Chapter 42: Heart in Turmoil

Chapter 42: The Heart is Stirred

Seeing this, the other demons all froze, their eyes wide.

When they looked at Yan Huaixuan again, he was already gone, having appeared on the arena platform in the blink of an eye.

Tadanya sensed something off about Yan Huaixuan too, narrowing her eyes.

"Are you really his partner?"

She looked at Shen Lian, "You two seem like total strangers to me."

Yan Huaixuan glanced at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian immediately flashed a smile, "Husband, go get 'em."

With that bright smile at the corners of his eyes, no one noticed Yan Huaixuan pause for a beat before looking away. "So, that settles it?"

Tadanya sneered, "In that case, I'm not holding back either."

As expected, she didn't even last one move before Yan Huaixuan knocked her off the platform.

A group of guards immediately swarmed around her. "Young Miss!"

Tadanya waved a hand, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. "I'm fine."

She looked at Yan Huaixuan, "A bet's a bet. Take your partner and go!"

Yan Huaixuan kept that same indifferent look on his face.

He stepped off the platform, wrapped an arm around Shen Lian's waist, and turned to walk away from the other demons.

Even though Shen Lian knew Yan Huaixuan's real age, seeing him like this still felt weird.

Shen Lian pushed down that strange feeling and followed Yan Huaixuan.

Behind them, Tadanya dropped the bold act and headed back to the city lord's mansion. "Where's my dad?"

A demon guard answered respectfully, "In the front hall."

Tadanya said at once, "Take me there!"

Once Yan Huaixuan led Shen Lian out of sight, Shen Lian couldn't help shoving him away.

He glared at Yan Huaixuan, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"You knew the customs here, and you knew what they were up to!"

Yan Huaixuan looked at him, "Didn't I ask you?"

"You—" Shen Lian was at a loss for words, but felt that backing down would make him look like a pushover.

He let out a cold laugh, looking Yan Huaixuan up and down. "You haven't even grown your baby feathers, and you're playing hero to save a damsel and find a wife. I doubt you've even hit puberty."

Suddenly, Yan Huaixuan's eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to Shen Lian.

Shen Lian didn't expect him to move in so fast and instinctively stepped back, only to hit a wall.

He was boxed in between the wall and Yan Huaixuan's chest.

Yan Huaixuan looked at him, "You know in the mortal realm, princes as young as eleven or twelve were already bedding palace maids?"

Shen Lian's eyes went wide.

"Some even knocked up a maid or two?"

Shen Lian's lips parted slightly, "What do you want?"

Shen Lian suddenly realized that at some point, Yan Huaixuan had gotten taller than him again.

He even had to look up to meet Yan Huaixuan's eyes.

Shen Lian pressed his lips together, hand on Yan Huaixuan's chest. "Move."

But Yan Huaixuan didn't move. He grabbed Shen Lian's wrist and raised an eyebrow, "Weren't you the one questioning my abilities just now?"

As Yan Huaixuan spoke, his cool, clean scent filled Shen Lian's senses.

Shen Lian's heart raced—not from attraction, but from shame and humiliation.

Yan Huaixuan's actions made Shen Lian realize that to him, he was nothing more than a mayfly trying to shake a giant tree.

That was why Yan Huaixuan could mess with him so casually.

And so, when they met again, he was still in such a sorry state.

For some reason, Shen Lian refused to show any weakness in front of Yan Huaixuan.

It would be like letting this man mock him all over again.

A flicker of hatred flashed in Shen Lian's eyes.

Meeting the raw resistance in his eyes, Yan Huaixuan, who'd only meant to tease him, suddenly froze.

It was like something had slammed into his heart.

Just as Shen Lian's nails were digging into his palms, he felt Yan Huaixuan let him go.

Light returned to Shen Lian's eyes, and he immediately put distance between himself and Yan Huaixuan.

Seeing how he didn't hesitate for even a second, Yan Huaixuan pressed his lips together.

Shen Lian's voice turned even colder. "I'm not a disciple of the Tianheng Sect, and I'm never going back. So you don't need to put on that holier-than-thou act. From now on, we go our separate ways."

Yan Huaixuan watched him walk away, and for some reason, his fingers twitched.

Shen Lian had only taken a few steps when his body suddenly went weak.

What's going on?

Just as Shen Lian was about to collapse, a hand caught his waist. Yan Huaixuan had already shifted back to his normal height and easily pulled him in.

Shen Lian struggled, "Let me go. Did you do something to me?"

Feeling him struggle, Yan Huaixuan didn't know what to say. Finally, he just said, "I told you, you came to the Tianheng Sect for the assessment, and I'm the examiner. It's my job to keep you safe."

"As for after you leave, you can go wherever you want."

Hearing this, Shen Lian couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Yan Huaixuan, what should I say about you?" he said, staring at Yan Huaixuan. "You're a real hypocrite."

Before Yan Huaixuan could speak, Shen Lian said with a smile, "Fine, then—you'd better keep your word. If you take me out of here, I'll build you a golden statue and worship it every day, how about that?"

But Shen Lian didn't expect Yan Huaixuan to actually say—

"Agreed."

Shen Lian let out a furious laugh. "In your dreams!"

Yet Shen Lian stopped struggling. Feeling his body relax, a smile tugged at the corner of Yan Huaixuan's lips.

He said, "The demon border is at least eight days' journey from here. Pack your things—we leave today."

At the mention of the eight-day journey, Shen Lian's face fell.

Yan Huaixuan watched Shen Lian, puffed up with anger yet helpless, and a flicker of delight he didn't even recognize himself passed through his eyes.

That night, they stopped at an inn.

Shen Lian had originally wanted to book a single room, but the place was crawling with fierce demons, and plenty of drunk ones were kicking at doors at random.

The innkeeper couldn't have cared less.

Shen Lian pursed his lips and decided to book two rooms instead. He locked the door—anything was better than sharing a room with that man.

"Two rooms."

The manager was about to speak, "Sure—"

But for some reason, he paused, a murky look flashing in his eyes, then said, sounding annoyed, "Only one room left."

Shen Lian widened his eyes. "I just heard you say yes."

The manager sneered, "Take it or leave it. I'm telling you, mine is the only inn on this street. If you want to stay somewhere else, you'd have to go a hundred thousand miles!"

Shen Lian bit his lower lip.

The room was small but clean enough—one bed, one chair.

Shen Lian sat down on the chair and started meditating.

Seeing that Shen Lian wasn't saying a word, Yan Huaixuan didn't know what to say either.

He had no choice but to meditate too, though usually he could slip into a deep state in no time.

Today, though, he just couldn't.

Yan Huaixuan opened his eyes, looked at Shen Lian, then instinctively glanced at his own fingers. Only after noticing there was no red thread on his pinky did he come back to his senses.

The red thread was already severed...

He sat there until dawn.

Shen Lian, on the other hand, felt completely refreshed. Cultivation was amazing.

Meditating all night restored his body faster than sleep, and his cultivation had improved by a good margin.

He turned his head, and at that exact moment, Yan Huaixuan opened his eyes.

Shen Lian's smile vanished on the spot, and he said coldly, "You're awake, so let's get moving."

Just the thought of being stuck with Yan Huaixuan—especially when he kept owing him favors—was enough to piss him off.