ARLQLCC chapter 37

Tu Yan always had the ability to make the atmosphere fall silent, but he himself never noticed it. After seeing Su Ji remain speechless for a moment, although he did not understand why the other party was not responding to him, he still gave himself a way out: “Haha… It’s okay if you don’t want to meet him. I was just speaking casually.”

Su Ji organized his words and replied, “You really… really admire your boss.”

Tu Yan’s eyes lit up. This was another excellent opportunity to praise Chu Zhaoye.

“Of course! My boss is the only late Tribulation Transcendence cultivator on the continent, and he’ll probably become the first cultivator on the continent to step into the Ascension realm! Not only is he handsome, he’s also rich. His palace is even bigger than Yunxian Sect. Housing a hundred of you wouldn’t be a problem!

The kitchen in my boss’s palace is even inlaid with gold. Only a peerless chef like you is worthy of such a magnificent kitchen! So, Su Ji, do you want to come—”

Before he could finish speaking, Tu Yan was chased out by Chu Zhaoye. He did not even have time to finish the last sip of soup.

Su Ji had worried that he would get angry because the kitten had scratched him, but in reality, Tu Yan ran off even faster than a rabbit. His hurried retreating figure overlapped with the image of him from that night, when he had fled after delivering the medicine, leaving Su Ji thoroughly puzzled.

Who would have thought that such a dignified Demon Venerable not only had a huge appetite, but also such a good temper. Judging by how skillfully he fled, his legs were probably very nimble as well.

If being a Demon Venerable didn’t work out, running errands would also be a way to make a living.

…

As usual, the used dishes were cleaned up by the servant disciples. Not long after Su Ji returned to his room, the kitten became sleepy again.

For some reason, drowsiness hit him hard. As soon as Chu Zhaoye was placed on the bed, he felt spiritual energy surging wildly toward his dantian. Before his kitten body could react, he flopped headfirst onto the bed.

After eating, people naturally became sleepy. Su Ji placed the soundly sleeping kitten on its small pillow. After sending a spiritual message to Yun Xicheng informing him that he was going to take a nap, he also pulled up the blanket and closed his eyes.

It was rare for Su Ji to sleep so deeply during a nap. Halfway through, he seemed to hear Yun Xicheng and Yun Che returning, but before he could think about it, he drifted back into a sweet dream.

He slept for a long time.

In his sleep, the room, which had originally been at a comfortable temperature, gradually grew warmer.

Su Ji slept somewhat restlessly. It felt as if a strong arm was wrapped around his waist, pulling him into an embrace. In the final second before the sun set, he groggily woke up, feeling as though he were hugging a stove.

He had been awakened by the heat.

The entire room was pitch black. Only a faint trace of the evening glow shone through the window, casting a dim golden edge over the cabinet nearby.

Su Ji’s mind was still sluggish from sleep. He stared blankly into the darkness ahead. In his daze, he sensed someone’s breath brushing against his face.

He froze, thinking the kitten had rolled off its little pillow in its sleep. But when Su Ji tried to throw off the blanket and get up, he discovered that he was pinned to the bed by a force. The moment he sat up, he was pulled back again.

In the darkness, the handsome young man’s jade-like profile was filled with astonishment. A powerful arm hooked him back just as he tried to get up. Due to the momentum, Su Ji’s nose slammed directly into the other person’s chest.

The impact was hard. Su Ji’s nose stung, and tears of reflex welled up at the corners of his eyes.

Now that they were so close, the cool fragrance on the other person’s body mingled with the heat trapped under the blanket, wrapping around Su Ji. His already muddled mind froze again for a moment before he came to his senses and tried to break free.

But that arm was like an iron band. No matter how Su Ji struggled, he could not move it in the slightest.

Just now, he had clearly used all his spiritual energy to resist, but the result was like an egg striking a stone.

What truly shocked Su Ji was that a sleeping, defenseless person could restrain him by sheer physical strength alone, despite his full-force struggle fueled by spiritual energy, and not even wake up in the process.

This person’s strength was definitely above his own—perhaps even beyond the Mahayana realm…

This realization made Su Ji’s scalp go numb. He had no idea when this man had entered his room, nor whether his intentions were good or bad.

He could not escape on his own. Calling for help to attract Yun Xicheng and the others was one option, but there was no guarantee that the man would not awaken in fury and kill all three of them on the spot.

Based on Su Ji’s estimate of this man’s strength, if he intended to kill them, they would not even have time to cry for help.

He could not drag Yun Xicheng into this. Since he also could not break free, Su Ji could only lie back down with a complicated expression.

What kind of situation was this? He had taken a nap and woken up to find himself being held in bed by an unidentified person.

He had not even seen the other person’s face clearly.

As time passed, Su Ji gradually calmed down and began to think about his next move.

If this man wanted to kill him, he could have done so in a single strike. Why would he instead fall asleep beside him, exposing his weakness?

Looking on the bright side, perhaps this person had no intention of harming him after all.

The sun had completely set, and the room grew even darker. Apart from the occasional sound of wind rustling leaves, there was no other noise.

Su Ji held his breath and listened carefully, trying to locate Ma Tuan without alerting the enemy.

But after listening for a long time, he did not hear a single sound from the kitten.

The person beside him showed no sign of waking. He could not escape, and he could not find Ma Tuan. The unease in Su Ji’s heart reached its peak.

In this room, aside from himself and this man, there was no third breathing sound.

Either Ma Tuan was not in the room, or…

At that possibility, Su Ji felt chilled to the bone. Forgetting the danger, he reached blindly toward the small pillow.

