Chapter 100 Springtime Confusion (Part 8) Senior Brother's body was soft and trembling...
The mountain wind howled, carrying with it the dampness and the unique scent of soil and decaying leaves from the deep mountains, blowing against people's faces in gusts.
Song Qiling stood before the mountain demon's nest, his clothes fluttering in the strong wind.
She took out a stack of cinnabar talismans from her bosom, her fingertips lightly stroking the surface of the paper. The incantation glowed with a faint golden light. As she silently recited the incantation, she flicked her wrist, and several talismans flew out, accurately sticking to the area around the cave, forming a barrier.
Almost the instant the barrier took shape, a sharp, piercing roar came from the depths of the cave, and a dark shadow suddenly pounced out of the cave!
The mandrill was hunched over, its body covered in coarse black fur. Its eyes, as large as copper bells, gleamed with a terrifying blood-red light. Its ferocious fangs protruded, and saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth, emitting a nauseating stench.
A pair of sharp claws, like hooks, fiercely grabbed at the barrier, causing the golden light of the barrier to ripple out instantly.
Song Qiling's face was ashen. He raised a peach branch he had casually broken off on the road and pointed it at the mountain demon, scolding in a low voice, "You monster, how dare you act so fiercely!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she leaped forward, the peach wood branch in her hand whistling through the air as she struck the demon's joints with pinpoint accuracy. Though not as sharp as a blade, it still made the mountain demon howl in pain.
After a brief struggle, Song Qiling seized an opening and pulled out a purple talisman with lightning runes drawn on it from her waist. With a flick of her finger, she struck the mountain demon squarely in the chest!
A muffled thunderous explosion erupted in front of the mandrill's chest, and the mandrill immediately let out a shrill howl as its massive body was thrown heavily to the ground.
The black aura around it dissipated, and its size shrank at a visible speed, eventually turning back into a monkey less than three feet tall with charred black fur, curled up on the ground, emitting mournful "woo-woo" cries.
Just then, a faint rumble of thunder came from the horizon.
A few large, cold raindrops pierced through the dense foliage and pattered onto the forest clearing, kicking up fine dust.
Having learned its lesson, the mandrill, now back in its original form, dared not linger any longer. Howling in pain, it scrambled back into the depths of its nest and disappeared.
Song Qiling put away the peach wood branch, glanced at the empty cave, and clicked her tongue softly.
This mandrill is really not tough to fight.
The raindrops became denser, and a rustling sound filled the mountains and forests.
Without further delay, she hurried down the path she had come from before the rain intensified, heading back towards the bamboo hut on the mountainside.
-
When Song Qiling returned to the bamboo hut, he was soaked to the bone, and his clothes were so wet they could be wrung out.
She quickly closed the door behind her, loosened her belt, and walked towards the bed. As she took off half of her clothes, she caught a glimpse of a spark out of the corner of her eye, and her movements paused involuntarily.
It was cool outside, but warm inside.
Water was warming on the small clay stove, bubbling and releasing tiny wisps of white steam.
...It's definitely her house, so where did this clay stove come from?
Suspicious, Song Qiling quickly approached and immediately noticed a piece of letter quietly pressed under the teacup.
I freed one hand to pull it out and brought it close to my eyes for a closer look. I saw that the characters on it were elegant and upright, and very pleasing to the eye.
[The rain is heavy in the mountains; I fear my senior brother may not have brought an umbrella. Ginger soup is prepared on the stove; he can drink it upon his return.]
With her damp fingertips squeezing the letter until it softened, Song Qiling laughed and put it down, continuing to pull off the clothes that were sticking to her body. After stripping herself naked, she turned around and changed into a soft, clean, plain white nightgown, then took a handkerchief and slowly wrung out her hair.
Once the chill had completely dissipated, she brewed herself a cup of hot ginger tea and curled up on the soft couch by the window.
The warm ceramic bowl soothed her palms as she sipped the liquor. The spicy warmth slid down her throat, dispelling the last bit of chill, and she felt her entire body relax and unwind.
The pattering rain outside the window only made the room feel even quieter, almost making her curl up on the tatami mat and drift off to sleep.
"Knock knock knock—"
Suddenly, a few soft rustling sounds came from the bamboo wall beside me.
The sound is clear; you can even hear the rhythm of the knuckles tapping.
Song Qiling was slightly taken aback and turned her head to look at the wall.
There was a slight gap at the joint of the bamboo sections, through which a sliver of warm, dim light shone from the neighboring room.
She put down her teacup, leaned over with interest, raised her hand, her knuckles slightly curled, and gently tapped twice in the corresponding spot.
