Deviant: No Longer Human

"Guess this girl doesn't fear demons or gods," Wang Xiao muttered under his breath, glancing sideways at her.

He had intended to scare her, but seeing her pure enjoyment, he simply sighed and slowed the car down, his previous plan abandoned.

Instead, he reached over and casually unbuckled her seatbelt.

Zhenxi stood up on her seat, her small hands holding onto the dashboard as she curiously looked around, her hair bouncing lightly with her movements.

Wang Xiao chuckled. "Little girl, it's been two years, and you still haven't regained your eyesight. Are you sure it's not just a skill issue?"

"Huh?" Zhenxi puffed up her cheeks, a look of indignation crossing her face as she huffed, "Don't bully Zi'er! Or she'll tell mommy!~"

"??" Wang Xiao blinked, his curiosity instantly piqued. "Oh? And what's your mom going to do?"

Zhenxi stuck her tongue out at him. "She'll punish you!" she declared confidently, her voice brimming with certainty.

Wang Xiao narrowed his eyes with a smirk, leaning over to grab her tongue between his fingers.

Zhenxi gasped, flustered and slightly scared as she squirmed in her seat. "I'd like to see how your mom dares to punish me," he said teasingly, releasing her tongue.

"Humph!" Zhenxi crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks even more, sulking as she sat back down in her seat, her legs swinging.

"Do you even know the way back to your home?" Wang Xiao asked, amusement lacing his voice as he glanced at the girl.

"Nuh-uh!" Zhenxi huffed, crossing her arms tighter. "Zi'er's not going home! I had a fight with mom!" she announced, pouting stubbornly.

"..." Wang Xiao's eyes twitched slightly.

'Does she think I'm some kind of free estate for runaway kids?' he thought, his patience thinning.

He swore that if this continued, he might just toss the girl out of the car.

But, his actions betrayed his thoughts. "Alright then," he muttered, a resigned sigh escaping his lips.

Seeing the two little dragon cubs curled up inside the car, Wang Xiao's mind wandered.

He hadn't checked in with Aura, the mother of these two mischievous creatures, for updates about Aurora's whereabouts.

It had been a while, and maybe it was time to look into it again.

The thought nagged at him.

Casually, he shifted his focus to the girl sitting beside him. "By the way, how about I heal your eyes?" he asked, his tone light yet tinged with a hint of mischief. "But, of course, I don't work for free."

Zhenxi's head turned toward him, her expression one of innocent confusion.

"Huh?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"You won't bump into walls anymore," Wang Xiao explained with a teasing smirk. "But the question is, what can you pay for my service?"

He slowed the car to a halt just before the bridge leading to Puxi, turning fully to look at her, awaiting her response.

Zhenxi, sitting quietly, pressed her index finger against her soft, pink lips, her brows furrowed in thought.

"What can I pay...?" she muttered, her wide, unseeing eyes blinking as she tried to grasp his meaning.

Wang Xiao's eye twitched.

He had nearly forgotten—his devil-like bargains were beyond this girl's understanding.

He sighed, resigning himself to the fact that Zhenxi probably didn't even know the value of a deal, let alone comprehend the stakes involved.

"Guess being adorable is enough of a payment," he chuckled, reaching over to gently lift her from the seat and place her on his lap.

Her petite form settled comfortably against him as he carefully observed her face.

Her skin was soft and pale, as delicate as white lotus petals, and her eyes—though unseeing—shone with a natural innocence, framed by thick, dark lashes.

He gently flicked her forehead, eliciting a small, startled sound from her.

"Why did you run away from home this time?" he asked casually, his fingers resting lightly on her forehead.

"Mom doesn't believe Zhenxi!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Her face flushed with frustration as she continued, "When I told her about you, she said I'm making things up!" Her pout deepened, clearly upset that her words had been dismissed so easily.

Wang Xiao's eyes twitched again. 'Not that her mother shouldn't believe her,' he wondered inwardly.

