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Chapter Text

It smells of roses.

That’s the first thing that Shen Yuan is aware of—that cloying, sweet, flowered scent that fills the air. It breaks into the dull dark of whatever he’s experiencing prior. What is it he’s experiencing prior? Something like a dream? That’s the closest approximation that Shen Yuan can ascribe to it to be honest. Except that it isn’t really a dream, but more like dreamless sleep and this is the moment of waking up. He takes a deep breath, and curls tighter around himself. It’s cold—he can feel the breeze on his bare skin.

“Aw, this meimei is so cute—look! She’s so sleepy, she’s just going to go right to sleep!” Shen Yuan hears the voice of a young woman, followed by tittering laughter. Hopefully it is understandable as to why he would immediately jolt completely awake at such words though, as it is clear from the closeness of the voices that they’re right in the room with him.

It’s a scene from his nightmares—beautiful women in various states of undress surround him. And didn’t he just recognize that he himself happens to be nude right now!? Sure, some people might find such a predicament to be sexy—in fact, Shen Yuan is reasonably certain that there are several chapters in a certain trashy webnovel with this premise multiple times—but Shen Yuan is a practical man! Sure he’s chill and laid back, but he’s not ready to be nude, he’s not ready for a—how many women are here? Ten? Twelve?

“Give her some space,” a calm and cool voice remarks through the giggles and laughter. The women all step back obediently, and Shen Yuan finds himself staring up at a beautiful woman dressed in luxurious silks like she’s stepped out of a xianxia film. It is right at this moment that a bright teal box snaps open in front of him and a voice like some robotic AI assistant rings in his head.

【 Welcome, User 002, to Proud Immortal Demon Way! Greeting you is the new and improved Transmigration System Lite—after feedback from prior users, this System has decided that a hands-off approach will be the best fit for your experience! 】

Huh!?!? Proud Immortal Demon Way!? Hands-off experience—isn’t that just a way of saying that the System is fucking off and not going to help him whatsoever? And “prior users”—if he’s User 002 wouldn’t it just be User 001 who gave this feedback!? Ah! System! Abandon that poor schmuck, not this innocent transmigrator!

【  (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) .ᐟ.ᐟ This System is flattered that User 002 would like for this System to remain. We will take User 002’s feedback into consideration for future iterations. Please enjoy your transmigration experience, fill in plot holes and live your new life to the fullest! Goodbye!  】

After this, the window winks out of existence. Now. Shen Yuan has always told himself that he would not freak out if in a transmigration situation, but he can’t help but feel a little aggrieved at the fact that his System has just decided to up and abandon him with basically no warning! Ah, and Proud Immortal Demon Way!? Of all the rotten luck, he’s ended up in the sex-obsessed novel of an author who can’t write worth shit! Really, it can’t get worse! Except he’s woken up surrounded by beautiful nude women, which means he must be encroaching on the protagonist’s territory!

“The first few moments after waking can sometimes be difficult,” the beautiful woman in silks says. Shen Yuan jolts, and his hands fly down to cover himself. Ah! He might be chill but he’s still a man surrounded by naked—wait.

Shen Yuan’s fingers are not hiding his manhood, because there is no manhood to hide. He looks down and his blood runs cold—no manhood, and a pair of perky (though pitifully small, what the fuck) breasts on his chest. Has—he’s transmigrated into the body of a woman!? He lifts his hands to peek and squeaks despite himself.

Look! Shen Yuan imagined his calm behavior after transmigrating hundreds of times, sure, but it just had never occurred to him that he wouldn’t be in a man’s body okay!? It’s extremely distressing to wake up and realize that you’re not just missing your dick, but that you’ve also got boobs . How had he even missed this!? His chest feels so heavy, and even if they’re teeny tiny (seriously, what the fuck!?) they move uncomfortably when he shifts his weight. He’s so aware of them, and aware of what he’s missing. Fuck, a woman!? A woman surrounded by other women naked?

“Everyone out!” The clothed woman says, “Huang-er, be a dear and get the calming tea for your new meimei, understand?”

Your new meimei, the woman’s voice seems to circle Shen Yuan’s brain like a vulture. He takes a deep breath, trying to force himself into calm and quietly says, “This one is okay…”

His voice—her voice? Eugh. Eugh! The voice that comes out is far too high, far too demure and delicate. Shen Yuan wants to dig a hole and die all over again. System! Come back! He wants a refund!

“Hush now, some transitions to the next life are not easy for our kind,” the woman says gently, “You are loved and safe here young one, this Madam will let no harm come to any of her girls.”

Shen Yuan doesn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, so he nods and tries to relax. It doesn’t quite work, he keeps getting distracted just. Looking down. Come on! He can get over a thing as little as being in the body of a woman! In Proud Immortal Demon Way that might even be a blessing!

The Madam does not intrude on Shen Yuan trying to gather his thoughts together. He casts looks around them—the room he is in seems to be in some sort of underground grotto. He lies in a large, plush bed that is frankly anachronistic with the setting. The silks and pillows piled all over it are luxurious and he manages to snag one of the fine blankets to cover himself with. The floral scent has a smell underneath it that is just as sweet and lovely, but one that he cannot place. It clicks in his head where he must be.

In Proud Immortal Demon Way there are any number of demons and creatures. Some aren’t even made the traditional ways that demons are made in a xianxia setting—Shen Yuan suspects that this is largely because the author doesn’t know the setting as well as many people seem to assume. Point of fact, Shen Yuan seems to have been reborn as a succubus.

The birth of a succubus is a different kind of reincarnation, in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way anyway. They—and their male counterparts, incubi—are created when someone does in some way that heavily involves sexual frustration or unrealized lust. Which is to say, that everyone in PIDW who is a succubus was once a horny bastard that probably couldn’t get any in their past life! 

It isn’t like he was sexually frustrated when he died! He choked to death on a meatbun when in rage! Just because PIDW is a porn novel of the trashiest caliber doesn’t mean that he deserves this fate! 

“It has been some time since this Madam had a new charge that can recall her past,” the woman says to him, startling Shen Yuan from his thoughts. He blinks up at her, swallowing around the lump in his throat as she smiles at him, “But you will adjust in time. This Madam is Madam Meiyin, and you are home now.”

“Ah, thanking Madam,” Shen Yuan says, wincing at the sound of his voice. The young succubus from earlier, Huang-er, returns and presses a warm cup of tea into his hands. Shen Yuan obediently takes a sip. It is a sweet blend, but he can’t name the herb that is in it. Likely something completely original grown in the Demon Realm—it may have a counterpart in the mortal one but is completely new here. Madam Meiyin is watching him very closely, when she sits down more properly in front of him. “A-ah, Madam you don’t—”

“Bear with this Madam, but please allow her to give you a reading,” Madam Meiyin says softly, her eyes are intense but Shen Yuan doesn’t feel frightened under them. He swallows, and takes one more sip of his tea before Huang-er gently takes it from him. She doesn’t leave as Madam Meiyin takes Shen Yuan’s hands, tracing her long nails gently over the lines of his palms.

His skin has never been so smooth and unblemished before. Shen Yuan was a fuerdai in his previous life, but he’d been a sickly young man who had struggled with his health all his life. Now he has perfect hands, the kind that any young woman would kill for. He supposes he’s probably supernaturally pretty too, considering just what kind of demon he’s been reborn as. He’ll need to take a look when he’s feeling calmer and better able to handle what reflection will greet him.

Fuck—isn’t he just being the biggest baby about this? So he’s transmigrated as a woman! There are worse things surely, at least he’s not the scum villain or one of the other many people to meet their end on Luo Binghe’s bloody blade. It’s fine, he just has to mentally readjust and… and force himself to be a woman. Easy.

Why does he feel so sick? Come on Shen Yuan! Man up! Or the opposite, he supposes. Woman up! He can do this, he—

“Oh darling,” Madam Meiyin breathes, startling Shen Yuan from his mental spiral. “Yours is the soul of a man.”

