My Arch-Nemesis is the R-Rated Male Lead - Chapter 17

Lu Rong stared at the marks for a while but couldn’t make out what had left them.

However, thinking that Zhou Li had been by her side at the time, probably nothing bad had happened.

Most likely, she had been entangled by the human-faced snake in the end.

She lowered her head and applied medicine to the marks on her body. This medicine had probably cost Zhou Li a fortune, but it was quite effective. After applying it, she felt the red marks fade a lot, though it still stung a bit when she touched the chafed skin.

The pain made her grimace, and she muttered incessantly in her heart.

Zhou Li’s mind began to buzz again.

[That bastard who tangled me up, you’d better hope I don’t catch you, or I’ll definitely chop that thing of yours into pieces!]

[Ahhh, it hurts so much, it hurts!]

[Zhou Li didn’t even think to heal my wounds. How detestable.]

[Wait, no—if he healed my wounds, wouldn’t that mean he’d have to look at my chest? Ah, he’s such a pervert.]

Zhou Li: “…???”

He had previously thought Lu Rong was sharp-tongued, but now it seemed she also liked to fabricate things out of thin air.

Yet he had clearly treated her wounds last night. He didn’t know why it hadn’t worked.

Her cries of pain still echoed in his ears. Zhou Li’s brows furrowed slightly, but he still reached out and drew a magic seal in his palm. Instantly, the pain from Lu Rong’s body transferred to his own chest.

The slight, prickling sting of the medicine was nothing to Zhou Li.

[Hey, it doesn’t hurt anymore! This medicine is amazing.]

Hearing this, Zhou Li’s expression relaxed. He thought, if it doesn’t hurt, she probably won’t keep muttering.

But he still underestimated the richness of Lu Rong’s inner world.

[My chest is so pretty! So white, so soft, and so full—perfect.]

[Zhou Li’s palm is so big, he definitely couldn’t hold it all in one hand.]

Zhou Li wished he could mute his own brain. What was she thinking about all day?

But the spiritual energy she had left in his body yesterday hadn’t dissipated yet, and he had no way to block out these filthy thoughts.

He could only pray that Lu Rong wouldn’t start fantasizing about any concrete scenarios.

Yet as images came flooding into his mind, he was once again certain: Lu Rong’s mind was truly filthy.

Uncontrollably, an image of a snow-white chest surfaced in his mind. The broad palm covering it was not as fair as her skin, and its knuckles truly couldn’t grasp it all even when clenched.

He closed his eyes, trying not to look.

But he couldn’t close his mind. His hand clenched subconsciously, as if trying to convince himself it was all an illusion.

Yet the tactile sensation he had felt last night perfectly overlapped with the scene in his mind.

His palm was burning, as if reminding him this was probably not a fantasy, but a real touch.

His heart was forced into a frantic rhythm.

What on earth was she doing?!

Zhou Li sprang to his feet, strode out, walked to Qiu Ling’s door, and knocked.

The image in his mind vanished abruptly. He secretly let out a sigh of relief, his tense back pressing against his clothes, only then realizing with a start that he was covered in a hot sweat.

A moment later, Lu Rong poked her head out, her face still flushed with an unnatural redness.

When she saw who was at the door, her face grew even redder, and her eyes held a trace of guilt. “What do you want?”

“You should practice your swordsmanship.” Zhou Li felt she should do something proper.

Lu Rong: “???” Was he a dog or something?!

“I don’t know you.” With that, she slammed the door shut.

Zhou Li: “……”

Lu Rong ignored Zhou Li’s sudden fit of insanity and lay back down on the bed, her body feeling somewhat restless. Her thoughts had gotten a bit too heated just now, and now her pants were a little damp.

She kicked away the blanket she’d been tangled in, got up, and went to change her clothes.

After putting on a new dress and casually tying up her hair, she suddenly remembered that her peach blossom hair ribbon had been snatched by Zhou Li, and he still hadn’t returned it.

Qiu Ling waited for Lu Rong downstairs for a bit. Seeing she hadn’t come down, she came up to find her.

“Young Miss, what are you still doing?” Qiu Ling pushed the door open and saw Lu Rong still preening. “Are we going to take care of business or not?”

