Rest In A Demon’s Embrace

Chapter 17 - Borrowing A Knife

When Ling Mo looked around the bedroom, he found that the room was identical to his own, but what drew his attention was the one bed placed at the end of the room.

Lying on top of this bed was Jiang Yao and Luo Xiao, both seemingly in a deep sleep. Jiang Yao was lying on his back and had both of his arms around Luo Xiao’s waist.

Luo Xiao, on the other hand, used Jiang Yao’s chest as a pillow, his head rising and falling with the same rhythm as Jiang Yao’s breathing.

His lips were slightly parted, showing a row of beautiful teeth, and his eyes fluttered beneath his heavy eyelids, showing that he was dreaming.

Luo Xiao’s arms which he didn’t know what to do with when he went to sleep were now resting on Jiang Yao’s chest. All in all, it was the perfect sight of two lovers in a deep sleep.

Ling Mo had never expected that Jiang Yao would actually be sleeping. As a cultivator, he didn’t need to sleep, but nonetheless, he was indulging himself in the feeling of sleeping together with his lover, just for the sake of having him in his arms.

Seeing this sight, Ling Mo’s face turned ugly, but he knew better than to get any closer. Although Jiang Yao had no barrier present, he was after all a powerful cultivator. Just his presence being nearby would wake him up.

Since Luo Xiao was lying in his arms, it was impossible for him to act against him right now. With a last long, penetrating glance filled with hatred, he left the room and relocked the door behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Jiang Yao’s eyes opened narrowly, and a smile rose to life on his face. He tightened his hold on the young boy in his arms and heard a small mutter of complaint escape the lips of the young man.

Looking down at him, Jiang Yao truly felt at peace when this young one was in his arms, but he couldn’t explain why it just felt natural and right.

Luo Xiao was the only one who didn’t notice the nightly visitor. He slept so deeply that he noticed nothing and his cultivation base was so weak that he could not sense Ling Mo either.

Although Ling Mo knew that Jiang Yao was strong, he didn’t know exactly how strong he was. He didn’t know the difference between their strength either.

It was only because of this ignorance that Ling Mo dared enter his room when he saw that there was no barrier. He was completely ignorant of the fact that Jiang Yao needed no barrier to sense other people when he himself was present.

Ling Mo was upset. He had been bitter from the first moment he had met Luo Xiao, but after careful consideration, he thought that they were not actually lovers. Unfortunately, the sight that met him when he entered the room proved otherwise.

Now he wanted nothing more than to kill Luo Xiao, “I know he will not like me, but if he cannot be friendly with me, then he shouldn’t be friends with anyone!” Ling Mo said with a sneer.

“The Jiang Yao I heard so much about would never be friends with anyone; he would never care about anyone either!”

“I want him to stay aloof from the world. I want him to stay the man I look up to. Right now he is a mere fool, falling head over heels for such a weak mortal. Them having a relationship is nothing more than a joke!” he continued.

The final hope in Ling Mo’s heart had shattered. He’d hoped that Jiang Yao was really just abusing Luo Xiao for his own amusement but seeing the sight that greeted him when he entered their room, his final hope had vanished without a trace.

Everything seemed to be true. They truly were lovers, not just bed partners, but lovers. The tender way Jiang Yao held Luo Xiao was proof enough of this.

Had they just been bed partners then he could have ignored it. Jiang Yao was alluring and attractive. He had many such partners in the past, so having succumbed to fleshly desire because of finding a beautiful face was nothing embarrassing, but if feelings were involved, then things would become much more challenging.

“I should tell his brothers and sisters,” Ling Mo muttered to himself. “When I accomplish my aim of finding the Moon Anise for his Highness, then I will return to the capital right away and inform them that their cruelest brother has a weakness.”

“If I cannot benefit from a relationship with him, I’ll just be friendly with the other prince and princesses. “

“They have been searching for his weak point for years, and now it has finally been found!”

“I won’t even have to lift my hand; the others will kill that disgusting Luo Xiao on their own. I won’t even be drawn into the aftermath because it will have nothing to do with me.”

“And when he is gone, Jiang Yao will bathe the world in blood. Then, after he is done, he will return to the aloof and carefree man he was before.”

Ling Mo muttered to himself in his room. What he didn’t know was that Jiang Yao could hear him as clear as day, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

At the start, he had only invited Ling Mo because his brothers had recommended exactly this soul cultivator, but when he found his own Astral Soul he had no more use for him.

He knew that Ling Mo would try to ingratiate himself with him. Otherwise, there was no point in joining the trip, but who could have known he would be as stubborn and obsessed as he was?

Jiang Yao had seen many obsessed people before, and the majority of them had some previous interactions with him, but Ling Mo was almost a complete stranger.

