Succubi truly are a debauched bunch.
A flicker of disgust passed through Su Sheng’s eyes.
“Where’s Luo Ren?”
“Good, it seems you’ve made your choice.” Sa La looked quite pleased and nodded to someone in the distance. Immediately, a servant approached to lead Su Sheng to Luo Ren.
The servant stopped outside a bedroom. Su Sheng pushed the door open and saw Luo Ren’s staff placed to one side, while Luo Ren himself lay quietly on the bed, hands folded over his chest.
Looking at him like this, he seemed a bit more tolerable?
With just a glance, Su Sheng could tell the other had likely been given a sleeping potion. He walked over unhurriedly.
Before him was an overly flushed face, thin lips red as if about to bleed. Noticing this subtle abnormality, Su Sheng frowned, pressed the back of his hand to his own forehead, then after a moment, pressed it to Luo Ren’s.
That action seemed to flip a switch. The moment Su Sheng touched Luo Ren’s forehead, Luo Ren’s eyes snapped open.
Su Sheng withdrew his hand, intending to ask Luo Ren what was going on, but unexpectedly, Luo Ren grabbed his arm and yanked him backward. Caught off guard, Su Sheng lost his balance and stumbled forward.
His head collided with Luo Ren’s chest, his forehead pressed against Luo Ren’s skin. A scalding heat spread rapidly from the point of contact, climbing all the way to his ears.
Su Sheng’s body stiffened. The surroundings suddenly grew deathly quiet, even their breaths audible. Every movement seemed to slow down frame by frame. Hot breaths sprayed against his neck, his cheek, until they reached his lips.
A sense of danger crawled up his spine to the crown of his head. He couldn’t help but shudder, snapping back to awareness.
“What are you doing?!”
Su Sheng glared up, simultaneously pushing himself up to create distance, only to find his forearm tightly gripped.
The Luo Ren before him was clearly not right. Recalling Sa La’s earlier words, Su Sheng’s expression darkened.
“Drugging someone… how despicable…”
In that moment of distraction, arms like iron clamps wrapped around him. Heat radiated from all directions like a small furnace, and Su Sheng felt his own cheeks grow slightly warm.
But more than warmth, it was irritation.
“Luo Ren, wake up!” Su Sheng shouted.
The man held him tightly, kissing him clumsily, unwilling to let go.
Just as the man’s lips were about to land on Su Sheng’s, Su Sheng jerked his head aside.
A trace of warmth brushed past his cheek.
Now the man stared at him with a pair of azure-blue eyes, his expression pure and innocent.
Su Sheng felt a surge of frustration, his fists clenching and unclenching, his expression conflicted. After a moment, as if remembering something, he ultimately restrained himself.
Not far behind Luo Ren was a white wall. If he wanted to escape, there was only one way.
Su Sheng lifted his foot and kicked.
The force of that kick was immense. Luo Ren’s back slammed into the wall with a “thud,” followed by a muffled groan. The arms restraining Su Sheng instinctively loosened, and Su Sheng quickly pulled free.
That sense of danger gradually faded, but the lingering warmth on his skin seemed to remain, stubbornly refusing to dissipate.
Su Sheng’s face was flushed, his hair disheveled. Usually meticulous and composed, he now looked disheveled, the bruises on his arm appearing utterly wretched. His dark eyes were misty, anyone who saw him would surely read too much into it.
If there had been a mirror at that moment, Su Sheng would have turned around and killed Luo Ren without hesitation.
But there was no mirror in this bedroom.
To prevent detection, Su Sheng had sealed off the room with a barrier spell. While dodging Luo Ren’s advances, he racked his brain for a solution.
He needed something to restrain Luo Ren so he could cast the spell to neutralize the potion.
A breeze slipped through the window crack, puffing up the light-blocking curtains.
A glance at the curtains gave him an idea. Moments later, Luo Ren was bound tightly on the floor. Su Sheng’s gaze fell calmly upon him. The usually elegant man was now panting heavily, his crimson eyes fixed on Su Sheng like a starved beast.
But no matter how fierce the beast, it could only struggle helplessly on the ground now.
Su Sheng closed his eyes and silently chanted an incantation. A golden light enveloped Luo Ren’s body, and at the same time, green dust particles drifted from Luo Ren’s form as his expression gradually softened.
When Luo Ren opened his eyes again, his gaze met Su Sheng’s directly.
An awkward silence spread through the bedroom, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Su Sheng’s body stiffened, and he slowly averted his gaze, his ears tinged red with embarrassment.
Luo Ren, on the other hand, didn’t seem particularly affected. He had regained his usual polite demeanor, but if Su Sheng had looked more closely, he would have noticed the lingering amusement in Luo Ren’s eyes.
Luo Ren casually glanced around and asked, “Did you cast a barrier spell?”
Su Sheng: “…”
Perhaps sensing Su Sheng’s foul mood, Luo Ren put on an innocent expression and spoke in a pitiful tone, “After you left, they came and knocked me out.”
