Chapter 45
Luo Yiji didn’t get to eat Xing Shu’s cake.
To be precise, he hadn’t seen Xing Shu in person all night.
Luo Yiji, who was usually calm, rarely lost his temper; however, during this joint exorcism strategy meeting, he slammed his phone in front of everyone—because he had called Xing Shu at least ten times, and each time Xing Shu would say, “I’m on the way,” “Don’t rush me,” “Just a few more intersections,” “Believe it or not, but I set off two hours ago.”
The meeting was quite formal; it included not only people from their security bureau but also special agents secretly arranged by the alliance government. The purpose of gathering was, of course, to collaborate on exorcism, including matters related to Ye Xiyao, which they had intended to resolve today.
Dozens of people sat at the long conference table, exchanging glances, all waiting for Xing Shu.
Xing Shu was known to often neglect them and acted unpredictably. While there was no disputing his exorcism skills, he could be a bit lacking when it came to personal interactions, so everyone was already prepared for his late arrival from the very beginning.
However, when they went from waiting until 11 PM the previous night to 6 AM the next day with the sun high in the sky, things became awkward.
People who are capable often have quirks that can be hard to deal with, but a bastard like Xing Shu who makes people angry is truly one in a million.
He stood everyone up.
Luo Yiji wiped his face, bent down to pick up the phone from the ground, cleaned the cracked tempered glass, and called Xing Shu again.
He assured everyone repeatedly that Xing Shu must have encountered trouble; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so untrustworthy—although he was a bastard, he always delivered on his promises. On this point, no one could find fault.
After Luo Yiji wagered his dignity and moral standing as the head of the security bureau and finally got through to Xing Shu, he asked, “What’s going on with you?”
Xing Shu’s voice sounded very calm, eliminating any possibility of injury.
He replied briskly, “I can’t make it today; you all start the meeting without me. Anyway, there’s nothing for me to say even if I go. Oh, right, you don’t need to worry about Ye Xiyao; he won’t pose any threat to humans with me around. You all should really study that annoying creature that releases magic energy all day; compared to it, Ye Xiyao is as cute as a little bunny—wait, I’m not saying Ye Xiyao is cute, even though he really is cute—I just want to tell you that humans don’t need to be afraid of a bunny, right? Right. Good, now you can continue with the meeting. I hope it doesn’t rain in Lucheng for the next few months.”
After hearing this, Luo Yiji struggled to contain himself and finally managed to say, “Fuck you!”
Once again, the phone was smashed to the ground.
This time not only the tempered glass shattered, but the entire phone body was destroyed. It looked like it was impossible to make another call.
A small rustling sound filled the conference room.
“Did I hear wrong? Did Director Luo just curse?”
“He did curse.”
“I’ve known him for over ten years, and it’s the first time I’ve heard him curse so harshly.”
“That’s normal; if you had to deal with a bastard exorcist every day, you’d go crazy too.”
“Don’t curse me, thanks.”
“So, are we still holding the meeting? Isn’t the strategy supposed to revolve around Xing Shu as the main combat force? How can we plan if he doesn’t come?”
Luo Yiji took two minutes to calm himself and said, “Please remain calm; we will redefine the exorcism operation. Please don’t be angry. I think Xing Shu must have been caught up with something and didn’t mean to make us wait all night. Don’t be mad, everyone, just take a deep breath with me—”
Alba quietly reminded him from the side, “Director, you’re the only one who’s angry; the others have already grown numb to Xing Shu.”
Luo Yiji choked on his deep breath: “…Okay.”
–
Something seemed to have gone wrong.
Xing Shu realized he couldn’t find the door to the security bureau no matter what.
This was not a lame excuse he made to continue cozying up to Ye Xiyao.
Just after midnight, he had indeed stepped out of his house and got into the car he had recently replaced.
As he pressed the gas pedal, he knew full well that he must have been speeding in some section of the road; theoretically, he could have arrived at that boring meeting ten minutes earlier than expected.