More than likely, her mother simply wanted her to learn the difference between reality and fantasy.

After all, how many mothers would believe their child had befriended someone like him?

Still, it surprised him that the conversation between Zhenxi and her mother had stayed for this long—two years had passed, yet the topic hadn't died down.

'Stubborn girl,' he thought with a smirk, flicking her forehead once more, this time more gently.

As his gaze flickered back toward the two dragon cubs nestled in the backseat, a thought tugged at him.

They would have been a perfect gift for his daughters, their lively nature and innocent eyes making them ideal companions.

But Wang Xiao wasn't the type to take back what he had given.

'No point regretting it now,' he thought, leaning back against the seat as he continued to observe Zhenxi.

She was still sulking, her lips pursed into a pout as if the world itself had wronged her.

After some thought, Wang Xiao glanced at Zhenxi, his expression shifting. "Open your mouth."

"Ah~!" Zhenxi obediently opened her small mouth, her voice light and carefree, trusting him without question.

Wang Xiao peered inside, his gaze narrowing as he observed her.

After a brief moment, he told her to close it again, letting out a quiet sigh.

Then, without a word, he gently grabbed her face, his touch unexpectedly tender. "Don't close your eyes," he instructed, his voice soft but firm.

"Huh?" Zhenxi blinked, confused, but did as she was told, her wide, unseeing eyes staring up at him.

Tip...

All of a sudden, a droplet of something warm fell onto her eye.

Zhenxi flinched slightly, but the sensation was strange. It wasn't water—it was thick and carried a warmth that spread through her like a gentle flame.

It was Wang Xiao's blood. A single droplet, drawn from the tip of his finger, shone like a trail of light the moment it left his body, its divine energy almost growing in the air.

The droplet shimmered, like a comet streaking through the heavens, before sinking into her eye, disappearing without a trace.

Tip!

With the same careful precision, Wang Xiao allowed another drop to fall into her other eye, his hand steady and deliberate.

Zhenxi's eyes widened, blinking rapidly as the fog in her vision began to clear.

She felt a tingling sensation, as though her world—once muted and dim—was slowly being painted with vibrant colors she had never known.

The confusion on her face deepened as the haze lifted bit by bit.

Wang Xiao, observing her silently, knew that two drops were more than enough.

Each droplet of his divine blood held the essence of centuries of cultivation—enough power to surpass lifetimes of effort.

But for him, it was a small offering.

Merely a drop in the ocean of his strength.

Zhenxi blinked several more times, her small hands instinctively rubbing her eyes.

"What… what's happening?" she asked, her voice tinged with confusion as if the world was shifting in ways she couldn't understand.

Wang Xiao smiled faintly.

This time, he had decided to give her something real.

Not a fleeting blessing, but a gift that would transform her fate itself.

Eternal Eyes.

Eyes that could see through any illusion, break through the veil of lies, and pierce the truth hidden beneath the surface of all things.

Eyes that even the flow of time couldn't restrict.

They were beyond what any mortal could hope to possess.

They could endure the ravages of time itself, something even gods and demons had fallen to in the past.

These eyes had the power to defy fate, to escape death's grip, and to see beyond the boundaries of life and existence.

What Wang Xiao had given her wasn't just a blessing—it was a curse and a power so grand that even the most ancient immortals would covet it, would fight to possess it.

Why had he done it? Simple. Because he could.

If, after all this time, he still needed a reason to do the things he did, then the countless years of his past would have been wasted.

Besides, carelessly bestowing blessings upon the unsuspecting wasn't a trait exclusive to him.

Gods in the past had often been just as reckless with their gifts. He was merely following the pattern, though his reasons were his own.

As Zhenxi blinked again, her hands slowly lowered. The once-cloudy world she had known since childhood was now vibrant, full of light.

The colors dazzled her, and she could finally see the face of the one she had blindly trusted all this time.

And her first glimpse was Wang Xiao's faint smile, illuminated by the soft glow of the bright sun.