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29.81% Learning To Live As A Cultivator / Chapter 96: Chapter Ninety Six - I catch the eye of another man

Chapter 96: Chapter Ninety Six - I catch the eye of another man

Leon and Sun had not lingered long, the whole room had stank of piss, so best move on. Sun had rolled his eyes as Leon had staggered out, humming out of tune, a beaming smile on his half-dazed face. What a light weight! Still, it was kind of... sort of... maybe just a bit... amusing.

The alchemist landed flat upon his face after tripping over his own feet, his body splayed upon the cold stone floor. Sun held his hand over his mouth attempting not to laugh. "O-ow!"

"Ha ha ha," Sun laughed, grabbing his side as he tried to help Leon to his feet, but ended up falling on his own bottom. For some reason, he found this really funny and continued to laugh. Whether he realised it or not, he was actually no better than the commoners at drinking; his loving mother had been watering down the alcohol her sons and daughters had been partaking for years. Leon looked up at the giggling boy and found himself chuckling as well.

The two boys finally, after several minutes of merriment, managed to get to their feet and Sun began to lead the way back to the stands. Leon began to hum again as he followed, but a crowd of drunk youths came bounding past singing their own ditties and knocking into the smaller man. He fell again, losing his glasses in the process and as he sat there for a moment, he wondered, had such not happened before?

"Are these yours?" A shadow asked standing over him suddenly and Leon squinted hard just making out that that person held something, which he could only assume were his glasses.

"Th-thank you," he said, reaching for them, but the man kept them out of reach, causing Leon to frown. He rose to his feet and tried to grab them again, but to no avail. "P-p-please. If you h-have m-my g-g-glasses, m-may I have them b-back?"

"Ho, I do have them," the man replied, leaning forward so that Leon could just make out his features and believed them to be somewhat familiar. "But surely, I deserve a reward for finding them."

Leon's brows furrowed further. "A r-reward?" Leon questioned, he supposed he did have some pills, but if this person was who he thought, surely he had access to better here in the inner school. Ugh, his head felt fuzzy, it was too hard to think. So he would simply have to ask; "W-What t-type of reward?"

The man said nothing, just grabbed his wrist and began to tug at him, dragging him in the opposite direction of in which the arena lay. Leon stumbled as the man pulled him. "W-Wait!"

"Tch," the man clicked his tongue and picked Leon up into his arms and over his shoulder and continued upon his intended path. From Leon's view, seeing the world turn upside down was actually not much different to right way up seeing as his glasses were in this man's possession and not in his own. However, for his dizzy head and liquor filled stomach, it was not a happy situation to be in.

"W-why?" He managed to blurt out safely.

"I can't very well collect my reward in this corridor," the man chuckled, but there was an undertone of something that Leon did not like the sound of in his words.

"I d-don't understand!" Leon complained and decided that he was not happy about this and curled his hands into small fists and pounded the back of the man. A pity his were like small raindrops falling from the sky.

"Behave," the man told him, "I know what your type is."

"T-type?"

"Men, you like men, don't you," he said this in a manner of a statement rather than query. "Well so do I, my young friend." Leon froze as the words sank into his muddled brain.

"B-but what d-does that have to d-do with m-me?" He asked, the barrier between his understanding and common sense too thick with drink at that moment to truly comprehend.

"Indeed, what does that have to do with him?" The voice came from behind them, heavy with distaste and a touch of restrained anger. Ah, Leon knew that voice and glance up with a small smile and a wave in the direction it came from, before he felt himself spin around. Ugh.

"This is a private matter," the man whose shoulder he still lie upon said to the other. "He said he would reward me for finding his glasses. You don't need to interfere."

"Oh, really," Jin Li sneered as he eyed Gother with much disdain. So the wind user still could not obtain the attention of that other youth so sought to take his alchemist instead? His eyes narrowed and his hand gripped on the sword at his side. The capturer saw this and calculated the risk, before he noticed two other seniors heading this way and ones he definitely could not match in skill.

With a click of his tongue, he offered a repentant smile. "This is just a misunderstanding," he said finally. "The boy was just a bit unsteady on his feet and I was taking him to lie down to sleep it off. Nothing more!" Bowyer and Pike glanced at each other, clearly doubting his words, while Jin Li believed them less so.

