Chapter 97: The Unveiling of a World, and a Confession of Marks

When Su Mian opened her eyes, the first thing she felt was an unusually high body temperature, not her own, pressing against her skin from beside her.

She blinked, and in her immediate vision was Xiao Moyuan’s profile, incredibly close.

His eyes were closed, his breathing even. He was still asleep.

This time, she didn’t move.

Her body seemed to have memorized some absurd inertia, making even surprise feel sluggish.

She simply lay there, quietly, watching the morning light seep through the window crack.

Memories unfurled slowly, like water-soaked paper—yesterday, she had drunk a lot of wine.

From noon until dusk, bottle after bottle, until her vision blurred, until even her grievances transformed into a chaotic, dull ache.

After that, there was only a blank.

Presumably, it was the same as before.

She had gotten drunk, or sleepwalked, unconsciously climbing into this bed, burrowing into this man’s embrace.

The fox demon’s instinct, the drive of her bloodline—any reason would suffice.

She was too weary to pursue it any longer.

She exhaled softly, carefully shifting her body, intending to sit up.

But the moment she moved, a sharp ache shot through her lower body, causing her to involuntarily stiffen.

This sensation… was more pronounced than any previous time.

It wasn’t just the headache from a hangover, or the soreness in her limbs. It was more.

Just then, Xiao Moyuan opened his eyes.

He turned his head to look at her, a hint of scrutinizing doubt in his gaze.

“So obedient this time?”

His voice was a low growl, thick with sleep.

“No crying, no fussing, and no asking why you’re sleeping here—could it be you’ve grown used to it? Numb? Or has your subconscious already accepted this relationship?”

She didn’t know.

She merely propped herself up, sitting, as the duvet slipped from her shoulders.

Then, she froze.

Her body beneath the covers was completely bare.

No clothes, not a single stitch.

A few seconds of absolute silence.

Then, a scream suddenly erupted: “Xiao Moyuan—!”

She practically lunged, snatching the duvet to wrap herself, her tail flaring out in an instinctive puff, bristling into a fluffy mass behind her.

Her face flushed crimson, even the tips of her ears dyed with the color of shame and indignation.

“You… you didn’t even put clothes on me this time?! Before, at least you’d pretend, but now you’re not even bothering to act?!

Xiao Moyuan pushed himself up into a sitting position.

He didn’t answer immediately, only raising a hand to rub his brow.

After a long moment, he finally gestured with his chin towards the hidden camera in the corner of the room.

“Old rules, check it yourself.”

Su Mian’s voice caught in her throat.

Again… she had been the one to initiate it?

This realization instantly deflated her.

She hugged her knees, curling into a ball, her tail drooping listlessly behind her, her ears also lowered.

Yes, it must have been her going wild again after getting drunk yesterday.

Fox demons, seductive spirits, naturally alluring—that’s what the books said.

She herself had believed it before her complete awakening.

Now that her bloodline was awake, and instinct had taken over, nothing she did would be surprising.

She didn’t even dare to look into Xiao Moyuan’s eyes.

It was too embarrassing.

Again and again, pouncing on him like an animal in heat, scratching, biting… How could she have become like this?

Xiao Moyuan watched her self-loathing expression, an almost imperceptible sigh of relief escaping him.

In truth, last night, the first half had indeed been her initiation.

The little fox, drunk, was even more clingy than usual, clutching at his clothes and refusing to let go, her tail wrapped around his waist, her wet eyes filled with a muddled, yet direct, longing.

He should have pushed her away—at least, he should have stopped after sating her with spiritual energy, as he had before.

But he hadn’t.

He had lost control.

The latter half was her not holding back her strength, to the point where even he felt a bit annoyed when he woke up this morning.

But there was no need for her to know these details.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

Su Mian mumbled, her voice thick with a nasal tone.

She got out of bed, wrapped in the duvet, and haphazardly grabbed a shirt and long pants from the wardrobe—they were his clothes, but she couldn’t care less now—then rushed into the bathroom.

