After Being Adopted by the Obsessive Male Lead - Chapter 12

Tangxin Villa had become much quieter. The female innkeeper was busy tidying up the tables. When she looked up and saw the two cultivators in veiled hats return, a trace of disappointment flashed across her face, though she quickly masked it with a smile and came forward to greet them. “You two are back! Well, there is no need to feel discouraged if you lost. There is always a higher mountain and a more talented person, it’s only natural.”

Chang Le was about to explain when a familiar voice from behind chimed in. “He didn’t lose, he successfully advanced.”

It was the voice of that honest-looking rogue cultivator.

The innkeeper’s eyes lit up. She looked at Chang Le in disbelief, seeking confirmation. Chang Le nodded.

“So fast!”

She had truly picked a winner. The innkeeper excitedly dropped her rag. “To pass the first round so brilliantly deserves a celebration with good wine. Wait here, fellow Daoists, I’ll go to the cellar and pick out something special.”

“No…” Chang Le wanted to say they didn’t drink, but he saw Jun Wang pick a spot and sit down immediately. His words trailed off, and he had no choice but to sit beside Jun Wang.

The innkeeper soon returned with a jar of fine wine in a celadon vessel. “This White Pear Brew was left by the previous owner, it’s top-quality stuff. Today, it’s my treat.” She peeled back the sealing cloth. “Smell this fragrance, fellow Daoist.”

Chang Le took a deep breath.

“Cough… cough! Fragrant, it’s definitely good wine.” Because Chang Le had undergone heart surgery in his past life, he didn’t usually drink. He couldn’t quite distinguish the quality of the aroma, but he ended up inhaling too sharply and choking on the scent.

The innkeeper had never seen someone so appreciative, and she laughed heartily. The more she looked at these two, the more she liked them. She placed the wine on their table. “Since it’s fragrant, drink up. I’ll go get a plate of crabapple pastries.”

Since there were few people in the shop, Chang Le didn’t stop Jun Wang when he removed his veiled hat. He took off his own as well to catch his breath.

“Is it really that fragrant?” Jun Wang teased, noticing the faint pink flush on the young master’s cheeks from the coughing fit. He took the wine jar, poured a bowl, and pushed it toward Chang Le. “Try it.”

Chang Le looked at the clear liquid with some hesitation. He wasn’t a total stranger to alcohol, but he didn’t know how strong this brew was.

As if sensing his thoughts, Jun Wang said, “It’s a fruit wine, not a strong spirit.”

Chang Le happened to be a bit thirsty. He picked up the bowl and took a shallow sip. It was sweet, with just a tiny bit of a sting on the tongue, only a little. The alcohol content did seem quite low. Chang Le took a few more sips.

“Why did you go looking for the Tianxuan Sect disciple today?” Jun Wang suddenly asked.

Chang Le knew he would have to keep looking for Chu Heng tomorrow and couldn’t hide his existence forever, so he made up an excuse. “I have a brother I knew since childhood who joined the Tianxuan Sect. I was wondering if I could meet him.”

A brother known since childhood.

Jun Wang pondered those words. Since he wasn’t a biological brother and the young master liked men, if he cared enough to search for him, wouldn’t that make him a childhood sweetheart? Seeing as they didn’t meet today, perhaps the affection wasn’t that deep after all.

“Now that your leg injury is healed, why haven’t I heard you mention going home?” Jun Wang shifted the topic abruptly.

Chang Le paused, his mind racing to invent a reason. “My… my parents arranged a marriage for me that I didn’t like, so I ran away.”

Chang Le’s face felt hot from telling such an outrageous lie, but the wine he had just drunk served as a perfect cover. Hearing this, Jun Wang couldn’t help but think that if the young master had run away from a marriage only to be ignored by his childhood sweetheart, he was quite pitiful.

But how many of the young master’s words were actually true? Jun Wang poured more wine into Chang Le’s bowl.

Chang Le’s head was already feeling a bit heavy. Seeing Jun Wang continue to pour, alarm bells went off in his mind. He’s trying to get me drunk!

