Chapter 113 Killing the Grand Duke (Part 1) She was just timid and cowardly…
Wan Hongling choked on his words, her cheeks flushing red.
Her eyes darted around, avoiding Gu Lianzhou's gaze, but she refused to back down, saying, "Who, who's lying! Don't talk nonsense!"
Her stuttering revealed her obvious unease.
Gu Lianzhou did not respond, but simply looked at her quietly, his gaze deep and unfathomable, like a bottomless, icy pool.
Wan Hongling had always felt that although Gu Lianzhou appeared humble and gentle on the surface, he was by no means easy to get along with.
At this moment, she became even more certain of this idea.
I really don't know how Song Langjun usually puts up with his strange personality.
Thinking this way, under the man's lifeless gaze, the initial panic and shame in my heart strangely and slowly calmed down.
What followed was a vague and inexplicable sense of sarcasm.
So what if he's a junior brother? He still knows nothing about Song Langjun's female identity.
How incredibly stupid.
She took a deep breath, a faint smile slowly blooming on her lips, and looked up to meet his gaze: "Young Master Gu, since you and Young Master Song are fellow disciples, you must be spending every day together, inseparable. If there is any problem, wouldn't it be better to ask Young Master Song directly? Why make things difficult for an outsider like me?"
"So, Miss Wan is an outsider now?" Gu Lianzhou said coldly. "Just now you said you wanted to be my sister-in-law, and now you've turned your back on me? Or were you just lying to me?"
This person is really stubborn.
Wan Hongling was so angry that her brow twitched.
"Whether I'm an outsider or an insider is none of your business." She looked Gu Lianzhou up and down, then suddenly chuckled, "In short, I'm closer to Song Langjun than you are."
As soon as she finished speaking, she crossed her arms with a smile, taking in every subtle change on Gu Lianzhou's face with a leisurely air.
Her words were spoken lightly, yet they were like a tiny thorn, silently piercing the flesh and drilling deep into the bloodstream, leaving no room for relief.
Gu Lianzhou's breath hitched.
What makes her so certain?
What does it mean to have a closer relationship than he did with his senior brother?
What kind of relationship is that?
Seeing Gu Lianzhou suddenly fall silent and his face darken, Wan Hongling knew that her words had hit a nerve.
Therefore, she said no more, only gave him a slight curtsy, then turned around, called to Qiu'er who was guarding behind her, and fled from the narrow alley as if escaping.
Gu Lianzhou stood still for a long time.
Wan Hongling's last words echoed in his ears like a curse—"Just ask Young Master Song directly."
Should I ask?
He looked up at the sky, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
Those lingering questions churned in my throat, but were ultimately suppressed by a deeper fear.
Only my senior brother...
He couldn't bring himself to ask.
The discomfort from forcibly swallowing asparagus seemed to rise in my throat again, my stomach cramped, and that intense nausea returned.
He suddenly raised his hand to hold onto the door frame, large beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. He endured it for a moment, then finally lowered his head and bent down.
My stomach was completely empty, and I couldn't vomit anything; only sour, bitter liquid burned my throat.
He slowly closed his eyes, sealing all the turbulent waves under a silent shadow.
-
By the time Song Qiling returned, the sun was already setting in the west.
Her face was still damp with a light sheen of sweat from her journey, but her eyes shone brightly, clearly filled with anticipation for her future "business," and she was in a very good mood.
Hearing the noise, Gu Lianzhou came out of the house. When his gaze fell on her, he paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, then quickly stepped forward, silently took the package, and turned to walk towards the bedroom.
Unaware of what was happening, Song Qiling followed him into the house, eagerly opened the box, unwrapped the package, and laid out the newly bought writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table.
She picked up an ink stick, bent down and began grinding it, saying to Gu Lianzhou without looking up, "Junior brother, you should have a couple of bites tonight. I need to review the runes now so I won't be rusty when I open for business tomorrow."
She spoke in a light tone, completely absorbed in the excitement of preparing for business, and did not notice at all that her junior brother beside her was in a bad mood.
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou responded softly, stepped forward, took the inkstone and ink stick from Song Qiling's hand, and began grinding ink for her.
The thick black ink, mixed with water, slowly dissolved in the inkstone, releasing its unique bitter fragrance.
He casually remarked, "Senior brother, Miss Wan has come again today."
