Chapter 5: My Husband Has a Great Body

Chapter 5: My Husband Has a Great Body

Yan Huaixuan immediately scolded, "Absurd. Get out. Is that all you ever think about?"

Shen Lian wasn't angered. Meeting Yan Huaixuan's gaze, he merely raised an eyebrow. "Aww, is my husband shy?"

"Getting all worked up over a few words—don't tell me you're inexperienced?"

Yan Huaixuan: "..."

Before Yan Huaixuan could speak again, Shen Lian rose slightly. "I'll go sleep outside and stand guard for you, hubby."

He finished speaking, then suddenly reached out and touched Yan Huaixuan's waist.

A faint blush spread across his cheeks. "My husband has a great body."

Yan Huaixuan froze. He could clearly feel a hand groping around his lower abdomen.

By the time he reacted, Shen Lian had already pulled his hand back and was getting ready to leave.

Ling Yun couldn't help but remark, "This Shen Lian... no wonder he could juggle eight guys. The guy's got game."

Yan Huaixuan frowned slightly as he watched Shen Lian turn to leave. He'd originally planned to use a spell, but then thought better of it and just grabbed the man's wrist.

Shen Lian stumbled, caught off guard by the tug. He turned around to look at Yan Huaixuan, about to raise a smile. "What, did my husband change his mind—"

Before he could finish, someone shoved a thick book into his hands. The cover had two big characters on it: *The Book of Rites*.

Shen Lian: "?"

Yan Huaixuan glanced at him. "You have three days to copy the Book of Rites."

Shen Lian: "?"

And besides—here he was, a total hottie, stripping off his clothes and throwing himself at him, and Yan Huaixuan didn't even blink. And on top of that, he wanted Shen Lian to copy the Book of Rites?

Shen Lian suddenly felt that Yan Huaixuan was harder to deal with than all those other guys. Was this for real?

Shen Lian snorted. "I'm not copying it. I can't even read."

Yan Huaixuan said flatly, "Copy it first, and then I'll teach you how to read. If you don't finish in three days—"

He glanced at Shen Lian. "I'll take away all your sugar cakes."

Shen Lian's eyes widened. "How do you know about the sugar cakes..."

Since coming to this world, there wasn't a single thing he really liked to eat. The only thing he loved was the sugar cake that tasted almost exactly like the one from his hometown. He had to eat one every single day just to feel a tiny bit satisfied.

How did Yan Huaixuan know?

"Don't worry about how I know. Just know that I'll take them all away—" Yan Huaixuan raised an eyebrow. "And I'll also tell the eunuchs outside not to bring you any."

"You—" Shen Lian gritted his teeth but was helpless.

This Yan Huaixuan—he'd thought the guy was a proper gentleman, but he was full of sneaky tricks!

Seeing Shen Lian's puffed-up, angry face—so different from the deliberately obedient, people-pleasing act he usually put on, with a hint of real irritation that made his whole face light up—

"Fine, I'll copy the damn thing!" Shen Lian hugged the book and turned to leave, stomping heavily on the ground as if he were furious.

For some reason, the corner of Yan Huaixuan's lips curled into a faint smile.

Ling Yun: "Master, did you just smile?"

Yan Huaixuan paused, pressed his lips into a thin line, and said coolly, "Copying the book will keep him out of my hair for three days. I need to meditate and break through in my cultivation. Keep watch for me."

"Yes!"

With that, Yan Huaixuan closed his eyes and went back to meditating.

Meanwhile, Shen Lian, now outside, had a hint of a smile in his eyes.

This Dragon Proud Heaven... was weirdly... kind of innocent? His body had actually gone stiff when Shen Lian touched him.

And more importantly, his body was actually pretty damn good? It was just that he was so upright he was rigid. Looking at the thick *Book of Rites* in his hands, full of nothing but tedious formalities and etiquette rules.

The text was also obscure and hard to understand. Just looking at it made Shen Lian's head spin. He tossed the book aside.

Compared to copying that book, he had way more important things to do tonight.

He was going to seal the deal with Yan Huaixuan.

That way, he could up his chances of Yan Huaixuan taking him along for the ascension.

But before heading out, Shen Lian's gaze swept over Eunuch Gu, who was strolling nearby, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Do I have any points right now?"

