Chapter 58
The meal lasted a long time. When it ended, Qiao Linchuan and Xu Xingyang volunteered to wash the dishes. Qin Zai had to leave for something, and Lu Kou stayed in the living room playing games with Xue Qiao.
Ye Xiyao originally thought that the Demon King, Seiler, had come today with a purpose, or at least to talk to him about something. So after the meal, he kept waiting for Seiler to initiate a conversation. But in the end, all Seiler said was, “I’ve stayed too long, I need to go.”
Although Seiler was a powerful Demon King, he had been devoting most of his energy to a particular matter, which made his true form weaker than expected. If he could stay in his own domain, his strength would recover quickly. However, being so far away in the human world meant he couldn’t manage everything at once.
The situation was actually quite complex but could be easily solved—he didn’t need to come in person. He could use a puppet or possess a body, as he had done before when he borrowed Eruoer’s body, temporarily placing a strand of his consciousness there to visit Ye Xiyao. This method didn’t drain his energy, and he wouldn’t need to leave in a hurry.
However, Seiler seemed to have a strange insistence on meeting Ye Xiyao in his true form. As a result, he could only rush to visit and then rush to leave.
Seeing Seiler leave in such haste, Ye Xiyao suddenly realized that the Demon King, burdened with so many responsibilities, had come all this way for an unremarkable human lunch simply to see him.
Ye Xiyao didn’t know what this reunion after more than twenty years meant to Seiler, but he knew that seeing Seiler made him happy. Perhaps Seiler felt the same.
After bidding farewell to the proud Demon King, Ye Xiyao turned to find Xing Xu, only to see him talking with Luo Yiji.
When he approached, Luo Yiji immediately relayed the situation again.
It turned out that the Safety Bureau branch at the Seafront City detected demonic energy but had been unable to pinpoint the demon’s location. They requested assistance from the headquarters.
The fact that they couldn’t locate the demon meant that the demon hadn’t caused any trouble yet and might not be very powerful. However, since the branch’s exorcists had limited abilities, allowing them to track the demon could waste a lot of time. Knowing that there were experts at the headquarters, they naturally called for help.
In the past, Luo Yiji would also assign this to Xing Xu, but Xing Xu would first mock the other side thoroughly and only reluctantly help after everyone pleaded with him. To the old Xing Xu, exorcism missions that involved only tracking without any fighting were meaningless, so it was hard to get him involved.
But now that Ye Xiyao was around, things were different.
This time, Luo Yiji didn’t bother explaining to Xing Xu and directly asked for Ye Xiyao’s opinion—he bet that if Ye Xiyao agreed, Xing Xu wouldn’t say a word.
After listening to the explanation, Ye Xiyao immediately agreed, “Alright, we’ll go help.”
Xing Xu, out of habit, tried to mock the Seafront City Safety Bureau: “These guys can’t even handle a small—”
“This is no small matter,” Ye Xiyao interrupted. “Demons might not seem like much to us, but to humans, even a low-level demon can pose a deadly threat. We need to find and deal with that demon quickly.”
Xing Xu instantly complied, “Yes, yes, you’re right.”
Ye Xiyao gave Xing Xu a satisfied smile.
Ye Xiyao’s eagerness wasn’t entirely because he was worried about the demon causing trouble. He knew this mission wasn’t that urgent. Even without their help, the branch could probably handle it on their own, though it would take more time and use more resources.
His quick agreement to help was also motivated by his desire to do something for humanity. The more value he created here, the stronger his sense of belonging. This was an experience entirely different from his past—no more working odd jobs for survival or tiptoeing around trying to live peacefully.
At the moment when people needed him, he became one of them.
Perhaps it was partly the lingering insecurity from Ye Xiyao’s past two decades, but more than that, it was his desire to make up for the connections he hadn’t had the chance to form with the world.
So no matter how big or small the task, he was willing to take it on as long as he still lived here.
Besides, he wasn’t walking this world alone anymore.
Xing Xu was by his side.
Xing Xu always seemed to know exactly what Ye Xiyao wanted and was willing to accompany him without question or concern for the consequences. This made even the most boring tasks enjoyable, the dullest work something to look forward to, and the quietest moments feel full of happiness.
