Chapter 32 A Child's Debt (Part 7) Song Qiling is your name, isn't it...?

Blood slowly seeped out, standing out starkly against the pale skin.

Song San tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the face of the person beneath him. Then, a hint of doubt flashed across his face, and he asked in a slightly raised tone, "Gu Lianzhou?"

Although she recognized him, the dagger pressed against his throat did not loosen its grip even slightly.

Gu Lianzhou craned his neck, breathing very carefully, his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes fixed on the golden lock dangling in front of him.

The room was dimly lit, making the T-shaped gold object stand out.

The golden longevity lock is decorated with a pattern of two fish playing in the water. The inscription on it is not "May you live a long and healthy life," nor "May you live a long and prosperous life," but rather…

Gu Lianzhou squinted and carefully examined the characters on it—Song, Qi, Ling.

The cold sensation on his neck startled Gu Lianzhou back to his senses. He hurriedly looked up at his senior brother, only to be met with a pair of panicked eyes.

His senior brother seemed to have been frightened by something; his usually composed expression was now like a cracked block of ice, making people inexplicably nervous.

Yes, he was so engrossed in looking at the golden lock that he unconsciously read out the words on it.

My senior brother's reaction, could it be...?

Amidst my confused thoughts, my gaze unconsciously drifted to the golden lock.

Seeing this, Song San sheathed his dagger, straightened up, and said irritably, "You don't care about your life, and you're still looking?"

As he said this, he raised his hand, pinched the gold lock, and tucked it back under his clothes.

With a sudden release on his neck, Gu Lianzhou finally had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief. In a daze, he raised his hand to touch the wound, feeling a warm, moist sensation. He then brought it to his eyes.

Then you can see the bright red on your fingertips.

The air became deathly still in an instant.

After a long pause, Gu Lianzhou said in a muffled voice, "Senior brother, are you really planning to kill me?"

After waiting for a long time without hearing a response from his senior brother, Gu Lianzhou sat up and saw his senior brother sitting at his feet with a solemn expression, staring at his boots as if in a daze.

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously.

The senior brother's reactions were all very abnormal. Just now, he had only approached him as usual, but the senior brother had drawn his sword and looked as if he wanted to devour him and drink his blood, which was terrifying.

Why is she staring at his boots like she's lost her soul?

Song San frowned, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Now that she was closer, she could see clearly that there was no green bamboo on Gu Lianzhou's shoes. There were indeed mottled marks on the black fabric, but they were not stitched patterns; instead, they were dust and mud that had gotten on them from somewhere.

After staring at him for an unknown amount of time, until Gu Lianzhou awkwardly shrank back, Song San finally looked up, his gaze resentful, "Junior brother, why are you appearing and disappearing like a ghost?"

"?"

Gu Lianzhou, who appeared and disappeared without a trace, paused for a moment, then took a deep breath, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent. Finally, as if deflated, he pointed to the bars behind Song San, "It must be due to evil spirits. Ever since I opened my eyes, I've been locked in this sunless cage. I slept for a long time until you, Senior Brother, came..."

He lowered his eyes to look at his senior brother, his gaze sweeping over Song San's right hand, and frowned. "Senior brother, are you injured?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the hand that had been tangled up curled up.

"It's nothing." Song San's expression remained normal. "I just had someone make a cut in my palm and draw some blood."

She looked up at Gu Lianzhou and teased, "How come that butcher only used his knife on me but didn't touch you at all? That's so unfair."

Seeing that she still had the leisure to joke with him, Gu Lianzhou breathed a sigh of relief and also smiled and said, "Maybe that person looks down on me."

After saying that, he rolled up his sleeve, reached out and took the hand that was wrapped up like a dumpling, placed it in his palm and asked carefully, "Does it hurt?"

Song San didn't even raise his eyebrows and said, "It's alright, it won't die anyway, so we don't need to worry about it."

Gu Lianzhou paused for a moment, and seeing his senior brother withdraw his hand, he continued, "Senior brother, are we in an illusion now?"

He has been sleeping most of the time lately, living in a daze. If it weren't for the fact that his senior brother had just pressed a knife against his neck, which felt so real, he would probably have thought he was still dreaming.

Nevertheless, the current situation is no different from a dream.

The senior brother chuckled and said, "Not bad, you can now distinguish between reality and illusion."

Gu Lianzhou said with a wry smile, "I thought that with my luck, I shouldn't have been able to get to Nancheng so easily."

“You do have some self-awareness.” Song San perked up, moved forward, and sat down next to his junior brother. “You have too much resentment on you. You must have attracted some unclean things on the way, which followed us south and dragged us into the illusion.”

Song San casually straightened his clothes, bent his elbows and rested his chin on his palms, his eyes reflecting the flickering firelight. "I reckon this demon is related to the child."

Hearing the cries all around him, Gu Lianzhou turned to look at the other side of the fence. "A child?"

“That’s right.” She followed Gu Lianzhou’s gaze. “Yesterday I was tricked by a few children and they sent me back to the butcher. That’s why I was locked up here and met you.”

At this point, Song San paused, gave the man beside him a strange look, and clicked his tongue softly.

