Is a Succubus Considered a Demon? – CH4

Chapter 4

The cashier trembled in front of Xing Xu, so much so that he forgot to tell him how much the orange-flavored candy he picked up cost, and also forgot to mention that Xing Xu shouldn’t open the packaging before paying.

All of the cashier’s attention was focused on Xing Xu’s face. After a long while, he mustered the courage to ask, “Officer… are you sick?”

Hearing this, Xing Xu raised a sharp brow but said nothing, merely glancing at him.

A hard candy crunched between his teeth.

That single look almost made the cashier burst into tears.

“S-s-sorry! I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just that your… your neck and your eyes… I didn’t mean to offend! You just look like…”—he trailed off, suddenly turning his head, unable to keep looking into Xing Xu’s eyes.

Xing Xu let out a low, muffled chuckle. Rarely did he have the patience to explain an irrelevant question to an irrelevant person, but he said, “I’m not sick.”

He pulled two coins from his pocket, tossing them onto the counter to pay for the candy. Under the cashier’s curious but fearful gaze, he casually added, “I’m dying.”

Then he turned and left.

The door closed behind him, and the mechanical voice saying “Thank you for your patronage” shattered the cashier’s trembling follow-up: “…Huh?”

Xing Xu’s long legs made his strides twice as fast as others’, and he quickly caught up to Ye Xiyao, who hadn’t run far.

He maintained his distance, keeping to the shadows. Even if Ye Xiyao were to turn around right now, he wouldn’t notice him.

Xing Xu knew he wasn’t following a human but a demon.

This was his unexpected discovery for the night.

In fact, half a month earlier, Xing Xu had received a request for assistance from Lucheng regarding a wide-reaching missing persons case.

At the time, however, Xing Xu was across the ocean, hunting down another demon hidden among humans. That task had taken a lot of time and energy, so he only arrived in Lucheng tonight.

Under the strict instructions of the Security Bureau’s director, he donned a patrol officer’s uniform, even though he didn’t belong to any department of the Alliance. The exorcist profession was still not known to the public, and in the event of an emergency, it would be more convenient to act as a patrol officer.

But Xing Xu thought this was unnecessary.

He could sense demonic energy far more accurately than any detection equipment, so there was no need to hide among patrol officers and waste time.

Just like tonight, when the alarms sounded, the Security Bureau personnel were still fumbling to trace the source of the demonic energy.

Xing Xu had already arrived at the scene.

However, he found something unexpected—

Someone had gotten there before him and dealt with the demon responsible for the string of disappearances.

Strictly speaking, the one who beat him to it wasn’t human. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene—no remnants of the demon’s body, and no damage from any exorcist weapon.

This indicated that the other party had directly used magic to eliminate their own kind.

And it seemed the whole process was done effortlessly.

In the end, Xing Xu followed the trail of fading demonic energy to this area.

At two or three in the morning, there were hardly any people on the streets.

The only place still lit up was the convenience store.

Just as Xing Xu was about to remove his gloves to trace the residual energy field, he spotted a thin figure.

Ye Xiyao had just run out from the side gate of the nearby residential area.

Xing Xu noticed the pale T-shirt Ye Xiyao wore billowing slightly in the night breeze, and he was still wearing house slippers, which slapped against the ground noisily, breaking the surrounding silence.

At first, Xing Xu didn’t pay much attention to him, nor did he consider Ye Xiyao a target worth observing.

He merely glanced over casually, feeling that the night was too quiet and there was nowhere else to rest his gaze.

That’s when he saw Ye Xiyao’s ridiculous posture—mid-run, one of his slippers fell off, and in a panic, Ye Xiyao awkwardly hopped back on one foot to retrieve it before slipping it back on and jogging off again, panting heavily.

Xing Xu was too far to see Ye Xiyao’s expression, but from his movements, it was clear he was in a hurry.

Eventually, Xing Xu also headed toward the convenience store.

It was hard to say what his exact purpose was.

Perhaps he thought no one should be running so urgently in the middle of the night.

Or maybe he just really wanted an orange-flavored candy from the convenience store.

