Reborn as the Novel’s Villain: Cultivation Lost, Female Leads Take Control - Chapter 175

After watching the descendants of the immortal clans leave, Xu Yang turned to Ji Hongluan. Taking advantage of her moment of distraction, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

“Pop~”

Caught off guard, Ji Hongluan frowned, glaring at him with feigned anger.

“You evil disciple, you show your true colors as soon as people leave, don’t you?”

“What do you mean ‘show my true colors’? It’s just that my wife is so beautiful, I can’t help but want to kiss her!”

Xu Yang reached out, gently pinching Ji Hongluan’s chin as he teased her.

“Pfft, pfft, pfft!”

“That’s so corny—I hate hearing stuff like that!” Ji Hongluan scoffed, though her eyebrows softened slightly. “And who’s your wife? Call me Master!“

She batted his hand away but then handed him a storage ring.

“This is for you!”

Xu Yang accepted the ring and scanned its contents with his spiritual sense. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Master, what’s this? Is it a dowry?”

“No!” Ji Hongluan’s tone rose sharply as her face flushed.

“This is a gift from the group of immortal descendants, but I didn’t—”

She abruptly stopped mid-sentence, her words hanging in the air.

Xu Yang leaned in closer, his curiosity growing. “Didn’t what?”

“Don’t worry about things that aren’t your business! Just accept the gift!” Ji Hongluan’s voice turned sharp as she tried to mask her embarrassment.

But Xu Yang wasn’t fooled. Her hesitation and the absence of any women among the visiting immortal descendants told him everything he needed to know.

So Ji Hongluan rejected all the holy fairies from the holy lands before they could even meet me…

“Master, are you jealous of them?” Xu Yang teased, his tone dripping with amusement.

Ji Hongluan’s cheeks turned crimson, and she snapped back, flustered:

“Who’s jealous? Me? Jealous? Don’t be ridiculous!”

“I would never be jealous of you!”

“You evil disciple! Don’t get ahead of yourself. Your master simply—”

“Simply what?” Xu Yang pressed, his teasing gaze fixed on her.

Ji Hongluan scrambled for an excuse. “Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Women in the holy lands are like tigers’?”

Her voice turned stern, though her eyes darted away. “They’re dangerous. As your master, it’s my duty to eliminate any potential dangers for you!”

Her serious tone clashed with her obvious discomfort, and even she didn’t seem to believe her own words.

Xu Yang tilted his head, a sly smile creeping across his face as he stared at her silently.

Ji Hongluan shifted under his gaze, her embarrassment growing. “Why are you staring at me like that? Is there a flower on my face?”

“Of course there is. And not just that—I can even smell its fragrance,” Xu Yang quipped as he leaned closer to her, aiming to steal another kiss.

“Not so fast!” Ji Hongluan turned her head away and extended her hand to push him back.

“Alright, those annoying immortal descendants are gone. Now it’s time for you to return to Purple Cloud Peak. Your master needs to cultivate!”

She placed her hand firmly on Xu Yang’s chest, intending to push him away, but he seized her hand and pressed it against him. The warmth of his chest and the tautness of his muscles made Ji Hongluan’s face flush even deeper.

She struggled to pull her hand away, but Xu Yang’s grip was unrelenting, like an immovable Five Finger Mountain.

“You evil disciple! Are you trying to bully your master?” she huffed indignantly, her tone a mix of anger and embarrassment.

“You’ll be the one insulting your master later,” Xu Yang replied, his gaze turning serious as he leaned closer.

“But for now, I have something to ask you.”

Seeing this evil disciple admit it so openly, Ji Hongluan felt slightly flustered. Wanting to teach him a lesson, she reached out and pinched the soft flesh on Xu Yang’s waist, exclaiming angrily:

“I’ll teach you a lesson later!”

But her plan backfired.

Instead of pinching him, she felt as if she’d pressed against immortal-grade iron. Her fingers ached slightly from the effort.

Has this evil disciple’s body become this impenetrable?

Then… Ji Hongluan’s mind wandered, and her cheeks flushed so deeply it seemed water might drip from them.

Xu Yang, worried that his reinforced physique might accidentally hurt her, adjusted his body’s toughness with a warm smile.

“Go ahead, pinch it!” he teased.

“You’re asking for it, but I won’t!” Ji Hongluan replied, her rebellious streak showing through.

“Alright, alright, dear, stop making trouble,” Xu Yang said, chuckling as if coaxing a child. He gently slipped the storage ring back onto her hand. “Let’s talk about business now.”

“Why are you putting this ring on my hand? It’s not for me!”

Ji Hongluan immediately tried to return the ring to him.

“Isn’t this the dowry your ancestors prepared for you? It’s only fair we split it. Let’s each take half!” Xu Yang held her hand to stop her, speaking with a mischievous grin.

“I already told you, it’s not my dowry!” Ji Hongluan replied, her face flushed with shyness.

“Fine, fine. It’s my dowry then, alright?” Xu Yang teased, his eyes sparkling with affection.

“You evil disciple…” Ji Hongluan’s voice trailed off as she looked into Xu Yang’s gentle eyes. Her chest rose and fell as she took a few deep breaths, then muttered under her breath, her face reddening even further:

“What a rogue… shameless… That’s my ancestor’s gift, what does it have to do with you?”

“Your ancestor, my ancestor—aren’t they the same thing?” Xu Yang said matter-of-factly, tightening his grip on her hand ever so slightly.

“But I am curious—how exactly did our ancestor manage to convince so many immortal descendants to give me gifts? And all of them holy treasures at that!”

“I don’t know,” Ji Hongluan admitted. She shared his confusion. “I’ve never kept close contact with my clan. It’s strange that they would do something like this.”

She paused, her brows furrowing slightly. Could the ancestor have reached some sort of agreement with the others?

“Do you want me to find someone who knows the full story to clear up your doubts?” she offered suddenly.

Xu Yang immediately caught on. He knew this was Xiao Hongluan’s way of testing him. Smiling, he declined.

“No need. If Master doesn’t know, how could anyone else know better?”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Ji Hongluan countered softly. “I’m just a side branch of the Ji family. I’ve never been valued. Otherwise, why would I have come to the Qingming Sect to become the leader?”

A hint of resentment crept into her voice, her thoughts drifting to the past.

“That’s all in the past now,” Xu Yang said, pulling her gently into his embrace. “You’ve raised such an exceptional disciple like me. Do you think the Ji family would dare look down on you now?”

He lowered his tone, his voice soothing. “And Master, your cultivation talent isn’t bad at all. In my eyes, you’re more than qualified to be the Ji family’s Heir of the Era!”

“Nonsense,” Ji Hongluan murmured, her voice tinged with softness as she relaxed in his arms. “The Ji family’s Heir of the Era has always been a man, since ancient times.”

“Then let’s break that old rule!” Xu Yang declared confidently. “Who cares about a ‘traditional’ Heir of the Era? Master, if you want to be the Heir of the Era, I’ll support you with both hands and feet!”