Chapter 23

Chapter 23

This kiss was far more intense than the one in the confessional.

The unfamiliar warmth of his body, his breath, and the moist contact of their lips and tongues were overwhelmingly invasive. Tears immediately welled in Xue Zhao's eyes; he felt utterly consumed.

Sweet "nourishment" surged through him, even lightly caressing his hair.

Xue Zhao's shoulders trembled slightly, yet he was powerless to resist. The kiss finally ended only when he was on the verge of gasping for air.

[Life value increased by 12 points]

Xiu Jixin pulled back slightly, his own breathing a little ragged, his dark eyes fixed intently on Xue Zhao.

Xue Zhao took shallow, quick breaths, his cheeks flushed, his eyelashes slightly damp with tears, and the corners of his eyes red.

It was just a kiss, yet he looked as though he had never been treated this way before, on the verge of tears, as if he had been severely wronged.

Beyond that, Xue Zhao showed other subtle changes: his fair skin glowed with a new radiance, and the fatigue from his late night had significantly receded from his eyes.

At this moment, Xue Zhao snapped out of his daze, too shy to meet Xiu Jixin’s gaze. He longed to push him away and flee.

Xiu Jixin effortlessly held him fast, trapping him in his embrace.

—His strength had grown a bit, too.

But even so, Xue Zhao couldn’t break free from Xiu Jixin’s hold. He eventually gave up struggling, burying his face against Xiu Jixin’s chest.

Xiu Jixin gently stroked his back with his palm and asked, "What's wrong? Don't you like this kind of kiss?"

Warm breath feathered against his ear. Xue Zhao flinched slightly, remaining silent.

Xiu Jixin waited patiently for a moment, then lifted him from his arms, pinching his chin to examine him. "Does it hurt?"

Xue Zhao turned his head away, refusing to let him look, and said aggrievedly, "...Didn't you say we weren't allowed to kiss twice?"

Xiu Jixin didn't answer immediately. He simply gazed deeply at Xue Zhao, then suddenly leaned closer and kissed his reddened nose.

[Life value increased by 3 points]

Xue Zhao was caught completely off guard, staring blankly at him.

...Three times!

Seeing Xue Zhao's bewildered and dazed expression, Xiu Jixin curved his lips into a smile and softly said, "I'm in charge here."

[System]: How capricious!

[System]: But the life value is increasing so fast; it's almost at its peak.

As soon as the system was unblocked, it observed Xue Zhao's life value soaring, now reaching 20 points.

Xue Zhao's eyelashes fluttered; he still seemed to be reeling from the kiss. He whispered, "I... I'm still a little sleepy and want to go to bed."

This was clearly an excuse, but Xiu Jixin didn't object, simply replying, "Okay."

He released his hold and watched Xue Zhao lower his head, stand up, and quickly retreat to his small room.

Then, faint sounds emerged from within, suggesting Xue Zhao had burrowed into his covers.

Xiu Jixin withdrew his gaze and turned his attention back to the bookshelf against the wall.

The food source of demons... is typically quite singular. Even if their most desired food is unavailable, they will only choose similar alternatives.

Recalling the kiss, Xiu Jixin's eyes lowered, his face devoid of expression, lost in thought.

Inside the small room, Xue Zhao was curled up in his covers, wrapped tightly.

This environment finally offered him a sense of security, and his heartbeat gradually steadied.

Immediately after the kiss, Xue Zhao had wanted to hide, but he hadn't managed to escape.

Moreover, Xiu Jixin had kissed him again, a stark departure from their previous interactions, which inexplicably made him timid.

In the past, the "rule" of "only one kiss per day" had been established, and Xue Zhao had grown accustomed to it, subconsciously believing that the life value he received daily was limited.

Only now did he vaguely grasp that a single kiss could directly increase his life value by 12 points, and that he could be kissed multiple times a day.

A total of 15 life points had just been gained, and the sudden influx of "nourishment" in such a short time made Xue Zhao a little overwhelmed.

Bewildered, he soothingly stroked the tail wrapped around his hand, trying to calm himself down.

But despite the discomfort, after recovering, Xue Zhao couldn't help but revisit the memory, including the taste of the "nourishment" and the sensation of the kiss.

A kiss like this could increase his life value by 12 points at a time, and just two kisses could bring him to his peak.

What would happen if he kissed more often?

Xue Zhao was also annoyed. He still wished Xiu Jixin would adhere to the "rules," kissing only as many times as agreed upon for the day.

Or, before kissing... he should at least give a warning.

Xue Zhao took a few deep breaths and continued to stroke his tail to soothe himself.

He hadn't slept well last night, and now that he was relaxed, drowsiness washed over him in waves, and he drifted off to sleep.

—

Xue Zhao didn't wake until noon. After lunch, Xiu Jixin, true to his morning promise, allowed him to leave his room and move freely about the courtyard.

However, it was inappropriate for an assistant to linger in the priest's private courtyard, so Xue Zhao had to be careful not to be seen by others.

Fortunately, the system was always scanning, and the black cat also remained by Xue Zhao's side as a watchful guardian.

The afternoon sun was strong, and Xue Zhao found the best spot in the courtyard, settling onto the soft grass to bask in the warmth.

