The group set out once more. Ling Mo was in a horrible mood, but he said nothing the entire day. He didn’t fly ahead like usual, he just stayed by Jiang Yao’s side the whole day.
As night descended, they found another small village where they settled down for the night.
Once more, Jiang Yao rented two rooms - one for Ling Mo and one for himself and Luo Xiao. As always, Luo Xiao blushed until he looked like a ripe tomato when the staff heard about their sleeping arrangements, and they sent curious, suggestive glances towards him and Jiang Yao.
It was as if being stared at was an everyday occurrence for both Ling Mo and Jiang Yao, neither of them reacted to the many glances, but Luo Xiao was rather thin-skinned,
“I don’t want to go and eat. Can't we eat in the room today?” Luo Xiao asked Jiang Yao when they had settled into their room and were on their way to the ground floor where the inn’s restaurant was.
“Why don’t want to eat downstairs? I’m sure it’s much better than eating in this small room," Jiang Yao said.
“But they’ll stare at me,” Luo Xiao muttered. “I don't like to be stared at like that. I’m not some monkey in a cage, and I’m not abnormal either.”
Jiang Yao raised an eyebrow, and a dangerous smile appeared on his lips, “Abnormal?” he asked, and Luo Xiao felt a shiver run down his spine as if his body were telling him he had said something terrible.
“What do you mean by abnormal? Why would they consider you abnormal if you go to their restaurant?” Jiang Yao asked with a smile that dripped with sweetness but caused Luo Xiao to tremble like a leaf in a storm.
“Well... You know…” Luo Xiao’s voice was getting lower and lower as he tried to speak. “It’s just, that men and women being together is normal, unlike men with other men. They heard that we are sharing a room so they will probably make fun of me... They will think I’m abnormal…”
“So you think it’s abnormal to be with another man?” Jiang Yao asked, and although Luo Xiao almost answered yes, he didn’t dare do so. Jiang Yao’s dangerously low voice seemed threatening, and it made him feel cold all the way to his bones.
“No, I think that what matters is love,” he finally muttered. His father had always told him that love was the most important, that it could overcome anything, but he still felt it was weird.
“Good answer,” Jiang Yao said. He seemed satisfied with this answer as he looked at Luo Xiao with tender eyes.
“What matters is that you love one another, and right now you are supposed to love me unconditionally,” he said with a sneaky smile on his face. “Remember, right now you are my lover, so you’d better consider how to please me rather than how to avoid others' gazes. But don’t worry, if anyone insults you then I will absolutely not take it lying down.”
Having said this, Jiang Yao dragged the young man down to the first floor of the inn, and he held his hand with an iron grip, not releasing it before he found a table for them.
Not long after, Ling Mo joined them. As before, he said nothing, he just sat there continuing to look at Jiang Yao and Luo Xiao with eyes full of hatred but also anticipation.
He couldn’t wait to finish this trip so that he could return to the Tiansong Empire and inform the other royals about Jiang Yao’s weakness.
Jiang Yao was aware of what was on his mind but said nothing. Instead, he thought of ways to kill him without breaking his promise to Luo Xiao.
While the two older men were deep in thought, Luo Xiao ordered some food and drinks. He knew what the two older men liked now, and it was easy to guess that they would drink wine while he had some tea.
Soon food arrived at the table, and Ling Mo dug in with a healthy appetite. His mood had clearly improved drastically after the previous night. He felt that he had found the perfect solution to his problem of Luo Xiao.
He had already planned everything. The first one he would tell would be the Fourth Prince. He was the most vicious of them all, and it was known that he was the most ambitious as well.
He would do anything to succeed their father’s throne. He would even throw his own family away to get want he wanted, and he was greatly worried about his brother’s, Jiang Yao's, performance.
Although he was older than Jiang Yao, he was weaker. He was naturally talented, but he was not as gifted as Jiang Yao, and he didn’t put as much effort into his cultivation as Jiang Yao. The result was that he was not even close to his younger brother’s strength.
The three were all thinking deeply. Jiang Yao thought about how to kill Ling Mo while Ling Mo felt pleased with the thought of how the Fourth Prince would torment Luo Xiao. Meanwhile, Luo Xiao, himself, was trying to be as unnoticeable as possible so that he could quickly finish eating.
Jiang Yao sighed and placed his focus on Luo Xiao instead of Ling Mo. He realized that he had not been bold enough before. What he needed to do was trigger Ling Mo’s urge to kill Luo Xiao so much that he couldn’t hold it down any longer. When this happened, he would attack in a wild frenzy of rage.
“Xiaoxiao, you should try this,” he said as he raised his chopsticks with a prawn in between. “Uh,” Luo Xiao said. His eyes widened as he realized what Jiang Yao was doing.
