FOR THE NEXT few days, Fu Jing made camp in Xuan Qi’s bed. It seemed like his urge to go out and explore the area had completely vanished.

He refused to leave, no matter what. He’d arranged a bucket for lavatory purposes, which was regularly emptied by Xuan Qi’s yao servants. They also brought him food to the bed, three meals a day, and tended to his wounded arms.

As for entertainment, Fu Jing gazed out the window, had the servants tell him stories or play mahjong with him. As for Xuan Qi, Fu Jing ignored that demon with all his might.

Fu Jing changed his robes every other day and washed his face with a basin of water, but that didn’t help him with his biggest problem: his body hygiene.

After about a week of only changing robes, putting on incense and powdering his body, Xuan Qi slapped him with the harsh reality.

“You need to take a bath.”

Fu Jing snorted. “You wish.” He shook his head. “I won’t fall for your trap.”

“…” Xuan Qi sighed. “It’s not a trap. You reek.”

Fu Jing sniffed himself and, trying to hide the disgust on his face, said, “I don’t smell anything. If you don’t like it, go sleep somewhere else. I won’t go out, so I don’t need your scent on me anyway.”

Xuan Qi stepped closer, also drawing a deep breath. “Hmm… What’s this? There’s a new flavour to your stench… Ah!” His eyes lit up as if struck by an epiphany before he continued with a mocking grin, “Is that fear I smell? You scared?”

Fu Jing sprang to his knees with his jaw dropped and eyebrows scrunched up.

“I am not!” he shot back.

Xuan Qi crossed his arms. “Sure.”

Fu Jing clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He couldn’t tolerate such insolence! Fuck this demonic bastard!

Scared of what? Scared of who?

He’d just have to keep his guard up and make sure to keep a close eye on Xuan Qi—that’s all!

With a humph, Fu Jing climbed off the bed and marched to the palace spring.

However, as soon as he faced the water, he felt his throat constrict. His vigour evaporated instantly. The memory was still too fresh, a faint ache resurfacing in his guts.

He changed his mind on the spot.

As he turned to leave, he bumped into a hard chest. He slowly looked up and right into the smug face of his tormentor.

Xuan Qi gestured at a small yao. “This servant will tend to you.”

Fu Jing furrowed his brow in confusion. He glanced at the small servant, then back at Xuan Qi with a questioning expression on his face.

“I will leave you alone,” Xuan Qi clarified.

Fu Jing wasn’t sure if he’d heard correctly. “Alone? Without you?”

“Yes.”

The moment the meaning of these words sank in, a wave of relief came crashing down on Fu Jing.

“…For real?”

“Yes.”

Fu Jing’s eyes glazed over. It was as though a suffocating weight had been lifted from his chest. As if for the first time in what felt like ages, he could finally breathe again.

When Xuan Qi wasn’t being an insufferable jerk, he could be surprisingly kind and considerate. Did he feel remorse for his actions after all? Was he even capable of such an emotion, or any emotion at all?

Fu Jing was at a loss. This demon lord was an enigma through and through.

Still leaning against Xuan Qi’s chest, Fu Jing just gaped at him, as if frozen in place. Xuan Qi ruffled Fu Jing’s hair. “Do us all a favour and… take your time,” he said, and left.

Fu Jing stared at his retreating back.

Was this really happening?

He wasn’t sure how or what to feel. Of course he was overjoyed to finally have this demon off his back, but he also had the nagging suspicion that there was something fishy about this situation.

He decided to keep his guard up, just in case.

A squeaky voice suddenly piped up, snapping Fu Jing out of his daze.

“Any wish, sir?”

Fu Jing blinked and looked down at the small yao. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

“Uhm… tea?”

“Right away, sir.”

“Oh and…”

The servant halted in his steps and turned back around, standing at attention.

“Can you maybe keep Xuan Qi out?”

Now it was the servant’s turn to open and close his mouth again. “I… cannot stop him from coming in, but I can announce him, sir.”

Fu Jing nodded to himself. He’d suspected as much, but it was worth a try. He gave the servant a warm smile. “Thank you.”

“I will bring you that tea, sir.”

Fu Jing gave him a thumbs up.

Once the servant was gone, Fu Jing took off his robes and slipped into the warm water. As the pleasant heat seeped into his body, he was struck by a sudden realisation. This was the first time he was taking a bath without someone watching.

Of course the servant would soon return with his tea, so Fu Jing enjoyed these few minutes of solitude. He moved leisurely through the water, letting his body float across the pool.

About ten minutes later, the servant arrived with a steaming hot cup of green tea.

