Chapter 77 Locking the Phoenix Tree (Part 10) It liked it; it liked its senior brother. ...

If she remembered correctly, it is not easy for demons to take form, but once they do, they are mostly born from the strongest desires in people's hearts. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that this dodder is Gu Lianzhou's true nature.

Now, the junior brother has made a decision that goes against his nature—he seems unaware that the reason why the dodder is so affectionate towards her is because of him.

“I didn’t feel any discomfort.” Song Qiling swallowed the last wonton, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “Besides… it’s smooth, soft, and resilient; it’s very pleasant to touch.”

Gu Lianzhou wondered if there was something wrong with his ears: "...Feels good?"

As if struck by a thought, he pinched his fingertips, and blood gradually seeped from his earlobe. "Why touch something unclean?"

"Pfft—" Song Qiling couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Who would dislike their companion demon like that?

“You’re the one who left the dodder seed there, and you’re the one who won’t let me get close to it.” She put down the empty bowl, her voice filled with distress. “Junior brother, you’re being too unreasonable.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Lianzhou's face went blank for a moment, as if he had finally realized his own contradiction. His lips parted slightly, but he could not say a word.

"Why are you acting so silly?" Song Qiling pointed to the food box on the table next to her. "You've been so busy talking to me, are you going to eat or not? Hurry up, it'll get cold soon."

Urged repeatedly by her, Gu Lianzhou seemed to wake from a dream, turned around and walked to the table, silently opened the food box and took out another porcelain bowl.

Only an oil lamp was lit in the room for illumination. At this moment, the light enveloped Gu Lianzhou, casting a dim, yellowish silhouette that appeared particularly lonely in his eyes.

Staring at his junior brother's slightly puffed cheeks, Song Qiling said softly, "Although I am a sorcerer, I can still distinguish between good and evil. In my eyes, you are no different from an ordinary person."

"Besides, you're my junior brother." She shifted to lie flat, pulled the blanket up to her neck, and sighed, "So don't overthink it. Your senior brother will never dislike you."

Gu Lianzhou paused in his chewing, looked up at the undulating curves on the couch, and felt as if a corner of his heart had collapsed, leaving him feeling extremely sore and weak.

As if sensing his thoughts, the dodder swayed back and forth at his feet, trying to swim towards the edge of the bed, but then abruptly pulled back halfway.

like.

It likes its senior brother.

-

"By the way, it's so late, don't you need to go back and let Yu Qi and the others know you're safe?"

Looking at the empty bedpost, Song Qiling said with a troubled expression, "They must be very worried about you leaving without saying goodbye today. They might be searching for you everywhere."

Gu Lianzhou said without changing his expression, "I have already told the coachman that he will pass on the message for me on the way back, so you don't need to worry, senior brother."

"Oh, I see."

Song Qiling breathed a sigh of relief, then heard her junior brother say, "Besides, I've long since stopped staying at the Murong family's place."

Hearing this, she became curious: "Where are you living now? Why don't you go back to Huaidu? Or are you planning to attend the birthday banquet of the old lady of the Nancheng Prince's Mansion before you leave?"

Seeing her bombard him with questions, Gu Lianzhou knew she had fully recovered and felt relieved, yet also somewhat helpless, as he replied, "I'm currently staying at the Junyue Inn on West Street. Because I was worried about my senior brother, I haven't returned to Huaidu. I did indeed plan to attend the birthday banquet at the Prince of Nancheng's residence..."

His intuition told him that his senior brother would also be attending the banquet.

Unexpectedly, his senior brother coughed as soon as he finished speaking. He panicked and put down his bowl and spoon, standing up and walking towards the bed.

Because of the pain from her shoulder wound, Song Qiling grimaced in pain, turned over and rolled to the inside of the bed so Gu Lianzhou wouldn't see her, and waved her hands repeatedly at him, saying, "Cough... It's nothing, I'm fine..."

A thin blush had crept onto her exposed neck.

What does it mean to be worried about her? Even though she is a "man" at this moment, she can still sense that something is wrong.

Is Gu Lianzhou too dependent on me?

After finally calming her breathing, Song Qiling slowly turned around, lying flat and staring at the roof beam. As her gaze drifted, a hand landed on her forehead.

"It's not hot," Gu Lianzhou's worried voice came from the side. "Why did you suddenly start coughing?"

Song Qiling stiffened her neck and resisted the urge to pull his hand away, instead closing her eyes and silently reciting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra in her heart.

It is her mind that is filthy.

My junior brother treats her as a man, a brother, or even a father, but he would never treat her as a woman.

This "worry" is certainly not related to romantic feelings between men and women.

How could she possibly judge a gentleman by the standards of a petty person?

Only someone with a guilty conscience like her would avoid this like the plague.

After much agonizing thought, she seemed to have made a tremendous decision, and looked up at Gu Lianzhou: "It's getting late, if you don't mind, you can stay."

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Lianzhou's hand trembled, and she quickly added, "My bed is too small, so you'll have to make do with sleeping on the floor..."

"Okay." Gu Lianzhou hadn't planned to leave anyway and was just worried about finding a reason to stay overnight. Hearing this, he readily agreed and said without thinking, "It's not a hardship."

Song Qiling: "..."

Something just doesn't feel right.

Therefore, after half an incense stick's time, Song Qiling looked at the pitch-black room and fell silent.

"Junior brother, are you asleep?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

Hearing the rustling sound of fabric, Gu Lianzhou seemed to turn over and whispered, "No."

Song Qiling had disturbed his Daoist mind, and now his anger was hard to quell. It is said that only the one who tied the knot can untie it, so she had no choice but to pester this "culprit" and keep talking: "Junior brother, tell me about your situation."