But two hours later, he found himself going in circles in a deserted neighborhood.
Great, he was trapped in the rain again.
Xing Shu wasn’t panicking; on the contrary, he was excited. He planned to catch this demon that loved to provoke him, twist off its head, pull out its bones, and reveal its true nature. Ideally, he wanted to throw it onto high-voltage wires before killing it to let this twisted creature experience the thrill of being struck by lightning.
He got out of the car and used the demon-slaying array to probe the demonic energy in the rain, tracking it to the area where the magic energy was most concentrated.
But this demon’s strength exceeded Xing Shu’s imagination.
Before tonight, he thought the most formidable demon humans faced was Ye Xiyao, whose magical energy was powerful enough to trigger alarms ten kilometers away.
But tonight, Xing Shu confirmed that the demon hiding in the rain was the true tricky adversary.
It toyed with Xing Shu, transforming into several guys draped in human skin—this was the first time Xing Shu learned that demons could simultaneously manifest so many bodies, all with powerful magic.
The good news was that Ye Xiyao had helped him dispel quite a bit of demonic energy, so it wasn’t difficult for his demon-slaying array to take down a few more demons.
But the bad news was that after he eliminated those demon avatars and returned to his car, the rain still hadn’t stopped.
This meant the real demon body hadn’t been killed.
Things were much more troublesome than expected. Xing Shu sped toward the security bureau, intending to immediately inform Luo Yiji of the situation.
This time, he reached the entrance of the security bureau.
But the biggest problem arose.
The demon-slaying array backfired once more.
And the effect was astonishing—blood seeped from his eyes, the blood vessels under his skin bulged, and ominous magical energy began to erupt from the palm of his left hand.
Just a few hours ago, he and Ye Xiyao had diligently alleviated the backlash through intimacy, but now it had returned.
The entrance of the security bureau was right in front of him.
But Xing Shu didn’t get out of the car; he turned around and went home.
In his current state, if he approached the security bureau, the alarm would sound, and everyone would know that a demon was near. And he was that “demon.”
Luo Yiji knew the truth, but the others didn’t. Xing Shu was certain that no one would listen to his explanation.
If he dared to walk in like this tonight, he would instantly become the number one enemy instead of the strongest external support for the security bureau.
But tonight wasn’t entirely fruitless.
Xing Shu had confirmed that the great demon hiding in the rain had a very clear purpose; it likely aimed not only to prevent Xing Shu from reporting on Ye Xiyao but to directly sever Xing Shu’s connection with humanity.
It wanted Xing Shu to become a monster that was neither human nor demon.
It wanted to turn Xing Shu and humans into enemies.
“Is that why you suddenly rushed into the house at dawn and bit me awake?”
Ye Xiyao’s voice was hoarse, sounding like he hadn’t fully woken up. He spoke without opening his eyes, looking utterly exhausted.
Xing Shu felt incredibly wronged as he kissed Ye Xiyao, “Aren’t you worried about me? Baby, my demon-slaying array has backfired again, and I’m in grave danger. That malicious demon wants to kill me; please help me.”
Ye Xiyao: “…Xing Shu.”
Xing Shu was still kissing: “Mm.”
Ye Xiyao grabbed his hair, forcing his chin up slightly, sighed, a bit angry and a bit helpless: “If you want to dispel the demonic energy, the one you should be kissing is my mouth, not there.”
Xing Shu’s tongue poked at Ye Xiyao’s pink area, causing Ye Xiyao to shudder, and he confidently said, “This is foreplay; I’m just trying to make you feel good. You should look at how cute those two little bits are; isn’t that just waiting for me to kiss them?”
“You…” Ye Xiyao was utterly shocked to hear him say such inhumane things and fell silent, grabbing the blanket and turning away.
Xing Shu hugged him, both of them diving into the covers: “I’m going to die; you can’t bear to let me die here, can you?”