He sat against the courtyard wall, and the black cat jumped down from the roof, tentatively extending a paw.

Xue Zhao hesitated but didn't refuse. The black cat happily wagged the tip of its tail and burrowed into his arms to lie down.

In the afternoon, Xiu Jixin assigned Xue Zhao a new punishment: copying the Bible again.

"Be serious," he instructed, "no perfunctory work."

Xue Zhao took the Bible handed to him and nodded obediently, "Understood."

After the kiss that morning, Xue Zhao still felt an unconscious tension when facing Xiu Jixin.

He secretly glanced at the other person, then quickly turned to his desk, his hair obscuring his slightly reddened ear tips.

Xiu Jixin also didn't need to go to the church that afternoon, remaining seated on the sofa, reading in silence.

Xue Zhao diligently copied, enduring the slight boredom that came with facing the Bible.

Halfway through copying, a prompt appeared on the panel.

[New Main Quest has been issued!]

[Quest Details]: Make a magic potion to wake up Father Yuan Zhu.

[Quest Reward]: Villain Value +10

[Current Villain Value]: 45

Xue Zhao opened it to view, pinching his pen in thought. "Magic potion?"

[System]: Let me check.

[System]: There should be usable spells in the database.

"But that human is already sick," Xue Zhao said hesitantly, "what if giving him a magic potion makes it worse?"

[System]: Let me see if there's a milder one, just enough to make him briefly conscious.

[System]: After this quest is completed, the next one will most likely follow, asking for the location of the holy relic.

The quest guided Xue Zhao's direction. He had already found clues about the holy relic, and Father Yuan Zhu must be the most knowledgeable person.

Moreover, this quest offered a good reward and a decent time limit of seven days.

While searching the database, the system analyzed the action plan.

Currently, Xue Zhao couldn't leave the courtyard. The spells and magic potions could be secretly prepared in advance when Xiu Jixin was away.

Then, he would find an opportunity to go to the location of the quest target.

In the system's plan, as long as he could successfully enter Father Yuan Zhu's room, the quest would be very simple.

Even if the pre-prepared magic potion didn't work, Xue Zhao could use a Load Save Item to quickly make a new one.

Staying by Xiu Jixin's side, he was seemingly restricted in his freedom, but Xiu Jixin also became Xue Zhao's "reserve food," so he no longer had to worry about excessive life value consumption as before.

The system also said, "Before the quest begins, you can accumulate more life value."

"20 points... isn't that enough?" Xue Zhao stammered, his ear tips reddening.

[System]: To deal with unexpected situations, it's definitely... ahem, the more the better.

[System]: Of course, this is just a suggestion.

[System]: In the past, even with such low life value, the quests still went quite smoothly.

[System]: But after the magic potion is successfully made, it's best to replenish it first.

Xue Zhao didn't speak again, gripping the pen in his hand.

It was just a kiss... it wasn't like he hadn't been kissed before.

He was a little distracted, while the system in the dialogue box was full of fighting spirit.

[System]: After this quest is completed, there will definitely be a major breakthrough!

He had been in the town for so long, and he didn't even know what the holy relic looked like. Now, there was finally some substantial progress.

If he could successfully obtain the holy relic, even if the accumulated Villain Value wasn't high, completing the final quest would still yield generous rewards.

Xue Zhao couldn't think that far for now. He quietly zoned out for a while, then continued to concentrate on copying the scriptures.

In the evening, Xue Zhao washed up early and returned to his small room.

He lay in bed, secretly taking out the half sheet of paper and pen he had hidden during the day.

[System]: The spell has been chosen, let's try it first.

So Xue Zhao carefully drew a spell on the paper with the pen.

After drawing, he immediately hid the items under his pillow and nervously paid attention to the sounds outside.

The spell on the paper slowly began to gather magic power, but it was very faint, too faint to be detected.

Xiu Jixin was in the bedroom, so close. If he didn't notice it, then Xue Zhao wouldn't leave any traces in the room when making the magic potion.

Xue Zhao waited quietly for a long time until the system confirmed that Xiu Jixin really seemed to have not noticed.

[System]: Alright, get some rest tonight.

Tomorrow morning, after Xiu Jixin went to the church, Xue Zhao would start making the magic potion.

Xue Zhao "mm-hmmed," slowly poking half his face out from under the covers, and closed his eyes to sleep.

—

The next day, Xue Zhao also woke up very early.

Perhaps it was because he was about to do something mischievous again; he felt a little nervous and uneasy, and his mood was gloomy.

Before Xiu Jixin left, he looked at Xue Zhao, who was lost in thought, and bent down to ask, "Do you want a kiss?"

He seemed to think that Xue Zhao had been in the room for too long and was unhappy, so he wanted to coax him.

Xue Zhao hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out and grabbed his sleeve. "Yes..."

Xiu Jixin leaned in and only kissed his cheek.

[Life value increased by 3 points]

Xue Zhao felt a strange sense of disappointment. If it had been a kiss, he would have gotten at least 8 points.

Even a kiss on the lips would have been 5 points...

As he was daydreaming, his kissed cheek was pinched, neither too hard nor too soft.

"Be good," Xiu Jixin said meaningfully, "wait for me to come back."