The instant he spoke, he noticed Ji Xinxiu’s gaze darken.
A curious, intrigued look entered his eyes.
The tail of a succubus was slender and delicate.
After returning to its original position, it had grown longer than before.
It hung down one side of his body, the tip pressed snugly against his skin as it wrapped around his leg.
Following the direction of the tail’s coil, Ji Xinxiu’s fingertips moved upward ever so slightly.
Xue Zhao shrank back instinctively.
His cheeks turned crimson.
Since arriving here…
No one had ever touched his tail before.
A vague sense of danger began ringing in his mind.
Gathering all his courage, he pushed Ji Xinxiu away and hurriedly turned to escape.
Unfortunately, his Life Value was only one.
His body was so weak he could barely stand.
After struggling for only two seconds, he was pinned down once more.
Ji Xinxiu practically pressed him against the sofa.
One hand held his waist firmly, preventing any further movement.
Xue Zhao’s outer robe was lifted.
His body trembled.
“Don’t…”
Perhaps noticing the tears gathering once again in his eyes, Ji Xinxiu paused.
Leaning down, he asked softly,
“Don’t what?”
Xue Zhao looked pitiful.
“Don’t touch my tail…”
Ji Xinxiu laughed quietly.
Then he reached out and stroked Xue Zhao’s burning cheek.
“Alright.”
“I won’t touch your tail.”
Immediately afterward, he lifted Xue Zhao from the sofa and gathered him into his arms.
In a gentler voice, he repeated the question.
“Where is your demonic marking?”
Lowering his head, Xue Zhao hurriedly straightened his disheveled robe.
Under Ji Xinxiu’s persistent questioning, he finally confessed honestly.
“…At my lower back.”
The gap in strength between them was simply too enormous.
No matter what Ji Xinxiu wanted to do, resisting would be futile.
So Xue Zhao thought that if he simply told him where it was, perhaps Ji Xinxiu would agree not to look.
Very quickly, however, he realized he was mistaken.
The arm around his waist was unyieldingly strong.
Held firmly against Ji Xinxiu’s chest, he felt his robe being lifted from behind once again.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break free.
Burying his face, he let out a soft whimper.
Then came the hem of his inner shirt.
Ji Xinxiu raised it slightly.
There, against pale skin, was a small patch of pure black markings.
The design wasn’t fully visible.
The remainder extended lower, toward the small of his back, near the base of his tailbone.
The system finally couldn’t hold back.
“What is wrong with this guy…”
Before it could finish, a notification suddenly appeared.
[Host is currently engaged in private activity.]
[Observation prohibited.]
Inside the room, Ji Xinxiu’s gaze remained fixed.
His movements were slow.
Careful.
Gentle.
Until the entire pattern was revealed.
Xue Zhao was beautiful.
Even his demonic marking differed from ordinary demons.
On both sides, the design resembled the wings of a butterfly spread wide.
Its slender ends stretched downward and connected seamlessly to his tail.
Such a marking had never appeared in any of the books stored within the library.
Ji Xinxiu stared at it for a long time.
His gaze felt almost tangible as it moved inch by inch across the exposed skin.
[Character Favorability Has Changed.]
In his arms, Xue Zhao’s shoulders trembled.
Once again, he pushed against Ji Xinxiu with all his strength.
Only then did Ji Xinxiu release him.
Finally regaining his freedom, Xue Zhao grabbed his robe and scrambled backward.
He was so embarrassed that even breathing felt difficult.
His tear filled crimson eyes glared over at him.
Ji Xinxiu raised his gaze.
Immediately, Xue Zhao grew frightened again.
Without hesitation, he fled from the sofa and darted toward the corner of the room.
Click.
The wardrobe door opened.
Then shut tightly.
The two wall lamps illuminated the front half of the bedroom.
The area near the bed at the rear remained dim.
Ji Xinxiu waited quietly.
Only after a long time did he stand and walk toward the corner where Xue Zhao had hidden.
There were not many items inside the wardrobe.
Curled into a small ball, Xue Zhao hid behind the hanging clothes.
Footsteps approached slowly from outside.
