The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 24

“No, I don’t need that, you can’t, I refuse!” Yao Yuan shielded her chest with both hands in fright.

“Relax, I won’t do that kind of thing to you again.”

“Define what ‘that kind of thing’ is?”

“Just like this.” Xing Kong reached out and lightly pressed Yao Yuan’s shoulder strap.

That’s good, Yao Yuan understood the implication and breathed a sigh of relief, feeling even a little disappointed: “Speaking of which, why are you always so lewd every day?”

After a few seconds of silence, Xing Kong answered with a composed expression: “That is what I wanted to be open and honest about with you today. I must apologize for my previous disregard.”

She raised the glass of champagne and tilted it, but didn’t drink.

“I see, you were truly despicable those past few days,” Yao Yuan glared at her: “Did you get that knowledge from some erotic game? Did you think that human girls would just obey if you did that?”

“Heh, want to give it a try?”

“Try what? You just said you wouldn’t use that method against me!” She knew when to back down and quickly shrank into a ball.

“You seem to have misunderstood something,” Xing Kong raised an eyebrow: “I was referring to using Illusion Arts to incite your hallucinations.”

“Ah, so that means…”

“Just like how someone wanted you to die in your dreams last night, I once wanted you to sink into a world of illusion.”

Something in her heart was slowly fading, and Yao Yuan became completely calm now: I see. A devil is a devil. A devil has never been moved, while I have been wandering at the edge of the abyss all along.

“Why are you telling me this?” Yao Yuan gritted her teeth, really wanting to test her strength on Xing Kong’s arm.

“Because I want to try and respect you.” She genuinely placed her free arm on Yao Yuan’s stomach, giving her the impression that she could dispose of it as she pleased.

“Were all your previous promises lies?”

“You know that’s different, and I never actually promised anything.” The devil stood up and pressed the wine glass to Yao Yuan’s lips.

“Get lost, I prefer Coke! Mph…” Yao Yuan was still angry, but as she opened her mouth, she was poured a mouthful of Coke.

“I hereby promise you: I will no longer use Illusion Arts on a lover,” Xing Kong’s eyes were fixed on her: “Xiao Yuan, can you forgive me?”

She must be teasing her again. Yao Yuan looked back at the devil with little hope. Suddenly, a feeling stirred within her—her instinct and intuition were willing to believe that Xing Kong’s apology was genuine.

Blushing, she raised the remaining glass of champagne and offered it to Xing Kong: “Fine, I forgive you. It’s not like you succeeded anyway; this time, the victory is mine!” The devil drank the golden liquid in one gulp, as if tacitly acknowledging her victory.

After bathing, fragrant and curled up in the blanket, Yao Yuan, having received the promise, clung tightly to Xing Kong this time. In truth, she didn’t dislike hugging someone she could rely on. Lost in thought, she closed her eyes.

“If you wish, I can enter your dream.”

“No need, unless I’m in danger, please stay far away from my dreams. I’m begging you.”

“Alright.”

It was strange—when someone spoke first while lying down, the other person often found it harder to fall asleep afterward.

Yao Yuan tossed and turned in bed, unable to resist poking her head out: “Xing Kong, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“Does your Underworld have big-chested succubi everywhere?” She made a wobbling gesture with her hands.

“Yes, but they are completely different from what you imagine.”

“Oh.” Yao Yuan lay back down.

After a while, Yao Yuan poked her head out again: “Xing Kong, Xing Kong, what does your home look like?”

“I never paid attention.”

“You didn’t decorate it? Devils should have excellent memory.”

“No, I haven’t been back in a long time.”

“But you have to go home to store your collections, don’t you?”

The devil realized the implication and hooked Yao Yuan’s chin: “You guess.”

“I won’t guess. I’m going to sleep.” Yao Yuan was about to pull the blanket over her head when her phone rang, oblivious to the atmosphere.

“Hello, who is it? I’m not buying gold.”

“It’s me.”

“Who are you?” She suddenly had a bad feeling; this middle-aged woman’s voice sounded a bit familiar.

