Lin Shijin hunched his shoulders and fell silent. He no longer looked at the immortal herb in Ye Lang’s hand; his long ears drooped limply, making him look thoroughly wilted. Terror churned in his chest, and he tried to comfort himself in silence. Ye Lang was only talking. He wouldn’t actually do anything. Best not to take it to heart.
But no matter how he reasoned with himself, he still couldn’t stay calm. He finally understood what Sheng Rufei meant by the inherent nature of the demon race. This deep-rooted hierarchical instinct, this bone-deep submission, was something that had fear etched straight into his marrow.
“We’re here to complete a mission,” Lin Shijin whispered. “Su Lian-shixiong is still waiting for us.”
“Yes, to complete a mission.” Ye Lang eyed the youth’s cowardly posture; it made him feel the urge to tease him. He pinched the back of Lin Shijin’s shrinking neck; with just a little more force, he might lift him clean off the ground.
“To complete the mission, we need to uncover the demon race’s truth. I’ve just been to the altar and got a good look at the layout. I’ve found out how they slip into the city.”
Ye Lang continued, “You’re noisy every single day, yet you’ve been no help at all. You only eat and you only run. Tell me. What use are you?”
At best, he was nothing more than a mascot following him and Su Lian about. Completely useless.
Lin Shijin flushed. It was true he hadn’t helped much. They’d only been in the city two days, and frankly, these people were monstrous. Whether it was Sheng Rufei, Su Lian, or the youth before him, the gap in strength between them and him was vast. Their battles might as well have been happening in a different world. The only reason he’d managed to earn a few jade fragments was because he looked after the snowballs.
And the snowballs been found for him by Sheng Rufei.
The more Lin Shijin thought about it, the more useless he felt. His ears, already drooping, sagged even further. He used them to cover his eyes. As his fingers tugging at the corner of the blanket, he accidentally pulled out several strands of fur from it.
“I…I can help,” Lin Shijin said softly. “I won’t hold you back.”
A touch of grievance coloured his voice.
Ye Lang glanced at the youth sitting so neatly in the corner. Just a few off-handed remarks from him, and the lad had already inched further away, occupying only the tiniest patch of space, his tail drooping in defeat.
So gullible. So foolish.
“If you sit still and don’t run around, that’s already not being a burden.”
Ye Lang added, “In two days the demon race will be holding a ritual coinciding with the Ghost Exorcism Festival. A rabbit like you, if you wander about, might get snatched up and made a slave.”
The moment the word “slave” reached him, Lin Shijin immediately straightened. Of course he didn’t want that.
“Go back to your cave. If I find you running about, I’ll tie you up myself.”
Lin Shijin glanced towards the stone hall and spotted a bed in the corner. His own cave had nothing but a layer of straw on the ground.
“My cave only has straw. Could I maybe—”
He met Ye Lang’s gaze. His voice shrank smaller and smaller, until he didn’t dare speak at all.
“Then I’ll go.”
Watching the youth leave with such a sulky face, Ye Lang felt almost amused. He actually dared to bargain with him. Clearly, life in Fuguang had been far too comfortable.
He’d never tasted hardship.
“Stop,” Ye Lang called him back. After a moment’s thought, he decided it was better to keep the rabbit near. After all, he was still useful.
Lin Shijin’s ears twitched. He turned around, but stayed where he was.
“Stay in the hall today. No need to go back.”
Lin Shijin asked cautiously, “Then where will you go?”
He surely didn’t mean they were going to sleep in the same room. A rabbit and a wolf sharing a place. Wasn’t that practically delivering himself to the chopping block?
“Where do you think I’m going?” Ye Lang said with a mocking smile. “This is my hall.”
Then he really should go back. Rabbits didn’t live with wolves. He’d be eaten alive.
“I’ll return. If you need something, summon me.” Lin Shijin said this, certain nothing would come of it anyway. Ye Lang himself had said he was useless.
He had barely turned around when a sharp metallic clang rang out.
Ye Lang had placed his sword on the table, the blade slightly drawn, cold light spilling from the gap. One thin ray of sword light fell by Lin Shijin’s foot.
He felt a gust of wind brush past his ear. He had a sword too, he could use sword aura. How could he submit so easily? That would be far too spineless.
He stepped outside two paces, and immediately, the guards outside transformed into beast-headed warriors, their weapons raised and pointed at him.
Lin Shijin: “…”
He turned back at once.
Before long, the youth was sitting obediently again. Ye Lang, thoroughly satisfied, handed him a plate of immortal herbs. “Good. Stay here these next two days.”
Lin Shijin glanced at the herbs. He and Ye Lang sat far apart. Looking around the hall, he asked, “You revealed you were a demon, and they let you in?”
“That’s right,” Ye Lang said. “The demon race has a strict hierarchy. The wolf demons are honoured at present, so naturally they treat us politely.”
Lin Shijin murmured an indistinct “Oh.” It seemed their identity wasn’t bad after all. It made things easier, made investigations smoother.
Almost too smooth.
He thought again of the statue of the demon immortal… its eerie posture and expression. Something felt wrong. Yet every demon he’d met here seemed perfectly normal.
