My Arch-Nemesis is the R-Rated Male Lead - Chapter 18

Lu Rong felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest under his gaze, while Qiu Ling was so startled she even forgot how to fly and began plummeting downward with her in tow.

Zhou Li flicked a finger, and a force pulled the two falling figures directly back, settling them slowly onto a thick tree branch.

Lu Rong wasn’t standing very steadily and swayed slightly, only for her wrist to be caught by a cool palm.

Zhou Li’s hand could completely encircle her wrist. Lu Rong felt his slightly cool palm pressed against her wrist bone, slowly warming.

Just like his expression, it visibly lost several degrees of its gloom.

Although she still had no idea what he had been displeased about.

Once Lu Rong was steady, Zhou Li withdrew his hand and resumed his previous lazy posture of leaning against the tree with his sword. His eyes swept over the two of them with indifference, as if looking at a pair of useless little creatures.

Qiu Ling, not expecting to fall while flying, asked awkwardly, “Venerable Jian, what are you doing here?”

“I have business here.” Zhou Li’s answers were always this brief.

Lu Rong looked at him suspiciously.

[Has he come here to eavesdrop on people again and learn?]

[Hehehe, he’s so perverted.]

Zhou Li, recalling Lu Rong and Qiu Ling’s earlier conversation, realized exactly what she meant by “observing and learning.”

He directly tapped the hilt of his sword lightly against her head.

Lu Rong was stunned for a moment after being tapped, her eyes going wide and round as she stared at him in surprise. “Why did you hit me?”

Zhou Li thought back to when Lin Zetian had tapped her head earlier. She hadn’t asked him that question.

“There was a bug.” Zhou Li’s two casually uttered words made Lu Rong’s face pale several shades. She hurriedly leaned in close to him. “Did you get it?”

“Mhm.” Following the line from the top of her head, Zhou Li’s gaze fell on her slightly open collar, and he instinctively looked away.

Seeing his disinterested attitude, Lu Rong curled her lip.

[So annoying, ahhh! Giving someone the cold shoulder like that!]

Zhou Li was utterly baffled by this sudden accusation that popped into his mind.

Helplessly, he turned his gaze back to her. “I got it.”

“Oh.” Lu Rong snorted inwardly, deciding not to make an issue of it.

From the side, Qiu Ling observed the atmosphere between the two and felt something was… a little different somehow.

Did they seem… closer?

Qiu Ling’s eyes shifted to Zhou Li. She had the distinct feeling Venerable Jian didn’t even dare let his gaze rest on Lu Rong.

Tsk tsk tsk. Something’s going on here.

Qiu Ling asked from the side, “Venerable Jian, we plan to go find Mo Jianlan. Will you come with us?”

Zhou Li: “I’m not going.”

Lu Rong had anticipated this refusal. Zhou Li preferred to operate alone.

“We can manage on our own,” Lu Rong retorted, unwilling to back down.

Zhou Li offered no comment, merely leaning there, his gaze so indifferent it seemed nothing could affect his mood.

But his presence did affect Lu Rong’s mood. She and Qiu Ling had come up here to observe the situation inside Mo Jianlan’s courtyard, but now with him beside them, it felt like having a stern instructor watching their every move.

The result was that both she and Qiu Ling were left rather mind-blank, like two silly birds squatting on a branch.

“Mo Jianlan is over there,” Zhou Li said, perhaps unable to bear watching any longer. He lifted his chin slightly, pointing in the opposite direction of their gaze. “Tinglan Garden.”

Lu Rong: “…”

Qiu Ling: “…”

The two looked at each other, seeing the other’s clear yet utterly foolish expression, and averted their gaze in unison.

They had suffered a monumental loss of face.

“Thank you, Venerable Jian,” Qiu Ling said awkwardly. Meanwhile, Lu Rong was muttering to herself.

[So embarrassing, so embarrassing.]

Zhou Li hadn’t expected her to feel embarrassed. He could see her face still wore a very defiant expression. It really was all an act.

Lu Rong felt like she was constantly making a fool of herself in front of Zhou Li and wished she could just run far, far away.

Thankfully, Qiu Ling was savvy enough to immediately fly off with her, leaving Zhou Li behind in the tree.

Once the two of them had landed stealthily in Tinglan Garden, Qiu Ling sent her a telepathic message: “I bet Venerable Jian was laughing at us for being so useless just now.”

Lu Rong sighed. “He wouldn’t. In his eyes, no one isn’t useless. Even my dad is useless to him. So he wouldn’t laugh at us for being useless, he’d just laugh at us for being stupid.”

Qiu Ling gave an approving thumbs-up. “No wonder you’re his childhood… mortal enemy.”

Lu Rong stroked her chin. “I think he showed up in that tree to secretly study bedroom techniques.”

