Demon Child! (1)

"The Dao chooses its cultivator, and the cultivator chooses their path," he murmured to himself, the words of the ancient text still echoing in his mind.

It was as though fate had already sealed his direction.

Everything had been decided.

Hesitation would only slow him down now.

Out of the corner of his eye, Su Xiaobai noticed Wei Jun had fallen asleep, his delicate face serene in the flickering light of the dying fire. 'This guy,' Su Xiaobai mused, 'does he not fear I might kill him in his sleep?'

He chuckled darkly at the thought. Without strength, Wei Jun was as helpless as any other. Su Xiaobai could easily end him with just a thought. It would take no effort at all to eliminate him and carry on with his journey.

Su Xiaobai found a patch of soft ground and lay down, his mind still buzzing with everything he had learned.

The fire crackled softly beside him as he stared into the sky, wondering how soon his own power would grow.

With the seeds of sin firmly rooted in his mind, Su Xiaobai drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep, the path before him more certain than ever.

The Way of a Sinner had chosen him.

There was no turning back now.

_______

The morning sun filtered gently through the trees, casting a warm, golden glow over the campsite. Everything was peaceful, the occasional rustle of leaves the only sound breaking the silence.

But that didn't mean the peace would last—because Wei Jun was pacing around like a lost chicken, his eyes darting nervously toward Su Xiaobai.

There was a reason for Wei Jun's unusually quiet demeanor this morning.

Su Xiaobai, still fast asleep, had his hand stretched out beside him, and there—clutched in his palm—was something so bizarre it had Wei Jun sweating bullets.

A small, doll-like figure no bigger than a fist was latched onto Su Xiaobai's fingers. The figure had long, flowing black hair, and its red, glowing eyes flickered softly as it silently 'sucked blood' from Su Xiaobai's fingertips.

Wei Jun had seen a lot of freaky shit in his time, but this? This was beyond creepy.

'What the hell is that thing?' he thought, his face growing pale. 'A cursed puppet? A blood spirit?'

Wei Jun gulped, glancing around at the magical barrier Su Xiaobai had set up.

The ban—a series of enchanted stones placed around the camp—was supposed to protect Su Xiaobai from unexpected attacks while he slept.

And it worked, against bandits, spirit beasts, and, hell, even Xiantian Sect disciples who pop out of nowhere... but apparently not against creepy blood-sucking dolls!

Wei Jun inched closer, carefully stepping over one of the protective stones. "Brother Su..." Wei Jun whispered softly, not wanting to spook the blood-sucking figure attached to it, "Brother Su... wake up... something's not right."

Su Xiaobai stirred slightly but didn't wake. His hand twitched, but the doll-like figure didn't let go, continuing to drain his blood in eerie silence.

"Brother Su! Seriously!" Wei Jun hissed again, his voice a little more urgent now.

"Mmm..." Su Xiaobai groaned, his mind still wrapped in the warmth of sleep, oblivious to the world around him.

Then, Wei Jun stepped forward, and the stones around the camp began to vibrate slightly—reminding Wei Jun he was still inside the protective ban.

Su Xiaobai cracked open one eye, groaning as Wei Jun's face came into view.

"!"

Su Xiaobai got a mini-heart attack, before sitting upright, and looked at Wei Jun pale face with annoyance, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Su Xiaobai grumbled, still half-asleep, his voice thick with irritation. "Why are you pacing around like a headless chicken? What, did your grandma just die or something?"

Wei Jun flinched. "Uh, no... but—"

"But what?!" Su Xiaobai interrupted, rubbing his eyes in frustration. "I put up a fucking ban to keep assholes and monsters out, and yet here you are, screaming like someone's robbing your grandma's grave. What now, huh?"

"Brother, just—" Wei Jun started, his voice strained.

Su Xiaobai sat up, yawning loudly and cracking his neck.

He had barely gotten a decent night's sleep, and this clown was ruining it. "Look, whatever it is, it can wait. I don't need your—"

Then, he felt it. A slight tugging on his hand. Su Xiaobai blinked, his eyes narrowing as his gaze dropped down to his fingers. Something... was stuck to them.

"What the hell?"

Su Xiaobai shook his hand lazily, half expecting whatever was clinging to him to fall off. But it didn't. In fact, the tugging sensation grew even more pronounced, almost like something really didn't want to let go.

With an annoyed scowl, Su Xiaobai finally looked down at his hand, his groggy brain taking a moment to catch up.

There, latched onto his fingers like some beautiful little parasite, was a tiny, doll-like figure.

Long black hair spilled over its porcelain-like face, and its glowing red eyes gazed up at him with what could almost be called innocence—if it wasn't actively sucking his goddamn blood.

"What the fuck is this?!"

He recoiled, shaking his arm wildly as he tried to fling the thing off. But the doll clung to him like a tick on a pig, still latched onto his fingers with its tiny mouth.

Su Xiaobai flicked his hand harder, desperation creeping into his movements. "Get off me, you creepy little demon!" he growled, shaking his arm with the vigor of a man trying to swat a giant mosquito.

But the damn thing wouldn't budge, still feeding away like it was at an all-you-can-eat blood buffet.

Wei Jun, who had been nervously standing a few steps back, cleared his throat. "Brother... that's what I was trying to tell you. That thing's been sucking your blood for a while now."

Su Xiaobai froze mid-shake and shot him a glare that could melt iron. "And you didn't think to mention it sooner?!" he frowned, "You just stood there watching while this thing drained me like a blood peach? You didn't think to maybe, I don't know, throw a rock at me?"

Wei Jun smiled weakly, waving his hands defensively. "I didn't want to piss it off! What if it decided to suck me dry next?"

"Great, so you let it snack on me instead? Real brotherly of you," Su Xiaobai cursed under his breath, finally gripping the puppet's hair and yanking it off with a sharp tug.

He held the damn thing up by its hair, glaring at its limp, lifeless body. "What in the heavens are you?" he muttered, examining the doll, which now looked deceptively harmless.

Just as he began to relax—

BAM!

The doll's eyes flashed, it kicked off his hand, did a full backflip in the air like a damn acrobat, and latched right back onto his finger.

Its tiny, sharp teeth sunk into his flesh again, as if mocking him with its persistence.

"!!!!!!"

Su Xiaobai's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "The demon child?!" he blurted out, instinctively connecting the glowing red eyes to the terrifying creature he'd encountered back in the cave.

His face darkened as if he had swallowed a bitter pill. 'Did that thing follow me all the way here?' he thought with growing dread.

And now... it was sucking him off?

"..." Su Xiaobai's expression twisted into one of pure resignation, as if the universe had finally decided to have a good laugh at his expense.

He let out a long, defeated sigh, like a man who had simply given up on life.

"Someone kill me..."

With a weary groan, Su Xiaobai bent down and began gathering the enchanted rocks he had set up to create the protective ban around his camp.

Clearly, the ban was worth about as much as a wet paper talisman, given the circumstances.

As he sat back down, the demon child continued to happily suck his blood like it had just found its new favorite juice box.

Wei Jun, now a bit more confident that the puppet wasn't about to jump onto him, took a cautious step forward. "Brother Su... what are you going to do?"