Wasn’t this an attempt to feed him? But they had never done such a thing before. Wouldn’t this cause Ling Mo to lose his cool? Wouldn’t this make things more dangerous for him?
Thousand of thoughts flashed through his mind in less than a second, but ultimately, he knew that he couldn’t refuse Jiang Yao. The older man's eyes seemed to be laughing, but there was a menacing air to them, saying that if he said no then it would become even worse for him.
Luo Xiao's face turned beet-red once more, and he slowly opened his mouth. Seeing how obediently Luo Xiao behaved, Jiang Yao smiled even wider, and he started feeding him random things from the table.
“This is your favorite right? Try it.”
“Xiaoxiao, you need to eat vegetables as well. Here have some of these.”
“You’re so skinny so you need to eat a lot! Here try this as well.”
Luo Xiao was so embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole and hide in it, but he had no way of escaping from this evening meal either. Thus, he could only do exactly what Jiang Yao told him to.
Ling Mo, who had been enjoying the thoughts of seeing a miserable and wrecked Luo Xiao was now frozen. His eyes almost burst out of his head in anger when he saw the intimate gestures of Luo Xiao and Jiang Yao as if they were the only ones in the entire world.
It was not only Ling Mo who was shocked, but the entire restaurant also turned completely quiet. Everyone stared at the red-faced Luo Xiao and the older Jiang Yao that seemed as if they were acting out their own little play.
“I can’t eat anymore,” Luo Xiao said after being fed for almost fifteen minutes, “make sure you get something to eat too. You are the one working the hardest when we travel. You have to make sure you have enough energy.” He couldn’t help but nag Jiang Yao slightly, but this nagging sounded like a cute wife nagging her newlywed husband, and both Jiang Yao and the audience felt it was incredibly sweet.
Jiang Yao’s eyes softened when he looked at Luo Xiao, and he nodded. “I will make sure to eat too,” he promised as he ate a few bites of food. He didn’t bother to tell Luo Xiao that he had reached a realm where his body was sustained by the essence of the heavens and the earth, so he didn’t need to eat food any longer to stay healthy and strong.
“Disgusting,” a voice suddenly spoke out. This voice was neither high nor low; it was just loud enough to be heard by everyone present in the restaurant.
Although everyone heard the words, it was impossible to determine where they had come from, but moments after, a big, burly middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd and looked at Luo Xiao with disgust in his eyes.
“I came by to have some food, but this display has utterly ruined my appetite! What a disgrace! That kid might be prettier than most women, but he will never be one! To think that you want to display your disgusting sexual preferences in front of me!” said the man.
Jiang Yao, who had been looking tenderly at Luo Xiao, suddenly turned serious when he heard these words. He looked at the man with eyes so cold that the man couldn’t help but shiver from the glance alone.
“What did you say?” he asked. His voice was calm and unhurried while also being as cold as ice. The shivering man felt as if a knife were slowly cutting off his flesh.
Luo Xiao had just said that he didn’t want to be mocked because of this act, but now someone stepped forward to mock him. Wasn’t this simply asking for death?
“Jiang Yao, leave him,” Luo Xiao said with a sigh as he wrapped his arms around Jiang Yao’s arm to calm him down. “You can’t kill every idiot you come across. If you tried, you would never have time for other things,” he said, trying to convince the handsome immortal. But when Jiang Yao looked down at Luo Xiao’s arm that was around his own, he felt that he too was trembling in anger.
Luo Xiao didn’t want to be mocked, that was true, but more than that, he didn’t want Jiang Yao to be ridiculed and have his reputation ruined because of him.
“Don’t worry,” Jiang Yao said as he used his free hand to gently rub Luo Xiao's head. His action seemed so natural and gentle that the ones who saw it knew that this was a gesture he had done multiple times in the past.
The man who had spoken out had been fearful at the start, but when he heard the girly boy plead for his life, he calmed down. He was calm even as Jiang Yao lifted his hand and a ray of light shot out. The attack penetrated the middle-aged man’s skull.
He never even noticed what had happened; his eyes were open in wonder as he collapsed to the ground. He had been killed with a casual wave of the hand!
This middle-aged man was the strongest cultivator within the village, but he had been killed so casually.
Moments after, Luo Xiao felt nauseous as he looked at the corpse. He felt no pity for the man, but he felt sick to his stomach because every time he saw someone die, he was reminded of his trauma.
Ling Mo was silent. He never had any hope that this man could cause any problems. He knew his death was assured. Everything had gone exactly as he had expected, but he had to thank the man for helping him.
Had he not jumped out the moment he did, then it was likely that he would have lost his calm and been the one who caused a ruckus, ending in his death.