Fu Jing let it sit for a moment before he took a sip. When he did, his tongue was greeted by an unexpected delight.

The green tea was rich in flavour, but not overpowering, with a delicate sweetness that was perfectly balanced by a subtle floral note.

“This is perfect!” Fu Jing exclaimed, clearly impressed. He knew for a fact that tea was a human tradition and that it required an expert to create such a harmonious taste. “How did you learn that?”

The servant giggled sheepishly. “It’s not like it’s hard…”

“Pfft, some people would argue otherwise.”

“Only humans,” the servant retorted, before hastily adding, “…sir.”

Fu Jing stared at him, taken aback by that remark.

The servant’s eyes bulged, and he quickly averted his gaze, afraid he might have overstepped. But then Fu Jing laughed softly, and the servant could release the breath that had been stuck in his chest.

After his bath, Fu Jing scurried right back to bed.

Xuan Qi shook his head. “You can’t stay in this bed forever.”

“I sure can. I’m not eager to be tortured again.”

“I have no such intention.”

“That’s what you said last time and see what happened. I’ve already trusted you way too many times.”

“It only happened twice.”

“That’s twice too much!” Fu Jing stated resolutely, his tone leaving no room for dispute.

That night, Fu Jing lay wide awake, thinking about what Xuan Qi had said.

The demon had a point. Fu Jing couldn’t stay in this bed forever. He had to get home.

And he already had an idea! If he couldn’t step through the Southern gate, he could try a different one—there were four gates that connected the demon realm to the human realm after all.

To be able to escape, he had to make sure to knock out Xuan Qi somehow, just long enough to ensure he couldn’t interfere.

With plenty of spare time on his hand, Fu Jing used the following days to come up with a plan.

“You called, sir?”

The small yao servant that had tended to Fu Jing during his bath stood behind him.

Clapping his hands together in delight, Fu Jing turned around. “Indeed! I have a question and I hoped you could help me.”

“Of course, sir. Ask away!”

“I have trouble sleeping due to your lord and wanted to try a different calming incense. But I don’t want it to affect him. Which incense should I absolutely not get to avoid interfering with his routine?”

“Oh, that’s simple; just get an incense that’s explicitly for humans.”

“That’s a fantastic idea. But wouldn’t that incense affect the yao servants? I don’t want to mess with your routine either.”

“No need to worry, it doesn’t work on us,” the yao replied with a beaming smile. “We usually use the same as demons, but in a way smaller dosage.”

Fu Jing’s eyes curved in a smile. “I see… What a relief.”

First, Fu Jing visited a junk shop he’d discovered in the palace courtyard during his earlier explorations. He remembered seeing a used map of the demon realm. While purchasing it, he also found a blank talisman.

A scheming smile formed on Fu Jing’s lips.

This had to be heaven-sent!

Talismans were rare in the demon realm, as demons had no use for them—so he wasn’t surprised to find it in a junk shop. It would certainly come in handy, so he bought it along with the map.

After studying the map, he concluded that the Eastern gate was the closest. He planned a route from the palace to the Eastern gate and, if his calculations were correct, it would take him about two weeks to get there. Hence, he didn’t want to waste any more time.

He headed straight to one of the small villages he’d passed on his way to the palace. He figured it’d be safer to buy the incense outside of the capital, as the demons in the capital already knew him as “Xuan Qi’s” human. The risk of being found out was too high.

At the first herb shop he found, he promptly asked for a strong calming incense specifically for demons. When the shopkeeper gave him a sceptical look, Fu Jing explained, “He has some trouble sleeping, so it has to be especially potent.”

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. “He?”

“Ah… my husband,” Fu Jing said with the most convincing fake smile.

Since Fu Jing was wreathed in a strong, demonic scent yet failed to address the demon in question as “Lord” or “Master”, the shopkeeper had likely realised that he was a captive that tried to escape. Still, that explanation seemed to do the trick.

“How strong do you need?”

“The strongest.”

After his successful purchase, Fu Jing made his way back to the palace. At the edge of the forest, where he’d fought Xuan Qi, his foot hit something. Looking closer, he recognised his broken sword. He picked it up—or what was left of it: the hilt.

The blade was completely shattered, its shards stomped deep into the ground.

Fu Jing shook his head, a pang of guilt gnawing at him. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured softly. “I’ll fix you when we’re back home.”

Which was—if his plan succeeded—very soon.

Fu Jing arrived at the palace late that night. When he entered the bedroom, Xuan Qi was already getting ready for bed.

He glanced at Fu Jing. “Where have you been?”

Fu Jing shrugged. “Roamin’ around.”

