Chapter 399: A Long Night

As Rod and his group of over twenty people left the hall, it immediately became somewhat deserted. The remaining dozen or so people glanced at this strange group before resuming their lively discussions.

“Hey, doesn’t that guy look familiar?” One of the men noticed Rod and his group leaving and, staring at Rod at the head of the group, asked his companion in confusion.

“Hey… You really do that—saying everyone looks familiar. There must not be anyone in the whole world you don’t know!” His companion said disdainfully, wrinkling his lips. These people seemed fierce, and he didn’t want to offend them.

“Maybe I’m just mistaken,” the man replied, turning away from Rod and joining the discussion.

Upstairs, due to it being a small-town inn, there weren’t many rooms available. Rod’s group only got two rooms, so Viski’s group had to share one room, while Rod and Lucy were placed in another.

Inside the room, Lucy’s face was flushed. She seemed lost in thought, head bowed, saying not a word.

Rod also felt a bit awkward. Being alone in the same room with a woman was indeed inconvenient. After pondering for a moment, he said, “How about you stay here? I’ll go squeeze in with Viski and the others!” Then he turned to leave.

“No… Big brother… wait…” Seeing Rod about to leave, Lucy panicked and quickly grabbed his arm.

“I… I’m scared!” After holding back for a long time, Lucy stammered. Her face turned even redder as she lowered her head, too afraid to look at Rod.

Looking at Lucy, Rod shook his head with a wry smile. She was already so grown up—why was she still scared? But there was nothing he could do. Moreover, in such a place, he really wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone. After what had happened with the nightingale, he was extra cautious.

“Then you sleep in the bed, and I’ll make do on the floor!” With a sigh, Rod went to the table, took out two small wooden stools, and set them down, planning to practice cultivation there overnight.

Lucy didn’t object. Her face remained flushed as she approached the bed, fidgeting slightly. She stared at Rod, who was already seated in meditation, her gaze somewhat dreamy.

Recalling the words those people had said downstairs earlier, for some reason her heart started pounding and she became panicked. Lying in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what; she tossed and turned for a long time before getting up to look at Rod ahead. In the darkness, his dark eyes moved back and forth, lost in thought.

Spring was particularly rainy. In the latter half of the night, drizzling rain began to fall, and the temperature dropped again to freezing point. The cold wind howling outside was even colder than in winter! Winter’s cold was dry, not too bad, but spring’s cold was damp and penetrating, almost unbearable.

The temperature inside the house seemed to have dropped to freezing point as well. Lucy still hadn’t fallen asleep. In the darkness, she opened her eyes and stared at Rod, who was practicing cultivation ahead of her, lost in thought herself, unsure of what to think.

After a while, she slowly got up and went over to Rod. “Big brother!” she called out softly.

A moment later, Rod opened his eyes. “What’s wrong?” Rather than being in deep concentration on cultivation, he was mostly paying attention to his surroundings, noticing every slightest movement. Sensing Lucy approach, he asked doubtfully, thinking something must have happened.

“I can’t sleep!” Lucy said, a bit embarrassed. Her coy demeanor only added to her charm.

Frowning at Lucy, Rod didn’t understand what was wrong with her.

“Um… could you…?” Feeling uncomfortable under Rod’s gaze, Lucy’s face turned as red as a small apple. Taking a deep breath, she finally mustered up the courage: “Could you sleep with me? When I was little, Dad used to sleep with me like this! But now it’s not possible anymore!” she said plaintively. For some reason, her heart suddenly raced.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt her face burn. She didn’t even know what she had just said. The whole world seemed to be spinning. Good heavens, how could she say such things! She wished she could burrow into the ground, too afraid to look at Rod’s expression.

Rod was clearly stunned by her request, staring at her with confusion and surprise.

“Um… if that’s not possible… I mean, oh, never mind. I’m going to bed!” Her heart was pounding like a deer’s. Seeing that Rod didn’t respond, Lucy lowered her head anxiously, fearing she might disgust her big brother. She quickly turned back to bed and buried herself under the covers, not daring to breathe. She was overwhelmed with shame.

Looking at Lucy’s expression, Rod sighed. It seemed that Lucy had changed a lot in these past few days—she no longer seemed like the naive girl she used to be. What had changed about her?