Su Sheng: “…”
“Do you know how to obtain the token of the Fourth City-State?”
This time, Su Sheng didn’t remain silent. Instead, he replied through gritted teeth, “…Yes.”
Luo Ren seemed intrigued. “Oh? How do you obtain it?”
Su Sheng couldn’t possibly voice the kind of demand Sarati had made, so he stayed silent.
Luo Ren didn’t press the matter. He casually scanned the room, found a spot that was still somewhat intact, and sat down, folding his hands. A hint of mockery flickered in his eyes.
“Hmm, let me guess. He had someone knock me out, drugged me, then sent you over. And from the looks of it, you came willingly. Does it have something to do with obtaining the token?”
Su Sheng: “…”
“Seems like it,” Luo Ren said leisurely. “Let me guess again. Did he want us to… copulate?”
Su Sheng’s expression turned downright ugly: “…”
After enjoying Su Sheng’s discomfort for a moment, Luo Ren chuckled softly. “You’re just too pure.”
Su Sheng shot him a glare.
“To serve the gods, one must remain pure.”
Su Sheng’s tone was completely flat, but somehow, it grated on Luo Ren’s ears.
Luo Ren’s expression darkened slightly.
After a while, Luo Ren casually glanced around and kindly reminded, “Your barrier spell is about to wear off.”
Su Sheng glanced over.
Indeed.
He glanced again.
The bed in the bedroom had collapsed. The curtains lay in tatters on the floor, some even shredded into strips. The scene was utterly disastrous.
Su Sheng’s head began to throb with pain again.
Beside him, Luo Ren picked up a strip of fabric and tugged at it forcefully. With a mischievous glint in his eyes and a smiling face, he said, “I have an idea.”
Looking at Luo Ren’s grinning face, Su Sheng knew nothing good would come of it.
Because last time he had coaxed him into becoming a succubus just like this, yet the truth was that Luo Ren himself wasn’t very good at pretending to be a necromancer either.
After all, how could a normal necromancer get knocked out by a group of succubi and even be drugged?!
What a clumsy excuse!
Su Sheng thought angrily. If he hadn’t witnessed Luo Ren’s record of taking on dozens without losing, he might have actually believed this man whose tone and expression were flawless.
…
When Sa La pushed the door open, she saw such a scene,
“Lori,” with flushed cheeks, was suspended mid-air, hands tightly bound, vivid red marks hidden beneath the cloth strips, while Luo Ren stood with his back to her, fiddling with something using his staff.
Even Sa La, as the succubus city lord, was stunned for a moment, glancing once and then unable to resist looking again.
Good heavens, to wreck the bedroom like this, he’s playing even wilder than I do…
When her gaze shifted to Luo Ren, the succubus city lord lowered her head slightly, a hint of reverence faintly showing on her face.
My king, I hope you like this gift I’ve sent.
Su Sheng slowly opened his eyes, his gaze dazed as if he had just woken up. After coughing twice, he regained clarity and asked, “Could you let me down first?”
Once down, Su Sheng rubbed his sore wrists and turned a pair of purple eyes toward Sa La, saying, “I’ve fulfilled what I promised the city lord. Shouldn’t the city lord also fulfill what she promised?”
Sa La glanced around the wrecked bedroom and smiled slowly. “Of course.”
After gathering the representative items from all the city-states, they headed straight for the deepest part of the abyss, because the Demon King’s castle was there, and so was the Silver Star Orchid.
The closer they got to the castle, the denser the dark aura became. Su Sheng could clearly feel his discomfort growing, and the light energy within him was being suppressed.
The man beside him seemed to notice and asked with concern, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Su Sheng hesitated. The dark energy here was several times denser than in the outer abyss, making him feel truly oppressed, even breathing was a bit difficult. So he nodded and prepared to find a place to sit down first.
Luo Ren: “Wait.”
Su Sheng paused and turned his head toward Luo Ren.
Luo Ren placed a soft cushion on a nearby stone, revealing a concerned smile:
“Sit here instead. You need better rest.”
Su Sheng frowned but still walked toward the stone.
If he had turned around at that moment, he would have seen the contemptuous look in Luo Ren’s eyes, like watching a lamb about to fall into a trap, tinged with a weary cruelty.
Su Sheng walked to the stone with the soft cushion. At the same time, the Demon King watched quietly, the corners of his lips curling into a smug arc.
But in the next moment, the Demon King saw Su Sheng walk past the stone without hesitation, heading forward instead.
The smile froze on his face, and the Demon King’s eyes widened in surprise.
Su Sheng said coldly:
“Luo Ren, I don’t think our relationship warrants such extra effort, does it?”
“After all, we’re just allies, and only temporarily.”
The atmosphere froze for a moment. After a pause, the Demon King concealed the interest in his eyes and let out a low chuckle:
“Fine.”