Then Qiu Ling pressed her head down, forcing her to look forward. “You’re the one who wants to study them!”

Lu Rong said shyly, “Well, it was a scene of human-snake entanglement, after all. Hehe.”

But there was no entanglement to be seen now. Qiu Ling made her look around the deep, shadowy surroundings.

“I smell demonic energy,” Lu Rong whispered.

“It’s inside the building. Take me in to look,” Qiu Ling said, glancing at Bailidun talisman in Lu Rong’s hand.

Lu Rong took her directly into the warded room. Inside was a pool of bloody water. The surface and the surrounding area were covered with talismanic seals, as if suppressing something.

The dim interior was saturated with demonic energy and carried a strange, cloying fragrance. In the quiet room, the sound of two people talking reached them.

“You lied to me!” A woman’s voice, soft yet carrying unmistakable anger.

Lu Rong and Qiu Ling both looked toward the screen separating them from the pool, where they could see two figures confronting each other.

“A’Miao, believe me. I will avenge you.” It was Mo Jianlan’s voice.

Lu Rong and Qiu Ling exchanged a glance, both wondering: Who is this ‘A’Miao’ that Mo Jianlan keeps mentioning?

Considering the intimacy between Mo Jianlan and A’Miao, and the fact that the room was saturated with demonic energy, Lu Rong realized this A’Miao was likely the snake demon they had seen yesterday.

Snake demons could assume human form once they reached a certain level of cultivation.

A’Miao took a step back. “No. You’re using me.”

“A’Miao!” Mo Jianlan’s voice held a trace of anger now. “If I were using you, would I have told A’Jiao to drive those cultivator disciples away? I was worried they would discover your existence!”

Lu Rong thought of that arrogant younger sister. So that was why Mo Jianlan and she had been putting on that act back and forth.

Turns out they were playing good cop, bad cop to try and get rid of them.

If Zhou Li hadn’t paid for their stay, the three of them would have definitely left and couldn’t be bothered with the Mo family’s affairs.

Later, it was just a series of coincidences that entangled them further.

It seemed Zhou Li really had known what was going on the moment he arrived in Luo City.

“You’re afraid they’ll discover this place!” A’Miao looked around. “You secretly used the Yin-Yang Spring’s source to set up a formation. No wonder the Mo family’s business has flourished more and more under your management all these years.”

A’Miao let out a cold laugh. “Mo Jianlan, I misjudged you.”

As she finished speaking, her face was filled with murderous intent. “Today, I must take the spring’s source away.”

As the words left her mouth, a thick, lengthy snake tail shot out from the darkness and suddenly coiled around Mo Jianlan.

The tip of the tail clamped directly around Mo Jianlan’s throat. In the end, Mo Jianlan was merely a mortal. Unable to resist, he was flung away by the snake tail.

The ground trembled. Qiu Ling wanted to draw her sword and intervene, but Lu Rong hurriedly pulled her back. “I’m afraid it’s another act put on for our benefit.”

Qiu Ling also withdrew her hand and continued watching the two figures arguing not far away.

“The demon race may be fickle, but we do not tolerate betrayal.” A’Miao’s snake tail, as thick as a bowl’s mouth, lashed directly toward Mo Jianlan.

Mo Jianlan probably realized A’Miao had killing intent. “A’Miao!” he shouted. The snake tail, which had been about to smash down viciously, hesitated for a moment. He even managed to grab hold of its tip.

The moment he grasped that spot, A’Miao’s energy suddenly became erratic.

Her tail twisted uncontrollably. Along with it, the killing aura around her dissipated. She even collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, and cursed, “Despicable!”

Lu Rong asked, “What happened?”

Qiu Ling, who hadn’t understood at first, now discerned the situation from observing A’Miao and Mo Jianlan.

“A’Miao must have entered her mating season,” Qiu Ling transmitted to her telepathically. “A demon’s mating season can be influenced by many factors—climate, contracts, even specific parts of their body. Once it’s triggered, they are controlled by physical instinct, lose their reason, become very vulnerable, and are easily manipulated.”

Lu Rong was not unfamiliar with the term “mating season,” but this was the first time she was witnessing firsthand what a demon in its throes was truly like.

A’Miao, her tail controlled by Mo Jianlan, seemed to have all her strength drained. She curled up on the ground, her face flushed, her hands tearing at her clothes as if enduring some immense sensation.

Mo Jianlan, however, calmly walked to her side and picked her up. “A’Miao, you need me.I won’t hurt you. Just stay by my side and be good.”

A’Miao was now utterly controlled by lust, incapable of rational thought. She could only wrap her tail around Mo Jianlan’s arm and eagerly press her lips to his, offering herself with urgency.

A triumphant smile played on Mo Jianlan’s face. He picked A’Miao up and carried her straight out. The door opened and then closed, leaving the room in silence once more.

