Rest in a Demon's Embrace

Luo Xiao’s face was bright red, but he dared not show his anger with anything but a few glares at Jiang Yao. So, instead, he chewed his food properly and said with a low bashful voice, “It tastes good.”

Jiang Yao was thrilled with his reaction and couldn’t help but reach out his arms and drag him into a warm embrace.

“Xiaoxiao, why are you so adorable?” he asked with mirth in his voice. With a smile on his lips, he buried his head in Luo Xiao’s nape, and his hot breath tickled Luo Xiao’s skin, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Please let me go,” Luo Xiao said embarrassedly. Although they were sitting next to one another on a bench, he’d never thought that Jiang Yao would behave like this.

When he looked around, he saw that many people were openly staring at them. Some had their forks frozen in mid-air, others had dropped their glasses, so their drinks spilled all over their clothes, and others just sat completely stunned and watched them.

Every single person within the restaurant stared at them, and Luo Xiao was so embarrassed that he hoped that the earth would open up and swallow him.

“Jiang Yao, please let me go,” he said with a trembling voice as he was utterly embarrassed. The entire place was silent like a graveyard, so everyone heard his voice, and when they heard how he casually called the prince’s name like this, everyone understood that the relationship between the two of them wasn’t simple at all.

“Okay,” Jiang Yao said, relenting even though he felt like being spoiled for a bit longer. But, he heard the trembling voice of Luo Xiao and understood that his actions had truly embarrassed him this time, to the point where he was unsure of how to react. Jiang Yao had also noticed the silence in the restaurant, clearly everyone was just watching them.

Sighing, Jiang Yao wondered what he should do. It was clear to him that his family, especially his fourth brother, would find out about his relationship soon.

Since he had used the sigil, he had admitted who he was, and everyone here knew this now. His behavior with the young man was also very obvious. It was clear that rumors would follow them in the future.

“I hope you don’t regret your decision later on, Xiaoxiao,” Jiang Yao mumbled to himself as he stroked Luo Xiao’s head.

“I will protect you forever, no matter who tries to attack you. I will make them regret daring to offend me, but you have to get stronger. I can’t always be by your side, so you have to be able to protect yourself as well.”

“I will try,” Luo Xiao agreed after a second. He knew he had to improve since he wanted to take revenge on Jiang Yao’s fourth brother. If he wanted a chance, he had to be much stronger. He didn’t know exactly how strong Jiang Yao’s fourth brother was, but he definitely wasn’t at his level.

“Eat some vegetables,” Luo Xiao said as he used his chopsticks to place a few leeks and other vegetables on Jiang Yao’s plate.

This scene looked exactly like a caring wife taking care of her husband causing the many observing experts to all blush. He was as beautiful as a woman, as caring as a wife, and easily teased so they understood why Jiang Yao had picked him.

Luo Xiao ate the food but he drank almost none of his wine. He’d never had alcohol before, much less wine. His father had always refused to let him drink because of his weak constitution, but now he was drinking wine. Even the few sips he had drunk caused him to feel slightly elated and dizzy.

Jiang Yao saw his eyes were teary and that his complexion had turned rosy from only a few sips which caused the corners of his lips to rise into a smile.

“Try some more of the wine, it’s very good,” Jiang Yao urged Luo Xiao, and although he didn’t really want to, he tasted a bit more feeling even dizzier than before.

While for the most part people had gone back to their meals and started cleaning their spilled drinks off their clothes, everyone in the restaurant still glanced at the two of them from time to time. Even the ones who had finished their meals decided to stay, ordering some after meal snacks and fruits so that they could observe the legendary Jiang Yao and his companion, Luo Xiao.

These observers looked at Luo Xiao with pity. It was clear that Jiang Yao was trying to get him drunk for his own amusement.

Luo Xiao was tipsy. He felt giddy and happy, and he also found that the taste of the wine became better and better the more he drank. Eventually, he was so drunk that he couldn’t even tell where the sun rose from.

Seeing this, Jiang Yao laughed. Luo Xiao was more talkative now than ever before, it was as if his fears had vanished.

“How far away is the Tiansong Empire from here?” Luo Xiao asked as he looked at Jiang Yao with big teary eyes, reminding Jiang Yao of a small puppy.

“Quite far,” Jiang Yao said with a chuckle. Luo Xiao looked at him with his big puppy eyes as if he wanted to say something but held himself back.

Without wasting any time, Jiang Yao created a barrier around himself and Luo Xiao so that people could see them, but not hear them.

Luo Xiao asked many questions about Jiang Yao. He asked about his background, his home, his family, and his strength. Jiang Yao answered all of them without really giving an answer that Luo Xiao could use, and thus he didn’t learn much more about him.

Getting annoyed, Luo Xiao pouted. His pout was so cute that Jiang Yao started laughing out loud.

“Don’t make fun of me,” Luo Xiao managed to get out while being drunk. “I want to know more about you but you won’t answer me,” he complained, and his words went straight into Jiang Yao’s heart. “You want to know more about me?” he asked, surprised. Luo Xiao nodded, albeit with some delay. “I really want to know all there is to know about you. I like…” before he had time to finish the sentence, he toppled over and lost consciousness.

