Reborn as a succubus - Chapter 46

After hundreds of years, seeing that face again made Chu Yan want to forget everything else and rush up immediately to cut down his old friend’s body.
But before he could act on that impulse, he suddenly heard a shout beside him:
“Take me up there—now!”

The one shouting, of course, was Xi Che himself.
Anyone would lose composure upon seeing their own corpse—supposed to have long turned to dust—hung up in some sinister formation like dried meat.
Chu Yan should count himself lucky that Xi Che was more impulsive than he was; he was still using the identity of “Chu Qi,” and even the slightest sign that he recognized the former “Asa” could make Xi Che suspicious.

But now that Xi Che had spoken, he naturally couldn’t hold back. He had already been dying to go up and look.
So he immediately wrapped an arm around Xi Che’s waist and leapt upward with him.

His power was restrained by the formation created by the 2 talismans below; he couldn’t fly directly to where the corpse was suspended.
He could only grab the iron chain nearby and climb up slowly—quite humiliating for a god who was used to relying on divine power.
If even he struggled like this, Xi Che fared worse; under the immense pressure from the array, he could barely breathe.
He cursed inwardly, deeply regretting ever having forged such a troublesome thing in the past.
He was certain now—they couldn’t touch the body hanging above.
No matter how strong Chu Qi was, he couldn’t compare to the combined power of the talismans; their merged strength was overwhelming.

And to make matters worse, the place was bound by an evil formation.

Just as Xi Che expected, when they were only a step away from the suspended body, Chu Qi stopped.
One arm held Xi Che, the other clung to the chain, but he couldn’t move any closer.
Xi Che tried to reach for his own body, but the repulsive force from the formation peaked, leaving him completely unable to advance.

He tried several times. When he saw Chu Qi’s face growing paler and drenched with sweat, obviously at his limit, he finally gave in.
“Forget it. Let’s go back down.”

But Chu Yan didn’t want to give up.
He frowned deeply, saying nothing, stubbornly gripping the chain—just one more step! How could he back down now?
Xi Che thought he was just being reckless and said,
“You can’t beat them. Those are the sacred artifacts of Asa. Even the divine race couldn’t handle them. You’re just a demon—it’s no shame you can’t either.”

Hearing that, the tension in Chu Yan’s chest suddenly eased.
He finally lost his strength and slid down the chain, landing back on the ground.

He glanced at Xi Che, feeling a flicker of annoyance.
But Xi Che wasn’t looking at him—his eyes were fixed upward, filled only with frustration.
Naturally, he didn’t notice Chu Yan’s irritation, and just like that, the faint anger faded away.

That man… if anyone should be angry, it was him—his own weapons had turned against him.
And yet, even then, Chu Yan didn’t feel humiliated. Knowing those were Asa’s artifacts, he didn’t mind being unable to match them.

It was a subtle emotion, hard to describe, but if the owner of those divine weapons had been anyone else, Chu Yan would never have given up so easily.

From long ago, he had been willing to lose to Asa.

Once they landed, the pressure of the array eased, and that suffocating feeling faded.

Xi Che kept his gaze fixed on the talismans above, frowning—this was troublesome.
The reappearance of the two was no good omen.
He was still wondering why they had resurfaced—now even his corpse had been found.

Who could possibly have the ability to recover it from the Ice Ravine?
Well, if it was Jin Lingzi, that was another story. That one was capable of anything.
He didn’t yet understand why they’d hung his body here, but one look at that wicked formation told him it was nothing good.
The chains extended outward into the darkness—who knew what was bound on the other end?
Xi Che couldn’t help recalling the visions he’d seen through Bi Yuan’s soul.
Whatever it was, the best option was to destroy everything here—preferably along with the talismans.

But that was a paradox: only Jin Hunwu could destroy those two divine talismans, and only Asa’s original body could summon Jin Hunwu.

He wanted to remove his body, but to do that, he’d need to destroy the talismans first.
It was like the question of which came first—the chicken or the egg.
No matter where he started, he’d reach a dead end.

Chu Yan noticed his tense silence and couldn’t help thinking—
If only Asa’s soul were still within his original body.
He didn’t care what Asa’s current form looked like, but with that body so close, he couldn’t help wanting him to be whole again.

After a long time, Xi Che exhaled deeply, finally pulling himself out of thought.
“Let’s leave for now.”

Chu Yan nodded, taking one last, long look at the formation before leaving with him.

Xi Che didn’t want to alert anyone yet, so on their way out, he restored everything to its original state—even the markings on the chair’s formation were carefully redrawn.
Chu Yan stayed quiet all the way back, but once they returned to their quarters, he tried to probe:
“You looked pretty shaken back there. You knew the person sealed underground?”

—It was a classic case of deflecting suspicion; he’d been just as agitated himself, but chose to ask first.
Unfortunately, Xi Che had been too caught up in his emotions at the time to notice Chu Yan’s reaction.

