Chapter 49
Fifteen-year-old Ye Xiyao was struggling to climb over the iron gate behind the school, leaving rust stains on his knees and elbows as he moved.
After a lot of effort, he finally made it to the top, sitting in what he thought was a safe spot, reaching out to pick a green fruit from a tree.
To the naked eye, it was clearly an unripe fruit, but Ye Xiyao couldn’t tell. He couldn’t even recognize what kind of fruit it was and wasn’t sure if it was edible. Usually, he was too busy to study how many types of fruits grew on trees, but he knew he wouldn’t die from eating a fruit, so he decided to give it a try.
When Ye Xiyao felt himself losing balance, he hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to drop the fruit and grab the railing or just fall.
If Ye Xiyao had realized this was a dream, he wouldn’t have stubbornly clenched his fist as if that unripe fruit was some precious treasure, unwilling to let go even if it meant falling.
But Ye Xiyao didn’t know this was a dream. Before he could make a decision, he began to fall.
Fortunately, he didn’t actually hit the ground because someone who hadn’t been there suddenly appeared and caught him.
When Ye Xiyao looked up, he saw Xing Shu smiling down at him.
He obediently lay in Xing Shu’s arms, raising the fruit in his hand for Xing Shu to see, squinting his eyes proudly, “I picked it.”
Xing Shu praised him, “So amazing, I couldn’t pick it.”
Ye Xiyao asked, “What is it?”
Xing Shu replied, “Mango.”
Ye Xiyao said, “I’ve eaten mangoes at the orphanage, they don’t look like this.”
Xing Shu laughed, “That’s true; they don’t look like this when they’re ripe.”
This was a completely illogical dream because after saying that, Xing Shu took a bite out of the hard-earned fruit without peeling it, enjoying it without leaving anything for Ye Xiyao— the real Xing Shu would never do that.
Ye Xiyao hurried to grab it, and Xing Shu ran away.
As they were playfully wrestling, the scene quickly shifted, and Ye Xiyao found himself sitting in front of a computer.
On the screen was his college entrance exam score, a very impressive score that deserved cheers and shouts.
After quietly finishing reading the results, Ye Xiyao logged out and closed the webpage.
He didn’t react with excitement corresponding to the good score because he was actually working part-time, using the store’s computer, which was not allowed to be used for anything other than accounting and monitoring during work hours.
Then another illogical thing happened.
Suddenly, a cake appeared in front of him.
The cake had wobbly words piped in chocolate, and Ye Xiyao cleverly deciphered what it said: “Happy graduation, dear!”
Following the arm holding the cake, he found it was Xing Shu.
Xing Shu raised an eyebrow at him and said, “Hurry up and eat; there’s a tough battle to fight later.”
Ye Xiyao was confused, “What battle?”
Xing Shu said, “We need to research which school has the best cafeteria and give it a chance to accept you.”
Ye Xiyao laughed, “No one focuses on the cafeteria when filling out their applications.”
Xing Shu said, “Really? Then what do they look at?”
Ye Xiyao replied, “To see which majors have better employment rates, look at the costs of attending, check what scholarships the school offers, or see…”
Xing Shu interrupted him, “Then let’s focus on the cafeteria; we’re not short on money.”
Ye Xiyao ate the nearly melting cake and nodded, “Okay, then let’s choose the one with the best cafeteria.”
His subconscious seemed to think that way.
Although it didn’t make much sense, Ye Xiyao felt that if a school’s cafeteria was perfect, then other aspects couldn’t be too bad.
However, a long time ago, he didn’t have the luxury to be so capricious, so he chose the most renowned school and enrolled in a popular major to find a good job quickly after graduation.
Generally speaking, the cafeterias of good schools aren’t particularly shabby, but unfortunately, Ye Xiyao’s alma mater had the worst reputation among all the good schools.
It seemed this dream was helping Ye Xiyao make up for his past regrets, big and small.
However, he wasn’t aware of it yet.
The dream encompassed almost all the moments in Ye Xiyao’s life over the past twenty-one years when he wished someone was by his side, subconsciously completing the absence of a person who had never appeared before—Xing Shu.
Thus, he immersed himself in it, showing no signs of wanting to wake up.
In every moment when Ye Xiyao felt lonely, Xing Shu would suddenly appear, making the atmosphere shift from desolate to lively.
Ye Xiyao found that as long as he saw Xing Shu’s face, it was hard to feel melancholy.
Time flowed from the “past” to the “future,” and the dream no longer confined itself to familiar scenes. He began to imagine things that hadn’t happened yet.
