Chapter 39 Dodder (Part 3) Her Good Junior Brother

Zhou Ren came on strong, giving Song Qiling no chance to react. The moment he opened the sack, he splashed a bucket of dirty water on her.

Even with Song Qiling's agility, she could barely dodge the attack, and in the blink of an eye, half of her clothes were soaked by cold water.

A burst of laughter suddenly erupted from inside the room.

Zhou Ren, the instigator, casually tossed the wooden bucket aside, raised his chin, and looked at Song Qiling arrogantly, "Kid, how does your grandpa's foot-washing water taste?"

Water dripped down her sleeves, splashing on the blue floor tiles. Song Qiling wrung out her cuffs, then stood up, meeting Zhou Ren's amused gaze.

In stark contrast to his previous humiliating submission, the man before her, now back on his own turf and with the support of others, was brimming with arrogance. Now that he had given her another hard time, his eyes were filled with triumph.

Seeing her calm reaction, Zhou Ren clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, his gaze following Song Qiling's face downwards, his gaze sticky and blatant wherever it went.

Song Qiling felt as if hundreds of ants were crawling all over her body.

I feel very uncomfortable.

Although it is springtime, it is still chilly in the mornings and evenings, so she dressed warmly and felt there was nothing wrong with it.

Even if it gets wet, it shouldn't reveal any flaws.

Song Qiling frowned, when she suddenly heard Zhou Ren tease her, "I couldn't see clearly before, but it turns out he's a pretty boy too."

Having already experienced Zhou Ren's lewd habits and knowing that his mind was full of filth and disgust, Song Qiling immediately stepped back, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. "It turns out I was too merciful and failed to cut off your hand."

If we hadn't mentioned that, Zhou Ren's expression would have changed immediately upon hearing Song Qiling's sarcastic remarks. He turned his head and ordered the people nearby, "Go, tie his hands and feet."

Having received the order, the two men stepped out of the crowd, hesitating whether or not to go forward.

Most of the workers at the post station were villagers from the surrounding area, many of whom were honest and conformist and had never done such shady things.

Seeing his men dawdling, Zhou Ren spat on the floor tiles, exasperated, and said, "Look at you cowards! You can't even tie someone up properly, what else can you do?"

Having said that, he grabbed his belt and pulled it up, then walked towards Song Qiling like a fighting rooster.

"Let's get this straight first. I was caught off guard, which allowed you to take advantage of the situation. In terms of skill, you might not be a match for me." Zhou Ren, relying on his height, forced the man into a corner.

As Song Qiling retreated, she quickly glanced around and noticed that the doorway was blocked by tables and chairs. Her anger grew, and when she looked at Zhou Ren who was approaching, she frowned, raised her leg without thinking, and kicked him hard in the chest.

Zhou Ren cried out in pain and reached out to grab Song Qiling's calf.

Seeing that the hands covered in dark marks were about to touch her, Song Qiling quickly stopped and retreated.

Zhou Ren, undeterred, roared and pounced again.

After several attempts to negotiate, Song Qiling saw that the man's interest was only growing, so she cursed under her breath.

It's like a piece of chewing gum; once you're stuck on it, it's hard to get rid of.

Having become accustomed to dealing with evil spirits, Song Qiling was caught off guard and unable to control himself, leaving him helpless against Zhou Ren for a time.

She wasn't afraid of being at a disadvantage, but rather of taking this person's life and being branded as a murderer.

Just as things were getting tense, a series of loud bangs suddenly sounded at the door.

Zhou Ren, panting heavily, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said impatiently, "Who is it? I'm busy!"

"What are you busy with?"

The voice from outside the door drifted into Song Qiling's ears, causing her lips to twitch slightly. She then shouted loudly, "Junior brother, open the door for me!"

Zhou Ren's expression changed upon hearing this. "Oh, the pretty boy even brought some helpers."

