Blood Warlock: Succubus Partner in the Apocalypse

Bai Zemin and Lilith had met on day 1 of the apocalypse, probably no more than several seconds or a minute at most had passed since the moment the Soul Record abruptly broke into the lives of all living and non-living beings on Earth.

However, a doubt he had always had was precisely what Meng Qi had just asked.

Among so many humans... why on earth had Lilith set her eyes on Bai Zemin?

If she had met him after he got his hands on Blood Manipulation perhaps it wouldn't be so strange. After all, Lilith knew that Blood Manipulation was a powerful skill and it even turned out to be much more rare and special than she had previously believed.

However, Meng Qi had said it: Lilith had clearly been watching Bai Zemin even before he killed the level 5 mutant bee from which he obtained the skill scroll from which he learned Blood Manipulation.

If Lilith answered saying that she knew he was special thanks to her being a Higher Existence it would probably be enough to fool everyone, but not Bai Zemin. After all, he now knew that being a Higher Existence did not mean having special abilities of some sort.

They were geniuses, but they still relied on the skills they had and mana.

Lilith remained silent as she listened to Meng Qi's question and a conflicted expression crossed through her eyes.

Putting aside the fact that she knew Bai Zemin wouldn't believe such an obvious lie, Lilith also didn't want to lie to the person she loved.

The fact that she kept secrets from him was due to numerous reasons, three being the main ones.

First of all, Lilith did not believe that this was a good time for Bai Zemin to know some things.

Second and related to the first reason, Bai Zemin had a lot of burdens on his back and Lilith knew it perfectly well. As his chosen life partner, Lilith's duty was to do her best not to increase the weight her beloved was carrying.

Third... Lilith simply didn't know how to say it. She didn't even know from where to start.

Meng Qi narrowed her eyes and a flash of coldness shone in her gaze as she saw how Lilith didn't seem to be able to answer her question, "You're hiding something aren't you? From my big brother."

Lilith took a deep breath and looked Bai Zemin in the eyes instead of Meng Qi who was the one pushing her.

"Zemin, there is a reason why I knew where you would be when the Soul Record arrived on Earth. There is also a reason why I searched for you specifically."

"I know." Bai Zemin nodded softly.

He never pushed Lilith for answers... but this didn't mean he was stupid.

"I haven't forgotten that before our feelings gradually grew your reason for helping me to survive and giving me the support that made me grow up faster than normal... your purpose was to get my help to achieve your goal."

Lilith nodded, and after a brief pause said quietly, "... My goal at first involved something not beneficial to you, but please believe me... it's not like that anymore."

"... I see." Bai Zemin lowered his head as he nodded softly. No one could see his expression, so it was hard to tell how he was feeling or what he was thinking.

Lilith was about to say something as she watched him fall into deep contemplation, but it was Shangguan Bing Xue who interrupted her first.

"You sound sincere."

Lilith looked at her in amazement, "You..."

The one from whom Lilith least expected to receive words of support was her.

"But," Shangguan Bing Xue added with a cold voice and eyes, "Remember what I told you that day in the ruin of the library... I will definitely chase you to the uttermost confines of the universe... if you toy with his heart, I will personally take your life."

The coldness in Shangguan Bing Xue's tone of voice as well as her words did not surprise Lilith but they definitely surprised everyone else.

This was the first time Meng Qi, Ye Linger, or Bai Delan heard Shangguan Bing Xue openly express not so disguisedly her feelings towards Bai Zemin.

Feelings of friendship? Perhaps.

But to Meng Qi and Bai Zemin's parents it didn't sound that way.

Besides, it was clear from Shangguan Bing Xue's words that she had already known of Lilith's existence for some time now.

"Bing Xue, you..." Even Bai Zemin was surprised as this was the first time he had heard anything about the not at all friendly conversation the two women had held in the past.

"My intention is not to harm him in any way." Lilith shook her head softly. She didn't mind Shangguan Bing Xue's words as Lilith knew she meant well, "I love Zemin... and when I love someone I give myself completely. You are the same, aren't you?"

"... If you say so..." Shangguan Bing Xue frowned slightly at Lilith's last words, but she soon shook her head and did not say anything else.

Bai Zemin couldn't see but still raised his head so that Lilith could see his expression as he slowly said, "I know Lilith needs my help with something, and I will help her no matter what it is... Even if it's something dangerous that could end up costing me my life."

"Big brother, you..." Meng Qi bit her lips, frustrated.

"Nothing to be surprised about, our father did teach us not to let go of the hand of the one who helped us didn't he?" Bai Zemin smiled slightly. "Besides, Lilith just said it didn't she? Her focus changed, and she loves me so she won't harm me."

"... And you believe her?" Meng Qi snorted.

"To this day she has never told me a lie, I have no reason to not believe in her." Bai Zemin chuckled, which earned him a wince that worried his mother. After telling her that he was fine, he added, "She kept some secrets hidden from me, and she still has her mysteries... But, I'm hiding something from her too so it's okay. We just need to know that we want what's good for each other... and in my eyes, that's enough."

Bai Delan and Ye Linger exchanged glances before letting out sighs at the same time.

"In the love between a couple, there has to be trust, much more trust than in any other relationship." Bai Delan nodded. "Or else that couple will not be able to stand the test of time no matter how much love is involved."

