ARLQLCC chapter 54

The top ten disciples from each realm of the Trial Sword Tournament gradually went up onto the stage. Except for Tao Ming, who had been taken away, everyone else from Foundation Establishment to Soul Transformation stood in order.

On the high platform, the Grand Elder had already stood up. As disciples from the Discipline Hall called out each name, the corresponding reward for that ranking turned into a streak of light and appeared in front of the winning disciple.

The reward for first place in the Soul Transformation realm was provided by the Kunlun Divine Palace, and in the end it still returned to the Kunlun Divine Palace’s hands—truly something that made people unsure whether to laugh or cry.

After a round of competition, the snacks Su Ji had stored in his storage artifact were completely gone.

After spending time with them, Su Ji had discovered that this group had an extremely strong appetite. Normal meals were fine, but when it came to snacks, they couldn’t stop themselves. Now only Chu Zhaoye’s dried fish was left.

The prizes had already been delivered to the winning disciples, and the half-month-long Trial Sword Tournament was officially declared over by the Grand Elder. Holding Chu Zhaoye, Su Ji prepared to return to Linggu Mountain.

The expansion of the cafeteria was being handled by Tu Yan, who had hired skilled craftsmen from the demon race. They would likely arrive starting tomorrow. Su Ji also planned to use this time during the expansion to make more snacks for future sale to disciples.

This morning when he woke up, Su Ji had already stored all his belongings in his storage artifact, so there was no need to return to the courtyard to pack. He could just pick up the cat and leave.

After the Trial Sword Tournament ended, the teleportation array’s restrictions were also lifted. Yun Xicheng and the others sent Su Ji to the array, where they saw that the Yunxian Sect’s dining hall apprentices were already standing in a circle nearby. When they saw Su Ji arrive, they all greeted him somewhat reluctantly.

Su Ji hadn’t expected them to come see him off. Although he felt gratified, he didn’t feel too sad—after all, Yunxian Sect and Linggu Mountain were only a teleportation away, and they could meet anytime.

After saying goodbye to each of them, Su Ji carried the cat into the teleportation array.

A familiar flash of white light appeared, and in the next second, he returned to the cafeteria hall.

After half a month away, everything in Linggu Mountain felt both familiar and unfamiliar. With no third person around, Chu Zhaoye immediately transformed back into human form the moment they returned, happily helping Su Ji put away the luggage.

When he had still been a cat, aside from acting cute and being spoiled, he couldn’t do anything else. Now that his power had returned, Chu Zhaoye almost took over all the chores after returning home. After arranging jars and bottles, he cleaned the entire cafeteria from top to bottom, firmly refusing any help from Su Ji.

With such a filial cat-son, Su Ji was happy to relax. He sat in a chair in the hall, staring blankly at Chu Zhaoye’s busy figure. After a while, he suddenly remembered something and reminded him:

“Ma Tuan, our bed at home isn’t as big as the one at Yunxian Sect. You’ll have to turn into a little cat when you sleep at night.”

Chu Zhaoye had just been enjoying helping Su Ji, but upon hearing this, his smile froze at the corner of his mouth. After wiping the last table, he slowly walked over and stood beside Su Ji.

He didn’t speak, just stared at Su Ji’s face.

After a moment of eye contact, Su Ji reached out and poked his abs. “Why aren’t you talking? Your unstable period is already over, right? You should still be able to sleep even in cat form.”

The touch made his abs itch slightly, and Chu Zhaoye’s heart itched as well. He grabbed the mischievous hand and gently squeezed it in his own.

Over the past half month, he had developed a habit of playing with Su Ji’s hands. In Su Ji’s eyes, even though Chu Zhaoye could now lift him with one hand in human form, in his mind the other party was still that round little kitten.

So whenever Chu Zhaoye made affectionate gestures, Su Ji naturally categorized them as cat instincts and accepted them without much thought.

Like now—his right hand was being held between two large hands, rubbed and squeezed, yet Su Ji didn’t react much. He patiently asked again, “Ma Tuan, did you hear what I said?”

Chu Zhaoye muttered, “I didn’t hear.”

As soon as he said that, he felt the warmth in his palm disappear. Looking down, Su Ji had pulled his hand back.

Chu Zhaoye immediately grabbed it again.

The hand that had just been released was held tightly once more. Su Ji sighed helplessly. “You’re so big. That bed can’t fit two people.”

“It’s fine.” Chu Zhaoye looked at him sincerely. “I have a bed in my storage space.”

“……”

Su Ji: “Huh?”

The freshly cleaned room remained spotless as Chu Zhaoye acted immediately. The small bed was put away and replaced with a luxurious white jade bed—more than enough for two people.

Although the materials were expensive, the design was elegant and fit perfectly in the room.

After laying out sheets, pillows, and blankets, Chu Zhaoye stood by the bed looking proud, as if his expression said: ‘Look, the bed I brought is pretty good, right?’

After a moment of silence, Su Ji finally gave in and agreed to him sleeping in human form.

