Once negotiations were complete, Àiyǎn took the kids and went to drop them off at the Green Jade Peaks – and in the meantime, Jixue laid claim to another room. Because if he was going to be confined for the time being, then he might as well have a room with a view.
In truth though, Jixue could leave whenever it pleased him – with or without the bangle fitted snugly around his ankle. He could, but for now, he found himself lacking the drive.
Depression; using terms of his original world, that was probably what he was experiencing. Here however, there were few who understood such terms, and here, Jixue would be better off reframing his feelings as something akin to homesickness, rather than attempt to explain what was the actual cause.
Words such as ‘serotonin deficiency’ and ‘chemical imbalance’ would only earn him confused and likely also concerned looks. And after those, attempts would certainly be made in order to remedy the situation, likely using various types of food or medicinal herbs – which could’ve had an effect on such a condition, provided they were the right ones.
However, given Jixue’s current biology, it was doubtful these plants would have the same effect on him – or any effect whatsoever. Given his general resistance towards poison, the answer was likely leaning towards no – and even not, then it was only a question of time before any effectiveness wore off.
Honestly, who would’ve thought that something so convenient as poison resistance would ultimately turn out to be so annoying?
With a sigh, Jixue buried his face in his hands.
Later on, it would occur to him that there was indeed another who would definitely understand what he meant by ‘serotonin deficiency’. However, Jixue found that he would much rather die than admit that he didn’t realise this until the individual in question appeared before him.
“When are you coming to pick up your kids?” Youming Yue asked, quite oblivious as to the direction of Jixue’s thoughts.
“Who knows?” Jixue said, looking out the window. “Ask me again in about twenty years or so.”
“Princess Hónglián has learned how use the dimensional rifts,” Yue said, exasperation evident. “She’s running all over the place, keeping a significant portion of the Windward Sect from not just night hunts but from daytime missions as well.”
Hah. “So?” Jixue fanned himself. “What do you expect me to do about it? It’s not like I even wanted kids in the first place.”
It’s not like he’d wanted them. It’s not like he’d ever even⸺
“Then why did you decide to raise Master Bai?”
Because it’d been part of his Mission. Besides⸺ “Mingyue was already mostly self-sufficient by the time I found him. I don’t care much for the whole... human larvae stage?”
And that much was true, to an extent. Jixue didn’t particularly care for human babies, and as for demon ones, they came with their own set of unique challenges.
“So,” Yue said, drawing his own conclusions. “You decided to dump them on your old sect’s doorstep instead, and have us raise them? If you didn’t want them, then why⸺?”
Although the other’s concerns made sense, it wasn’t Youming Yue’s place to question Jixue’s decisions. It was out of line, and Jixue made sure that the other understood this before staring out the window once more. Because⸺ “It’s not that I didn’t want them. I’d just never planned on having any. But now that I have them, I obviously want what’s best for them.”
And for now, they were better off where they were – under Mingyue’s protection, much like Mingyue had once been under his.
And yet now, Mingyue’s disciple was here, demanding Jixue to do something about it, and while Jixue could admire the audacity, and while he could technically do something about it, he wouldn’t, because⸺ “They’re better off away from here, honestly. Not enough Yang energy for all of us. That’s why I initially suggested it. The Windward Sect is different now, better. I figured they’d be safer over there, at least for now.”
For now, and possibly forever – Jixue didn’t know, and he didn’t⸺
“Yìfù will protect them,” Yue said. “Besides, Jun won’t⸺”
Honestly, as much as Jixue appreciated the attempted reassurance⸺ “Àiyǎn’s ancestors used to hunt and eat us, you know? And they weren’t the only ones. I took part in one inter-sect competition, and next thing I know, I’m⸺”
Many years had passed since then, yet those particular memories had always remained annoyingly fresh.
Frustrated, Jixue let out a quiet breath, and behind him, Yue stiffened. The comb was still in the other’s hand, but it wasn’t being put to good use.