Whatever the reason, at the moment when Xing Xu brushed past Ye Xiyao at the store entrance and reached out to steady him, he got the answer he was looking for—

The young man who had lost his slipper while rushing to buy instant noodles was the demon responsible for triggering the alarm tonight.

Moreover, based on the intensity of the demonic energy Xing Xu sensed, this demon was probably even more formidable than he had initially thought.

—

By the time Xing Xu walked out of the convenience store, Ye Xiyao was just about to reach the side gate of his apartment complex.

Still running in that somewhat ridiculous manner.

To increase his speed, he was practically hopping and skipping.

Tsk. Xing Xu couldn’t help but frown when he saw…

Ye Xiyao had lost his slipper again halfway through his run.

He hopped back on one leg.

Frantically, he put the slipper back on.

Then, the reusable bag in his hand slipped, and several packets of instant noodles scattered on the ground.

He began picking them up!

A perplexed expression slowly crept across Xing Xu’s face: “?”

Until today, Xing Xu had never doubted himself. But in this moment, he was confused:

Is this person really a demon?

The same demon whose powerful aura triggered alarms from several kilometers away, a fearsome, brutal being?

As Xing Xu tried to analyze the situation—perhaps the demon had realized he was being followed and was deliberately putting on a clumsy act to throw him off—

Ye Xiyao, about a hundred meters ahead, suddenly sat down on the ground for no apparent reason.

Xing Xu: “…”

This is absurd.

The demon tripped… on flat ground!

Even if he weren’t a demon, how could a normal person just trip on nothing?

Or was there some unseen entity attacking the demon that Xing Xu couldn’t detect?

Alternatively, could this demon have just switched to a new body and was still getting used to it?

It took Xing Xu nearly half a minute to make sense of this bizarre scene, eventually arriving at the only plausible explanation:

The demon had recently fought another of his kind, and his powers were unstable.

Thinking it over carefully, this made some sense.

After all, the demon that had been eliminated had devoured over a dozen humans in the past three months and was nearly fully materialized. Defeating it must have cost this demon a great deal of strength.

Xing Xu convinced himself, accepting this as the reason for Ye Xiyao’s clumsy fall.

This also meant that now might be the perfect time to strike—the demon couldn’t even walk properly, so killing him would be much easier.

Calming himself, Xing Xu decided to push aside the ridiculous image of Ye Xiyao tripping on flat ground and refocus on his true identity: he was a dangerous demon.

No matter how harmless he seemed on the surface, the reality was that this demon possessed enough power to wreak havoc on an entire city.

He must not be underestimated.

By now, Ye Xiyao had gotten back up and hopped into the side gate of the apartment complex.

Xing Xu was just about to follow.

Then, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Ordinarily, in a situation like this, he would’ve ignored the call, but when he saw who was calling, he answered it.

Since the demon was inside the complex, Xing Xu wasn’t in a rush—he knew exactly how to find him later.

On the other hand, the person on the other end of the call sounded more impatient—

“Xing Xu, when did you run off to Lucheng? Did you not tell Luo Yiji about your current physical condition? Are all the exorcists in the Alliance just sitting around doing nothing? Is the world going to end without you?”

She immediately fired off three questions in a row, each louder than the last, making Xing Xu’s ears hurt: “You need to stop and rest immediately! I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up right now. Give me your address! Hurry!”

“Xue Qiao, calm down,” Xing Xu said, holding the phone farther away.

“Don’t call me by my full name—call me Auntie,” Xue Qiao warned him sternly. “Get back here immediately. You’re practically dancing on the edge of death every day. I don’t want to have to fly over tomorrow morning to collect your corpse.”

Xing Xu, feeling a little hot, loosened the constricting collar of his police uniform and absentmindedly replied, “It won’t come to that.”

Xue Qiao’s voice lowered, becoming more serious. “The Demon-Slaying Formation has already started to backfire. If you don’t stop, something will happen.”

This time, Xing Xu didn’t respond.

The Demon-Slaying Formation was a weapon passed down through the bloodline of an ancient exorcist family, designed to suppress and execute demons.

