Surprise! The Straight Man Long Aotian Actually Steals the Villain's Skirt - Chapter 21: The Saint of Southern Border Obsessed with Gu Poison 21

Chapter 21: The Saint of Southern Border Obsessed with Gu Poison 21

A peculiar couple had recently arrived in Bishan Village.

Both members of the pair were men—one robust and clearly suited for farm work, the other young with fair skin and striking beauty, wearing different outfits and hair accessories daily, more captivating than the Bodhisattva enshrined in the temple!

Many bachelors in the village, itching with curiosity, would deliberately pass by the family’s courtyard, often catching sight of the delicate beauty brandishing a feather duster, scolding and striking the tall man, who knelt silently on the ground like a dull gourd, utterly uninteresting.

Over six months, whenever they encountered the man heading out to the fields, no matter how warmly they greeted him, he maintained a wooden expression. Strangely, the courtyard wall seemed to have grown even taller.

Early this morning, before dawn, the candles in that house were lit again.

In Bishan Village, candles were a rarity, affordable to only a few households, yet this particular home burned them from morning till night.

By chance, they heard from the old man selling candles at the market that the young wife of the house needed light to comb his hair every morning—without it, his part would be crooked—and he also required illumination for reading and bathing day and night.

Good heavens! Firewood was meant for cooking—who could afford the luxury of heating water for two baths daily? How could anyone live like that?

Whispering among themselves, the men watched as the man shouldered his bow and arrows to hunt in the hills. Sneaking over to the towering green wall, they peered through the crack in the courtyard gate.

Inside, two tangerine trees stood on either side. A youth, clad in a short vest that bared his waist, silver ornaments jingling on his head and body, reclined in a rocking chair under the left tree, propping his head up as he feigned sleep.

His jade-like feet were dazzlingly white, droplets still glistening on his faintly pink toes, clearly fresh from a bath.

The men stared, transfixed, swallowing hard and jostling eagerly forward.

With a sudden crash, the loosely shut gate gave way, sending them tumbling to the ground in a heap.

The figure under the tree turned at the noise. Their already dark faces flushed crimson as they lined up in a row. Though they had just mocked the man as dull, now, enveloped by the approaching fragrance, these burly fellows couldn’t utter a word.

[Host, they’re peeping at you!]

Xie Rong looked them over and curled his lips.

They were all excellent candidates for Gu cultivation.

Although Lu Yi tirelessly fed him Yang energy every night, continuing even when it overflowed, leaving his belly full, Xie Rong no longer lacked Yang energy for Gu cultivation. But after years of raising Gu, the more men he had for refining Gu, the better.

He glanced sideways, noticing several snakes in the closed bamboo hut restless to seek him out, but they retreated silently under his sharp gaze.

Though this place was poor and rundown, it had no shortage of snakes.

Over the past six months, Xie Rong had Lu Yi capture all the snakes from the village’s back hills, and now he had many snake babies again.

Recently, Xie Rong had learned some hospitality customs, particularly taking a keen interest in brewing tea. He asked the men to wait in the courtyard and went inside to prepare tea.

The waiting men glanced around anxiously, but before they could savor the beauty’s tea, the man who had just left unexpectedly returned!

What are you doing in my courtyard? Lu Yi frowned, his expression fierce as he demanded, Get out.

By the time Xie Rong emerged carrying tea containing the Insect Egg, only Lu Yi remained in the courtyard, having returned after leaving.

Xie Rong lifted the teacup and splashed the hot tea onto the man.

Are you angry? Lu Yi stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

Xie Rong withdrew his hand and slapped him across the face. Go catch snakes and stop bothering me.

Is my Yang energy not enough for you? Lu Yi persisted relentlessly, his large hand clasping Xie Rong’s waist and pinning him against the door. Their Yang energy isn’t as good as mine.

Xie Rong replied impatiently, Why have you come back again?

Lu Yi fell silent for a moment. Earlier at the market, I saw a squad of Swift Feather Guards conducting door-to-door searches. We…

Suddenly, Xie Rong’s vision went black, and he collapsed into Lu Yi’s arms, unconscious.

Xie Rong?!

When Xie Rong awoke, the sky remained just as gloomy.

Rubbing his temples, he tried to force himself up but found his limbs weak, collapsing back helplessly into the soft bedding.

[Detected plot has completely deviated. System has initiated forced extraction.]

[Forced extraction countdown: 3 days, 2 hours, 35 minutes, 10 seconds]

[Host must maximize protagonist’s Pain Value before countdown ends, otherwise extraction will fail, leaving host permanently trapped in this world.]

Xie Rong’s face showed no expression, maintaining his languid composure.

The dull thuds of fists and kicks echoed from outside. Xie Rong forced himself to crawl to the window and pushed it open—a simple action that left him breathless and weak, leaning against the wall.

Is this how you take care of him?! Under the tangerine tree, Jin Jiuzhou—who had arrived at some unknown time—slammed his fist into Lu Yi’s face. If I’d known it would come to this, I should’ve hidden him in the Jin residence! At least he wouldn’t be living in this wretched place, reduced to this state!

Xie Rong frowned.

What was wrong with his current state? Was he ugly?

He turned to look at the bronze mirror on the table.

The reflection wasn’t ugly—just pale lips completely devoid of color, truly the picture of someone short-lived.

Oh, back when his cultivation was destroyed in his previous life, he had looked like this too.

Thinking of it now, he felt somewhat nostalgic.

Xie Rong suddenly began coughing weakly.

The two men fighting outside immediately stopped and rushed into the room.

Xie Rong, how are you? Jin Jiuzhou shoved Lu Yi aside, his dog-like eyes red and pleading as he stared. Do you still recognize me?

Back in Rosy Valley, there had been too many men to count—he feared Xie Rong might not remember him.

Before Xie Rong could answer, Jin Jiuzhou continued, Xie Rong, the Empress Dowager has gone mad.

Hmm?

Jin Jiuzhou recounted the events of the past six months.

The Empress Dowager had desperately searched for the Saint of Southern Border without success. The court had grown restless with longstanding grievances when, at this critical moment, Liu Zhanyi stepped forward, claiming to be the Saint of Southern Border and offering to create an Immortality technique for the Empress Dowager.

Initially, the Empress Dowager grew visibly younger day by day, even ceasing her pursuit of Xie Rong and Lu Yi, the defiant fugitive couple who had challenged her.

But just one month ago, the Empress Dowager’s face began to fester, with Insect Eggs even crawling out from her wounds.

When she sent guards to capture Liu Zhanyi, they found the man had already become a corpse occupied by Gu worms.

The old-timers in the palace said this was retribution.

Ten years ago, the newly regent Empress Dowager, seeking to command her subjects’ allegiance, attempted to refine an Evil insect to control minds. She secretly captured the Southern Border Saintess to force her into Gu cultivation. However, the Saintess proved unyielding, choosing to starve herself to death rather than comply.

Ten years later, the Empress Dowager once again sought to capture the Saint of the Southern Border to brew the Immortality insect for herself. Little did she know that the Saint had already uncovered the truth of what happened years ago and had come specifically to avenge his mother—a true cycle of karma.

Now, with the Empress Dowager suffering from Gu worm backlash and nearing death, the Emperor reclaimed power. Remembering the still-fleeing commander, he issued an edict pardoning Lu Yi and ordered Jin Jiuzhou to retrieve him. As long as Lu Yi returned, he would be reinstated to his former position.