Jiang Yao looked at the sleeping Luo Xiao. He was still a mortal and only at the Low Earth Rank. Although he could cultivate whenever he wanted, he still needed to eat and sleep to keep his body functioning.
Jiang Yao stared, mesmerized by Luo Xiao’s appearance. It was as if no matter how much he looked at this younger boy, he could never get enough.
Right now, Luo Xiao was deep asleep. He never spoke much when Ling Mo was around, but as soon as it was just him and Jiang Yao, he threw away all signs of pretense and said exactly what was on his mind.
This honest boy was a welcome change to Jiang Yao’s life of schemes and dishonest people, who would do anything to benefit themselves.
As he looked at the sleeping Luo Xiao, Jiang Yao noticed that some dust had settled on one of his eyelashes, and he couldn’t help leaning forward to observe it closer.
His eyelashes were so long and beautifully curved. They were even more beautiful than any women’s eyelashes Jiang Yao had ever seen.
Jiang Yao moved his face so close to Luo Xiao that he could feel the younger male’s breath on his face. It warmed him up and sent shivers through his body.
He felt electrified; it was as if this feeling would make him lose his calm. He didn’t know what it was he wanted to do, but before he had the time to think about it, Luo Xiao opened his eyes which were still cloudy from sleep.
However before he had time to wake up, his eyes widened in surprise. He tried to sit up from the shock of looking into the most alluring and handsome face he had ever seen, especially so close.
The results were as expected, his sudden movement caused Luo Xiao’s forehead to hit Jiang Yao’s face, and soon a red, swollen bump appeared. This caused Luo Xiao to sit with his head cradled in his arms whimpering in pain.
Seeing the miserable expression on Luo Xiao’s face, Jiang Yao couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He had not felt any pain from the impact as his body was many times tougher than Luo Xiao’s. Such a small collision could not cause Jiang Yao any harm.
“Don’t laugh,” Luo Xiao muttered grudgingly, as he glared fiercely at Jiang Yao.
“I’m sorry,” Jiang Yao said as he realized that it was indeed a little improper for him to be laughing like this when it was his fault in the first place.
“Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?” he continued teasing Luo Xiao, who couldn’t handle it anymore and stuck out his tongue at Jiang Yao.
Unfortunately, little did Luo Xiao know that such a gesture just made Jiang Yao even more amused. Just how old was Luo Xiao? That was something a child would do, not a fifteen-year-old youth.
Jiang Yao was puzzled. Why was he entranced by the appearance of a small child? He had seen every handsome and beautiful creature in the world, but none of them had caused him to be so fascinated by them before. But, just now, Luo Xiao succeeded with just his sleeping face, and he hadn’t even made an effort to be cute.
Jiang Yao didn’t know why this young man made his otherwise dull life filled with color, and he could suddenly overcome things that seemed impossible before.
Luo Xiao was petrified when Jiang Yao asked if he should kiss it to make it better, but then he saw that Jiang Yao was thinking deeply and breathed a sigh of relief. It was likely he would forget about the matter when he woke from his thoughts.
If Luo Xiao had known that Jiang Yao was thinking deeply because of his feelings for him, then he would have been frightened to death and so embarrassed that he dared not show his face in front of Jiang Yao for some time. But he didn’t know therefore he started packing and tidying up the room so they could set out. They were after all in a hurry to reach this legendary Moon Anise.
When they were about to leave, the duo met up with Ling Mo at the counter to check out. Ling Mo was as uncharacteristically silent as he had been the day before.
Jiang Yao was as cuddly with Luo Xiao as he could be. He touched him all over, held him by the shoulder, and they walked together out of the inn, but no matter how touchy he was, Ling Mo completely ignored them.
Although Jiang Yao was slightly disappointed by Ling Mo’s lack of reaction, he did not feel too bad since he was able to touch Luo Xiao as he pleased.
Why do I feel this way? Jiang Yao thought to himself. Once again he was stuck wondering about why he was so keen on touching and spending time with Luo Xiao. Why was he so overprotective and gentle with him.
It wasn’t that Jiang Yao was dumb, but he had never been in love before. He had lived for a millennia, but he had never experienced the feelings he was experiencing now.
Since he had never experienced anything like this, and no one had taught him what real love was, he was at a loss. It had never crossed his mind that he could fall in love with a mere mortal, much less someone he had known for such a short time. For this reason, love was never on his mind.
Not until now. I want to touch him and be by his side every second. I want to keep him safe from all harm and tease him so I can see his cute reactions, he thought.
Did it really happen to me? he thought, feeling confused while taking a long glance at the young man.
