Chapter 16: On Demons
Admittedly, Gu Qing really didn’t want to go out.
But he had to acknowledge that Ji Yueling’s intuition was sharp—it seemed like she could smell something distinctly different about him. If he refused, it would probably be troublesome again.
Besides, spring was coming, and soon it would be the season when girls could wear pretty dresses.
After weighing his options, Gu Qing replied that he’d received her message, then continued cooking seriously.
At seven-thirty, he told Lu Qianqian where he was going, scanned a shared bike, and leisurely rode toward the bar.
………………………………
The bar Ji Yueling had chosen was on the thirty-second floor of a commercial center, in a luxurious business district with especially extravagant decor. Inside, the bar was quiet, playing soothing jazz music. The sound was soft, the lighting dim, and candles burned on every table. When Gu Qing entered, he quickly spotted Ji Yueling at a corner table.
What slightly surprised him was that Ji Yueling wore a simple blue evening dress with black high-heeled Mary Janes below her ankles. She already had a mature figure, and the dress was fitted at the waist, with a mermaid-style skirt that revealed a small section of her slender legs. She looked like she’d stepped out of a comic book—a medieval noble lady about to attend a ball. For a boy his age, she probably had especially terrifying destructive power.
Too bad she was currently wearing a sour expression, cold as ice.
Drinks and two glasses were already set on the table, ice cubes slowly melting in his glass. As soon as Gu Qing sat across from her, Ji Yueling spoke coldly: “First, you’re twenty-three minutes late.”
“Second, when a girl asks you out, out of basic respect, shouldn’t you at least fix your hair?”
Gu Qing pressed his palms together in a gesture of repentance. “I couldn’t get a car. I rode a shared bike for forty minutes to get here.”
“It’s not like it’s a date… no need to cut my hair, right? And I washed it this morning.” Gu Qing scratched his head, answering her second question.
Gu Qing’s hair was just messy and long, carelessly tied up in a small ponytail that looked rather comical.
Ji Yueling couldn’t refute this, so the coldness in her eyes lessened slightly. She picked up the bottle on the table and familiarly poured him half a glass of wine. She didn’t seem awkward or embarrassed at all—perhaps because she didn’t consider Gu Qing worth her attention. Without any more pleasantries, she got straight to the point: “Describe your abilities specifically.”
“My abilities awakened when I was fourteen.” Gu Qing first picked up his glass and took a sip, then continued, “When I was fourteen, I started having dreams about various demons, seeing battles between different demons. At first those dreams were blurry and unclear, but later they became increasingly real. I found that I gradually began to understand what they were saying, and those images helped me gradually understand some of the demons’ habits.”
“Later I learned about the Extraordinary classification system on the Alliance’s official website and realized my ability should count as a demon-type awakening. Those dreams initially made my mind chaotic, so I began a wandering life until recent years when I finally got better and could maintain stable control.” Gu Qing answered honestly.
“Good.” Ji Yueling nodded lightly. After a moment of contemplation, she began asking the questions she’d prepared.
“Why do demons eat people? I know the Alliance has official analysis, but I want to hear your understanding.” She asked.
“Demons eating people is like humans wanting to eat meat. To demons, humans are like pigs, ducks, cattle, and sheep, while pigs, ducks, cattle, and sheep are to demons like humans eating bitter, astringent grass.”
“They’re all meat protein—why is there such a difference?”
“I guess it’s because humans are highly intelligent beings.” Gu Qing answered. After a moment, he added, “There’s another reason. To this day, all demons were once human. Perhaps their instinctive desire to eat people is also related to that.”
All demons had evolved after that meteor shower fell one hundred and fifty years ago.
Some demons from one hundred and fifty years ago were still alive today, living in that city called the Great Wasteland, clinging to their miserable existence.
“Is that all?” Ji Yueling looked up, staring at him unblinkingly. Her cold eyes really put tremendous pressure on people, like a hunter eyeing prey.
“After demons eat people, they evolve.” Gu Qing was silent for a moment, then added for Ji Yueling, “Demons can evolve by devouring their own kind, and they can also evolve by devouring humans. Especially Extraordinaries among humans—for demons, they’re particularly nourishing.”
“How do you judge a demon’s intelligence? Why do some demons only have instincts for killing and feeding, while others are as cunning and cruel as humans?” Ji Yueling’s voice grew colder.
“That’s actually hard to judge.” Gu Qing took another sip of wine and continued explaining, “Demons are also divided by bloodlines. The vast majority of lower-tier bloodlines are clumsy and stupid from birth—creatures that only know fighting and feeding. But if they eat enough, they’ll gradually gain intelligence and become more and more like humans.”