Then stopped directly in front of the wardrobe.
A moment later, the door opened.
A sliver of light filtered inside.
Ji Xinxiu crouched down.
His voice was gentle.
“Are you angry?”
Xue Zhao didn’t answer.
For the moment, he ignored him completely.
The tips of his ears, hidden beneath his silver hair, were bright red.
The translucent panel still floated before him.
Displayed upon it was the notification from earlier.
After looking at his demonic marking, Ji Xinxiu’s favorability had increased by another point.
From the moment his identity was exposed until now, Ji Xinxiu’s favorability had increased by seven points.
It was the largest increase he had ever received.
What’s so special about a demonic marking anyway…
Xue Zhao had seen it in the mirror himself.
Hugging his knees tightly, he buried his head.
The redness on his cheeks refused to fade.
Ji Xinxiu remained outside the wardrobe.
Patiently, he coaxed him.
“Come out first.”
“It’s cold in there.”
Hearing his voice, Xue Zhao became slightly distracted.
His Life Value had increased by one point inside the cage.
Then another point while on the sofa.
He now had a total of two points.
The wardrobe provided a small sense of security.
But it couldn’t ease his hunger.
Besides…
Ji Xinxiu had already seen everything.
Nothing else would probably happen now, right?
Xue Zhao was genuinely starving.
After struggling internally for a while, he finally pushed aside the clothes hiding him and slowly crawled out.
The moment he emerged, Ji Xinxiu lifted him up and carried him back to the sofa.
As promised, Ji Xinxiu no longer mentioned the demonic marking.
Instead, he gently smoothed Xue Zhao’s slightly messy silver hair.
“Alright.”
His voice was soft.
“Don’t be angry anymore.”
Leaning against his chest, Xue Zhao lowered his thick pale lashes.
He still looked a little wronged.
Ji Xinxiu lowered his head and kissed his cheek.
[Life Value increased by 3 points.]
This time, Xue Zhao didn’t resist.
He wrapped his arms around Ji Xinxiu and buried himself against his chest, breathing deeply.
Outside the window, the night had fully descended.
The sky beyond gradually darkened into complete blackness.
Before long, an assistant entered the courtyard and knocked on the bedroom door.
“Father, dinner has been delivered. Shall I place it in the study?”
Ji Xinxiu responded from inside the room.
“Yes.”
Hearing another person’s voice, Xue Zhao instinctively shrank deeper into Ji Xinxiu’s embrace.
For a moment, he nearly considered using his remaining Life Value to transform back into a human.
However, after receiving Ji Xinxiu’s answer, the assistant simply turned around and left.
He never suspected that a demon was hidden inside the room.
Only after the footsteps faded into the distance did Xue Zhao cautiously raise his head.
Ji Xinxiu pinched his cheek lightly.
“Are you hungry?”
The meal was ordinary human food.
To demons, it was little more than tasteless filler, especially for one who had reverted to their original form.
Whether Ji Xinxiu asked out of momentary forgetfulness because of Xue Zhao’s human like appearance, or whether he did it deliberately, was impossible to tell.
Xue Zhao didn’t think too deeply about it.
Obediently, he nodded.
Ji Xinxiu remained silent for a moment before standing up and taking him to the study.
In truth, this was also the first time Xue Zhao had maintained his demon form for such a long period.
His Life Value was still far too low.
Transforming again would consume even more of it.
Besides, with only Ji Xinxiu around, there was no immediate need to return to his human appearance.
Xue Zhao had never eaten much to begin with.
Holding the bowl in both hands, he picked at the food and ate only a small amount before declaring that he was full.
The remaining dishes were returned to the meal box.
Later, an assistant on night duty would come to collect them.
After dinner, Xue Zhao followed Ji Xinxiu back to the bedroom.
From the corner of his eye, he watched Ji Xinxiu move something on the bookshelf along the wall.
The next moment, a hidden door slowly opened beside the wardrobe.
Just as Xue Zhao had suspected before, there truly was another concealed space inside the bedroom.
Curiously, he walked over and looked inside.
