The system nearly had a heart attack watching from the sidelines.
“Only sixty-five favorability points and you’re already licking his fingers? Isn’t that way too direct?”
“…Although it’s sixty-seven now.”
At this stage, the favorability level wasn’t particularly high.
If Xue Zhao accidentally crossed a line and caused the score to drop, recovering it would be difficult.
That was exactly why the system kept reminding him to take things slowly.
Steady progress.
Gradual advancement.
Even if the score stopped increasing temporarily, it would be fine.
Occasional opportunities to replenish food were enough.
The system was so nervous that it failed to realize something.
That hadn’t even been a kiss.
Xue Zhao never saw the messages.
His attention was entirely fixed on Xiu Jixin.
The favorability had increased.
Which meant he hadn’t disliked it.
Immediately relieved, Xue Zhao edged closer once more.
The fever had lingered too long.
His head still felt heavy.
The fact that he was resisting the urge to crawl directly into Xiu Jixin’s arms already demonstrated tremendous self-control.
Besides…
The finger had been so close.
It wasn’t really his fault.
Thinking hazily, Xue Zhao gradually began viewing Xiu Jixin as something entirely different.
A giant, soft, delicious sweet cake.
A faint crease appeared between Xiu Jixin’s brows.
Yet he didn’t push Xue Zhao away.
Instead, he pulled the brazier closer and adjusted the blanket that had slipped from Xue Zhao’s shoulders.
The movements were somewhat awkward, as though he wasn’t accustomed to caring for sick people.
Naturally, Xue Zhao seized the opportunity.
He immediately burrowed into Xiu Jixin’s arms and wrapped both arms around his waist.
Rain continued falling outside.
When Xiu Jixin had entered the house earlier, he had left his outer coat by the door.
Now his clothing was much lighter.
His body warmth and the sweet scent of “food” gradually surrounded Xue Zhao.
Contentment flooded through him.
A soft hum escaped his lips.
His hair brushed against Xiu Jixin’s collar.
The system was horrified.
“Host, that’s enough, right…?”
“Your vitality is already at seven!”
Only then did Xue Zhao notice the system’s messages.
He began thinking sluggishly.
The favorability score hadn’t increased any further.
Raising his head, he rested his chin against Xiu Jixin’s chest and carefully observed his expression.
Xiu Jixin looked exactly the same as before.
His eyes were lowered.
No emotions could be read from them.
As he stared, Xue Zhao’s thoughts drifted away once again.
He completely forgot whatever the system had just said.
His cheeks were flushed red.
His expression was blank and dazed.
Like someone whose fever had completely scrambled his brain.
Unexpectedly obedient.
Unexpectedly cute.
Xiu Jixin was watching him too.
His gaze moved slowly across Xue Zhao’s features.
After a long silence, he raised a hand and touched Xue Zhao’s forehead.
“The fever’s gone down a little.”
His voice was low.
“Get up.”
The pill’s effects were far superior to the clinic’s medicine.
Combined with the increase in vitality, Xue Zhao’s temperature had finally begun to fall.
“Oh…”
Obediently, he climbed out of Xiu Jixin’s embrace.
Then he watched as Xiu Jixin stood up.
He was preparing to leave.
Wrapped in his blanket, Xue Zhao couldn’t stop himself from asking,
“Will you come see me again tomorrow?”
Xiu Jixin fell silent briefly.
He didn’t answer the question directly.
Instead he said only,
“Get plenty of rest.”
After one final glance at Xue Zhao, he turned and left the room.
The door quietly closed behind him.
Xue Zhao sat motionless on the edge of the bed for some time before eventually lying back down.
The system finally released a huge sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness…”
“Thank goodness the favorability score didn’t drop. Host, you’re way too bold!”
Xue Zhao answered vaguely.
“But the favorability went up…”
“It did, but that was extremely risky.”
Xue Zhao remained silent.
The system sent another message.
“Think about it.”
“You hugged him for ages just now, but the score never increased again. The only increase was the first two points.”
What the system meant was simple.
Without truly understanding Xiu Jixin, repeating the same actions over and over wouldn’t necessarily produce results every time.
But Xue Zhao’s thoughts wandered elsewhere.