It had to be said that they had, at most, met three or four times in their lives and every time was just a brief encounter. They shared no bond of friendship, and they couldn’t even be considered acquaintances.

Jiang Yao never expected that he would become this obsessed. That Ling Mo would try to kill Luo Xiao with everything he had, and he was getting more and more frustrated.

He wanted nothing more than to just kill Ling Mo. He wanted to get rid of him once and for all, but he had already agreed to let Luo Xiao do it, so he needed a good reason to act.

This was also the reason he caused Luo Xiao such embarrassment making him lie in his arms. He had a feeling that Ling Mo was onto their trick of pretending to be lovers, so he would definitely come and observe.

If he walked in and they were awake, then he would come up with some excuse about mistaking their rooms or something. Even if it sounded like an excuse, he would risk it for the sake of getting an answer.

Seeing them lying together in bed, in such an intimate fashion, deeply asleep, was actually what Jiang Yao wanted.

He knew that Ling Mo had very little self-control and was incapable of holding back when his anger rushed to his head. For this reason, he hoped that the stronger soul cultivator would launch an attack against Luo Xiao and give him a reason to kill him. That was all under the premise of saving Luo Xiao.

But things had not gone as Jiang Yao expected. Ling Mo was able to calm himself down and left the room. But the words he heard Ling Mo say to himself afterwards were enough to cause Jiang Yao to almost disregard his promise completely.

So Ling Mo was going to use Jiang Yao’s own family to kill his cute little Astral Soul?

Although his family would hesitate, Jiang Yao didn’t doubt that they would exploit his relationship with Luo Xiao, if they knew about it. Though at the same time, he also felt secure that no one would be able to cause him too many problems. Only if his father were to interfere in the matter did he fear that he wouldn’t be able to protect Luo Xiao.

Sighing, Jiang Yao decided not to think about it anymore. He looked at the young man in his arms and felt at peace once more. Then he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, Luo Xiao awoke from a deep slumber. He had slept incredibly well and found that as long as he slept within Jiang Yao's arms, he had no nightmares about corpse puppets.

He looked up and saw Jiang Yao’s alluring face a small distance away. A smile hung on his perfect lips, and his eyes stared straight at him.

“Slept well, princess?” he asked with a slightly husky, seductive voice. Being called a princess and hearing the voice, Luo Xiao’s heart beat rapidly, and his face turned as red as a rose.

After a bit, he frowned, “Some time ago, Ling Mo called you his Highness... Why would he do that?” he asked curiously.

Luo Xiao knew nothing of Jiang Yao’s background, but he was very curious. He felt that he was being left in the dark while everyone else was in the light, and although he refused to admit it, he wished to know more about Jiang Yao.

Hearing the question, Jiang Yao’s eyes twinkled. “Are you curious?” he asked while laughing.

“I am,” Luo Xiao said as he nodded his head earnestly to convey that he was, in fact, curious about why he was called his Highness.

“In that case... I won’t tell you yet,” Jiang Yao said while laughing when he saw the disappointed expression on Luo Xiao’s face. “Don’t worry,” he said as he sat up and helped Luo Xiao up. “I will tell you eventually, but you don’t need to know yet.”

Luo Xiao could say nothing when he was told such a thing, so he just obediently nodded his head. Albeit the soul cultivator had a disappointed expression on his face that didn’t completely vanish.

Jiang Yao’s mood was great when he saw all the strange expressions that Luo Xiao made and displayed on his face. This youngster was so easy to understand, but then he felt a pang in his heart.

Wasn’t Luo Xiao too naive? How had he managed to get through life with so little experience? How had he managed not to be tricked by everyone he knew? How would he manage in the future?

At this point, Jiang Yao was ready to be by Luo Xiao’s side at every moment throughout the day, but he knew that when they had found the Moon Anise, and he brought Luo Xiao to the capital with him, they would not be together as much.

Although thinking about this made him slightly depressed, he knew it was a fact. For this reason, he knew he had to train Luo Xiao to behave properly and not be tricked so easily.

“How on earth did you live before I came along?” Jiang Yao said with a soft and tender voice as he dragged Luo Xiao from the bed and started dressing him.

“You cannot trust strangers,” he nagged, clearly worried about Luo Xiao, so he began listing a whole set of rules that Luo Xiao needed to remember.

As for what had happened to Jiang Yao, Luo Xiao had no idea, but he could feel the honest care in his words causing his heart to soften. He did his very best to remember every word Jiang Yao said to him.

Though, Luo Xiao was still certain that the reason for this tenderness was because he was an Astral Soul. The day before he was cursing the fact that he had an Astral Soul for all the hardships it had brought him, but now, he was grateful. He was so happy about the attention he was getting from Jiang Yao that he thanked the gods they had given him an Astral Soul so he was of use to the only person left alive who truly cared about him, albeit because of his Astral Soul.