“You—you can tell that?” Shen Yuan croaks out despite himself. His throat is tight, and he jolts, and then shakes his head and says hastily, “I mean—I can… I can be a woman, I can! If I have to. There are aspects that aren’t so bad, I don’t mind the idea of all of it really—I think I might even be okay with being called someone’s wife if I was married or…”

“A comfort with feminine titles does not a woman make,” Madam Meiyin says, reaching over to gently take Shen Yuan’s face in her hands. The gesture is so motherly that Shen Yuan stills despite himself. “This Madam will not force you to be a woman, unless you truly desire to be so.”

“Well,” Shen Yuan chokes out, “I am one now. So.”

“No, you are what you wish,” Madam Meiyin says firmly. “Does my child wish to be a man or a woman?”

“...I—a man,” Shen Yuan chokes out despite himself. He should just suck it up, but Madam Meiyin’s face is so understanding and gentle. She nods at him before gently running her fingers through his hair. “Will… will you make me leave?”

In the novel, Madam Meiyin did not have any incubus living in her grotto.

“Of course not,” Madam Meiyin soothes, and Shen Yuan can’t begin to explain the ease that gives him. He’s only just met these people—been born into this world—but the idea of being completely alone without anyone at all is dreadful. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly and shakily. The tea has found its way into his hands again, and he feels Huang-er sit beside him to rub his back in slow circles as he drinks.

It takes an embarrassing amount of time for him to truly feel centered and calm. The conversation with the Madam has centered him in a way he honestly did not expect. It’s strange, that such a simple thing has taken the panic out of this whole situation. He takes a deep breath, and squares his shoulders. He can do this. The whole, succubus thing.

“Is didi ready to meet the rest of the jiejie’s?” Huang-er gently asks. Shen Yuan blinks, glancing over at her and she flashes him an encouraging smile. Huang-er is really very unfairly pretty. Even her unnaturally blue eyes only highlights her ethereal beauty. 

“This one thinks so,” Shen Yuan says softly. Madam Meiyin stands, gently helping Shen Yuan to his feet and adjusting the silk blankets around him when he refuses to let them go. She looks over him thoughtfully.

“This Madam will go out for clothing for our newest member,” she decides after a moment. She gently ruffles Shen Yuan’s loose hair, and smiles at him tenderly and gently leads Shen Yuan from the room.

The grotto, though it is a place to live and a palace in its own right, has a very natural-esque sort of decorating. The ground under his tender feet is entirely grass and earth, despite being in some sort of cave. Each of the “rooms” seem to be built out of natural caves that have been carved into the opulent chambers for each succubus. Shen Yuan can hear enthusiastic noises coming from some of them, and his ears burn red as he forces himself to look ahead. He hasn’t really addressed how he’s going to approach that aspect of his new life. He decides to not even worry about it for now. No thank you!

Madam Meiyin goes ahead to speak with the rest of the girls before Shen Yuan meets them. Perhaps to avoid him being called their meimei more than absolutely necessary. Shen Yuan doesn’t mind, he and Huang-er linger where they are as he looks around the grotto. The caves are separated by streams and waterfalls that all come together to fill a serene looking pool. Indeed, there are several other pools and ponds that he can see as they reach where the main courtyard is. Shen Yuan steps forward when Madam Meiyin gestures for him to do so.

“This is your new didi,” Madam Meiyin says, and Shen Yuan bows carefully—mostly to avoid dropping his blanket. The women around him titter and giggle as he does, cooing with open delight.

“A didi!” One exclaims in joy, “This is so exciting! You’re our first didi ever!”

“Oh, we can spoil him!” Another claps her hands together, she runs over and takes Shen Yuan’s hands in her own. Being a succubus, she is not even frankly bothered at her nakedness but doesn’t comment on Shen Yuan clutching at his blanket. “This one is Li-er, has didi decided on his name yet?”

Li-er’s eyes are wide and guileless. Shen Yuan can’t help a soft laugh that falls out of him at her enthusiasm. He could come up with a new name, but really—well. He’s had a long day, and there’s been enough changes going on here.

“I’d like to be called Shen Yuan—ah, or just Yuan,” Shen Yuan pauses, he knows that most demons only have one name. But Madam Meiyin only smiles at him and nods encouragingly. The girls all chime in excitedly around him, clearly just excited that Shen Yuan has a name at all.

⪼⊱ 𓆩 ㅤ♡ 𓆪 ⊰⪻

The first day of Shen Yuan’s new life is spent being led around the grotto and introduced to the many succubus that live there. As well as, of course, receiving a tour. Shen Yuan is given his own homey little cave, one that has a crack in the ceiling that lets glimmering sunlight into it. He knows that succubus do tend to live on the edge of the Human Realm. After all, their poison is most potent on humans as opposed to other demons. Due to that, their “prey” tends to be young men lured from villages and the like.

So this sunlight, he knows, is from the Human Realm. He can’t help but stand in the beam of light for a moment, like a cat soaking in the rays as he lets the warmth wash over him. He must stand there like that for some time, with just that blanket clutched around him, because he feels slow and sleepy when he hears a knock from behind him.

“Didi!” Li-er yells, running over and throwing her arms around Shen Yuan. He yelps, rocking back on his feet and trying not to fall over with the succubus clinging to him like that. “The Madam is going to be leaving, do you want to bid her farewell with us?”

“Leaving?” Shen Yuan asks, but he finds his hand being clasped in the girl’s before he gets an answer—or really to answer her himself. He’s tugged along, trying not to laugh with amusement. “Why is the Madam leaving?”

“To buy you a wardrobe,” Madam Meiyin says with a charming laugh. Shen Yuan blinks as she stops near him, taking several measurements so quickly and efficiently that Shen Yuan barely registers that it’s happening before it’s finished. “To do so, this Madam must go to the Human Realm. That means that  I will be away for some time.”

“To the Human Realm?” Shen Yuan asks, and the wonder must be obvious in his voice as well as his face. Madam Meiyin’s mouth quirks into a smile and she gently pats his shoulder.

“You may come later, but you will need your clothes,” Madam Meiyin points out. “This Madam refuses to let one of my children wear hand-me-downs! Only the best for those living in this grotto, do you understand? Bear with your appearance for a bit longer, Yuan-er.”

“Besides, didi will have to learn to control himself first,” Li-er points out with a laugh. “If he wanders around looking so radiant the cultivators will be on him faster than the men would.”

“You may explore the Demon Realm with your jiejies if you’d like,” Madam Meiyin says gently. “But Yuan-er will stay away from the other portals, do you understand?”

This is said firmly—hey! Shen Yuan won’t go snooping where he shouldn’t! Even if he is remembering what kinds of portals there are in the grotto from the story. Luo Binghe typically used Mobei-Jun if Xin Mo wasn’t working correctly in the books, after all the demon could portal just about anywhere. But the other demon able to use portals in the novels were succubus demons! And Madam Meiyin has a comprehensive hub of portals that lead all over the world, and realms!

Including one to the Endless Abyss. Of course, only a succubus can enter and exit it—for safety purposes—but it is one of the few ways to travel to and from the Abyss reliably. Shen Yuan itches to poke his head in it—after all, his favorite part of the novel (apart from Luo Binghe himself of course) had been the creatures and monsters. Just the idea of getting to see some of the creatures of the Abyss for himself is enough to trigger his curiosity.

Ah, but Shen Yuan doesn’t have a death wish! He tries not to anyway. He wouldn’t go in there without knowing how to get out of the situation first. But maybe he can convince the Madam to let him later…

“Scheming,” Madam Meiyin says, flicking Shen Yuan right between the eyes. His hand flies up to cover his forehead he winces as he leans away. Madam Meiyin smiles at him though, gently fixing his hair. “Be good for your jiejies.”

“Yes Madam,” Shen Yuan says, he doesn’t point out that he might actually be older than many of these women because technically he is the youngest having just been reborn. After all, Madam Meiyin said it herself—most succubus were not born with memories of their past life.

