Chapter 118 Killing Tai Sui (Part 6) Rejecting pornography, rejecting drugs, rejecting pornography...
Whether it was Song Qiling's imagination or not, she always felt that her junior brother had an indescribable strangeness ever since he regained his human form.
Putting aside her flamboyant attire, even the way she looked at herself was completely different from usual.
Those eyes, which used to hold a hint of restraint, now seem to hold stars, falling directly and intensely upon her, making her ears burn.
Suspicious, Song Qiling put on her shoes and reached out to grab her junior brother's wrist.
Her fingertips were slightly cool.
Gu Lianzhou paused almost imperceptibly, then relaxed his wrist, letting her explore, his gaze quietly falling on her lowered eyes.
Song Qiling pressed along the meridians inch by inch, carefully examining the pulse until she confirmed that the palm lines were clear and the pulse was steady and strong. Only then did she release her hand and let out a soft sigh of relief.
"I really thought you'd been possessed just now." Her gaze shifted slightly, landing on the tassels swaying at his waist, and she raised an eyebrow. "Why did you suddenly pull out these clothes from the bottom of your trunk..."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou's smile deepened, tinged with a hint of innocence: "What you're saying, Senior Brother, isn't this how I used to dress? It's just that after transforming into a demon, I find brighter colors more pleasing to the eye."
Song Qiling recalled that the previous "octopus" was indeed a bit too monotonous in color, and it was understandable that her junior brother had been traumatized and preferred to wear bright clothes.
Thinking of this, she touched her nose, looking rather uncomfortable, and said, "That makes sense..."
As they spoke, the two sat down at the table.
The moment Song Qiling's fingertips touched the rim of the bowl, her junior brother handed her a pair of gleaming chopsticks. He then leaned back slightly in his chair, placing his hands neatly on his knees, showing no intention of touching the empty bowl on the table.
She took the chopsticks, glanced at the empty table in front of him, and asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"
Gu Lianzhou unconsciously rubbed his knee with his fingertips and replied gently, "I already had a small bowl of porridge while I was cleaning up in the kitchen. Senior brother, please eat first and don't worry about me."
Song Qiling hummed in response and didn't ask any more questions. She lowered her head and scooped up a spoonful of millet porridge. After chewing a few mouthfuls, she noticed the gaze directed at her from the other side. When she looked up, she met Gu Lianzhou's gaze.
Her hand holding the chopsticks paused: "...Why are you staring at me like that?"
Gu Lianzhou smiled slightly and pointed to his right cheek: "There are still marks from the bed here."
He asked jokingly, "Did you sleep well last night, senior brother?"
Song Qiling subconsciously touched her face, feeling a slight pressure mark. Her ears burned slightly, but she forced herself to remain calm and said, "I haven't been feeling well. I had a lot of strange dreams, all jumbled up..."
Gu Lianzhou looked at her slightly red ear tips, his smile widening: "Is that so? I thought you were sleeping too soundly last night, and didn't even notice that you had turned back into human form beside me."
Song Qiling suddenly looked up, surprised and suspicious, "When you turned back into human form, you were right next to me?"
Seeing him nod, she pressed on, "Then... when did you turn back? How come I didn't feel anything? Since you've recovered, why didn't you wake me up, but instead stayed by my side?"
"I only turned back to normal when it was almost dawn. Seeing that my senior brother was sleeping soundly, I thought I'd let you rest a little longer. Anyway, I had nothing to do, so waiting by my side was no different." Gu Lianzhou said, picking up his chopsticks and putting a steamed bun into her bowl. "Besides, being able to quietly wait for my senior brother to wake up is a rare and fortunate thing."
Hearing this made Song Qiling's ears burn even hotter. She turned her face away, took a bite of rice, and mumbled, "You're so unserious, always talking nonsense."
Although I said that, I felt inexplicably flustered inside.
What good fortune?
Was it because she was drooling while sleeping?
Or should I just listen to her grinding her teeth and snoring?
Why did my junior brother become so thick-skinned after transforming into a demon?
Are all monsters... so shameless...?
"Didn't you say that we brothers don't need to be so formal?" Gu Lianzhou said, but stopped teasing her. He picked up the teapot on the table, filled the empty cup with warm water, and pushed it to her side: "Drink some water first, don't choke."
Song Qiling casually took the cup, sipped a few mouthfuls, put it down, and buried her head to deal with the buns in the bowl, not daring to look up again.
The second half of the meal was eaten in complete silence.
She didn't dare make a sound, for fear that her junior brother would act crazy again.
After finishing their meal, the two sat across a square table, looking at each other in silence, an inexplicable tension hanging in the air.