"P-Put me d-down!" Leon said, suddenly, causing all to look his way... or rather at his upturned bottom. Gother rolled his eyes, thwarted and moved to grab the youth off of his shoulder. However, he was not quick enough and that which Leon had tried to keep in his stomach decided to reappear down Gopher's back. There was a lot.


Chapter 97: Chapter Ninety Seven - I am taken care of by Jin Li

"Fuck!"

Leon sighed, ah he had been sick, but his tummy now felt so much better. It was a momentary relief though, for he suddenly felt as if he was flying through the air. He fell into a strong, but warm embrace and snuggled into the body he was familiar with before sighing.

"I p-puked in m-my hair..." he complained and began to pout, his lower lip sticking out in an exaggerated fashion. It took ages to dry his long black and white tresses after washing them, he was not looking forward to it.

The seniors, Jin Li and Sun, who had been lurking in the shadows of Bowyer and Pike watched Leon with some bemusement, especially when, despite everything, he began to hum softly. Jin Li scooped him into his arms, despite the mess, while Pike and Bowyer decided to have words with Gother, whose face was coloured both figuratively and physically.

"Disgusting brat!" He was yelling, harshly. "How dare you soil Laozi! More trouble than he's worth!"

"You only have yourself to blame," Pike crossed his arms about his chest. "Your Master is likely disappointed enough regarding your performance the past few days and yet you would further this by tarnishing this school's name also. You should leave before we make you and I would recommend strongly that you leave Leon alone in the future."

"He's just a small cutsleeve," Gother bitched angrily. "Why would you go so far to protect him?"

"Whether Leon likes men or not is his own concern," Bowyer snapped. "No one deserves to be forced into having relations. And don't say something foolish like 'he seduced you.' He's too innocent to do something like soliciting."

Gother's jaw snapped closed, his teeth gritted, unable to admit that he was just about to use such an excuse. Just, when the boy looked up at him through those large, unfocused eyes... a chunk of something indescribable splattered from his back to the floor and bringing him somewhat back to reality. He turned to leave, but was stopped by the seniors next words;

"Oh, but before you leave," Pike said. "Don't you think you ought to clean up this mess. You really don't want Teacher Tremmas finding out about this do you?"

"Leon's glasses," Jin Li mentioned, coldly.

"Ah yes, don't forget to leave those too," Pike continued.

*****

While Gother remained behind seething and making plans of vengeance, with only a cleaning cloth and bucket for company, Leon was taken to wash, his stained robes removed for cleaning and his thick hair washed by a grumbling Jin Li.

"Must this Lord protect the lowly you at every point? If so then stop leaving this Lord's side. It is too troubling to chase you down each and every time."

In the steamy haze of both the bath rooms and his own befuddled mind, Leon vaguely heard only half of his complaints, enjoying instead the fingers pressing against his scalp and running soap through his locks. It was then rinsed and cloths taken to it to remove some of the moisture, before Leon was bundled up in borrowed clothes (he would not know, but these happened to come from the other student harassed by Gother, Troy) and guided into a warm room.

A heavy touch had him pushed down onto a stool and a comb was carefully and gently pulled through the tangles. Leon yawned and began to doze where he sat, the soft tugs upon his hair doing little to keep him awake. And then after a time that could have been short or could have been long, he was ordered to get to bed.

The youth rose to his feet and turned to face the man accompanying him. He gave him a warm smile, then stood on tip toes to place a slightly sloppy peck upon the other's cheek. He then hummed as he crawled into the bed and settled beneath the sheets with a soft sigh. He was soon snoring peacefully.

In the meantime, Jin Li was standing rooted as if frozen to the spot beside the stool, the comb still firmly in his grip. His cheek felt warm, heated as if he were standing beside a fire and echoes of the softness than had pressed against it still played across his mind. He took a half step towards the bed, his eyes drawn to the man lying there asleep and he recalled the statement of that senior within his mind, as well as the stuttering and embarrassed words of his alchemist just a few days before. Did Leon like men in that way? Did Leon like him in that way?

Although it was tempting to shake the boy awake and demand the meaning behind the kiss right now, Jin Li refrained and moved to the spare bed within this guest room and lay upon it to think a while before sleeping.

About an hour or so later, he slipped into the other bed to lie beside Leon and finally closed his eyes.


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