“Well,” Jixue finally said, putting those memories back where they belonged. “Times were different then. For one thing, there was no Demon King laying claim to this place, only various factions, each seeking to one-up the other. Then I got their attention, and... like you already know, they only really need to get the drop on you once.”
“It really sucks, being at someone else’s mercy,” Yue said, his voice quiet and his hands moving at last.
Yes. “But we get over it. We get stronger, smarter, faster. We overcome, or we die.”
“Sometimes we do both, and come back,” the other said. “It’s a strange world, isn’t it?”
Hearing this, Jixue turned around to look at him once more; to look at him properly this time around – Mingyue’s disciple, the former transmigrator, Youming Yue.
At a glance, the other might not have looked like much. For one thing, he proved a cautious groomer, clearly unused to the practice – and for all that Mingyue claimed to be this boy’s parental figure, mistakes had clearly been made.
Well, hopefully, Mingyue would do a better job with the little ones – ones that didn’t have an unseen entity possessing them. Besides, trial and error and all that. Also⸺
Mind made up, Jixue plucked the comb from the boy’s grasp and quickly switched their positions around. Taking his time, he then meticulously combed out Little Yue’s hair and before setting about braiding it, finding comfort in the familiarity of the movements.
Little Yue also seemed to find it quite relaxing, dozing off in virtually no time at all. Jixue didn’t really mind though. Rather, he found himself quite pleased. Because while he might not have cared an awful lot about the boy initially, Jixue now recognised him as something else; a kindred spirit, yes, and perhaps even⸺
Àiyǎn’s sudden arrival interrupted any such train of thought, and Jixue couldn’t help but feel irritated by it, because the bastard had just stepped right in, not even bothering to knock.
Jixue briefly considered telling him that, wanting to tell him to get out and not come back in until he’d done things properly.
It was already too late though.
The moment had passed, and Little Yue had already woken up, and after a brief moment’s confusion, he narrowed his eyes at the Demon King.
“So,” he said. “When are you coming to pick up your kids?”
“Cute kid, isn’t he?” Àiyǎn said, after sending him off. “Beat me in a game of Weiqi back when I first met him. I did feel tempted to ask, but I didn’t really need to, since it was pretty obvious that Mingyue had raised that one.”
Really. “Mingyue undoubtedly wishes he’d done a better job of it. And kept him well away from any unsavoury individuals.”
“Unsavoury individuals?” Àiyǎn repeated, momentarily confused. Then, he smiled. “Ah, yes, that was undeniably careless of him. I quite like this end result though, no matter how it came about. And although Mingyue is quite stubborn, I think that he will eventually agree that this was the best outcome.”
Hah. “You gravely underestimate the stubbornness of that brat.”
“Is that so?” Àiyǎn said, decidedly unconcerned. “Well, that nephew of mine is certainly no quitter either, so⸺”
He shot Jixue an immensely meaningful look, and Jixue shot a deadpan stare right back at him, keeping it up until Àiyǎn felt compelled to avert his eyes.
“Really cute kid,” his mate then said, staring wistfully at where the portal had just been. “We should have him over more often.”
Whether due to the will of the Heavens or due to entirely different powers at play, such an opportunity would soon present itself.
It arrived in the shape of an urgent summons, telling them to come to the Green Jade Peaks – not to pick up the kids though, but rather to come and take a look at something else entirely.
“Congrats,” Jixue said, directing himself towards Youming Jun. “Turns out you’re not the only demon bastard in this union.”
Because that much was true – Little Yue was indeed manifesting.
“As expected,” Àiyǎn immediately added, patting his nephew on the shoulder. “Excellent instincts.”
Well, Jixue wasn’t sure if it had been instinct or⸺
“This technically makes three now, doesn’t it?” Àiyǎn said next, positively leering.
Mingyue meanwhile said nothing. The expression on his face said a lot however. “Get out.”
Jixue was already moving though – he urgently needed some fresh air, and Mingyue in turn urgently needed clear the air with that still oblivious mate of his. Honestly⸺
“Venerable Master Bai.”
