Jiang Xia took a deep breath and tilted his head back, pouring the drink down his throat.
"Gulp!"
The moment the amber liquid slid down his throat, Jiang Xia realized he had underestimated the potency of the drink.
If he had to name it, he thought "Inferno" would be fitting!
The scorching liquid slipped down his throat, as if he had swallowed a piece of burning coal, carving a path of liquid fire along his esophagus.
When it reached his stomach, it felt as though a searing lead block had been lodged there, its temperature continuing to rise.
Jiang Xia couldn't bear it any longer; it felt like a fiery dragon was about to erupt from within him.
He shoved the woman off his lap and dashed to the bathroom, bending over and retching!
A layer of hot sweat broke out all over his body, his ears buzzed, and his nerves felt like they were being pierced by a thousand silver needles!
Jiang Xia felt as if one foot had already stepped into the underworld, his consciousness slipping away, his vision blurred as if shrouded in a thin veil.
The demonspawn bloodline within him seemed to be activated by the strong liquor, his muscles violently pulsating!
Jiang Xia's grip on the edge of the toilet was so light, yet the porcelain shattered like tofu.
The buzzing in his ears persisted for a long time, and the burning sensation in his abdomen made him cry out in pain.
He hurried to the sink, turned on the tap, and gulped down the icy tap water, hoping to extinguish the flames rising in his stomach.
He kept drinking and retching until several minutes later, the situation finally eased somewhat.
This feeling of being worse than dead, if possible, Jiang Xia never wanted to experience it again.
As everything gradually came into focus, Jiang Xia, supporting himself on the sink, was stunned, staring at his reflection.
His skin had turned a pale green, his features slightly altered, but overall still retained his original appearance.
His eyes were a ghostly green, pupils vertical and tinged with red, surrounded by neatly arranged small blue-green scales.
His ears had become long and pointed, like those of an elf.
Opening his mouth slightly, his teeth were sharp and jagged, capable of tearing through flesh with ease.
The most noticeable change was the two black horns growing from his head, resembling dragon horns.
Standing at the bathroom door, Li Sitong gulped, staring at Jiang Xia's reflection.
After a long pause, she finally spoke: "So... so cute!"
Li Sitong couldn't contain herself, rushing in to tug at Jiang Xia's ears and pinch his cheeks, overjoyed like a little girl with her first plush toy.
"Little... little dragon man?"
Jiang Xia blinked, a storm raging in his heart!
No! Does it have to be this cute?
Shouldn't it be a terrifying and fearsome image?
"On closer inspection, you look a bit like a goblin..." Li Sitong remarked.
Jiang Xia shot a sharp look at Li Sitong, reacting intensely: "How do I look like that?"
Li Sitong quickly explained: "I mean the color of your face, of course, much better looking than a goblin, on closer look... hmm... quite handsome!"
Aside from his head, other parts of his body had also changed.
His demonized hands were covered in dark green scales, orderly in size, with black claws about ten centimeters long at the tips.
Behind him, a green tail with a tapered end easily pierced through his pants, standing upright.
Removing his jacket and vest, his transformed body was fully revealed.
His chest muscles were firm and powerful, with well-defined abs below, his sides covered in scales extending to his back.
Just looking at his face, cute!
But overall, the sharp claws, chilling fangs, and tapered tail were highly aggressive!
His slender physique seemed born for battle!
Li Sitong stood beside Jiang Xia, her eyes shining as she looked at his reflection.
"No wonder he's the man I fancy, even his demonized form is so to my liking!"
Jiang Xia gazed at his reflection, feeling he hadn't fully demonized yet.
He tried to control the power within him, his face beginning to change again.
His hair started retracting inward, his forehead bone elongating, his neck thickening...
When the transformation stopped, his entire head had become dragon-like, the blue scales shimmering with phosphorescence!
Li Sitong examined him closely, musing: "A bit like a dragon warrior, but the previous look was better..."
The demonized state lasted for over ten minutes, until Jiang Xia gradually mastered the pattern and retracted his demonized form.
Jiang Xia decided to buy a pair of looser shorts tomorrow.
His body was stronger and more muscular after demonization, making his current clothes feel tight.
The good news: his demonized form wasn't a tentacle monster, not as disgusting as it could be, and actually quite handsome?
Then Jiang Xia looked at Li Sitong, puzzled: "How can you handle alcohol so well? It's been so long and you're fine?"
"I didn't drink!" Li Sitong giggled.
"You..." Jiang Xia gritted his teeth, swallowing the curse words.
Having seen Jiang Xia's demonized form, Li Sitong was satisfied.
After staying a few more minutes, she left, saying she hadn't been home last night and had to go back tonight.
Jiang Xia didn't want to stay in this hotel that seemed like a demonspawn gathering place, but it wasn't safe to go back alone at night.
After a hot shower, he lay on the bed and called his mom.
On the phone, he asked about her situation.
Learning that her flight was early the day after tomorrow, Jiang Xia told her to be careful, using a serious tone to tell her to stay in crowded places and not go out at night.
He also shared the trick he told his sister about spraying alcohol on oneself, but didn't reveal the truth when his mom asked what was going on.
Not telling his sister was to avoid scaring her, not telling his mom was because it was hard to explain over the phone, and it might be taken as a joke... After all, he and his sister used to joke about seeing aliens, so saying the truth now might just become a "boy who cried wolf" situation!
After getting his mom's assurance, Jiang Xia hung up, exhausted, and fell asleep in deep hunger.
...
The next morning at 6:30, it was drizzling outside.
The nights nearing winter were particularly long, and Jiang Xia boarded the crowded bus, not rushing to school, but first going home to change clothes. He arrived at school just as the morning reading session ended, with the sky barely light.
The whole morning, Jiang Xia was alone, the seat next to him where Yang Jie usually sat was empty.
The reason was that after morning reading, Yang Jie was caught smoking in the bathroom by a teacher and was now standing in punishment at the administration office.
Standing in punishment wasn't embarrassing, what was embarrassing was that the teacher made him write a hundred times: I will never pick up cigarette butts in the bathroom to smoke again!
What surprised Jiang Xia the most was that after the rain stopped, Wang Fei actually invited him to play basketball.
Jiang Xia didn't understand: How could this guy act so normal? Last night he was following him, ready to devour him, and today he's casually inviting him to play ball!
Jiang Xia didn't go, not just out of spite, but also because he was starving.
The whole day, except for eating and going to the bathroom, Jiang Xia sat almost motionless at his desk, the intense hunger consuming him, making even moving his legs difficult.
He knew Li Sitong had something that could fill his stomach.
But he hesitated to ask, fearing that once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop.
Jiang Xia still wanted to find another way to satisfy his hunger.
After all, he wasn't a true demonspawn, just an "undercover"!
He still instinctively resisted consuming his "kind."
Today was Friday, no evening self-study.
At 4:20 in the afternoon, Jiang Xia boarded the bus heading to "Autumn Maple Villa Estate."
Last night on the bus, when passing a certain place, he caught a scent wafting in from the window.
The scent was strange, not fragrant, but it whetted his appetite, and it didn't smell like "human blood."
Jiang Xia had a hunch that the source of this scent might be able to fill his stomach.
If Wang Fei hadn't been following him last night.
When he caught the scent, he had planned to get off the bus and investigate.