Obviously, that exorcist family was Xing Xu’s own.

And now, the Demon-Slaying Formation lay dormant in Xing Xu’s hand.

It was a powerful, mysterious artifact—no demon could resist its strength. Because of it, Xing Xu’s exorcisms were always successful.

But it had a terrible, hidden drawback—demons slain by the formation didn’t just disappear. Their demonic energy was suppressed within the exorcist’s body. If the formation was used beyond its limits, that energy would start to stir, eventually breaking free and consuming the exorcist, both body and soul.

In simple terms, while the demons Xing Xu had eradicated were gone, their energy had been stored inside him.

Once the demonic energy exceeded what his body could handle, it would begin to backfire on him.

In the end, Xing Xu would become something very close to a demon himself.

Of course, no exorcist wanted to see themselves turn into a demon. So, generations of those who wielded the Demon-Slaying Formation would choose to end their own lives when they reached the point of no return.

This had almost become a bloodline tradition.

Xing Xu was no exception.

Once the formation inside him began to backfire, his fate would be to either become a half-demon or to end his life.

He knew this well.

This naturally raised the question: Did those who inherited the Demon-Slaying Formation have to bear such a heavy price? Were they born destined for such a tragic fate, with no way to change it?

Of course, there was a way.

And it was quite simple.

All they had to do was not use the Demon-Slaying Formation.

Or, better yet, not become exorcists in the first place.

If their bodies didn’t have to suppress demonic energy, there would be no risk of backfire.

This was what Xing Xu’s aunt, Xue Qiao, had been nagging him about every day, year after year:

“You should take this chance to retire. I have plenty of businesses—pick whichever one you like, and I’ll help you find a loving wife. You’ll have more money than you could ever spend, and you can live in comfort. Isn’t that way better than being some lousy exorcist?”

At this moment, however, Xing Xu’s eyes were still fixed in the direction where Ye Xiyao had disappeared. Casually, he replied, “I’m busy, talk later.”

“…You’re exactly like your mother,” Xue Qiao suddenly sneered.

Xing Xu paused, his finger hovering over the hang-up button.

“You both have one foot in the grave, always ready to die. You know full well that the more you use the Demon-Slaying Formation, the more likely you are to suffer from the backfire, but you never stop. Your mother refused to live out her days peacefully, and now you’ve picked up that same awful habit.”

She took a deep breath, then angrily spat, “To you people, my whole life’s purpose is just to collect your damn corpses! Screw you! Xing Xu, if you die in Lucheng, I swear I’ll dig up your parents’ graves and bash my head in right there! Let it all burn—no one will be happy!”

Xing Xu thought about reminding her that his parents’ bodies were never recovered, so there was no grave.

But Xue Qiao had already hung up.

Well.

Now she was really angry.

Xing Xu wondered if it might not be easier to just die here tonight.

After all, if Xue Qiao caught up with him in her rage, it might be worse than death.

He chuckled, then glanced down at the darkened phone screen, which happened to reflect his current appearance:

What were once deep, ink-black eyes had now turned blood-red, violent, as if they were about to bleed. His neck, exposed by the loosened collar, was covered in dark, blue-black veins spreading across his skin—marks of the demonic energy backfiring within him. Every time Xing Xu used the Demon-Slaying Formation in his palm to trace the source of demonic energy, these veins would rupture even more violently beneath his skin.

No wonder the convenience store clerk had been so terrified when they saw him earlier.

Right now, Xing Xu looked even more frightening than a demon.

It all confirmed what Xue Qiao had said: the Demon-Slaying Formation was indeed backfiring, and he was walking the same path as his mother.

Yet after standing still for a few moments, Xing Xu continued chasing after Ye Xiyao.

To be honest, the formation had been backfiring for quite some time; it was only now that it had reached its limit.

Xing Xu had never really thought about what he would do.

At worst, he would die.

That was the attitude he had always held toward himself.

Still, Xue Qiao’s words had inevitably slowed his steps.

For a brief moment, Xing Xu wondered if he should stop.

