The Otherworldly God I Serve Is Actually a Demon - Chapter 21.1

“Mm.” Ruan Jiao let out a pained grunt.

Jun Gongyu was holding her too tightly; it hurt a little.

She looked pitifully at the other’s exquisite, fair face and couldn’t help but plead, “Wife, I was wrong.”

The moment she sensed Jun Gongyu’s anger, she surrendered with lightning speed, as if certain that Jun Gongyu’s soft heart would let her off the hook, this cunning little liar.

Jun Gongyu’s grip loosened slightly, but her expression remained frosty.

So delicate.

She hadn’t even used much force, and Ruan Jiao couldn’t take it.

Ruan Jiao stood on tiptoe and planted a fleeting kiss by her lips, successfully seeing a slight crack in that icy facade.

There was hope.

“I really know I was wrong. Don’t be angry. Can we talk about it when we get home?”

She continued to stand on tiptoe, kissing her clumsily and awkwardly. As she kissed, she actively guided the hand at her waist upward…

Jun Gongyu watched her, suddenly feeling an itch in her teeth, a strong urge to bite Ruan Jiao. Ruan Jiao knew exactly how to please her, and she, in turn, would fall for such naive seduction.

“Fine.” She lifted the girl’s chin and gave her soft lips a gentle bite.

Consider it a temporary reprieve.

Rubbing her slightly sore waist, Ruan Jiao secretly pondered her strategy for when they got home, sensing she wouldn’t be let off easily.

The suffocating pressure in the air finally dissipated considerably. Xiang You and Li Fang gasped for breath. Though they had many questions, they didn’t dare voice them now.

The two of them acted like transparent background props, desperately trying to minimize their presence.

Jun Gongyu cast a faint glance at the two on the floor. She admitted there was a deliberate element to not restraining her aura. She was intentionally retaliating against Xiang You for being so intimate with Ruan Jiao earlier.

The “Mother” eyeball floating in the air kept rolling around. If a living person were squeezed into a twist like that, they’d be long dead. But it was a ghost, so naturally, it was still “alive.”

Time was running out; it needed to be dealt with quickly. A flicker passed through Jun Gongyu’s eyes. An invisible force in the air continued to compress the ghost. Its form neared shattering, emitting a piercing, mournful wail.

It was the most despairing way to die, crushed alive into dust.

“W-wait a moment.” A weak voice came from the floor.

It was Li Fang. It was hard for her to muster the courage to speak up and stop Jun Gongyu despite her fear. After days of high-pressure torment and going without food or water, she was barely hanging on by sheer will, not yet fainting.

That will was her burning questions: Why had this ghost chosen her? Why had it appeared in her home? Why had it harmed her family?

“Can I… ask it a few questions? Please… If I don’t know the answers, I’m afraid I won’t be able to go on living…”

Before her words fully faded, she saw the ghost crushed into powder, scattering in the air, leaving her no chance at all.

Having dealt with the mother ghost that could threaten Ruan Jiao, Jun Gongyu turned her gaze toward the bedroom door. She could sense another ghost there, though it was already very weak and would dissipate soon even without her intervention.

“Jiaojiao, time’s up. I’ll be dormant for a while. Return to my side as soon as possible.” She reached out and tapped Ruan Jiao’s slightly reddened nose.

It was injured. Though the wound wasn’t large and the bleeding had stopped, it could still attract other ghosts.

Only by returning to her main body could she properly protect her.

Ruan Jiao nodded, and when she looked up again, Jun Gongyu had already vanished. She felt that Jun Gongyu was like a power bank that could only be used for fifteen minutes a day, once its energy was depleted, it would fall into a deep sleep to recharge, only to be used again the next day after being fully charged.

Beside her, Li Fang lay collapsed on the ground, her spirit broken, as if she had truly lost the will to live. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she saw a familiar figure appear beside her.

“Mom!” Li Fang never imagined she would see her mother again. She threw herself into her embrace.

Tears welled up in Li Fang’s mother’s eyes as she gently stroked her daughter’s head, whispering softly, “My child, none of this is your fault. It’s all my fault.”

She was about to dissipate, having appeared only to see her daughter one last time and give her the will to keep living.