Song Qiling was spreading out a sheet of yellow paper, dipping a brush in ink, and sketching talismans with fluid, uninterrupted strokes. Upon hearing this, she replied, "Yes, she must have come to deliver something to me."
At this point, she paused slightly, finally raising her eyes to look at Gu Lianzhou. In those usually clear and open eyes, there was now a hint of unease.
Gu Lianzhou was caught off guard when his gaze met hers. He paused slightly, then quietly moved towards the deepening twilight outside the window.
Song Qiling asked hesitantly, "Did you leave anything behind?"
Gu Lianzhou shook his head: "No, I sent the person away because you weren't here, Senior Brother."
Upon hearing this, Song Qiling visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
She lowered her eyes again, her gaze falling on the unfinished talisman under her brush.
The pen tip continued to move, but the speed seemed to slow down a little, with a hint of absent-mindedness.
"It was I who broke my promise," she said softly, as if talking to herself, yet also as if explaining to Gu Lianzhou, "It was my fault."
I had previously agreed with Wan Hongling that if she wasn't home, I would wrap the newly made silk robe in a cloth bag and throw it over the wall into the courtyard.
It seems that I just happened to run into my junior brother guarding the house today, and I was caught in a dilemma, so I couldn't give him that robe no matter what.
Since it was dressed as a woman, Miss Wan wouldn't have dared to entrust the item to her junior brother without prior notice.
Thinking of this, Song Qiling felt a little guilty.
By keeping it a secret from her junior brother, she allowed him to mistakenly fall into this immoral relationship, which was ultimately her fault.
She had considered revealing her identity.
But for some reason, whenever the words are about to come out, I always feel inexplicably flustered.
If my junior brother really has homosexual tendencies, then isn't her action a slap in the face?
Getting angry with her is secondary.
The worst-case scenario is that the junior brother, unable to obtain the love he desires, becomes enraged and ashamed, which in turn stimulates the mysterious demon within him, giving it the opportunity to take over the junior brother's body and completely transform him into a demon...
After struggling in a daze for several days, she inexplicably had a dress made to her own size while shopping with Wan Hongling, which led to her current predicament.
She will definitely confess.
She was timid, cowardly, and had an indescribable sense of frustration.
She was afraid of losing her junior brother's dependence, afraid of the disgust that would flash in his eyes when he looked at her, afraid that he... would never speak to her again...
My thoughts were in disarray, and I made a mistake as soon as I put pen to paper. The ink smeared through the yellow paper and spread outwards.
"Ah." She exclaimed softly, quickly crumpling the yellow talisman into pieces. She looked up guiltily, only to see Gu Lianzhou looking out the window absentmindedly, unaware of her unusual behavior.
Her gaze shifted downwards, landing on the inkstone and ink stick in his hand. She quickly raised her hand to stop him: "Don't grind any more ink. The ink is too thick. You won't be able to hold the brush properly in a little while."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou was taken aback. Following his senior brother's gaze, he hurriedly put down the ink stick and stood aside with his hands clasped.
"What's wrong with you today? Why are you so absent-minded... Is something on your mind?" Song Qiling asked casually, pulling out another sheet of yellow paper and dipping her brush in ink.
The words were spoken, but there was no response.
Song Qiling was puzzled. She looked up at her junior brother again and saw that he had a serious expression and his brows were slightly furrowed. He was clearly preoccupied with something on his mind.
...She's only been out for half a day, why is my junior brother acting like he's lost his soul?
She slowly raised her hand and waved it in front of him.
Gu Lianzhou snapped out of his daze, the gloom in his eyes not yet fully dissipated, and forced a smile: "I'm fine, Senior Brother, there's no need to worry."
Song Qiling: "..."
After his repeated reassurances, she hesitated and lowered her head to continue drawing the talisman. But after drawing less than two strokes, she still felt uneasy and looked up again, "Are you really alright?"
Seeing her like this, Gu Lianzhou temporarily suppressed his surging doubts and suddenly laughed: "Senior brother, don't overthink it. Just focus on drawing the talisman. I'll go buy some food."
After saying that, he turned and left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.
Song Qiling stared at the closed door, her pen hesitant to fall.
Her junior brother must be hiding something from her.
But he was unwilling to talk about it, and she didn't want to press him for details.