The noise from the other side stopped immediately.
After a brief silence, Gu Lianzhou's voice came through the bamboo wall, "Senior brother, you're back?"
Song Qiling couldn't help but laugh.
This bamboo hut is indeed not soundproof at all.
"Yes, I'm back."
She relaxed her body and leaned softly against the cool bamboo wall, her voice carrying a hint of languid laughter, "Don't worry, I taught that mountain demon a lesson, it shouldn't dare to come out and cause trouble again for a while."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone on the other side of the wall immediately followed up with, "Senior brother, are you injured? I...I'm very worried about you."
Although the person was invisible, the worry in the voice was almost tangible, seeping over them in a damp, comforting way.
Song Qiling felt a sudden tightness in her chest for no apparent reason, and said rather uncomfortably, "I'm perfectly fine. How could a mere mountain demon possibly harm me?"
She paused, then her tone became lighter, tinged with self-deprecation, "But this rain, it came down so hard and fast, it just happened to hit me on my way back."
There was a moment of silence on the other side of the wall. When the voice came again, Gu Lianzhou's deep tone seemed to contain a hint of regret: "If I had known the rain would be this heavy, I should have gone to pick up my senior brother."
"Come on," Song Qiling said, looking at her bare feet and swinging them listlessly. "If you came, I'd have to worry about you getting blown away by the mountain wind, wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"
"Senior brother..." The junior brother's voice carried a hint of protest, coming from behind the bamboo wall, muffled, as if he were really aggrieved by the wind, "How could I be so fragile?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Song Qiling readily agreed, but the smile in her eyes deepened. "Once you've recovered from your injuries, you can do whatever you want."
As they talked, she held the slightly cool ginger tea, her body gradually relaxing, her voice tinged with drowsiness, "Junior brother, I'm going to take a nap... Thank you for the ginger soup..."
The torrential rain pounded against the roof and window frames of the bamboo house, as if only a noisy curtain of water remained between heaven and earth.
Under the cover of the noisy rain, a blurry gray shadow silently slipped in through the gap below the bamboo door.
The shadow was as thin as a sheet of paper, clinging to the ground, moving swiftly and nimbly, like a wisp of condensed mist.
In the blink of an eye, it had already sneaked under Song Qiling's bed and completely disappeared into the dark corner.
-
Song Qiling fell into endless darkness, as if sinking into a cold, viscous deep sea.
The surroundings were unfamiliar, a suffocating blend of luxury and coldness belonging to the royal palace.
Her limbs were tightly bound to the rack by cold shackles, rendering her unable to move. All she could see was her mother Zhao Luan's beautiful yet distorted face, her eyes filled with years of pent-up hatred and icy resentment.
"Bastard child..." The woman's voice was as if it had been pulled from an ice cellar, carrying a chilling coldness, "The pain you have inflicted on me, I will repay you a thousandfold today."
Song Qiling struggled desperately, but it was as if her throat was being choked, and she couldn't make a sound. She could only watch helplessly as Zhao Luan waved her hand slightly.
Two guards roughly dragged someone over, and upon closer inspection, she realized that the person was none other than Gu Lianzhou…
His face was pale, and there was a glaring bloodstain on his lips, but his eyes were fixed on her anxiously, full of worry, as if he wanted to make sure she was safe.
"Senior brother..." he called out in a hoarse voice.
Zhao Luan sneered, opened a box full of pills, picked up a shiny black pill with purple demonic patterns floating in it, and forcibly pried open Gu Lianzhou's mouth and stuffed it in.
One, two, three… Gu Lianzhou coughed violently, trying to resist, but to no avail.
As the demon cores entered his stomach, his clear eyes were quickly swallowed by darkness, and a thick, dark demonic aura began to emanate uncontrollably from his body. It was as if black veins were writhing painfully beneath his skin.
He let out a painful whimper, his reason being torn apart by the raging demonic power.
No! Don't! You can't!
Stop! Stop!
Song Qiling screamed wildly in her heart, feeling as if her heart was being tightly gripped and repeatedly kneaded by an icy hand, the pain almost shattering her.
Then, she saw Zhao Luan smile, pick up a sharp dagger, and without hesitation stab it into her junior brother's shoulder!
"Ugh—"
Gu Lianzhou suddenly tilted his head back, his neck veins bulging, and let out a suppressed groan of pain.
The blade slashed and a piece of flesh was ripped off, and blood gushed out instantly.
Song Qiling fell silent instantly, her face drained of color. She opened her mouth to stare at her junior brother's bloodied wound, but no sound came out.
The black energy surged wildly at the wound, almost instantly repairing the injury and leaving only dark red traces of new flesh.
