My Arch-Nemesis is the R-Rated Male Lead - Chapter 9

Lu Rong felt a chilly breeze on the crown of her head, giving her the strange illusion she was going bald.

She reached up and touched her head, still feeling odd. Zhou Li almost never leaves the Xuan Yang Sect, she thought; it’s highly unlikely to be him.

It must be her own imagination.

It was probably because she’d been having indecent fantasies about Zhou Li every single day lately, leading to this terrifying hallucination.

She subconsciously smacked her own forehead.

“Do the two young ladies only require two superior rooms?” the man who had led them in turned and asked them gently.

Qiu Ling was eyeing the inn’s decor; even the vases looked priceless. “How much silver for three rooms for two nights?”

Lu Rong was also worried about this, afraid of being overcharged. “We truly don’t have much money.”

“You dared to walk in here without money?” A clear, crisp voice piped up from the direction of the counter.

Lu Rong and Qiu Ling looked at the speaker—a girl with delicate, lovely features who appeared to be about eleven or twelve. Propping her chin in her hand, she adopted a cute and innocent air. “So, have you two sisters run into some trouble? My brother here is just very kind-hearted; he brings back all sorts of people.”

The little girl spoke with a beaming smile, but her round, unblinking eyes remained fixed on the two of them, which was eerily unsettling. Moreover, the hostility in her eyes was obvious, as if two uninvited guests had trespassed onto her territory.

“A’Jiao, don’t be rude,” the man reprimanded, then said to Lu Rong, “My younger sister is young and has offended you both. I offer my apologies on her behalf.”

“Brother, I see these two sisters are from the immortal sects. They shouldn’t be short on money for lodging, right?” A’Jiao waved the abacus in her hand. “A superior room is five thousand gold. Three rooms for two nights would be thirty thousand.”

Seeing the little girl’s arrogant manner, Lu Rong was so angry she wanted to rush over and fight her. Clearly, in this regard, Qiu Ling was even more impulsive than her.

She walked up to the little girl, sword in hand, and slammed her palm on the counter with a bang. In a cold voice, she said, “It was your brother who said there were cheap rooms. That’s why we came in.”

“Oh, so in the end, you can’t even afford thirty thousand gold?” Though young, A’Jiao showed not a hint of fear in the face of adults. Moreover, these words were undeniably true, leaving Lu Rong and Qiu Ling with no way to refute them. Even if they sold themselves off right now, they truly wouldn’t fetch that much!

“A’Jiao.” The man’s tone carried clear displeasure. He even lifted a corner of his veil, his gaze icy as he looked at the little girl.

“Brother! They’re definitely like those cultivators—here specifically to scam food and drink. You’re the only one who’d believe them!” A’Jiao retorted angrily.

Lu Rong scoffed, “You…” 

She’d even rolled up her sleeves, ready to debate this little girl on what “poor in wealth but not in spirit” truly meant.

Just then, a tall, slender figure swept past her, bringing a chill with it, and stopped before the counter. With an air of indifference, he pulled a heavy gold bar from his sleeve.

“I’ll take it all.” His cold voice cut through the dead silence.

Lu Rong looked at the man who had pulled out the gold bar, her pupils contracting slightly. It was actually Zhou Li!

What was he doing here?

No, wait—where did he get so much money?!

How could a sword cultivator have so much money!!

[Could it be he killed a rich person and inherited their fortune?]

[Or did he seduce a rich woman?]

Zhou Li: “……” What nonsense was filling her head?

Zhou Li’s appearance stunned the little girl for a moment, but the child had strong composure. She reached out, picked up the gold bar, and scoffed lightly, “One isn’t enough.”

Then, Zhou Li pulled out a worn-out bag and tossed it onto the table. “How many do you want?”

His calm tone made it sound like he was asking how many gold she needed, but that bag of his was stuffed full of gold bars!

Gold bars!

Lu Rong and Qiu Ling stared, their eyes widening considerably.

The God of Wealth!

Lu Rong abruptly rushed forward and clamped her hand over the little girl’s as she reached for the gold bars. “We only want three rooms!”

As she spoke, she forcibly took back Zhou Li’s bag of gold bars, shoved it back against his chest, and didn’t let the other party take a single one.

“And besides, we are not here to freeload!” Lu Rong was emboldened now, her voice considerably louder.

The little girl’s face darkened, and she still wanted to say more.

“A’Jiao, you’ve been too outrageous today. Get back inside!” The man was truly furious this time. A cold shout from him made the little girl’s face turn pale.

But the little girl still retorted defiantly, “Anyway, none of these cultivators are any good!”

Having said that, she grabbed her abacus and ran off. Lu Rong watched her flee faster than a rabbit, a skill likely honed from frequently getting beaten for being a troublemaker.

“I apologize. Some unpleasant incidents occurred before, and A’Jiao became a bit extreme,” the man explained urgently, his tone full of remorse. “A while back, some cultivator disciples used demon-hunting as a pretext to stay at our inn and made a complete mess. A’Jiao, being childlike in nature, assumed you were like them, ignorant of worldly matters, and thus offended you all.”

Qiu Ling, the best at navigating social situations, said, “It’s fine. Children still need more discipline and proper guidance.”

Meanwhile, Lu Rong was behind them, eyeing the gold bars in Zhou Li’s embrace with envy. Where on earth did this guy get so much money? She wondered. Could it be his “wife savings”?

Lu Rong remembered she had used his “wife’s sword” last time, and now she was using his “wife’s savings.” It seems she’d been clashing a bit with his “wife” lately.