“My head is spinning a bit, I really can’t drink much.” Chang Le propped his head up with one hand, pretending to be intoxicated. His moist, reddish eyelids drooped slightly, giving him a misty look. “Brother Jun, why are there two of you?”

“You are drunk,” Jun Wang said.

“I’m not drunk, Brother Jun. I’m just tired, I want to sleep.” Chang Le tried to stand up.

He had meant to fake it, but the moment he stood, the world tilted. Chang Le stumbled.

Jun Wang caught him in time. “And you say you aren’t drunk.”

Chang Le pushed him away. “I can walk by myself.”

He slowly made his way to the second floor with Jun Wang following close behind. He was so close that if Chang Le leaned back even slightly, he would press against Jun Wang’s body.

Jun Wang’s voice sounded as if it were whispered right against his ear. “Why is there spiritual power in your spiritual sea? Have you met me before?”

The demon was indeed trying to interrogate him. But Jun Wang said there was spiritual power in his spiritual sea. That couldn’t be right! Had the heavens actually given him a “cheat code”?

His thoughts stalled for a moment. Chang Le felt like he was truly getting drunk and hurriedly said, “What spiritual power? Brother Jun, we haven’t met before.”

Jun Wang watched as the young master shook his head. A large patch of crimson had spread across his fair neck, extending beneath his green robes. His peach-blossom eyes were half-closed. Jun Wang reached out to steady him and asked again, “What exactly is your relationship with the person you were looking for today?”

His voice was low and deep, like a siren from legend trying to lure a drunkard into telling the truth.

I won’t tell you he is Qiu He’s… “Sweetheart,” Chang Le muttered unconsciously. Then, his mind went blank, and he fell asleep against Jun Wang.

Warm breath brushed against his neck. Jun Wang arched an eyebrow. His guess from earlier was correct; the young master had a one-sided love for his childhood sweetheart. Yet, why did his own heart feel a sense of irritation? That cursed inner demon was influencing him again.

Jun Wang frowned. He picked the boy up in a horizontal carry, brought him back to the room, and laid him on the bed.

About an hour later, Chang Le rubbed his head and realized he was lying on the bed. He got up and poured himself a cup of tea. The aftereffects of the White Pear Brew were strong; it had knocked him out completely. The cool tea brought some clarity, but as his senses returned, he froze.

What had Jun Wang asked afterward? How did he get back to the room? Chang Le tried hard to remember, but he could recall nothing.

Chang Le pulled open the door and went down to the tavern. The innkeeper was busy with an abacus at the counter. Seeing Chang Le, she greeted him, “You’re awake! I told you the White Pear Brew was on the house, but your friend still gave me spirit stones.”

“Excuse me, did you see the person I was with?” Chang Le asked. He scanned the tavern. There were more people than before, and Jun Wang’s veiled hat was sitting on a table, but Jun Wang was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, he was here just a moment ago. Maybe he stepped out?” the innkeeper suggested.

Hearing this, Chang Le grabbed Jun Wang’s hat and rushed out the door. If the Great Demon was recognized, how would they ever get the Streamer Flowers?

Chang Le searched along the main street of Tangli Town. When he reached a secluded area, he caught sight of a man in opulent robes following him out of the corner of his eye. The man didn’t try to hide his movements; he just followed directly.

Chang Le didn’t understand why anyone would follow him. He stopped abruptly and turned around, only to find it was the Yuanyao Palace disciple Jun Wang had defeated! What did this guy want with him? He didn’t have a penny to his name.

“You finally noticed me. Too slow.” The Yuanyao Palace disciple gave a contemptuous laugh. He tilted his head, his gaze landing on the veiled hat in Chang Le’s hand. “Why are you separated from that rogue cultivator?”

It looked like he was here for trouble. Chang Le looked at the man’s exposed, muscular chest and offered a flat denial. “What rogue cultivator? I don’t know him, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The disciple sneered. “Do I look stupid to you?”