There is also the fact that some of these women might be hundreds of years old. Okay, so maybe he is the youngest now.

Chapter Text

Huang-er turns to the remaining succubi as soon as Madam Meiyin leaves.Her eyes are narrowed immediately at someone who stands near Li-er, a succubus with long hair that pools on the ground at her dainty feet. The smile that she flashes at Huang-er tells Shen Yuan that she probably has earned that look more than a few times. Huang-er stares at her for a few more moments, before turning to Shen Yuan with a sigh.

“Come along didi, this Huang-er will introduce you to everyone in the grotto,” Huang-er says, taking Shen Yuan’s hand in her own. Her fingers are warm, and Shen Yuan tries not to feel a little put out by the fact that even compared to her hands his own seem more delicate. Maybe that’s just the difficulty adjusting to the whole feminine body thing though.

Probably.

“You’ve met Li-er,” Huang-er says, pointing at Li-er. “She was the youngest before you came along, so now you’re the littlest out of all the group.”

“Yuan-didi will be spoiled rotten by this one!” Li-er says with a bright smile that lights up her chestnut brown eyes. She bounces around Shen Yuan with the energy of a hyperactive pomeranian.and Shen Yuan can’t help but be a little reminded of his mei-mei. He tries to hold back a smile but fails at it as she continues, “I’ll be your favorite!”

“But what if Huang-er is my favorite?” Shen Yuan asks her, watching her mouth drop open in scandalized surprise. She waves her hands and points at him with puffed up cheeks.

“Don’t you dare! Huang-er is boring!” Li-er states, much to Huang-er’s look of open dismay. Li-er takes Shen Yuan’s free hand, “Don’t! Pick this one!”

“Li-er, you’ll only make him wish he had been born in a quieter grotto,” a dispassionate voice says. Shen Yuan almost expects to see a goth that is fed up with the world when he looks over—but nothing so anachronistic is what awaits him. This succubus is lounging though, resting on a divan that is draped in luxurious silks. She holds a pipe delicately in one hand, the ornate gilding along the sides light up with demonic qi as she inhales the smoke, “I know I do.”

“That there is Wu-er,” Li-er says conspiratorially. “She’s not boring, she’s just depressing.”

“Ha ha,” Wu-er drawls, her tone dripping with sarcasm. She eyes Shen Yuan as they pause before her divan, before she takes another draw on her pipe. Her eyes narrow and she hums thoughtfully, “Didi may join this Wu later, she would like to see how his calligraphy is. If he needs to learn it will be through this Wu.”

“Ah—thanking Wu-jie for her offer,” Shen Yuan says bowing at her politely. She waves them off before Shen Yuan can press her further.

“Wu-er would be a master of calligraphy, if the jianghu would let a succubus be such a thing,” Huang-er says as they walk away. “Her’s is better than the Madam’s even. She teaches all of us to read and write—if you don’t already know of course.”

“She’s grumpy about it,” Li-er adds in a hushed tone. “This Li-er has never seen her smile! Ever!”

“You have so seen her smile,” Huang-er scolds gently. She eyes the succubus she had glared at from a distance and then leads Shen Yuan in the opposite direction. “You saw Wu-er, of course. Xie-er left the grotto shortly after the Madam - likely to hunt. Not men, that is, she enjoys hunting down creatures.”

“She does?” Shen Yuan asks, craning his neck as though he can see her. Cool! He hopes that he’ll get the chance to talk to her about what is in the area, and hopefully make sure that she’s not killing rare creatures that could otherwise repopulate. Ah! The whole, being reborn into the body of a woman sex demon thing aside, there are cool aspects to being reborn in Airplane’s world of all things! Sure it’s a hopped up porn novel, and he’s not quite wanting to address exactly what role he may have in that novel, but there are really awesome monsters and creatures.

Airplane did a lot of wrongs with his writing, but one of the most egregious was how little he let his talents shine with creature creation! He’d come up with such fascinating, incredible concepts and then he’d slap a ridiculous name on it or make some aspect of it an aphrodisiac. Just like that, something that had the potential to stand out would just be reduced to another plot device for papapa!! 

The Human Realm will have such creatures, of course, but the places with the largest variety of these beasts will be the Demonic Realm and the Abyss! Shen Yuan itches for the opportunity to pick Xie-er’s brain for information on the species of fauna in the area. Maybe even some flora too! He knows that succubi, being what they are, are immune to most aphrodisiacs—something he will consider a blessing of this unfortunate body of his—but one can never be too careful in the world of PIDW!

“There we have our Na-er,” Huang-er says, pointing out a woman with hair that is done up in braids. Na-er looks up at the sound of her name and flashes a dimpled smile at the two of them with a wave, “If Didi likes reading, he will want to go to her. She has a library set up in the grotto.”

Shen Yuan nods, filing away her name mentally as well. When he’s not exploring, he’ll need something to occupy the time after all! He refuses to think of what else a succubus may do to occupy their time.

“The one being patched up because of an injury over there is Yawen-er—Bao-er is the one making sure she heals correctly,” Huang-er says, pointing each out. Yawen-er still looks beautiful and put together, but Shen Yuan notices that she does have a cut that slowly oozes blood that another succubus with large glasses is wrapping. The glasses immediately put Shen Yuan in mind of certain tropes, and he feels the intense urge to chase down Airplane and beat him with a hammer.

He gets the feeling this will be a recurring issue.

“Yimu-er is the one in the garden over there—she grows any of the food that we eat, besides the main form of sustenance,” Huang-er says. At this, she eyes Shen Yuan cautiously and Shen Yuan struggles to keep his facial features neutral. He must not succeed as well—ah! Why couldn’t he have transmigrated into a body with a better pokerface!? “We can eat regular food, like you may remember indulging in in your previous life. However, our real sustenance and strength comes from intercourse or the energy produced during that.”

“Mmhmm,” Shen Yuan says, lips twitching. He does not want to think about the fact that he is probably going to have to fuck to survive!

“Didi can probably manage with food and just by absorbing the extra qi produced from when we jiejies partake in our true hunts. That is, until his Lust has been awakened,” Huang-er explains gently. “Most succubi experience it when we go on our first hunt—it’ll make things easier for you. It’s not as scary as it may sound.”

“Pff—scared? I’m not—it’s not like…” Shen Yuan’s face flusters bright red. Okay so fine! Maybe he is a little freaked out, but he had completely different equipment until he woke up today! Can you blame a guy for being a little leery about it!? It’s not that he full-stop is against trying it, but he doesn’t even know how he’s going to. Do that.

Does he have to lure in a man? He’s definitely straight though! And what would he even do a woman with!?

“It’s okay Didi,” Li-er says sympathetically. “It comes totally naturally in the moment!”

Shen Yuan’s face is starting to feel hot, he buries his face in his hands, “Right. Right. Mmhmm.”

There is an air of concern between the two succubi for a moment, and Shen Yuan almost bristles. It’s not like he wants to have this conversation with two people he’s supposed to see as sisters! 

“Anyway—the others?” Shen Yuan asks, desperate to change the topic.

“Fang-er, Shufen-er,” Li-er says, pointing each one out. Shufen-er immediately hides behind the former as though too shy to even stand being looked at. Fang-er has her slender fingers in front of her mouth and her shoulders are shaking with laughter—is she… wait is she laughing at him!? Rude! Shen Yuan narrows his eyes at her, but then Li-er is turning him so that he faces the succubus that Huang-er was giving the stink-eye before. “Finally! That over there is An-er! She gets in fights with the Madam all the time, and causes trouble.”

“Until you’re more settled, don’t listen to what she tells you,” Huang-er says sternly. An-er gives a positively devilish grin at that, and Li-er runs over to try to stomp on her foot. An-er dodges back, avoiding Li-er’s attacking advances with loud laughter. “She almost got Li-er killed when she was still new.”