“Big brother…” After a moment, seeing that Rod wasn’t speaking, Lucy called out softly.

“What is it?” Rod turned around and asked in a low voice.

“You’re not angry, right?” Lucy said shyly, looking at him with a hint of fear. Without giving Rod a chance to respond, she continued, “Actually, Lucy really wants her big brother to hold her. My mother left me when I was very young. Since then, it’s been my father who took care of me. He would stay with me every night, especially on rainy days like this. I was so scared back then, but my father would keep me company until I fell asleep. It felt so comforting. It’s a pity that my father hasn’t done that for me in years!”

Gazing into the distance, Lucy murmured. At that moment, her mood calmed down, and she began to recall her past life. Her mother had left her as soon as she was born, and her father never told her where she went. This had become a mystery in Lucy’s heart.

Hearing Lucy’s words, Rod felt a heavy weight in his heart for some reason. Thinking about himself, how long had it been? How many years had he been in this world? It seemed he didn’t even have any relatives. At least Lucy still had a father, while he didn’t even know what had become of the only old man he had some connection with—whether he was still among the Scorpion King’s clan or not.

Thinking of the old man, a faint smile appeared on Rod’s lips. He was in Dark Moon City. This time, he should be able to see him. That damned guy had hidden things from him for so long. Remembering how he felt in front of his grave when he first arrived in Fiery City, Rod felt resentful. This time, he must teach him a lesson.

In the past, it was always him who taught Rod—because Rod’s strength wasn’t enough. If he remembered correctly, his strength was at the quasi-divine level. So, it went without saying what would happen when they met again. As he thought about it, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Big brother, can you sit here?” Lucy said softly, her face slightly red.

She remembered what Sister Nightingale had told her—she had to be proactive, especially with men. After all, one might only meet one beloved man in a lifetime. If she let him slip away, it could be a lifelong regret, one that could never be undone.

Lucy didn’t want such regret to happen to her, because she knew that if she missed Rod, she would never find another man she loved more or a better man in her life. Most importantly, Sister Nightingale also supported her, which made her face burn with warmth.

Of course, if Rod knew what Lucy was thinking at that moment, he might not be able to stay calm—he would probably be shocked. Lucy, who had always seemed pure in his eyes, how could he have imagined she would hold such thoughts?

It was precisely because he didn’t know Lucy’s thoughts that Rod was tricked for the first time. He went to her bed, sat beside her, and let Lucy lean on him, resting her head on his thigh.

Lucy exuded a gentle fragrance—a natural body scent—that was pleasant to smell, making Rod feel refreshed. He didn’t reject this position at all.

Her long, silky black hair draped down his thigh, smooth and straight, with a fragrant scent from her bath. Rod even felt his heartbeat gradually quicken. Listening to Lucy talk about the past beside him, her soft voice was very pleasant.

After what seemed like a while, Lucy’s voice grew quieter until it disappeared. Looking down, he saw that she had fallen asleep on his leg! With a wry smile, he tried to move her away—but something frustrating happened.

Lucy clung tightly to his thigh, showing no sign of letting go, with a faint smile on her lips, looking like a fairy from the heavens. He didn’t know what dream she was having, but it seemed nice.

Not wanting to disturb her sleep, Rod let her stay in that position. Instead, he leaned back against the headboard and took a deep breath. It was already late at night, and with nothing else to do, he resumed his cultivation.

……

A slight itch at the tip of his nose made Rod frown. He opened his eyes and saw that Lucy had woken up somehow and was sitting across from him, her little face red and beautiful.

“Woke up?” Looking outside, it was still not fully light—just dawn, with some time left until morning.

“Mm, I feel very comfortable. Thank you, big brother!” Lucy said softly. Thinking about falling asleep on her big brother’s leg last night, her face turned even redder.

Both of them seemed to avoid discussing this topic further and went to wash up separately. By then, Viski and the others next door had also all gotten up.

After some final preparations, the group set off. When they reached the downstairs, they found that the people they had seen the previous night had also gotten up early. As they passed by each other, Rod couldn’t help but think of their absurd remarks from the day before. If they knew he had spent the night in the same room as Lucy, who knows how much more outrageous things they might say.