“Hmm?” Zhou Li looked at her, his gaze calm but carrying a hint of confusion.

“Hmm, what?” Lu Rong retorted.

“Your hand.” Zhou Li lowered his gaze to the front of his own person, and only then did Lu Rong realize her hand was still pressing the bag of gold bars against his chest.

[Wow, I think I can feel his pectoral muscles. The texture must be really nice. A little squeeze…]

Zhou Li: “……”

Hastily, he pinched her sleeve to pull her hand away from his body, then instantly relocated to the highest point of the restaurant, putting a barrier between himself and the erotic nonsense in her head.

Lu Rong: “???” No, why does he look like he’s been defiled!

Zhou Li’s voice floated over from a distance. “Rooms.” He had no interest in this man’s explanation.

Hearing Venerable Jian say this, Qiu Ling also hurriedly said, “Let us get settled in first.”

“Alright,” the other party agreed, then introduced himself. “My surname is Mo, my courtesy name is Jianlan. You may call me Jianlan. I will arrange three superior rooms for you now. If you have any other needs, just instruct the restaurant staff.”

The surname Mo… Lu Rong inexplicably thought of that very annoying Mo Chou.

“Thank you, Young Master Mo,” Qiu Ling replied with polite reserve.

Mo Jianlan had someone arrange three rooms for them, then handed the gold bars back to Lu Rong. “My father and the Sect Leader of the Xuan Yang Sect are as close as brothers. Disciples of the Xuan Yang Sect are therefore our honored guests. These are unnecessary.”

Lu Rong refused. “No need. Our Xuan Yang Sect can afford it. Moreover, the Sect Leader has instructed us to rely on ourselves when outside and not to incur unclear debts of gratitude.”

“Are you still upset, young lady?” Mo Jianlan seemed genuinely anxious. He even reached up and removed his veiled hat, revealing a gentle, scholarly face with a hint of melancholy in his eyes. It was indeed an extremely beautiful face.

In the mortal world, such a face would make many people flock to him.

Lu Rong and Qiu Ling were stunned for a moment. In the end, it was Zhou Li who uttered a light, dismissive phrase: “No need.”

After speaking, he looked at Lu Rong, who was still staring at the other man. He couldn’t hear her thoughts at the moment. Pressing his lips together, he called out coldly, “Lu Rong.”

Only then did Lu Rong snap out of her daze and hurriedly say, “It’s nothing, nothing.” Having said that, she pulled Qiu Ling along, took the room key, and got on the “dragon ladder” to go up.

The dragon ladder was similar to an elevator, but more rudimentary. All three rooms were on the highest floor.

Holding her sword, Qiu Ling stood inside the dragon ladder, thinking of Mo Jianlan’s face earlier, and asked mysteriously, “Did you notice anything?”

Lu Rong nodded. “Good figure. Long legs, narrow waist, broad shoulders. A very standard handsome-man physique.”

Qiu Ling: “……Who asked you about that!”

Lu Rong looked at her blankly. “Then what did you want to ask me?”

“Was he using a ‘handsome-man ploy’ on us by taking off his hat at the end?” Qiu Ling analyzed calmly.

Lu Rong: “Hehe, He really is beautiful.”

Qiu Ling slapped her on the head. “How can you be so easily bewitched by good looks?”

“No! He has a certain… aura about him.”

“What aura?” Qiu Ling asked curiously.

“Hard to describe. It’s like the fragile, helpless feeling of someone who’s been abused. To put it simply, it’s like he was just… done all night.”

“What is wrong with your head?!” Qiu Ling slapped her head again.

Lu Rong also felt this sensation was peculiar, as if it were a deliberately emitted signal. It felt like a conscious attempt to seduce her.

She touched her head, and her fingertip unintentionally caught on the hair ribbon, pulling it loose. She had no choice but to take it off completely, winding it around her finger to reattach later.

Zhou Li leaned against the top-floor pillar of gold-inlaid carved jade, holding his own sword, his expression detached as he watched Lu Rong step out of the dragon ladder.

His gaze inadvertently fell upon her fingertips.

He saw her plain, pale, slender fingers wound with coil after coil of peach-pink hair ribbon.

His gaze suddenly turned cold. Before, when he stood at a distance, he had only seen that the color in her hair was similar to that of the hair ribbon in his dream.

Now, seeing it up close, he realized the color was identical to the one from his dream.

So… was she the woman from his dream?

He stood up and walked straight over. Watching his sudden advance, Lu Rong instinctively retreated. “You—what are you doing?”

Zhou Li half-lowered his gaze to the hair ribbon between her fingers. With a slight flick of his fingertip, the ribbon was in his hand. “Yours?”

“Yeah,” Lu Rong said, not understanding why he’d suddenly snatched her thing. She reached out to take it back.

He stared at her face as if trying to bore a hole through her with his gaze.

Under such a stare, Lu Rong didn’t dare move a muscle. What does he want? She thought.

Qiu Ling, probably sensing the tension between them, hurriedly said, “I’ll go to my room first.” Having said that, she promptly fled.

Seeing no one else was around, Lu Rong made a move to snatch it back. “Are you crazy? Stealing my hair ribbon!”

[If you steal my things again, watch out, or I’ll give you a bondage play!]

The moment the thought finished, the hair ribbon flew from Zhou Li’s hand, winding around her two slender, pale wrists, pulling them together behind her back, and tightening securely.

Instantly losing her balance, she fell against him, her chin knocking against his collarbone.

In her heart, she was utterly shocked.

Holy crap, he—he actually started a bondage play with me!!!

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