Gu Lianzhou laughed and said, "Did you sleep too long during the day? Aren't you sleepy?"

This time, he didn't even call her "senior brother" anymore.

Song Qiling raised an eyebrow slightly, quite displeased, and said, "Aren't you sleepy too? Talk to me for a bit."

After pondering for a moment, the junior brother reluctantly compromised and said, "Alright, let's start from when I was born."

In the darkness, hearing became exceptionally clear. Gu Lianzhou's voice was deep and resonant, his enunciation carrying a unique rhythm that rolled over the eardrums, making one's heart itch.

Song Qiling raised her hand to her chest, scratching her heart through the skin: "Hmm, you say it."

"I'm not afraid to tell you, senior brother, but on the day I was born, dark clouds covered the sky and blocked out the sun. It was clearly daytime, but the entire city of Huaidu seemed to be shrouded in darkness. We needed to light lamps to see anything. According to rumors, the Gu family mansion on that day was like Fengdu appearing in the world. And my mother died the moment she gave birth to me."

His tone was flat, as if he were talking about something perfectly normal, but it made Song Qiling's heart pound with fear.

"When I was born, I was already able to open my eyes. My bloodshot eyes were like those of a demon from the underworld. My family became even more convinced that I was a jinx, and they immediately wanted to drown me in a water vat."

Song Qiling frowned: "...And then what happened?"

Gu Lianzhou continued, "Later, because of my status as the eldest son, the head of the ancestral hall rushed into my home, stopped the torturers, and saved my life."

"I've heard what happened after that. Although I survived, I cried incessantly from a young age because of my ability to see ghosts, which caused panic throughout the Gu family. Before I was even three years old, I was sent to the manor."

At this point, Gu Lianzhou paused, then chuckled, "When I was young, I didn't know the hardships. Now that I think about it, my childhood was not so pleasant. I often went hungry and cold, but I also learned how to catch fish in the river and climb trees to hunt birds. So it was quite a happy time."

Hearing his feignedly relaxed tone, Song Qiling was unconvinced, feeling a tightness in her chest. "So the Gu family is just going to let you fend for yourself?"

On second thought, back in Huaidu, if Gu Shaoyang hadn't insisted on inviting her into the mansion to exorcise the evil spirits, Gu Lianzhou would probably have been bedridden forever. And after her junior brother escaped from the Gu mansion, it seems no one came to Nancheng to look for him.

It turns out that all these seemingly illogical things had a basis in fact.

"He's a real piece of trash," she muttered under her breath.

Gu Lianzhou laughed and said, "After that, I met my master, who sealed away my yin-yang eyes that brought me trouble. Since then, I have been learning how to be an ordinary child, learning to read and write, and gradually I have become more like a person."

“It wasn’t until my third aunt gave birth to my younger brother that I was brought home to grow up with Shao Yang.” He sighed softly. “That’s how you came to know the eldest young master Gu.”

Song Qiling's fingers curled slightly as she rubbed the corner of the blanket together, somewhat regretting having asked Gu Lianzhou to tell her a story.

This isn't storytelling; it's like cutting open a chest, scooping out the heart, and leaving it on the ground for people to trample on repeatedly.

And she was the one who handed him the knife.

“They’re blind, mistaking a pearl for a fish eye.” Song Qiling forced a smile and tried to smooth things over. “I think you’re great. Not only are you good-looking and have a good temperament, but you’re also a very loyal junior brother.”

"In short, you're a good person, not some kind of jinx. Although your constitution is a bit special and you're prone to attracting evil spirits, luckily, I'm a highly skilled demon hunter. With me here, no matter what kind of demons, monsters, or evil spirits they are, they're all no match for me!"

Perhaps he had boasted too much, because after he finished speaking, Gu Lianzhou remained silent for a long time.

Song Qiling fiddled with the stitches at the corner of the quilt, pulling out the loose cotton thread. Her heart was pounding, and she wished she could sew her mouth shut.

"Senior brother."

"Um?"

In the darkness, Gu Lianzhou sat up, bending his elbows. The quilt slid down his body and piled up around his waist, while his long, dark blue hair cascaded over his shoulders like splashed ink.

His eyes were fixed on Song Qiling, who was standing close to him, and he said earnestly, "Aren't you afraid that I'll cling to you and never let go of you as you comfort me like this?"

Song Qiling's fingers, which were tightly gripping the corner of the blanket, suddenly loosened, thinking to herself, "You've already got me hooked."

She only struggled for a moment before she understood.

"Who told me to be born with the heart of a bodhisattva?" she chuckled, and said shamelessly, "For someone like me, with the purity of snow and plum blossoms, the uprightness of the wind and the moon, the icy soul and the spirit of snow, to be entangled with you is probably a calamity ordained by the heavens."

She paused, then sighed deliberately, "Tsk, then I'll just accept my fate."

The air fell silent for a moment.

After a short while, Gu Lianzhou pursed his lips slightly, lay back down, pulled the blanket up to his chin, and said in a muffled voice, "Senior brother, it's late, you should sleep."

Song Qiling, who possessed the qualities of "snow-like plum blossom bones, clear breeze and bright moon, icy soul and snow-like spirit," blinked: "My junior brother's drowsiness came too suddenly."

After staring into the darkness for a long time, she had no choice but to close her eyes in frustration.

After a few breaths, she suddenly opened her eyes, belatedly turning her head to look at the floor below the bed: "Junior brother, are you making fun of me?"

But then the blankets churned for a moment, and Gu Lianzhou's muffled voice came from inside: "Bodhisattva, sleep."

You can have anything in your dreams.