“Look, flesh and blood regenerating, how interesting.” Zhao Luan chuckled, her voice both pleasurable and cruel. “In this way, he can endure even more…”
The second knife fell on his arm, the third on his chest, the fourth...
Each cut was a slow, agonizing torture of Gu Lianzhou's body, and also a slow, agonizing torture of Song Qiling's spirit.
Large beads of sweat streamed down her forehead and slid down her clothes.
She stared blankly at Zhao Luan's frantic actions, her breathing rapid, and her vision blurring.
Fresh blood gushed out, soaking through her junior brother's plain clothes and staining them with large, shocking patches of dark red. The strong smell of rust filled her nostrils and rushed to her throat, causing her stomach to churn.
The man's groans gradually transformed from low moans of pain into howls like a wild beast, until finally only intermittent, faint gasps remained. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with endless pain and chaos, no longer reflecting any trace of their former clarity.
"Senior brother...it hurts so much..." Gu Lianzhou murmured unconsciously, his voice so weak it was almost inaudible.
No, no, no, no... You can't do this... This is wrong... Why, why, why...
Song Qiling mumbled unconsciously, cold sweat beading on her forehead, and painful tears seeping from the corners of her eyes, soaking the pillow. Her sobs sounded particularly clear and desolate in the quiet room.
"Senior brother, senior brother, wake up!"
Wake up!
Gu Lianzhou bent down and called softly, trying to wake her from the nightmare.
Because he was worried about his senior brother who had returned from being caught in the rain, he did not sleep deeply. However, in a half-dream state, he suddenly heard intermittent, suppressed but still clearly audible sobs and murmurs coming from the other side of the wall.
His voice was mournful and fearful, tinged with sobs, a stark contrast to his usual composed senior brother.
Almost at the same moment, he concluded that his senior brother was trapped in an extremely terrifying nightmare, so he disregarded etiquette and barged into the room.
The candles inside had long been extinguished, and only the faint light of daylight shone through the window paper, vaguely outlining the shape of the bed.
The senior brother was buried deep in the quilt, his body trembling slightly, his forehead soaked with cold sweat, his tightly furrowed brows full of pain, and he was unconsciously shaking his head, as if he was trying his best to resist some terrifying sight.
Just as he approached the edge of the bed, his fingertips about to touch Song Qiling's shoulder, he caught a glimpse of a very faint gray shadow lying under his senior brother's bed.
He was all too familiar with this thing; it was the colorless and formless evil spirit.
In a flash, with a slight thought, a wisp of dodder, as thin as a hair, split off from beneath his feet and swiftly swam toward the gray shadow, swallowing it up in an instant.
At the same time, Song Qiling gasped sharply, as if a drowning person had finally surfaced, and suddenly opened his eyes.
The darkness before him was no longer the cold torture chamber of his nightmare, but a familiar, dimly lit bamboo hut.
Song Qiling's chest heaved violently, the lingering fear still gripping her heart. Through her teary eyes, she could barely make out a blurry figure beside the bed.
The outline was both familiar and unsettling.
The person beside the bed was my junior brother.
The nightmare was abruptly interrupted, but the excruciating pain was too real. The image of Zhao Luan's cold, twisted smile and her junior brother's bloodied, mangled flesh still flashed wildly before her eyes, almost tearing her mind apart.
The immense panic, like a raging torrent, instantly breached the dam of reason.
Almost instinctively, she sat up abruptly and, as if grasping at a lifeline, buried her face in the arms of the person beside her.
Gu Lianzhou froze completely.
Warm body heat seeped through the thin nightgown, and the senior brother's body trembled softly, his hair brushing against his chin, bringing a slight tickle.
His senior brother had never shown such vulnerability and helplessness in front of him before; the slight trembling made him gasp for breath.
An emotion he had never experienced before, a mixture of warmth, fragrance, and tenderness, completely enveloped him. His heart felt as if it had been struck hard by something, suddenly losing its rhythm and pounding wildly.
Blood rushed to my head, my ears were ringing, and my arms were so stiff I didn't know what to do with them.
The darkness amplifies all the senses.
His senses of touch, smell, and hearing became exceptionally acute. He could clearly feel his senior brother's helpless trembling, hear the faint sobs that still escaped after being suppressed, and feel his senior brother's breath, which made him dizzy.
Time seemed to stand still.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Lianzhou, almost instinctively, very slowly and awkwardly raised his hand and gently placed it on his senior brother's back, which was rising and falling slightly due to his rapid breathing, patting it lightly one pat at a time.
"Don't be afraid, it was just a dream, it's alright..."
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