Chu Yue stared at him, Adam’s apple rising and falling in secret. His voice came out hoarse. “I want to stay by your side forever, Young Master—”
What he truly desired as a reward could not be put into words.
That unspoken desire stirred, like a beast lying in wait in the depths of night, biding its time to break free.
One day, he would claim both Li Lanxiu’s body and heart, possess him entirely in body and soul.
Li Lanxiu tapped his nose lightly with a fingertip and laughed softly. “You already have that. Don’t you want anything else?”
Chu Yue leaned in. His lips brushed against a loose strand of black hair. As he opened and closed his mouth, it felt like he was kissing that lock of hair. “I want nothing else, only to stay by your side day and night.”
As soon as he finished, that strand of hair seemed caught between his lips. He slowly extended the tip of his tongue and licked it.
A barely visible smile flickered in Li Lanxiu’s eyes. He hooked the black strand away from Chu Yue’s lips with a curved finger. “Hmm? You’re that obedient?”
“I only listen to you, Young Master,” Chu Yue said, staring at him.
Li Lanxiu let go and straightened up. Mischief rose in his heart. He thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Then what if I forbid you to react?”
Chu Yue’s dark pupils contracted. His gaze on Li Lanxiu grew deep and shadowed.
Li Lanxiu leaned back, bracing his hands on the low table behind him. One foot idly tapped the water’s surface. “So are you going to listen or not?”
“I’ll try.”
Chu Yue closed his eyes, pretending he was alone in the spring, ignoring Li Lanxiu’s presence.
Li Lanxiu turned his head to observe him. His toes flicked up a splash of water, hitting Chu Yue’s cheek. He lazily drawled, “Open your eyes.”
Chu Yue raised his gaze to him. Water kept splashing onto his face. He didn’t dodge. He slowly wiped a droplet from his lips with deliberate intent.
Li Lanxiu tilted his chin and looked at him with idle interest.
The hem of his robe was soaked in the spring. The white silk clung to the curves of his calves. His ankles were slender and graceful. His legs were neither too thin nor too plump, just the right balance of flesh and bone.
Chu Yue’s body reacted uncontrollably. In the clear spring water, his arousal was plainly visible.
He was young and full of energy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t suppress it.
Just thinking about this being Li Lanxiu’s bath stirred something in him. That was why he had hesitated to take off his underpants. Now, with Li Lanxiu teasing him like this, there was no holding back.
Having a reaction was normal. Not having one would be abnormal.
Li Lanxiu glanced over and immediately turned away, averting his eyes. He deliberately asked coldly, “Why are you being so disobedient?”
“Young Master, how do you want to punish me?” Chu Yue had already realized he was being toyed with and asked in a low voice.
Li Lanxiu gave him a displeased look. “You earned merit, so how could I punish you? Do you take me for someone who doesn’t know whether to reward or punish someone?”
"Of course not, Young Master."
Chu Yue looked calm. His deep eyes stared at him as if nothing had happened.
Li Lanxiu had originally meant to tease him a while longer, but now he didn’t feel like it. He turned his face away, closed his eyes and said, “Hideous. Don’t let me see it.”
“Alright, I’m the hideous one. Young Master is the beautiful one.” Chu Yue whispered softly.
Li Lanxiu was still caught up in the disturbing image from earlier. He pressed his lips together and frowned, visibly displeased. He didn’t even notice the impropriety of that remark.
He had seen Chu Yue like this once before in the black jiao lord’s bedchamber. In his eyes, Chu Yue was like a little dog. It was only natural for a master to bathe his dog.
That time had been presentable enough for him to make a few jokes. Now the situation was too obvious. It was hard to imagine that such a handsome face could be paired with something so completely at odds.
If it wouldn’t have made Chu Yue rebel, he truly wanted to sterilize the so-called child of destiny, just to keep him from being such an eyesore.
He frowned and shut his eyes, tilting his neck without moving. It made it easier for Chu Yue to release his “problem” in his direction. In the rising mist, Li Lanxiu’s mask turned blurry, making it easier for Chu Yue to imagine the face behind the veil.
Chu Yue’s gaze was direct and unrestrained, fixed squarely on Li Lanxiu, savoring every inch of his beauty.
