After Escaping From Death, He Went Even Crazier By Criticizing Black Lotus Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The Turmoil of Liufang City: My Life is Over

People flowed onto the boat like a tide, and most who passed the two of them cast glances, both overt and covert, filled with gossip.

Su Huan appeared calm on the surface, but the little man inside his heart was already wailing, tears streaming like a fountain.

Please, please, can you stop chasing him down, considering he proactively came forward (on behalf of the original owner) to correct (fill) the mistake (pit)?

“Senior Brother.”

Xiao Jianming walked beside him and called out softly.

A smile played on his lips, and his eyes, looking at Su Huan, were bright as stars. He looked like a well-behaved young man, completely different from the sinister, cold-blooded, black-hearted person who had choked him and demanded his life a month ago.

Su Huan, however, felt goosebumps rise all over his body. He immediately quickened his pace, only to have his wrist suddenly grabbed.

Xiao Jianming lowered his gaze in a look of disappointment, his raven-feather eyelashes trembling slightly. His tone was like that of a pitiful youth abandoned by his lover: “Why does Senior Brother hide the moment he sees me? Is Senior Brother disgusted with me because of what happened before?”

Su Huan immediately felt a barrage of condemning gazes fall upon him like invisible sharp blades.

Su Huan: “…”

Su Huan forced a smile: “How could I be disgusted with Junior Brother?”

Oh, you think you’re good at acting? Who here isn’t a professional actor!

Taking a deep breath, when he spoke again, Su Huan’s eyes were tearful, and his voice sounded heartbroken. It seemed like a quiet whisper, but in reality, everyone heard it clearly—

“It’s just that I, your Senior Brother, have reflected deeply and realized we cannot continue like this!”

The surrounding disciples immediately perked up. The smile on Xiao Jianming’s face froze. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Su Huan’s sigh: “Alas, Junior Brother Xiao!”

Su Huan waved his hand, putting all his effort into his tragic words: “Although you like me, I don’t like you! Matters of the heart cannot be forced. Even though I didn’t report the last incident to Eldest Senior Brother, and I don’t blame you, I won’t continue to indulge your nonsense and make mistake after mistake!”

“Please, Junior Brother Xiao, stop li-king me!”

Su Huan finished the last sentence quickly and emphatically, then immediately bolted towards his Senior Sister like a chick returning to its nest to find its mother. When he looked back, the Black Lotus, as expected, had lost his smile, his face clouded with displeasure.

Su Huan returned to the protective circle of his Third Senior Sister, puffing out his chest like a victorious rooster. He thought, *You little brat, compared to me, you haven’t watched enough TV dramas.*

A collective gasp swept through the area. City Lord Liu, who was walking at the front, turned back with a puzzled expression: “What is wrong, everyone? Could it be that you dislike today’s welcome banquet?”

Su Huan lifted his small face and said, “Not at all.” *They were just stunned by me, that’s all.*

City Lord Liu pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He bowed and flattered, “If there are any shortcomings in the hospitality, please inform this humble one immediately, and I will instruct my subordinates to rectify them promptly. I dare not be negligent.”

Su Huan quickly waved his hands: “No need, no need.”

Feng Jiangyue suddenly said, “City Lord Liu, there is no need for this. We are not those corrupt officials who occupy positions without merit.”

City Lord Liu was startled. His thick lips mumbled a few times, but in the end, he said nothing, though his back was no longer bent like a shrimp for the rest of the journey.

Su Huan noticed this and recalled a line from the original novel: “A hundred noble families across the Seven Continents and Four Seas, once they enter the immortal sects, their golden bones wither.”

In the novel, the Black Lotus was precisely because he couldn’t stand the filth hidden beneath the righteous facade of the immortal families that, even when he had the power to save the world at the end, he still allowed and even actively promoted the destruction of the entire cultivation world, shattering the boundary wall to ascend to godhood alone.

Just as the melancholy hadn’t had time to spread, Feng Jiangyue plopped down next to him, her expression serious: “Junior Brother, was what you just said true?”

Of course it was false. But Su Huan hesitated for a moment and still nodded. Compared to that absurd rumor, he was more willing to see the Black Lotus frustrated.

Seeing his hesitation, Feng Jiangyue sighed knowingly: “It was just words spoken in anger, as expected.”

Su Huan was full of question marks.