“Ah,” Shen Yuan says, An-er’s devilish smile seems a little more sinister now. Still, she isn’t that remarkable for a demon he supposes. He turns to Huang-er and says, “The Madam said I could go to the Demon Realm but I’d like to wait for my clothes. Would jiejie be willing to teach this Shen how to… ah. Control himself?”

Li-er’s earlier words are still ringing in his head. He’d rather not be jumped in the street—cultivator or demon, thank you very much! Huang-er’s bell-like laughter says that he did not quite succeed in not being awkward about this. He supposes he probably is really weird, at least for a succubus.

⪼⊱ 𓆩 ㅤ♡ 𓆪 ⊰⪻

His first days in the cave are filled with lessons. First, on how to control his abilities as well as how to turn the qi made during intercourse into energy for a succubus to eat. The former is far easier than the latter—look! Shen Yuan knows he’s been reborn into a porn novel. He gets it! But there’s some sort of cruel joke about the fact that he happens to be a succubus in it. The fact that he has to eat energy from having sex is bad enough, but learning how to do it is still awkward! It doesn’t matter if he isn’t around to hear it happening, he knows what the energy that his jiejies deliver to him dutifully is from okay!?

Still—he does what he must. There is a marked difference, of course. The food served in the grotto is actually incredibly good, as is the wine. But he notices quickly that it doesn’t sustain him the way that the… the qi does. It simply can’t compare! Especially when he starts using his abilities to try to get a feel for them. Succubi aren’t necessarily powerful demons in an offense-sort of way—in simple video game terms, he’d be more of a status-effect mage than anything that dealt any dps.

But that did not mean that succubi were helpless. Most of them fought with their claws, which could grow at will and were razor sharp if they had to fight physically. They could also bite and had the strength that most demons had, meaning that any normal man would find themselves in quite a bind if he tried to hurt one. On top of that, Yawen seems to have taken it personally that succubi aren’t considered a “physically strong” demon. She was all too eager to show Shen Yuan how to use a sword and sword forms when he asked after them. 

“Nobody ever takes this kind of thing seriously,” Yawen had said to him with a heavy sigh, ignoring Li-er’s shouts of, “Yawen-er! Yawen-er!” trying to get her attention. “But the Madam is grateful that this one likes this kind of fighting, and she’ll be happy that didi does too. Anything to protect us against cultivators.”

That is the other thing that Shen Yuan learns—cultivators are a big threat for demons like succubi. After all, while they can lure in demons as well as humans, it is far easier to convince an ordinary human being with no spiritual power than a demon to follow a succubi home. Hell, even cultivators—depending on their level of cultivation of course—can make for better prey. The Madam has done all she can to protect the grotto—the portals are the only real way to access the Human Realm. Though the grotto lays on the very edge of it, that is more for portal stability than actually hunting in the physical area nearby. They hunt from the portals and only the portals.

This, he is told, does not mean that they never get unwanted visitors. Again, part of Yawen’s excitement that he is willing to learn any kind of sword fighting at all. 

Other than that, of course, are the lessons that come from Wu-er regarding calligraphy. Shen Yuan is grateful that she’s more patient than she appears. He’s also grateful that this sort of thing, as a fuerdai, is not something that Shen Yuan is too unfamiliar with. After all, his parents wanted him involved in all kinds of arts. It’s just a matter of learning how to deal with it regarding actual etiquette since he’s familiar with the characters as well! Thank you rich kid school for the “useless” classes that Shen Yuan looked in the mouth as a gift horse!

He settles in well among the jiejies—even An-er is someone that he has a hard time really being overly wary of. He learns that she’s more mischievous than truly sadistic, and obnoxious more than really malicious. In fact, Shen Yuan finds that she helps to bring out his inner Peerless Cucumber every now and again, just because the only way to get her to respect you seems to be you willing to argue with her!

Madam Meiyin spoils him with robes and clothing that any young lord would be overjoyed to add to their wardrobe. It feels leagues better to be dressed in them, even if it’s a style that isn’t anything like the masculine one that he grew up with. The jiejies teach him how to put his hair up too, though he usually just lets Li-er have at it. She has enough energy to do so.

It is one afternoon where Shen Yuan shares tea with the Madam, Bao-er and Yimu-er, when the Madam finally says to him in a very serious voice, “Yuan-er’s Lust has not awakened.”

Shen Yuan almost chokes on his tea—he’s gotten used to his found family’s dressing habits, naturally, but the second it’s turned on him he can’t help but be surprised! He’s just some guy that’s here, okay!? He doesn’t need sex to survive, thank you, it’s been almost a year and he’s doing just fine!

“Is that so bad?” Shen Yuan says after regaining his composure. He hates how delicately this body blushes, he knows he must look a picture right now. Bao-er reaches over the table and takes Shen Yuan’s wrist gently. The feeling of her qi is familiar to Shen Yuan at this point—being the only succubus medically inclined in the grotto, Bao-er makes a habit of regular check-ups. Much to Shen Yuan’s chagrin.

“Yuan-er is substantially weaker than most succubi at his age,” Bao-er says with a sigh after releasing his wrist. She takes her chin in hand and tips her head, “But physically, this Bao-er cannot say why his Lust lays dormant.”

“I’m weaker than normal?” Shen Yuan asks—one of the few perks of this body is how healthy it feels! He can’t imagine being much stronger than he already is. He wonders how much stronger he’d be if… nope! Nope. No thank you!

“It isn’t unusual, the extra qi you feed off of from us isn’t nearly enough for you to flourish,” Bao-er says, tapping her fingers against the top of the tea-table. Her eyes narrow behind her glasses thoughtfully. “Perhaps Yuan-er is like Yimu-er.”

Yimu-er looks up from where she has been snacking on an osmanthus cake with a clear question in her eyes. Shen Yuan glances at her as well, “What do you mean?”

“This Yimu has only one partner,” Yimu-er says, holding up a pinky finger. “You never see this one hunt yes? She only lies with her soulmate.”

Yimu-er has a soulmate!? Shen Yuan didn’t even know that succubi could have soulmates. He feels a little embarrassed that he hadn’t noticed. He furrows his brow and asks, “Is he around often?”

“Yes,” Madam Meiyin says, biting back a laugh. Shen Yuan gives her a confused look. The only person that is often with Yimu-er is her dryad friend, Liqin. Liqin spends most of her visits with Yimu in the garden, playing her lovely pipa for the whole grotto to listen to. But Shen Yuan has never seen her bring a man over… “It could explain Yuan-er’s delay. This Madam was so worried to send him out, since he joined us so shortly after the Abyss opened up in the Human Realm. She’s coddled him… Ah, maybe this Madam should push him more…”

“Please don’t!” Shen Yuan emphatically says, much to the delighted laughter of Yimu-er and Bao-er shakes her head. “I feel fine, Madam. This Yuan will let you know if he starts to feel ill or too weak.”

“Will you?” Madam Meiyin asks, fixing him with a Look. Shen Yuan chooses to ignore it. “I want you to check in with Bao-er regularly. Weekly, if possible. And you’ll be joining the outings now, to see if anyone stands out.”

Shen Yuan sputters and blushes, but Madam Meiyin gently pats his hand.

“I know that Yuan-er does not always feel comfortable with these matters,” Madam Meiyin says, and Shen Yuan wants to protest—he’s fine with it! Really!—but she continues, “But this Madam grows worried for her youngest charge.”

“This one is fine Madam,” Shen Yuan stresses again. She hums at him thoughtfully but does not push the issue further. Soon, conversation drifts to other topics and Shen Yuan tries not to think too nervously about the idea of being pushed into something he’d really rather avoid. It isn’t like the Madam, but this isn’t the same thing as being a man. A succubus needs to eat, and Shen Yuan is effectively just eating scraps.

Oh well, it’s not like it’s killing him. It’s fine!

Chapter Text

It is another half of a year before Madam Meiyin puts her foot down and sends Shen Yuan off to; “At least try to hunt, A-Yuan.”