Below his loosened black hair, his neck looked snow-white and delicate. His ears were pale and refined. Faint blue veins trailed behind them, exquisitely flawless.
There didn’t seem to be a single part of him that wasn’t beautiful.
Whatever thought crossed his mind, Chu Yue’s dark eyes deepened. His breathing grew heavier, unnervingly loud in the still room.
It was fast and suppressed, as if he were struggling to restrain himself. The moment Li Lanxiu realized what Chu Yue was doing, he frowned and ordered, “Don’t breathe.”
The sound of heavy breathing cut off instantly, but his ragged breaths couldn’t be silenced completely. They came through, low and hoarse with restraint.
Li Lanxiu’s lashes trembled shut. He acted like he hadn’t heard anything. His voice turned cold. “Hurry up.”
“Young Master, I’m trying.” Chu Yue responded submissively, but his body didn’t speed up at all.
Mist rose from the spirit spring pool. After a long while, Chu Yue leaned in and said in a low voice, “Young Master.”
Li Lanxiu turned around and casually gave Chu Yue a light slap on the cheek. He slowly said, “You didn’t dirty my carpet, but you did dirty my spirit spring pool.”
Chu Yue took the light, painless slap with a strange gleam in his eyes. He rasped, “Sorry, Young Master.”
Li Lanxiu lifted his foot to stand up and finally noticed a bit of filth on his toe. He furrowed his brows and stared coldly at Chu Yue.
Chu Yue glanced at his toe. His lips moved slightly, as if he hadn’t expected this either.
Li Lanxiu stretched out his long, elegant leg and brought his toe in front of him. “You did this. Wash it clean.”
Chu Yue didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his ankle and rinsed the filth away with water. His broad palm cupped Li Lanxiu’s heel while his other hand held the toe, gently rubbing it. The warm, slippery texture was both soft and firm, with clearly defined joints—smooth and addictive to the touch.
He couldn’t help applying more pressure, wantonly playing with it in his hand.
Li Lanxiu grew uncomfortable from his squeezing and suddenly kicked him hard. “Let go.”
Chu Yue took the kick to the chest and reluctantly released his grip. He rubbed his palm, savoring the silky softness.
Li Lanxiu put on his boots and socks, activated a spell to dry the water on his clothes and glanced coldly at the person in the pool.
Suddenly, his shoulders trembled and he let out a soft laugh. The sound was light and pleasant. He turned his head and walked away with brisk steps.
Chu Yue’s chest tightened. The veins behind his ears pulsed as he narrowed his eyes at Li Lanxiu’s back.
He couldn’t tell if Li Lanxiu was too alluring or if his own desire was too strong, but that feeling he had just suppressed came rushing back the moment he saw that smile.
Miaosu waited at the bathhouse door. Once Chu Yue came out, she stepped forward and said, “Young Master told us to wait for you here. I’ll show you to your quarters.”
She brought Chu Yue down the corridor and into a side room near the entrance of the main hall. It looked like a gatekeeper’s quarters. She pushed the door open. “The Young Master said you’ll be staying here.”
The room was spacious and bright, its furnishings elegant and tasteful. Chu Yue stepped through the door and looked around. “Please help me thank the Young Master.”
Miaosu hesitated, her expression troubled. “The Young Master said, since you want to stay by his side, then live here from now on…as a…”
Chu Yue raised his brows slightly. He turned and sat squarely in the chair. “As a what?”
Miaosu hesitated, then said, “As a watchdog.”
A day later, something major happened at the sect’s Discipline Hall.
The hall was vast and imposing. At its center stood a solemn statue of the god of law, holding a massive sword, its face austere and cold.
A crowd of disciples gathered outside the entrance, jostling for a view of what was happening inside.
They had come in small groups, having heard that early in the morning, Peak Lord Xue of Thousandchance Peak flew into a rage and whipped his beloved disciple Jiang Jiusi in the main hall.
Jiang Jiusi had once been a rising star of the sect, deeply favored by Peak Lord Xue. The Peak Lord had treated Jiang Jiusi as his own son and had never shown a trace of anger toward him. No one knew why he had now exploded, beating Jiang Jiusi until he was covered in wounds.
