Tianqiong City had fallen completely into darkness. With martial law in effect, the surroundings were eerily quiet.
The evening breeze brushed past, lifting the hem of the girl's dress and her long hair, lending her an extra touch of liveliness.
Those devil-like ram horns, along with a beauty that could rival even a fox enchantress, allowed Ye Ling to immediately identify her race—a Succubus.
But… wasn't she missing a tail?
The thought had barely crossed Ye Ling's mind when a long, dark, soft, ribbon-like object slid out from beneath the girl's skirt.
When he looked more closely, he saw that it was indeed the black, heart-tipped tail he'd seen in his notebook.
Running into a Succubus in a cultivation world—was something fundamentally wrong here?
"Who am I?"
The girl sat atop the table, swinging her slender legs, pale and smooth like lotus roots. She tapped her index finger against the corner of her lips, striking a thoughtful pose.
"Eve! Daddy just calls me Eve."
Eve called out to Ye Ling excitedly, her voice full of innocent cheer.
Unlike the Succubi Ye Ling had imagined, she carried none of that vulgar, overtly seductive aura. Instead, she radiated a kind of charm that stirred people's longing for beautiful things.
In other words, what one was drawn to wasn't Eve herself, but the idealized beauty people projected onto her.
In a sense, it was a more advanced form of charm.
"Eve, huh?"
Ye Ling narrowed his eyes. He wasn't overcome by lust. If anything, he felt an odd urge to punch her once—hard enough to make her cry for a long time.
He couldn't bring himself to hit a little girl, but if it were a teenage girl instead, he'd have no problem delivering a solid dose of society's harsh lessons.
After all, a child this "innocent" wouldn't survive in society with just one beating.
"I already told you, just call me Brother. I don't like being called Daddy."
If it were in bed, Ye Ling might have gone along with it, but being called that in everyday life was just asking to be dragged away by guards as a pervert.
"You don't like it?"
Eve seemed completely unaware of any danger. She smiled sweetly at Ye Ling and said, "Then I'll call you Brother."
"..."
Faced with that innocent smile, Ye Ling—who had felt his fists hardening—hesitated.
Although she had already grown into a girl's figure, that cute, youthful face hadn't changed at all. Actually laying a hand on her would feel like a waste. If Leng Qingqiu hadn't kept that perpetually cold expression and initially dressed in men's clothing, he might not have hit her that hard either.
Still, hesitation aside, he wasn't about to lower his guard just because of a smile.
"Who sent you?"
Ye Ling wasn't stupid. A child this adorable wouldn't just wander up to him without someone behind the scenes.
"Sent me? Brother, what do you mean?"
Yi Fu looked utterly confused, as if she genuinely didn't understand what Ye Ling was implying.
"Drop the act. A high-grade existence like you wouldn't be casually let loose without some force backing you."
Hardening his heart, Ye Ling spoke bluntly.
To be honest, interrogating such an innocent-looking face felt as cruel as explaining sexual education to Bai Yiyi.
"No one sent me."
Eve showed a look of realization and answered naturally, "I was just hungry, so I came out looking for something to eat."
"???"
Faced with Eve's blunt honesty, Ye Ling became even more cautious. But—
[Eve]
[Realm: Qi Refining Stage, First Level (Based on Host's Strength)]
The system had never lied to Ye Ling. It also used his own strength as a reference point, which meant that Eve's cultivation, as displayed, was undoubtedly only at the first level of Qi Refining.
In fact, "Qi Refining First Level" was merely a general label for beings with cultivation. Eve might not have even reached that stage yet. Based on Ye Ling's perception, the energy within her was pitifully small.
As for whether she was hiding her cultivation?
Even Bai Yiyi and Ai Yueli couldn't conceal theirs from the system. Ye Ling didn't believe that the first Succubus he happened to meet would be that extraordinary.
Incidentally, after he stopped being constrained by the cultivation world's level system and used only his own strength as a template to assess Bai Yiyi and Ai Yueli, all he saw was pitch-black [???].
In other words, the system couldn't even attempt to equate his strength with theirs.
So was this girl lying to him?
Or was it that she simply couldn't perceive his strength at all?
Either way, Ye Ling's expression turned cold. His tone became serious as he asked Eve, "What do you feed on?"
If she truly fed on humans, he would have to consider subduing her.
As for actually killing her—
To be honest, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Putting it bluntly, his lust had stirred.
And from a purely principled standpoint, humans fed on all manner of living things. By the same logic, all living things could feed on humans. This was the cycle of Heaven and Earth. From Eve's perspective, she wasn't in the wrong.
Likewise, as a human, Ye Ling killing Eve would count as eliminating a threat for humanity.
But he had no interest in being a hero.
As long as Eve's background was clean and she hadn't done anything too excessive, he could even consider keeping her as a pet.
