*

While Nan Qing and Qin Mobei were having a good time exchanging blows, Su Lin was holding a peach wood sword and searching the whole city for evil spirits.

1:37 a.m., in the alleys of the north of the city.

The moonlight was swallowed by thick clouds, and the old alley was empty and quiet in the dead of night. The air was filled with a damp, musty smell. Su Lin was wearing a plain white Chinese-style Suzhou embroidery shirt, holding a peach wood short sword with a green jade hilt in his hand, and a slightly faded red rope tied around his left wrist.

Those usually gentle features were now as cold as frost, their eyes filled with a dark light.

He's looking for evil spirits.

It wasn't about ridding the people of evil, nor was it about fulfilling the duties of the Su family's exorcists; it was simply... a desire to vent.

His slender fingers slowly tightened, and the peach wood sword in his hand gleamed with a faint golden light. Wherever the sword's edge pointed, the yin energy dissipated.

But the image of Nan Qing holding Qin Beimo's arm kept flashing through his mind. She was smiling so brightly, her eyes filled with intimacy and indulgence.

"Oh....."

Su Lin chuckled softly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Why her of all people?

And why is she... his younger sister?

His reason was screaming at him to stop, but his heart was beating uncontrollably for her. Every breath he took felt like drinking poison to quench his thirst; the more he suppressed it, the more his heart pounded wildly.

Morality and desire tore at his soul like two sharp blades, splitting him in two.

He was half a self-disciplined and proper older brother who gently and restrainedly protected her.

The other half... is a madman who longs to possess her and meld her into his very bones. He wants to hear her cry out his name, and he wants to see her eyes reflecting only his image.

"come out."

A gentle voice echoed through the alley, startling a few crows that were roosting there at night.

As he finished speaking, several rustling sounds came from the shadows of the alley, and a few lowly demons shrank into existence, staring at him in terror with their scarlet eyes.

They could sense that the exorcist before them possessed a malevolent aura far stronger than that of the evil spirits themselves!

One of the demons spoke tremblingly:

"Master..."

"We haven't harmed anyone, we're just... just hiding here..."

Su Lin raised his eyes, a cold light gleaming in them. He chuckled softly, his voice eerily gentle.

"Is that so?"

"So what..."

These ghosts should not exist.

If it weren't for that man, how could Qingqing have been seduced!

As soon as he finished speaking, the peach wood sword emitted a burst of golden light.

Before the evil spirits could even scream, they were reduced to ashes in the sword light. Su Lin stood there, a few wisps of black smoke dissipating at the tip of the sword, but the gloom in his eyes remained unchanged.

A night breeze blew by, scattering the stray hairs on his forehead. He looked down at his hands and suddenly found it all laughable.

What is he doing?

For someone who can never belong to him, he slaughters evil spirits like a madman in the dead of night.

These filthy things are not even worthy to be the dust beneath her feet, yet he can only use their demise to suppress the delusions in his heart that are about to break free of their cage.

Su Lin slowly sheathed his peach wood sword and looked up at the night sky.

The moonlight was cold and desolate, and the stars scattered like broken ice, yet they could not penetrate his dark eyes.

He tried to convince himself to ignore the surging love in his heart.

However, some thoughts, once they take root, are like a malignant tumor that can never be completely eradicated.

...

At seven o'clock in the morning, Su Lin entered the password for "Baogu Zhai" and pushed open the door.

After killing evil spirits all night, he not only failed to dispel the delusions in his heart, but also longed to see her even more.

Meanwhile, Qin Mobei, who was in the bedroom upstairs, opened his eyes, which had been closed as if he were in a deep sleep. He had known about Su Lin as soon as he stood in front of the door.

He looked down at Nan Qing, who was fast asleep in his arms, and placed a light kiss on her forehead. Then he carefully settled her down, and casually pulled on a black silk shirt, but deliberately left it unbuttoned, letting the shirt open to reveal his strong chest and a few ambiguous scratch marks on his waist and abdomen.

Su Lin stopped abruptly as he stepped onto the first step of the stairs.

At the end of the stairs, a tall, slender figure was slowly descending.

Their eyes met.

A standoff that leaves no trace.

Su Lin's eyes were calm as water, but his fingertips twitched involuntarily at his side. He saw the bite mark on Qin Mobei's neck that had not yet faded, and he also saw the scratch marks on his waist and abdomen.

He knew that Qin Mobei was using these traces to silently declare a certain kind of sovereignty.

She is still unconscious.

Qin Mobei stood in the middle of the stairs, looking down at the tower. His voice was neither loud nor soft, but it carried the unique imposing aura of a thousand-year-old emperor.

Su Lin stood still.

Just then, a soft sound of someone turning over came from the second floor.

The two of them looked up at the same time, subconsciously looking towards the source of the sound. The subtle movement was like an invisible thread, pulling at the two people on the stairs.

Qin Mobei lowered his voice, each word sounding like it was laced with poison.

"She's tired."

"Brother-in-law, please come another day."

Su Lin remained silent, his eyes blank, but his heart had already been scorched and riddled with holes by jealousy.

"Mr. Qin, please call me Mr. Su."

"I wonder how many brothers-in-law Mr. Qin had a thousand years ago. I can't bear the title you're giving me."

He raised his eyes, his icy gaze piercing Qin Mobei, and stated bluntly:

“My Qingqing loves to have fun, and she’s different now than before. Dating, breaking up, getting married and getting divorced are all very common, nothing special.”

"and....."

At this point, Su Lin curled his lips into a cold smile, took a step forward as if stepping on his own shattered morality, and no longer concealed the sharpness in his eyes.

"You ghost, do you really think you can bring happiness to Qingqing?"

"Su Lin!"

Qin Mobei's surging Yin energy was almost tangible. He slowly descended the stairs, and with each step, a thin layer of black frost formed on the steps. He finally stopped on a step two steps higher than his opponent, his voice low and deep, as if it came from underground:

"If you weren't Qingqing's biological brother..."

He raised his right hand, wisps of black energy swirling around his fingertips: "I will definitely turn you into a human pig."

Qin Mobei exuded an imposing aura, and the yin energy swirling around him was as black as ink.

However, Su Lin remained completely unmoved.

Even the black aura emanating from Qin Mobei lingered around him, as if it dared not approach.

He met Qin Mobei's inhuman golden eyes head-on, his aura no less imposing.

"I'm always ready to assist you."

The two were so close that they could see each other's reflections in each other's eyes.

One is a suppressed madness beneath a gentle exterior.

One is the murderous intent surging within the emperor's majesty.

At this moment, the copper bell hanging in the foyer suddenly shook wildly, but strangely, it didn't make a sound. The surface of the glass on the coffee table was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and all the koi in the fish tank turned belly up.

Meanwhile, Little Eight, hiding in its soft nest, once again lost its soul. The little hedgehog, now soulless, lay limp and helpless in its nest, unaware of anything.

The entire shop was filled with a surge of yin energy, and the peach wood sword in Su Lin's hand was also emitting a brilliant golden light.

Just as things were about to break out—

A faint sound came from the second floor again.

Both of them stopped their attacks at the same time.

Qin Mobei glanced down at Su Lin, said nothing more, and turned to walk upstairs.

At that moment, the morning light was just right outside the door.

Su Lin stood on the steps and took one last look back at the tightly closed bedroom door on the second floor.

"There is ample time."

After saying this, Su Lin straightened his meticulously tailored collar, stepped out, and as he passed the fish tank, he casually snapped his fingers. All the koi carp that had turned white came back to life and continued to swim happily in the water.

Rude.

Apart from his face, he has nothing to offer.

It won't be long before Qingqing dumps him!