After much thought, he could only suppress his worries and refocus his attention on the talisman in front of him.
-
Night had fallen, and the southern part of the city was quiet.
The long street was deserted, every household had its doors and windows tightly shut, and there wasn't a single light. Only a cold, clear moon hung in the sky, casting a silvery sheen on the bluestone bricks.
"Thump, bang bang—"
At midnight, the monotonous sound of gongs and clappers broke the excessive silence.
The night watchman dragged his feet, his eyelids drooping so low they were almost glued together. He let out a deep, long yawn, and physiological tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
Just as he was yawning, a sudden chill crept into his bones, making him shiver and forcefully suppress the rest of his yawn.
"This is weird..."
He rubbed his arms, which were covered in goosebumps, and muttered under his breath, "It's almost summer, how come it's still freezing cold at night? It's unbelievable..."
He subconsciously tightened his thin clothes and continued walking forward.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch something moving in the depths of the narrow alley beside him.
He stared intently and saw a dark shadow, even darker than the night, silently blending into the shadows at the base of the wall.
The night watchman's heart skipped a beat, and his scalp tingled. He stiffened his neck, not daring to look closely, only feeling the chill creeping up on him, almost freezing his blood.
Is it a ghost?
Or is it something unclean?
The stories of encountering spirits and monsters at night that circulated among the people instantly flooded my mind.
Why did he have to encounter such a strange thing?
Fear gripped his throat, and almost instinctively he pounded the clapper in his hand.
"Thump thump thump! Bang bang bang!"
The sounds of the clapper and gong became rapid and sharp, sounding particularly jarring in the deathly still night.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead and back, soaking his inner shirt and sticking to his skin in a sticky, cold consistency.
His teeth chattered, and he mumbled incoherently, "Amitabha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Three Pure Ones above... May all the gods and Buddhas of the past protect us, demons, demons, demons..."
He closed his eyes tightly, not daring to look at the alley again, only praying that all the gods and Buddhas in the sky would grant his wish.
After waiting a moment, he mustered his courage and cautiously opened his eyes, cold sweat trickling down his face and blurring his vision.
The area at the base of the wall was completely empty.
Hey, prayer really worked! The dark shadow disappeared.
Now that things had come to this, he dared not linger in this unlucky place, and clutching the gong, he stumbled forward.
The surrounding sounds were rapidly fading away.
The distant barking of dogs, startled by the clapper, suddenly disappeared, and even the chirping of insects fell silent in an instant.
All was silent.
In the world, only the chilling rustling of the wind remained.
In that deep alley, the shadows on the ground seemed to come alive, silently wriggling and gathering.
Immediately afterwards, a huge black tentacle rose up from the shadows without warning, and a chilling aura suddenly surged, almost freezing the air.
It quickly locked onto its target, moving as fast as lightning tearing through the night, and lunged forward!
The tip of the tentacle precisely touched the fleeing demonic energy, like a giant python swallowing a tiny flying insect.
The demonic aura was instantly enveloped and swallowed by darkness, disappearing without a trace, as if it had never existed.
The dodder shrunk back into the shadows of the ground, satisfied, and footsteps sounded softly in the deeper darkness of the street corner.
A tall and slender figure slowly walked out, the moonlight outlining his sharp features.
Gu Lianzhou, dressed in a black robe that blended almost into the night, looked in the direction the watchman had fled, his brows slowly furrowing.
The appearance of this demon was strange.
Just as his senior brother had said, evil spirits were scarce in the southern part of the city. However, due to his gluttony, he had to search on the outskirts of the town. At this moment, this wisp of demonic energy that had been roaming around suddenly appeared in the city, as if deliberately leading him to this secluded alley.
Moreover, ordinary evil spirits would rather flee at the sight of dodder than before, when they were almost completely defenseless and allowed to be devoured.
Why is that?
While I was wondering, I suddenly felt a breeze behind me.
The next instant, an invisible pressure pressed him down.
Invisible golden runes suddenly unfolded from the sky, forming a huge cage.
Gu Lianzhou grunted and knelt heavily on one knee, causing the bluestone slab to crack instantly with spiderweb-like patterns.
A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, starkly contrasting against his pale skin.
At the same time, a gentle voice rang out from the void, like a refined gentleman chatting casually.
"Young Master Gu, it's been a long time."
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