Everyone followed City Lord Liu to their seats. The banquet was filled with music and dancing. The surrounding disciples happily sampled the delicious spiritual cuisine City Lord Liu had specially prepared for them, and few paid attention to their corner.

Feng Jiangyue beckoned to Xiao Jianming and smiled: “Junior Brother, come quickly, sit here.”

Su Huan was horrified and immediately grabbed his Senior Sister, who was about to stand up and yield her seat. However, Feng Jiangyue winked at her and smiled at the approaching Xiao Jianming: “A couple’s quarrel is resolved in bed. You two should talk properly.”

Xiao Jianming nodded in thanks, his face beaming with gratitude: “Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Feng Jiangyue waved her hand. Earlier, when she saw this boy reach out to probe her Junior Brother’s Purple Mansion, her Junior Brother’s resistance wasn’t fierce, and the spiritual energy on both of them subtly showed signs of merging. She understood that the rumor about “the two being deeply in love and having secretly given themselves to each other” was likely true.

Moreover, if her Junior Brother hadn’t indulged him, how could someone at the Qi Condensation stage succeed against a Golden Core cultivator?

Alas, her Junior Brother has grown up and can’t be kept.

However, a disciple of the Sword Venerable is acceptable for her Junior Brother.

Feng Jiangyue was satisfied and left.

Su Huan grew anxious and tried to get up too, but Xiao Jianming pressed down on his shoulder. He looked at Su Huan with a wronged expression and said, “Senior Brother, can you please stop being angry with me?”

Yet, a hint of coldness emanated from his eyes, as if if Su Huan tried to escape again, he would kill him the next second.

Su Huan shivered and could only watch helplessly as the other person sat down beside him.

Xiao Jianming poured a cup of wine, the corner of his mouth slightly hooked: “Just now, Senior Brother said, who likes whom?” There wasn’t much amusement in his eyes, and his tone was dangerous.

Su Huan turned his head tragically: “It was me!”

Xiao Jianming then realized: “So, Senior Brother is suffering from unrequited love for me.”

Su Huan: …

Su Huan angrily picked up his chopsticks to grab some food, about to convert his anger into eating power, when he heard the person beside him leisurely say, “If you don’t want to die, don’t eat anything.”

Su Huan’s chopstick tip trembled, and a piece of fragrant pork belly fell onto the table.

At the banquet, City Lord Liu held his wine and offered a toast, sincerely wishing them success in capturing the demon race soon and restoring peace to Liufang City. He was fat and round, looking every bit like a corrupt official.

Su Huan’s eyes widened. They actually poisoned the food! He hadn’t expected this City Lord to truly be a bad person!

Noticing his gaze, City Lord Liu smiled warmly and raised his cup to him.

A chill ran down Su Huan’s spine. He immediately wanted to inform his Senior Sister, but Xiao Jianming grabbed his arm.

Xiao Jianming played with a golden glass sphere in his hand, tilting his head and smiling at him, quite maliciously: “So Senior Brother trusts me that much.”

Su Huan was stunned, realizing he had been tricked.

He widened his eyes in disbelief, yet also felt it was not unexpected, given that the other party was a black-hearted white lotus.

Xiao Jianming chuckled softly. He lowered his gaze to the golden glass sphere spinning in his hand, which shone brightly, radiating a beautiful, flawless luster.

Xiao Jianming suddenly stopped laughing.

Su Huan found him inexplicable and moody.

Driven by the thought of not wasting food, he was about to pick up the pork belly from before and eat it, when he saw City Lord Liu approach him with a wine cup, smiling as he toasted: “Is the Immortal Master satisfied with today’s meal?”

Su Huan had just misunderstood the other party, and now felt embarrassed. He stood up and raised his cup in return: “I am satisfied. If I were back in the sect, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy such a rich spiritual meal.”

This wasn’t flattery. Everyone on Lichen Mountain practiced Bigu (abstaining from grains), and he was the only one who hadn’t adapted to the Bigu lifestyle, constantly looking for food because he was greedy. His own cooking skills weren’t very good, so since transmigrating, he hadn’t had many good meals. Today’s meal was indeed the best one yet.

City Lord Liu smiled and nodded, engaging him in conversation. Upon learning that Su Huan was only twenty years old, he showed surprise and laughed: “For the Immortal Master to reach the Golden Core stage at such a young age, with such a pure and visible heart, your future on the immortal path is limitless.”

Su Huan lifted his head proudly.

