Deviant: No Longer Human

"That was… genius."

Wang Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly, the faintest flicker of praise slipping from his lips.

He stared directly at the silhouette, just as she stepped in, the red orb in her eyes shimmering with confused beauty.

Was it really?

She tilted her head slightly, smile curling at the corners of her lips.

"Lord father, that was the most basic choice," she whispered, "yet you called it genius...?"

Wang Xiao chuckled. "Because with you… I thought you'd try to dismantle them one by one. Slice them into ribbons, and bleed them dry."

Ji Xuehong blinked once. Then shyly smiled.

"So you're impressed I didn't lose my mind this time?"

"You didn't act out of instinct. That's good."

Her smile widened.

Rare praise from him… It carried more weight than a thousand compliments.

He let Chen Meili's corpse lie cooling on the floor for now, his interest long gone. Without a word, he stepped toward Ji Xuehong and without asking, because he never asked, his hand slid around her slender waist, pulling her with ease into his lap.

She didn't resist.

She never did.

Today, she wore no armor. Just soft silky red hair that poured over his arm like wildfire, and as he ran his fingers through it, she let out a slow hum:

"Is this the reward?"

Wang Xiao's lips brushed against her ear. "Only if your progress impresses me."

She raised her palm, wordless.

At once, the blood that had splattered across the room, from the walls, the floor, even Meili's mangled corpse, sucked back into the air and twisted into a crimson sphere above her hand.

Wang Xiao leaned back, eyes thoughtful.

"…Still blood?"

Ji Xuehong tilted her head. "Is that not enough?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he spoke softly, voice tinged with warning:

"Blood is powerful… but it is limited. What will you do when you face something that has none?"

She opened her mouth but closed it again. He continued:

"A Transcendent is only as vast as the element they command. My dark matter? It's not just energy. It is what binds space and time together. The net beneath the stars. The cloth between galaxies."

He leaned closer, his fingers sliding over her chest slowly, pressing into the soft, unguarded mounds beneath the thin layer of cloth. She shuddered slightly, but didn't stop him.

Wang Xiao continued, voice like thunder hidden in mist.

"Without my dark matter… gravity would destabilize. Galaxies would scatter like dust. Universes would crumble. Only the remnants left by the dying Aether… hold reality together."

Ji Xuehong's breath caught as his palm tightened briefly.

"…And you?" he whispered. "You play with blood?"

She didn't argue.

Instead, she smiled through her blush, eyes glowing.

"I didn't say it was only blood."

She raised her finger.

"Look again, my Lord."

Wang Xiao glanced back at the floating orb, and paused.

It wasn't just red now.

It shimmered with faint blues, silvers and translucent ripples.

Not blood.

Moisture.

All liquid.

His hand stopped. He pulled back slightly, eyes narrowing with interest.

"…Water?"

"No," she whispered. "Moisture. Essence. The liquid in breath. In the marrow. In fog and flesh alike."

Wang Xiao's expression changed.

Now that… was worth his touch.

His thumb slid along her lower lip, and she parted her lips instinctively, revealing a soft pink tongue and perfect white teeth. She sucked his thumb lightly, the wet sound sharp in the quiet room.

He exhaled.

Just about to unfasten her robes—

Pak!

A muffled sound from the other room.

Fu Yuxin?

He paused.

Pulled back.

Stood.

Ji Xuehong blinked, dazed from the heat, her clothes half-loosened.

He gently patted her cheek, the signal clear:

Later.

She straightened her robes quietly, stealing one last glance at the corpse.

"If she survives five minutes," he said without turning back, "she can live."

And with that, he walked away, opening the door, disappearing into the hallway like smoke.

Ji Xuehong stared after him, stunned.

"…But she's already dead."

She tilted her head.

Her voice trembled with frustration, confusion, and a strange, buried awe.

"Is he playing games again?"

Because in that moment, she genuinely felt…

That man could see the future.

____

"Daddy!"

The cry came sharp and panicked.

Wang Xiao stepped through the doorway… and immediately froze.

His lips twitched.

His fingers curled behind his back.

He was trying, really trying, not to laugh.

Because in front of him…

Fu Yuxin and Lin Ruyan were brawling.

Not arguing, not posturing.

Brawling.

Hair tangled in fists.

clothes half torn.

Fu Yuxin had her mother pinned by the elbow, while Lin Ruyan was hissing curses and trying to claw her daughter's face like a spiteful tigress in heat.

And here he thought this family had class.

"What's going on here?" he asked, but not too loudly.

He didn't really want them to stop.