Jixue turned, only really then paying attention to the one who’d just greeted him; the Sect Leader.
Yi Yeguang didn’t bow though, but this had a lot less to do with a lack of respect and a lot more to do with the fact that Little Bái was riding on his arm, her strong little fingers firmly attached to the man’s lapels.
Then there was the Sect Leader’s companion, who mirrored the greeting but with poorly hidden wariness and disapproval. The other was right to be wary though, because although Jixue could tell that the other was something out of the ordinary, that in itself didn’t mean that Jixue couldn’t kill him – or that he wouldn’t, if the situation called for such.
This wasn’t why he had come though, and also not something that Jixue would attempt with Little Hóng peeking out from behind the man’s legs.
Both of the little ones seemed to be doing quite well, growing up fast in the way that young demon children oftentimes did when having access to adequate nutrition.
“Sect Leader,” Jixue calmly greeted, dropping his head just a fraction while completely failing to acknowledge the other; the unfamiliar Peak Lord whose shadow Little Hóng soon leaps right into Jixue’s arms.
She was a bit heavier now, and her grip strong as ever as she latched onto Jixue and immediately started purring.
“Sect Leader,” Àiyǎn then echoed, emerging from Peak Lord Bai’s residence with his nephew and his nephew’s mate in a tow. “Radiant as ever, I see.”
At this, the unnamed Peak Lord gave a noticeable twitch, glaring darkly at the Demon King now. And Àiyǎn undoubtedly noticed, and obviously relished in it as he let go of his cargo and quickly stepped up to greet Little Bái, who reached out towards him, wanting to be picked up and carried by him next.
“That said though,” Àiyǎn went on, Little Bái now nestled in his arms. “You do look a bit drawn. I mean, marital bliss and all of that, but it’s important not to overdo it, you know?”
At this, his gaze slid very pointedly towards the unnamed Peak Lord, who scowled, ears unmistakably red.
“Well,” his nephew said in turn. “I’m sure you’d know, going at it so vigorously that the other party got bedridden for days, and then immediately absconded.”
Ah, honestly.
“Perhaps you should go and help your mate pack while your tongue is still intact,” Jixue said, completely ignoring the looks in favour of Little Hóng. “Of course, if that’s what you’d prefer, then I could remove some other part of your anatomy.”
Predictably, Zilei and Limao’s little spawn immediately made himself scarce, leaving the rest of them just standing there, and for once, it seemed as though even Àiyǎn had been rendered speechless.
“We will be sure to take this advice into careful consideration,” Yi Yeguang stated, composure perfect as he bowed once more. Then, casting a furtive glance Jixue’s way, he looked as though he was about to say something, but then quickly looked towards the closed screen doors instead.
Due to the wards, none of them could overhear the conversation taking place within – the one that had undoubtedly ensued in-between Mingyue and his mate after Àiyǎn’s gleeful remark. Jixue didn’t really need to hear it to know what it concerned though, and frankly, he wasn’t even interested.
“Àiyǎn.”
Predictably, this was it took for Jixue’s mate to snap right out of it and immediately award him with his undivided attention – like he should.
Without further ado, Jixue handed over Little Hóng, who had now been persuaded to let go of his hair, readily substituting it for that of her other parent.
“Go over there and spend some time with your offspring,” Jixue said, pointing towards a particular spot. “As for you⸺”
He directed himself towards the still unnamed Peak Lord. “Go wherever. I have no business with you.”
The Peak Lord in question didn’t seem to like that particular suggestion – but what did Jixue care, because it hadn’t been a suggestion but rather a dismissal.
“Cheng Kong,” Yi Yeguang said, finally putting a name to this annoyance. “Venerable Master Bai and I have private matters to discuss. Please keep an eye on things in the meantime.”
Though visibly reluctant, Peak Lord Cheng obliged, leaving them at last to their conversation, long overdue.
