The Journey

Crunch, crunch.

The Little Succubus trudged through a thick layer of dead branches and rotting leaves. She brushed a fruit that had fallen on her head to the ground, looked up at her brother already some distance ahead, and hurried after him.

"Mm, Brother, are we there yet?" They had spent most of the day in the dense forest, and the little one was starting to tire.

"Not yet. We've got a long way to go. I told you to stay home, but you insisted on coming! See? Tired now?" Er Dongsheng stopped beside a tree, looked at a familiar scratch on its trunk, and sighed helplessly.

The little one was good in every way. She was obedient, sensible, and knew how to endure hardship. She was just a bit too attached to him. She could hardly bear to leave his side, and even when she slept, her little wooden bed had to be pressed right up against his. According to her, that way her brother would be the first thing she saw when she woke at night.

"Mm-mm, Lulu isn't tired. Brother's the one who's tired, carrying so much for Lulu." The little one sounded a little embarrassed, her voice tiny.

"A little farther, and we'll make camp and rest. It's the last stretch. Come on!"

"Mm-mm!"

Night fell.

Though it could hardly be called night. The Abyss was simply darker than at other times, and in the dense forest, it was so black he could barely see his hand before his face.

At the edge of a fairly open clearing, Er Dongsheng set down their luggage. From the basket on his back, he took out one large hide and two small ones. He spread the large hide on the ground as a mattress and used the two smaller ones as blankets.

It wasn't that Er Dongsheng was being delicate, a Demon afraid of a little heat and cold. After this Abyssal Rain Season, the weather had turned unusually cold, especially in the forest. If they simply slept on the ground without doing anything, even he, an Abyss Demon, couldn't bear it, let alone the Little Succubus!

Once the bedding was laid out, Er Dongsheng patrolled the area. He steadily released his faint Demon aura into the air, letting it spread around them. This was a right he had gained upon advancing to First-Level Demon: to release his aura and announce his presence.

To him, it felt more like claiming territory. The area within a mile or so of his home had already become his domain, marked with his aura. Other dangerous Abyssal Species and Demons weren't allowed to enter without permission.

Of course, they could enter if they wanted. They just had to be ready to die!

Trespass on another Demon's territory, and the fight would end only in death.

Strangely, ordinary animals couldn't sense the violent aura of an Abyss Demon around him unless he deliberately directed it at them.

Those placid creatures were his food, after all. The more of them lived in his territory, the better. Why would he scare them away? He'd heard that plenty of herbivores and other less aggressive species lived in every Abyss Demon's territory.

This was only a temporary claim. Releasing a little aura was enough. They would leave tomorrow, so anything more would be pointless.

Er Dongsheng gathered an armful of dry wood, spread some around the perimeter of their campsite and lit it, then built another fire beside their bedding. He let out a long breath and picked up the Little Succubus.

He might be a First-Level Demon now, but in the dangerous Abyss, he was still at the bottom of the heap.

Demons in the Abyss were ranked as Lesser Demons, Greater Demons, Legendary Demons, and Demon Lords. The first two levels were Lesser Demons, the third and fourth were Greater Demons, the fifth and sixth were Legendary Demons, and the seventh and eighth were the Demon Lords of legend.

By that measure, he was only a little fellow who had barely taken his first step! Greater Demons seldom appeared here, and Lesser Demons made up the majority. A Second-Level Lesser Demon could rule a patch of land, but only this patch of land.

Perhaps farther away, at the forest's end or beyond the mountains of legend, there were far grander Demon kingdoms.

Be careful. Always be careful. Even now, with power comparable to a Second-Level Lesser Demon, he was far from invincible in this forest. Many Abyssal Creatures could kill him.

Crackle, pop!

Roaring flames burned around the campsite. Venomous insects resembling scorpions, centipedes, and spiders scurried out from beneath the dead branches and leaves in clusters. There were so many of them that Er Dongsheng's scalp prickled!

He waited a while longer. Once the last venomous insect had gone, Er Dongsheng jumped down from the tree with the little girl in his arms. They had been hiding up there all along.

"Now we can sleep on the ground without worrying. Venomous insects in the Abyss, especially those in the forest, are quite afraid of fire. The moment they sense a flame, they scatter. We're fairly safe inside this ring of fire, but we still need to be careful." As Er Dongsheng taught the Little Succubus, he pulled a burning branch from the fire and tapped the ground inside the ring with it. Every so often, another oddly shaped venomous insect really did dart out!

Er Dongsheng added more wood around the perimeter. Abyssal plants burned slowly, so the dead branches should last all night, but extra fuel meant extra safety. Flames deterred more than venomous insects. Some less intelligent Abyssal Creatures feared fire too, especially the forest animals.

"Phew."

After a long exhale, Er Dongsheng took some roasted meat from the little one's basket. Cooked ahead of time, it was nutritious, kept well, and took up little space—the perfect food for travel.

"It just tastes awful!" Watching the little girl struggle through the roasted meat with a miserable expression, Er Dongsheng couldn't help grumbling himself.

Still, no matter how bad it tasted, Er Dongsheng always brought some whenever he traveled far. There was no guarantee he could hunt down prey whenever he needed it.

"Ah, why haven't I found any starchy plants in the Abyss? Potatoes, wheat, anything? Flatbread—that's what you're supposed to take on a journey! I heard scholars in ancient times hung stacks and stacks of flatbread around their necks when they traveled to the capital for the imperial exams. I'm worse off than those penniless scholars!"

How embarrassing.

But why was the food in the little one's basket?

Before they set out, she had insisted on sharing Er Dongsheng's load. So he put a little food and water in her small basket—only enough for one meal for the two of them. Er Dongsheng still carried most of their supplies, including both their blankets and bedding.

The wish had been lovely, but her strength hadn't matched her resolve. Before they had gone far, the little one was exhausted. Er Dongsheng had no choice but to put her small basket, contents and all, into his own large one.

Even then, with this little burden along, who knew when they would reach their destination?

He had made things easier for the little one and harder for himself, though the extra weight was nothing to him now.

"Here, have some water and get to sleep early. We have to keep going tomorrow!" Er Dongsheng pulled the stopper from the wooden flask, took a couple of swallows, and forced down the unappetizing meat before handing her the flask.

"Mm-mm, mm!"

"Brother, this meat tastes awful!"

"If it tastes awful, why did you come along?"

"Mm..."

"Ah, all right. You win. We'll find something good to eat tomorrow. If you don't want the meat, have some fruit to fill your stomach for now." Er Dongsheng had no way to deal with his little sister anymore.

"Mm-mm, Brother, you're so nice!" Her pointed ears gave a happy flutter. The Little Succubus stuffed the meat into Er Dongsheng's hand, pulled a fruit from her clothes, and began eating it.

She had come prepared!

Time passed slowly, and the night grew deeper...

The little one pressed her small body close to her brother, pulled the hide over herself, and drifted peacefully to sleep.

"Brother?"

"Mm?"

"Good night."

"Good night."

She'd learned that quickly. Then good night, my past life and this one.

And my little sister...