Jiang Yao reacted fast and caught him before he fell from the table. He let him lean against his shoulder. “You like what?” he asked, almost panicked. But, the only thing he heard in reply was mumbling from Luo Xiao. It seemed that he was out cold.

“Don’t do this to me,” Jiang Yao muttered, “I want to know what you feel.”

Still, no reply came from Luo Xiao. Jiang Yao sighed and placed a kiss on his forehead. He gestured for the waiter to come to their table. He had canceled the barrier just before his call.

“Here’s for the meal, we’ll take our leave now,” he said as he handed over an Earth Grade Spirit Crystal. The meal would at most cost thirty gold considering it was a top-tier restaurant, but Jiang Yao easily paid out an Earth Grade Spirit Crystal. Seeing this, the waiter’s eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly bowed deeply.

Seeing that Jiang Yao was leaving, all the others also paid their bills and left. Soon the rumors about the Seventh Demon Prince visiting Heavenward City was everywhere, and the fact that he had a small boy by his side was news that everyone enjoyed hearing about. After a day, everyone in the entire Heavenward City had heard that the Seventh Demon Prince was in their city and that he had a small lover by his side.

Everyone knew of the Seventh Demon Prince. He was, after all, the second strongest expert in the continent. But all previous rumors spoke about his ruthlessness so to hear about him being tender to a youth was unexpected.

It was not only the gossipers who enjoyed this news, soon some information dealers used their long-range communication devices to bring the news to certain outstanding experts of the Tiansong Empire.

“Seventh Brother has taken a liking to a small boy?” a deep and unfathomable voice sounded in a dark room. “No one knows whether the boy is a human or a spirit because of his appearance. He is as ethereal as a spirit, but he is weak. Is this a trap?”

The speaker was unsure, but when he suddenly smiled, a row of pearly white teeth were displayed on the face of the sinister-looking man. “My Seventh Brother can’t love anyone other than himself, so it’s obvious that he’s trying to trick me. Well then, let’s step into the trap and see what he has prepared.”

Back in Heavenward City, Luo Xiao slept in their bed. He’d been out cold for more than twelve hours and was still sleeping soundly like a small child.

When he finally woke up, he couldn’t help but groan in pain. He felt as if a horde of elephants were stomping on his head.

“Are you okay?” Jiang Yao asked worriedly. He was so strong that alcohol had no effect on him anymore, so seeing Luo Xiao having a hangover caused him to feel slightly guilty.

Luo Xiao clearly felt that it was also Jiang Yao’s fault so he couldn’t help but glare at him, but when he saw his guilty appearance, he quickly softened up.

“I’m okay. It’s just that my head hurts,” he said while wincing in pain. Jiang Yao understood that a hangover was likely to happen when one was drinking the amount of wine that Luo Xiao had.

“Wait there,” Jiang Yao said to Luo Xiao who was seated on the bed. He went towards the younger man and sat next to him. He then reached out his hands and started massaging his temples with soft, gentle movements.

The massage made Luo Xiao feel incredibly comfortable. Thanks to the gentle rubbing on his temples, the aching in his head slowly vanished.

He felt so comfortable, that if he had been a cat he would have been purring. A moan almost escaped his lips from how much he was enjoying it, but he managed to muffle it before it escaped.

“Say, Xiaoxiao, do you remember last night?” Jiang Yao asked gently while massaging his temples and looking at Luo Xiao with curiosity.

“Not really, it’s all hazy to me,” Luo Xiao admitted. This was the truth, he really couldn’t remember what had happened the previous night. Had he perhaps done something wrong?

“You said you liked something,” Jiang Yao continued. This had kept him awake all night. What or who was it that Luo Xiao liked? Could it really be him?

“I like something?” Luo Xiao was completely clueless. “I guess if I said I liked something it should have been the wine? I drank quite a lot of it.”

“You liked the wine?” Jiang Yao asked as he stopped massaging Luo Xiao’s temples. He felt that Luo Xiao was playing with him. How could he say that it was the wine he liked when he clearly said it in the same sentence as wanting to know more about him?

“Are you sure it’s not me you like?” Jiang Yao asked straightforwardly. He was not going to let Luo Xiao go easily, and he observed how Luo Xiao’s eyes widened in surprise when he heard the question. After a few seconds, his face turned so red that even his ears were scalding, and his eyes darted from one side to another unsure how to answer.

“Of… Of course, it was the wine,” Luo Xiao said, unable to even glance at Jiang Yao. His behavior was so adorable, and although he said he liked the wine, even Jiang Yao could guess that there was at least a bit of Luo Xiao’s mind that was occupied with him. This was a good enough result, so he couldn’t help but smirk slightly.

“You’re mean,” Luo Xiao muttered while his cheeks and ears were still red like blood. His words caused Jiang Yao to laugh out loud. “I think everyone knows that I’m not a good person,” he said with a smile on his face. He was clearly very pleased with the bashful and embarrassed expression on Luo Xiao’s face, but even so, he was still unable to tell if this like that Luo Xiao felt was a childish like of dependency or if it was feelings similar to his own. Still, at least they were getting closer to one another.