Chapter 342: You Misunderstood
And Lin Ji’an... Lin Ji’an was a menace.
A smooth, incredibly arrogant, charismatic rogue who knew exactly how to dismantle a man’s defenses.
Ji’an had done it to him in the herb garden; he had pinned him, smirked at him, and completely ruined his Dao heart.
The horrific, soap-opera deduction slammed into Jianheng’s brain with the force of a falling anvil.
’He really is a flower thief,’ Jianheng realized, his eyes widening in absolute, righteous horror.
In the orthodox world, a "flower thief" was a classic, despised archetype: a smooth-talking, dangerously attractive rogue who preyed upon the innocent and the vulnerable, stealing hearts and ruining virtues before moving on to the next conquest.
’Ji’an is making a move on him!’ Jianheng’s internal monologue shrieked, the jealousy instantly masquerading as furious, protective righteousness. ’The cook has realized that the Senior Apprentice is emotionally fragile from his time in the abyss! Ji’an is using his culinary charm and his aggressive, unapologetic charisma to seduce the naive, traumatized prodigy! He is preying on the weak!’
Jianheng’s blood boiled.
The memory of the herb garden flared violently in his mind as he remembered the feeling of Ji’an’s weight pressing him into the dirt, the smell of star anise, the arrogant smirk.
’He did it to me, and now he is doing it to him,’ Jianheng fumed, a lethal, icy sword aura beginning to radiate from his body, cracking the glass pillar he was hiding behind. ’I will not allow it. I cannot allow this chaotic, foul-mouthed chef to corrupt the innocence of the Senior Apprentice. It is my duty as the Apprentice of the Sword Peak, the Sword Lord to protect the vulnerable!’
It was, objectively, the most delusional, hypocritical, and utterly ridiculous mental gymnastics routine ever performed in the history of the Azure Empire.
He was jealous, heartbroken that Ji’an was smiling at someone else, and he had completely twisted the narrative to justify his own impending violence.
"Unhand him, you degenerate!"
The roar echoed through the glass courtyard like a thunderclap.
***
Ji’an and Zechuan both jumped, startled by the sudden, booming shout.
They turned around in unison.
Stepping out from behind the shattered remnants of a glass pillar, radiating an aura of pure, furious sword intent, was Lu Jianheng.
The Sword Lord looked magnificent, terrifying, and completely out of his mind.
His pristine blue robes whipped around his tall, aristocratic frame in the violent wind generated by his aggressive Qi.
His hand was firmly clamped around the hilt of Autumn Shine, though he had not yet drawn the blade.
His piercing, sharp eyes were locked upon Lin Ji’an, burning with a mixture of righteous fury and deep betrayal.
"Lu Jianheng?" Ji’an blinked, entirely caught off guard. She lowered her hand from Zechuan’s arm, stepping back slightly, genuinely confused by the sudden hostility. "What are you doing here? Did you get lost in the maze? Why are you yelling?"
"Do not play coy with me, Lin Ji’an!" Jianheng snapped, marching forward, his heavy boots echoing like drumbeats on the obsidian. "I can clearly see exactly what is happening here! I have witnessed your insidious, predatory machinations with my own two eyes!"
Ji’an stared at him, her brow furrowing in bewilderment.
"My... my predatory machinations?" Ji’an repeated, looking at Zechuan, who looked equally confused, and then back to the furious Sword Lord. "Lu Jianheng, what are you talking about? I was literally just asking him what he wanted for dinner."
"Lies!" Jianheng barked, stopping ten paces away, pointing an accusing, trembling finger at Ji’an. "You think you can hide behind your spatula and your recipes?! I know your true nature! I know the dark, manipulative, suffocating trap you weave! I experienced it firsthand back in the... in the herb garden!"
Ji’an’s eyes widened.
A flush of heat crept up her neck as he publicly referenced the time she had aggressively pinned him to the dirt.
"Hey, keep your voice down!" Ji’an hissed, waving her hands frantically, looking around the empty forest as if worried a sect elder might be listening. "That was a tactical misunderstanding! You were trying to arrest me for stealing some ginger! I had to assert dominance! Do not bring ancient history into this!"
"It established a pattern of behavior!" Jianheng countered loudly, his chest heaving, his jealousy completely hijacking his vocal cords.
He pointed his finger past Ji’an, aiming directly at Shen Zechuan.
"And now, you have targeted the Senior Brother! A man whose soul has been fractured by five years in the demonic abyss! A man who is fragile, naive, and unequipped to defend against your smooth, aggressive, overwhelming... allure!"
Ji’an stood frozen, her brain screeching to a halt.
She looked at Lu Jianheng.
She looked at the furious, red flush on the Sword Lord’s cheeks and processed the words ’smooth, aggressive, overwhelming allure.’
’He thinks...’ Ji’an’s lie-detector exploded in a shower of sparks. ’He thinks I am seducing Shen Zechuan? He thinks I am a playboy. Is the Sword Lord is having a gay panic because he thinks I am trying to romance the endgame villain?!’
"Lu Jianheng, you absolute lunatic," Ji’an choked out, pressing her hands over her face, alternating between a desire to scream and a desire to laugh hysterically. "I am not seducing him! He is carrying my wok! We are companions! You are reading way too many trashy romance scrolls!"
"Do not attempt to gaslight me, you flower thief!" Jianheng roared, taking another step forward, his hand tightening on his sword hilt. "I will not allow you to ruin his innocence! Step away from him!"
Shen Zechuan, who had been quietly watching the exchange with wide, blinking eyes, finally decided to intervene.
The abyssal prodigy didn’t understand the complex, toxic, homoerotic misunderstandings of the sect politics.
He didn’t understand why the angry guy in blue was yelling at his sister, but he understood one thing: the angry man was threatening Ji’an, and he was entirely incorrect about their relationship dynamics.
Zechuan took a step forward, smoothly positioning himself between Ji’an and the furious Sword Lord.
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