Non-Humans Want to Fall in Love Too [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 27

Over the next few days, Shi Yan kept his promise. He took Ji Shijin to see all the exotic landscapes of the Demon Race, and together they gathered a full bouquet of the promised Everlasting Flowers to decorate their small cabin.

During these days, the little white fox visited several times, but since they were always out, Ji Shijin did not get another chance to play ball with him. The little white fox remained quite mopey for a few days because of this.

“Shi Yan, I am a little nervous,” Ji Shijin said softly, lowering his eyes as he held the man’s hand.

No matter how happy he had been these past few days, he had not forgotten that he was about to lie in the center of an array for half a year. Now that the moment had truly arrived, he still felt a sense of dread and a desire to shrink back.

Shi Yan understood his feelings. He let the other man clutch his hand and replied calmly, “I will be with you. Do not worry.”

The interior and exterior of the cabin were fully prepared, and everything needed for the array was in place. Shi Yan had no intention of leaving while Ji Shijin was unconscious; he decided to stay right there and guard him until he woke up.

“While you sleep, I will enter meditative cultivation. For the Demon Race, it is normal for a session to last years or even decades. No one will come to disturb us,” Shi Yan comforted him.

There was one thing he did not say: even if someone did come to disturb them, Shi Yan would ensure he never left Ji Shijin’s side for a single step. However, saying this would only increase Ji Shijin’s worry, so he kept it to himself.

Night gradually crept over the horizon, and the lively forest fell silent. Shi Yan’s cabin was already situated far from the Demon Race’s settlements, making the night exceptionally still.

The array centered on the cabin lit up, its complex patterns gradually surfacing on the ground. The natural treasures Shi Yan had accumulated melted into the array eyes one by one, supplying energy to the entire formation.

Ji Shijin closed his eyes and lay down on the simple bed. Beside the bed sat an Everlasting Flower condensed from Shi Yan’s demonic power, its faint, familiar scent lingering around him.

Shi Yan stood nearby. Once the array began to operate, Ji Shijin fell into a deep sleep. Unconsciously, his legs twitched a few times. The grayish black death energy within them seemed drawn out by something; it scrambled to escape his body and was funneled into the array, where it was turned to ash by Shi Yan’s demonic power.

“Host, based on the current situation, it will likely only take three months to complete,” 61 reported, its panel rapidly calculating the results as it spoke to Shi Yan with delight.

Shi Yan looked at the sleeping man in the center of the array with a heavy gaze, responding coolly to 61’s calculation, “Mm, understood.”

The array operated silently. Shi Yan sat quietly on the perimeter in meditation. 61 was rolling around bored in the system space when it suddenly heard its host’s voice and scrambled upright in a fright.

“Come out.”

Shi Yan’s voice was cold, his gaze fixed on an ancient tree not far away. Behind the trunk, there was a moment of silence followed by a rustling sound, and a yellow and black fox revealed itself.

Seeing the visitor, Shi Yan withdrew the demonic power circulating in his hand and said plainly, “You have not shown yourself for so many days. Why visit now?”

The Old Fox, the same one who had given Shi Yan that travelogue, jumped out from the grass and paced over to his side upon being discovered.

“Sigh.” The Old Fox looked at the array, then at Shi Yan, and finally at the person in the center of the formation, letting out a heavy sigh.

“Is saving this human truly necessary?”

Shi Yan said with absolute certainty, “Yes. He must be saved.”

The Old Fox pointed a claw at him, “You, you, you.”

It looked as though he really wanted to give Shi Yan a few scratches, if only he were not outmatched in a fight.

“Humans and demons walk different paths! Humans and demons walk different paths!” The Old Fox paced in circles anxiously. “We had our suspicions when you came last time, but we still held onto hope, thinking you would not be so short sighted.”

He turned to look at Shi Yan, his fox eyes flickering with confusion. “Have you truly settled on this human? Will you really never regret it in the future?”

Shi Yan looked him in the eye, his voice firm, “I have settled on him. I will not regret it.”

“But, but,” the Old Fox thought to himself what a mess this was; he was so old and yet he had to worry about a junior’s lifelong affairs. “If this human dies in a few decades, you, do not you go doing anything foolish.”

It was not that there were no demons who paired with humans, but the vast majority of them ended poorly, either the demon followed the human in death, their Dao heart shattered, or worse, they suffered a cultivation deviation. In short, there were no happy endings.

The Old Fox had appeared now to warn Shi Yan, fearing he would do something stupid years down the line.

But Shi Yan’s reply nearly made him spit blood, “I have mastered all the forbidden techniques of the clan. There is a way for us to share our lifespans.”

