Surprise! The Straight Man Long Aotian Actually Steals the Villain's Skirt - Chapter 14: The Saint of Southern Border Obsessed with Gu Poison 14

Chapter 14: The Saint of Southern Border Obsessed with Gu Poison 14

Two hours later.

Lu Yi quietly left the bamboo house and went to the lakeside to wash up.

When he returned to the bedside, the person who had been lying properly on the bed was now sprawled out in sleep.

A bare foot extended from the silk curtain, and the quilt had been kicked to the floor.

With a complicated expression, Lu Yi walked to the nearby wardrobe, fetched a clean set of bedding, and covered Xie Rong with it.

He sat by the bed, gazing down at Xie Rong’s face.

The soft flesh on one side of his cheek was pressed with a faint red mark, and his slender, pale fingers were curled into loose fists like a baby’s.

This wicked, ill-tempered demon actually looked so adorable in his sleep.

The corner of Lu Yi’s mouth twitched upward, but he quickly suppressed his smile as he came to his senses.

Damn it, how could he find a little demon adorable?

It must be the effect of the Love Gu.

At first, there were only rumors among the drug slaves that one night, after Lu Yi was summoned to the bamboo house by Xie Rong, he never returned to the small hut to sleep.

But Lu Yi wasn’t one to talk much; he kept his mouth shut tightly, and no one dared to probe in front of Xie Rong.

It wasn’t until one morning when Song Qingming went to the bamboo house to attend to the Valley Master’s awakening that he found Lu Yi answering the door.

The two ended up fighting fiercely in front of the bamboo house, and the situation escalated.

Before entering the valley, Song Qingming had been nothing more than a scholar who wielded a brush. How could he possibly defeat Lu Yi, whose body was toned with robust muscles? Not only was he beaten black and blue in just a few moves, but Xie Rong, who had woken up, witnessed the entire scene.

Xie Rong didn’t care for rules; the only rule in the valley was that whatever he said went.

He enjoyed watching dogs fight, especially those arrogant nobles from Shangyun Capital who had once held themselves so high.

But in the eyes of the drug slaves, this only confirmed Lu Yi’s status as a male favorite.

When he first arrived in the valley, he had hypocritically advised them to be prepared for rescue, yet in such a short time, he had climbed into the Valley Master’s bed himself.

Disgusting! Shameless!

Some even tried to stir up trouble in front of Jin Jiuzhou, the cold-eyed young general.

Young General, in terms of masculinity, you’re no worse than that Lu Yi. If the Valley Master is picking male favorites, why does he only have eyes for him?

The topic of male love, which was only whispered about in Shangyun Capital, had become a coveted prize in the mouths of these people.

Did these fools even remember that they had been abducted into Rosy Valley to serve as slaves? Utterly ridiculous!

Jin Jiuzhou overturned the dining table and sneered, What do you take me for? How can a shallow character like Lu Yi even be compared to me?

Several noble sons, exhausted after a day’s labor and finally able to eat a hot meal, now held their bowls with no dishes left. Furious, they retorted, We were just teasing you. Why such an extreme reaction? Did we hit a sore spot?

I already said no! Jin Jiuzhou stormed out.

Besides, it was that demon who repeatedly flirted with him in front of Lu Yi, trying to make him a concubine.

Not a chance!

Jin Jiuzhou strode away angrily, but when he suddenly looked up, he realized he had already reached the front of the bamboo house.

That shallow character happened to be walking out of the bamboo house, carrying a bundle of clothes in his hands.

When the people from the capital find a way to cure the Gu poison, it will be the downfall of Rosy Valley. You may have curried favor with that demon, but you’ve still been kicked out, Jin Jiuzhou said coldly, lifting his chin as he approached. I will report your actions in the valley truthfully to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

I have never conspired with anyone. The innocent need not fear scrutiny. You may proceed as you wish, Young General, Lu Yi said expressionlessly, carrying his bundle as he walked past Xie Rong.