Qiu Ling and Lu Rong hadn’t expected to witness this scene, but it also allowed them to clearly see that Mo Jianlan was indeed different from the persona he presented.

An unfavored child who suddenly reversed his fortunes could not possibly be a kind-hearted person.

A’Miao was nothing but Mo Jianlan’s pawn.

The two of them emerged from the shadows and looked at the talismanic seals surrounding them and the blood-red pool water.

“A’Ling, why is this water red?” Lu Rong asked curiously.

“Just now, A’Miao said this is the Yin-Yang Spring’s source. The source seems to have a feedback mechanism. He probably puts his own blood into it so the spring’s spiritual energy feeds back to him.”

Lu Rong: “He’s just a mortal. How does he know all this? Could there be someone behind him?”

Qiu Ling couldn’t tell for now either. She tugged at her collar. “Why do I feel so hot all of a sudden?”

Hearing this, Lu Rong also started to feel a bit warm.

“This is bad. A’Miao just went into her mating season. Her aura might be affecting us too.” Qiu Ling hurriedly covered her mouth and nose. “We need to get out, quick!”

Lu Rong pulled at her, trying to leave, but the Bailidun technique seemed to have stopped working. The two of them actually couldn’t get out.

“We’re done for. We can’t get out.” Lu Rong was frantic, her forehead beading with fine sweat.

The air was still thick with the sweet, cloying scent of arousal, heavy with desire.

Lu Rong tore off her jade token and started calling for help.

Zhou Li was leaning against the tree, watching Mo Jianlan return carrying A’Miao. The commotion from inside the room reached his ears, but his eyes didn’t so much as flicker.

However, he was aware of A’Miao’s earlier loss of control and was pondering it.

Could the mating season truly make someone lose their reason to such an extent?

Zhou Li inwardly denied it. How could mere lust completely override rational thought?

The jade plaque hanging at his waist lit up at that moment. He tapped it open unhurriedly, but his movements quickened slightly upon seeing the characters ‘Lu Xiaorong’ floating above it.

Zhou Li shifted into a more comfortable position, the furrow between his brows smoothing out as he reached to open her message.

[Lu Xiaorong: Zhou Li, help! Help! I can’t get out!]

[Zhou: Mhm.]

[Lu Xiaorong: Mhm what?!]

[Zhou: Figured.]

[Xiaorong: ……Shut up! Come save me!]

After firing off this string of messages to Zhou Li, Lu Rong turned to Qiu Ling and declared indignantly, “I’ll only beg him this once!”

Qiu Ling had held her breath in time, and the dry heat inside her had already dissipated. She turned to look at Lu Rong and saw her face was flushed with an unnatural redness.

Qiu Ling’s heart gave a jolt. Had she been affected after all?

In that case… she might end up begging him more than once.

Lu Rong felt unbearably hot all over. Even her thin clothes felt scalding against her skin.

“Why hasn’t Zhou Li come yet?” Her legs felt weak, and she swayed. A hand first grabbed the back of her neck, almost failing to steady her, but Bing Lie, timely propped up her lower back, supporting her.

“I’m here.” Zhou Li’s low, cool voice reached her. Lu Rong looked up at him and mumbled, “You’re so slow.” Her voice was faint and soft.

“Don’t act coy. Stand properly.” Zhou Li straightened her up, swept a glance over their surroundings, and brought both of them back to the inn.

Once they landed, Lu Rong’s legs went completely weak. Her very breath felt hot, and she had the sensation of running a fever.

She wanted to tell A’Ling she wasn’t feeling right, but a cold hand touched her forehead first.

“Did she inhale a lot of the snake demon’s mating-season aura?” Zhou Li asked Qiu Ling.

“Yes,” Qiu Ling replied, extremely embarrassed. “I’ll go prepare a bucket of cold water for her! Venerable Jian, could you help me get her into her room?”

Qiu Ling hurried off to busy herself, leaving only the dazed Lu Rong and Zhou Li behind.

Lu Rong’s mind was foggy. Subconsciously, she liked this cold hand and pressed closer to it, like a kitten rubbing its forehead against his palm. A constant buzzing rang in her ears.

[System restoration at 99.7%. Initiating main quest ahead of schedule.]

[Main Quest One: Induce the male lead to enter his mating season…]

Induce…

Lu Rong looked up at his face. Her gaze fell upon it, then followed the line of his high nose bridge to settle on his lips.

Was it like how Mo Jianlan had kissed A’Miao?

Zhou Li led her back into the room, noticing her fixed stare. “Hmm?”

Lu Rong rose onto her tiptoes, her fingertips brushing against his lips.

Zhou Li didn’t move. His ink-dark pupils were fixed on her face as it drew closer.

What… did she want to do?

He was puzzled. Yet the fingertip resting against his lip seemed to want to pry open the seam of his lips.

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