So it is that he ends up in the Human Realm for his first time since he has set foot in the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way. They use one of the portals from the grotto and find themselves in a bustling merchant city. The jiejies bringing him today—Shufen, Huang-er and Na-er—all look positively radiant in their hanfu. Shen Yuan himself must stick out like a sore thumb among his sisters—being the only male among their little crew. He has his far simpler, with some of it pulled up into a ponytail in the more masculine style of the time. There are beads decorating his hair that Li-er insisted on weaving into it. He’s grown used to her cajoling in this manner, and since she reminds him a lot of his mei-mei he always gives into her demands for things like this.

Even amidst the hawkers shouting for people’s attention, Shen Yuan’s sisters turn heads. Even Shufen—who is dressed more for combat with her vambraces and visible blade—seems to catch the eye of more than one man. Shen Yuan can’t help but feel a burst of pride for his sisters at that. Ah! Watch out Bei Chuan City! His jiejies are too powerful for you!

“A-Yuan! This jiejie is going to play!” Na-er says with a beaming smile. She prances away from their little group a moment later, zeroing in on a stand with a handsome merchant manning the table. The man blushes furiously when Na-er steps up and starts speaking to him, leaning forward into his space flirtatiously.

Shufen makes her way toward one of the city guards—presumably to strike up a conversation about swords that will lead inevitably to the man falling into her snare. When it’s just Shen Yuan and Huang-er remaining, Huang-er reaches up to fix his hair and make sure the beads are arranged neatly.

“This Huang-er can help A-Yuan picking out a mark,” she says, “But does he want to explore first?”

“This one would,” Shen Yuan says, practically vibrating at the idea of doing so. He is so excited to look around that he can barely keep himself from grinning. Instead, he keeps a serious face—very serious demon here! He knows that he shouldn’t be just flouncing around like this is just a field trip, ah!

Huang-er nods at him, and Shen Yuan immediately heads into the crowd. Every stall has fascinating baubles of all kinds. Beautiful goods like necklaces, teas and even displayed silks. Shen Yuan finds himself pausing at several of them, never quite lingering for long enough to hold up the line. Well—that’s his plan anyway. It turns out, the people in Bei Chuan City are all ridiculously friendly!

“Ah—esteemed young master,” one man says as Shen Yuan looks over his wares. “It’s a pleasure to see a new face! What brings you to our humble city?”

“Oh, this one merely heard tell that the markets here had much to offer,” Shen Yuan says with a friendly smile. The man inhales as though he is having trouble breathing. Strange! Poor guy. “These jade tokens are beautiful, who is the artisan that carves them?”

“Th-that would be this one’s cousin, young master,” the man responds, sounding just as breathless as before. He hastily pulls out one of the charms and holds it out, eyes wide with wonder. “Would the young master like to have a closer look?”

Shen Yuan does, gently taking the offered charm. It really is very well done! The jade charm doesn’t seem to have any real spiritual energy, but Shen Yuan can tell just by holding it that it would hold any kind of qi very well. It is a very receptive little piece—not to mention at all the craftsmanship! Shen Yuan wasn’t lying when he said that it was beautiful. The intricate carvings must have taken an incredible amount of time, skill and patience. He sees lotuses so small carved onto the jade surface that they appear to be smaller than even his pinky nail.

“It truly is a magnificent piece,” Shen Yuan says, somewhat reluctant to part with the jade. Ah, far too expensive for what even the Madam provided though. He hands it back with a small smile, “I’m sure it will find a lovely home with someone who shall treasure it.”

“You can have it!” The merchant blurts, “For free!”

Huh!? For free!? Mr. Merchant, don’t you realize that’s super bad for business!?

He opens his mouth to protest, but the merchant presses the token into his palm and curls his fingers over it. The man’s hands are trembling, and he gives Shen Yuan a wobbly smile that really is very charming. Ah! What a nice young man! Really, too nice, offering such a beautiful piece for nothing at all.

“I can’t just take this for free,” Shen Yuan protests.

“Then this humble merchant will ask for only one thing—what is the name of this young master?” Mr. Merchant’s face is suddenly red, and he still sounds short of breath. Shen Yuan can’t help but feel a touch worried about the poor guy.

“Ah, this one is called Shen Yuan,” Shen Yuan says. “Are you certain that—”

“Yes, yes! Keep the piece,” the merchant insists to him. He smiles brightly, “It will do this one’s heart good, to see that it is owned by one such as master Shen.”

Shen Yuan won’t keep pushing if that’s the case. He takes the token and immediately ties it to the sash around his belt. It looks really very lovely and at home there, and he runs a thumb lovingly over the jade.

“Thanking…” Shen Yuan trails off, lifting his brows quizzically.

“Wu Boqin!” Wu Boqin blurts. Shen Yuan doesn’t laugh at the guy, it would be really rude to, but it’s a close thing. Guy must not have many friends, he’s so excited to chat with just a random dude on the street!

“It has been a pleasure, Wu Boqin. Thanking your kindness,” Shen Yuan says. The man looks on the verge of passing out, and he can’t help but add. “Please look after your health.”

Wu Boqin stammers something that is impossible to parse into words. Shen Yuan decides to give the poor man the space to take care of himself and heads off. 

Now this little interaction on its own is strange—but it keeps happening! 

Almost every step that Shen Yuan makes is dogged by an interested gentleman or merchant. He knows that free samples are a thing, but this is downright ridiculous! By the time that he reaches the end of the street he has his arms so full that he can hardly keep track of what’s been given to him, let alone the names of all the people who have asked him to return to have tea with them sometime. Aiyah! He’s just a boring old man everyone, calm down!

“Yuan-didi is popular,” Huang-er remarks, helping Shen Yuan pack away the items that he has acquired into a qiankun pouch that one enthusiastic man had foisted on Shen Yuan. It’s perhaps the most useful of the pack of trinkets and items he has obtained. He waves her off with a laugh.

“Ah—they must be excited for a new friend in the area. They’re awfully nice folks!” Shen Yuan says, he almost places a beautiful fan that he was given into the pouch before deciding to hold onto it. There are cranes delicately painted over it, with haitang blossoms fluttering like splashes of vibrant color in an imagined wind. He opens it and gently waves it before his face. It never hurts to have a good prop!

As he does this he catches sight of Huang-er’s face, which is incredulous.

“Does Yuan-didi want to take any of them home?” She encourages.

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous? We shouldn’t just bring people to visit without really knowing them right?” Shen Yuan blinks at her and she stares at him.

“...didi.” Huang-er’s voice is disbelieving.

“Hm?” Shen Yuan asks.

“...nevermind, would didi prefer to find a lady to bring home?” Huang-er asks.

“Oh this one couldn’t do that!” Shen Yuan says, aghast. After all, the ladies in this world are for one person—Luo Binghe! He can’t run the risk of accidentally picking out a girl that Luo Binghe is meant to woo after all! Huang-er relaxes her posture a bit, nodding as if this makes perfect sense.

“One of the men Yuan-didi was speaking with should be easy for him to charm and lead home for a meal,” Huang-er says, pointing towards where Wu Boqin busies himself at his stand. “Why not start with him? He would willingly lie with Shen-didi, this one is sure.”

Oh right, he’s meant to be hunting for—

What!?!

“W-w-wh?? Pfff, I—wh? Huh!?” Shen Yuan can’t help his startled response okay! He’s a perfectly straight man! Also, it stands to reason that the men of this world—specifically being a red-blooded stallion novel—would also be straight! Shen Yuan may have been born in the body of a woman in this world, but he’s passing as a man very well thank you! “He—Huang-er! He just wanted to spend time as a companion! Not for—not to—to—with a man!? Me! A man!!”

Huang-er lifts one delicate hand and presses it to her forehead as though staving off a headache. “A-Yuan, if you will not bring a man home you will have to bring a woman. You need to properly teach yourself to eat.”