“The thesis you submitted to me is still not up to standard. Come to my office to revise it the day after tomorrow.”

The phone hung up. Yao Yuan gradually turned pale and collapsed onto the pillow with a ‘thud’.

On Monday morning, Yao Yuan crawled out of bed with a painful expression. She really didn’t want to face the reality of having to rewrite her thesis!

“Morning. Going out to look for work today too?”

“I have to look for work, but I can’t do tutoring anymore.” Yao Yuan took the plate and bit into a fried egg, then suddenly looked up at Xing Kong as if seeing a ghost: the sun must have risen from the west, because the devil was wearing a bunny apron today!

“What’s wrong?” Xing Kong casually untied the apron and placed it on the chair: “I bought this for you. Do you like it?”

“Don’t think that just because you bought me an apron, I’ll cook every day,” Yao Yuan viciously chewed the fried egg.

“Wearing an apron doesn’t necessarily mean cooking.”

“I’d rather cook then… Wait, that’s not the point.” She rubbed her temple: “Aren’t you going to ask me why I don’t want to do tutoring?”

“You want to learn supernatural powers and don’t have time to hone your teaching skills.”

“That’s part of it, but mostly I don’t want to drag others down,” Yao Yuan sighed, pushing the empty plate back: “If I become a teacher, what if a student gets caught by a villain?”

“Are you planning to pursue a career that doesn’t involve contact with people?”

“Not really.” She abruptly stood up: “Let’s go. We need to find a professional to solve the problem.”

The Boba Tea Shop

At the Orange Meow Boba Tea Shop on the commercial street.

“So, that’s your reason for coming to bother me?” Da Ju pointed one hand toward the door: “Get out! Don’t say such foolish things. Did you teach yourself that summoning spell?”

Yao Yuan put her hands together in a pleading gesture: “I really didn’t learn any summoning spells. Xing Kong isn’t my familiar; she’s just the girlfriend I’m dating.”

Da Ju retracted his jaw, which had dropped open, and scratched his head: “Ha, so what? Why should I teach you magic?”

“Please, teach me a means of self-defense!”

“I’m asking what’s in it for me!”

Yao Yuan thought carefully: “I can help you make money. For example, by forming a ghost-catching team or something?”

“Ghost-catching? Pfft. Did you walk straight out of a movie?” He laughed mercilessly: “What misconception do you have about what we do? Out of one or two hundred so-called supernatural incidents, it’s terrifying if even one turns out to be genuinely supernatural.”

“So how do you usually make money?”

“Boba tea, fried chicken, and shooting videos.”

I should have known… Yao Yuan lowered her voice: “Then what do you want in order to teach me how to use spells?”

“To be honest, I only know a few parlor tricks myself. Against a truly supernatural entity—like that girl in purple—using a spell compared to a regular kitchen knife is only the difference between being able to hurt and not being able to hurt it.”

Da Ju picked up a nearby beverage can, poured a cup of smoothie, and handed it to Yao Yuan.

She sincerely bowed her head: “That difference is enough. I can’t always be a burden to Xing Kong.”

“You’ve tried your best. You’ve done very well as a human.”

Done very well? Does that mean she ran away fast enough? Yao Yuan’s eyebrows twitched: “Xing Kong, could you please wait until he agrees before speaking?”

“Enough, enough, don’t try to feed me any more lovey-dovey stuff,” Da Ju sighed: “I’m not a devil, and a little bit of skill is just as easy to teach one person as another.”

“Thank you, Master.” She saw the pole and immediately scrambled up it.

“However, I need a gift for becoming my apprentice.” Da Ju’s expression suddenly turned serious. He opened his phone and sent Yao Yuan an address.

“I understand. There must be a ghost there, and you want to ask Xing Kong and me to exorcise it?”

“No. Don’t always jump to supernatural incidents!” Da Ju looked outside the door, and only when he saw no customers approaching did, he speak softly: “The man who lives in this house is very strange. He’s currently hiring a tutor for his daughter, and a college student like you will definitely pass the interview easier.”