After all, they had been sleeping like this for half a month already. There was nothing strange about continuing now that they were back at Linggu Mountain.

Because the cafeteria was being expanded, Su Ji didn’t need to worry about cooking for the time being. At noon, he casually made two bowls of noodles. After eating, Chu Zhaoye once again insisted on washing the dishes.

When Tu Yan arrived with the demon race formation masters, what they saw was Chu Zhaoye scrubbing dishes diligently.

The formation master: “……???”

He turned his head in shock, his trembling pupils revealing a storm of disbelief.

Tu Yan laughed maliciously.

After observing his boss’s behavior toward Su Ji for half a month, Tu Yan had already gotten used to scenes like this. Forget washing dishes—even if Su Ji told him to run into the street and shout “I’m an idiot” three times, the boss would probably do it while feeling wronged.

The formation master was called Hu Sansan. His original form was a red fox. After transforming, he became a trusted subordinate due to his exceptional formation talent and simple, honest personality.

He also knew about Chu Zhaoye’s disappearance during his seclusion. Now that their boss had returned and needed help, Hu Sansan happily followed Tu Yan over.

But the moment he arrived, what he saw was completely different from the terrifying boss he remembered. The man in front of him looked like he had been possessed—actually washing dishes for a human cultivator!

In the past, as the Demon King, Chu Zhaoye would never even let others touch him. If not for restrictions, even getting dressed might have been done by palace attendants. Yet here he was, washing dishes in some remote mountain place.

Tu Yan stood at the kitchen doorway and teased, “How is it? Shocked, right?”

Hu Sansan nodded, then looked toward Su Ji sitting with his back to them and asked curiously, “He… who is he? How can he make the boss wash dishes? So amazing.”

Tu Yan lowered his voice and sent a secret transmitted, “That’s our future Demon Queen.”

Hu Sansan’s pupils shook again.

For thousands of years, the boss had been single. He never spared a glance at flirting male or female demons and even complained about perfume smells so much that he needed an hour-long bath. Yet unexpectedly, during just a few months of disappearance, he had already found a partner.

Hu Sansan was shocked and emotional at the same time. Love really was a magical thing.

After letting him process it, Tu Yan reminded him, “When you go in later, don’t stupidly call him ‘demon queen.’ The boss hasn’t even caught him yet. If you scare him off, we’re dead.”

Hu Sansan nodded quickly.

Just then, movement came from the kitchen. Chu Zhaoye wiped his hands and said coldly, “You’ve been standing at the door for so long and still not coming in? Do you want me to invite you in personally?”

Su Ji turned around.

Hu Sansan, unable to hold back his curiosity, peeked at him despite his fear. The moment he saw Su Ji’s face clearly, he froze—forgetting fear entirely.

The Demon Queen… was so beautiful. No wonder the boss liked him so much.

Hu Sansan secretly kept looking.

Su Ji noticed him too. The little fox had a round face, looked young, and had eyes full of curiosity and admiration without any malice.

Su Ji had no resistance to cute things. Even though this was their first meeting, he already liked Hu Sansan.

He noticed the fox seemed shy, and when he turned back, he saw Chu Zhaoye glaring fiercely at the boy again.

Very familiar. The last person he glared at like that was Yan Shao.

Su Ji: “Ma Tuan.”

Chu Zhaoye immediately turned around: “Yes!”

“Stop glaring at him. You scared him into hiding.”

Chu Zhaoye argued, “I didn’t.”

Su Ji ignored him and waved at the two at the door. “Come in.”

Tu Yan pulled a chair and sat opposite Su Ji. Hu Sansan, still nervous, hid behind him even after sitting down.

Su Ji comforted him gently, “Don’t be afraid. I already scolded him.”

Hu Sansan peeked out.

The terrifying-looking boss from earlier was now sitting beside Su Ji, stubbornly holding his hand. When pushed away, he tried again. When pushed away again, he kept trying. After several rounds, Su Ji finally gave up and let him hold it.

Hu Sansan: “……”

Who is this childish person? Is the boss really like this when chasing someone?

Kind of… shameless.

Tu Yan, already used to it, pulled Hu Sansan forward and introduced him:

“This is Hu Sansan, our demon race’s genius formation master. We brought him here today to set up a teleportation array to the demon realm, so we can send people over to help with the expansion.”

Hu Sansan, being stared at by those gentle peach-blossom eyes, slowly turned red.

“H-hello… I’m Hu Sansan.”

Su Ji smiled slightly. “I’m Su Ji. Nice to meet you.”

Hu Sansan turned even redder. “I… I… I’m also very… very happy… to meet you.”

One was red-faced, the other smiled gently like water.

Chu Zhaoye immediately started radiating jealousy and pinched Su Ji’s wrist unhappily.

Su Ji turned to look at him. “What’s wrong, Ma Tuan?”

Chu Zhaoye pouted and said sourly, “I’m also very happy to meet you.”

Su Ji: “……”

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