City Lord Liu laughed heartily, then turned to Xiao Jianming and smiled: “Is the Immortal Master satisfied with today’s meal?”

It was meant to be a polite exchange, but Xiao Jianming replied, “No, I am not satisfied.”

City Lord Liu was taken aback and quickly apologized: “I apologize for the poor hospitality. I hope the Immortal Master can forgive me. May I ask what the Immortal Master’s preference is? I can have someone prepare a new dish for you?”

Xiao Jianming said, “No need. I’m not used to it.”

City Lord Liu gave an awkward smile and stopped bothering the two of them, moving on to exchange pleasantries with others.

Su Huan was bewildered. Seeing that Xiao Jianming truly didn’t touch any food, he didn’t dare to eat either. He even secretly sent a message to Feng Jiangyue, telling her to be cautious. Feng Jiangyue, however, was dismissive, comforting him in return: “Don’t worry. Even if everyone else betrayed the immortal sects, Liufang City would never be among them.”

When the banquet ended, the boat happened to dock. City Lord Liu personally led the way again, settling them in the City Lord’s Mansion.

As luck would have it, Su Huan was arranged in the room next door to Xiao Jianming, while Feng Jiangyue was placed in the room furthest from the two of them.

In the dead of night, under a dark and windy moon, Su Huan watched in horror as the Black Lotus suddenly burst into his room. He felt it was both reasonable and unexpected, and tragically pulled the quilt tighter around himself.

Alas, my life is over!

In a single step, Xiao Jianming raised a barrier, yanked the quilt off him, and chuckled softly and slowly: “Senior Brother has been avoiding me for so long. Now that I finally see you, Junior Brother must properly settle the score from before with Senior Brother.”

Su Huan swallowed: “What do you want?”

In the darkness, Xiao Jianming’s cold eyes were bright. He slowly drew a dagger and raised an eyebrow: “Naturally, I intend to return to Senior Brother everything Senior Brother once planned to do to me.”

Su Huan shrank his neck in fear. That would be the original owner’s attempt to dig out the other party’s spiritual root.

He hesitated for a moment and said, “That’s not good, is it? Mine definitely isn’t as good as your original one.”

Xiao Jianming laughed upon hearing this: “Senior Brother is truly naive. Even if it’s useless to me, it might not be useless to others.”

Xiao Jianming approached him step by step, smiling: “With Senior Brother’s spiritual root talent, it is a rare commodity that is priceless in any black market.”

Xiao Jianming played with the golden glass sphere in his right hand. He had expected the young man to panic and be afraid, and then, like those other people, be consumed by malicious killing intent. But there was nothing.

Su Huan struggled for a while, then sighed resignedly: “Then go ahead.”

Su Huan closed his eyes, waiting for the knife, thinking, *Since things have come to this, I might as well lie flat and accept it.*

Without a spiritual root, he could return to the original owner’s hometown and live as a wealthy, idle young master. That would be wonderful too.

Thinking this way, perhaps this cultivation path wasn’t something he couldn’t give up.

However, after waiting for a long time, he only heard one question: “Why?”

Su Huan opened his eyes, seeing confusion in Xiao Jianming’s dark eyes. He asked again: “Now I am the one who wants to take your spiritual root. Why don’t you resist?”

Su Huan pouted, thinking, *Because I can’t beat you.*

Xiao Jianming lowered his gaze: “Don’t you hate me?”

Su Huan was startled. He actually followed the question and thought carefully, finally concluding: he was a big salted fish.

Seeing no response, Xiao Jianming pressed the dagger against his neck and asked him, “What is Senior Brother thinking right now?”

Su Huan subconsciously blurted out: “I’m thinking that after this, I won’t have to suffer the hardships of cultivation and can go back to my hometown to be an honest, idle young master.”

Xiao Jianming was stunned, then chuckled softly: “Senior Brother is so interesting.”

He then put away the dagger, smiling and speaking softly: “Killing Senior Brother so easily would be letting you off too lightly… I should lock Senior Brother up and keep you for my amusement every day. If I get bored one day, then I’ll kill you.”

Su Huan was almost shocked speechless by his words, nearly blurting out: *Little brother, your thoughts are so filthy?!*

Xiao Jianming’s eyes suddenly sharpened. He reached out and covered Su Huan’s mouth, silently signaling: “Shh, don’t make a sound.”

Just then, a knock came from the adjacent room, followed by Feng Jiangyue’s familiar voice: “Junior Brother, are you asleep?”