The hugging hadn’t increased favorability.
Licking his finger had.
And it had increased by two whole points.
So…
Did that mean he liked licking more than hugging?
For some reason, Xue Zhao suddenly thought of the black cat.
His face turned bright red.
He pulled the blanket over himself, covering everything except his eyes.
The system failed to notice anything strange.
Instead, it resent the carefully prepared plan once again and urged Xue Zhao to memorize it thoroughly.
There was no helping it.
Xue Zhao was weak.
His abilities were limited.
No matter how they looked at it, being cautious remained the safest approach.
“Mm…”
Xue Zhao gave a muffled response.
Whether he actually read any of it was impossible to tell.
Not long afterward, he drifted back to sleep.
Aunt Huai quietly entered the room once during the night.
Without disturbing him, she turned off the remaining light and slipped out again.
The next day, Xue Zhao’s condition improved considerably.
The fever was gone.
Though he hadn’t fully recovered yet.
He still coughed occasionally and his energy hadn’t completely returned.
Aunt Huai insisted he continue taking medicine for another two days and remain in bed.
“You’ve always been frail. You need more rest.”
She continued fussing over him.
“And the town hasn’t exactly been safe lately…”
The captured demon had already been dealt with.
However, the church had never denied the existence of a second demon.
The system commented,
“That’s only natural. A holy relic has appeared here. From now on, more and more demons will learn of its existence.”
While responding absentmindedly to Aunt Huai’s reminders, a new notification suddenly appeared on Xue Zhao’s interface.
[A New Main Quest Has Been Issued!]
[Quest Details]: Poison the town well and cause more than 30 people to become ill.
[Quest Reward]: Villain Points +10
Xue Zhao was so startled that he nearly jumped.
“…Poison it?”
The system quickly examined the mission details.
“It doesn’t specify what kind of poison and it doesn’t say how severe the poisoning has to be. It probably doesn’t need to be anything serious. Making people sick for a few days should be enough.”
Although Xue Zhao was technically destined to become a great villain, his ultimate objective was still to infiltrate the church and locate the holy relic. Harming humans was not his primary purpose.
Relieved, Xue Zhao let out a small breath.
The townspeople here had all treated him kindly. If he really had to do something, then perhaps something mild would suffice, something like the fever he had suffered himself. A little sickness, some medicine and then recovery.
The system searched the dimensional database for a long time before finally finding a suitable demonic talisman.
It was a curse used by demons to spread a contagious illness.
The symptoms resembled nothing more than an ordinary cold.
As a result, Xue Zhao spent the entire morning indoors drawing talismans.
Since it was inconvenient to go outside and collect leaves, he used ordinary sheets of white paper instead.
Again and again, he carefully redrew the same symbol, repeating the process countless times to ensure that enough demonic energy was infused into each one.
The system had originally estimated that the task would take less than two hours.
Unfortunately, ordinary paper could only withstand limited magical energy.
Every so often, Xue Zhao had to stop and wait for the paper to stabilize.
Moreover, his body had not fully recovered from his illness.
By the time the talisman was finally completed, it was already afternoon.
The day was slipping away quickly.
Aunt Huai had gone to the vegetable garden and would likely return before long.
Xue Zhao hurriedly wrapped his scarf around his neck, took the completed talisman paper and slipped out of the house.
The system had already scanned the terrain around the church during previous visits.
The town’s largest well was located not far from the church grounds.
Following the system’s directions, Xue Zhao arrived at a small building and entered.
Inside stood the well.
Unfortunately, the well had been securely locked.
The lock itself was enormous, larger than Xue Zhao’s hand.
A heavy cover sealed the opening completely.
There was not even the slightest crack through which the prepared talisman paper could be inserted.
The system considered the situation.
“In that case… we’ll have to redraw the talisman directly on the cover. Once the magic seeps through, the effect will be the same.”
To be safe, the system had already established a save point before Xue Zhao entered the building.
That way, he could act freely without worrying about interruptions.
Xue Zhao reluctantly put away the talisman paper.
“Alright…”
However, drawing the talisman directly onto the cover would be much more complicated.
This method required blood.
The area surrounding the well contained only sparse patches of grass enclosed by the building.
