Li Zhaoye was a good man.
Upright, kind-hearted, and always eager to help.
When Daoist Cangyue handed over an impossibly heavy Qiankun bag and swore an oath to gift a spiritual mountain, Li Zhaoye immediately slung an arm around his shoulders, declaring them brothers from different parents.
"Let’s keep in touch!" Li Zhaoye beamed like spring breeze.
Daoist Cangyue: "..."
Keep in touch, my %$#@ ass!
Clutching his tattered hairpiece, he abandoned his disciples from the Heavenly Dao Sect and fled.
Li Zhaoye stood where he was, waving cheerfully.
"Take care, watch your step!"
Luo Luo mimicked him, enthusiastically waving as well.
"Wait, no, no!" Feng Baiyan watched in frustration. "Why let him go? You already crippled his cultivation—why not finish him off?"
Li Zhaoye waved a hand. "He’s old. (Saving up this much spirit stones) wasn’t easy for him."
Feng Baiyan pressed, "Do you really think he won’t come back for revenge?"
Li Zhaoye and Luo Luo exchanged a glance, both wearing identical expressions of sheepishness. "Of course he will."
Feng Baiyan was baffled. "Then why let him leave?"
The two answered in unison—
"You can’t shear a sheep just once."
"You can’t harvest leeks just once."
Feng Baiyan: "..."
Unbelievable.
Back in the pavilion, Luo Luo slammed the door shut and eagerly crowded Li Zhaoye.
"How much, how much?"
Li Zhaoye clicked his tongue and pushed her forehead away. "Act like you’ve seen money before. Have some dignity."
He tossed the heavy Qiankun bag onto the table. "Here."
Luo Luo pounced, wrapping her arms around the giant bag and peering inside.
"Wow..."
Li Zhaoye tilted his chin up, pride gleaming in his eyes. "Spend as you like. Run out, and I’ll get you more!"
Luo Luo nodded vigorously. "Mhm!"
The twin swords at her waist, Qiushui and Changtian, jingled excitedly.
"Clang! Clang!"
The setting sun cast a warm glow, catching the light in her hair and eyes, reflecting in his gaze.
He lazily crossed his arms, watching the little money-mad girl meticulously count their spoils.
With a faint smirk, he pressed down on the restless swords.
Night fell by the time Luo Luo finally rubbed her sore neck and looked up, eyes gleaming at Li Zhaoye.
"We’re rich!"
His lips curled slightly. "Mhm."
The shadows under the eaves darkened his expression, lending him a dangerous aura.
Luo Luo belatedly realized—
The way he looked now… reminded her of the ghostly man who used to lurk behind her.
Her heart raced as he stepped closer, one slow step at a time.
Her breath hitched when he caged her against the window seat.
He leaned in, voice low and teasing.
"Luo Luo." His tone was icy, laced with mischief. "What’s that scent on you?"
Her mind automatically supplied the next line—
—Smells so good I could devour you.
Her heart skipped, then pounded wildly.
She had long been ready for him to claim her, but he never did, letting her grow bold.
Even if he wanted to, he’d only ever touched her.
Luo Luo wasn’t afraid—in fact, she was a little eager. They’d been too busy training lately, and he hadn’t laid a hand on her in ages.
Boldly, she pressed forward to kiss him.
But the moment her nose brushed his, she froze.
She had grown used to him being a corpse puppet—no breath, no warmth, no scent.
Yet now, his presence overwhelmed her.
That familiar, blazing, intoxicating scent—unmistakably Li Zhaoye’s.
He tilted his head and bit her lip.
Luo Luo gasped at the sting, her heart fluttering.
Their breaths tangled, passion clouding reason.
He found her hands gripping the seat, pinned them to the side, and claimed her lips with ruthless hunger.
His tongue invaded, plundering her breath, leaving her dizzy.
"Mmm…"
His lips crushed hers, stealing her air, making her pulse race.
She parted her lips instinctively, only giving him deeper access.
Between ragged breaths, he guided her hand downward.
His knee pressed between hers, crowding her against the seat.
Luo Luo’s fingers brushed something massive.
Her mind blanked.
He nipped her lip, voice rough with amusement. "Well?"
Heat flooded her face, burning her cheeks and ears.
Before she could speak, he bit her again, harder.
"Ah!"
He smirked. "That scary?"
Luo Luo: "..."
Her blood roared in her ears. The expensive new robes couldn’t hide his hardness.
He pressed his forehead to hers, eyes pitch-black with hunger.
Luo Luo whispered, "It’s so big… will it fit?"
Li Zhaoye nearly lost it.
Suppressing a grin, he growled, "Only one way to find out!"
He scooped her up and carried her toward the bed—
Just as a voice drifted in from outside.
"Senior Brother, Junior Sister!" Xu Junzhu called.
Li Zhaoye took a deep breath. "..."
The ghostly aura he’d suppressed earlier resurfaced.
Xu Junzhu had come to discuss the Heavenly Dao Sect.
With Daoist Cangyue’s defeat, concessions had to be made—returning seized territories, reparations, apologies, and written guarantees.
"You two handled this perfectly," Xu Junzhu praised. "Mercy is the mark of true leadership. If the Heavenly Dao Sect collapsed, the people would suffer."