Ye Xiyao was indeed worried about Xing Shu, and he wanted to help him calm the demon-slaying array quickly. But did Xing Shu look like someone in grave danger right now? He was even leisurely drawing with his tongue on Ye Xiyao’s chest.
“It hurts a bit.” Ye Xiyao had no choice but to reveal his trump card.
He knew that Xing Shu feared his pain; as long as he said that, Xing Shu would definitely restrain himself.
However, Ye Xiyao underestimated Xing Shu.
Xing Shu merely withdrew his tongue, but everything else continued vigorously.
“If I don’t do this, you’ll be the one in pain. Just listen to me and lie down; let me give you a massage first.”
At this moment, Xing Shu resembled a freshly baked sweet potato, radiating heat as he rubbed against Ye Xiyao, indeed holding back. He had put in considerable effort, first helping Ye Xiyao clear out some demonic energy before gradually allowing himself to infuse more.
Xing Shu joked slickly, saying Ye Xiyao would never find a better source of nourishment than him, claiming he could make Ye Xiyao feel full eight hundred times in one night.
Yet beneath the humor was an underlying sense of unease.
It wasn’t just him; Ye Xiyao noticed it too.
The demonic energy Xing Shu suppressed tonight was greater than what he had dealt with over the past ten years combined.
Without Ye Xiyao, it was almost certain that Xing Shu would have died immediately.
Or turned into a monster that he didn’t even know if it could be classified as a demon.
The seriousness of this issue exceeded Ye Xiyao’s expectations.
Around noon, they finally managed to catch their breath, but Ye Xiyao didn’t immediately fall asleep.
He forced his eyes open to check Xing Shu’s demon-slaying array. Xing Shu, however, was completely unconcerned for his own safety, his other hand playing with Ye Xiyao’s hair.
Ye Xiyao said, “It’s very strong.”
Xing Shu replied, “Your hair has grown longer again. Don’t change it back this time; it looks nice like this.”
Ye Xiyao continued, “It’s only targeting you.”
Xing Shu also said, “Is this area swollen? It seems much bigger than before. No, my eyesight isn’t that great; I need to kiss it again to compare.”
Ye Xiyao punched Xing Shu lightly on the forehead. Although it didn’t have much force, it carried a heavy warning: “Can you take this seriously? That demon wants to kill you!”
“Sorry, I was wrong. I’ll listen to you seriously,” Xing Shu finally settled down, though he still longed for those two juicy red fruits. He could only swallow air to satisfy his craving. “What were we talking about?”
Ye Xiyao covered his body, looking at him quietly, continuing his analysis: “It doesn’t allow you to contact the Alliance, which can be understood as not wanting you to collaborate with them. Yet, it has repeatedly provoked you directly, indicating that it’s not afraid of you at all. Even if you help the Alliance drive away demons, it shouldn’t hold much significance for it. So, what exactly is its purpose?”
“Stirring discord,” Xing Shu said.
Ye Xiyao quickly grasped his meaning and followed up: “You think it wants to turn you against the security bureau?”
This explanation did make the most sense.
Otherwise, given that demon’s power, if it had already acted directly tonight, why would it let Xing Shu go? Moreover, it deliberately allowed Xing Shu to eliminate several of its avatars, causing a backlash; it was clearly trying to force Xing Shu to transform into a demon.
But as a demon, all of humanity was its food. What reason would it have to watch its food destroy each other?
There must be something off about this whole situation.
Xing Shu extended a finger, poking Ye Xiyao’s forehead to draw him out of his fruitless thoughts.
Ye Xiyao thought Xing Shu had come up with some new idea and waited for him to speak.
Instead, Xing Shu kissed him and said, “I like you.”
Ye Xiyao was taken aback: “?”
Then he slowly froze, “Why are you suddenly saying this?”
“Just because I’m afraid you’ll forget,” Xing Shu kissed him a few more times but didn’t stick out his tongue, just pressing their lips together simply. “Ye Xiyao, I really like you a lot—like, to death. Wait, if I like you to death, does that count as love? Then I love you. I love… please don’t cover my mouth. Is there any etiquette for this? Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, what if we were a couple in our past lives? Ah, ah.”
