Putting on an Act

"Hehe, Brother Lu, you two talk first. I'll head out."

Li Tuo shot Lu Jun a knowing grin, then very sensibly closed the door behind him.

Lu Jun smiled helplessly, then lifted his eyes toward the girl before him, whose movements carried a hint of bashfulness.

He still remembered the girl standing before him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Could it be that the money for the house you destroyed that day wasn't enough? If it wasn't, I still have some here..."

After speaking, Lu Jun gently pulled the money pouch he carried from his robes and was about to hand it to the girl.

"No! It's not that... It was enough. You gave me a lot that day..."

Shen Lingying hurriedly waved her hands, her voice filled with panic.

Lu Jun paused, his expression gentle. "Oh? Then what is it?"

Shen Lingying hurriedly held out the basket in her hands to Lu Jun. With her head lowered, she said nervously:

"It's... it's this. I... I used the flower nectar I gathered from the mountain to make some pastries. I wanted you to try them, my lord..."

"Thank you for saving my life and my grandpa that day, Lord Lu..."

The moment Shen Lingying extended her hands, she began to regret it. She lowered her head and stared fixedly at the floor.

This Lord Lu, whether in bearing or manner, clearly looked like a young nobleman from an aristocratic family in Yunzhou.

He had surely tasted every kind of rare delicacy and exquisite pastry... How could he possibly care for pastries made from wild mountain flowers she had gathered herself?

At that thought, a bitter feeling welled up in Shen Lingying's heart.

At that moment, her inferiority reached its peak. The pastries she had spent an entire day making suddenly felt impossible to give away.

"Thank you."

The voice reached her ears.

Shen Lingying felt the weight in her hands lessen. When she looked up again, the basket was already in Lu Jun's hands.

With the enhancement of Peerless Beauty and Skin Charm, Lu Jun wore a smile. His handsome face was so dazzling that it almost made her eyes swim.

"They smell wonderful. They seem to be made with flower nectar. May I try one now?" Lu Jun asked.

Shen Lingying froze for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Please, my lord."

"In private, don't call me 'my lord.' Just call me Lu Jun. I was born in the countryside myself, and I'm only eighteen this year. I haven't even come of age, so I'm not much older than you." Lu Jun smiled as he picked up a delicate goose-yellow pastry and gently placed it in his mouth.

"My lord, please don't tease me..."

"Is this a flower cake made with sea pomegranate and osmanthus?"

"Hm? How did you know?"

"Once, when a neighbor was making pastries, I helped gather the ingredients on the mountain. The flavor is very familiar..." Lu Jun smiled.

Delicious!

Lu Jun's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had always liked sweet foods.

This era was still in a feudal age, far from possessing the sugar-making techniques of his former modern world.

The pastry had just the right sweetness—sweet without being cloying, with the fragrance of flowers lingering within it.

Seeing Lu Jun's satisfaction,

Shen Lingying also relaxed, a trace of sweetness rising in her heart. Even so, she still asked, "My lord... Lu... Jun, how is it?"

Shen Lingying's eyes were filled with anticipation.

"It's delicious." Lu Jun smiled and praised her.

Hearing that Lu Jun was satisfied, Shen Lingying smiled along with him.

Suddenly, the smile vanished from Lu Jun's face, and his eyes fixed sharply on the outside.

Not far from his door, a humanoid soul radiating demonic aura was steadily approaching him.

Heh, so this was Chen Zhuo's method of spying on me.

He wants to see whether I'm suitable to become a candidate for the heretical sect?

Fine.

I happen to want to witness the process of offering sacrifices to demons and becoming a heretical sect.

"Lu Jun?" Shen Lingying tentatively called out when she saw his changing expression.

Lu Jun came back to himself, moved close to Shen Lingying, and seized her forearm. His gaze grew solemn. "I want you to do me a favor."

Shen Lingying looked at Lu Jun's handsome face so close to hers, then at the hand gripping her forearm. Her face flushed, and she nodded timidly. "Mm..."

Chen Zhuo had always felt that his luck was excellent.

He had originally been an ordinary mortal. Relying on his decent looks, he had long mingled among all sorts of people, making a living through swindling and deception. Once, while trying to cheat a wealthy landlord's household, he had been caught and nearly beaten to death.

