Chapter 13: Marked
With a ding, the elevator arrived at the floor.
Duan Ke stuffed the Small Black Ball back into his pocket and pressed down on its soft little head with his index finger, signaling it to hide well.
Duan Ke didn’t want to confess his identity as a succubus to Qin Huai just yet, fearing he might scare him. And since the Small Black Ball was still too weak to transform into a cat on the spot, Duan Ke decided simply not to let it come out.
“Don’t make a sound later, okay? Be good and stay put,” Duan Ke said via their subconscious connection.
Monsters could communicate through inner voices using magic, which was inaudible to ordinary humans. This was one of the few spells used on monsters rather than humans.
The Small Black Ball said firmly, “Yes, sir! Rest assured, Lord Duan Ke! Even if I see that that man is impotent, I absolutely won’t make a sound to mock him!”
Duan Ke almost sighed. “Sigh, I already told you my keeper isn’t… and stop using honorifics!”
“Yes, sir, Lord Duan Ke!”
Duan Ke couldn’t do anything with it, so he stopped arguing and good-naturedly let it be.
Almost the instant the elevator doors opened, a scent so fragrant it caused dizziness surged forward. It made Duan Ke’s legs go weak, and he had to hold onto the wall to keep from falling.
The demonic markings on his stomach began to heat up almost instantly. He felt his entire lower abdomen, along with a certain organ buried beneath it, begin to tingle and go numb.
Duan Ke squatted down, leaning against the wall and hugging his stomach, looking like he couldn’t handle it.
“What’s happening…” Duan Ke opened his mouth only to find his voice was terribly soft, cloying as if soaked in sugar water. “Woo…”
“It feels so… good. How can it be so…”
It was ten times harder to resist than the first time he met Qin Huai.
If Duan Ke hadn’t been fed once before and still had relatively abundant magic, he might have gone into heat right there in a public space.
Suddenly, he remembered Little Black in his pocket.
With such an intense scent, Little Black hasn’t been fumigated to death, has he?!
Duan Ke flusteredly reached into his pocket, only to find the Small Black Ball was perfectly fine, completely unaffected. The Small Black Ball anxiously reached out its short hand to pinch Duan Ke’s finger, shaking it back and forth, attempting to wake its King.
“Lord Duan Ke, you’re so hot… What happened? Are you alright!”
Duan Ke was bewildered and uncertain. “You… Nngh, you, you can’t smell it…?”
How is that possible? Any succubus would bow down before this scent!
Such formidable aggression. It feels like it’s driving every distracting thought and every other person out of Duan Ke’s brain, leaving only an unspeakable craving directed at one specific person.
He was practically being soaked through and cooked cooked thorough; how could it have no effect on Little Black at all?!
“Lord Duan Ke, have you already marked this human?” The Small Black Ball fluttered anxiously. “I really don’t smell anything!”
Tortured, Duan Ke’s eyes lost focus. He thought blankly, Marked?
How is that possible?
Succubi could indeed permanently mark humans. They only needed to bite the back of the human’s neck while the human was [completely willing] to complete the mark.
From then on, this human’s scent could only be smelled by that one succubus, and that succubus would only be aroused by that one human.
But he and Qin Huai had never met before; how could he have marked Qin Huai?
Duan Ke almost immediately denied the Small Black Ball’s guess. It must be because Qin Huai’s vitality was of too high a quality, and Little Black hadn’t fully developed yet, so it couldn’t smell it.
Duan Ke took several deep breaths, closed his eyes, and mobilized a large amount of magic to calm the extremely restless craving in his body.
He leaned against the corner of the wall with his eyes closed. Large beads of sweat, emitting a pleasant fragrance, rolled down from his temples. He let out sounds like a kitten from time to time, the corners of his eyes and brows flushing pink.
If Qin Huai had seen this, he would have undoubtedly lost all patience, scooped him up, and carried him inside to prevent passersby from seeing. But he wasn’t there at this moment, so Duan Ke could only slowly calm down on his own.
When Duan Ke had mostly recovered, the Small Black Ball saw its King regain clarity and spoke in a small voice.
“Lord Duan Ke, he isn’t inside… currently thinking about doing that to you, is he?”
[Author’s Note] Duan Ke: When was I ever a heartbreaker? Why don’t I remember anything? QAQ
Chapter 14: Frigid
“You were almost in heat. Just how fierce is he being… so scary.”
Duan Ke choked on the Small Black Ball’s speculation. Blushing, he whispered, “Why do you think that? He wouldn’t do that…”
Qin Huai is very ascetic.
Duan Ke had spent this much time with him; no matter how obtuse he was, he could sense that.
Actually, Heracles wasn’t entirely wrong. When facing a succubus, even a human with the firmest willpower would find it hard not to be tempted. But Duan Ke was certain Qin Huai had no desire for him at all, treating him completely like a kitten that needed looking after.
Based on his observation, Qin Huai’s body was actually full of male hormones and very sexy. When held, he could feel the soft yet resilient pectoral and abdominal muscles, and could even see the veins bulging on his lower abdomen when his hem lifted slightly.
But such a body was paired with a face that looked sexually frigid. It appeared contradictory, yet full of allure.
How could such a person fill the entire corridor with his scent due to excessive lust?
Let alone thinking about me while…
“Lord Duan Ke, are you sick?” The Small Black Ball moved around anxiously in the pocket. “Your face is completely red!”
“Ah, is it?” Duan Ke snapped back to reality, slapping his hands over his face.
“Maybe I was just smoked a bit by his scent… Aiyaya! Not thinking about it, not thinking about it. Let’s go in quickly.”