Eve's answer, however, exceeded his expectations—though, in hindsight, it did make sense.
"Human vitality!"
Eve raised both hands excitedly and said something utterly inappropriate to Ye Ling.
"Brother, your vitality is amazing!"
"..."
Ye Ling's face darkened, his emotions tangled beyond words.
If he were to say he wasn't happy at all, that would be a lie. Being praised by such an adorable girl did give him a bit of satisfaction.
But he also knew that being too happy about it would make him seem like a complete pervert.
In any case, the situation had clearly gone off the rails.
"Wait… something's not right!"
Ye Ling suddenly caught a glaring inconsistency and demanded, "How did you know where I'd be teleporting today? And you still say you weren't sent by anyone!"
Trying to fool me?
You're still too inexperienced.
After a brief moment of mental turmoil, Ye Ling forced himself to calm down again.
"Hm?"
Eve shook her head. "I didn't know Brother would come, but Sister's vitality is pretty good too."
"???"
Ye Ling froze, murmuring to himself, "Leng Qingqiu?"
"The sister who dresses in men's clothes."
Afraid Ye Ling might not understand, Eve added with a bright smile.
"I get it… but give me a moment."
Trusting the system, Ye Ling believed that Eve couldn't actually hurt him. He moved to sit on the other side, lowered his head, and began to sort out the situation. He needed some time to process the information.
On the other side, Eve obediently climbed down from the table and sat where Ye Ling had been sitting before. Then—
"Sniff sniff"
"What are you doing?"
Startled by the strange sound, Ye Ling looked up and saw Eve sniffing the armrest of the chair.
"I'm smelling Brother's scent."
Eve replied matter-of-factly. Ignoring Ye Ling's stunned expression, she continued sniffing the armrest as if she'd found a priceless treasure.
"Don't you think that's kind of perverted?"
Ye Ling couldn't stop himself and blurted out what he was thinking.
"Perverted? What's that?"
Eve looked genuinely confused. She paused her strange behavior and looked at Ye Ling. "I'm full already, but Brother smells really nice. It's a scent I like."
"…"
Faced with Eve's utterly innocent expression, Ye Ling found himself at a loss for words.
Seeing him stay silent, Eve took the initiative. "Eve likes the pure scent of a virgin the most. That sister's virgin vitality was good too, but Brother's vitality is even better. It makes me feel safe."
Pfft…!
Ye Ling was instantly broken.
What's wrong with being a virgin?
Did virgins steal your family's rice?
He really wanted to say that, but Eve was clearly praising him, which made any retort pointless.
The feeling of throwing a punch and hitting cotton left Ye Ling extremely uncomfortable.
Wait…
Leng Qingqiu is a virgin?
Alright, that balances things out.
"Eve, are you a Succubus?"
Ye Ling decided to change the subject. If they kept talking about vitality, he felt like he'd be the first to crack.
Besides, he was genuinely puzzled. When he'd held Eve during the day, he hadn't sensed even the slightest trace of demonic energy or any aura foreign to humans.
But looking at Eve now, she was clearly giving off an aura similar to that of the demon race. Was this what the aura of a magical creature felt like?
"Yes… and no."
Eve shook her head. "My father was human, and my mother was a Succubus. I guess that makes me half Succubus?"
After saying that, she happily went back to sniffing the armrest again, as if determined to take in every last trace.
"So that's why…"
Ye Ling had more or less guessed it, though he still didn't fully trust Eve.
[Eve]
[Race: Half-Human, Half-Succubus]
Only after seeing the change in Eve's race did Ye Ling finally let out a breath of relief. Deep down, he truly didn't want Eve to be lying to him. If she were, he'd have no choice but to become her enemy.
"Brother, thank you for letting me eat my fill."
After finishing off the last bit of Ye Ling's scent, Eve stood up and bowed politely to him.
"Sit down. Tell me about yourself."
Ye Ling's expression softened completely. Although his guard was still up, he wanted to know Eve's true purpose.
More importantly—
You're not as foolish as you look.
If Eve were truly foolish, she wouldn't have chosen to sniff the armrest. She would have thrown herself straight into Ye Ling's arms.
And if she really had done that, Ye Ling would have struck without hesitation.
"Me?"
Eve looked thoughtful, as if searching her memories. After a long while, she said, "I don't remember much about before. I only remember sitting on a very, very long ship, and then arriving here."
"A ship?"
Ye Ling's interest was piqued. "You came from over there?"
He deliberately didn't specify where "over there" was. He wanted to see how Eve would respond.
Little girl, the bigger the story, the more holes it has.
With ordinary people, that might not matter. But with Ye Ling's ability to dissect problems, even the tiniest flaw wouldn't escape him.
So he found himself looking forward to Eve's performance.