He did not touch even a single strand of cat fur. Instead, his hand caught a handful of the man’s loose hair.

Su Ji’s heart went cold. The moment he thought that Ma Tuan might have died silently in his sleep, the sliver of hope he had been clinging to was instantly replaced by boundless fury.

The instant spiritual energy surged into his right hand, the man beside him shifted. The hand around his waist changed position. His large palm lifted and then came down with a smack onto the soft roundness behind him, pulling him even tighter into his embrace.

This time, almost Su Ji’s entire face was pressed against the man’s chest. That cool fragrance rushed straight into his nose. As if finding the touch pleasant, the hand roaming over his body even gave him a rough squeeze.

Su Ji’s breathing faltered. A tingling sensation like an electric shock, spread from his tailbone through his entire body.

His beautiful face turned red enough to drip blood in the darkness. Shame and anger surged straight to his head. The spiritual energy he had not yet fully gathered surged violently, and without thinking, Su Ji struck directly at the arm that was taking liberties with him.

This blow drained all the spiritual energy stored in his dantian. But the attack was like a mud ox entering the sea. The moment it touched the man’s arm, it vanished.

A full-force strike from a mid-Soul Transformation cultivator was no more than a tickle to the other party. It did not even scrape his skin.

But the man was not entirely unaffected.

In the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes still clouded with sleep opened before Su Ji. The moment their gazes met, Su Ji felt as though he had been targeted by some beast. A chilling cold climbed up his spine.

The man seemed to freeze when he saw him, and the hand resting on Su Ji reflexively tightened.

Su Ji was furious. He raised one leg and kicked at the man’s abdomen. The man let out a muffled groan, his hot breath brushing against Su Ji’s face and causing that small patch of skin to flush red.

Su Ji paused for an instant, then quickly withdrew his leg as if burned.

Under his control, green spiritual energy flew to the candle and lit up the bedroom.

The room brightened abruptly, and in the next moment, the appearance of the man before him was revealed.

It was a mature and handsome face. Sharp lines framed striking, aggressive features. His thin lips were slightly parted, and sleepiness still lingered in his eyes.

The two of them stared at each other and froze.

Su Ji had guessed correctly. This man was indeed not wearing any clothes. His wheat-colored muscles, filled with explosive strength, were hidden beneath the thin blanket, like a beast lurking in the shadows—dangerous and fierce.

The arm that had just taken liberties with him was still raised awkwardly in midair. This ridiculous posture softened the impact of his imposing features and made him seem much less intimidating.

The man was still stunned and showed no intention of settling accounts with him. Grinding his teeth, Su Ji pushed aside the loose hair spread across the pillow. All he saw was the bamboo mat. Not a single strand of cat fur was in sight.

In the next second, a spirit sword appeared at the man’s neck. The moment the sharp blade touched his skin, it drew a thin line of blood.

Su Ji’s eyes were as cold as ice as he said in a chilling voice, “Who are you, and where is my cat?”

The sword gleamed with killing intent, as if it would slit the man’s throat in the next moment.

The man ignored the wound on his neck. He looked at Su Ji’s frosty face, then at his own palm, which still seemed to retain the lingering sensation of that touch. A blush crept up from his ears, and in the blink of an eye, his entire face had turned red.

Su Ji was nearly infuriated to death.

The blade pressed another fraction deeper. A drop of blood slid down the man’s neck and dripped onto the blanket.

The pain finally snapped the man back to his senses. Looking at Su Ji’s embarrassed and angry expression, a series of complicated emotions appeared on his face.

There was unease and hesitation in that expression, and it lasted for a long while. Just as Su Ji was about to lose patience and stab him, the man moved his lips and softly forced out one sentence:

“Sor… sorry.”

Su Ji was completely thrown off by this sudden apology.

Before he could react, the man vanished from before him. In his place was a familiar little black cat, curled up on the bamboo mat, blinking its large eyes at him.

The expression on Su Ji’s face went blank for an instant. The kitten immediately grew larger, and the man reappeared before him.

“Y-you…”

He stammered, unable to speak. The hand holding the sword loosened. The spirit sword fell onto the bed and vanished into a wisp of green smoke.

After being stunned for a long while, Su Ji finally asked the question he had been struggling to say.

“Y-you’re Ma Tuan?”

Chu Zhaoye was also dumbfounded. He had merely taken a nap, thinking it was just ordinary recovery of spiritual energy. Who would have expected that he would wake up having regained his human form, and nearly be stabbed to death by Su Ji as a cat-killing thief?

His identity had been exposed without warning, and Chu Zhaoye was completely unprepared.

He had imagined what it would be like to meet Su Ji in human form, but he had never imagined that the moment he regained his form, he would be touching him… and refusing to let go, even squeezing him several times like some shameless rogue.

Under Su Ji’s gaze, Chu Zhaoye nodded nervously and guiltily.

As he watched Su Ji’s brows furrow tighter and tighter, he wailed inwardly.

It’s over. This time, it’s really over.

Forget forgiveness. It would already be good if Su Ji did not throw him out.

Driven by his desire to survive, Chu Zhaoye straightened up to apologize before Su Ji could speak.

The thin blanket had originally covered his abdominal muscles. As he sat up, the blanket slid straight down to his waist.

Chu Zhaoye inwardly cried out that this was bad. He hurriedly grabbed the fallen blanket and held it in front of his chest. Together with his flustered, reddened face, he looked exactly like an innocent young lady who had just been molested by a hooligan.

Su Ji, who was the one whose butt had been touched: “……”

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