He sneered, "Too bad, even if the Heavenly King himself came, it wouldn't make a difference. You're not leaving this room today!"

Song Qiling had no time to fool around with him. She reached out and grabbed the person next to her and shoved him at Zhou Ren. Taking advantage of his distraction, she squeezed through the crowd and ran towards the door.

Just as the man was about to escape by pulling out the tables and chairs, Zhou Ren pushed aside the helper who was in his way and shouted unwillingly, "Stop him!"

"Fool." Song Qiling cursed under his breath, took out something from a hidden pocket in his sleeve, raised his hand and flicked it behind him. A small, gleaming dagger flew through the air and embedded itself in Zhou Ren's boots in the next instant.

Unexpectedly, the man stared in disbelief at the dagger on his foot and tried to lift it.

...t was unable to move.

The dagger struck with pinpoint accuracy, piercing the front of his boot and pinning his foot firmly to the spot.

Zhou Ren immediately fell silent, looking up in the direction Song Qiling had left, still feeling lingering fear.

If he had taken one more step forward, his forefoot would probably have been pierced.

-

In the corridor, a few travelers who had stayed overnight heard the commotion and stopped to watch from the doorway.

Upon seeing someone come out, their eyes immediately followed.

The young man in the lead had his clothes mostly soaked, and a few strands of his hair were also wet and stuck to his cheeks, making him look extremely disheveled.

It seems there was some unpleasantness with someone.

"Senior brother, what did they do to you?"

Gu Lianzhou followed his senior brother and left quickly. When they turned the corner and reached the door, his senior brother suddenly stopped and said with a gloomy expression, "I'll change into some clean clothes. You stay outside and keep watch."

Before he could finish speaking, the door slammed shut behind him.

Having grown up in a wealthy and powerful family, this young master was naive and unaware of the dangers of the world, nor did he know that not everyone was as kind as his senior brother.

Gu Lianzhou stood in front of the door for a long time, then turned his head to look back at the way he came.

It seems my senior brother's things are still in that room...

-

After this farce, it was already dark.

Yu Qi hunted a live rabbit, tied its legs with straw rope, and placed it in a corner of the room. Liu Dai saw this and teased, "Be careful, the rabbit might gnaw through the straw rope in the middle of the night and climb onto the bed to bite your ears."

The two were laughing and joking around, unaware that Song Qiling, sitting on the communal bed, was looking at them with a resentful expression.

"Get some rest, we have to get up early tomorrow to continue our journey." After saying this, Song Qiling slipped into bed like an eel, wrapped herself in the blanket, and said nothing more.

Yu and Liu looked at each other, then looked at Gu Lianzhou who was packing his luggage, and silently mouthed: What's wrong with him?

Gu Lianzhou remained silent, only shook his head, put down his luggage, and went out with a wooden basin to fetch water for washing.

The night was cool and still, with the full moon hanging high in the sky.

The bright moonlight shone through the window lattice and fell on the dormitory bed, casting a layer of white frost.

Song Qiling didn't sleep soundly. The events of the day flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern. Towards the end of her sleep, unable to bear the frustration, she sighed softly and opened her eyes.

Then, I realized something was wrong.

A person moved around the room with extremely light movements.

A chill ran down her spine, and her breath caught in her throat. Song Qiling cautiously craned her neck to look, and saw a man's silhouette swaying in the room. Judging from his figure, he looked seven or eight parts like her junior brother.

Just as I was about to take a closer look, I saw the man turn and walk towards the door.

They had locked the door before going to bed, but the man skillfully took the key from the table, easily opened the brass lock, and then went out.

Although there was moonlight, the room was not very bright, but the person's movements were fluid and effortless, as if he were in an empty room.

Song Qiling was no longer sleepy, so she simply threw off the covers and sat up. Looking at the empty bedding beside her, she became even more determined.

Her junior fellow apprentice suffered from dream walking disorder.

It is also known as somnambulism.