The silver bracelet on his wrist suddenly flashed, and he moved instantly to stand right in front of Chang Le. Why didn’t the heavens give me a cheat like that!

Chang Le smelled the heavy scent of perfume on the man and stepped back repeatedly. But for every step he took back, the man took one forward. The disciple’s clothing consisted of thin gauze wrapped around his right shoulder and waist, with the rest of his torso exposed. Silver chains hung over his honey-colored muscles, and pearls and jade ornaments dangled from his lower garment, clinking with every movement.

The look in the disciple’s eyes wasn’t one of looking at a person, it was like he was looking at an object.

“You have no spiritual power. You must be that rogue cultivator’s dual-cultivation furnace. He had to drain you dry just to defeat me,” he said maliciously.

He couldn’t get over being defeated by a mere rogue cultivator. He was angry and needed an outlet, and he didn’t care how he found it. Seeing the flash of disgust in Chang Le’s eyes, he continued with even more malice, “Being his furnace only got you abandoned. Why don’t you kneel and beg me now? Maybe I’ll take you back to Yuanyao Palace, let you cultivate properly, and make you my furnace instead.”

Kneeling wouldn’t help him; the disciple just wanted to see the person who had been by that rogue cultivator’s side groveling before him. He despised weaklings! He reached out to pinch Chang Le’s face.

Chang Le turned his head in disgust to dodge. How did I actually run into a creep like this!

The disciple had intended to vent his anger, but seeing the boy’s reaction made him even more furious. “How dare you be disgusted by me? You’re a cripple without spiritual power. Without me, you’d never be able to step foot in Yuanyao Palace in your life. You—”

A yellow talisman glowing with golden light snapped onto his pectoral muscle.

The Yuanyao Palace disciple suddenly lost his voice and froze in place. His inner shock was like a surging wave. He hadn’t sensed any spiritual energy from this person. How could he activate a Body-Control Talisman?

“It’s a good thing you stood so close, otherwise I might not have been able to hit you.” Chang Le backed away several steps as if avoiding a plague. Jun Wang had said there was spiritual power deep in his spiritual sea, so he wanted to test it. He hadn’t expected to actually be able to control a talisman. He didn’t know where the power came from, but as long as it worked, that was fine.

“Winning and losing are part of life. To bully the weak just because you lost, did you skip all your ethics classes?”

Weak? No weakling could use a talisman to control a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. The Yuanyao Palace disciple certainly didn’t think the person before him was weak now, yet he was completely unable to move.

Chang Le’s tone turned cold. “You might like men, but I don’t. Since you’ve disgusted me so much, shouldn’t you kneel and apologize?”

Controlled by the talisman, the Yuanyao Palace disciple knelt down against his will.

Chang Le didn’t waste any more words on him and continued his search for Jun Wang. Kneeling on the ground, the rough stones scraped the disciple’s skin, drawing small beads of blood. It stung, but his heart was pounding fiercely with an unexpected excitement. The way those beautiful peach-blossom eyes had looked at him with such cold, sharp reprimand—mixed with a hint of unintentional charm—went straight to his head. He was already thinking about how he would catch this person next time and bring him back to the sect.

But the rogue cultivator by the boy’s side was not to be underestimated. No matter, he could ask Senior Brother Yun Muqing to help him. Yun Muqing enjoyed nothing more than forcing others into difficult positions.

Unaware of the thoughts of the man behind him, Chang Le spotted an old book being used by a street vendor to prop up a table leg. The title on it read “Record of Spiritual Talismans.”

“How much for that book under the table leg?” Chang Le asked. He noticed the vendor had a white cloth tied over his eyes. Despite his seemingly vulnerable state, he held a sword and sat in meditation. The muscles on his arms were visible through his white clothes, giving off an aura that warned people not to mess with him.

The man didn’t move his head as he spoke. “The book is so old it’s turned yellow. Why would I charge spirit stones for it? If you like it, take it.”

Chang Le hadn’t expected such a blunt person to be so generous. He thanked him and took the book. Since he truly had no spirit stones, he left the plate of crabapple pastries he had brought with him.

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