He sighed repeatedly, as if regretting forgetting things about his past life—despite having no evidence to prove the existence of past lives.
Ye Xiyao buried his face in the pillow, feeling embarrassed: “Can we talk about something serious?”
Xing Shu was surprised: “Isn’t this serious? Is there anything more serious in this world than me loving you?”
Ye Xiyao couldn’t argue with him and directly kicked him.
Xing Shu held his foot, bending down to give it a kiss.
Ye Xiyao: “!!”
Xing Shu: “Don’t kick! I’m just pinching your toes… oh no, oh no, you clearly don’t have human feet. Ye Xiyao, you’ve been exposed; no human foot can be this cute.”
Ye Xiyao finally laughed in anger: “…You’re insane.”
Seeing that he had finally relaxed, Xing Shu smiled and opened his arms to pull Ye Xiyao back into his embrace: “This isn’t insanity; this is called love brain—a kind of terminal illness with no cure. I won’t live long.”
Ye Xiyao was completely sidetracked by him and joked back, “Is it that serious?”
“Yeah.” Xing Shu took his own pulse, speaking dejectedly, “I guess I can only live until the day you don’t want me anymore.”
Ye Xiyao burst into laughter.
Xing Shu asked him, “Dr. Ye, how long do you think I can live?”
Ye Xiyao replied, “Well, you’re not going to die anytime soon.”
Xing Shu raised an eyebrow: “What do you mean by that?”
Ye Xiyao explained, “Love brain can generally be treated.”
Xing Shu was displeased and rolled on top of Ye Xiyao, pressing him down and demanding, “So, are you planning to treat me then?”
Ye Xiyao blinked at him: “There’s no helping it; Dr. Ye has a miraculous touch.”
“No treatment allowed.” Xing Shu pinched his face, pretending to be fierce, “Little quack.”
After some teasing, Ye Xiyao completely forgot about the earlier tension, playfully rolling around with Xing Shu on the bed, both ending up on the floor. Xing Shu cushioned Ye Xiyao as he fell, and Ye Xiyao wrapped his arms around Xing Shu’s neck, laughing until he felt a bit tired.
“Don’t worry about me.”
Only then did Xing Shu slowly pick up the topic again, speaking in a light tone,
“I’ve had encounters with that thing. To be honest, its power is enough to kill me a thousand times, but it hasn’t done so. It only obstructs my contact with the security bureau, which means it either doesn’t want to kill me or can’t. As for whether it’s trying to sow discord between me and the Alliance, that’s worth investigating. I can’t quite understand why a demon would want to disrupt human relationships. Logically, with just a wave of its hand, everyone would be dead.”
Ye Xiyao’s blocked thoughts seemed to clear at this moment. He lay on Xing Shu, pondering seriously and arriving at a possibility: “Maybe it truly can’t kill you for some reason, but it still has to, so it plans to do it through humans…”
Xing Shu paused, remaining silent for a long time.
Ye Xiyao thought he had finally recognized the complexity of the situation and began to take it seriously.
However, after a moment, Xing Shu suddenly gave him a thumbs-up and exclaimed, “Incredible! How can there be such a perfect person? Perfect Ye Xiaobao, you have a smart mind, a beautiful face, and a body that’s both fragrant and soft. What did I do in my past life to enjoy such a feast in this life?”
Ye Xiyao was speechless: “You really are hopeless; you’re hopeless.”
He tried to get up from Xing Shu.
“Aren’t you going to treat me anymore?” Xing Shu caught up, following closely behind him, “Little quack, aren’t you going to revive me?”
Ye Xiyao felt both angered and amused: “Just give up on the treatment.”
Xing Shu retorted, “Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that you’re not wrong. How can you be so charming?”
Ye Xiyao forcibly changed the subject: “Although I don’t know what the demon’s real scheme is, we need to find it before it succeeds.”