Beyond the doorway was a small, fully furnished bedroom.
There was a bed.
A cabinet.
Everything necessary for living.
So…
This was where he was going to be kept?
But there wasn’t even a window.
As though reading the hesitation on his face, Ji Xinxiu lowered his gaze toward him.
“Stay here,” he said calmly, “or stay in the cage.”
Xue Zhao immediately answered,
“Here.”
Without another word, he obediently walked inside.
Only then did he notice that the hidden doorway remained open.
The wall door never closed.
In that case, the opening could at least serve as a makeshift window.
Maybe he could even walk into Ji Xinxiu’s bedroom whenever he wanted.
After sitting on the edge of the bed for a while, Xue Zhao slowly shuffled back toward the doorway.
“Can I… take a bath?”
The bathroom was connected directly to the bedroom.
It was right across from him.
After spending a night here before, he still remembered the layout.
Ji Xinxiu stood before the bookshelf, flipping through a book in his hands.
“You can.”
Xue Zhao hesitated again.
“I don’t have any sleepwear.”
“Wear mine. Pick whatever you like.”
Ji Xinxiu didn’t even lift his head.
“Tomorrow, I’ll have someone bring your belongings.”
Xue Zhao blinked.
“Oh.”
He walked over to the wardrobe.
As a priest living within the church, Ji Xinxiu’s clothing was fairly uniform in style.
The only issue was that all of them were much too large for Xue Zhao.
After searching for quite a while, he finally managed to find something suitable.
Hugging the clothing against his chest, he hurried toward the bathroom.
Once inside, he locked the door.
A trace of worry appeared on his face.
“If I suddenly disappear, won’t people get suspicious?” he quietly asked the system.
“And what about the mission…?”
He could ignore everything else.
The only thing he couldn’t afford to neglect was the mission.
If he failed to complete it before the deadline, the mission would be judged as a total failure.
“The mission duration is seven days,” the system reassured him. “There’s no need to panic yet.”
“You’ve already exposed your identity. The fact that Ji Xinxiu hasn’t done anything to you is honestly a miracle.”
If it had been any other demon who was captured, they would likely have been reduced to ashes by now.
Thanks to Ji Xinxiu’s steadily rising favorability, Xue Zhao remained completely unharmed.
Not only that.
He even had a private room to stay in.
Still…
The more the system thought about it, the more it felt that something wasn’t quite right.
[System]: Stay here for tonight and observe the situation.
[System]: Didn’t he say he was still going to punish you?
[System]: When you’re around him, try your best to coax him a little more.
[System]: Maybe after being confined for a couple of days, everything will be fine.
Coax him more?
Xue Zhao thought seriously about it.
“You mean… I should keep seducing him?”
[System]: Like when you told him you didn’t want to stay in the cage…
[System]: Something along those lines.
[System]: Anyway, he likes you now.
Xue Zhao silently committed the advice to memory.
“Mhm.”
After hanging up his clothes, the system once again entered privacy block mode.
When Xue Zhao finally finished bathing and emerged from the bathroom, Ji Xinxiu was no longer in the bedroom.
The lamps remained lit.
He had no idea where Ji Xinxiu had gone.
Perhaps he would return at any moment.
Not daring to wander around on his own, Xue Zhao returned to the small hidden bedroom in the corner and prepared to sleep.
At the same time, Ji Xinxiu appeared alone within the dungeon.
He pushed open a door hidden at the end of the pool, crossed a corridor and arrived at a storage room.
The room was packed with numerous old items.
Most were ancient objects that had long since lost their purpose.
Standing in the center of the storage room, Ji Xinxiu slowly closed his eyes.
Dozens of aged books emerged from the corners one after another.
They floated into the air.
Pages turned automatically.
The rustling sound echoed continuously through the room.
Time passed.
Eventually, Ji Xinxiu opened his eyes.
Every book suspended in midair suddenly stopped.
One after another, they closed and returned to their original places.
All except one.
The page it had been opened to remained spread.
Slowly, that page tore itself free and drifted into Ji Xinxiu’s hand.
Lowering his gaze, he looked at it.