“It feels like everything is going too smoothly,” Lin Shijin said, fingers brushing his sword scabbard. “Shouldn’t we be careful?”
“You worry far too much,” Ye Lang said, raising an eyebrow. “If you listen to me, that’s already helpful.”
The rest was none of this wretched rabbit’s business.
Though he himself was being treated well here, it didn’t mean the demon race would let him interfere with their rituals or their original plans.
Lin Shijin gave another quiet “Oh.” Ye Lang was stronger. He shouldn’t overthink. There was immortal herb in front of him. He picked one up and chewed; bitter at first, then sweet. His ears perked in delight.
“So we’re staying here with the demons these two days, and not going anywhere?”
Ye Lang watched him eat. He ate like a little hamster, a rabbit nibbling on grass. Comical. The youth seemed genuinely happy, radiating cheer.
“You’ll stay. I’m going out tomorrow.”
Being left alone unsettled Lin Shijin. “Where are you going? I want to go too.”
Being left alone in the demon realm didn’t feel safe at all.
Ye Lang wasn’t very trustworthy, but he was still a fellow disciple. It was better than strangers.
“You want to follow me?” Ye Lang asked, a little surprised. He considered it for a moment, then narrowed his dark eyes slightly. “It’s not impossible. But if I take you, you’ll listen to whatever I say outside.”
Lin Shijin went silent again. He felt like a rabbit awaiting slaughter and completely at someone else’s mercy. Just because Ye Lang’s cultivation was higher, he had to obey?
“What do you mean ‘listen’? Aren’t we supposed to discuss things together?”
He muttered, displeased, “You can’t make me do things I don’t agree to.”
If it were Sheng Rufei, he would never say this. Because Sheng Rufei would never force him, always respected his choices, explained things patiently even when firm.
Ye Lang, on the other hand, was an expert at causing trouble. He’d experienced this firsthand along the way.
“Do you think you have a choice?” Ye Lang reached to tug his perky ears, but Lin Shijin backed away with the immortal herb in hand.
Lin Shijin: “If you don’t agree, then let’s part ways.”
He peered nervously at Ye Lang, who didn’t look like someone inclined to compromise; his ears twitched anxiously.
It was only a matter of words, but Ye Lang refused to indulge this absurd rabbit. He looked at him with a half-smile, releasing a thin haze of demonic energy. Dark mist curled faintly around him.
Lin Shijin’s legs gave way instantly. His body froze as though locked down; he could barely hold the plate. Something deep within him trembled. A force pressed down and robbed him of movement.
“Fuguang’s formation really is marvellous. In this secret realm, your identity dictates your rules…”
Surrounded by demonic energy, Ye Lang stepped forward, black boots crisp against the ground. His eyes grew darker. He stood before Lin Shijin and pinched his chin, smiling without warmth.
“I already said. You’ve no room to resist.”
His grip tightened slightly.
Pain shot through Lin Shijin’s jaw. He glared fiercely at Ye Lang, wanting nothing more than to twist that insufferable face until it looked like a pig’s head.
His whole body trembled under the suppression, his ears stiff with fear.
Ye Lang sat beside him, watching his expression, then stroked his cheek slowly.
“Much more pleasing like this.”
Docile rabbits were far easier on the eyes. The restless ones attracted too much attention. Demonic suppression worked beautifully by immobilising them in an instant.
He lowered his gaze and pinched Lin Shijin’s cheek. Soft, unbelievably soft.
He tugged twice more until the rabbit’s cheek went red. When he let go, Lin Shijin was glaring even more fiercely. So Ye Lang lightly rubbed the reddened skin.
Lin Shijin: “…”
“I’ll take you tomorrow. You’ll sit on my lap just like this, and your shixiong can watch. How about that?”
Tomorrow, the immortal sect and the Slayers would visit the city lord’s manor to discuss the Ghost Exorcism Festival. Ye Lang intended to sneak in with them.
He was merely notifying this rabbit. Now that he looked at him properly, the rabbit was rather easy on the eyes. When he’d finished using him, perhaps he wouldn’t kill him after all.
Keeping him as a little plaything sounded quite pleasant.
Soft, fresh, utterly endearing. The exact opposite of a cold, untouchable beauty like Sheng Rufei.
Lin Shijin wanted to speak but couldn’t. In his heart, he cursed Ye Lang a hundred times: shameless, unreasonable, far too much. He silently swore that if he ever had Ye Lang under his thumb, he would make him taste exactly this humiliation.
He couldn’t speak and looked terribly obedient. Ye Lang was thoroughly pleased. He scooped the rabbit up and headed towards the bed. Wicked impulses stirred. He wanted to sleep with the rabbit in his arms.
He wanted to watch him tremble in fear, unable to flee.
Lin Shijin was held tightly. As the bed drew nearer, dread tightened in his chest. He had no idea what Ye Lang intended.
He found out soon enough. Ye Lang placed him on the bed, pulled him into his arms, tugged gently at his ear, and said, “You can sleep now.”
Lin Shijin: “…”