Within a day, everyone in the valley knew Lu Yi had been expelled from the bamboo house by the Valley Master. In just five days, Lu Yi had fallen from favor.

The Valley Master of Rosy Valley had always been temperamental, clearly not one for lasting attachments—a fact Lu Yi deeply understood.

Except that he kept finding himself distracted.

He would space out while working in the fields, while chopping wood, and even while laundering the devil’s clothes—accidentally ruining that garish little vest of his.

Normally, by this point, Xie Rong would have either whipped him or slapped him across the face as punishment.

Yet three or four days after ruining the clothing, the little devil had yet to lose his temper. It was truly unbelievable.

By the seventh day after the incident, Lu Yi began to sense something unusual.

Not only was Xie Rong absent from supervising their daytime fieldwork, but he hadn’t even summoned Lu Yi for the usual three daily foot washings. Lu Yi had even deliberately lingered outside the bamboo house, yet saw no other men being called to attend to the devil’s needs.

Tonight, after keeping watch for another two hours, Lu Yi told himself he was merely gathering intelligence for the Swift Feather Guard, thus justifying his actions. Just as he was about to leave, he spotted Song Qingming and a drug slave stopping outside the bamboo house, carrying a food container and conversing in hushed tones.

The Valley Master has shut himself in the bamboo house for seven days and nights. The meals delivered daily remain untouched. Could something be wrong? the drug slave hesitantly asked.

Song Qingming’s expression turned stern. Do not inquire into the Valley Master’s affairs.

The two departed together.

Lu Yi leaped down from Xie Rong’s favorite orange tree, brushed the dust from his shoulders, and approached the bamboo house, gently knocking on the door.

After three knocks—which would typically have prompted the man to open the door and reprimand him—there was no response from within.

The instincts of a Swift Feather Guard pricked at his mind like needles. Without a second thought, Lu Yi kicked the door open.

The room was empty, only hanging bamboo tubes swaying gently in the breeze.

Xie Rong was not in the bamboo house.

Where could he be?

Rosy Valley was vast—where would he go?

Lu Yi began searching frantically.

He dared not examine why he felt such urgency. Scaling walls and vaulting over rooftops, he pushed his qinggong to its limits. Every hour, he would pause on a tree to catch his breath, lick his parched lips, and resume the search.

He practically turned the entire Rosy Valley upside down.

Arriving at the lakeside, Lu Yi gradually halted his steps.

A person was leaning against the rocks by the shore.

Clad only in a layer of sheer purple gauze, the intricate silver ornaments usually adorning their hair were all removed and placed on the rocks.

Dark tresses cascaded down, clinging wetly to their back along with the translucent fabric.

They had drawn up two pale, straight legs, the waterline covering their body, leaving only knees and chest exposed.

Lu Yi stared blankly before snapping back to awareness. Taking a few steps closer, he finally saw—

Several pythons thicker than Xie Rong’s arms were coiled around his waist, shoulders, and calves, slithering between his thighs. Xie Rong’s right hand rose slowly to stroke one serpent’s head while the other snakes nuzzled against his chest.

Lu Yi strode decisively to the shore about three yards from Xie Rong. The moment his eyes clearly registered the scene, his pupils constricted violently.

The figure in the lake was tilting his head back slightly, lips pallid, eyelids shut—already unconscious. A fresh cut marred his chest, from which threads of blood seeped forth, only to be lapped away by the flickering tongues of several black pythons.

Long before infiltrating Rosy Valley, Lu Yi had already uncovered clues linking this matter to the southern border’s Gu poison. Thus, he had secretly studied numerous obscure records in the Swift Feather Guard’s archives.

For instance, when southern sorcerers raise Gu, Child Gu are always fed with the blood of Drug slaves. Only the Mother Gu requires direct nurturing by the Gu King.

The more powerful the Mother Gu, the greater its appetite.

Those snakes refined into Gu were clearly treating Xie Rong as their mother, demanding nourishment from her.

In other words, Xie Rong had actually refined herself into the Gu King.