Written by Tinalynge & Blue Jay
Edited by ONI_Ghost
Beta read by OEE
~o~
Ling Mo was still fuming as they walked into the inn. His mood got even worse when Jiang Yao threw some gold coins onto the desk. “Two of your best rooms,” he ordered and handed over a few gold coins.
The many people within the inn looked at Jiang Yao, Ling Mo, and Luo Xiao with curiosity but also veneration. To see such handsome men was very rare in their small village.
The servant looked at them puzzled when he saw the gold coins and couldn’t help but speak out, “My lordship, this is enough to rent three rooms. I see that there are three esteemed guests, are you sure you want two rooms and not three?”
“I want two rooms,” Jiang Yao said with certainty causing the servant to frown in confusion. “The best rooms only have one bed each; I am afraid you would have to share a bed,” the servant said again.
Jiang Yao, on the other hand, flashed a grin to the servant, placed his arm on Luo Xiao’s shoulder, and leaned forward causing Luo Xiao’s eyes to widen in surprise. He tried to step back, but Jiang Yao’s arm didn’t allow him to move an inch.
Jiang Yao’s lips neared Luo Xiao’s ear, and his hot breath tickled the younger man, making his face flare red in embarrassment.
“You are mine, so act like my lover for a bit,” Jiang Yao muttered into his ear, and his words caused a shiver to run through Luo Xiao.
No one could hear what was said, but they saw the beautiful young boy flush red from embarrassment and not know where to hide. This caused the servant behind the counter to finally understand what was going on.
Realizing this, his face also turned slightly red. Relationships between men were very rare in Tiandi, but there were a few who indulged in such relationships, though they were few and far between. Most ordinary people looked upon such relationships with skeptical eyes.
Suddenly, the entire inn was utterly silent. Luo Xiao wished that he could hide somewhere while Jiang Yao was amused by his reaction. Ling Mo was so jealous that he almost shattered his teeth from grinding them too hard.
“Two rooms it is,” the servant said with a slight cough as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Room one and room two are at your disposal. They’re on the fourth floor; please head upstairs.”
“Bring us some of your finest quality dishes,” Jiang Yao said with a grin as he kept his arm over Luo Xiao’s shoulder and went upstairs.
Luo Xiao was eager to reach the stairs and disappear from the many glances that were being cast his way. He was utterly embarrassed and didn’t know how to react.
His father had always taught him about true love, that one day he would meet a woman that would complete him. Now he was playing the fake lover of the most handsome man he had ever encountered. He was even more handsome than he thought possible and he couldn’t protest.
When they finally reached the room, Luo Xiao swatted Jiang Yao’s hand off his shoulder. He turned to look at him. His face was still red from embarrassment. Now, he was clearly mad.
His appearance was utterly amusing for Jiang Yao who went to the bed, laid down on the side, and observed the angry Luo Xiao.
“Why did you do that?” Luo Xiao asked after taking a deep breath to steady himself, “I understand that you want to get rid of Ling Mo, but don’t you have other methods? This is just making him hate me even more than he already did.”
Jiang Yao shrugged and rolled onto his back. He gestured for Luo Xiao to come closer. Hesitating a bit, Luo Xiao didn’t continue to stay away as he knew that they were alone and Jiang Yao had no reason to continue their act.
“It’s more fun like this,” Jiang Yao said, “I can annoy you and Ling Mo at the same time. I have never before seen anyone as embarrassed as you are! It is truly very fun.”
Luo Xiao’s blood boiled. He was not some plaything that existed to entertain Jiang Yao, so instead of listening to the handsome immortal, he found a patch on the floor and sat down, beginning to cultivate his soul once more.
Seeing the anger on Luo Xiao’s face, Jiang Yao’s eyes glistened with excitement. This child did not know who he was, so he was completely honest with him. This attitude was a refreshing change of pace, a welcome change, but it was also the first time he saw someone mad at him to his face for so long.
Unfortunately, he managed to control his anger and just sat down on the floor to cultivate. This almost made Jiang Yao pout.
He stood up and looked at Luo Xiao. He was very tempted to knock him on his head and awaken him from cultivation, but after realizing that it was indeed beneficial for him that this child cultivated, he decided against this action.
“He is my Astral Soul; I guess it won’t be boring having him by my side for a bit,” he muttered to himself as he went to the door, opened it, and found that a maid was coming with plates of food.
The smell that wafted from the food was enticing. They weren’t as delicious as the ones from the Seven Star Inn back in Xiyang City, but they couldn’t be considered bad. The moment the food entered the room, Luo Xiao was awakened by the smell.
He had not eaten all day. His stomach growled when the food was brought in, and Jiang Yao laughed lightly when he saw the glances the young man was sending the food.
“Come eat,” he said when the maid left. Jiang Yao had completely ignored the maid as his eyes were glued to the young boy the entire time, watching his reactions.
Luo Xiao did not hesitate. Since he was now this man’s servant, he had decided that he would not say no to the things he was given. Especially not since he was being used as a tool to chase Ling Mo away.