“Okay. Where is he hiring the tutor?”

“You don’t need to worry about the hiring contact information,” Da Ju coughed: “I already chatted with him online, pretending to be a student girl. We’ve arranged to meet at his house tonight at 6 PM.”

“Were you originally planning to go to the appointment in drag?”

“Don’t dwell on the details!” He tapped the table: “In short, having you, a genuine female student, is naturally better. I await your good news. Remember to tell me about any abnormal occurrences.”

The Interview

Before 6 PM, Yao Yuan searched back and forth between several budget hotels for the purple-clothed girl but found nothing. She did, however, find some clues on the internet.

She collapsed onto a park bench: “Oh my god, has she committed that many crimes already?”

There were at least seven possible cases that could be searched online that she may have committed, with a victim count reaching eleven people.

Some characteristics were very strange: the victims were mostly middle-aged men, but there were also young men or women.

Their bodies were all cut into pieces with a sharp weapon and scattered at the crime scenes.

Naturally, the police could not disclose relevant information before the murderer was caught, so there was no way to deduce the victims’ identities or the motive for the crimes. At the same time, there was absolutely no sign of any description of the purple-clothed girl being witnessed. Yao Yuan could only rely on her gut feeling to speculate that she was the culprit.

Headache. There hasn’t been magic for thousands of years, so how is one supposed to deal with supernatural incidents? If things continue this way, will similar events only increase?

“Xiao Yuan, it’s 5:30 PM.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going now.”

Ding-dong. The doorbell rang.

The moment the door opened, Yao Yuan smiled faintly: “Excuse me, is this Mr. Zeng’s house?”

“Yes, yes. Please come in and have some tea.” The middle-aged man inside was slightly bald, abnormally thin, and his face was contorted in a smile.

“Sorry to trouble you.” As she stepped across the threshold, she suddenly felt a sense of danger. It was a good thing Xing Kong was right outside, otherwise, she would have fled right now.

After the man double-locked the door, she felt a stabbing pain at the back of her skull with almost every step she took.

He said he was going to make her a cup of tea, but he sat down across the table from her: “Please sit.”

Yao Yuan cautiously sat down: “Excuse me, is your daughter not home right now?”

“She is. She’s doing homework. They have a lot of homework.”

Looking to the side, there were two doors tightly shut. One of them probably led to the little girl’s bedroom.

There was indeed a pair of small girls’ shoes in the living room, a bit worn in the front, but there were no signs of a woman being present.

Yao Yuan’s calves were shaking: “Hmm, I wonder if you think I’m suitable to be your daughter’s tutor.”

“Suitable, of course, suitable,” the man licked his lips: “Let’s have a meal together first. After we eat, you can have a good talk with my girl.”

Yao Yuan agreed nervously. After she agreed, the man finally stood up and poured her a cup of tea. Of course, she didn’t dare to take a single sip.

While she was curious about what dinner this Mr. Zeng was preparing, the man walked out of the study holding a box of pizza.

“I apologize. My wife isn’t home. The takeaway I ordered earlier is still fresh, and I haven’t touched any of it,” the man picked up a slice of pizza and enthusiastically handed it to Yao Yuan: “Try it. It’s very delicious. The cheese inside is very rich.”

“Isn’t your daughter coming out for dinner?” The saliva in her mouth was completely scared dry. She held the pizza by one corner, like she was holding a live frog.

“She’s a picky eater. I’ll peel some fruit for her,” the man stared intently at her hand: “Don’t be shy. Eat.”

Yao Yuan gave a forced smile: “One moment, please. I’ll just check if I forgot to bring the lesson plan.” She quickly dropped the pizza, wiped her hands with a napkin, and swiftly pulled open the zipper of her cross-body bag.

She muttered internally: Is this man problematic? Her fingers reached into her Tarot card case. Her fingertip trembled as she plucked out a card. She eagerly flipped it over…

The Death Card – Reversed

“Xing Kong, Xing Kong! Help me—” Her hair stood on end, and she grabbed her bag and ran towards the door!