Xue Zhao searched the ground until he found a sharp fragment of stone.
Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and pierced his fingertip.
He was still recovering from illness.
His condition was far from ideal.
Only the vitality points he had gained the previous night were keeping him going.
As a result, he barely paid attention to the pain.
Putting the stone aside, he used his blood to draw a talisman across the surface of the well cover.
The symbol was enormous.
It covered nearly the entire lid.
Once completed, the blood gradually sank into the metal until every trace vanished from sight.
Of course, a single talisman would never be enough.
The system estimated that at least thirty would be required.
Xue Zhao began drawing a second one.
Immediately, his face became noticeably paler.
“Keep going, Host!” the system encouraged.
“You’re doing great!”
Even without the encouragement, Xue Zhao had no intention of giving up.
It was only a little blood.
He might be timid, but he genuinely wanted to complete his missions.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he continued drawing.
Fortunately, the save point allowed him to repeat the process as many times as necessary.
Achieving the desired effect was merely a matter of time.
By the tenth talisman, one point of vitality had already been lost.
The wound on his fingertip had begun to clot.
He reopened it with the stone and continued.
By the end, Xue Zhao felt almost numb.
When the system finally announced that it was enough, he stared blankly for several seconds.
“Thirty-two talismans,” the system reported.
“The curse has completely permeated the well water.”
Xue Zhao sat down nearby and rested for quite a while before managing to stand.
The save-point space closed.
Making sure no one was outside, he quietly slipped out of the well house.
Although the talisman work had consumed an entire hour within the save-point space, less than half a minute had passed in reality.
Even if someone had noticed him entering the building, no one could possibly guess what he had been doing inside.
The cold wind outside struck his face.
After remaining indoors for so long, the fresh air cleared his head somewhat.
At the same time, another point of vitality disappeared.
A wave of dizziness washed over him.
Lowering his head, he walked slowly along the road.
As he rounded a corner ahead, a voice suddenly called out.
“What are you doing over there?”
Xue Zhao looked up.
Standing nearby were Xiu Jixin and one of his assistants.
The well house was located very close to the church.
The two of them appeared to have just returned from outside and had happened to run into him.
The question had come from the assistant.
His brows were tightly furrowed.
The suspicion in his gaze was impossible to miss.
“Don’t panic,” the system immediately reassured him.
“They have no evidence.”
At once, the system supplied an entire list of excuses.
He had gone out for fresh air.
He had been curious and wandered over.
He had accidentally gotten lost.
Any one of them would work.
Yet Xue Zhao remained frozen in place.
He neither moved nor answered.
Only then did the system realize something was wrong.
His condition had become far worse than expected.
Xiu Jixin turned his head toward him and immediately began walking over.
The assistant seemed ready to say something else, but fell silent when he saw this.
Watching Xiu Jixin draw closer and closer, Xue Zhao felt increasingly uneasy.
Even breathing became difficult.
“What are you doing here?”
Stopping in front of him, Xiu Jixin repeated the same question.
Another point of vitality vanished.
The loss reflected just how exhausted and depleted Xue Zhao had become.
“I…”
He tried to explain.
Before he could finish, the world suddenly spun.
“Host!!”
The system shouted in alarm.
Xue Zhao could no longer hold himself upright.
His body swayed.
Just before he collapsed, Xiu Jixin stepped forward and caught him.
Looking down, he found that Xue Zhao had already lost consciousness.
His illness had never fully recovered.
He had drawn countless talismans inside the room, then repeated the process on the well cover.
The magical energy contained within all those talismans had originated from Xue Zhao himself.
The system felt a pang of sympathy.
Every time he painstakingly gained a little vitality, a single mission would consume it all over again.
This couldn’t continue forever.
After all, Xue Zhao was a succubus.
Compared to ordinary demons, food was far more important to him.
The ideal life for a succubus was to possess a stable source of nourishment.
Someone who could continuously provide food and satisfaction.
Xue Zhao was already weak.
He lacked the ability to protect himself.
More than anyone else, he needed someone to take care of him.
But where could they possibly find a suitable source of nourishment?
Xiu Jixin?
His favorability was certainly the highest.
Yet his identity was far too dangerous.