“Okay, let’s find it.” Xing Shu seized Ye Xiyao’s finger and shook it, interjecting, “Then what? Is the next step for me to fight it, triggering the demon-slaying array’s backlash? We can dissolve the backlash right in front of it, and then I’ll fight it again.”
Ye Xiyao: “???”
Ye Xiyao couldn’t help it and grabbed Xing Shu’s ear, losing his usual calm demeanor, “Do you really think that makes sense?!”
Xing Shu: “I thought it was a good idea. We could use that method to wear it down or annoy it to death.”
Ye Xiyao: “I’m going to die from your frustration too.”
“Don’t! I was wrong; I’m sorry.” Xing Shu immediately admitted his mistake, holding Ye Xiyao and walking toward the bathroom, “Let’s wash up and talk.”
“Why aren’t you in a hurry at all?” Ye Xiyao was completely thrown off by Xing Shu. What was clearly a matter of life and death sounded completely unserious coming from him.
“I am in a hurry; I’m very anxious.” Xing Shu’s tone began to turn flippant again.
Ye Xiyao, infuriated, pushed him out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut: “I’m not discussing it with you anymore; you never take anything seriously.”
Xing Shu stood outside, gently knocking his forehead against the door, saying, “I was wrong, I really was. Please open the door for me.”
Ye Xiyao didn’t respond, turning on the water to shower inside.
Xing Shu stopped asking him to open the door and remained quiet for a while.
After the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, Xing Shu finally spoke.
He said, “I’m not being careless; I’m just afraid you’re too concerned.”
There was no response from inside, and he didn’t know what Ye Xiyao was thinking.
Xing Shu continued, “I know what you want to do.”
This time, Ye Xiyao replied, “You have no idea. You didn’t listen seriously when I was talking to you.”
Xing Shu laughed, “All your thoughts are written on your face. I’m so close to you; how could I not know?”
Ye Xiyao challenged him, “Then tell me, what do you think I want to do?”
“You want to find that demon and kill it yourself.”
Xing Shu spoke without hesitation, convinced this was what Ye Xiyao was just considering. “Although I don’t know how powerful you really are or how your magic compares to that demon, I can’t let you go.”
Ye Xiyao suddenly opened the door. In such a short time, his silver hair had fallen to the ground, soaked with water, and spread out like satin. The moonlight-like sheen covered his already fair and delicate skin, making Ye Xiyao look extraordinarily beautiful—beauty that seemed utterly unearthly.
His beauty felt unreachable, as if he were a fleeting dream that had never existed.
Xing Shu felt a sudden tightness in his breath, unable to blink. He stepped forward and embraced Ye Xiyao—more than amazement, at that moment, he felt a sense of unease.
It was as if Ye Xiyao’s existence was merely a figment of his imagination.
How fortunate he was to have imagined a Ye Xiyao, yet he couldn’t hold onto the beautiful dream.
Xing Shu tightly held onto his dream, relieved that Ye Xiyao hadn’t truly disappeared.
“I’m very powerful,” Ye Xiyao said succinctly. “I should be stronger than any demon you’ve encountered before.”
The reason he said “should” was mainly because he hadn’t faced any truly powerful demons to test his own limits.
He just felt that the two powers he inherited shouldn’t be weaker than a demon.
However, Xing Shu still refused: “I told you, it’s impossible.”
“Why?” Ye Xiyao asked, confused. He thought Xing Shu looked down on him. “You could just fight me and see; I won’t lose to you.”
Xing Shu found it both amusing and exasperating: “Okay, okay, you won’t lose to me.”
Ye Xiyao pressed, “You don’t believe me?”
Xing Shu replied, “I believe you. I believe you’re stronger than I am and stronger than any demon I’ve encountered before. But this time it’s really different; that demon is too strong.”
Ye Xiyao said, “It’s precisely because it’s strong that I want to kill it.”