“Going!” Lu Rong hurriedly got up and followed Qiu Ling out. “Where are we going to catch someone?”

Inside his room, hearing the sound of Lu Rong leaving, Zhou Li’s defensive posture finally relaxed.

He picked up Bing Lie, his heart settling into calm, and began to wipe his sword.

If that white snake failed to locate the spring’s source tonight, he would directly destroy the Yin-Yang Spring.

All he wanted was the result.

***

Lu Rong followed Qiu Ling and Senior Brother Lin as they left the inn.

Senior Brother Lin asked, “Venerable Jian isn’t coming with us?”

Qiu Ling looked at Lu Rong, who was still puzzling over why Zhou Li hadn’t returned her hair ribbon since he had it. Qiu Ling gave her shoulder a light pat. “She’s asking you a question.”

Lu Rong snapped back to attention. “He probably already knows what’s going on.”

Zhou Li was so clever; he likely understood roughly what had happened the moment he set foot in this place. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken her to the Mo residence to eavesdrop on Mo Jianlan.

“And besides, do you really think he’d mingle with a crowd?” Lu Rong retorted. Both Qiu Ling and Senior Brother Lin looked at her.

“He only travels as a pair with you,” Qiu Ling said with a smile.

Lu Rong clicked her tongue. “A’Ling, you’re so improper.”

Qiu Ling: “…What are you thinking! I meant he only goes out with you!”

Lu Rong, flustered, immediately said, “I don’t want to go anywhere with him either.”

Having said that, she started urging them on. “Let’s go, let’s go. We need to wrap this up quickly. I still want to attend the Spring Banquet.”

Qiu Ling mercilessly informed her, “The Spring Banquet started last night. It ends tomorrow evening.”

Lu Rong: “???”

It was a disaster! Did that mean she had missed out on a wealth of handsome-man material? No wonder so many men had flocked to East Street last night.

“Let’s try to wrap this up tonight so we can play all day tomorrow.” Seeing Lu Rong’s utterly dejected look, Senior Brother Lin chuckled and tapped her on the head.

After tapping her, he felt a cold, piercing gaze land on his back. He turned to look but saw no one.

Lu Rong rubbed the spot where she’d been tapped and also sensed the chilling stare. She had recently noticed someone was always watching her from behind.

She didn’t know who it was, acting so sneaky. Since she hadn’t detected any murderous intent, she hadn’t bothered to use a magic treasure to identify this shady character.

After saying this, the three of them left East Street. Zhou Li stood by the window, watching the receding figures of the three.

Bing Lie hovered beside him and said, “Master, you’re worried about her.”

Zhou Li turned to look at it and flicked it away. “I am not.”

“Master, I can sense all of your emotions.”

Zhou Li: “…Shut up.”

Bing Lie curled itself into a ball, then unfurled again. “Master, remember to take me with you when you follow them later.”

Zhou Li closed his eyes. Why had Bing Lie become so annoyingly chatty after just one encounter with Lu Rong?

She really was a corrupting influence on everything.

He didn’t actually want to follow them, yet a sense of unease lingered in his heart.

The Mo residence itself wasn’t dangerous. The danger lay with the person who was refining the human-faced snake and those other demonic creatures.

Zhou Li was waiting for that person to appear. As soon as the white snake located the spring’s source, that individual would undoubtedly show up to interfere.

Zhou Li glanced at the jade communication plaque at his waist, noticing a faint glow.

He reached out and picked it up, thinking it was a message from Lu Rong, but upon opening it slightly, he saw it was from Lu Wen.

[Xuan Yang Sect Patriarch: Li’er, I sense rampant demonic energy in Luo City. Have you encountered any danger?]

[Zhou: No. Ends tonight.]

[Xuan Yang Sect Patriarch: Good. How is Rong’er?]

Zhou Li thought to himself that she was fine—her mind was just idly occupied with lecherous thoughts all day.

[Zhou: She is well.]

[Xuan Yang Sect Patriarch: I’ll trouble you to look after her. Rong’er is only one Heart Demon Tribulation away from successfully forming her Golden Core. I hope you can protect her through it.]