If he discovered even the slightest clue…
The consequences would be disastrous.
With its host unconscious, the system could gather only limited information.
It vaguely heard Xiu Jixin call for an assistant.
Soon afterward, he appeared to personally carry Xue Zhao somewhere else.
Judging from the distance traveled, it definitely wasn’t Aunt Huai’s residence.
They remained somewhere near the church.
The system stayed alert, wary that Xiu Jixin might do something suspicious.
Yet all he did was feed Xue Zhao two medicinal pills.
The medicine dissolved slowly after entering his mouth.
Though his eyes remained closed, some color gradually returned to Xue Zhao’s pale face.
When Xue Zhao finally woke up, it was already the next morning.
He found himself in an unfamiliar room.
Through the glass window, he could see the church walls outside.
“Host! You’re finally awake!”
“How are you feeling? Does your head still hurt?”
The system nearly cried with relief.
“Much better, I think…”
Xue Zhao sat up and touched his forehead.
Only then did he notice a notification waiting for him.
[Quest Details]: Poison the well and cause at least 30 people to become ill.
“Two people have already been infected,” the system reported.
“I’m not sure how obvious their symptoms are yet.”
The disease created by the talisman possessed extremely strong transmissibility.
Within the five-day mission limit, reaching one hundred percent completion was practically guaranteed.
Xue Zhao stared in surprise.
“That fast…?”
He was still examining the progress notification when the door suddenly opened.
Looking up, he saw Xiu Jixin.
An assistant followed behind him, carrying food and a medicine box.
After placing them on the table, the assistant quietly departed.
The door closed once more.
Only Xiu Jixin and Xue Zhao remained.
After a brief hesitation, Xue Zhao climbed out of bed.
“Yesterday…”
Xiu Jixin approached him.
“What were you doing yesterday?”
The system immediately flooded Xue Zhao’s mind with possible answers.
Xue Zhao’s heart tightened.
“I… I came to find you.”
The system paused.
“…That works too, I guess.”
“To find me?”
Xiu Jixin lowered his gaze.
Xue Zhao nodded.
His voice carried both nervousness and grievance.
“You didn’t come see me yesterday.”
Xiu Jixin remained silent.
His gaze shifted toward Xue Zhao’s right hand.
“How did your hand get injured?”
Xue Zhao instinctively curled his fingers inward.
“I felt dizzy… so I poked myself with a stone a couple of times.”
The wound was small.
It had already scabbed over.
The explanation sounded somewhat strange.
Yet Xue Zhao’s expression was utterly sincere.
His obedient appearance made it difficult to believe he was lying.
Xiu Jixin’s eyes swept across his face.
He asked no further questions.
“Take your medicine before you return.”
He clearly had no intention of staying longer.
Having said what he needed to say, he turned to leave.
The moment the door opened, a black blur shot into the room.
The black cat leaped onto the table and casually licked its paw.
Its meaning was obvious.
It would escort Xue Zhao home later.
Among the food on the table, Xue Zhao only ate a few biscuits before taking one pill from the medicine box.
When he finally returned home with the black cat, Aunt Huai immediately surrounded him with concern.
“Thank goodness Father Xiu was there,” she said gratefully.
“I wanted to visit you last night, but he said you’d taken medicine and shouldn’t be disturbed.”
Distracted, Xue Zhao listened absentmindedly.
Before returning to his room, he reminded Aunt Huai to take care of her health over the next few days.
Smiling, she nodded and urged him to rest.
The cursed well supplied water to nearly the entire town.
Combined with the disease’s highly contagious nature, the mission progress had already reached 16.6% by that very afternoon.
Two days later, it reached 100%.
[Mission Complete!]
One more day passed.
The number of patients nearly doubled again.
The church quickly noticed the rapid spread of illness and distributed medicine throughout the town early that morning.
Soon afterward, Xue Zhao received another mission.
[A New Side Quest Has Been Issued!]
[Quest Details]: Volunteer yourself and become a temporary assistant at the church.
[Quest Reward]: Villain Points +5
“Note: Completion of this side quest is not mandatory.”
The system immediately complained, “Why is the reward for this mission so low?”
The reason behind it was obvious. Because of the sudden outbreak, a large number of residents had fallen ill. The wellhouse was located closest to the church and even many of the church assistants had become infected.
