Chapter 381: A Green Tripod
John never denied that he was a hooligan—especially when he was around beautiful women. In those moments, his natural roguish tendencies were impossible to hide.
He had the old Taoist priest to thank for that... or perhaps blame.
The priest had misled him into believing he couldn't release his kidney yang before reaching the great success of the nameless divine skill. That restriction had left a furnace of fire smoldering inside his body—an intense, unrelenting blaze of desire with no release valve.
And what young man could endure such suffering without going mad?
Since his desire couldn't be sated in the usual way, he had channeled the tension elsewhere—chiefly, by flirting with women.
But ever since that night with Angela, things had shifted. Something inside him had changed.
There was a heaviness to his thoughts now, a sense of... responsibility. A maturity he wasn't used to. He didn't act as recklessly anymore.
After returning from Houston, both he and Angela had chosen not to speak about what happened. They tacitly acknowledged it, but never voiced it. It was a shared secret, buried in silence.
Still, John hadn't expected Tracy of all people to notice.
Yet there she was, watching him with eyes too perceptive, her words veiled but sharp.
She knew.