“Ah! But a man!?” Shen Yuan squeaks. “Or a woman!? Aaah, I can’t take either of those! This one will just hang back, if someone jumps to his attention that seems a safe decision he’ll pick her out.”

Huang-er looks ready to ask something else, seems to decide against it, and simply shakes her head. She gathers her skirts and says sternly, “A-Yuan should try to find a target to bring. This one is going to look for her own.”

Shen Yuan feels somewhat cowed by her stern tone after that.

Even still, when she and the other jiejies reunite with Shen Yuan—with some gentlemen in tow—Shen Yuan has nothing to show for his efforts but an awkward smile. 

⪼⊱𓆩 ㅤ♡ 𓆪⊰⪻

Shen Yuan’s issues with hunting never really clear up—but because his Lust doesn’t hit it doesn’t really matter. Sure, he can’t use demonic qi as much as the others. And he isn’t able to do some of the flashier things, like shapeshifting or forming wings to fly, but that’s fine! Shen Yuan finds that he’s good with a blade and most of what he does really wouldn’t be made better by shapeshifting.

Alright. It does suck that he can’t fly. He didn’t even know that succubi could do that—it never was mentioned in the book—and to immediately find out he couldn’t because of being bad at luring a target in was kind of disappointing. Bao-jie keeps an eye on Shen Yuan as the years pass to see if his Lust is going to randomly manifest, but Shen Yuan is just pretty sure he’s a defective succubus.

Hey! It makes sense! He’s a man after all, if everything went completely right he’d be an incubus instead of a succubus! The Madam and the others might be worried, but Shen Yuan is doing just fine, thank you very much. He doesn’t need the added stress of worrying about accidentally touching one of Luo Binghe’s wives anyway. He’s fine, it’s fine!

Most of his time is spent either lazing about or exploring when he can—there is rarely an inbetween for him. The Madam gives him more and more freedom—he’s reasonably sure that this is because she wants to make sure that he stumbles into someone who will trigger his need to get down and dirty. Sorry Madam! It’s not happening for this old man, he’s just a sorry excuse for a succubus and that is just fine by him!

It isn’t bad at all, honestly. It gives him the time to explore, and in doing that the Madam starts to rely on him more. Shen Yuan loves creatures, and specifically knows a lot about them. It means that he knows where to get rare flora and fauna—the bonus being that most aphrodisiacs don’t affect a succubus so he doesn’t even need to worry about stumbling into the plethora of flimsy porn subplots.

That is probably why, on the anniversary of the third year of Shen Yuan’s new life, Madam Meiyin gives him the best gift he’s ever had in his life before. He pulls it out of a box, a bracelet cast in gold with fine emerald gems form a serpentine dragon. It looks so beautifully made that Shen Yuan almost expects it to leap to life in his palms. As it is, Madam Meiyin clasps it around his wrist. It fits snugly there, coiled over it as if it has grown with him. He brushes his thumb over the delicate, gemstone scales. It radiates demonic qi in a steady thrum that seems to match the beat of his heart.

“This bracelet is special,” Madam Meiyin says to him. “Just like my A-Yuan. It is attuned to you and your home—no matter where you should be, you may use this to return to the grotto. You won’t be able to bring what you can’t put in your qiankun pouch or sleeves, but should you find danger we are but a thought away. Only you can use it, A-Yuan, it is yours alone.”

“Ah—Madam,” Shen Yuan says softly. “Thanking the Madam for the beautiful gift.”

“There is more. A-Yuan can use this to teleport short distances, only within sight and this will be limited. The demonic qi here will replenish—though of course can be aided if you have the qi to spare,” the Madam pauses at this, narrowing her eyes at him. “Do not over use it—we both know you have little demonic qi due to your condition.”

“Of course, of course,” Shen Yuan says to her. He twists the bracelet around his wrist, brushing his finger over the warm spine of the dragon. “This Yuan will be careful Madam, he promises.”

He has so many plans for this! With this he can really step up his game as far as where he’s willing to go—he finds his eyes drifting toward the portal to the Endless Abyss. There have been some rare artifacts there that he’s hoped to gather from there. He’s not an idiot okay! As much as he wants to see some of the incredible creatures in the Abyss, he knows full well that his power level is nowhere near that of the protagonist. Traipsing in there without a contingency plan is begging for death.

But now he effectively has a get-out-of-jail-free card! Or maybe Abyss free! Either way, Shen Yuan can’t deny that he wants to go.

“A-Yuan,” the Madam sighs, “Already thinking of going to deadly places. This Madam should not enable this behavior.”

“This one will be careful!” Shen Yuan says, springing to his feet and heading for his cave. He has a qiankun pouch with supplies packed at all times for his expeditions, and he gathers it up immediately. The Madam purses her lips and his sisters shout farewells across the grotto.

“Did I say that A-Yuan can go to the Abyss of all places?” Madam Meiyin says, standing up and striding to his side. Shen Yuan looks up at her and can’t help his unreserved grin. He has appearances to keep up, but this woman saw him naked as a newborn baby when he was reborn in this world okay!?

“Madam didn’t say he couldn’t go,” Shen Yuan says, snapping open one of his favorite fans—this one is painted with a beautiful blooming peach tree—and waving it gently in front of his face. He raises his brows at her and she scoffs, adjusting his robes. “Fine. You may go, but if you are injured even once you will not only never go there but you will never leave this grotto again.”

He’s not sure if she’s serious, but he nods to her nevertheless. She sighs heavily and waves him off. Shen Yuan doesn’t hesitate, heading straight for the portal that he has been most curious about since he first read about them in the books. He turns to look over his shoulder and sees his sisters waving at him cheerily. 

“Come home safe didi!” Li-er shouts from across the grotto.

This is the last thing he hears before Shen Yuan willingly jumps into a portal that leads to hell itself.

Chapter Text

It should come as no surprise, but the Endless Abyss really is absolutely hellish. Shen Yuan becomes extremely grateful for his get-out-of-jail-free card very quickly—and learns its limitations just as quickly honestly. He learns that he essentially sets a sort of fast-travel pin for himself when he portals back to the grotto that he can use to pop right back to where he was. This is extremely useful, because Shen Yuan can use it to escape trouble or re-supply and then not have to worry about losing all the progress he made for the day’s explorations. It also means that he is more willing to pop back home when he finds that out, because he is a lazy man at heart and would prefer to not have to trek all the way back.

Even so, the Endless Abyss is hardly a pleasant place to camp. That, however, is easily sorted by Shen Yuan shamelessly portaling back home to sleep there when he can. Sometimes the bracelet runs out of qi before he can manage it, but he’s a guy that appreciates a good bed okay!? Especially the luxurious one he has back in the grotto…

The point is, Shen Yuan has mentally begun referring to his personal experience in the Endless Abyss as “The Endless Abyss: Lite” or “TEAL” for short. He has to make this shit up on his own, since he’s the only transmigrator (that he knows of) and doesn’t have a System around to make that for him. It is a little embarrassing though, good thing he only has himself to talk to about it.

Shen Yuan is currently exploring one of the few actual forests of the Endless Abyss. Though, it is far from the lush forests of the Mortal Realm. The trees raise like specters around him from dry, red earth. The ground itself seems more like something one would find in a canyon that is sparse with vegetation—the trees seeming almost like they have stubbornly taken root the way that a parasite might. This, it turns out, is accurate. These trees are actually migratory in nature, able to lift themselves by the root and wander to more vibrant places in the Abyss. They then burrow into the land and whatever creatures are around them, slowly draining the area of life and feeding on those unfortunate enough to be killed by the trees themselves should they hunger enough.

That’s right, the trees can kill you here. Wandering Vampire Pines—looking like a long-needled pine with bone-white trunks and needles that are either white (when hungry) or red when well-fed—were encountered by Luo Binghe several times in his journey through the Abyss. The first time resulted in the protagonist being fed on by the hungry trees for nearly a week before he managed to finally use his demonic qi to burn the whole thing down.