Perhaps because he hadn't slept in a bed for a long time, the illness had remained dormant until now that he had arrived at the post station and started sleeping in a bed, at which point the illness flared up.

This is not a good thing.

Regardless of my junior brother's condition, if we were to encounter a villain in this post station, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, Song Qiling sighed softly, threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, and followed him.

-

The corridor wasn't very long. It passed through four bedrooms: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Further on was the small kitchen.

Seeing his junior brother reach the end of the corridor, wander around for a while, and then turn around as if he had hit a wall, heading towards the Xuan room.

It was the same room where Song Qiling had been trapped during the day.

Gu Lianzhou paused for a moment, then calmly pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Many people lived in the Xuan room, and it was inevitable that some would get up at night. Perhaps for convenience, the room was not locked, which allowed Gu Lianzhou to take advantage of the situation.

Song Qiling frowned.

What exactly is her good junior brother up to?

She tiptoed to the door, and before she even went in, she heard the men snoring one after another. Song Qiling craned her neck to look inside, and after a moment, she saw the tall figure come to the dormitory and head straight for one of the beds.

In the darkness, Gu Lianzhou slowly raised his hand and reached towards the person's pillow, groping for a dark object. He then gripped the object tightly and gestured towards the person's neck.

Song Qiling's eyes widened in shock, a sense of foreboding flashing through her mind.

A chill ran down my spine, and my body reacted faster than my brain, taking off one of my shoes and throwing it at the man's head.

"Who is it!" Zhou Ren was fast asleep when he was suddenly hit on the forehead. He muttered angrily, and the next moment, he opened his eyes and met Gu Lianzhou's face.

Zhou Ren shuddered, nearly wetting his pants in fright.

As far as the eye could see, the man's pale face was filled with dark pupils that almost filled his entire eye sockets. He was almost face to face with him, just staring at him silently without saying a word, like a black ghost about to take a life.

The "Black Impermanence" tilted its head very slowly, as if it had discovered something new, and pushed the sharp object in its hand forward.

Zhou Ren looked down and quickly realized what was happening.

The dagger in this man's hand was the very same dagger that the pretty boy had left behind during the day!

"Spare...spare my life." Zhou Ren strained his neck, trying to avoid the sharp blade. He tried to raise his hand to block it, but his whole body was frozen and he couldn't move at all.

In such a critical moment, he was so frightened that his muscles went limp.

With a heavy sob in his voice, he begged for mercy, trembling, "I was wrong, I know I was wrong, I deserve to die... No, no, I can't die, please don't kill me, I'll do anything you want as long as you don't kill me."

The man's intermittent murmurs echoed in the room. Zhou Ren rolled his eyes, praying in his heart that someone in the room would wake up and save his life, but after waiting for a long time, he only heard the creaking of the bed.

The man simply turned over and went back to sleep.

Zhou Ren felt increasingly desperate.

Due to his nervousness, his tongue seemed to lose all feeling, slowly sinking deeper into his throat, and he could no longer utter a single cry for help.

Feeling the cold, sharp blade slicing through the skin, cutting towards the throbbing veins, a tremendous fear swept over me.

The man before me—no, he couldn't even be called a human being.

They were so close, yet he couldn't feel a single breath, and even the skin pressed against the edge of his neck was as cold as ice.

It's a ghost story.

It's a ghost!

"Help..." Zhou Ren's eyes bulged, and he managed to utter a short, labored syllable from deep in his throat, attempting a final struggle.

It was at this moment that Song Qiling grabbed her junior brother's right hand, which was used to commit the crime.

It was so cold to the touch that it almost made one pull their hand back in fright.

She tried to calm her racing breaths, her gaze fixed on Gu Lianzhou's profile, and softly called out, "Junior Brother?"

But then he saw his junior brother pause slightly, slowly turn his head, and look at him with his unusually dark eyes.

Then, the corners of his mouth slowly lifted, revealing a smile.

"Senior brother."