Afterwards, they returned to the Demon Realm, accompanied by Little Yue and Youming Jun.
Relocating the pair to the Demon King’s palace was a temporary measure, and one that even Mingyue had agreed to, albeit with great reluctance. Because Little Yue’s situation differed from that of Little Bái and Little Hóng, who were much too young to experience such things.
“What is this?” Little Yue gasped, knuckles whitening as he clutched the sheets, his newly formed wings trembling. “Some sort of demon puberty?”
All in all, it was a decent guess. Still, not quite.
Jixue contemplated how to go about explaining it though, keenly aware of the red-rimmed eyes glaring at him quite fiercely. He wasn’t deterred however, and neither did he need to dodge any incoming projectiles – which was more than could be said for both Àiyǎn and Little Jun. In Àiyǎn’s case, there had undoubtedly been some provocation though.
“Tell me,” Little Yue asked, misery bleeding through. “I feel awful. I’m just⸺”
Moving closer, Jixue finally took a seat on the side of the bed. And when Little Yue shifted to give him more room, he moved to carefully examine first the other’s wings and then the other’s back. He didn’t really see much need to see anything beyond that, because his senses were already telling him everything he needed to know, and despite the other’s apparent misery, those newly formed wings looked incredibly healthy.
“It’s actually two things,” Jixue said, lowering his voice considerably as he made sure there was no one listening in. “First of all, congrats. You’ve reached proper sexual maturity for our species. Next, my condolences. It seems as though breeding season is upon us.”
Little Yue made a noise of unmistakable distress, wings and body trembling.
“B-b-breeding season?” he gasped. “B-b-but... what does that even⸺?”
Well⸺ “For us, you mean? It doesn’t really have to mean anything. Our species is basically extinct anyways, and the two of us are already bonded to demons outside of our own, so⸺”
Coincidentally, they were also bonded to demons of the same species – the descendants of those that had once effectively hunted their kind into extinction, because there was beauty in irony and all that.
Still, there was no real reason to get into all that. Jixue’s knowledge wasn’t all that extensive, and it wasn’t really relevant here. Also⸺ “In practice... you might end up dealing with increased hunger, aggression and sexual frustration for the upcoming fortnight or so. After that, you’ll moult, and then you’ll probably go back to normal, for the most part.”
Hearing this, Little Yue stilled, then finally turned his head around.
“Can’t anything be done about it?” he asked. “Can’t it be... suppressed?”
It could. Suppressing it for too long wouldn’t be without consequences though, and Jixue was living proof of it. Then again, Jixue was probably something of outlier, given what he was and what he had experienced. Then again, what did he know about what was normal for this species, beyond what others had told him and what he had figured out for himself?
Bai Yiling hadn’t been particularly forthcoming about it. Granted, Jixue hadn’t pressed her very much on the issue, as he’d figured that he would manage, especially with System 225 around.
Even then however, there had been times when Jixue had come dangerously close to losing control – because in spite of his general resistance towards poisons, each encounter with a new combination of aphrodisiacs seemed to prove that he wasn’t quite as resistant as he would’ve thought, or that whichever deity had originally created this world had a sick sense of humour.
Then again, looking at it from a more logical standpoint, it was probably a bit unfair of him to think that. Because what was poison and what wasn’t depended on the species. Furthermore, there were also allergies and other types of oversensitivity to consider. That said however⸺
“It’s possible,” Jixue finally admitted. “But it will hurt. Are you prepared for that?”
“Oh.” Little Yue breathed a visible sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
Jixue gave it a moment, simply to see how long it took before the other caught up to the rest of the statement. However, as the seconds dragged on, he grew impatient.
“I have experienced this before,” Jixue explained. “As such, I know it will hurt. It’s not a permanent fix either, just temporary suppression. I would still recommend you do it though, because I can see that you’re not ready for this sort of thing. I think you’re way too young to experience this sort of thing. However, dying repeatedly tends to accelerate things.”
