As though sensing him, Chen Yixin turned his head and rubbed against Wenren Li. He then shifted his sleeping position, pillowed his head directly against Wenren Li’s chest beside his shoulder, and wrapped all four limbs around him. He looked both clingy and domineering.
A faint flush spread across Wenren Li’s cheeks, but his gaze upon Chen Yixin grew even softer. He raised a hand and gently stroked the back of Chen Yixin’s neck, speaking with helpless indulgence. “A-Rong’s sleeping habits truly haven’t changed at all…”
He continued soothing Chen Yixin for a while before closing his eyes and gradually falling asleep, his mind more peaceful than it had ever been.
“A-Rong, A-Rong…”
Chen Yixin’s eyes suddenly opened, and his gaze swept around the room. Apart from the sleeping Wenren Li, no one else was present. The sorrowful voice that had called to him just now had not belonged to Wenren Li.
His heart had only just settled when he saw Wenren Li open his eyes as well.
“Did A-Rong have a nightmare?” Wenren Li asked, gently stroking Chen Yixin’s hair. His spiritual power slowly seeped into him, calming the agitation within Chen Yixin’s divine soul.
Chen Yixin shook his head. “Not exactly…”
A dream was ultimately only a dream. Even his impression of the voice was already beginning to fade, so why should he pursue the meaning of something that had occurred only in sleep?
Chen Yixin smiled softly and placed a light peck on Wenren Li’s lips before starting to sit up.
As Chen Yixin watched, however, Wenren Li grew faintly bashful. He tugged Chen Yixin’s hand and said quietly, “A-Rong can keep kissing me…” No matter how many kisses Chen Yixin gave him, he would gladly accept them all.
Wenren Li thought Chen Yixin had not kissed him enough…
Chen Yixin’s faint smile spread from the corners of his lips to his brows. He leaned close to Wenren Li again, lowering his voice. “You truly want me to?”
Wenren Li raised his eyes and nodded earnestly. His gaze then fell upon Chen Yixin’s lips, while the heartbeat that ordinarily made almost no perceptible impression suddenly accelerated.
Outside the bedchamber, Wu Fei and Nan Ke watched helplessly as the plants in the courtyard began stirring once more. Perhaps their daily duties would now have to include weeding and cutting back trees…
Chen Yixin did not move any closer, but neither did he evade Wenren Li when he leaned in. Their lips slowly met, and the corners of Chen Yixin’s mouth curved upward again. He gave Wenren Li a light push, rolled over, and straddled him.
“Then I’ll kiss A-Li…”
After speaking, he bent down and kissed Wenren Li again. This was no fleeting touch, but a deep and lingering kiss. His heartbeat quickened and his breathing grew unsteady, while the strand of his soul oath within Wenren Li’s life soul became tightly entangled as well.
“Mm… ngh…” Soft moans of a different timbre slipped through Chen Yixin’s breathing. The kiss drained every trace of strength from his body. He finally moved his reddened lips away, then collapsed against Wenren Li and continued panting.
He was clearly the one taking liberties, so why were all the reactions showing on his body? Wenren Li was thoroughly cheating by using their soul connection to do as he pleased.
Whatever Chen Yixin suddenly remembered made him leap out of bed and hurry to the window. He pushed it open, and sure enough, clusters of wildly growing plants filled the space outside the bedchamber. Chen Yixin laughed, finally feeling somewhat vindicated.
Wenren Li followed him over. Seeing how delighted Chen Yixin looked, he smiled as well, then waved his hand. Every overgrown plant dissolved into pale-green motes of light that gradually gathered toward him. In fewer than two breaths, the lights were refined into a single emerald-green pearl.
Wenren Li placed the pearl in Chen Yixin’s palm. “A-Rong can play with this for now.”
“All right.” Chen Yixin squeezed the pearl, then continued smiling at Wenren Li.
Although the plants’ essence had been refined, withered branches and other remnants still remained behind, so Wu Fei, Nan Ke, and the others could not escape the work of clearing them away.
After breakfast, Wenren Li went to the alchemy room, while Chen Yixin practiced calligraphy in the study. Once he finished writing, he practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard. They spent several consecutive days in this manner until Demon Lords You Ruo and Ba Xue finally arrived.
Wenren Li was not the only one among the Southern Territory’s Ten Demon Lords who had a Dao companion, but he was the only one who kept his companion beside him at every moment. Even at the banquet where they discussed the proposed alliance, he brought Chen Yixin with him.
The Ten Demon Lords each ruled independently, and they had clashed over matters of profit many times. Their disciples had also accumulated numerous grudges against one another. Even Wenren Li could not simply cast aside every grievance and cooperate without reservation.
In the eyes of the world, Likui Demon Palace was a secret treasury made manifest, overflowing with treasures and cultivation methods. Those of the demonic path acted without restraint, so it was entirely possible that they might prepare a trap and secretly cooperate with the immortal path to scheme against him.
After three successive formal and informal meetings, they still reached no conclusion. Wenren Li did, however, use the opportunity to trade for quite a few things with Ba Xue. As for You Ruo, a Soul Transformation Demon Lord who had risen to her position only within the past century, Wenren Li did not approach her.