“What if you can’t kill it?” Xing Shu’s voice dropped, a hint of helplessness in his tone. “I mean, what if it’s just a bit stronger than you? At least it wouldn’t take my life, but I can’t be sure if it would take someone else’s life or yours.”
Ye Xiyao frowned. He rarely saw Xing Shu show such a wary expression. He had always thought there was a sense of security about Xing Shu, as if he could take a stretch even if the sky fell. Now he found that Xing Shu had become indecisive. He tentatively asked, “How strong do you think it is?”
Xing Shu sighed, “Honestly, I can’t find a suitable reference. At least from these few encounters, any of its avatars are stronger than the strongest demons I’ve encountered—of course, except for you. I believe you’re strong too; I just don’t want you to take the risk.”
Ye Xiyao no longer insisted on killing the demon himself because, given the actual situation, he might not be able to kill it either. He first needed to understand what level the demon was at.
It was quite strange, actually; according to Xing Shu, that demon was almost always pestering him. Yet, whenever Xing Shu was by Ye Xiyao’s side, it seemed to shrink back.
“So what should we do now?” Ye Xiyao asked Xing Shu. “You haven’t gone to the security bureau; won’t they misunderstand you?”
It was like sending a police officer undercover among criminals; if they didn’t return on time, it was one thing, but constantly obstructing their operations would naturally raise suspicions about Xing Shu hiding something.
If the Alliance government and the security bureau lost trust in Xing Shu, the demon would succeed.
Xing Shu suddenly took out his phone and gestured, saying, “I guess that demon lived in ancient times.”
Ye Xiyao paused for a moment, then laughed, “Right! You can contact them with your phone.”
Xing Shu couldn’t attend the meeting today simply because the backlash from the demon-slaying array occurred, and he couldn’t let others see it. However, Luo Yiji understood his situation very well. As long as Luo Yiji trusted him, the security bureau wouldn’t turn against Xing Shu for the time being.
But all things considered, solving that demon as soon as possible was key; otherwise, both Xing Shu and Ye Xiyao would find no peace.
“Um…” Ye Xiyao’s tone paused slightly as he said softly, “Do you have any band-aids at home? The bigger kind…”
The abrupt change in topic caught Xing Shu off guard; he momentarily failed to connect “band-aid” with “that demon” and stared blankly: “What?”
Ye Xiyao pressed his lips together, murmuring something in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. Xing Shu only caught the word “pain,” and hurriedly turned Ye Xiyao’s shoulder to check.
He didn’t see any blood.
Xing Shu lifted Ye Xiyao’s long hair, his gaze falling into the crevices, and he dryly said, “Could it be inside? Let me take a look; if it’s serious, we can find some medicine to apply.”
As he spoke, he reached out, but Ye Xiyao’s ears turned red, and he stepped on Xing Shu’s foot hard: “No, it’s not there. I’m not talking to you anymore; I want to go home.”
“Why do you want to go home again?” Xing Shu quickly grabbed his hand. “Just sleep a little longer; I’ll rub your back and knead your legs. If you feel like eating something later, I’ll make it for you. Don’t go home, okay?”
Ye Xiyao replied, “…I want to go home to change clothes.”
Xing Shu wasn’t willing to let him go: “I’ll buy you new ones. Didn’t the holographic shopping system get set up already? You can choose at home, and I’ll have them delivered within an hour.”
Ye Xiyao insisted, “I want to wear my own.”
Xing Shu pulled out his trump card: “I’m the one being targeted by the demon; what if you leave, and I die here?”
Ye Xiyao said, “Then you can come with me.”
“Sure, okay!” Xing Shu’s attitude became immediately positive. “I’ll go pack some clothes and grab some daily necessities.”
Ye Xiyao was puzzled: “Why are you packing clothes?”
Xing Shu looked just as confused as Ye Xiyao and replied, “Aren’t we going to live together? You don’t have any clothes I can wear, and I can’t just sleep naked every day. Oh, unless you want to buy me new ones? That’s fine; I’m the type who enjoys a bit of soft living. Let’s go, baby.”