Luo Xiao walked by his side, holding hands with Jiang Yao while they walked out of the village as he had done throughout their whole trip, but for the first time, Jiang Yao felt how his hand was getting warm, and a comfortable feeling spread from his hand through his entire body.
I don’t know what love is, but isn’t it described like this? A deep feeling of affection towards someone? Isn’t that exactly how I am feeling about Xiaoxiao?
Jiang Yao was utterly stunned, and thinking about this, he stopped in his tracks. He noticed that when he stopped, Luo Xiao also stopped, naturally since they were holding hands. The young man looked at him with eyes that sparkled like gems, displaying his confusion as to why he had stopped.
Jiang Yao did not think about what he did, he just dragged Luo Xiao into his embrace and buried his face in his hair smelling the scent of Luo Xiao. His heart swelled with joy, and he suddenly realized all the changes that had happened to him since he had met this young man.
At first, he had taken an interest in him, but he knew that at that time it was just an excuse. The moment he had laid eyes on Luo Xiao, his heart had been captured.
This useless young man that couldn’t handle life alone was without a doubt so dear to him that he couldn’t contain it, but he also knew that he should not tell Luo Xiao yet.
Who cares, right now he is acting like my lover. I’ll just never let him stop and eventually change it from an act into reality, Jiang Yao thought with a smirk on his face.
It never occurred to him that Luo Xiao might not share his feelings. He believed that if he continued to treat him well, then the younger man would eventually fall for him too.
Ling Mo frowned when he saw this sudden display of affection in front of him, but he said nothing. He just waited for Jiang Yao to let go of the boy he had in his arms.
“Jiang Yao?” Luo Xiao called his name with a trembling voice. He was thoroughly embarrassed and also surprised. Why was he suddenly so affectionate towards him? This gentleness made his heart beat faster.
“Just a little longer,” Jiang Yao muttered in Luo Xiao’s hair, and after hanging on to him for a bit, he finally straightened up and helped the younger man straighten out his hair.
“Why would you do that?” Luo Xiao asked furiously, “I just did my hair! I didn’t think you were so deprived that you need to assault me in the middle of the street.”
Usually, Luo Xiao would have said nothing since they were pretending to be lovers, but this was indeed over the top and so embarrassing that he couldn’t help but scold the other man.
“I might be sexually deprived,” Jiang Yao smirked as he looked into Luo Xiao’s eyes. This caused Luo Xiao’s heart to beat rapidly, and fear snuck into his eyes. Was he just messing with him?
Seeing his stunned expression, Jiang Yao chuckled, “Don’t worry,” he said gently, “I’m just messing with you. But you smell so good, it’s impossible for me not to want to smell you all the time.”
Hearing this, Luo Xiao was even more embarrassed and decided it was getting to be too much. Their actions had caused a whole scene, and many had stopped on the street to watch. Many of the townspeople were listening in on their conversation, including Ling Mo.
It sounded like a lovers drama, but thinking of this, it just made Ling Mo even angrier. For them, to banter like this while he was with them, was it not too disrespectful?
Luo Xiao had no face to stay in the village any longer, and he dragged Jiang Yao away as fast as he could. He had his head down and dared not look at anyone they passed.
Jiang Yao felt much calmer now that he understood his emotions, and they left the village continuing on their journey.
A handful of days went by like this. Every night would be spent in an inn at various towns and villages, and Jiang Yao would use every excuse he had to be close to Luo Xiao.
Luo Xiao noticed that he was getting more and more persistent and that the touching and teasing would continue even when it was only the two of them.
He came to the conclusion that Jiang Yao had taken a liking to teasing him as much as he could, that he enjoyed seeing his flustered face.
Luo Xiao was not completely wrong. Jiang Yao did enjoy watching him when he was embarrassed; he liked seeing all the various expressions that Luo Xiao would make.
He enjoyed seeing him fighting back like a meek kitten, trying his very best to avoid all these situations that made him so embarrassed.
As time went on, Luo Xiao became more outspoken and less scared of Jiang Yao. He came to feel that this man was his only rock in a chaotic sea. He now felt that Jiang Yao was the only one he could trust, but he felt that the man was too hateful.
Embarrassing him time and time again just for his own amusement made him bear a grudge, but he could never get anything for his injustice, instead, Jiang Yao continued to take advantage of him.
After being on the road for close to two weeks, the group finally arrived at the Chengzi Empire where the Moon Anise was rumored to be located.
The group had been traveling for two weeks just to reach the Chengzi Empire. This showed how vast the continent of Tiandi truly was. Both the Empire of Chengzi and the Kingdom of Zhanshi were on the edge of the continent and considered backwater countries. They were not far from one another, but it still took this long to travel from one to the other.
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