Although the symptoms were not severe, the illness had still disrupted the daily rhythm of both the town and the church.
As a result, earlier that morning, the church had announced that it needed a number of healthy residents to come and assist with various tasks.
The moment Xue Zhao saw the newly issued quest, he hurriedly prepared to leave the house.
The system quickly stopped him.
“Shouldn’t you make some preparations first? Even if they’re only recruiting temporary assistants, they’ll probably still have a selection process, right?”
Xue Zhao lowered his head and rushed downstairs.
“I’ll go take a look first…”
He had been staying inside the house for three full days.
Three entire days without seeing Xiu Jixin.
At least his illness had completely recovered.
Unable to persuade him otherwise, the system could only search through its database, trying to determine what qualifications were required to become a church assistant.
As it happened, Xiu Jixin had come to the clinic that day.
The moment Xue Zhao reached the ground floor, he spotted him.
A large crowd had gathered outside the clinic.
Some people had come specifically to see Xiu Jixin.
Others wished to volunteer as temporary assistants and were being led elsewhere by church aides, who carefully recorded their information.
There were simply too many people.
Xue Zhao lingered anxiously near the corner of the street before retreating upstairs to wait.
Only after a long while, when Xiu Jixin finally had a free moment, did he gather his courage and approach.
Standing in front of him, Xue Zhao asked nervously,
“Can I become your assistant?”
Xiu Jixin lifted his eyes toward him.
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he seemed to be considering the question.
After a brief silence, he finally spoke.
“Come with me.”
He had not rejected him outright.
That meant there was hope.
Xue Zhao’s eyes instantly brightened.
A moment later, Xiu Jixin led him to an empty room located in the rear courtyard of the clinic.
Pushing open the door, he stepped inside.
Then he removed something from his person and placed it atop a medicine cabinet standing in the center of the room.
As he did so, he said calmly,
“To enter the church, one must possess a pure state of mind, free of excessive distractions.”
The door closed behind them.
The windows had been shut as well.
The system sighed.
“I knew it. There was definitely going to be a screening process.”
Not everyone could become a church assistant.
Still, Xue Zhao’s human disguise had always been exceptionally convincing.
Even if the mission failed, it probably wouldn’t cause any serious problems.
While the system continued analyzing the situation, Xue Zhao rubbed the tip of his nose.
A familiar scent drifted faintly through the room.
Xiu Jixin turned back toward him.
“Including fear,” he continued, “desire and obsession.”
The more the system listened, the more uneasy it became.
Something felt wrong.
A slight frown appeared on Xue Zhao’s face as he looked toward a stick of incense burning quietly on the table.
“What is that…?”
he asked softly.
Xiu Jixin answered,
“Demon Grass.”
The incense made from Demon Grass was far more potent than the immature plants involved in the previous incident.
The system’s heart sank instantly.
This was bad.
Xue Zhao stared blankly ahead.
By the time he realized what was happening, the world around him had already changed completely.
Once again, he found himself standing amidst the same grassy field from his previous nightmare.
Drawn back into an illusion, his awareness rapidly began to blur.
Sitting on the ground, he looked around in confusion.
He had already forgotten where he had been moments ago.
Forgotten what he had been doing.
The grass rustled softly.
Xiu Jixin appeared from behind and walked toward him before crouching down in front of him.
The moment Xue Zhao saw him, happiness rose instinctively within his heart.
Without hesitation, he threw himself forward.
This time, Xiu Jixin did not reject him.
Instead, he wrapped his arms around him.
Several days had passed since they last met.
And Xue Zhao was hungry again.
He buried himself closer, repeatedly breathing in the scent that clung to Xiu Jixin.
Then he asked in confusion,
“Are you real?”
Xiu Jixin’s dark eyes remained steady.
“No.”
Xue Zhao looked even more bewildered.
Unable to understand, he reached up and touched Xiu Jixin’s cheek.
Xiu Jixin caught his hand naturally.
His fingers lightly brushed the scabbed wound on Xue Zhao’s index finger.
Then he asked quietly,
“Tell me. What do you want most?”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ a little coffee would be lovely
☕ 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?