Shen Yuan, thankfully, knows well to avoid the trees with needles that appear white or mostly white. Instead he treads over the bone-strewn ground under ones whose long-needles are blood red. They still make an eerie sight, the trees themselves sometimes shift and sway in a way that makes the skin crawl from the wrongness of them.

There are a few of the dangerous, unfed versions of the tree that he spots nearby. He is about to give them a wide berth, but as he walks he notices what appears to be a dead giant, bear-like creature with a scorpion tail and chitinous armor along its back at the base of a group of three of the trees. A Venomous Scorpion Bear—god Airplane, try to be a little creative with names for fuck’s sake—of all things! He knows that they tend to wander in mated pairs with up to two cubs but this one appears to have been looking for a mate or left by its family after its unfortunate fate. It means that, unless blood or ichor is spilled right near the trees, they’ll likely be focused on the prey they’ve already got.

Roots thickly wrap around the creature, some burst from the sockets and out of the nostrils and mouth and drip with dark ichor. The Venomous Scorpion Bear has few things to worry about in terms of predation, but clearly the trees don’t care about that and the plants don’t care the slightest about its main predatory and defense mechanism.

Ah, it’s probably only been dead for an hour at most. Shen Yuan thinks to himself, finding a smooth rock to sit on. After making sure that there are no white-needled Wandering Vampire Pines he dusts any old pine needles off of it before taking a seat and curls his legs up beneath himself. Shame I missed it when it was alive—though they can be aggressive so maybe it’s for the best.

No, he’d still really like to see it alive! It’s cool, okay?! One of the cooler monsters in the Abyss honestly! Ah well, he settles in to sketch the beast being devoured by the trees anyway. At least he can better capture some of the details that would take hiding from an extremely intelligent beast otherwise.

Shen Yuan is focused on his work—though keeping an ear out for trouble—when he hears a distant roaring noise mingled with a strange clicking sound. He snaps his head up, eyes in the direction that the noise came from before something comes hurtling out of the seemingly endless row of trunks.

Hurtling is the best word that he can come up with, as it seems like someone—and it is someone, to his incredible surprise—is thrown into his little clearing. They crash into one of the trees nearby, which lets out a thunderous cracking noise as it splits in two. Blood spurts from the trunk like a geyser of viscera, making Shen Yuan swear viciously as he feels more than sees some of the trees shifting around him.

Shen Yuan has barely gotten to his feet and drawn his sword when what can only be the mate of the Venomous Scorpion Bear barrels into the clearing. It is clearly pissed, and clearly what threw the poor person that also broke one of the bloodthirsty trees down.

“Shit,” Shen Yuan says under his breath. He should teleport out—that’s the smart thing to do—and he almost does. Sorry to you strange person lost in the Abyss, but he’s gotta go be not here!

Except then his brain registers the glowing mark of sin on the brow of the man who was thrown like a baseball by that beast.

It’s! The!! Protagonist!!!

He can’t just abandon Luo Binghe to the beast. If he remembers correctly, this is another scene where the trees almost kill the intrepid traveler—this time thanks to the fact that the Venomous Scorpion Bear is actually a misnomer.

You see, the Venomous Scorpion Bear isn’t actually venomous. The stinger on the end of its tail is basically loaded with the nastiest bacteria Airplane could cook up boosted with demonic qi that makes it a curse as well as an illness. While Heavenly Demons like Luo Binghe are immune to poisons, venom and even most sickness, the Venomous Scorpion Bear’s curse-driven bacteria laid even Luo Binghe low in the book. It took twelve chapters for him to get back on his feet and another thirty-six before he was up to his full power again when he found a panacea. A panacea, that, is fucking near this area!!

Airplane, the hack, had made Luo Binghe have to backtrack to get it!

Shen Yuan can’t leave Luo Binghe to such a fate! Or to suffer through all that alone and just disappear! He’s glad he drew his blade, he runs to the other side of the clearing. A burst of his demonic qi is enough to snag attention—it isn’t a big thing, just a flash of light on the end of the blade he has drawn.

So he does, he casts a glint of light onto the Venomous Scorpion Bear’s face with his blade. The animal stumbles to a stop, swinging its head around just in time to see Shen Yuan shove his sword deep into the corpse of its mate.

Dead or not, the beast recognizes what Shen Yuan has done as “hurting” its partner. The animal’s jaws open and that strange, chittering roar almost makes his eardrums burst. Shen Yuan pulls his blade out of the corpse, and as the beast barrels down on him he gracefully slips to the side. He drags his blade over the furry flank of the Venomous Scorpion Bear—well away from the chitin that protects its back and head like armor—causing the ichor to flow out of its side. The trees shift and groan next to him as the bear spins, its scorpion-like tail rapidly jabbing out for him.

Shen Yuan teleports away, landing inches from where Luo Binghe is soaked with blood from the tree that broke in half. He scrabbles to get the man up and standing, but it becomes abundantly clear that Binghe is unconscious after having been tossed about. He is pretty sure that in the original, the Venomous Scorpion Bear had hauled him off to maul him—thus meaning he escaped being tree food for another five chapters.

Shen Yuan isn’t exactly a bear—at all. Even remotely.

He grits his teeth regardless, grabbing Luo Binghe by the back of his ragged robes and hauling him away by dragging him. The trees around them shift toward them, drawn by the blood—and then he hears the Venomous Scorpion Bear scream .

An animal that is truly in pain is a terrible thing to hear. Shen Yuan winces, head snapping up to spot the beast with roots and branches burrowing hungrily into its side where he cut it. The pines around it have caught on to the fresh scent of blood, and roots burst from the dry earth to wrap around the animal’s legs. It bellows in terror, stinger thunking uselessly into the bark of the trees around it. The pines press closer and closer to the bleeding and dying beast, a lumbering, slow advance punctuated by the Venomous Scorpion Bear’s screams of agony.

Shen Yuan knows he has precious little time to make sure that he and Binghe do not end up the same way. He stoops and scoops Binghe into his arms and almost stumbles under his weight. Even so, he forces himself into a run when he sees roots out of the corner of his eye— aiming for his head.

He ducks, and sprints as fast as he can with an armful of protagonist. The trees around them smell the blood that he and Binghe are covered in, shifting and turning and attacking as they flee. He jumps over what appears to be a dry creek bed, wincing as Binghe’s head cracks into his own. Shen Yuan barely feels the pain of it, aware only of the danger that is hot on their heels.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” Shen Yuan chants breathlessly, and then he sees what might be their doom. His stomach drops as a sheer cliff face juts out of the ground before them, the stone black and sharp and stark against the red-white of the area. He is about to make a hard right when his eyes land on their saving grace—a narrow crack in the stone. Just big enough for a person with enough motivation to wriggle through.

He has plenty of motivation.

Tucking Binghe’s head close to his shoulder, Shen Yuan squeezes the two of them into the tight crevice. He squeezes deep into it, wincing as the glass-like rock behind him slices through his robes and into the meat of his back. With this in mind, he hugs Binghe even closer, desperate to not tear the poor protagonist up any more than he already has been in this scramble.

The sound of creaking wood and splintering stone makes the hair on the back of Shen Yuan’s neck rise. His head snaps over to where the light of the crevice is suddenly almost entirely blotted out by the trunk of one of the trees. The roots begin to slide into the stone around them, and Shen Yuan grits his teeth and pushes through.

It’d be pitch black where they are, but Shen Yuan knows for a fact that this cave has an opening on the other side—because it’s exactly where Luo Binghe had to go to get his panacea!

When they make it to the other side, Shen Yuan almost drops Binghe in his relief. A beautiful patch of serenity sprawls before them. A single, fruit-laden tree towers over a crystal clear pond in the middle of a field of flowers and lush grass. It is so antithetical to the area they were just in, a patch of heaven in hell. Spiritual qi is vibrant in the air and makes Shen Yuan’s head thrum with a strange discomfort—it won’t hurt him though, thankfully. Just feel weird, like a room slightly vibrating underfoot.

