Chapter 75 Locking the Phoenix Tree (Part 8) In the end, what Senior Brother truly felt was still...

The carriage rolled heavily over the cobblestone road, splashing up a cloud of mud.

Song Qiling huddled in the shadows of the carriage, the arrow wound on her left shoulder tearing at her as the carriage jolted, each breath feeling like a sharp blade scraping against her bones.

Because the coachman was hired by the Murong family, the two did not let their guard down. Gu Lianzhou claimed that he had run into an old friend and was not satisfied with the meeting, so he wanted to go somewhere else to continue. He then slipped some money to the coachman.

The coachman was an honest and simple man. After receiving the reward, he didn't hesitate for a moment. He only asked where the destination was, and then drove the carriage towards Hushi Lane.

Before half an incense stick had burned, the two got off the car at the alley entrance and, supporting each other, staggered into the alley.

"Turn right." Song Qiling dragged her heavy steps and gave directions with difficulty. "It's at the end of the road."

Seeing this, Gu Lianzhou quickly grabbed her waist and pulled her half into his arms.

It was midday, and the sky was bright. There were quite a few people coming and going. Song Qiling tried to break free from his restraints, but Gu Lianzhou whispered, "Senior brother, don't push yourself anymore. It's more important to save your strength to heal your injuries."

The pain in her body was particularly intense, but the presence of the hand around her waist was also exceptionally strong. Song Qiling pursed her lips and remained silent, only looking down at her toes with dejection.

It was unintentional, he didn't mean it...

Gu Lianzhou was unaware that he was a woman; he was simply worried about his health.

Repeating this to herself, Song Qiling walked with difficulty to the door of her residence. Just as she was about to open the door, she suddenly remembered that the key was still in the brocade pouch she carried with her. She fumbled in the pouch with her fingertips without success, when she suddenly heard a "click" and the newly replaced brass lock, like her, drooped on the door knocker.

She hesitated and looked up, only to see Gu Lianzhou calmly push open the vermilion gate and help her slowly step into the courtyard.

The moment the latch clicked shut, Song Qiling finally lost her strength and almost collapsed to the ground.

"Let's rest inside." Without another word, Gu Lianzhou picked the person up and strode inside as if no one was there.

Thanks to the small size of the courtyard, the two entered the house in a few breaths, and Song Qiling was gently placed on the couch to sit down.

"Cough—" She raised her hand to cover her wound, looked at Gu Lianzhou who couldn't stop for a moment, and hesitated before saying, "Junior brother, you go out first, I need to change my clothes."

The strong smell of alcohol wafted over her nose, and she simply couldn't stand it for another second.

Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou, who was placing bottles and jars on the table, paused, his brows furrowing as he looked at her in confusion. "You injured your shoulder, how can you change your clothes by yourself?"

After saying that, without waiting for Song Qiling's reaction, he turned around and went to look for the wardrobe. His eyes swept around and he found a trunk full of clothes at the foot of the bed.

"...You're rich, so why can't you afford to rent a bigger room?" He squatted down, picked out a few clothes, and then walked over here.

Song Qiling was truly afraid of him.

"You forgot? It's a rule that you can't show your shirt to others." She clutched her clothes tightly, her hoarse voice tinged with helplessness. "I can do it myself. You can leave."

They wouldn't let anyone touch it back in Happy Village, and it's the same now.

My senior brother is always so stubborn and unwilling to show weakness; in the end, he just can't let go of his pride.

At her repeated urging, Gu Lianzhou silently put down the clothes, gave her a resentful look, and then left the room.

"If you have any trouble, just call me. I'll be waiting outside the door." With that, he gently closed the door, leaving Song Qiling alone sitting quietly by the bed.

She tore open her dark blue outer garment, which was soaked with wine, and struggled with what she was wearing in her night clothes.

She could still pull off the dark outer robe, but her inner garment had already fused with the wound. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and peeled the fabric away from her flesh inch by inch, vaguely hearing the faint hissing sound of skin separating from flesh.