The moment the door closed, Xiao Moyuan heard a muffled, tearful murmur from inside:

“So dirty… definitely dirty…”

He lowered his eyes, looking at the several blood-tinged teeth marks on his arm, and sighed silently.

Half an hour later, the bathroom door reopened.

Su Mian emerged, wearing an oversized white shirt and gray sweatpants. The sleeves were rolled up several times, and the pant legs dragged on the floor.

She had washed her hair, and her wet, silvery-white long hair clung to the side of her neck, the tips still dripping water.

The blush on her face had faded somewhat, but her eyes were still moist, as if veiled in a mist.

She walked to the bedside, not sitting, but standing. She extended a finger, pointing to several distinct red marks on her arm and collarbone—not deep in color, but strikingly prominent against her fair skin.

“These,”

Her voice was very soft, yet carried a stubborn accusation,

“How did they get there?”

Xiao Moyuan looked up at her, remaining silent.

Su Mian bit her lower lip, then added:

“Also, did you hit me last night? So many places on my body hurt…”

Her inner thighs and lower back, in particular, ached so much that walking felt uncomfortable.

Xiao Moyuan finally reacted.

“You don’t know how these marks got here?” His tone was calm.

Su Mian frowned: “You pinched me?”

Xiao Moyuan didn’t answer.

He simply threw off the duvet and got out of bed—also without clothes, but his movements were so uninhibited they were almost provocative.

Su Mian recoiled half a step, but her gaze involuntarily fell upon him.

Then, she was utterly stunned.

Across Xiao Moyuan’s back, dozens of slender scratch marks crisscrossed, some already scabbed over, others still a fresh red.

He turned around, revealing bite marks of varying depths on his chest, arms, and even his shoulders and neck. Several bites were particularly deep, surrounded by dried bloodstains.

“These,”

He pointed to the marks on his back,

“You scratched these last night.”

Su Mian instinctively looked at her own hands—but her fingertips seemed to retain some residual sensation.

She nervously retracted her fingers.

Xiao Moyuan then pointed to the bite marks on his arm:

“These, you bit.”

Su Mian lowered her head, her earlobes burning hot.

Just… how crazy had she been last night?

“I was drunk,”

She mumbled in defense, her voice growing weaker and weaker,

“I didn’t know.”

“Mm,”

Xiao Moyuan responded, his tone unreadable,

“So, do you still have so many ‘whys’?”

Su Mian fell silent.

She stared at the patterns on the floor for a long while before finally saying, in a muffled tone:

“Anyway… anyway, you provoked me too. So let’s call it even.”

Xiao Moyuan, however, chuckled.

It was a very soft laugh, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

“I didn’t provoke you.”

“Then where did the red marks on my body come from?”

Su Mian looked up, her eyes welling with renewed grievance,

“It can’t be that I pinched myself, can it?”

Xiao Moyuan looked at her, then suddenly beckoned her closer.

“Come here.”

Su Mian watched him warily:

“What for?”

“To tell you how those marks got there.”

Hesitating for a few seconds, Su Mian slowly shuffled over.

Xiao Moyuan suddenly leaned in, one hand gently grasping her wrist, the other caressing her cheek—

Then, he lowered his head and kissed her right cheek.

It wasn’t his lips, just his cheek.

But the touch was warm, carrying a distinct sense of possession.

Su Mian stiffened completely, her mind a blank, until a few seconds later, she felt a slight sucking sensation on her cheek.

“You… you… why are you kissing my face…?”

She stammered, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Xiao Moyuan didn’t answer, simply continuing the gentle yet persistent action.

After about ten seconds, he finally released her, stepping back half a pace, his thumb gently brushing her cheek.

“There,”

He said,

“That’s how they got there.”

Su Mian stared at him blankly, then just as blankly raised a hand to touch her right cheek—her skin was slightly warm, the sensation a bit strange. She suddenly understood.

Those red marks… were hickeys.

They were love bites.

Her face immediately flushed crimson, even her neck turning scarlet.

She practically rushed to the full-length mirror, leaning in to look closely—sure enough, there was a small, distinct light-red mark on her right cheek, strikingly obvious against her fair skin.