“But there are also demons whose bloodlines might not be powerful in combat, but they’re born with intelligence and the ability to take human form. Such demons aren’t uncommon—many live in K City, and some live in human cities, hiding their traces.”
“Why do they want to live in human cities?”
“Because human emotions are fascinating things, especially for demons. Pretending to be human lets them gradually experience human emotions, which they find very interesting. I’ve always believed that humans and demons aren’t easy to distinguish. If a demon is born with normal human intelligence and only eats human food their whole life, are they human or demon?”
But Ji Yueling coldly and rudely interrupted Gu Qing’s explanation, saying icily, “Demons are demons. They all deserve to die.”
Gu Qing shrugged and didn’t argue.
The real name of A City should be Dawn City, because this was once the greatest battlefield between demons and humans. Later, demons were driven to the Great Wasteland. Every city has its own Alliance, but the Alliances aren’t ruled by one person, and even the Alliances of different cities have completely different philosophies.
Dawn City’s Alliance had ten S-class or above Eliminators, but Dawn City didn’t have many truly powerful human fighters.
Dawn City’s Alliance was relatively accommodating toward demons. Their investigation efforts weren’t that intense, and they mostly maintained a policy of mutual non-interference with those demons who hid among humans, posed no threat to humans, and disguised themselves as humans. Of course, they still maintained careful control, though this was criticized by many as raising tigers to invite disaster.
But this was also related to Dawn City’s environment. Dawn City still had many scattered civilian organizations that required the Alliance’s attention and manpower. There were times when some malicious civilian organizations caused far more destruction than demons in pursuit of personal gain.
During the great war between humans and demons, humans had been remarkably united with few dissenting voices. Once all demons were driven to the Great Wasteland, the awakened Extraordinaries among humans naturally began internal conflicts. This was historically inevitable—it had played out countless times before.
Ji Yueling leaned forward slightly, gazing at Gu Qing. The coldness on her face suddenly melted away, her dark eyes becoming surprisingly gentle, her voice light and soft as she coaxed, “So… how can we find those intelligent demons hiding among humans?”
“I don’t know.” Gu Qing shook his head.
“You should know.”
“I really don’t know this.” Gu Qing shook his head. “Those demons willing to live in the human world have long since tacitly learned to follow human world rules. They don’t desire to devour humans to increase their power—they just want to experience existing as humans. So of course there’s no way to find them. And even if we found them, what would be the point?”
“Kill them to eliminate future trouble.”
“I really don’t have a solution for that…” Gu Qing spread his hands helplessly.
The two stared at each other, then fell into mutual silence until Gu Qing broke the cold atmosphere again, suddenly asking out of nowhere, “Why are you dressed so beautifully today?”
Ji Yueling glanced at him sideways, picked up her wine glass for a sip, and answered coolly, “Since I’m the one who asked you out, dressing up properly is naturally showing you respect.”
“I’m flattered. Let me toast you.” Gu Qing raised his glass, his gaze lingering on Ji Yueling without concealment. Her evening dress was beautiful and elegant, the carefully tailored neckline revealing only her delicate collarbones and porcelain-smooth, snowy shoulders that looked soft and tender, almost luminous.
Ji Yueling could naturally sense his gaze on her body. After a moment, her lips moved slightly as she spoke: “Are you deliberately trying to make me dislike you?”
“Huh?” Gu Qing seemed suddenly choked.
“Because your gaze is really disgusting.” Ji Yueling’s eyes showed a trace of disgust.
“Eh… didn’t you dress up for me to see? How can you call me disgusting for looking a few more times?” Gu Qing seemed somewhat ashamed now, using drinking to cover his guilt while sneaking another disgusting glance at Ji Yueling’s black high-heeled Mary Janes under her dress. Her ankles were proportioned and slender, her legs absurdly long and pale.
“Let’s talk about something else.” Ji Yueling suddenly took the initiative to speak, and Gu Qing seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, nodding hurriedly, “Sure, sure, what else does big sister want to talk about?”
“Like who you went to see in that alley by the milk tea shop on New Year’s Day, how about that?” Ji Yueling looked at the smile on Gu Qing’s face, and the next moment her previously relaxed expression turned cold again.
The smile gradually disappeared from Gu Qing’s face, then he scratched his head somewhat helplessly. “Finding a friend to buy me milk tea and chat during the New Year—is that strange?”
“Yes, but he’s an S-class demon registered with the Alliance. Taotie.”