“By the way, here’s this back to you.” Su Mo took out the Demonic Beast Stone and returned it to Shuang’er.
Shuang’er was surprised. “This Demonic Beast Stone is a supreme treasure, and you’re just giving it back to me like that?”
“Since we’re allies, we need to be honest with each other. Things that belong to you naturally should be returned. It’s just that those desires I accidentally absorbed… I’m afraid I can’t give those back to you.” Su Mo’s expression was a little awkward.
“No worries. Since you’re willing to return the Demonic Beast Stone, consider the desire energy a gift from me.” She took the stone, then suddenly looked up, just in time to meet Su Mo’s slightly expectant gaze.
“I know what you really want. Since we’re allies, of course, I’ll give you what you want.”
Su Mo was visibly happy, the corners of his mouth practically impossible to keep down.
The Demonic Eye — one of the most powerful secret arts of the Demonic Tribe. Once mastered, it allows one to perform soul-shifting techniques.
This was what he had always wanted.
The only catch is that this secret art is extremely difficult to practice. It demands a lot from the practitioner’s mental strength and willpower, and you also have to train in a special secret realm to pull it off.
“Then I thank you very much.”
“You are my beloved consort. What’s mine is yours. Don’t mention it.”
Oh, right — there was still something he hadn’t said. He needed to make it clear, and fast.
But before he could even open his mouth, Shuang’er asked first: “Your real name is Su Mo?”
“That’s right.”
“The person you swapped souls with is called Ye Qingyi, and the person you disguised yourself as using the artifact’s rules is called Chiba Makoto?”
Su Mo was taken aback. “How do you know I disguised myself?”
Shuang’er rolled her eyes at him and said impatiently, “These artifact rules only fool rookies below the Demigod realm. To someone like me, who’s at the Demigod realm, they’re no different from toys.”
So she really was at the Demigod realm. No wonder the Yin Fire couldn’t break her illusion earlier. It must be a trait of Demigod-level powerhouses — that is, S-Class. There aren’t any powerhouses like that among all of humanity yet.
Oh, right — Jade Master definitely is one. He’s so strong, able to travel through time and space at will. He feels even more powerful than Shuang’er. If I ever get the chance to meet him in the future, I’ll definitely have to ask.
Realizing his disguise was useless, Su Mo canceled the illusion effect of the Bagua Mirror and revealed his true face.
Xiao Xiao’s eyes lit up. She dashed over, grabbed Su Mo’s face, and tried to kiss him. “Wow! Little auntie is even prettier than Mom!”
Su Mo felt like a cold stare had pierced right through him. He followed his instinct and looked — sure enough, it was Shuang’er.
“So this Ye Qingyi is currently using your body?”
“Yep!” Su Mo nodded.
Shuang’er’s gaze turned even colder. “Then — is Ye Qingyi the one you like?”
From her expression, she was definitely hoping he’d say no, or at least lie. But Su Mo didn’t hesitate at all as he admitted, “Yes, she’s my girlfriend, and she’s going to be my wife someday.”
The air suddenly went quiet. Shuang’er walked over, took Xiao Xiao from Su Mo’s arms, then ordered someone to take her away.
Now they were the only two left in the room. Su Mo took a step back. “What are you trying to do?”
Shuang’er looked a little down. She poured herself a cup of tea, downed it in one go, felt it wasn’t enough, and had another cup — one after another.
This was the first time Su Mo had ever run into a situation like this. He felt completely at a loss. After hesitating for a bit, he stepped forward, snatched the cup from her hand, and tried to act calm as he said, “Drinking too much tea will make you bloated… uh, I mean, your stomach will feel too full.”
He almost blurted out “kill you” instead of “bloated.”
Good thing he caught himself in time. Otherwise, whether Shuang’er would die from tea or not, he’d definitely get beaten to death.
“Is this you caring about me?” Shuang’er said casually.
Su Mo touched his nose. “Uh… yeah, I guess.”
She suddenly stood up and looked off into the distance. “By the way, I’m planning to send Hong with you to Earth. She’s in closed-door training right now, trying to break through. You can use these next few days to learn the Demonic Eye.”
Su Mo, seeing her suddenly bring this up, went along with it. “Alright. I’m ready to start anytime.”
Another moment of silence.
“Su Mo.”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing. Just — it’s the first time I’ve known your name. Wanted to say it.”
“Oh.”
Su Mo stood there awkwardly. Leaving didn’t feel right either. For a moment, he was really embarrassed.
Just as he finally figured out what to say and was about to speak, Shuang’er suddenly jumped to her feet, her eyes burning into Su Mo’s. “Wait a minute — you are my beloved consort. And you didn’t refuse back then either.”
Su Mo quickly tried to defend himself. “Given the situation back then, I couldn’t refuse!”
“I don’t care about that. At least for now, you’re still my consort. No one can change that.” Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed Su Mo, who was trying to escape. “Tonight, you’re sharing my bed. You’re not going anywhere.”
Su Mo felt like crying but had no tears. “I can’t really do anything right now! What’s the point of keeping me here?”
“I don’t care. Tonight, you’re staying with me.”
The Snow Domain was nothing in front of a Demigod. Shuang’er easily overpowered Su Mo, and he ended up lying on the bed, completely helpless.
Just when Su Mo thought she was going to do something to him, she simply lay down beside him and said fiercely, “Sleep!”
There was no way Su Mo could fall asleep. He was already planning how to escape. But then Shuang’er suddenly turned toward him and said in a very domineering tone, “Listen to me. I don’t care what’s going on between you and that Ye Qingyi. Here, you are my consort. Got it?”
Su Mo furrowed his brow and said seriously, “Sister Shuang’er, you and I both know that ‘consort’ is just an empty title. It doesn’t mean anything.”
He paused, then continued in a calm tone, “I could totally just pretend to go along with it, learn the Demonic Eye, and then leave here without a care. I don’t have to argue with you. But you know what? I don’t want to do that.”
Seeing how serious he was, Shuang’er asked, “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to deceive your feelings. If I did that, maybe it wouldn’t affect me at all — but you’d be different.” Su Mo looked her straight in the eyes and said earnestly, “What you like is just a shadow. You don’t even really like me — because I’m the first and only male you’ve ever met. That’s why you feel this way. And right now, I’m not even a real man — just a girl with a male soul. Think about it. Is that the kind of person you actually like?”
Shuang’er didn’t answer.
She didn’t know what to say.
Because all she knew was that the man with the soul form seemed so charming to her. Every move he made caught her attention, and she found herself thinking about him all the time.
Back then, she thought — this must be what liking someone feels like.
But after hearing Su Mo’s words, she hesitated.
He was right. Right now, Su Mo was a girl. Aside from the soul level, he was completely a girl. If she liked him, what exactly did she like?
His soul?
How was that any different from imagining something out of thin air?
The truth was — she also had her own reasons for being willing to teach Su Mo the Demonic Eye. But what she hadn’t expected was that he already had someone he loved — someone who swapped bodies with him, someone he was incredibly close to.
When she first heard that news, her heart ached for some reason — a sharp, throbbing pain. It felt like something precious she had just gained had been snatched away.
Why was that?