“After I died, I couldn’t let go of you, so I lingered in this world. But I never expected my lingering attachment would attract it. It’s all my fault. If I had passed on peacefully, you wouldn’t have suffered this calamity. From now on, you must take care of yourself. Mom really has to go this time.”

Mother and daughter clung to each other, weeping bitterly.

Li Fang’s mother’s figure grew increasingly transparent until she vanished completely. Unable to bear the relentless blows, Li Fang fainted on the spot.

Xiang You cautiously lifted her head, shrinking her neck, and only dared to stand up from the ground after confirming that Jun Gongyu, who had terrified her earlier, was completely gone.

“Jiaojiao, who was that just now?” she asked Ruan Jiao cautiously.

Ruan Jiao wasn’t sure how to explain it to her and, not wanting too many people to know about Jun Gongyu, she kept it brief with three words.

“My wife.”

Xiang You’s pupils dilated in shock upon hearing this. She had imagined what kind of girl Ruan Jiao’s partner might be, but she never expected it to be something other than human.

She recalled Ruan Jiao’s recent odd behaviors. Coupled with her years of voracious reading, which had cultivated an eclectic taste, she accepted this new revelation in just three seconds.

With genuine admiration, she remarked, “Your wife is terrifying, like a ghost king-level being.”

Ruan Jiao frowned, disliking Xiang You’s description of Jun Gongyu. Though Jun Gongyu was indeed somewhat cold, fierce, incredibly powerful, and a bit violent in dealing with ghosts, she was no ghost.

“My wife isn’t a ghost. She’s a god.”

Seeing the seriousness on Ruan Jiao’s face, Xiang You understood she meant it. She hesitated, barely holding back the phrase “love is blind.”

A god?

No, that was definitely a ghost, a super, invincible, terrifyingly fierce ghost. Could her good friend really not see the strangeness of this “god”? What kind of god was so sinister?

Not daring to expose the truth, Xiang You pointed at Li Fang on the ground and asked, “Jiaojiao, what should we do now? Should we call an ambulance?”

Ruan Jiao had no desire to deal with Li Fang, but leaving this mess behind might cause trouble later. So, a call had to be made, just not to emergency services. Instead, she would call the Special Cases Department.

She pulled out the business card Shangguan Yun had given her from her pocket, never expecting to use it so soon.

After dialing Shangguan Yun’s number and briefly explaining the situation at Li Fang’s home, she waited with Xiang You for Shangguan Yun to arrive with a team to handle it. The Special Cases Department would take full responsibility for all paranormal incidents.

Shangguan Yun arrived with her team quickly. Li Fang was taken to Jiangcheng People’s Hospital, where she would receive specialized care. Other staff members cordoned off the residential complex where Li Fang lived and conducted a door-to-door investigation.

The good news was that the ghost’s activity was confined to just one building, Unit 4. The bad news was that everyone in that building was dead.

No survivors were found in Unit 4, but there were many gruesome corpses.

These corpses had been turned into various “dishes,” seemingly seasoned with many spices to mask the smell of decay. However, over time, the odors had fermented into another kind of nauseating stench.

This explained why Unit 4 reeked so badly. The two trash bags at Li Fang’s doorstep still contained some leftover body parts she had been eating. Autopsies revealed that the victims had been dismembered while still alive, dying in agony.

Moreover, they might have even watched as parts of their own bodies were cut off and thrown into a frying pan right before their eyes.

The Mother Ghost incident resulted in over twenty casualties, and its brutality was no less severe than that of the Starving Ghost.

After a brief debriefing, Xiang You was picked up by her worried mother. Ruan Jiao, having played a significant role once again in this supernatural case, was detained by Shangguan Yun.

“Student Ruan Jiao, I’m very curious, how did you survive, and how did you manage to deal with this ghost?” Shangguan Yun’s gaze was sharp, as if she could see right through her.

Ruan Jiao disliked being scrutinized like this, but as a law-abiding citizen, she couldn’t just turn and walk away in front of a public official.

The events of today couldn’t be covered up with lies, especially with two eyewitnesses present. However, that didn’t mean she would voluntarily disclose information about Jun Gongyu.