But even that was not enough for Peak Lord Xue. He dragged Jiang Jiusi to the Discipline Hall and called for the discipline whip to execute the punishment.
Jiang Jiusi knelt before the god of law. Under his knees, the punishment dais was covered with a stone slab.
The slab was etched with dense runes that sent a stabbing pain through the knees on contact, like being cut by blades. He couldn’t move an inch.
His white robes of brocade were stained with blood, whip marks crisscrossing his body in horrifying patterns. His tied hair had come undone and hung messily down his back. The aloof and proud young master of the past now looked like a beaten dog.
Xue Wujiu stood beside him with his hands behind his back, face sunken and cold. He said, “Bring the whip.”
The disciples of the Discipline Hall stood in solemn rows along the sides. At his words, they shouted in unison, “Bring the whip!”
Atop the judgment platform lay several awe-inspiring discipline whips, all pitch-black, inlaid with silver runes.
The discipline whip was no ordinary whip. It was reserved for punishing disciples who committed grave offenses. It could break through a cultivator’s physical defenses, and inflicted excruciating pain, as if one were being slowly dismembered.
Unless a serious crime had been committed, the sect rarely used the discipline whip.
The Discipline Hall’s steward raised the discipline whip, bowed before the statue of the Law Deity and then handed the whip to Xue Wujiu. “Peak Lord Xue, please whip him.”
Xue Wujiu seized the whip, a grimace twisting his face. He lashed it hard across Jiang Jiusi’s back. “Traitorous disciple! Do you admit your fault?!”
Jiang Jiusi lowered his head. Blood trickled from his mouth. He knelt on the punishment platform without saying a word.
Xue Wujiu lashed him again and again. The discipline whip tore Jiang Jiusi’s robes, split his flesh and sprayed blood across the floor.
No matter how hard Xue Wujiu beat him, Jiang Jiusi kept his head down and remained silent, determined to resist to the end.
Xue Wujiu strode closer, flailing the whip like a madman. He gave him another chance. “Traitorous disciple! Do you admit your fault?!”
Jiang Jiusi still said nothing. He didn’t lift his head or make a sound.
He had joined the sect in his early teens and become Xue Wujiu’s disciple under Thousandchance Peak. Their bond of over a decade as master and disciple had been sincere.
That was why Xue Wujiu had dared entrust him with the secret task of killing Li Lanxiu. But not only had Li Lanxiu survived, Chu Yue hadn’t become his disciple either.
Now Jiang Jiusi even had the nerve to say, “This disciple has always loved beautiful men. Li Lanxiu is the most beautiful this disciple has ever seen. In this life, this disciple must see his true face. For that, I would walk through fire and water without hesitation.”
What he meant was clear: from now on, he would no longer obey Xue Wujiu. He would obey Li Lanxiu.
Xue Wujiu had lost both the man and the battle. His beloved disciple, whom he had raised for over ten years, went to the Azurerain realm and came back a lapdog of Li Lanxiu. Furious, he lashed the whip in a frenzy.
Sharp cracks echoed through the hall. The surrounding disciples turned pale.
Jiang Jiusi no longer had a single uninjured patch of skin. His white robes had turned entirely crimson with blood. At last, his body tipped forward and collapsed onto the punishment platform.
Xue Wujiu’s discipline whip struck empty air. He rushed forward in sorrow to support his beloved disciple. “Rebellious disciple, why are you doing this?” he cried out in anguish. “What kind of person is Li Lanxiu? I warned you long ago. Why…why won’t you listen?”
Jiang Jiusi’s face was deathly pale. He shook his head and spoke weakly. “Master Xue, I know exactly what kind of person he is. He’s sharp-tongued, cruel, heartless and enjoys toying with people. But I…want to be toyed with by him too.”
“What is wrong with you all? What spell did Li Lanxiu cast on you?” Xue Wujiu truly could not understand. Chu Yue had already been bewitched by Li Lanxiu, groveling like a dog for his scraps. And now Jiang Jiusi, perfectly fine as he was, also insisted on becoming a dog.
Jiang Jiusi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. A faint brightness flickered in his eyes. “He hasn’t done anything to me. He’s not even interested in me. It’s all my own choice.”