This time, the Old Fox was truly pointing at his nose and scolding him, “You brat, you are truly a fool! That forbidden technique not only consumes a massive amount of energy, but even if it succeeds, the price is a drastic reduction in lifespan. You might only have less than a hundred years left to live!”

“Then I can experience a human life with him and die together,” Shi Yan said indifferently.

Setting aside the fact that he was not originally from this world and did not care how many years he lived, even if he were the original owner, if he loved a human, he would naturally want to be with him for a long, long time. It was worth sacrificing thousands of years of future loneliness for that.

The Old Fox was speechless. He lowered the hand that was pointing at Shi Yan’s nose. His already crooked back seemed to slump even further in an instant.

“Fine, fine. We cannot stop you anyway.” The Old Fox looked depressed. Currently, no demon in the clan could defeat Shi Yan, so how could they stop him? “But I still have one more thing to say.”

“When this human wakes up, you must ask for his consent. See if he can accept sharing a lifespan with you and having a life different from ordinary humans.”

The Old Fox looked up at the sky. “In the past, I saw several pairs of different races successfully share their lifespans. Were not they all sweet and happy at the beginning? But sharing a lifespan is a heavy price for us demons, and is it any different for humans?”

“At first, they might not feel anything. But after ten years, everyone around them has changed, while they remain frozen in that youthful appearance. After decades, their relatives and friends have all grown old and passed away, while they remain like some freakish monster. Even if a powerful demon uses concealment spells to make them appear to age at a normal rate in human eyes, what happens after a hundred years? Everything they knew will have vanished. Who is to say they will not regret obtaining longevity then?”

The Old Fox rambled on for a long time. Shi Yan listened quietly without interrupting or showing any impatience.

He knew the Old Fox was simply worried and wanted him to consider these things so that they would not end up with an unhappy conclusion.

“I know,” Shi Yan nodded.

He had traveled through countless small worlds and seen all kinds of races; he knew well that the human heart is fickle.

Having witnessed these things, he understood the fragility of human nature better than anyone. But likewise, he was prepared to face any possibility.

He had confidence in himself, and the same was true for Ji Shijin.

A human life of a mere hundred years was not enough. He wanted to strive for more.

The Old Fox knew he could not change Shi Yan’s mind no matter what. His cloudy fox eyes gazed deeply at Shi Yan, this demon, the most talented to be born to their fox clan in nearly a thousand years.

“If your mind is made up, then I will not say more.” The Old Fox handed a primitive wooden box to Shi Yan. “Consider this a gift from us old fellows. We wish you a long life together.”

Shi Yan looked down at the box, remained silent for a moment, then reached out to take it. “Thank you.”

“Do not thank me, I cannot take it.” The Old Fox was still bitter about such a young and excellent fox being led astray by a human. He spoke grumpily and left with a long sigh.

Shi Yan watched the direction the Old Fox left until he was out of his sensory range before withdrawing his gaze.

61 popped up, looking curiously at the wooden box in Shi Yan’s hand. “Host, hurry and see what good stuff is inside!”

Those old foxes were the oldest and most senior in the fox demon clan. Anything they gave as a gift certainly would not be simple.

Shi Yan, however, was in no rush to look. No matter what the Old Fox had given him, for him and Ji Shijin, the blessing itself was the most valuable part.

There was a complex spell on the box’s latch. Shi Yan weighed it in his hand twice and easily broke the spell. The latch unfastened with a “click.”

The contents were revealed. 61 impatiently floated over to look. The item in the box emitted a faint golden glow. Shi Yan paused, then took it out and placed it in his palm.

“Host, what is this?” 61 took out the piece of wood glowing with golden light and studied it for a while before concluding, “Is this a key?”

The wood was carved with marks of varying lengths, and there were faint lines of an array circulating on it, looking like a key to open something.

Shi Yan looked down in silence. He saw the use of this item in the original owner’s memories.

“It is the key to the Demon Race’s Forbidden Land.”

“Huh?” 61 was a bit confused. “Is not the Forbidden Land where those old foxes live? Why did they give the key to you, Host? Are they not living there anymore?”

Shi Yan clutched the key and did not speak. He had had a premonition when the Old Fox came to find him, but he had not expected his guess to be correct.

“Giving me the key to manage the Forbidden Land naturally means it will not be a forbidden land for much longer,” Shi Yan said calmly. “Their lifespans are ending. After they pass away, someone needs to look after the books and forbidden techniques within. That person is naturally me.”

With a flick of Shi Yan’s wrist, the key turned into a stream of light and disappeared. His eyes moved slightly as he faced the direction of the manor within the Forbidden Land and performed the highest salute of the fox clan.