“Xiao Moyuan!”

She spun around, both mortified and furious,

“Couldn’t you just tell me directly?! Did you really have to *demonstrate* it again?!

And did you have to demonstrate it *on my face*?! How am I supposed to go out looking like this?”

Xiao Moyuan had already put on his jacket.

Hearing her, he looked up, his tone flat:

“These past few days, you won’t have a chance to see anyone besides me.”

Su Mian choked, all her anger lodged in her throat.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

After a long moment, she finally spoke, her voice almost a sob:

“So… how long do you plan to keep me locked up?”

“You said ‘until I’m no threat’—when will I be considered no threat?”

She looked up, her eyes truly red:

“And what exactly happened to my family? Where are my parents now? Are they alive or dead? It’s fine if you keep me here, but at least let me know these things, right?

At least let me use my phone to contact the outside world, right? If you keep me locked up like this, I really… I really will go crazy.”

The final syllable trembled.

Xiao Moyuan’s action of fastening his belt paused.

Su Mian’s eyes, usually filled with stubbornness or guilt, were now brimming with genuine fear and helplessness.

A heavy silence permeated the room.

The sunlight outside the window shifted a few more inches, falling upon Su Mian’s bare feet, making her skin appear almost translucent.

After a long while, Xiao Moyuan finally spoke, his voice deeper than before.

“What do you want to know? ‘No threat’?”

He said, “Then let me first tell you what this world is truly like.”

***

Over the next hour, Xiao Moyuan, using the most concise and direct language, described a world Su Mian had never imagined.

—Demons have existed since ancient times. From mischievous spirits and mountain sprites to wild beasts, and even the souls born from human obsessions after death, all can be called ‘demons’.

All non-human, supernatural existences fall into this category.

—The current world, the one where humans live, is not the only one.

Overlapping with it is another place called the ‘Misty Realm’. It is a gathering place for demons, rich in spiritual energy, and governed by vastly different laws.

—There are barriers between the two realms, making it difficult for ordinary demons to cross. However, there are always exceptions: powerful great demons, anomalies possessing special abilities, or lucky—or unlucky—individuals who accidentally stumble upon a ‘Gate Between Realms’.

—The duty of a Demon Slayer is to maintain balance in the current world. They eliminate evil demons that harm humans and repatriate harmless demons that have strayed into the current world back to the Misty Realm.

Simply put, they cleanse things that shouldn’t exist here.

Su Mian listened in a daze, her tail unconsciously curling up, its tip swaying gently.

“Then… how do demons like me come to be in the current world?”

“Either they come from the Misty Realm,” Xiao Moyuan said, “or they are born in the current world—like you, a half-demon with an awakened bloodline.”

“So,”

Su Mian grasped the key point,

“According to this, even if I’m deemed ‘harmless’, I can’t stay in the current world?

“Because I’m not human, and I don’t belong here?”

Xiao Moyuan was silent for a few seconds.

“There are exceptions.”

He said,

“Demons that can remain in the current world for a long time usually fall into two categories.”

Su Mian’s ears perked up.

“The first kind are beings with excellent disguises, able to perfectly conceal their demonic aura. They blend into crowds, indistinguishable from ordinary people. As long as they don’t actively expose themselves, even Demon Slayers find it difficult to detect them.

“The second kind,” Xiao Moyuan paused, looking at her, “become a Demon Slayer’s Shikigami.”

Su Mian’s eyes lit up: “Shikigami? Then, if I just become your Shikigami, I can—”

“Do you know what a Shikigami is?” Xiao Moyuan interrupted her.

Su Mian shook her head.

Xiao Moyuan walked in front of her, leaned down, and met her gaze.

His voice was calm, yet carried a certain heavy weight.

“To put it in terms you can understand,”

He said, word by word,

“Shikigami are spiritual familiars who have signed a master-servant contract. They must obey their master’s commands and fulfill all their master’s demands.”

He watched as the hope that had just ignited in Su Mian’s eyes slowly dimmed, then continued:

“Now, do you still want to be my Shikigami?”

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