"You can't live on love alone." Ye Linger added. She stared at Lilith and said in a gentle voice: "If we can one day really reach that level.... that level of Higher Existences and live forever, then it means that a couple needs even more trust than a normal couple... because otherwise, it will be impossible to last for eternity. Sometimes, a single betrayal or even a single lie is enough for a dynasty to fall, remember that."

Lilith nodded and said in a serious voice, "I understand."

There was no need for Ye Linger to camouflage her words like that, at the end of the day Lilith was even older than her.

After several seconds of silence passed, Bai Zemin calmly asked, "Any other questions? Or else we can continue with other matters."

The twelve operators were silent. They knew in their hearts that being able to listen to this conversation was already a great privilege.

The Wen twins looked at each other and shook their heads toward the other. Despite all the things they had experienced, they were both still too young to understand things too profound.

"... I don't like her, but I have no voice or say here." Meng Qi shrugged her shoulders at the same time as she grimaced.

Lilith looked at Meng Qi and immediately took revenge for earlier: "I think you don't like any of the girls who seem to show interest in your big brother, my lovely sis-in-law~"

The expression on Bai Delan and Ye Linger's faces changed slightly but they quickly recovered.

Meng Qi frowned slightly as he slowly asked, "... Are you suggesting something?"

"Me? Suggesting something?" Lilith waved her hand and said with a big smile, "Of course not! What could I be suggesting? That you lik-"

"Lilith!"

Lilith jumped in surprise and her eyes twitched slightly. She looked at Bai Zemin sitting next to her with great shock in her expression... This was the first time he had yelled at her like that, and clearly in anger.

"I..." She choked, but after several seconds managed to say softly, "Sorry, I think I went a little overboard."

Meng Qi's question had sent Lilith into a corner, so she wanted to pay her back with the same coin. But Lilith had forgotten in her fit of frustration and anger that her words would also end up causing problems for Bai Zemin.

After a moment of silence, Bai Zemin slowly released the air from his lungs as he calmly said, "It's okay.... You didn't say anything bad anyway, did you?"

"... I didn't." Lilith meekly replied.

"... I'm sorry, I yelled at you." Bai Zemin took her hand with his healthy hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"You don't need to."

Lilith's voice broke a little but she managed to hold back the urge to cry... To her, Bai Zemin's existence was very, very important... Even more important than Bai Zemin himself realized.

Shangguan Bing Xue was somewhat surprised but not really that surprised. She looked at Meng Qi out of the corner of her eye and saw her face slightly pale.

She sighed, and after thinking about it for a moment found a way to help lighten the atmosphere a bit, "By the way, who was that purple-haired woman? Another Higher Existence?"

Indeed, Shangguan Bing Xue's question was big and important enough to slowly attract everyone's attention at least enough to take their minds off what had just happened.

Bai Zemin had never felt so much like hugging Shangguan Bing Xue as he did at this moment, but unfortunately, it was neither the time nor the place. Instead, he answered delightedly, "She is Fire Sorrow, she is also part of the Demonic Army just like Lilith. Second in command of the Demonic Army."

"Oh?" Shangguan Bing Xue raised an eyebrow and brought both hands to her waist. She looked Bai Zemin up and down several times before calmly saying, "And have you known her long? I'm just asking so I know if at some point you were planning to tell this to me, YOUR second in command. It's no big deal so don't worry if you don't want to answer."

... She was pissed off. Definitely.

Bai Zemin immediately realized how angry his second in command was.

"... I only met Fire Sorrow on the same day that Earth evolved to the Third Stage." Bai Zemin explained.

"Oh? About a month time outside world? Good thing there are no tools capable of altering time no? or else that would be a lot longer!" Shangguan Bing Xue opened her eyes wide and slowly folded her arms as the toe of her right foot went up and down tapping the floor gently but very fast.

Bai Zemin coughed and cleared his throat as he whispered in his heart: 'My dear second in command, you are practically revealing classified information of the highest level there.'

Just then, a chuckle that sounded like silver bells softly mingling in the summer breeze sounded inside the increasingly chilly room and brought some warmth to the winter on its way.

Everyone's eyes turned to little Bai Shilin who at some point had opened her big black eyes and was looking at Shangguan Bing Xue with a big smile.

"Mommy, are you jealous of big sister Fire? Don't worry, she's just father's friend!"

Great, now it turns out that even Bai Shilin was hiding things from her!

Shangguan Bing Xue gritted her teeth and gave Bai Zemin a death glare as she made a note in her heart to spend more time with her daughter. Her position as the first mother would be in jeopardy at this rate, something Shangguan Bing Xue could not afford.

Well, in theory, Bai Shilin's first mother was Shi Lin... But the former Queen of the Weaver Ants was a different matter so in Shangguan Bing Xue's heart she didn't count.

Fortunately for Bai Zemin, the conversation did not become overly complicated and although there were some hiccups in between, everyone came to accept the fact that there were legendary beings such as angels, demons, gods, and many more.

However, Bai Delan's words were a great relief to everyone in the control room.

"Even if these Higher Existences are this strong none of that is any of our business... Unless they want to die like that phoenix from before they won't touch us, right? So, our lives will go on as before and we just have to keep doing what we've been doing all this time... To survive!"

...

Three days later, in a room decorated very demurely but still with the essence of an elegant woman, Feng Tian Wu's eyelids twitched gently for a moment before slowly opening.

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