By the end, Duan Ke was practically incoherent. Little Black didn’t even hear what he said clearly before being stuffed back into the pocket.
Feeling he had recovered enough, Duan Ke walked to Qin Huai’s door, rang the doorbell twice, clasped his hands in front of him, and waited politely for the door to open.
“Who.”
Almost immediately, Qin Huai’s voice came from inside.
It was very close, almost right by the door. But the voice was so cold it felt unfamiliar to Duan Ke—short and indifferent, like a cold blade sliding past his ear.
Duan Ke broke into a cold sweat almost instantly, feeling danger approaching. A chill ran down his spine.
His heart couldn’t help but pound from inexplicable fear, and he felt an urge to flee. But he still responded:
“It’s me… Is it convenient to open the door, Brother Qin Huai?”
The person inside paused, then quickly responded, “Wait a moment. Coming.”
It was strange. The knife-sharp killing intent in Qin Huai’s voice vanished without a trace, becoming almost gentle. It was like a completely different person from the start.
There was a vague sound of water from inside, followed by footsteps. The door opened.
Qin Huai looked down at Duan Ke, trying to make his voice sound gentle. “Sorry, did I scare you just now?”
But Duan Ke was scared by him. He took a step back, looking at Qin Huai’s injury-covered body in uncertainty and shock, his voice failing him. “What happened to you?? How did you get like this…!!”
Duan Ke covered his mouth, his small face pale with shock, scanning Qin Huai up and down. From the shoulder blade cut by a sharp blade, down to the abdomen wrapped in several layers of gauze that was still seeping blood.
Qin Huai didn’t show much expression on his face; he looked as if he felt no pain at all.
He even had the mind to care about Duan Ke. “Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?”
He reached out to touch Duan Ke’s forehead but remembered he had just washed the blood off his hands and they were still wet, so he put his hand down and stepped aside to signal Duan Ke to enter first.
Duan Ke anxiously pulled Qin Huai’s arm, wanting him to sit on the sofa.
Duan Ke’s skin seemed a bit too hot, and the anxiety and worry in his eyes were genuine. The hand Qin Huai had pulled trembled slightly, but he didn’t pull it away. Lowering his eyes, he let the succubus, who was much smaller than him, maneuver him.
“How did you get hurt like this?”
Duan Ke sat on the sofa, burying his head in Qin Huai’s chest. With extreme care, he peeled back the gauze on Qin Huai’s abdomen and sucked in a cold breath when he saw the wound clearly.
It was a Scorpion Demon’s stinger. It had nearly punched a large hole through Qin Huai’s abdomen.
And the thing was poisonous. Even though the wound had been cleaned and the antidote applied, the surrounding skin was still purple, looking terrifying.
Duan Ke’s heart pounded. If the sting had gone a centimeter deeper, his keeper would already be a dead man.
Qin Huai, however, showed no expression. He didn’t even look at his own wound, only at Duan Ke.
He lifted the hem of his clothes as Duan Ke instructed and explained calmly, “Passed by Central Square today and got attacked.”
“A scorpion, how dare he…”
Duan Ke’s voice was low; he was obviously angry, but his movements remained gentle.
It wasn’t common to see Duan Ke angry. Although Qin Huai knew the claim of being a kitten was an absurd lie, Duan Ke’s current appearance really reminded him of a little kitten bristling to protect its owner.
Cute.
He couldn’t help but let out a low, muffled laugh.
Duan Ke couldn’t laugh. He carefully placed his hand on Qin Huai’s abdomen, not caring how much magic a healing spell of this magnitude would consume. He only wanted to heal Qin Huai’s injury quickly.
Duan Ke’s hand was still pressed on his abs. Qin Huai’s laugh was actually very subtle, but the wound under Duan Ke’s hand still rose and fell slightly because of it.
Duan Ke’s heart, already aching dully, trembled. He looked up at Qin Huai’s eyes, frowning tightly, looking very unhappy.
He said, “For such a major monster attack, didn’t that Inquisitor from the Bureau arrive at the scene immediately? How could he let a civilian like you get hurt!”
“And hurt so badly!” Duan Ke got angrier as he spoke. “Simply dereliction of duty. I’m going to drop a complaint in the Bureau’s mailbox against him!”
Qin Huai looked as if he had heard something incredible, his expression rarely going blank.
Duan Ke estimated he probably didn’t understand. After all, it was normal for ordinary humans not to know what an Inquisitor was. So Duan Ke lowered his head to continue treating Qin Huai.
But two or three seconds later, the warm abs under Duan Ke’s hand shook even more violently.
Qin Huai seemed unable to hold it back and laughed out loud, low and deep.
It was very sexy and pleasant to hear. But Duan Ke’s anger didn’t subside.
“What are you laughing at! You’re hurt so badly, it’s all because…” of him.
Duan Ke’s words were interrupted by Qin Huai’s sudden movement. His chin was lifted somewhat dominantly by Qin Huai’s right hand. The force wasn’t painful, but it allowed no refusal.
Duan Ke didn’t know what he was doing and stared blankly into Qin Huai’s eyes. He saw the playful smile in Qin Huai’s dark eyes as the calloused thumb applied slight pressure, rubbing ambiguously against his chin twice.
Qin Huai’s eyes crinkled with a smile as he asked lazily, “You really want to file a complaint against him?”
[Author’s Note] Inquisitor: Please file the complaint in person.
Small Black Ball: Why did I disappear in the second half? First, if I talk now, I’ll look like a pitiably bright lightbulb. Second, this human’s stats are too terrifying. This demon is so shocked I don’t know how to describe it; I can only mourn for Lord Duan Ke’s butt in my heart. [Crying]
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