Reborn as a succubus - Chapter 41

After a brief walk around, Xi Che saw all kinds of shops — there was even a snack street.

He was truly starving. As he passed by the breakfast stalls, the aroma of fried dough sticks made his mouth water.

But after searching his pockets for a long while, he realized his wallet was missing. He could only assume that someone had stolen it while he’d been drunk and asleep on the street the night before.

Was that the truth? Of course not. His wallet had been taken by Chu Yan in advance.

In order to make sure he could travel with Xi Che, Chu Yan had thought through every possibility and cut off all his escape routes. He knew that, in the mortal world, money was everything — food, clothing, and lodging all required it. So he simply took Xi Che’s wallet.

Clever, wasn’t he?

When he saw Xi Che patting his clothes in search of something, a disappointed expression appearing on his face, he was secretly delighted — though he pretended not to know anything and asked,
“What’s wrong?”

Xi Che frowned. “My wallet’s gone.”

“Maybe you left it at the inn?”

Xi Che sighed heavily. “I passed out drunk on the street last night and slept there for hours. It was probably stolen. The security around here isn’t that great.”

Hearing that, Chu Yan was even more pleased — now he didn’t even need to come up with an excuse himself.

“No problem,” he said warmly. “I’ll treat you. Order whatever you like.”

Xi Che looked embarrassed. “That doesn’t feel right.”

Chu Yan’s expression was calm and sincere. “There’s no need to be polite with me. Besides, money means nothing to me — spend as you wish.”

Though Xi Che still felt uneasy about spending his money, his stomach growled, and after thinking it over, he finally nodded. “Then… thank you.”

Chu Yan smiled faintly. His plan had worked perfectly.

They picked a breakfast shop on the snack street. Xi Che, who had nearly drooled at the smell of fried dough earlier, of course ordered that — along with wontons and soy milk. After placing his order, he turned to ask, “What about you? What do you want?”

Chu Yan thought for a moment. “I’ll have the same as you.”

He wasn’t exactly a god who needed to eat anymore, but it seemed appropriate to act the part. From observation, he’d learned that mortals always had strong preferences when it came to food, so he added thoughtfully, “I like fried dough sticks.”

Xi Che smiled. “Then we have similar tastes.”

Although breakfast was taken care of, Xi Che was still worried. He planned to stay here for some time to investigate the situation at Xiaoyao Mountain — that meant more expenses ahead. Would he really have to keep relying on Chu Qi?

For now, though, he had no choice.

After some hesitation, he said carefully, “There’s something I’d like to ask for your help with.”

Chu Yan nodded without hesitation. “No need to be so polite. Go ahead.”

“I want to borrow some money from you.”

“…”

Chu Yan froze. He hadn’t expected that. If he refused, Asa would surely think poorly of him. But if he actually lent him money, all his earlier maneuvering would be for nothing.

After thinking for a while, he said, “I’ll be handling some matters here at Xiaoyao Mountain too. Since we’re headed in the same direction, there’s no need to borrow money. We can just share food and lodging.”

Xi Che muttered softly, “Why should I spend your money…”

“Don’t be so distant,” Chu Yan replied gently. “In my eyes, we’re not strangers.”

Xi Che, who was drinking soy milk, nearly spat it out — was this man trying to remind him that they’d already… done things together? He didn’t want to remember that incident at all, so he said nothing further.

He took out the little golden qilin from his robes, tore off a small piece of rice ball, rolled it into a mini one, and stuffed it into the qilin’s paw. “Here, eat it yourself.”

But to his surprise, the qilin sensed Chu Yan’s aura, rolled all the way over to him, and rubbed affectionately against his hand.

Xi Che was shocked. The golden qilin was supposed to only feel close to divine beings of the Nine Nether Realm. Chu Qi was clearly a powerful demon, not a god. Unless… he was actually descended from the Vermilion Bird?

Whatever the truth was, Xi Che was annoyed. The little creature he fed every day was now fawning over someone it had just met.

He frowned and said sharply, “Since it likes you so much, why don’t you keep it?”

Chu Yan froze, his face darkening, as Xi Che continued coldly, “Ungrateful little beast. Go on, I don’t want you anymore.”

The golden qilin just chirped innocently, not understanding a word, while Chu Yan’s mood soured — that qilin had been his gift to Asa, captured from the Heavenly River, and now he was just giving it away to another man? Unforgivable.

But before he could say anything, Xi Che stood up in a huff and stormed out. Chu Yan quickly threw some money on the table and ran after him — but not before snatching the qilin, still busy munching its rice ball.