Shen Yuan hurries away from the entrance, wincing as his robes start to darken with blood. He makes it to the not carnivorous tree and sets Binghe down before turning to stare warily at the entrance to their little haven. He waits with bated breath to see if the roots will push through after them, but all remains quiet after several long moments. 

A heavy sigh escapes Shen Yuan and his knees buckle beneath him before he leans back against the tree.

It takes a while for his heartrate to slow, and Shen Yuan is aware that he’s still bleeding. Even so, he turns to where Luo Binghe lies against the roots of the harmless tree by that fresh pool of water. The man’s chest rises and falls rapidly, and Shen Yuan can see his eyelids fluttering as if he is trapped in a strange dream. With a wince, Shen Yuan reaches to press the back of his hand to Binghe’s head only to hiss through his teeth. Already, the man has what he is reasonably sure is a fever.

Though, honestly, he isn’t sure how warm Heavenly Demons are meant to be.

“You poor thing,” Shen Yuan mutters—in the webnovel, Binghe would have woken on the other side of the forest and been forced to feverishly put his entrails back into his own body. While he is obviously in much better shape here than he was then, Shen Yuan’s heart still aches to see the man covered in stinking blood and clearly sick. He pulls his pack off his back, pulling out some of his supplies and pulling out some cloth. He moves to dip this into the water, intending to clean the protagonist of his filth.

The water burns like acid—Shen Yuan hisses with surprise as agony races up his arm and makes him drop the cloth in shock. It floats innocently on the water as he jerks his hand back—of course. The water itself is the panacea, high in potent, spiritual qi that purges the illness from him. While Binghe has a spiritual cultivation system that can process such qi, Shen Yuan’s is still based on demonic energy or energy generated from intimate activity. The water is so potent that it’s basically like dipping a hand in chemicals.

Maybe I can wait until he wakes up to get him to clean himself, Shen Yuan considers, eyes looking over Luo Binghe. As if sensing this thought, Binghe whimpers in his sleep and turns his head. Shen Yuan can see beads of sweat tracking through the drying blood as he slowly grows feverish.

Alright! Alright fine. What’s a little discomfort compared to the protagonist’s well-being?

The cloth he’d dipped in the water has started to sink but isn’t so waterlogged that it is out of reach. Rolling the sleeve of his robe up, Shen Yuan grits his teeth and shoves his hand in. The spiritual energy burns and buzzes along his hand like the water is boiling, despite the cool temperature. By the time he pulls his hand out the skin is pink like he has taken a scalding shower, and his palm continues to burn with the water from the cloth.

He ignores it, and continues to ignore it as he slowly wipes the blood from Binghe’s face, neck and hands. It is a painful process, but certainly not to the point that he can’t put up with it. More uncomfortable, really! No need to feel indebted about something so simple, protagonist, this Yuan will put up with a little discomfort for you!

Finally, after Shen Yuan has finished cleaning Binghe up, he gets a proper look at the man. His heart stutters strangely in his chest looking at the man—his face is flushed a pretty pink from the fever, and his lips are plush and parted as he sleeps. Though the sleep seems anything but restful, with his dark lashes and smooth skin he looks like the picture of beauty. If he had been unsure of just who he’d rescued, this would be the thing that made it obvious to him.

A strange feeling seems to lie in his chest—a warm feeling like after drinking wine—as Shen Yuan looks him over. He can’t help but reach out with his other hand to rub his thumb over Luo Binghe’s furrowed brow, “Ah, poor Binghe. Relax now, you won’t come to harm here.”

⪼⊱ 𓆩 ㅤ♡ 𓆪 ⊰⪻

It is not often that Luo Binghe has nightmares.

Since meeting Meng Mo, Luo Binghe’s dreamscape has either been under the dream demon’s influence or his own. He has grown used to being able to take the reins of any dream that tries to drift into a darker theme. It has become more and more commonplace to have to shift such dreams since his fall into the Abyss, but he typically has the chance to do so. This time he does not for some time.

It isn’t until he is bent with his head pressed against the cold hand of his dead mother, tears pouring from his eyes and sobs wracking a diminutive child form, that he even realizes he’s dreaming. It is a realization that threatens to slip through his fingers with a strange fuzziness. The edges of the dream are not so concrete as usual. Harder to grasp, like very fine sand.

“Kid,” Meng Mo says, and the dream seems a little firmer. Luo Binghe grits his teeth, and like sinking claws deep into prey, he hooks onto the edges of his own slumbering mind. The dream realm around them shudders and then shifts violently, changing instead to the tea shop that Meng Mo prefers to set up shop in. 

Binghe doesn’t have any particular places of comfort in his memories, so he allows this to be the main place that the two of them meet for now.

“There you are,” Meng Mo says to him with a snort. His demonic teacher lifts some tea to his lips and mutters to himself, “Thought that you were screwed for a second there kid. Sometimes, I wonder if the heavens themselves are against you. Then I remember that the heavens don’t watch over the Endless Abyss.”

The old man chuckles, as though he has said something funny.

“What happened?” Luo Binghe asks, it feels hard to think. As though he is forced to do so through a fierce headache. He rubs his temples to try to banish the feeling, but it doesn’t quite leave. A snarl twists his face, “What’s wrong with me?”

“Sick, I think. The Venomous Scorpion Bear has a strange kind of venom—I think it might be more of a curse. Seems that you’ve fallen under it boy. Lucky for you, someone’s scooped us up and out of danger or you’d be buried under those awful trees again,” Meng Mo says with a grimace. Luo Binghe’s brow furrows and he reaches for the part of the dream where he knows it will end. Meng Mo, sensing what he is doing adds, “Don’t be hasty kid—obviously they’ll want something from you but we might be able to use them!”

The old man’s voice fades behind him as Luo Binghe’s eyes snap open. His body hurts— it aches like the memory of beatings that left him lying in the woodshed for days on end. Even his gums ache, and he feels like blinking is a great effort. He struggles to sit up, only to feel a gentle hand on his chest.

“Shhh, don’t sit up,” a soft, melodic voice fills his ears. Luo Binghe drags his gaze to the one who spoke. Who sits next to him is a slender, small man who looks absolutely delicate in frame. Luo Binghe feels like he could accidentally shatter this creature just by breathing incorrectly, for nothing so beautiful should be able to exist in this world and be allowed to exist Certainly not in a place like the Endless Abyss. The man’s lips are pursed in an expression that might be concern but reminds Binghe absurdly of a pout.

He wants, badly, to kiss those lips.

“You’re very ill,” the man says to him. “I promise I’m not here to hurt you, I want to help. The water and fruit here will help to cure you, but it may take some time for them to fully work. You must rest in the meantime, let yourself heal.”

The promise reminds Binghe that he needs to be wary. The explanation tells him that this is a person who has managed to immediately place Luo Binghe in his debt—which, in the Endless Abyss, is a person to be leery of. His fingers twitch, longing for a blade or for the strength to at least sit up and try to intimidate the man.

What do you want? Luo Binghe wants to snarl at him, but those eyes are so gentle. They’re dark—dark with hints of green, he realizes. Like those of a god that walks among the trees. The comparison makes his head buzz dizzily. Instead he asks, “Who are you?”

His voice comes out as a hoarse rasp. The man hastens to dip what appears to be a teacup in the water and winces.

“Ah—this one’s name is Shen Yuan, my Lord,” the man whispers. He helps Binghe to sit up slightly and softly utters, “Drink this, it’ll help.”

Binghe tries—he really does. Those beseeching green eyes strike a strange chord in him. They tell him that he has to do all he can to do what the man—Shen Yuan—asks of him. But before he can close his lips around that cup’s rim, his mind his dragged back down into unconsciousness once more.

At least, it seems, a guardian watches over him. This should worry Luo Binghe—should make his skin crawl.

Instead, it just makes it harder to fight the pull of sleep.