“…” A painful gasp escaped from deep in her throat. Song Qiling picked up the bronze mirror on the table and saw the hideous wound on her shoulder.

The skin, soaked by the rain, had a grayish-white color like the belly of a dead fish, but the edges curled up into a bright scarlet.

The wound wasn't deep; at least it didn't expose bone.

She lit a candle, heated the dagger over the flame until it turned orange-red, and then, with trembling hands, she gripped the hilt and brought it close to the wound.

The moment the blade tip touched the wound, the pungent smell of burnt flesh assaulted my nostrils.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through his temples.

Although this treatment of flesh wounds was somewhat cruel, it was of great benefit to the recovery of the wounds. Therefore, even though Song Qiling's eyes were bloodshot and her teeth were chattering, she was unwilling to let go.

After the entire wound was treated, she suddenly dropped the dagger with a clatter.

Apply the wound medicine to the wound, then wrap it tightly with a dry cloth strip, creating a crooked bump on the shoulder with great difficulty.

After all that fuss, she was itching to just lie down shirtless, but then she caught a glimpse of a figure outside the door, and her heart jumped again.

It's unclear what Gu Lianzhou was thinking, but he stubbornly stood guard at the door, as if he was determined never to shake him off again.

After changing out of her blood-stained clothes and wrapping a plain silk cloth around her body, Song Qiling sighed softly.

If it weren't for the need to conceal her identity, why would she need to disguise herself as a man? She wouldn't have made one mistake after another, leading her to this predicament.

Dressed neatly, she called out softly, and heard rustling sounds at the door. A moment later, Gu Lianzhou pushed the door open and entered. Seeing her face as pale as paper and her breath as faint as a whisper, a small mountain of furrows appeared between his brows. "I'll go and invite Liu Dai over right away."

Seeing him turn to leave, Song Qiling couldn't help but feel anxious. "It's not a serious injury, there's no need to trouble Doctor Liu, you...you shouldn't go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Lianzhou stopped abruptly, turned around and knelt down in front of her, his eyes filled with a mixture of worry and anger: "How did you end up like this? You won't let me see my wounds or find a doctor. Do you think you have a body made of copper and iron, and you can heal yourself just by staying in bed?"

Song Qiling was speechless.

Then Gu Lianzhou continued, "I regard you as a respected senior brother, but you have repeatedly turned me away. In the end, I still don't have you in my heart."

"I...I'm not...me." Song Qiling's eyes flickered slightly as Gu Lianzhou pressed on, leaving her unsure how to respond.

When she met Gu Lianzhou's burning gaze, a strange tremor suddenly swept through her heart.

His posture at this moment was hardly dignified. He deliberately squatted down to lower his body in order to accommodate her, and when he looked up at her, there was an inappropriate sneer on his lips, just like... an abandoned dog.

The unfounded association sent a chill down her spine.

She wondered with distress if the other fellow disciples were as close as they were, and if they needed to keep each other in mind at all times.

Based on his limited experience and understanding, Song Qiling managed to say with difficulty, "Yes, there is. There is one for you."

That doesn't seem right either.

She suddenly felt her ears burning and hurriedly explained, "As the senior brother, how could I ask my junior brother to worry and take care of me? I didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that this journey is extremely dangerous, and it's inconvenient to take you with me. Do you understand my intention?"

"Yes, it was extremely dangerous." Gu Lianzhou's gaze swept over her shoulder before returning to her face, his voice carrying a hint of pressure. "If I hadn't happened to enter the library today, I'm afraid I would never have seen my senior brother again."

The resentment almost solidified and stabbed into Song Qiling's heart, and an indescribable feeling of soreness arose from the bottom of her heart.

Helplessly, she reached out and patted Gu Lianzhou's hand lightly. She saw the man in front of her look slightly stunned, looking down at their clasped hands.