“That far, though?”

“Well, I’ve already explored most of the capital. I got bored. It’s fine as long as I come back, isn’t it? It’s not like I can escape, anyway…”

As he gave this premeditated explanation—which wasn’t entirely untrue—he climbed into bed. With no room for dispute, Xuan Qi sighed and pulled the blanket over them.

It took Fu Jing all his might to control his excitement, his body almost trembling as he tried to suppress it.

On his way to the bedroom, he’d given the yao servant on incense duty the incense he’d purchased—with a little twist. He’d changed the demon-calming incense into a package labelled for humans.

After just a few minutes, the faint sound of Xuan Qi’s soft snoring floated into Fu Jing’s ears. With a racing heart, he removed Xuan Qi’s arm from around his body. Should the demon wake up, Fu Jing would just claim he needed to pee.

Leaning over the soundly sleeping demon, Fu Jing slapped his cheek a few times.

No reaction.

Success! Xuan Qi was completely knocked out.

When Xuan Qi opened his eyes, his mind was completely foggy. As his senses gradually returned, he felt a heavy weight pressing against his limbs. He blinked a few times and shifted his bleary gaze towards the source of the weight.

Thick metal chains bound his arms and legs to the bed, his wrists and ankles securely locked in shackles.

And to top it all off, he was naked.

“…”

Fu Jing sat at the edge of the bed, one leg casually crossed over the other. His elbow rested on his knee, chin propped on his palm as he watched Xuan Qi with a triumphant smirk.

“Doesn’t feel so good now, does it?”

Xuan Qi didn’t respond. He simply stared at Fu Jing with a blank expression.

Fu Jing grinned. “Chains feel familiar?”

“That’s what you wasted your talisman on? Didn’t you want to kill me?”

Fu Jing cleared his throat. He did indeed want to kill the demon, but he was missing a spiritual weapon to fulfil the act. His broken sword was useless, and without a spiritual stone, he was as powerless as a farmer with a rusted blade.

He scoffed. “Do you have any idea how much of a hassle it was to get that talisman? You can be glad I managed to draw the incantation from memory without any mistakes. I usually have other people draw it for me.”

Xuan Qi arched his eyebrows. “That’s not as impressive as you think it is.”

A tinge of red coloured Fu Jing’s cheeks.

How?! How on earth did the demon manage to make Fu Jing feel so undignified, even in this situation?! He was the one restrained, the one completely exposed—did he know no shame??

“…Why aren’t you calling for help?” Fu Jing asked “Are you embarrassed? Or would it be too humiliating? Trust me, nothing compares to the humiliation I suffered. But unlike you, I don’t torment others for fun. Yet, benevolent as I am, I wanted to leave you with a parting gift.”

“Couldn’t find a way to poison me, hm?”

Fu Jing’s lips twitched.

Xuan Qi continued, “Have you tried feeding me your blood? Might have the same effect.”

Fu Jing’s eyes narrowed.

“As if.” His tone was sharp, yet a faint waver betrayed his hesitation. “…Don’t pretend you don’t already know the answer!”

“I honestly don’t. I’m willing to be your test subject.” Xuan Qi grinned. “Now’s your one and only chance.”

Fu Jing’s gaze flickered to his wrist, tracing the faint blue veins that ran beneath his skin. Spurred by curiosity, he briefly entertained the demon’s proposal, but promptly snapped back to his senses.

Was he out of his mind?! He obviously couldn’t trust the demon!

He leaned over Xuan Qi, a cold smile tugging at his lips. “Right, and it’s best if I feed it to you with my mouth, yeah?” He snorted, flicking the demon’s forehead. “Dream on.”

Xuan Qi’s arms twitched, but all he could do was glare back at Fu Jing. With the restraints suppressing his demonic qi, he was unable to break them, yet his sheer strength was enough to make the chains rattle violently.

His grin had turned wicked and a vein bulged on his forehead. A dangerous glint was dancing in his eyes. “Just you wait.”

Fu Jing chuckled softly, but his gaze was filled with nothing but contempt. He cocked his head toward the door.

“I used the same sleeping incense in the yao quarters. They passed out much faster than you. No one will come to your aid for at least three days.”

As he glanced down, he caught sight of the demon’s discarded pants on the floor. He languidly rose from the bed and picked them up, dangling them between two fingers.

“I considered leaving you in those, but since you’ve never shown me an ounce of mercy…” He turned them over, as if inspecting the fabric. “I won’t leave you any dignity either.”

With that, he let the pants drop and turned away without sparing him another glance.

“Hope to see you never again.”