Xue Wujiu looked at him as if he were a monster. He suddenly stood up and gave him one last chance. His voice trembled and choked with emotion. “Rebellious disciple, do you acknowledge your guilt?”
Jiang Jiusi straightened his back and raised his head. With all his strength, he declared loud and clear, “I am willing to brave fire and water just to see Li Lanxiu’s true face. I vow this as my life’s aspiration. What crime is there in that?”
Xue Wujiu raised the discipline whip high. His hand trembled. In the end, the whip did not fall. He flung it to the ground and strode toward the exit. “Since you remain so obstinate, from this day forth our master-disciple relationship is severed. You are no longer my disciple.”
The discipline whip hit the floor. The restriction over the punishment platform lifted. Jiang Jiusi rose and kowtowed in the direction of his departure. “Thank you, Master, for granting me this freedom.”
The disciples gathered outside the Discipline Hall exchanged glances. Every word just now had rung clear. Jiang Jiusi, a scion of the Jiang family of the Four Seas Commerce Guild, a genius of outstanding talent, had betrayed his master just to see Li Lanxiu’s face.
Such disloyalty and unfilial conduct, prioritizing beauty over righteousness, would surely ruin his reputation throughout the cultivation world. From now on, he would live in infamy.
Was that Young Master Li truly so beautiful he bewitched the soul?
Everyone had the same question in their hearts.
Jiang Jiusi came from the renowned Jiang family and had a good reputation in the cultivation world. News of this matter quickly spread across the Nine Provinces.
Cultivators everywhere heard how he went to every length just to see a beauty’s true face. When Jiang Jiusi traveled, he was always accompanied by the Jiang family’s maidservants, each a national beauty, stunning beyond compare.
So what kind of person could drive a man like Jiang Jiusi—accustomed to beauty—to such madness?
In Dreamsaint City’s largest tavern, guests came and went like clouds. Every seat was full, and business boomed. A disciple in blue stood on a bench with one foot on the table. His chest was embroidered with the Big Dipper constellation, marking him as a disciple of the all-knowing Sevenstar Tower. He spoke animatedly to the crowd. “The most beautiful being I’ve ever seen was a fox yao. Absolutely celestial, unforgettable at first sight!”
“You say that was the most beautiful? You just haven’t seen better.”
The others clearly didn’t agree and chimed in one after another. “The most beautiful I saw was a fisherwoman by the lake. Tsk tsk... not even coarse hairpins and a homespun dress could hide her beauty.”
“I think it’s Streamcloud Sect’s Lady Yue. Everyone who’s seen her says she’s breathtaking…”
“I think the most beautiful is my shimei. Don’t you agree, shimei?”
“All your claims are biased. The number one beauty in the cultivation world is Conundrum Sect’s Lady Yan!”
At that, the noisy debate fell silent for a moment. People nodded in agreement.
But then a voice suddenly asked, “Wait a minute! Jiang Jiusi is Lady Yan’s shixiong. He sees the number one beauty of the cultivation world every day. Why would he ruin his name over Li Lanxiu?”
“Could it be that Li Lanxiu’s face was even more unforgettable than all the beauties he’s ever seen?”
Everyone turned to the all-knowing Sevenstar Tower disciple.
The Sevenstar Tower disciple froze for a moment, then responded solemnly. “Please rest assured! Our beauty rankings at Sevenstar Tower are objective and fair, with no deception. That Li… whoever, no matter what he looks like, we’ll find a way to reveal his true face and prove our rankings are absolutely just!”
“He’s a disciple of Conundrum Sect, staying within his own sect. What way do you have to make him show his face?”
The listener beside him was skeptical.
The Sevenstar Tower disciple waved his hand, lowering his voice mysteriously. “You may not know this, but here’s the latest news. The Red Sect has been slaughtering cities in Dongyue Kingdom of West Lumine. In just ten days, they’ve wiped out seventeen cities. The people are terrified. Will the prestigious Dao sects just sit and watch?”
“Soon they’ll send disciples to defend those regions and protect the civilians. Li Lanxiu will surely leave Conundrum Sect.”
“When that time comes, won’t that be the perfect chance for everyone to see his true face?”
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