"It won't happen again, please forgive me?" she said, her voice softening as she sincerely begged for forgiveness.

An unspoken silence filled the space between them.

After a moment, Gu Lianzhou curled his fingers slightly, withdrew his hand first, and stood up. "Since you don't want to call a doctor, then I'll go and make a bowl of ginger soup."

After saying that, he stormed out without waiting for Song Qiling's response.

After a short while, Gu Lianzhou returned with a bowl of thick, hot ginger soup.

I don’t know how much old ginger he chopped up; there were still unfiltered ginger bits floating on the brown soup surface, and the pungent smell hit my nose as the steam rose.

Song Qiling let him feed her the soup spoonful by spoonful, her brows furrowed so tightly they could trap a fly.

After swallowing the last spoonful of soup, she felt her tongue go numb, and even her breath carried the pungent taste of ginger.

"I feel much better, really." Her smile was more like a grimace. "I want to sleep for a while."

Gu Lianzhou stared at her for a while, then put down the soup bowl and helped her lie down.

The mattress wasn't exactly soft, and when my back hit the hard bed frame, a dull pain shot through my wound.

Song Qiling grunted softly, then guiltily forced a smile and said, "I'm fine, don't worry."

I closed my eyes for only a moment, and perhaps it was the ginger soup that was working, or perhaps my nerves, which had been tense for so long, finally relaxed, and a strong sense of drowsiness swept over me.

In the cramped bedroom, Song Qiling fell into a deep sleep without any warning.

Gu Lianzhou sat on the edge of the bed, staring intently at his senior brother as if afraid he would disappear.

The sleeping senior looked exceptionally thin, his eyelashes casting two pale gray shadows under his eyes, and even his breathing was so light it seemed to dissipate.

The emptiness in his heart seemed to have finally been filled. He clenched his knuckles, pinching deep crescent moons, but felt nothing at all.

His gaze shifted downwards, landing on his senior brother's pale neck.

My senior brother fell asleep in a hurry, and a few loose strands of hair were pressed under his neck, now soaked with sweat and clinging to his skin.

It looks very uncomfortable.

After staring at that spot for a long time, he finally couldn't help but bend down and reach out, raising his index finger to carefully touch his senior brother's neck.

The two suddenly became very close, and Gu Lianzhou felt a thin breath spray on his cheek. He stiffened, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his breathing became rapid.

The room was so quiet that the rustling of clothes and the sudden acceleration of heartbeats sounded deafening.

He suddenly realized what he was doing, stood up in a panic, stood there at a loss, and glanced around the small room haphazardly.

The roof beam was too low, barely taller than him, and covered in years of dust. A spider's web hung down from the beam, with a spider attached to its end.

The table wasn't spacious enough, and it was piled with scattered bottles and jars, some miscellaneous items, and a strangely shaped round box.

Gu Lianzhou lingered on the round box for a moment, then walked to the table and picked it up.

With nimble, well-defined knuckles, he deftly unscrewed the lid, revealing the ochre-colored ointment inside.

It has a faint earthy smell, which isn't very pleasant.

It looked somewhat familiar.

After pondering for a while without success, Gu Lianzhou covered it up tightly and put it back in its original place. He turned to look at his sleeping senior brother and saw that the bedding had become loose and crumpled at his waist, as if it had been in a fight.

Why is he still such a restless sleeper...?

Gu Lianzhou sighed helplessly, stepped forward, and tucked the blanket around his senior brother.

As dusk settled, the setting sun streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow over the room.

Golden-red spots of light climbed onto Song Qiling's eyelids, gilding her trembling long eyelashes with an amber hue. In her sleep, she slowly furrowed her brows, let out a muffled murmur, and then drifted off to sleep again.

The hands that were tucking the blanket around the corner paused, then slowly rose, hovering in mid-air, fingers spread out, blocking the disturbing sunset.

The room was completely silent, with only dust motes drifting slowly in the beam of light.