He and Xing Shu held hands, walking through the four seasons. During a heavy snowfall, Xing Shu hugged him tightly, and Ye Xiyao comfortably warmed himself in Xing Shu’s embrace.
If the scene could freeze here, it would certainly be a beautiful dream.
But suddenly, Ye Xiyao felt a bit hungry.
He told Xing Shu he needed to eat something, and Xing Shu leaned down to kiss him for a moment.
Ye Xiyao, a bit unhappily, emphasized, “I need to eat something.”
Xing Shu replied, “I know, you need to eat me.”
Ye Xiyao thought for a moment and said, “Well, I guess it can only be that way.”
The beautiful dream turned into a nightmare in an instant.
Ye Xiyao really consumed Xing Shu in a way typical of a demon—devouring his body and soul.
“Ah!”
Ye Xiyao suddenly opened his eyes wide, sitting up in bed, still lingering with a sense of horror on his face.
Even knowing it was all just a dream, he was drenched in cold sweat.
Mainly because that moment happened too suddenly.
He was clearly still happily enjoying the snow with Xing Shu, kissing him, and the next moment he had eaten him.
What chilled Ye Xiyao the most was that after devouring Xing Shu, he felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
It was as if he was always meant to do that.
“I thought you’d sleep a little longer.”
After hearing Xing Shu’s voice, Ye Xiyao gradually pulled himself out of the dream. He looked up and saw that Xing Shu was standing by the bed, though he didn’t know when he had arrived.
Ye Xiyao opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. Maybe the side effects of that dream hadn’t worn off, or perhaps they had too much fun last night, leaving Ye Xiyao still lacking energy. In any case, he just stared at Xing Shu in silence.
Sensing Ye Xiyao’s unusual reaction, Xing Shu leaned down to check his temperature and then pulled out his phone, preparing to call an ambulance.
Ye Xiyao quickly stopped him, “What are you doing?”
Xing Shu had a worried expression and spoke seriously, “You have a fever. I bet your temperature is over 40 degrees right now. I’m calling the doctor to come rescue you. I need to tell them you’re in serious condition and can’t even speak.”
Ye Xiyao couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time, “…You know my temperature has never been below 40 degrees.”
Xing Shu decisively put his phone away.
Clearly, Xing Shu had no intention of calling an ambulance; he was teasing Ye Xiyao. Perhaps he noticed Ye Xiyao’s mood was off after waking up, so he purposely made a harmless joke to cheer him up.
Strangely, usually, at times like this, Ye Xiyao would either laugh along with him or give him a light kick to show he found it unamusing.
But today, Ye Xiyao didn’t give these usual reactions.
He jumped out of bed and hugged Xing Shu.
The sudden embrace caught Xing Shu off guard; he almost didn’t manage to catch him. Fortunately, Xing Shu was always quick to react, and as Ye Xiyao wrapped his arms around his neck, he supported Ye Xiyao’s back with one hand and stood up straight.
Ye Xiyao snuggled against Xing Shu’s chest like a spoiled child, asking, “What time is it?”
They had agreed to meet to watch Wen Jisheng on Saturday, and after returning home, they engaged in some couple activities. Ye Xiyao vaguely felt it lasted a long time, but he hadn’t calculated the specific time.
The handcuffs that had been shattered by Xing Shu’s brute strength had been removed from the headboard and were now broken and tossed aside.
Outside the window, it was pitch black, making it hard to tell if it was nighttime or dawn.
After pondering for a moment, Xing Shu said, “Actually, you should be asking what day it is now.”
Ye Xiyao: “?”
Xing Shu: “Mm.”
Ye Xiyao: “What do you mean by ‘mm’? So what day is it?”
Xing Shu said, “It’s Monday, six in the morning.”
Ye Xiyao gasped, “What about Sunday? Where’s my Sunday?”
Xing Shu gently caressed the back of Ye Xiyao’s head and said, “I regret to inform you that Sunday is forever left behind in yesterday.”
Ye Xiyao whimpered, utterly heartbroken: “I clearly felt like I just went to work yesterday, and now I have to go again today.”
Xing Shu said they could actually choose not to go to work because, strictly speaking, the company was his family’s, so it was also Ye Xiyao’s family. After all, it was all family; it didn’t matter which family they stayed at.
He said this playfully, knowing that Ye Xiyao valued his job and had never considered resigning for any reason, not even when life and death were at stake—he would first think about whether he could keep his job. Letting Ye Xiyao skip work was as absurd as someone telling Xing Shu a few months ago, “Stop exorcising demons; go fall in love with one instead.”