“Sorry, that’s my personal privacy. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I knew you’d say that. Honestly, you’re hiding a lot of secrets, and it makes people want to dig deeper.”

“If I’m being completely honest, I don’t want to chat with you. Director Shangguan, I’m just an ordinary person. There’s no need for you to keep targeting me.”

Shangguan Yun smiled, unfazed by the sharpness in Ruan Jiao’s words. Leaning against the wall, she pulled out a small, flat, square silver tin from the pocket of her black coat. It was quite elegant.

Ruan Jiao initially thought it might be some kind of investigative tool, until she saw Shangguan Yun take out two slender objects from it.

“Want one?” She held two long cigarettes between her slender fingers, extending them toward Ruan Jiao.

Ruan Jiao’s confusion was almost palpable. “Are you trying to tempt the future flowers of our nation into picking up bad habits?”

Shangguan Yun withdrew the cigarettes, placed one between her lips, and flipped the tin around. Pressing a hidden switch, a faint blue flame flickered to life.

She leaned in, lit the cigarette, took a light puff, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. Her refined face seemed tinged with melancholy in the haze, her eyes holding hidden thoughts that were hard to decipher.

“Don’t be so wary of me. After all, I am the chief director responsible for Jiangcheng’s public safety. I just want to build a closer relationship with the younger generation.”

Ruan Jiao took two steps to the side, moving away from the smoke, not giving her any face.

“That just means you’re very old, Auntie Shangguan.”

A flicker of irritation crossed Shangguan Yun’s face before her expression completely fell. “Even though I am indeed older than you, being called ‘auntie’ really rubs me the wrong way, you brat.”

Ruan Jiao pursed her lips, not wanting to engage. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this Shangguan Yun was up to no good. Even though the woman was an official, her instincts told her to keep her distance.

“Miss Ruan Jiao, is there anything you want?” Shangguan Yun suddenly asked.

“What, trying to tempt me into joining the Special Cases Department with material things?” Ruan Jiao shot back.

Shangguan Yun denied it. “No, no, no. While the door to the Special Cases Department is always open for you, we’re not forcing you to join. I’m just curious about what a girl your age might care about.”

“Is that because your daughter is around my age?”

Shangguan Yun was left speechless again. She forced a tight smile, stubbed out her cigarette, and declared the conversation over. It seemed she wouldn’t be talking to Ruan Jiao again anytime soon.

After that, she didn’t try to strike up any more conversation with Ruan Jiao and even had her assistant drive her home in a separate car.

Ruan Jiao had been through too many ups and downs today. All she wanted now was to go home, take a good bath, and collapse into bed.

When she arrived home, she was surprised to find both of her parents there. This was practically unheard of. Even though three people lived in the house, their schedules usually didn’t overlap, and they rarely crossed paths.

“Jiaojiao, Mom has some good news to share,” Mrs. Chen said with a beaming smile, looking genuinely happy.

The only thing that could make her mother this happy was money, so Ruan Jiao guessed she might have received a bonus from the factory.

“Did you get a bonus?”

Mrs. Chen shook her head. “Even better. Your dad and I both got promotions! Our salaries increased by a full 1,000 yuan. But your dad has been transferred to work in another city, so he’ll rarely be home from now on. And I might have to travel for work occasionally too.”

At this, she looked a bit apologetic. They already didn’t have much time to take care of Ruan Jiao due to work, and now one was being transferred away while the other might often be away on business.

The time they could spend at home with Ruan Jiao would be even less.

Ruan Jiao did feel a bit unhappy. Before, even though her parents came home late, they were at least home every day. Now, they simply wouldn’t be coming home at all.

But a promotion and raise were good things for their ordinary family. She didn’t want to dampen her mother’s mood. So, she smiled and said she could take care of herself just fine and told them not to worry about her.

After working for so many years, they finally had something to look forward to. Ruan Jiao couldn’t possibly stand in their way. She was an adult; she didn’t need her parents to take care of her. It would just be a little lonely, that’s all.

Feeling sticky all over, Ruan Jiao replaced the fresh fruit in Jun Gongyu’s little black jar and prepared to take a bath.

The bathtub was filled with hot water.

She untied the hairband from her wrist and placed it on the stool beside her, then sank completely into the bathtub, not wanting to move.