At that moment, Ye Xiyao suddenly heard Xing Xu say to Luo Yiji, “By the way, I remember there’s a Union military base near Seafront City, right?”
Curious, Ye Xiyao looked over.
“Yeah, there’s a large armed military base there,” Luo Yiji replied. “Why? Do you need their help with the exorcism?”
Luo Yiji didn’t know why Xing Xu asked, assuming it had something to do with exorcism. But when Ye Xiyao heard this, he inexplicably felt a chill down his spine.
Xing Xu nodded, “I need a small favor.”
Luo Yiji was puzzled. Since when did Xing Xu ever ask for help with exorcisms? Especially now, with Ye Xiyao by his side, both of them possessing divine powers. For Xing Xu to ask for help, it must be something extraordinary.
“What do you need help with?” Luo Yiji asked.
Xing Xu said, “Get me a set of their military uniforms—combat gear and regular training clothes. And while you’re at it, grab any other uniforms they have.”
Luo Yiji was baffled. “What does that mean?”
Xing Xu replied, “You wouldn’t understand. It’s a little something between me and Bao—uhm?”
Before he could finish, Ye Xiyao quickly covered his mouth with lightning speed, smiling at Luo Yiji as he said, “It’s just in case. If we need to enter the military base, wearing the uniform will make things easier.”
“No need to worry about that,” Luo Yiji said. “With your current status, you two can go anywhere in the Union without anyone stopping you, even without the uniforms. But—”
Halfway through, Luo Yiji caught Xing Xu’s warning glance and immediately changed his tone, “—but just in case, I’ll get you a set of military uniforms.”
Xing Xu nodded silently, praising his tact, then looked at Ye Xiyao with an expression as if asking for a reward.
Ye Xiyao sighed, “You’re really…”
Forget it.
In some way, Xing Xu really did understand what he liked.
/
No one expected the operation at Seafront City to be resolved so quickly—by the afternoon of the next day, it was all over.
The demon was eliminated on the spot, and it was said to have died a gruesome death.
This incident later became something of a legend in the exorcism world.
Many exorcists said, “Those two are unbelievably powerful. They can kill demons using methods humans can’t even imagine.”
While their claims weren’t wrong in theory, the truth was… the situation at Seafront City was pure coincidence.
That day, Ye Xiyao and Xing Xu had just gotten off the plane, planning to visit the local branch of the Safety Bureau, but on their way, they ran into the demon. They didn’t even need to search for it.
The demon was quite unlucky. It had just found a target and possessed a taxi driver, intending to use the driver’s body to devour the souls of more passengers.
As fate would have it, the first passengers the demon picked up were Ye Xiyao and Xing Xu.
When Xing Xu opened the car door for Ye Xiyao, he immediately sensed the demon’s presence. The two exchanged a glance and smiled.
At the same time, the clueless demon also smiled.
As a low-level demon, it could only sense that Ye Xiyao and Xing Xu’s souls were particularly appetizing and thought it was about to have a feast.
The demon drove them to a secluded area, preparing to enjoy its meal.
Music played in the car, and Xing Xu, sitting in the back, was complaining about how Ye Xiyao almost gave someone his contact information at the airport.
In the front seat, the demon thought it was listening to the last words of its prey and savored them with relish.
The situation was simple: Ye Xiyao had been approached by three boys at the airport while Xing Xu was buying milk tea. When Xing Xu turned around and saw what was happening, he rushed back, milk tea in hand.
The three boys looked like students, but it was hard to tell whether they were in high school or college. They were clearly too young to be trying to flirt.
The worst part was that Ye Xiyao was smiling at them, and the group had started chatting, even exchanging phones to add each other as friends.
Xing Xu, moving as if he had teleported, loomed over them like a mountain, and with a threatening tone, said to the three, “Get lost.”
This shout scared the three boys in front of them so much that their hair stood on end. They didn’t even have time to respond before they turned tail and ran off.
Behind them, Ye Xiyao reluctantly put away his phone and looked at Xing Xu. “You’re so mean.”
That was the full story behind Xing Xu’s complaint.