The manor seemed to fall silent for a moment. Then, several streams of light crossed the forest to reach Shi Yan, sinking into the space between his brows.

It was the old foxes’ final farewell.

The sun and moon alternated, the stars shifted, and the flowers and grass by the cabin bloomed and withered, then grew again. Soon, three months had passed.

Shi Yan sat in meditation on the outskirts of the array. Suddenly, a fallen leaf drifted down before him. Shi Yan snapped his eyes open, and at that same moment, the array burst into brilliant light.

A gale rose up around them, but the cabin in the center of the array remained peaceful; no external changes could disturb the person sleeping inside. This time, however, Shi Yan walked slowly through the gale and arrived at the cabin door. With a wave of his hand, he removed the barrier protecting the cabin. The sounds of wind, water, birds, and cicadas flooded the room all at once. The man on the bed, who had maintained the same posture throughout, seemed disturbed; his eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

In a daze, Ji Shijin felt as though he had slept for a very, very long time, so long that his bones felt soft. In his dreams, a familiar scent had accompanied him, nearly making him sink so deep he did not want to wake up.

“Ugh,” Ji Shijin frowned, and his fingers resting by his side struggled to move.

“Awake?” A cool, steady voice entered his ears. Ji Shijin felt as if he had found a guiding light in a boundless fog and suddenly opened his eyes.

The daylight was bright, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the singing of birds. The cabin, which had been silent for three months, welcomed its spring.

A figure appeared by the bed. Ji Shijin turned his eyes stiffly, and the man’s silhouette gradually became clear.

It was Shi Yan, looking exactly as he did before Ji Shijin fell asleep; his clothes, his aura, and the look in his eyes were all familiar.

Shi Yan looked at the dazed Ji Shijin and curled his lips into a faint smile. He leaned in close, his hot breath approaching, causing Ji Shijin to snap back to reality.

“You have slept for a long time. It is normal to be slow to react. You will be fine in a moment.” Shi Yan gently helped him up and placed two soft pillows at the head of the bed. Ji Shijin leaned back, feeling not a bit of discomfort.

“I,” his voice was hoarse. Ji Shijin paused, and saw Shi Yan wave his sleeve to summon a cup of steaming water.

Shi Yan held the cup to his lips, coaxing him, “Drink some water first. It is not too hot.”

Ji Shijin lowered his head and took small sips. His dry throat was moistened. He turned his head and coughed twice, his voice returning to normal as he called Shi Yan’s name, “Shi Yan.”

Shi Yan supported him, his hand gently stroking his back to help him catch his breath. Hearing this, he gave a soft “Mm” in response, “I am here.”

Ji Shijin still seemed to be in that hazy dream like state, calling out again uncertainly, “Shi Yan.”

“I am right here.” Shi Yan put down the water cup, and the hand on Ji Shijin’s back quietly tightened around that lean waist, pulling him closer. “If you do not believe me, feel it for yourself.”

Ji Shijin leaned forward with the movement, and his lips, still wet with water, were unexpectedly captured by another pair in a fierce kiss. It was a mix of kisses and bites that swept away all the oxygen in his mouth.

His relaxed hand at his side involuntarily clenched into a fist, then turned into a gentle caress under the other’s dense kisses, climbing onto the man’s shoulder.

“Shi Yan, Shi Yan,” the emotions suppressed for three months suddenly erupted. Ji Shijin felt like nothing was enough, murmuring his name over and over.

Shi Yan tirelessly responded every time, while trailing dense kisses across his body.

“Mm.”

“I am here.”

“Your ears are red.”

“Can you feel it? I am kissing you.”

The temperature gradually rose. Ji Shijin’s hand on his shoulder slid down weakly, his fingertips tensed as if trying to hold on, yet also as if he were reluctant to let go.

Shi Yan opened his hand to catch the sliding wrist and pulled it before him. Under Ji Shijin’s hazy gaze, he tilted his head and placed a gentle kiss on it.

Ji Shijin heard his own heart skip a beat.

Shi Yan this person, how is he so good at flirting?

“Clear headed now?”

Ji Shijin nodded repeatedly.

He had an intuition that if he said he was not clear headed, Shi Yan would do something even more excessive to wake him up.

Although he secretly looked forward to it, now was not the time.

Shi Yan stopped after teasing him and straightened up to let him lean back. Having just woken up, Ji Shijin had no strength in his body. Without Shi Yan’s support, he leaned lazily against the headboard.

His upper clothing had become messy from Shi Yan’s movements; his collar was wide open and the fabric was wrinkled. Combined with his flushed lips and blurred, dazed eyes, he looked as though he had just experienced an intense, unspeakable encounter.