What, did this cultivation world have rebellious youths and nonconformist youngsters too?

Meeting Zeng Anmin's bewildered gaze, the White-robed Youth turned his eyes elsewhere and coughed.

"Apply hot water for a quarter of an hour, and it will dissolve on its own."

Zeng Anmin's mouth twitched. After a long while, he tentatively said,

"Actually, I know a little of the art of hair perming. It can curl the hair into waves like the surging sea, giving it an even more exotic and mysterious air."

After Zeng Anmin said this, the White-robed Youth was first stunned.

His status was noble, and he had seen much in the capital, yet this was the first time he had heard of the "hair perming" Zeng Anmin spoke of.

Then his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked at Zeng Anmin, and even a trace of anticipation appeared in his tone.

"Really??"

Sure enough, there was a reason perms cost more than dye jobs.

Zeng Anmin could not help mocking inwardly.

By now, the White-robed Venerable had faintly shed his mysterious veil in Zeng Anmin's mind, taking on the image of a rebellious youth.

Just as he was about to continue, the White-robed Youth abruptly interrupted him.

"Silence. Someone is coming."

Hearing that, Zeng Anmin's heart stirred, and his eyes gleamed brightly.

It was here!

Sure enough, his deduction had been correct!

He looked gratefully at his Golden Finger panel.

Rapid Enlightenment: Intelligence, comprehension, insight, and more increased severalfold. Duration: five shichen. Remaining time: half a shichen

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to kiss it twice.

Useful! Five-star review!