But unexpectedly, Ye Xiyao didn’t refuse today.
He huddled in Xing Shu’s arms, motionless, and softly said “Mm.”
If Ye Xiyao’s sudden rush to hug Xing Shu could be seen as him being affectionate, then now, choosing to forgo work to continue hugging Xing Shu was simply unreasonable.
Even Xing Shu felt a bit shy about continuing to enjoy Ye Xiyao’s rare clinginess. He leaned down and kissed the top of Ye Xiyao’s head, asking, “What did you dream about?”
Ye Xiyao paused for a moment and chose not to hide it. He told Xing Shu everything that happened in the dream.
In reality, it wasn’t a particularly scary nightmare, but just the last image of eating Xing Shu was enough to leave Ye Xiyao feeling unsettled.
Xing Shu didn’t underestimate the impact this had on Ye Xiyao; he tried to analyze why Ye Xiyao was scared: “It’s my fault; I’ve been doing this for too long, causing you to absorb too much demonic energy. You weren’t hungry to begin with, but I kept feeding you, so you must have had indigestion and had a nightmare.”
Ye Xiyao: “?”
He realized that even the most serious matters could sound ridiculous coming from Xing Shu, and strangely, it actually made a bit of sense.
He thought for a moment and grabbed Xing Shu’s hand to take a look. The totem of the demon-slaying formation was almost invisible to the naked eye, showing just how much demonic energy Ye Xiyao had taken from Xing Shu.
Ye Xiyao suddenly curiously asked, “Why does your family inherit this?”
Xing Shu had already told Ye Xiyao that the demon-slaying formation was a hereditary trait, but at that time, Ye Xiyao hadn’t pursued the topic further—after all, he was a succubus, and the demon-slaying formation was a weapon against demons, which sounded eerie enough for him not to want to dig deeper.
“I’m not really sure,” Xing Shu said. He never cared much about the origins of the demon-slaying formation, as he only knew it could kill demons. “But there is a half-true, half-false legend.”
Ye Xiyao asked, “What is it?”
Xing Shu, lacking storytelling skills, summarized a myth in just a few words: “Originally, all magical beings couldn’t come to the human realm because the gods granted humanity blessings and protection at the beginning of creation, preventing all evil from stepping foot here. But then a human made a deal with a demon; the demon satisfied his desires, and he led the demons into the human world. After that, it was the usual stories of human-demon wars—things often written in novels—the only difference being that humans had no means to fight back against the magical beings and could only wait to die. Just when humans were about to be devoured, the gods appeared again. People thought they would punish the demons and protect the human realm once more, but the gods believed that even if they protected humans in a safe zone for a time, sooner or later, there would be souls making deals with demons again. Instead, it was better to give humans weapons for self-protection. So they chose the most steadfast soul among the remaining humans and bestowed a new blessing upon them.”
Ye Xiyao interjected, “So the demon-slaying formation is the blessing of the gods.”
Xing Shu: “That’s how the legend goes, but I think it’s nonsense. If it were truly a blessing from the gods, they would know how weak humans are. Just giving one formation wouldn’t be enough; they should have given several.”
Ye Xiyao nodded: “And the demon-slaying formation will backfire if the demonic energy it suppresses exceeds a certain limit. If there are no descendants to inherit the bloodline, wouldn’t the formation just disappear? Then who would drive away the powerful demons?”
Xing Shu suddenly thought of something and stared at Ye Xiyao.
Ye Xiyao immediately understood what he was thinking and covered his eyes to prevent him from looking at him.
“I’m not saying I want to have a child immediately to inherit this bloodline,” Xing Shu quickly clarified for himself. “I was just thinking, you’re right.”
Ye Xiyao: “Hmm? What did I say?”
Xing Shu replied, “The demon-slaying formation is passed down through bloodlines, but after so many years, am I the only one in my family who doesn’t want children to inherit this bloodline? In other words, if anyone in our demon-slaying family plans to be child-free or stay single for life, or even dies before having children, then who would inherit the demon-slaying formation?”
As soon as the words fell, both of them fell silent.
They couldn’t come up with an answer to this question, but both felt that it might not be so simple.
After a brief exchange of glances, Ye Xiyao made a somewhat absurd guess: “…Do you think that demon might be targeting you because of the demon-slaying formation?”
This speculation would seem too bizarre to anyone—after all, the demon-slaying formation exists solely to kill demons. Which demon would come knocking on the door to seek its own suffering?