But before he could come up with an answer, he realized that the demon he had been pursuing had already made the decision for him—

Ye Xiyao had fainted.

He collapsed right in front of his own door.

The key was still in the lock, as if he had run out of strength before he could even turn it.

Instant noodles lay scattered on the ground, and he himself was trembling, curled up on the cold floor, breathing rapidly. His damp hair clung to his forehead, and his eyelashes fluttered with each breath. His small, delicate face was mostly hidden by strands of his hair.

In that moment, his frail appearance was enough to soften the heart of anyone who saw him.

Anyone, that is, except Xing Xu.

Right now, Xing Xu had only one thought: He’s in this state, so not killing him would be absurd, right?

After all, to an exorcist, nothing about a demon could be trusted as real.

They were masters of deception.

But Xing Xu didn’t underestimate the demon.

Had he truly fainted?

Or was he pretending?

He waited ten minutes, making sure Ye Xiyao wasn’t waking up, before calmly stepping out of the stairwell.

Xing Xu walked toward Ye Xiyao, each step slow and deliberate, like an executioner approaching the condemned, carrying a faint hint of bloodlust. His large shadow loomed over Ye Xiyao’s slender body.

It seemed Xing Xu had guessed correctly.

The demon had weakened after expending too much power.

If he didn’t strike now, when would he?

Xing Xu looked down at Ye Xiyao from above, his gaze cold.

Ye Xiyao, lying there with his eyes closed, looked completely harmless. His gentle, peaceful face and fragile neck seemed like they could be snapped with one hand.

But Xing Xu knew that wasn’t possible. A demon’s physical body couldn’t be killed. Even if he snapped the neck, a new head would grow back.

To truly kill a demon, all its power had to be eradicated. A normal person couldn’t do that—only the Demon-Slaying Formation could.

That’s why the safety bureau always called on Xing Xu when faced with a powerful demon.

Because no one else could completely destroy a demon.

At this moment, the Demon-Slaying Formation in his palm began to stir restlessly once again.

Xing Xu bit the corner of his glove and pulled it off, revealing the blood-red seal on his palm. He crouched down, placing his hand over Ye Xiyao’s throat, feeling his breath as he mentally weighed how to kill him.

Using the Demon-Slaying Formation would, without a doubt, be the quickest and most thorough method. But it would mean using his own body to suppress the demonic energy.

This demon was so powerful that if he died, the energy would overwhelm Xing Xu, killing him too. One life for another—was it worth it?

But if he didn’t use the Demon-Slaying Formation, the demon might not die completely. It wouldn’t take long for him to recover his energy and return, stronger than ever.

They had reached this point.

A decision must be made.

“Hmm…”

In his sleep, Ye Xiyao seemed to be disturbed by Xing Xu’s movements, letting out a sound of resistance.

Xing Xu thought he was waking up and instinctively acted, pinning Ye Xiyao to the ground in a restraining position. His knee pressed against Ye Xiyao’s legs, one hand locked both of Ye Xiyao’s arms, and the other hand firmly gripped his throat to prevent a sudden counterattack.

But Ye Xiyao was clearly not as quick as Xing Xu imagined.

He was entangled in a nightmare where no amount of food could satisfy his hunger. His consciousness was blurry, and his body weak. Being so roughly restrained by Xing Xu, he feebly pushed once, then trembled and whimpered after failing: “…It hurts.”

The hand gripping his throat suddenly loosened a bit.

Ye Xiyao, still unconscious, didn’t take the opportunity to struggle. Instead, he shifted his position, hugging Xing Xu’s arm while muttering incoherently, his soft cheek pressing against Xing Xu as he moved, slightly distorting with each rub.

Xing Xu froze for a moment, then furrowed his brows tightly—

He suddenly found this scene extremely annoying.

Why, as a dignified exorcist, was he allowing an unconscious demon to nuzzle against him like this?

The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt, so Xing Xu’s anger flared up, and he…

He pinched Ye Xiyao’s soft cheek.