Not in the mood for elaborate lies, Xi Che said simply,
“I’ve just heard the name ‘Asa’ before. Even though I’m an incubus, I’m still part of the demon race—we naturally admire powerful warriors. That’s all.”

Chu Yan chuckled softly.
“I’ve heard of Asa too, so I get it—he had many admirers. But how did you know what he really looked like? Rumor says he had a full beard and tusks, a hulking brute, not a handsome youth.”

Being complimented on his looks—while technically referring to his own past life—left Xi Che with mixed feelings.
He improvised, sounding annoyed:
“I… I’ve seen a real portrait of him, okay? Rumors are rumors. What’s strange about that? You sure ask a lot of questions.”

He gave Chu Yan a sharp glance.
“Anyway, that’s not the point. You realize how serious this is, right? That formation is dangerous, and the master of Xiaoyao Mountain clearly isn’t up to anything good.
You’ve joined their ranks, but eventually they’ll probably use you as cannon fodder. You should quit while you can—get out of this cursed place.”

Chu Yan arched his brow.
“You’re always trying to get me to leave… Come to think of it, I still don’t know why you’re here.”

Xi Che realized he’d let something slip, and reluctantly offered a half-truth:
“I’m actually looking for someone—Meng Xinghe. He ran away from home. His family thought he’d been kidnapped or killed, so they sent me to find him.
But I doubt I can convince him to go back. He’s living comfortably here, there’s no way he’ll want to return.”

Chu Yan froze—ah yes, Asa was still poisoned; they had to get Meng Xinghe back soon.

“So that’s it. Don’t worry, I’ll help you send him back.
If he refuses, we’ll just knock him out and drag him home.”

Xi Che frowned. “Why… are you helping me?”

That caught Chu Yan off guard; he hadn’t prepared a good excuse.
Xi Che grew even more suspicious.
“Now that I think about it—you’ve been helping me this whole time. Why? We were supposed to just travel together, nothing more.”

Chu Yan stayed silent for a long time. Then he said softly,
“I can’t pretend, like you do, that we were just chance companions.”

He was speaking as Chu Qi—but also as himself.
He knew Asa was a man of deep feelings, yet could never quite tell for whom.
After what happened with the Dreamstone, Chu Yan had his suspicions, but he needed a clear answer.

Xi Che froze, unable to respond.
Then suddenly, Chu Yan pulled him into a tight embrace from behind, his breath hot against Xi Che’s neck.
“Why won’t you understand…”

Of course Xi Che understood. But he didn’t want to.
He didn’t even want to talk about what had happened between them.
As if struck by a nerve, he shoved Chu Yan away violently.
“I told you—that was just an accident! Don’t bring it up again!”

Just the night before, Chu Yan had scolded him in a dream for being fickle, almost calling him a shameless flirt.
This kind of probing—it was like dancing on Xi Che’s minefield.

He sat down on the other bed, breathing hard.
“I think we’d better go our separate ways—”

“I won’t mention it again,” Chu Yan cut in quickly.
After a long silence, he walked over, sat cautiously beside Xi Che, and said softly,
“Don’t drive me away.”

“……”

Xi Che had meant to stay firm—but hearing that calm, always emotionless voice now tinged with a quiet plea, his heart softened immediately.

Chu Yan, seeing his silence, crouched down in front of him and looked up into his eyes.
“Please don’t send me away… I won’t ask for anything else. Just let me stay by your side and protect you.”

—And that was half a lie.
Yes, he wanted to protect him, but how could he have no ulterior motives?
It was only because Asa wouldn’t allow it that he pretended otherwise.
But when the time came, he knew—he would never let him leave again.

He’d already made peace with it: a forced love was still better than none at all.
As long as he could see him every day, hold him every day, even be scolded by him—he could live with that.
Still, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that; he didn’t want to truly imprison him again. That would make him unhappy.

Faced with that pitiful look—like a lost, abandoned dog—Xi Che couldn’t bring himself to say more.
He had always been weak to stray creatures seeking shelter.

Just then, a knock on the door shattered the heavy silence.
“Who is it?” Xi Che called out.

A voice answered, “You two, come out—the Protector wants to see you.”

The Protector of Xiaoyao Mountain was none other than Meng Xinghe.
Xi Che and Chu Yan exchanged a quick, wary glance—
Meng Xinghe, summoning them now?
Could it be that their intrusion into the underground chamber had been discovered?

The thought flashed through their minds—but Xi Che quickly dismissed it.
He trusted his own formation skills.
He’d restored everything before leaving, and those arrays were old tricks from his past life—no one could possibly notice the tampering so soon.

Even if Meng Xinghe suspected someone had entered the hall, he wouldn’t be able to trace it to them.

Xi Che signaled Chu Yan to stay calm, then put on his black robe and opened the door.
Chu Yan, uneasy, donned his own robe and followed him out.