Chapter 2085: How to Tame the Rebellious Boy 34

Ji Lai zhi also felt his long robe soaked and sticky, clinging uncomfortably to his body; worse, Jin Chen still wouldn't let him hug him, so he hurriedly, while Jin Chen went to deal with the captured internal traitor, sat beside him on the ground and used his inner energy to dry it.

Their way of getting along was nothing like how they had acted in the pavilion just before.

Liu Kui was pressed to the ground and forced to kneel by four subordinates, finally realizing he had been tricked.

After dominating the martial world for over a decade, how could he accept being played by a snot‑nosed brat? He fumed and struggled to rush forward, but the swift and sharp Mo Hei kicked him in the back.

"Be honest, how dare you act recklessly before the Venerable?"

Liu Kui slowly and somewhat stiffly turned his gaze to Jin Chen, to that face that seemed never to change; the belated fear ultimately could not outweigh his resentment and longing.

"Venerable, aren't you going to ask why I had to betray you?"

Jin Chen sat in the wooden ring chair, his demeanor natural, and said, "The cultivation method."

"You, Feng Gui, and the few Dharma Protectors colluding with the evil cult all want to seize my cultivation method."

Jin Chen's tone was calm and unruffled, as if he were not facing a traitor who had betrayed him after decades of cooperation, but an utterly insignificant corpse.

"You know…"

Liu Kui couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, then a stronger resentment surged: "You obviously know everything, so why won't you give it to me! After all these years, isn't what I've done for you enough?"

"You'd rather watch us grow old and weak than give me the cultivation method!"

His appearance never faded, his martial prowess unmatched.

How attractive it is.

Enough to drive the uninformed mad, even to resort to any means to obtain it.

Jin Chen stared coldly at Liu Kui and said, "Didn't I tell you? This cultivation method isn't as good as you think; its backlash is something ordinary people cannot endure."

Only the half‑understood Ji Lai zhi caught this sentence.

Ji Lai zhi sat on the ground, looked up at Jin Chen, saw the gloom and disappointment in his eyes, then moved over and rested his head on his lap, rubbing against him sticky‑ly.

Jin Chen lowered his eyes, raised a hand to touch Ji Lai zhi's hair, his fingertips playing with the soft earlobe.

Liu Kui had never seen what the so‑called cultivation backlash looked like; years of futile striving and a heart full of resentment made him unwilling to listen to explanations.

In the struggle, Liu Kui was seized by the rushing cleaners.

"Hall Master Liu, you should know what fate awaits a traitor." The cleaner who knew him sighed, "Why must you test the Venerable's bottom line?"

Liu Kui instantly went limp, his face ashen as he was dragged away; his eyes, nearly bleeding with unwillingness, remained fixed on Jin Chen.

Ji Lai zhi glanced back, rose, and straddled Jin Chen's thigh to block his view.

"Don't look." Ji Lai zhi covered Jin Chen's eyes with his hand, his possessive urge strong, he whispered against his ear, "And don't feel sorry for the traitor."

Jin Chen caught his little emotion in his eyes, curled his lips, and said, "I'm not sad."

"Really?"

Ji Lai zhi leaned in extremely close, examined him carefully, then gave a small smile, but soon began to worry again.

"Then can you tell me what the cultivation backlash is like? Will it be painful?"

"Not bad." Jin Chen also didn't intend to hide it from him, pinching his cheek and explaining, "It's not as mystical as the outside world claims—no immortality, no unmatched martial arts, and it's not cultivation of immortals."

Ji Lai zhi nodded rather confidently.

Although in his heart, Jin Chen was that omnipotent person.

"The cultivation backlash accelerates internal aging and could cause sudden death at any time." Jin Chen said, first covering Ji Lai zhi's mouth as he was about to chatter, "Don't rush, hear me out."

Ji Lai zhi thus opened his clear, glistening eyes and stared intently at Jin Chen, full of worry, as if tears might spill at any moment.

"I have already stopped cultivating." Jin Chen whispered, rubbing his thumb over Ji Lai zhi's lip, "Those backlashes will disappear; there's nothing to worry about."

That is why we must not let that evil cultivation method, which the original owner insisted on practicing, spread in the martial world; otherwise who knows how many it could kill.

Only then did Ji Lai zhi calm down, he pulled Jin Chen's hand away and held it, burying his face in his chest and complaining, "You scared me."

He could not even imagine what he would become without Jin Chen.

When that thought arose, Ji Lai zhi's heart clenched again, he held Jin Chen tighter, humming as he tilted his head up for a kiss, feigning stubbornness: "You have to stay with me for life."

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 88!】

Jin Chen let him kiss for a while, then suddenly realized something, pinched Ji Lai zhi's waist, gentle yet dangerous.

"Isn't there still a score to settle, you brat?"

Ji Lai zhi shuddered all over, unable to believe Jin Chen would call him a brat.

"Don't say that about me."

He argued earnestly, feeling aggrieved to death, twisting on the thigh, "I was just trying to help you root out the internal spy; who knew it was a puppet."

"Besides, I killed Ji Si Yao today and saw through his scheme; even if you don't praise me, you can't settle accounts with me."

Jin Chen hummed, looking at him with a smile.

They locked eyes for a while; just as Ji Lai zhi was about to give in and say, "Then let the punishment be lighter," Jin Chen finally relented.

"Alright, this time will be an exception."

Only then did Ji Lai zhi put his heart back in his belly, happy that he had kept his buttocks from being beaten.

"Go play on your own, I still have some matters." Jin Chen patted his back, kissed the corner of his lips to soothe him, "All who deserved to die are dead; Azure Cloud Sword Manor still needs to be dealt with."

Ji Lai zhi gave an oh, reluctantly got up, and went to tell his maternal grandfather the good news.

Three days later.

The martial arts assembly was still in full swing when a piece of news from the Formless Office shocked the entire martial world, finally giving a definitive answer to all the previous speculations.

Back then, Shen Liuyue and the nearly destroyed half of Cold Moon Manor were entirely the doing of Azure Cloud Sword Manor.

Now Ji Lai zhi is the sole disciple of the Formless Office's Grand Master; even though everyone in the martial world speculated that Azure Cloud Sword Manor would be severely punished, no one expected it to be a near‑life‑for‑life revenge.

How many people died in Cold Moon Manor back then; now Azure Cloud Sword Manor compensates with that many lives.

The Formless Office's harsh and ruthless protection of its own once again reshaped everyone's perception in the martial world, yet if one puts oneself in their shoes, such an outcome also seems deserved.

No matter how subsequent rumors spread, there is one truth etched in everyone's heart—the Formless Office is truly not to be provoked.