The demon’s skin was warm and smooth, slipping slightly under his fingers. After pinching, Xing Xu squeezed it again.

Ye Xiyao, still in pain but unable to wake up, only dreamed of being bitten by a roasted pig, feeling aggrieved and frustrated: “Wuu…”

Xing Xu felt a strange prickling sensation, his pupils trembling.

With his rich exorcism experience and having encountered countless demonic creatures, Xing Xu prided himself on mastering the art of dealing with demons. Yet here, his rhythm was completely thrown off.

In the past, the enemies Xing Xu faced would either violently resist or resort to cunning tricks upon defeat.

None of them ever crawled into his arms, rubbed up against him, and acted all clingy.

…How was he supposed to counter this?

Of course, Ye Xiyao had no idea what image he was presenting in Xing Xu’s eyes.

He couldn’t see anything, couldn’t make sense of anything, whether this was a dream or reality. Everything was a muddled mess. All that remained was an overwhelming sense of hunger spreading through his body again.

So hungry…

So hungry!

Ye Xiyao’s consciousness was now completely hazy, yet the tantalizing aroma that made him salivate continued to envelop him. He couldn’t escape it. The more he tried to resist, the tighter the scent clung to him.

The food was clearly tempting him.

How could he endure this?

He couldn’t.

So, Xing Xu suddenly saw the evil demon under his hands open up a massive… uh, rather, a small, crimson mouth.

A small, moist tongue tentatively extended, trying to seek out Xing Xu’s scent. But unable to locate the source of the aroma, it only managed to catch some lingering traces in the air before retreating, licking the corner of its lips, looking pitiful.

For some reason, Xing Xu found this scene equally annoying, so he simply covered Ye Xiyao’s mouth.

Soon, he felt warmth on his palm.

Realizing what Ye Xiyao was doing, Xing Xu reflexively withdrew his hand.

At that moment, Ye Xiyao suddenly extended his arms to cling to Xing Xu’s shoulders, seemingly intending to pull Xing Xu down. However, due to a lack of strength, all he managed to do was lift his own chin.

Xing Xu was utterly astonished—

The demon was quicker than him!

The demon had made a move on him!

The demon…

Kissed him.

When the soft lips touched his, Xing Xu was still trying to analyze the demon’s behavior.

No.

He really couldn’t analyze it.

Ye Xiyao’s hot, soft tongue pried open his lips and teeth, greedily sucking in Xing Xu’s breath and saliva. Their lips and tongues entwined without any skill, but with a raw, urgent intensity.

It was as if he wanted to devour him.

In the dead silence of the night, Xing Xu felt as though his eardrums were throbbing painfully under the pressure of a soundless roar.

His brain and heart plunged into unprecedented chaos.

…No, what on earth is happening here?

The wet sounds, teasing his ears, ceased after just a moment.

Xing Xu’s face darkened as he pushed Ye Xiyao away, nearly glaring in anger.

But when he saw the thin silver thread connecting their parted lips, his fury instantly morphed into a complex, indescribable frustration.

He was no longer sure whether he was restraining himself from the backlash of demonic energy or if this demon’s clumsy and awkward kiss had disrupted his thoughts. Either way…

The Demon-Slaying Formation still hadn’t activated.

The next moment, Ye Xiyao lunged at him again, eyes still closed, somehow managing to precisely find Xing Xu’s lips, kissing him with a mix of biting and sucking.

“You…” Xing Xu’s voice was hoarse beyond recognition. After pushing Ye Xiyao away again, he pinched the offending soft tongue between his fingers and shoved it back into Ye Xiyao’s mouth. “Don’t push your luck.”

His fingers slid easily into the warm mouth.

But instead of resisting, the demon obediently wrapped its tongue around the sharp knuckles, licking them like it was savoring a treat. The expression was clearly submissive, yet carried an inexplicable sensuality.

Suppressing a growing agitation, Xing Xu abruptly withdrew his fingers.

Now deprived of the taste he craved, the demon tilted his head back, dissatisfied, and with a soft, sticky voice, asked for more: “I want… more…”

Something in Xing Xu’s mind snapped.