Gu Lianzhou felt uncomfortable under her gaze, and raised his hand to rub his cheek. "What's wrong? Is there something dirty on my face?"

Song San shook his head. "No, I was just thinking, if an illusion can transform into all things, can it also take on your likeness?"

Gu Lianzhou slowly opened his eyes wide, saying in disbelief, "Senior brother doubts that I'm an imposter?"

"That's hard to say." Song San moved aside, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes. "Junior brother and I grew up together, we're like brothers, you know a lot of my secrets. If you can answer my questions, I'll believe you."

Gu Lianzhou's brow twitched slightly, and he said helplessly, "You and I are fellow disciples who recognized each other halfway through our lives. How could we have grown up together? Senior brother, don't try to fool me."

Hiss, it didn't stump him at all. His gaze fell on the cloth money pouch that had appeared at his waist, and Song San pursed his lips, the doubt in his eyes instantly dissipating.

The person treating a tattered rag bag like a treasure must be Gu Lianzhou.

Thinking this, she gestured with her chin toward the money pouch and teased, "Is it tied up now?"

Gu Lianzhou lowered his eyes and smiled slightly. "Since it was given to me by my senior brother, I naturally have to keep it with me."

He delivered the money pouch and entered the illusory realm almost simultaneously; his actions were swift.

The two seemed to have thought of the same thing, their eyes met, and then they burst into laughter.

The laughter on one side was hearty, while the intermittent crying on the other side seemed to be frightened by the inhuman commotion and finally quieted down.

Gu Lianzhou rarely saw his senior brother laugh so unrestrainedly, and he felt much more relaxed. His eyes swept over Song San's neck, and remembering the golden lock he had just seen, he couldn't help but ask, "Senior brother, is Song Qiling your name?"

Song San gradually stopped laughing and looked over with a complicated expression.

Seeing this, Gu Lianzhou understood everything.

Whether it's 'Song San' or 'Song Bailiang', it's just an alias my senior brother used when he traveled the martial arts world.

But the name of my senior brother was engraved on that longevity lock.

"You've come here to show off your intelligence?" Song Qiling crossed her arms, her face returning to its lazy expression, and said nonchalantly, "That's because my reputation in the Tianji Sect is too great, so I need to hide my brilliance. That's why I used nicknames to cover it up. Now that you know, you have to keep my secret."

Gu Lianzhou asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"Left and Right" is just a name, what's there to hide?

Song Qiling sighed softly and said helplessly, "I just praised you for being smart, how come you're being so confused again now?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou smiled awkwardly, "I hope my senior brother can give me some pointers."

"I can tell you, but I'm afraid you're too timid. It's better to just listen and forget it." Song Qiling shifted her gaze to the void, speaking casually as if recounting an amusing anecdote over tea: "I burned down the residence of an elder in the sect, broke the rules, and escaped from the Heavenly Mystery Sect. Now, countless people are probably trying to capture me. Tell me, should I go into hiding?"

Gu Lianzhou wondered if he had misheard. "Burned...burned down the residence of the sect's elders?"

“Yes.” Song Qiling said nonchalantly, “That person was at fault first, but his residence was burned down. He is not wronged.”

Looking at his senior brother's unrepentant and rebellious appearance, Gu Lianzhou was in a daze, and a deep sense of mission arose spontaneously—his senior brother had told him his biggest secret, and he should keep it a secret for him and not reveal a single detail, otherwise he would be putting his senior brother in danger, and as his junior brother, he could not do that.

The firelight flickered, and the jingling of chains dragging on the ground rang out in the darkness. Accompanied by a commotion, several figures approached from afar, creating a lively scene.

Song Qiling looked over upon hearing the sound and heard a very familiar voice.

"Do you even know who I am before locking me up? If you're so capable, don't resort to such underhanded tactics. Untie me and let me out for a one-on-one fight!"

"Liu Xingchuan, Liu Xingchuan, say something!"

Then came a series of heavy breathing sounds, followed by a sharp creaking sound from the iron gate, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoing in the dungeon.

"It seems that Brother Yu and Doctor Liu have also been imprisoned here." Gu Lianzhou leaned against the railing and looked in the direction of the voice. The dungeon was dark, and only a few hazy shadows could be seen.

Unexpectedly, the place where they were imprisoned was so large. In addition to the place where he and his senior brother were imprisoned, there was another cage where children were imprisoned, while Yu Qi and the others were in a separate room, which was further away.

Listening to Yu Qi's affectionate greetings to the butcher's ancestors, Song Qiling asked in confusion, "Why don't you lock them up with us?"

Could it be that they're afraid the other side will seize the opportunity to escape?

Indeed, the butcher was all alone, and even with great skill, he was outnumbered and had to resort to other tricks.

"Senior brother, someone's coming," Gu Lianzhou warned, hearing the approaching footsteps.

The next moment, the door was opened, a gust of wind swept in, and two slender figures were pushed inside.

There was a loud "bang".

The butcher moved with lightning speed, locking the prison door before Song Qiling could even see his face clearly. Then, with heavy steps, he turned and left, leaving behind Wan Hongling, pale-faced, and her maid Qiu'er, slumped on the ground, staring at each other in disbelief.