Chapter Ninety-Five: The Handsome Little Rogue

“Wake up. Wake up, and stop sleeping.”

In a hazy daze, I heard someone speaking by my ear.

“I’m already badly injured, and you still won’t be gentle with me!”

I muttered unhappily under my breath, rubbing my head against him a few more times and trying to nestle into a warmer place.

“Oh my, this little disciple of Immortal Lord Purple Lotus is truly adorable!”

A strange man’s voice rang beside my ear. I was startled, opened my eyes to look, and almost leaped in shock. I had thought I was being held tightly in Purple Lotus’s arms, which was why I had kept rubbing against him just now, hoping to steal a little more advantage. Who would have thought I had mistaken the person and ended up being taken advantage of by those peach-blossom eyes instead.

“You... cough... who are you?”

My throat was so dry that even a single sentence came out haltingly.

He blinked those lecherous peach-blossom eyes at me, leaning in with obvious ill intent. Warm breath brushed my neck, making it itch.

“Lit...tle... girl.”

He drawled out those three words, his eyes full of sly amusement.

“You—”

I glared at him angrily. “Who are you? What exactly do you want?”

With a smile that was not quite a smile, he leaned in even closer, and a deep dimple appeared in his cheek. “Mischief Young Master.”

Then another wash of damp warmth brushed across my face.

What a scoundrel. He looked exactly like the shameless libertines the girls of the demon realm talked about. The kind of man who made one want to fling oneself into his arms and pledge lifelong devotion. Why did I feel absolutely none of that?

“You...”

I truly had no way to deal with such a rogue. I thought of asking Purple Lotus to come help me, yet I did not dare call out to him.

Purple Lotus, who had been silently drinking tea at the side, finally lifted his head to look over here. His gaze was as it always was: half smiling, half cool, impossible to read. I stared at his face, trying to find even the slightest clue in his expression.

This Mischief Young Master had already seen through the fact that I was a woman, but perhaps that was only because he was presently holding me in his arms. He had spoken to me so softly just now that I could not help clinging to a sliver of hope: perhaps Purple Lotus still did not know I was female.

“Feeling better?”

After taking a sip of tea, Purple Lotus lowered his head and then looked up to ask me.

“Mm, a little better.”

I kept my head down as I answered softly, secretly studying him from beneath my lashes. My heart was uneasy, restless, waiting for his next words.

“Litt...le... little...”

Mischief Young Master leaned in and deliberately stretched out the syllables. I turned my head and shot him a furious glare, then used the excuse of being bullied by him to turn back and put on a pitiful expression, looking at Purple Lotus with tearful eyes.

Purple Lotus was still holding that jade-white porcelain teacup, drinking in small sips. He glanced at me once, his gaze calm and revealing nothing. In the next instant, his eyes shifted toward the ice vessel filled with wine.

“Oh dear, I’m going to laugh myself to death.”

That oddly sing-song Mischief Young Master doubled over beside us, clutching his belly. He was only a hair’s breadth away from rolling on the floor in hysterics.

Purple Lotus still did not understand what was so amusing, and at last set down the jade cup. “Funny? What is so funny?”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward me, his brows knitting slightly with a trace of confusion.

“Your disciple, of course!”

After saying that, Mischief Young Master reached out and gave my head a hard pat, then said to Purple Lotus, “This little thing has courage to spare, though his temper is not small either. He suits this Immortal’s taste very well. This Immortal would like to ask Immortal Lord Purple Lotus for a favor: may you send your precious disciple to me?”

Send me to him? I looked at Purple Lotus in desperate appeal.

His brows knitted more deeply. He lowered his eyelids as if thinking it over, then slowly shook his head. Picking up the jade cup on the table again, he lowered his head and resumed drinking in small sips.

Mischief Young Master looked at him with great expectation. “Oh, Immortal Lord Purple Lotus, why be so stingy? Your disciple does not seem very obedient. Why not hand him over to this Immortal? Once he comes to my place, I will surely train him until he is perfectly docile.”

“No. I do not want to stay with you. I want to return to Spirit Cloud Mountain. I do not want to be with you.”

I reached out to push him away, but a sharp pain tore through my chest, and tears spilled out before I could stop them.

“Cry? What are you crying for?”

Mischief Young Master turned to look at me and shook his head. “Truly useless. It’s only a few fiends, and you’ve managed to get yourself hurt this badly. Pathetic.”

“You...”

I was so angry I could hardly speak. My injuries were severe, and talking had become a labor of pain; each sentence I uttered demanded a long stretch afterward just to ease the agony.

“No need.”

Purple Lotus looked up, his brows deeply furrowed. “This lord’s disciple will be taught by this lord himself. If Mischief Young Master likes disciples so much, you might as well establish your own mountain gate and recruit a few from the mortal realm. You could have as many as you want, of whatever kind you want. Would that not be far better? Why bother snatching this lord’s disciple here?”