The system hummed in affirmation. Shen Lian had even earned some points just from getting Yan Huaixuan to talk to him.

"I want to redeem something."

After the redemption confirmation sounded in his mind, Shen Lian smoothed his hair and walked over with a beaming smile. "Eunuch Gu."

Seeing it was him, Eunuch Gu spoke in a shrill voice, "What does Your Ladyship require?"

Shen Lian chuckled. "What could I possibly require?"

"I just came to thank you, Eunuch Gu."

Eunuch Gu accepted the thanks without a hint of shame. "Whatever Your Ladyship commands, this servant will do even if it kills him."

Shen Lian kept a smile on his face.

On the inside: "I'll f*cking kill you, you stinking b*stard."

The system saw the ninety percent censorship rate on his words and found it weird—who would've thought Shen Lian could curse like that, given how he looks.

Shen Lian made small talk with Eunuch Gu while subtly wiggling his fingertips. As he left, he casually brushed against the hem of Eunuch Gu's robe, then walked off.

About fifteen minutes later, Shen Lian heard a young eunuch's panicked voice from that direction: "Eunuch Gu? What's wrong?"

"Oh no! Eunuch Gu looks like he had a stroke? His mouth is all crooked and his eyes are all messed up?"

Shen Lian stood by the corner of the wall, a gentle smile on his face, then turned to boil some hot water and gathered a bunch of flower petals.

Getting ready to soak himself until he was thoroughly infused with fragrance.

The system tsked. The drug Shen Lian had exchanged for could cause a stroke—totally unheard of.

"You really don't let anything slide, do you?"

Shen Lian kept the same smile plastered on his face. "That's the only way to stay alive, right?"

Before the system could speak, Shen Lian suddenly seemed thoughtful. "Don't you think I'd fit right into the cultivation world?"

A world where the weak get eaten alive by the strong.

The system furrowed its brow. "What are you thinking? Once the task is done, you have to go back."

Shen Lian shrugged. "Just kidding."

Yan Huaixuan was deep in meditation on the bed, when Ling Yun, floating midair, suddenly opened its eyes.

It flew out and spotted Shen Lian wearing nothing but his underclothes.

His intentions were obvious.

Disgust flickered in Ling Yun's eyes. Knowing its master was at a critical point in his cultivation, it just knocked Shen Lian out. Shen Lian, who was about to crawl into bed, only felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck before hitting the floor.

Ling Yun snorted with laughter.

Its master was the Supreme of the Emotionless Dao. Even if everything started over, it had no doubt its master could find the path again.

But this Shen Lian was just a mortal, and he dared to touch its master?

Once the noise outside died down, Yan Huaixuan went back to meditating.

When Shen Lian woke up the next morning, his whole body was shaking. His face was pale, and his throat felt like it was on fire.

But more importantly, why was he on the floor?

"What happened to me?"

The system in his head also furrowed its brow. "You just blacked out last night."

Shen Lian frowned almost imperceptibly, his head spinning. He touched his forehead and realized he was running a fever.

Even though the summer night was hot, he'd slept on the ground in his underclothes all night and caught a cold.

"Am I really that weak?"

How did he just pass out like that?

The system said flatly, "No idea."

Shen Lian hadn't expected the system to say anything helpful anyway. Once he started cultivating immortality, he'd get this thing out of his head.

Back in the room, Yan Huaixuan slowly opened his eyes and instinctively checked the sky.

Ling Yun asked, "What's the matter, Master?"

Yan Huaixuan paused, then withdrew his gaze. "Nothing."

Ling Yun swayed its blade. "Though it's been unusually quiet this morning. Before, that Shen Lian would have been here bright and early to fawn over you. Last night he brought it on himself—he's probably quite ill by now."

Yan Huaixuan suddenly spoke, frowning in confusion. "Quite ill? What happened?"

Hadn't he been lively and well just last night?

Ling Yun nodded. "Last night he came in his undergarments to climb into your bed, so I knocked him out."

"Shen Lian lay on the ground all night. When he woke this morning, I saw his steps were unsteady and his face was pale—he must have caught a chill."

It was about to say that someone like Shen Lian dared to try to cling to Yan Huaixuan.

But then it saw Yan Huaixuan suddenly rise to his feet.