Printed upon the page was a demonic marking.
It was identical to Xue Zhao’s.
Below the illustration was a single word.
“Succubus.”
Ji Xinxiu stared at those letters.
His eyes darkened slightly.
Xue Zhao was timid.
Weak.
He had only just been captured and was still frightened.
If questioned directly about his race, there was a high chance he would refuse to answer.
Even if he did answer, the truth wasn’t guaranteed.
That was why Ji Xinxiu had come here.
Unfortunately, the page had been preserved for far too many years.
Much of the latter half describing the characteristics of a succubus had become faded and illegible.
Very little could still be read.
After folding the page away, Ji Xinxiu turned and left the storage room.
The next morning, Xue Zhao woke up early.
The door to the small bedroom remained open.
Walking outside, he immediately spotted Ji Xinxiu sitting on the sofa.
Hearing the sound of movement, Ji Xinxiu lifted his gaze.
Then he extended a hand toward him.
“Come here.”
Xue Zhao was still wearing the oversized sleepwear.
Freshly awake, his mind remained sleepy and sluggish.
Without even thinking, he walked over.
Then naturally climbed into Ji Xinxiu’s embrace.
Holding him in his arms, Ji Xinxiu’s fingertips brushed lightly against the tail wrapped around the side of Xue Zhao’s leg.
At the same time, he asked,
“Are you hungry?”
Still half asleep, Xue Zhao nodded.
“Hungry.”
Ji Xinxiu’s voice lowered.
Gentle.
Patient.
Almost coaxing.
“What would you like to eat?”
Author’s Note:
Xue Zhao Baby: (clenching his fist) Seduction is what I’m best at!
Ji Xinxiu: (after reading the same half page countless times) …
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
✦ A tiny offering to the translator may please the spirits of the Realm. ☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · [Mission Identity]: SuccubusChapter 2 · Let him copy the scriptures fifty more timesChapter 3 · Can I seduce him?Chapter 4 · Can I have a bite?Chapter 5 · I wasn’t full at allChapter 6 · This is its original formChapter 7 · Xue Zhao slowly licked it againChapter 8 · If something is discoveredChapter 9 · Because he is… a succubusChapter 10 · Are you trying to seduce me?Chapter 11 · That’s right, a cage to lock up the devilChapter 12 · Can I keep you company for a while?Chapter 13 · Only one kiss a dayChapter 14 · Uncomfortable?Chapter 15 · Day of RepentanceChapter 16 · It’s the last bit left, silver halideChapter 17 · Current Form: SuccubusChapter 18 · This is your… original form?Chapter 19 · What would you like to eat?Chapter 20 · I’ll show you my tail… okay?Chapter 21 · The premise is that he didn’t lieChapter 22 · It has a light, pleasant fragranceChapter 23 · Demons typically have a limited dietChapter 24 · Don’t touch me…Chapter 25 · MaturityChapter 26 · Touch What?Chapter 27 · I never imaginedChapter 28 · “I’ll feed you until you’re fullChapter 29 · You’d better keep having this kind of luckChapter 30 · Anyway, I’ve already touched it onceChapter 31 · Like a kitten begging for extra food.Chapter 32 · [Skill “Charm” in effect]Chapter 33 · [You have entered the “Mature Stage”]Chapter 34 · He wanted Xiu Jixin to feed him….Chapter 35 · You’re trying to seduce me againChapter 36 · He seems… even more off now.Chapter 37 · Xue Zhao blushedChapter 38 · The fallen Holy SpiritChapter 39 · [Health points have reached maximum]Chapter 40 · [Corruption Value]: 63%Chapter 41 · Besides seducing me, what else can you do?Chapter 42 · Can we take the NPC with us?Chapter 43 · Horror Comics: The Murder DollChapter 44 · [Task Details]: Find a new owner for your itemsChapter 45 · The skill “Entering Dreams”Chapter 46 · The thought of making him cryChapter 47 · With a rather wicked interest.Chapter 48 · I’ll buy you new clothes, little bunnyChapter 49 · I should say, thank you, MasterChapter 50 · Do toy bunnies go into heat?