However, Xing Shu agreed with Ye Xiyao’s thought: “It’s possible. In my understanding, the existence of the demon-slaying formation is a weapon against magical beings. I never thought about what would happen if I died before passing down the bloodline… Who would inherit the demon-slaying formation? If it’s not a weapon against demons, then what would it become?”
Ye Xiyao inexplicably thought of the last scene of that nightmare.
He instinctively hugged Xing Shu tighter and said, “Maybe we’re overthinking this.”
“No, it’s best to think about it a bit more. If its target is the demon-slaying formation, then all of humanity would be in danger.” Xing Shu glanced at his palm. “I need to find a time to lure it out and test it.”
Ye Xiyao raised his chin: “We.”
Xing Shu was stunned and pretended not to understand: “Hmm?”
Ye Xiyao: “We need to lure it out together.”
Xing Shu could see that Ye Xiyao left him no room for negotiation: “Then promise me that if something goes wrong, you’ll run fast and not worry about me.”
Ye Xiyao showed his clever side and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll run very fast. I won’t look back to wait for you, nor will I waste time crying to say goodbye.”
“?” Xing Shu passed his hand through Ye Xiyao’s armpit, lifting him up to eye level. “You’re saying to just run, huh?”
Ye Xiyao: “Mm-mm, anyway, it can’t kill you right now, so I’ll definitely prioritize my own life.”
“Alright.” Xing Shu smiled, biting his back teeth, and suddenly spun Ye Xiyao around several times, making him dizzy before stopping and saying, “If you run slowly later, I’ll go home and spank you.”
–
Ye Xiyao preferred the weather from a while ago.
It was cool but not cold enough to make him feel chilly, and the company had stopped using air conditioning—his least favorite was the cold wind from the AC.
Unfortunately, this refreshing weather didn’t last long.
By the end of November, Lucheng had fully entered winter mode.
There followed a whole week of continuous drops in temperature, suddenly bringing it down from a pleasant twenty degrees to around ten degrees, and it kept falling.
Winter came too quickly to Lucheng, not even giving Ye Xiyao time to prepare.
Just yesterday, he was discussing with Xing Shu whether to wear a sweater or a windbreaker, and today he was planning to wear a down jacket.
Of course, only Ye Xiyao was considering the down jacket; after all, it wasn’t even the coldest time yet.
But it was certain that this year, Lucheng was indeed colder than in previous years.
So everyone noticed that Ye Xiyao had been looking quite unenergetic lately.
Xing Shu noticed this especially clearly.
Not long ago—right after they decided to lure out the demon together—Ye Xiyao and Xing Shu entered a state of preparation.
Mainly, it referred to a mental readiness, while physically, they still went to work on time.
They weren’t sure how the demon was monitoring them, so it was best to pretend that everything was normal.
Rain was when they felt most threatened.
However, they later discovered that there was no demonic energy in the rain; it seemed the demon had hidden itself.
Although they hadn’t yet found any weaknesses in their opponent, during those few days, Ye Xiyao was more vigilant than Xing Shu, staying fully alert, even making sure to close the doors and windows tightly while sleeping.
But after the temperature dropped, Ye Xiyao suddenly wilted.
Being afraid of the cold was a minor flaw in Ye Xiyao’s innate constitution, and when the temperature fell below twelve degrees, that flaw became pronounced.
The usually early-rising Ye Xiyao started sleeping in lately, and food didn’t taste good anymore. Once he left the heated room, he felt as if his tendons had been pulled out.
In the summer, Ye Xiyao was always bouncing around, but recently he started relying on other means of movement besides his legs—specifically, Xing Shu.
Yes, Ye Xiyao was too lazy to even want to walk by himself.
He now needed Xing Shu to carry him for everything.
What was Ye Xiyao’s winter like in the 21 years before he met Xing Shu?
It seemed not too different from the other seasons.
He did what he was supposed to do; aside from wearing a couple more layers than others, it really didn’t affect his daily life.
But now that there was Xing Shu by his side, strangely, he became very sensitive to the cold.
The little demon afraid of the cold was particularly clingy.
He didn’t want to open his mouth to eat and wait for someone to feed him; he didn’t want to lift a hand to get dressed; even when lounging at home, he had to find a moving heat source—specifically, Xing Shu—to feel comfortable.
Xing Shu, on the other hand, was quite pleased and enjoyed it.
At first, he thought Ye Xiyao might really be sick.
