NOVEL NEXT Ch. 12
Chapter 12: She Coveted Your Body
The steaming hot noodles were soon served to the table.
They were plain noodles, but simmered in chicken broth.
As soon as the bowl landed on the table, the aroma spread out.
The shopkeeper nodded: “All the dishes are served.”
Lu Changyuan smiled: “Not only are they served, but you’ve even given us plenty for free. The capital is truly good, so warm and hospitable.”
Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper shook her head: “This young lady, is she the young master’s Dao-companion?”
“No.”
“No.”
Both spoke at the same time.
The old woman didn’t seem surprised in the slightest.
She only continued: “That’s good. I see that the young master is at just the right age. I have a granddaughter, the third child of the family, also at the right age, gentle in temperament, pleasing in appearance……”
Lu Changyuan quickly waved his hand: “Stop, stop, stop, I’m not interested.”
Seeing Lu Changyuan’s resistance, the shopkeeper sighed and left.
Xia Lianxue blinked as she ate her noodles, watching this scene with great amusement: “No wonder they gave free beef and wine, so they’ve set their sights on the young master.”
Lu Changyuan didn’t know what to say.
In the end, he only sighed: “That’s how it is when you’re good-looking.”
“A noodle-shop owner and a doctor would make quite a pair.”
“Eat your noodles!”
Seeing that Lu Changyuan was somewhat out of patience, Xia Lianxue couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh softly.
Her mood improved quite a bit.
She secretly glanced at Lu Changyuan from the corner of her eye and thought to herself.
He truly was handsome, just unwilling to do anything proper.
Lu Changyuan chewed on a piece of beef and said: “Let me tell you a story.”
Eating while listening to a story was indeed an enjoyable pastime.
“Long, long ago, there was a sect called the Iron Sword Sect. In that sect, a young man liked his senior sister. But at the same time, the sect’s most talented genius also liked her.”
In an instant, the entire noodle shop went silent.
Everyone was waiting for Lu Changyuan to tell the story.
What a nosy bunch of people!
Lu Changyuan said leisurely: “One day, the genius broke through to the Fifth Realm and became the strongest in the sect. He went to the senior sister’s master, the sect leader, to propose marriage. But the senior sister was unwilling—she liked the young man. Unfortunately, the genius was powerful, and her father favored the strong. So he forced the marriage to be arranged.”
Someone nearby shouted: “A beauty should belong to the strong!”
A woman dressed entirely in black sitting not far from Lu Changyuan immediately refuted: “I think mutual love is what matters most!”
Lu Changyuan coughed: “Don’t argue, listen to the story!”
The crowd quieted down again.
“The young man was young at that time, and in his anger, he swore to fight the genius to the death. The genius agreed. They set the date for the duel on the day before the engagement. The young man was only at the Third Realm. By reason, he had absolutely no chance of winning against the genius.”
Lu Changyuan suddenly lowered his voice: “But this young man was not entirely powerless. He once found a demonic cultivation method at the bottom of a pond. This demonic art allowed his strength to increase greatly for a short time.”
Xia Lianxue put down her chopsticks, gently wiped her mouth, and asked: “And the cost?”
There was no shortcut in the world without a price.
“The cost—no one knew the cost. This demonic art followed the path of demon-taming. It forced a Desire Demon into one’s body, then relied on locking a sliver of clarity within the spiritual platform to cultivate.”
Now, that was something fresh.
In the cultivation world, who didn’t avoid Desire Demons like the plague? Yet someone willingly let one into their body, all for anger over a beauty.
Xia Lianxue curiously asked: “And then? Surely it can’t be that the young man defeated the genius, only to have the Desire Demon consume him and die miserably before his senior sister. That would be too boring.”
“Of course not.”
Lu Changyuan waved his hand: “With the price of letting the Desire Demon in, the young man succeeded in defeating the genius. And he did not die. He truly had talent, managing to guard that sliver of clarity in his mind. But from that day on……”
Xia Lianxue followed along: “From that day on?”
“From that day on, he discovered that he had lost all emotions. The senior sister he once loved, he could no longer love. The only thing that could stir his heart was the sword in his hand. Perhaps that was his true nature, or perhaps it was the influence of the demonic art. So, he killed the genius and left the Iron Sword Sect.”
The veiled woman in black exclaimed: “What? Can’t you even make up a proper story!?”
Lu Changyuan calmly popped a peanut into his mouth: “After that, the young man cultivated all the way to the Seventh Realm, touched the Great Dao itself. Do you know what this story shows?”
Xia Lianxue tilted her head, unwilling to give him an answer.
Lu Changyuan still continued: “It shows that a Dao-companion only affects the speed of drawing your sword.”
Before Xia Lianxue could speak, the woman in black said: “I cannot bear to listen to such tales of fleeting love and loss.”
She then stood up to leave, but was halted by Lu Changyuan’s next words.
“Enough teasing. What I mean is—I know this demonic art. Do you want to learn it?”
Xia Lianxue froze, even dropping her chopsticks to the ground.
If she were honest with herself—
This cultivation method was indeed very suitable for her current circumstances.
She no longer had anything to lose.
Lu Changyuan looked at the flood of emotions on Xia Lianxue’s face and found it amusing.
He chuckled: “I’m lying. I don’t know it either.”
Xia Lianxue glared at him, gritting her teeth: “Young master, don’t tease me.”
But in truth, it wasn’t Xia Lianxue that Lu Changyuan was teasing.
He had teased everyone in the noodle shop.
Lu Changyuan stretched lazily: “How could I possibly know that demonic art from the story?”
That line too, was to tease Xia Lianxue.
Because he really did know it.
And he truly knew that young man.
“Boss, the bill.”
Lu Changyuan’s words interrupted the old woman who seemed lost in memories.
After a long moment, she dryly said: “No need to pay, new customers.”
“The capital is truly wonderful, with kind people like you.”
The old woman nodded and came over to clear the bowls: “If the young master has time, you may go to the banks of Lake of Lingering Affection tonight. It will be very lively.”
The Lake of Lingering Affection was the largest lake in Jade Capital.
It was midsummer now, and the lake at night was the best place to escape the heat.
Lu Changyuan asked: “How lively?”
“Tonight, the courtesan queen will be boating on the lake.” After a pause, the old woman added: “Many young talents will likely gather there. There will also be a lantern festival lasting five days.”
“That does sound lively.” Lu Changyuan turned to Xia Lianxue: “Fairy, would you like to take a look?”
So-called “young talents” were, of course, not officials’ sons or scholars of the dynasty.
But real talents of the cultivation world.
As Xia Lianxue followed Lu Changyuan out of the noodle shop, she whispered: “We’ll end up meeting those noodle-shop people again later.”
Among the noodle eaters earlier, there had been eight at the Third Realm, three at the Fourth Realm.
For such a small noodle shop, it was a gathering of heroes.
“You don’t want to see them?”
“Mm.”
“That’s perfect then. At your most wretched moment, to see the place where you should have once stood—it can temper your Dao-heart.”
“Are you serious?”
“When have I ever lied to you?”
Xia Lianxue tidied her hair.
Her delicate body unconsciously straightened, the smooth black strands on her back swaying with the wind.
She murmured softly: “I think you’re always lying to me.”
Lu Changyuan pretended not to hear: “By the way, did you see that jar of wine earlier? I was going to take it with me to drink later.”
“That woman in black stole it when she left.”
“Why didn’t you say earlier?”
“You never asked me.”