Lu Rong, who smiled like a flower every single day—what kind of inner demons could she possibly have?

[Xuan Yang Sect Patriarch: That child seems carefree on the surface, but she’s hiding something in her heart.]

Zhou Li had no desire to discuss it further and simply replied with an “Understood.”

He put away the jade plaque and called out, “Bing Lie.” The sword immediately flew into his hand. “Master, are you going to find Lu Rong?”

“No,” Zhou Li denied coldly, then flew off with his sword.

He was merely going to find the mastermind behind all this.

Lu Rong followed Qiu Ling and Senior Brother Lin into the Mo residence for the second time, but it wasn’t as effortless as when she had been with Zhou Li.

It was probably because the Mo family had some connection to the Xuan Yang Sect. The entire estate was protected by a barrier, likely set up by one of the Sect’s elders.

Ordinary people could come and go freely, but for those with cultivation like them, or for demons and ghosts, passing through was extremely difficult.

Although Qiu Ling and Senior Brother Lin’s cultivation levels were higher than hers, they were useless against this barrier.

They could only rely on Lu Rong’s Bailidun technique to get inside.

She could only bring one person at a time. Lu Rong first brought Qiu Ling in, then returned to fetch Senior Brother Lin.

Senior Brother Lin reached out and grabbed her wrist through her sleeve. Lu Rong noticed the way he held her wrist felt different from when Zhou Li did.

Zhou Li always gripped her wrist so tightly it was as if he wished he could leave a red mark branded into her skin.

“Senior Brother Lin, hold on tighter. I’m afraid I might not be able to keep hold of you,” Lu Rong reminded him.

“Your wrist is so slender. I’m afraid I might break it if I grip too hard.”

“It’s not that fragile,” Lu Rong said with a laugh, trying to bring Senior Brother Lin in. But she discovered the barrier had suddenly changed—they couldn’t enter at all.

Baffled, Lu Rong asked, “Why can’t we get in? Did the barrier change?”

“Try going in by yourself,” Senior Brother Lin suggested.

Lu Rong released him and tried entering alone. She found she could get in, but she couldn’t bring Senior Brother Lin with her.

With no immediate solution, Senior Brother Lin could only say, “Rongrong, you and A’Ling stay inside. I’ll keep watch out here.”

Lu Rong had no choice but to agree. “Then be careful, Senior Brother.”

She and Qiu Ling could only begin to sneak around and explore the Mo residence.

“Last time, Zhou Li and I went to Mo Jianlan’s quarters. There was a snake demon in his room,” Lu Rong whispered to Qiu Ling.

“A snake demon?” Qiu Ling pondered. “So Mo Jianlan is raising a snake demon to alter his own fortune?”

“Not sure. Also, he and that snake demon were… coupling.”

“You and Venerable Jian watched it together?” Qiu Ling asked curiously.

Lu Rong realized she had just exposed the fact that she and Zhou Li had been eavesdropping together and laughed guiltily.

“He probably didn’t look, but I did. It was very… stimulating. A human and a snake entangled, intensely erotic. I’m going to paint a picture like that when I get back. I’m sure lots of people will like it.” Lu Rong’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

Qiu Ling: “Using Venerable Jian as your reference?”

Lu Rong hadn’t considered that before, but with Qiu Ling’s reminder, an image inexplicably surfaced in her mind: a pitch-black, slender tail coiling around her.

She shuddered violently and hurriedly said, “Absolutely not! What I fear most are snakes. Using him as a reference would just double the terror!”

After speaking, she pointed to the tall tree where she and Zhou Li had stood before. “That’s where we watched from last time.”

Qiu Ling took her and flew over. Before the two of them even landed steadily, they saw Zhou Li, who had appeared at some unknown moment.

He was leaning against the tree, holding his sword, his expression dark and gloomy. A row of broken hearts floated above his head. His ink-black pupils were like venomous snakes slithering in the shadows, fixed silently on Lu Rong.

———————-

Author’s Note:

Senior Brother Lin sees Rongrong and Qiu Ling as younger sisters. He has no other feelings for them. [Rose]