“Hmph.” Chen Yixin gave an angry snort and pulled Wenren Li toward their residence. You Ruo had treated him as though he were invisible, blatantly attempting to seduce Wenren Li directly in front of him.
“What’s wrong with A-Rong?” Wenren Li, who had not realized that anyone was trying to seduce him, naturally had no idea why Chen Yixin was angry. Even so, he obediently allowed Chen Yixin to lead him away. Chen Yixin could be angry if he wished; as long as he remembered to bring Wenren Li with him, all was well.
Chen Yixin turned and glared at Wenren Li before tightening his grip and continuing onward. After walking another two steps, he looked back again and changed their ordinary grip into one with their fingers tightly intertwined.
Still, he did not answer Wenren Li’s question. What Chen Yixin felt was not merely jealousy. He also felt stifled and frustrated. You Ruo was a mighty Soul Transformation cultivator, while he was presently a mortal without the slightest cultivation. As a man, he did not want Wenren Li to fight every battle on his behalf, nor did he want Wenren Li to make an enemy of a Soul Transformation cultivator because of him.
That was why, despite being furious throughout the banquet, Chen Yixin had restrained himself.
“When will I be able to cultivate again?”
Chen Yixin asked Wenren Li earnestly. The longer they spent together, the less he wanted to use Wenren Li. Whether he intended to take revenge or drive away a romantic rival, he first needed cultivation of his own.
“After we return from the Fentian Nether Abode.”
Wenren Li naturally understood Chen Yixin’s urgency, because he felt the same. Chen Yixin currently possessed no ability to protect himself. No matter how thoroughly Wenren Li guarded him, it could never feel sufficient.
“All right.” Chen Yixin nodded. That was still relatively soon. His anger and jealousy dissipated together, and his steps slowed before he began solemnly laying down rules for Wenren Li.
“Unless it’s necessary, A-Li is not allowed to look at anyone else for too long. None of them are as beautiful as I am.”
“Mm.” Wenren Li nodded in agreement. “A-Rong is the most beautiful.”
Chen Yixin’s expression softened further. The corners of his lips curved faintly before he continued, “And no one except me is allowed to hug or kiss you. They aren’t even allowed to hold your hand.”
“Mm. They aren’t allowed.” As Wenren Li agreed, his gaze became even gentler. At last, he understood what had angered Chen Yixin. He stopped him and said solemnly, “I don’t love You Ruo. I love A-Rong—only A-Rong.”
“Mm. Naturally.” Wenren Li’s solemn expression and words pleased Chen Yixin, and the laughter in his brows could no longer be concealed. He raised his chin, looking proud and domineering. “But even so, you are not allowed to let anyone take advantage of you.”
Only Chen Yixin was permitted to take advantage of Wenren Li. No one else should even think about it.
“Mm. I’ll listen to A-Rong.” A slight smile appeared on Wenren Li’s face as he nodded.
Seeing the shallow dimple in Wenren Li’s cheek, Chen Yixin felt a strange itch within his heart. He raised a hand and lightly poked the dimple, carefully savoring the sensation beneath his fingertip before turning away and pulling Wenren Li forward again.
His face was filled with a sweet smile that could neither be concealed nor needed to be. He was now a demonic cultivator, free to laugh or rage according to his heart. No person or rule beneath the heavens could restrain him any longer.
“Ninth Martial Uncle…” Lin An saw the figure ahead, and the respectful title escaped him instinctively. Even though Chen Yixin was no longer an elder of Yuding Sect, Lin An still could not bring himself to call him simply by name.
“Senior Brother Zhihua, shouldn’t we take another road…?”
Lin An quietly offered the suggestion to the silent Jing Zhihua.
That was Chen Yixin, so the man he was holding was very likely the Likui Demon Lord—a mighty Soul Transformation cultivator. If either of them developed the slightest killing intent, Jing Zhihua would not be the only one affected; Lin An himself might be dragged into it as well.
Jing Zhihua naturally heard Lin An’s words and understood that his suggestion was correct, but his feet refused to move away. Even his gaze could not leave Chen Yixin’s face.
As Chen Yixin and Wenren Li drew nearer, sweat seeped from Jing Zhihua’s forehead and back until he looked as though he had been pulled from the water. Lin An had already been crushed flat against the ground, while Jing Zhihua kept his spine rigid, refusing either to lower his head or bend at the waist.
Jing Zhihua’s gaze remained stubbornly fixed upon him, but the person he watched noticed nothing at all. With the corners of his lips curved, Chen Yixin intimately held Wenren Li’s hand and walked directly past them.
Wenren Li did turn his head and glance at Jing Zhihua, his eyes faintly cold. Jing Zhihua immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“What is A-Li looking at?” Chen Yixin pressed his lips together to make his smile appear somewhat more restrained, then raised an eyebrow as he asked.
“A person.” Someone he disliked very much.
The answer was far too brief. Chen Yixin was speechless, but did not pursue the matter. “Oh.”
After taking another two steps, Chen Yixin suddenly stopped and looked back. All he saw were the departing figures of two black-robed cultivators supporting each other.
“So there really were people there…” Unfortunate fellows who appeared to have been seriously injured.
“Why look at them? When A-Li wants to look at someone, you should look at me.”
Chen Yixin turned back and made the demand with a quiet snort, inexplicably becoming jealous all over again.