Reborn as a succubus - Chapter 5

Xi Che stared at him in silence for a long while before finally realizing—could it be that this Yuan fellow actually liked having disobedient troublemakers like him as subordinates? What a masochist… Well, in that case, he could only do the opposite.

He immediately pretended to be afraid, hunching his shoulders and shrinking into the corner, looking at the two pitifully.
“What… I’m just an ordinary person. I only want to make some money at the Academy to support my family. I have no interest in joining any army…”

Yuan Ting stared at him. “Your skills just now were far from ordinary.”

“…That was for self-defense, alright?”

Xi Che remained unmoved, and Yuan Ting continued,
“I can see you’re someone with blood in his veins. Do you really want to stay in the Academy only to be treated as a plaything and presented to the God of light? Why not join us, and fight for our race?”

Xi Che hadn’t wanted to say anything, but hearing him question Chu Yan’s divine status made him speak up at last:
“What do you mean, a plaything? I came here for the inheritance—don’t say it in such an ugly way.”

Yuan Ting sneered.
“If the God of light truly sought an inheritor, would he choose an incubus? You should already know your own worth. To other races, incubi are merely tools for venting desire. No one cares whether we live or die.”

Xi Che couldn’t produce any solid evidence to refute Yuan Ting’s doubts about Chu Yan’s godhood, which made him feel relieved. But then he recalled that infuriating dream he’d had—Chu Yan’s disappointing behavior in it—and his heart tightened again. He wanted to say “nonsense, gods have no desires,” but Chu Yan’s strange conduct in that dream made him unable to say it with certainty…

Still, he would never stoop so low as to accept an incubus’ seductive temptations! And even if that sort of thing did happen, the Academy’s incubi—like ornamental courtesans—were surely acting on their own initiative!

What’s more… judging from Yuan Ting’s words, he clearly disapproved of them entering Yujing Academy to study. This suggested the idea likely came from Daoist Rong Jiudao. Which meant what they were saying now carried a strong personal bias—perhaps even slander aimed at a political rival.

After thinking for a long time, Xi Che looked at Yuan Ting and said,
“Everyone who starts a war claims they’re the righteous side, but who really knows the true purpose? Whether General Yuan is recruiting soldiers to oppose the Jihe Faction, or truly for the sake of the incubus race, only you yourself know.”

At this, Yuan Ting abruptly stood up, eyes wide as he glared at him.

He seemed genuinely angry.

Realizing his words might have gone too far, Xi Che was just about to say something to soften the blow when Yuan Ting suddenly snatched up his whip. Judging by his stance, he seemed ready to give him a thorough lashing.

Xi Che couldn’t dodge, so he raised his arms to protect his head. But in the end, the whip didn’t come down. Peeking over, he saw that Zhan Yujin, standing nearby, had grabbed Yuan Ting’s arm. Xi Che slowly lowered his own.

“Yujin! Let go of me! If he won’t serve me, I’ll kill him!”

Zhan Yujin frowned. “Ah Ting, don’t be so impulsive. Put the whip away and talk this out.”

Xi Che saw Zhan Yujin sit down beside him, seemingly ready to persuade him. He thought to himself that no matter how he tried, he wouldn’t agree. He’d come to this world with a mission—why should he care about the fate of their race?

Then he heard Zhan Yujin say,
“We understand—this sort of thing can’t be forced. If you truly don’t want to, we won’t resort to violence. But the antidote, we won’t give you. You might not last more than three days before dying.”

“…?”

Wait, did he hear that right? Weren’t they just talking nicely? Respecting his choice? What kind of twisted logic was this?

He hated being threatened more than anything. In his previous life, he would have gone down fighting with them no matter the cost.

But now… damn it, he really had no way to deal with the poison.

Xi Che looked at him speechlessly. Zhan Yujin still wore that gentle smile.
“I think you’re a smart man—you know what choice is best for you.”

A gentle face, yet the most ruthless of them all… never judge a book by its cover. Truly a gentle knife.

Xi Che wanted to roll his eyes.
“Do I even have the option to refuse?”

“Then from today on, we’re comrades.”

—Shut up! Don’t insult the word ‘comrade.’

Xi Che was silent for a moment.
“I can join, but I have one condition.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll pay you a salary.”

Sitting on the bed with his robe loosely draped over him, Xi Che waved his hand dismissively.
“No, I need to find someone. I’d like the two generals to keep an eye out.”

Zhan Yujin looked at him, signaling him to continue.

“He’s my good friend—Bi Yuan. He went missing some time ago, and even his whole family moved away. I suspect… his disappearance has something to do with Rong Shi. Of course, that’s just my guess. If either of you hear anything about him in the army, please let me know right away.”

Though an entire family moving away was suspicious, it didn’t rule out the possibility they’d enlisted voluntarily.

Since his request wasn’t unreasonable, Zhan Yujin agreed.

When Zhan Yujin wasn’t threatening people, he was actually quite pleasant. He even poured him a glass of water. Xi Che accepted it, but suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, I need to make sure—joining you doesn’t mean I’ll have to stay with the army, right? I can’t leave the Academy for now.”

—He still had to compete for the God of light’s inheritance, to find out what had happened to Chu Yan.

He couldn’t have just… fallen, like that.

Zhan Yujin immediately nodded.
“For now, we won’t have you leave the Academy.”

“Oh?”

Yuan Ting, standing nearby, added,
“The Military Party has many positions with different responsibilities. You can remain at the Academy. But once you join, you’re a soldier—you must obey orders.”

—Ah, so like a non-active-duty member.

That made sense. To Yuan Ting, he was like a rare talent he’d finally managed to dig up—sending him to the battlefield would be a waste.

He probably wanted to train him as an undercover agent, gathering intelligence at the Academy.

Most of the factions there leaned toward the Jihe Faction anyway, so staying in the Academy was ideal.

Maybe he was just fated to be the worrying type—in this life as in the last, he couldn’t escape being caught up in chaos.