Surrounded by warmth, she felt slightly more at ease. She loved the feeling of being enveloped; only then did she feel completely safe and comfortable.

The girl soaked in the steamy water, drowsy and drifting. Her fair skin took on a rosy hue from the hot steam, looking utterly enticing.

A ripple appeared on the water’s surface. Hair as dark as seaweed floated and sank in the water, carrying a chilling cold as it approached the unsuspecting girl in her sleep.

Ruan Jiao’s head felt dizzy and muddled. She dreamed she had turned into a peach. Someone plucked her from the tree and took a bite. The flesh beneath the peel was fully revealed, fresh, tender, delicious, and bursting with juice.

This peach had never been tasted before, so the one eating it was especially careful and gentle. But after one bite, they were captivated by its sweetness and couldn’t resist indulging further.

Ruan Jiao reached out to push away, her hand meeting a damp, slippery sensation. She touched hair that wasn’t her own. As if displeased by her resistance, her finger was gently bitten.

Then, strong, bony fingers slid between hers, intertwining tightly, pinning her left hand against her waist.

She tried to struggle, but it was futile. She couldn’t break free, left passive and helpless, like a peach being devoured.

Ruan Jiao couldn’t suppress the soft, fragmented sounds escaping her throat. She opened her eyes, glimpsing her situation through the misty haze, and her entire face flushed with embarrassment.

Jun Gongyu… Jun Gongyu was actually…

Tides surged upon the shore, layer upon layer, rising and falling, climbing to heights they never reached under the moon’s pull.

Ruan Jiao stared blankly at the ceiling, her voice trapped in her throat, leaving only faint, ragged breaths.

The tightly clasped hand loosened. She wrapped her arms around, her hands stroking Jun Gongyu’s hair, combing through it unconsciously, stroke by stroke.

Pleasure overwhelmed her thoughts, leaving her no choice but to bite down on a finger, using what little rationality remained to stifle any sound that might be heard.

Then, she surrendered completely.

…

Ink-black hair floated and sank in the water, tangling with Ruan Jiao’s own until they were inseparable.

Jun Gongyu drew closer. Shyly, Ruan Jiao turned her head away, only to have her chin gently grasped and turned back the next moment.

“Why won’t you look at me?”

“What? I am looking,” Ruan Jiao attempted to lie.

“Little liar.”

Jun Gongyu smiled, her eyes curving like stars. Ruan Jiao was mesmerized. There was no helping it, the other woman was simply too enchanting, every glance and smile capable of captivating hearts.

The bathroom was filled with steam, mist swirling with warmth and an indescribable intimacy.

“Jiaojiao, do you like me?” Jun Gongyu leaned closer, her nose brushing against Ruan Jiao’s.

Their breaths mingled, drawing them nearer. Palms pressed together, fingers tightly intertwined.

“I do.”

“What do you like about me?”

Jun Gongyu’s nose trailed downward, settling at her neck, where she planted a deep kiss, leaving a mark.

Trembling, Ruan Jiao answered in a shaky voice, “Everything… everything about you.”

Jun Gongyu continued her search for fruit to satisfy her appetite, gently biting down to savor its sweet juice.

“What do you like most?”

“Most… mmm… I love your eyes the most, because when you look at me, I see only myself in them.”

Jun Gongyu lifted her gaze to Ruan Jiao. Her nose still glistened with traces of moisture, and her usually cool, composed face now looked bewitchingly alluring.

How could anyone be so devastatingly beautiful? And the thought of that enchanting face doing such things to her… Ruan Jiao’s heart raced uncontrollably.

“Lying to me again.” Jun Gongyu caressed the soft flesh at her waist, her eyes brimming with amusement.

“You clearly love my lips the most,” she leaned close to Ruan Jiao, nibbling on her crimson earlobe, enunciating each word deliberately, “and my tongue…”

Ruan Jiao immediately covered her mouth, her face flushed with embarrassment, refusing to let her continue. Unexpectedly, a moist, licking sensation spread across her palm. Jun Gongyu lowered her gaze to look at her, a hint of ambiguous suggestion flickering in her eyes.

“You… you…” Ruan Jiao was torn between shame and indignation, unsure of what to do.