He was not pleased to play Jiang Yao’s lover. His heart couldn’t handle this scary man speaking softly to him, neither could he handle the intimate gestures.
But he had no choice, and since he had no choice, he decided to take every advantage he could.
Luo Xiao had spent most of the day asleep in Jiang Yao’s arms, so he was not tired. He quickly finished eating the meal together with Jiang Yao before he sat on the floor once more and continued cultivating.
Seeing him deep in cultivation, Jiang Yao left the room. He had finally noticed that Luo Xiao only had one set of clothes and wanted to get him some more.
“Hey you,” Ling Mo said as he saw Jiang Yao leave, and his eyes lit up with excitement. He turned to look at a Qi cultivator that had been talking with him for a long time.
“Do you want to earn some money and a Moon Rank martial art skill?” Ling Mo asked in a low voice causing the Qi cultivator’s eyes to widen in surprise. The things he offered were truly magnificent. A Moon Rank martial art skill? That was the dream of every cultivator; in fact, he had no idea how powerful such a skill would be.
“What do you want me to do?” He asked breathlessly. He was not stupid, he knew that it would be dangerous, but danger and rewards went hand in hand. If he missed this opportunity, he would never again get such a chance.
“In room number one there is a Low Earth Rank soul cultivator who is not very strong. I want you to kill him. Make sure to flee as soon as you are done,” Ling Mo handed over a scroll and a bag of gold, “Now hurry!”
The man was stunned to see that he was paid beforehand, but he grinned and made his way towards the stairs.
He had been in the room when the experts arrived from outside, and he had seen how Jiang Yao treated the young soul cultivator. He was aware that this handsome man was indeed frighteningly strong. He understood that if he wanted a chance to take down the young man then now was his best opportunity.
He snuck up the stairs and reached the room then took a deep breath and opened the door.
Unbeknownst to him, Jiang Yao had left a barrier around the room, so that if someone were to enter or exit, he would know right away.
Sensing that someone had entered the room, Jiang Yao’s eyes glistened with a dangerous light. He instantly turned around. He vanished from where he was and arrived right next to the inn a moment later as if having teleported.
Seeing Jiang Yao return to the inn, Ling Mo’s eyes displayed extreme hatred and jealousy. He had never expected that he would lay down a barrier, but seeing how fast he had returned, that could be the only reason.
Jiang Yao’s face was filled with suppressed anger as he rushed up the stairs.
When he reached the third floor, he heard a scream coming from the level above him, and he rushed even faster. The heart in his chest beat rapidly, and he felt a bit of fear. Was that Astral Soul cultivator still alive?
When he reached the room, he found that Luo Xiao was laying on the ground. A Qi cultivator was on top of him with a dagger that was about to descend into his heart.
Luo Xiao’s big black eyes were open wide, and blood welled up from a gaping wound on his arm. Obviously, he had tried to protect himself from the first slash and had gotten wounded.
Jiang Yao’s eyes were filled with anger. He took one large stride into the room before he dragged the assailant back.
Qi overflowed from his body, and with a flick of his hand, the man was cut a thousand times, but he had yet to die.
Blood dripped to the floor, and the man was horrified by how easy it was for Jiang Yao to make him experience the most excruciating pain with only a flick of his wrist.
When he finally died, his bones were ground to dust; his body had experienced thousands of cuts, and his eyes had been blinded.
When he was finished, Jiang Yao tossed the no longer intact corpse to the ground. He turned to look at Luo Xiao, only to see that he had frozen stiff. His eyes were filled with horror and his complexion completely pale.
He felt sick, but he didn’t seem to notice the wound on his arm. Instead, he was staring at the corpse, and then he collapsed.
Jiang Yao frowned. Why had he collapsed? Had he lost too much blood from the wound on his arm? He did not know, but he quickly made a makeshift bandage with some fabric he found in his bag. Afterwards, he carried Luo Xiao down the stairs.
“I need a new room,” Jiang Yao said casually to the servant behind the counter. “There is a corpse in my old room. He tried to ambush us. I’ll leave the cleanup to you. Get me the key for another room,” he said as he threw ten gold coins on the table.
The servant’s face turned ashen. Had someone tried to assassinate their guest? That had never happened before, but ten gold coins was a fortune for a small inn like this. He rushed to do precisely what he had been ordered to do.
He quickly gave the key to room three to Jiang Yao. He then bolted up the stairs before he ran to find the owner of the inn and explain the situation.
That night the inn was bustling with life as the servants cleaned room one. The moment they touched the sliced up corpse, it turned into a puddle of blood, and they were stuck cleaning the entire night. While they were busy cleaning, Ling Mo was in his room feeling terrible. He feared that Jiang Yao knew it was him who planned the murder, but even more, he feared that he wouldn’t have another chance to kill Luo Xiao.
Luo Xiao, on the other hand, lay in bed. His face was pale, and sweat beaded on his forehead. Jiang Yao stood and observed him the whole night, waiting for him to wake up.