Fortunately, after being taken in by a demon known as Marshal Hai, he had been granted a technique called Soul Devour, allowing him to step into the world of Law Seekers.

After mastering the divine ability, Chen Zhuo killed the entire landlord's family and swallowed their souls into his belly, refining them into his own Lost Soul.

After that, relying on his identity as a Law Seeker, he was treated as an honored guest wherever he went.

Today, however, he had suffered a setback at the Demon Slaying Division.

"Let me see what kind of creature you really are!"

A playful glint flashed through Chen Zhuo's eyes.

He summoned a Lost Soul from within his belly, lodged a thread of his consciousness within it, and sent it to the area around Lu Jun's room. It then drifted leisurely up to the eaves, quietly spying on the scene inside.

A Lost Soul's body was as illusory as a phantom, and its aura was nearly nonexistent. Ordinary people found it difficult to detect, making it one of Chen Zhuo's commonly used methods of investigation.

"No! My lord!"

The moment the Lost Soul crawled onto the eaves, a frightened woman's voice came from Lu Jun's room.

"Hm?" Chen Zhuo's mouth curled into a grin. "Looks like I came at just the right time."

"There's quite a show to watch now."

Chen Zhuo peered down into the room from above.

Inside the room,

Shen Lingying sat collapsed on the floor, her body retreating continuously toward the corner. She stared at Lu Jun before her in terror.

"My lord... don't!"

Lu Jun advanced toward Shen Lingying step by step and gave a cold laugh. "Don't? Why not?"

"My lord... I came today only to thank you for saving my life the day before yesterday... Why must you make things difficult for me..." Shen Lingying's face was flushed, as though she were overwhelmed by shame and indignation.

Lu Jun stepped forward, bent down slightly, and reached out to grip Shen Lingying's chin. His thumb gently rubbed beneath the girl's lips again and again.

"Do you think I would save you out of pure kindness, for no reason?"

"Besides, you said it yourself—I saved your life. Doesn't a life-saving favor require some repayment?"

"Every gift fate bestows has already had its price marked in secret."

"You... How are you any different from Zhang San?!" Shen Lingying's gaze slid away from Lu Jun. She did not dare raise her head to look at him, her expression awkward and conflicted.

Lu Jun sneered:

"What is Zhang San supposed to be? Hah, nothing but a dead dog I could crush in passing."

"Anyone who touches what I've taken a liking to deserves ten thousand deaths."

"Whether in strength, appearance, or bearing, how could that piece of trash possibly compare with me?"

"Giving yourself to me would hardly count as humiliating you."

Lu Jun pressed forward. Under the dim yellow lamplight, his figure seemed even taller, directly enveloping Shen Lingying's entire body and bringing with it a hint of pressure.

Lu Jun leaned closer and spoke softly:

"Besides, if I'm not mistaken, you still have a grandfather at home, right?"

"You don't want anything to happen to your grandfather, do you?"

"You... You're shameless!"

Lu Jun gave a cold laugh and stepped forward, lifting Shen Lingying, who was curled up in the corner. Shen Lingying let out another cry of alarm. Her face flushed crimson as she curled up in Lu Jun's arms and struggled cautiously.

"Shameless, perhaps, but surely not the most boring thing in the world..."

Then Lu Jun fiercely tossed Shen Lingying onto the bed and abruptly drew the bed curtains shut.

Soon, Lu Jun's outer robe was thrown out through the curtains.

The quiet sobs and pained cries of a woman came from within the bed curtains.

On the eaves, Chen Zhuo spat under his breath.

"What a fucking degenerate!"

"So that was the true cause of Zhang San's death. That's fucking suffocating."

Listening to the faint oriole-like cries and the panting of a man and woman from below,

Chen Zhuo also felt a wave of heat spread through his body.

"Damn it, if I'd known, I would've found myself a woman before coming."

Yet Chen Zhuo's heart suddenly relaxed. "This Lu fellow is arrogant and domineering, lustful, and fond of taking women by force. He truly is a piece of work. But he really is the same kind of person as us. He should be suitable for recommendation to the demon lord as a disciple."