Li Zhaoye: "Mostly, the old man didn’t deserve death."
Luo Luo: "And he paid enough."
Xu Junzhu: "..."
After seeing him off, Li Zhaoye was about to resume when another voice interrupted.
"Senior Brother, Junior Sister! Come roast—chickens—with us!"
Li Zhaoye: "..."
The last three words couldn’t have been more fitting.
Right now, he was burning up, blood boiling—roasting was exactly what he needed.
Through gritted teeth, he said, "Go ahead first."
"Alright! Hurry up!" Zhao Yu cheerfully waved.
Li Zhaoye glared at the mountain path.
No doubt, more interruptions were coming.
After a pause, he grabbed Luo Luo, tossed her over his shoulder, and declared, "Somewhere quiet!"
Luo Luo, suddenly upside-down: "..."
It had been years since he carried her like this!
They teleported through the night, arriving at an ancient seven-story pagoda.
Through the window, they slipped into the library.
This place hadn’t seen a visitor in centuries.
Li Zhaoye set Luo Luo down on the wooden floor, strode forward, and with practiced ease, picked the lock of the Forbidden Library’s yellow sandalwood door using a thin wire.
He tilted his head to beckon her. “Come in.”
Luo Luo: “…Oh.”
Stepping inside, she saw rows of neatly arranged bookshelves, interspersed with all kinds of forbidden texts—most of which were bizarre and risqué novels.
Thud.
The heavy sandalwood door shut behind her.
Suddenly, Li Zhaoye’s presence and shadow enveloped her.
The air grew thin, her breaths filled with his scent, seeping into her lungs and sending waves of tingling heat through her.
He took a step forward, cupped her chin, and tilted his head to claim her lips.
“Mmph!”
His scorching tongue invaded her mouth, his overwhelming presence drowning her.
A coolness brushed her shoulders as he swiftly tugged her robe down.
Her skin barely registered the chill before his burning body pressed against her.
He nipped at her lips, breathing heavily, murmuring shameless words while his hands roamed.
But then—Luo Luo caught a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye.
She frantically patted his chest. “Mmph! Mmph!”
Li Zhaoye exhaled sharply, narrowing his eyes in displeasure. “Hm?”
“P-People!” Luo Luo’s face burned with urgency.
Murder flashed in Li Zhaoye’s gaze.
He glanced sideways—only to see a wooden puppet.
Of course, the library had caretaker puppets to maintain order.
He chuckled darkly, leaning back over her. “No one’s here.”
Luo Luo shoved at him. “The puppet records everything it sees!”
Li Zhaoye bit her lower lip. “Let it record.”
A wicked idea struck him. He hoisted her up, her robes in disarray, and carried her right next to the puppet.
Mortified, Luo Luo pushed at him with one hand and the puppet with the other.
“…Huh?”
Her cultivation was too advanced now, her spiritual power overwhelming—so her accidental nudge activated the puppet’s playback function.
Li Zhaoye, who had been busy nibbling her neck, suddenly froze. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Qing Xu.
He slowly pulled back, glaring at the scene.
There sat the old man, alone by the window on a low reading couch, chewing on his brush, grinning like a fool as he scribbled furiously.
“Palace of Depths: That Beastly Divine Lord, Stay Away!”
“Yes! Perfect! This title’s the one!”
Qing Xu slapped his thigh in triumph, writing with renewed vigor.
Li Zhaoye and Luo Luo exchanged a glance before flanking him to peer at his work.
A quick skim revealed pages littered with words like passion, desire, jade, burning, beast…
Li Zhaoye: “…”
Luo Luo: “…”
After a long silence, they stared at each other, dumbfounded.
So this was where their master had learned… those things.
The scene shifted.
Now Qing Xu was scribbling “Against Heaven’s Will: Three Men and a Woman in a Dark Room—Days and Nights of Debauchery!”
Luo Luo: “…No wonder.”
The events in the Divine Seal Temple had been impossible for outsiders to witness—yet she and Li Zhaoye had already read about them.
So he was the author. Of course.
Her gaze drifted to the inkstone on the desk.
When she looked back at the old man, he was alternating between sobbing, cackling, howling like a beastly lord, and groveling like a victim.
“Oh—” Luo Luo understood. “He practices the Thousand Faces Deception Path. To master it, he must embody countless roles and emotions. That’s why he hides here to write.”
At the peak of his inspiration, Qing Xu leapt up and rolled around like a donkey on the floor.
Li Zhaoye and Luo Luo twitched at the sight.
Another shift in the scene.
This time, Qing Xu sat primly.
Curious, Luo Luo leaned in—and gasped. “Wow, he even writes fake history!”
Qing Xu gnawed on his brush. “The Three Lords are equally infamous, but smearing Taiyi Tianyin is too easy… Let’s slander Zhang Jing instead! As for the Sage—since no one remembers him, no need to summon his ghost. Heeheehee…”
The moon dipped westward, and the vision faded.
Leaving Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye staring at each other.
Luo Luo eyed the puppet, her tone dry. “Still want it to record?”
Li Zhaoye: “…”
If that old man ever learned someone might unearth this footage, he’d claw his way out of the grave to destroy it.
Thud!
Li Zhaoye grabbed the puppet and hurled it out the window.
Bang!
The wooden shutters slammed shut behind it.