Not yet.

Zhenxi came running, barefoot, eyes wide in horror, grabbing his sleeve like a lifeline.

"Daddy, they're crazy!"

Wang Xiao crouched down, stroked her hair gently.

"I see," he whispered. "So it's hereditary."

Zhenxi looked up at him, utterly confused.

Wang Xiao straightened again, watching the fight.

This was beyond him.

Even for someone who'd crushed hearts with a single hand and sent soul bombs spiraling back to the Netherworld...

This?

This was too much.

A quiet chuckle escaped his lips.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

"I suppose I'll wait till round three is over," he murmured to himself. "Wouldn't want to interrupt such heartfelt bonding."

"Humph! Daddy, stop them! Don't just watch!" Zhenxi stomped her little foot, pointing furiously at the two women rolling across the floor like feral cats.

She thought she'd found salvation.

She had no idea who her father was.

Wang Xiao didn't even interfere.

He placed a calming hand on her head and said gently, "Let them."

Zhenxi's mouth fell open. "But...but they're fighting!"

She looked up at him, eyes wide, lips trembling, cheeks puffed ever so slightly. A round-faced aborable angel caught in a devil's house.

Wang Xiao glanced down at her stunned expression.

Then smirked.

He reached out, scooped her up with one arm, and kissed both her cheeks.

"Let's go outside then," he said softly.

"Daddy will show you something better."

Zhenxi blinked. "What?"

She couldn't believe it.

But before she could protest further...

"Zhenxi, we're leaving!"

Fu Yuxin's voice echoed from the stairs.

She had escaped, more or less. Hair disheveled, lips bruised, eyes cold. She stormed downstairs, phone in hand, calling for a taxi with trembling fingers.

Wang Xiao's brows lifted slightly.

So dramatic.

Lin Ruyan followed close behind, screeching like a betrayed ghost. "Yuxin, come back! Let's talk like adults—"

Too late.

Fu Yuxin didn't even look back.

The family drama was entering Act Three.

Wang Xiao looked at the little girl in his arms.

"So… you want to keep Fu Yuxin or not?"

Zhenxi paused, then nodded seriously.

"Yes."

He raised a brow.

"What about Lin Ruyan?"

Zhenxi wrinkled her nose.

Shook her head.

No hesitation.

No mercy.

She didn't care about bloodlines.

If someone was good, they were good.

If they weren't, they weren't.

That was it.

Wang Xiao looked at her with admiration. "Mm. Cold little thing, aren't you?"

She stared back innocently.

He chuckled, then carried her downstairs.

And as he walked past Lin Ruyan, he didn't say a word.

But in his mind, a mental list reshuffled.

The Fu Family had served their narrative purpose.

Now?

They could go meet their ancestors.

After all…

He didn't like wasting screen time on unnecessary characters.

As they sat inside the taxi, Fu Yuxin's chest rose and fell, her breathing uneven.

She sat stiffly in the backseat, eyes swollen, red with tears, arms crossed, head turned toward the window.

Silent.

There was a strange beauty in a sorrowful, crying woman. Even Wang Xiao found himself tempted every time he saw that look.

Yet, she didn't look at Wang Xiao. Didn't look at anyone.

She was shutting the world out, him included.

And yet, even that held its own kind of charm.

The driver looked like he belonged in a low-budget drug deal gone wrong.

Wearing a funky leopard-print cap, oversized sunglasses, and a mop of bright orange curls, if circus clowns sold weed behind noodle shops, this was their king.

He adjusted the rearview mirror and grinned.

"Sir… I got a package for you."

Wang Xiao blinked.

"…?"

He looked past the man, his gaze drifting lazily toward the boot of the car.

There was someone inside.

Someone breathing.

His lips curled. "We'll talk later."

The driver nodded like a trained hound and quietly started the ignition.

Just as the car rolled forward, "Where's Meili…?"

Zhenxi's small curious voice echoed through, she looked around, searching the space beside her, suddenly confused.

Wang Xiao's brow twitched, twice.

Fu Yuxin, still red in the face from the earlier brawl, frowned and raised her phone.

"She's not picking up…"

Her voice was colder now, sharp.

She stared at the house they'd just stormed out of, door still half open, as if waiting.

The shouting, the slamming, the sound of her daughter screaming 'Daddy!' like a battle cry… how could Chen Meili not have heard?

Fu Yuxin bit her lip.

For a moment, just a moment, she considered going back inside.

Wang Xiao checked his watch.

A few seconds left.

Just a few.

Then he clicked his tongue.