Well, to be specific, it wasn’t just the dying part but the revival that tended to trigger these things. Also, there was the timing, not just in terms of the breeding season but also in terms of what sort of energies one was surrounded with at the time.
Little Yue had recently – well, relatively recently – suffered a rather trying ordeal, and that was before Jixue had added his own blood into the mix. Then, after spending some time recovering in the Demon Realm, Little Yue had ended up at the Green Jade Peaks, largely secluded but still very much surrounded by an abundance of Yang energy, this time without any Systems capable of running interference.
In hindsight, it was surprising that it had taken this long for him to manifest. Jixue should’ve probably anticipated this, or at the very least the possibility of such. Unfortunately, he had been quite preoccupied with other things at the time, and afterwards, well⸺ Better late than never though, he supposed.
“But...” Little Yue said. “Other than that time and that time in the cave, I’ve never⸺”
Ugh. “You should probably ask your mate about that,” Jixue said. “Before I used my blood on you, you were still mostly human, but not entirely. About three fourths or so, I’d say, meaning that you were already one fourth demon back then – which is a very high percentage, considering you never exhibited any signs the first time around. As such, I’d say it’s entirely possible that you died when Youming Jun marked you.”
Granted, dying before time travelling might’ve also⸺
“But, he never said anything!”
Ah, honestly⸺ “Dying and coming back to life isn’t something that humans typically do. Besides, even if he remembered it after coming down from his hormonal high, think about it. How would you breach that particular topic?”
If Jixue had been the one, then⸺
“That bastard,” Little Yue hissed. “He lied to me.”
Well⸺ “If you count omission of information as lying, then sure, he did lie. But, if he had told you, what then? Besides, I’m sure that you yourself have omitted a fair bit of information from him as well.”
At this, the younger avian stilled, then released a shuddering breath.
“I guess. But...”
Little Yue trailed off into a meaningful silence that Jixue didn’t bother trying to interpret. Instead, Jixue slid his hand upwards, clamping it around the back of Little Yue’s neck.
“Ask him about it later or don’t. Do you want my help in getting rid of the wings or not?”
Little Yue released another shuddering breath.
“Is it really possible?” he finally asked.
“It is,” Jixue affirmed. “It’s easier with assistance though.”
As things were, he wasn’t even sure it could be done singlehandedly. Because even when Jixue had suppressed his own wings, he had done so with the assistance of either the System or Mingyue. And as for anything that had come before that, Master had taken care of it.
“Please do it,” Little Yue whispered, hiding his face. “They’re very pretty, but right now, I can’t⸺”
Jixue slid his hand back down, positioning it in-between Little Yue’s shoulder blades, right in-between the wings.
“Easy now,” he murmured. “Breathe. Relax. Trust me.”
With a quiet sob, Little Yue nodded.
Jixue pitied him a little. Then, he focused solely on the task at hand.
It took some effort, immersing himself into the tendrils of qi. It also helped that Little Yue made no attempt to resist him. Instead, he submitted fully, making Jixue’s job far less of a hassle.
It still took a while though, but ultimately, Jixue’s efforts were rewarded – because suddenly, the other’s wings gave a final flare and then disintegrated like the elaborate qi constructs they were.
“Oh God,” Little Yue gasped, clearly overwhelmed. “Oh God, that was⸺”
Mission accomplished, Jixue thought, moving aside to give him additional space.
The other didn’t seem to want that tough, because Jixue soon found Little Yue clinging to him and nuzzling into the crook of his neck.
He wasn’t entirely sure what to do. But in the absence of other ideas, he finally reached up to return the hug. He was still confused though. Because while Mingyue had certainly been clingy at times, he hadn’t necessarily been the hugging sort of clingy. Also⸺
“Are we interrupting something?” the newly arrived Àiyǎn asked, wearing the sort of genial smile that made Jixue want to punch him.
“Yes,” Jixue said, hugging the boy tighter, fanning out his own wings to shield them both from the view of the Demon King and his equally ill-timed nephew. “Go away.”