It wasn’t the fact that Ye Xiyao got approached that upset him—that happened all the time. What really bothered Xing Xu was Ye Xiyao’s regretful expression when he put his phone away, which is why Xing Xu was settling the score in the taxi. “You really wanted to add them as friends?”
Ye Xiyao explained, “They were three university students who work on a public welfare project rescuing stray cats and dogs. They just asked me to scan a code to follow their account, not to add them as private friends.”
With that one sentence, everything was clear, and Xing Xu immediately sat up straight, starting to reflect. “So, does that mean I was just being unreasonable earlier? Should I stop the car and go after them?”
Ye Xiyao laughed. “Why would you chase after them?”
Xing Xu replied, “To explain that I’m actually an enthusiastic supporter of animal welfare, and I’ll scan their code too.”
Ye Xiyao looked surprised. “Really? I’ve never seen you care about that stuff.”
Xing Xu said, “I love animals.”
Ye Xiyao teased, “You just kicked a dog on the street two days ago.”
Xing Xu quickly clarified, “Hey, let’s be clear, I kicked the guy who was walking the dog without a leash. As for the dog, I only gave it a little slap. It bared its teeth at you and almost bit you.”
Ye Xiyao conceded, “Alright, not leashing the dog was definitely wrong. But what animals do you actually like?”
Xing Xu immediately answered, “Rabbits. Such cute little things—I could eat ten pounds in one go.”
Ye Xiyao: “…”
Xing Xu added, “I’m joking.”
Ye Xiyao: “That didn’t sound like a joke at all.”
“Enough!”
Just then, the car suddenly stopped.
The demon in the front seat had been waiting for a while. It had intended to wait until the two were quiet before making its move, but they kept talking in the back, so it revealed its terrifying true form and interrupted their conversation.
Sinister black mist enveloped the car.
Dark energy seeped from its eyes as it spoke in a raspy voice, trying to create a horrifying atmosphere. “I regret to inform you—”
It didn’t even get to finish its pre-planned speech before Xing Xu grabbed its head.
In the next instant, Ye Xiyao pressed a finger to its forehead, forcefully pulling the demon out of the driver’s soul.
Since it hadn’t been possessing the driver for long, the driver’s soul hadn’t suffered much damage. A good night’s sleep should allow him to recover fully.
As for the demon, though it was weak, it seemed to have the ability to evade detection by exorcism instruments. So, they decided to take it back to the Safety Bureau for research instead of killing it right away.
With the demon’s remnant soul in his hand, Xing Xu suddenly said to Ye Xiyao, “Let’s go eat rabbit tonight.”
Ye Xiyao replied, “No.”
Xing Xu asked, “Then what do you want to eat?”
Ye Xiyao responded, “I’m not hungry yet.”
Xing Xu agreed, “True, it’s still early. Let’s do something else first.”
They started chatting again.
The demon’s remnant soul was in disbelief, utterly confused. It was terrified but also felt like it was in a dream—had it really been caught? How did they catch it? Why were they still chatting?
The demon screamed, “Who are you? What do you want from me?!”
Clearly, it was asking what they intended to do with it.
But Xing Xu and Ye Xiyao completely ignored it.
Xing Xu asked, “Yeah, what should we do?”
“I checked the map. The Civil Affairs Bureau and the Safety Bureau in Seafront City are close to each other,” Ye Xiyao said. “Let’s go get a marriage certificate.”
Xing Xu accidentally tightened his fist. “… Really?”
The demon didn’t even have time to scream before it shattered in Xing Xu’s palm.
“Oh no, did you kill it?”
“Accidental.”
Ye Xiyao thought for a moment and felt that killing the demon today wasn’t suitable for getting married, so he suggested postponing their certificate acquisition time with Xing Xu.
In his frustration, Xing Xu reassembled the demon’s remnant soul before crushing it again.
When he brought the demon sample back to the Safety Bureau, the lab personnel all remarked on how cruel it was.
And it was said that for many years after that, there were no more demon disturbances in Seafront City.
It was also said that any demon approaching Seafront City would hear the wailing of a tragic shattered soul, making them anxious and fearful.
Of course, most of what is said in the world is just rumor.
The truth of the matter is probably that after the arrival of two nearly god-like guardians, few demons dared to cause trouble anymore.
[THE END]