“Wait, Xi Che…”

He had barely stepped out of the shop when Xi Che spun around, snatched the qilin back, and stuffed it into his robe. “If you don’t like me, then I’ll definitely keep it!”

“…”

Chu Yan could only smile helplessly at his retreating figure. He didn’t quite understand why Xi Che had changed his mind again — but at least he hadn’t truly given away his gift, and that was some comfort.

When they returned to the inn, Xi Che finally agreed to travel with Chu Yan. But when night came, a new problem arose — the room Chu Yan had booked only had one bed.

It was a double bed.

Xi Che frowned. “There’s only one bed? How are we supposed to sleep like that?”

Chu Yan said casually, “I only booked for myself at first, so of course there’s just one bed. But it’s big enough for both of us.”

“No way! We can’t sleep in the same bed.”

“You just said we’re both men. What’s the problem?” Chu Yan countered, adding smoothly, “It’s not like I’d do anything to you.”

“…”

How could he be sure of that? He still remembered being kissed out of nowhere before.

“No. Change the room. Get one with two beds. I’m not sleeping in here.”

Chu Yan sat on the bed, pretending to look troubled. “I already paid for three months in advance. If I cancel now, I’ll have to rent a new one. It’s not that I mind the money, but I didn’t bring much cash. And there weren’t many rooms left when I checked in — they might not have any more.”

Xi Che found that reasonable. Besides, he was already freeloading on food and lodging; how could he demand more? He finally gave in, but laid a towel across the bed between them as a dividing line and said sternly, “You’re not allowed to cross this line. If you do, I won’t be polite.”

Chu Yan nearly laughed aloud — this was something straight out of an old-fashioned maiden’s playbook. And this man had the nerve to claim he had lovers across the Three Realms? What a joke.

“Alright, I promise. I won’t cross it.”

Of course, if Asa rolled over on his own, that didn’t count, right? After all, sharing warmth was only natural in such cold mountain weather.

Chu Yan’s imagination was pleasant enough, but he didn’t actually do anything indecent. He was afraid that if he pushed too far, Xi Che might be truly angry and refuse to travel with him anymore — and that would be a disaster. For now, he could at least share the same bed.

As Chu Yan stared at Xi Che’s back, lost in thought, he suddenly heard him mumble, “Chu Yan…?”

Startled, Chu Yan lifted his head — had he been discovered? But after a while, Xi Che said nothing more. He wasn’t awake — he was dreaming.

Dreaming of him, apparently.

Chu Yan leaned closer to see his expression, just as Xi Che turned over and rolled straight into his arms. Chu Yan froze, then smiled and hugged him — see? Sharing warmth really was the better option.

But soon he realized something was wrong. Xi Che wasn’t having a pleasant dream — his brows were furrowed tightly, his face tense, his voice soft and pained as he kept murmuring his name.

Then Chu Yan noticed a faint red glow coming from within his sleeve. A gemstone — gleaming brightly. Each time it flashed, Xi Che’s body seemed to react, as if drawn to it.

What was that?

Chu Yan frowned and reached into his sleeve, where he sometimes kept small objects in a hidden pocket of space. His fingers brushed against a hard, smooth crystal — when he pulled it out, he realized it was the Dream-Building Stone.

…But hadn’t he already returned it to the Dream Master? Why was it still with him?

“It followed you here,” said the Vermilion Bird suddenly — his voice echoing in Chu Yan’s mind. They hadn’t spoken in a long time, but since the cold poison in Chu Yan’s body had been purged, their connection had gradually been restored.

Chu Yan frowned. The stone’s glow was brighter than he’d ever seen it. “Why is it reacting like this?”

The Vermilion Bird snorted. “My descendant has nothing to do with me — but as for that stone…”

“Stop talking in circles,” Chu Yan interrupted. “Just tell me what you know.”

After a pause, the Vermilion Bird said, “The Dream-Building Stone does not belong to the Dream Master, nor to the demon race. It is a relic from the time of the First Gods. The Dream Master only happened to find it. If it’s reacting to him, that means he was once affected by it… or it was once used to build a dream for him.”

Chu Yan fell silent. The Dream-Building Stone had only ever been used to build his dreams. So why was Asa reacting to it?

Unless…

A strange thought struck him. Back when he had used the Dream-Building Stone, he’d thought the Asa in his dream felt too real. What if that wasn’t just his imagination?

Holding the glowing stone tightly, he pulled Xi Che closer, pressed his forehead to his, and closed his eyes.

If he wanted to know the truth — he would have to enter the dream himself.