Until one day, when it suddenly started raining in Lucheng, Ye Xiyao, who was flopped over his legs, flew up in an instant, rushing to the window, extending his hand to test it, and disappointingly said, “Still no demonic energy.”
After speaking, he belatedly realized he was in the cold wind and began to shiver.
Xing Shu quickly ran over, wrapped him in a blanket, and carried him back to the living room, laughing for a full three minutes.
Ye Xiyao bumped his forehead against Xing Shu’s arm: “Why aren’t you worried? It hasn’t shown up; maybe it discovered our plan.”
“Plan?” Xing Shu asked with a laugh, “What plan do we have?”
Well, they didn’t really have a plan.
They just wanted to test whether the demon was interested in Xing Shu himself or in the demon-slaying formation.
If that were the case, there would be no reason for it to keep hiding.
Ye Xiyao began to speculate again: “It not showing up could mean it’s been caught up with something else, or maybe it’s lost interest in you. It would be best if it were dead…”
He talked to himself for a long time, searching for the most likely reason for the demon’s disappearance.
Xing Shu didn’t say anything, just looked at Ye Xiyao with a smile in his eyes. When Ye Xiyao said something particularly reasonable, he nodded: “Mm, I think so too.”
If Ye Xiyao got stuck in thought, Xing Shu would say: “Then let’s observe some more.”
They discussed for a long time, but in the end, they never reached a conclusion, and they couldn’t pinpoint why the demon hadn’t shown up. By the time they lay down in bed, Ye Xiyao still hadn’t figured out anything new.
“Let’s sleep first; we’ll think about it tomorrow,” Xing Shu tucked Ye Xiyao into the blankets, adjusting the corners, “Goodnight, baby.”
Ye Xiyao closed his eyes and suddenly asked, “Will it snow tomorrow?”
“Lucheng doesn’t snow until January; it’s still early,” Xing Shu gently pinched his face and asked, “You want to see snow?”
Ye Xiyao replied, “No, it’s too cold.”
Xing Shu said, “Then let’s move to a city where it’s always summer.”
“Okay.” Only then did Ye Xiyao feel at ease and fall asleep.
At three in the morning, Lucheng, which shouldn’t have been snowing, suddenly had a heavy snowfall.
The first person to notice was Xing Shu.
Because he hadn’t slept all night.
In fact, he had already guessed the reason why the demon hadn’t shown up; it wasn’t because it had forgotten about him or was busy with other things, but simply because he had been spending all this time with Ye Xiyao, so the demon hadn’t appeared.
Perhaps that demon only showed up when Xing Shu was alone.
The heavy snow pelted against the transparent windows, and Xing Shu quietly got up, turning around to check Ye Xiyao’s blanket, holding back the impulse to kiss him—he was afraid of waking Ye Xiyao.
Ten minutes later, Xing Shu stepped into the heavy snowstorm, which felt completely off.
At the same time, Ye Xiyao woke up.
He didn’t wake up because he had sensed Xing Shu’s plan; he had just had another nightmare. He had once again eaten Xing Shu.
It was such a terrible dream.
Ye Xiyao decided to ask Xing Shu to help him make a midnight snack, only to find that one person was missing from the bed.
“Xing Shu?”
Ye Xiyao called out.
He was certain that Xing Shu wasn’t home.
The snow outside was getting heavier. He kicked off the blankets, bare-footed, and rushed out onto the balcony. In the freezing weather, the biting cold hit him as he stretched out his hand.
But his purpose wasn’t to check for demonic energy in the snow; it was to release his own demonic energy to search for Xing Shu.
What Ye Xiyao hadn’t told Xing Shu was that he actually had the same suspicion—that it was because he was around that the demon hadn’t shown up.
But Ye Xiyao deliberately led the conclusion elsewhere, not wanting Xing Shu to suggest acting alone. Even if that demon seemed incapable of killing Xing Shu, he still felt very uneasy.
Little did he know, even if he didn’t say anything, Xing Shu had thought of it himself.
The longer the demon lurked, the more passive they became, as long nights and dreams multiplied. So Xing Shu clearly planned to catch it off guard.
Ye Xiyao was annoyed that Xing Shu was acting on his own.
So why didn’t he discuss it with him in advance before just running off?
Ye Xiyao quickly sensed where Xing Shu was through the snow.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too far away.
And the energy he sensed returned from Xing Shu was safe.
He let out a sigh of relief.
But after Ye Xiyao retracted his hand, he didn’t immediately move his feet.
Because he suddenly remembered something.
Angels can foresee the future.