Gu Lianzhou got up first, reaching out to collect the empty bowl from the corner of the table. Just as his fingertips touched the rim of the bowl, Song Qiling immediately stood up and reached out to snatch it, saying, "I'll do it."
He didn't let go, but instead held the bottom of the bowl and gently pulled it towards him. He glanced at her helplessly and said, "Don't worry, senior brother. This little bit of work won't tire me out. I've finally returned to human form, so I need to move around more to avoid becoming lazy and sluggish later."
He paused, then added, "If you can't stay still, go out and take a walk in the yard to digest your food."
Unable to overtake him, Song Qiling watched as he took the bowls and plates and turned to go to the courtyard, leaving her alone in the room, feeling restless and uneasy.
He ate his food and drank his water, and now he's even taken away the only job he had.
If someone doesn't understand, wouldn't they think she's the one recovering from a serious illness?
Song Qiling got up uncomfortably, then went to the bed and deftly folded the quilt, even smoothing out the edges of the pillowcase.
After doing all that, she still felt suffocated by the air in the room. She practically fled through the courtyard, deliberately avoiding Gu Lianzhou's direction, and quickly walked back to her little house with her head down.
Once the door closed, she finally let out a soft sigh of relief.
However, when she looked up, the bronze mirror on the dressing table clearly reflected her image. As if possessed, she moved over and bent down to take a closer look.
The person in the mirror had a faint blush on their cheeks, as if they had been tinted with rouge. The most striking feature was their eyes, with a hint of red at the corners and pupils that seemed to be filled with water, making them appear as if they had just cried, so bright that they were almost dazzling.
She was immediately startled and gasped, her hand trembling so much that the bronze mirror fell onto the table with a dull thud.
It's a ghost...
What happened? The mismatch suddenly failed?
She reached for her waist, her fingertips touching the lucky bag, pinching the hard triangular talisman inside, her mind filled with even more doubts.
Even though it doesn't match, it still works. The facial features in the mirror are clearly the same as before. The eyebrows are eyebrows, and the eyes are eyes. So why is the expression so different?
Just now, his eyes were red at the corners and glistening with tears, making him look like a shy girl who had been teased. He was nowhere near as composed as he usually was.
It must be because he had just eaten a hot meal and then hurriedly walked back through the courtyard, causing his blood and energy to surge.
Besides, the weather has been getting hotter and hotter lately. The sun is so strong that people feel weak in the knees. It's normal for people to feel flushed and hot when their blood rushes to their head. What's there to make a fuss about?
Surely it couldn't be because her junior brother was too concerned about her, causing her to feel shy without realizing it?
Thinking of this, she quickly spat twice into the air, patted her burning cheeks, and tried to dispel this absurd thought.
"It's just brotherly care between fellow disciples, why would I be thinking such nonsense? I must have been too idle lately to have these random thoughts!"
However, this self-admonition had little effect, and the panic in my heart did not diminish in the slightest.
Song Qiling took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind. Her gaze swept around the room before finally settling on the vegetable basket in the corner.
Today, my junior brother has shed his demonic appearance, which is a great joy. She should kill a chicken to "welcome him back and cleanse him of the dust of the past".
-
The market was bustling with noise and chatter.
Song Qiling, however, seemed somewhat distracted.
As her basket filled up, she was about to turn back when she passed through a back alley of a gambling den. Suddenly, she heard a shouting match and the dull thud of a heavy object falling to the ground.
Looking up, I suddenly saw a ragged man being thrown out of the doorway by two burly men like a broken sack, landing heavily in the mud on the street.
One of them kicked the man in the chest and cursed, "You son of a bitch, you're tired of living, daring to cheat in our Fugui Fang? Today I'll cripple one of your hands to teach you a lesson. If you step into this place again, I'll chop you up and feed you to the wild dogs!"
Another man kicked the man in the waist and abdomen a few more times, spitting as he threatened, "If I catch you again, I'll sever your tendons and make sure you can never touch a dice again! You hear me, you gambling addict!"
After saying that, the burly man spat in his face and cursed, "Get lost! Your meager possessions aren't even enough to buy you a cheap coffin! If we see you again, it won't be as good as just a beating!"
In the chaos, two soft "clatter" sounds were heard as two dice fell from the man's arms and rolled onto the street.
The half-dead man on the ground had a bruised and swollen face, but his eyes were still wide open, staring intently at the dice, stretching out his arms and desperately reaching forward.
"Heh..."
"Ah...ah..."
His voice was so hoarse that he hadn't even made a sound while being hit, yet now he was screaming as if his life was in danger.
Song Qiling's gaze involuntarily fell on the two dice.
Made of jujube wood, it has a glossy sheen from years of handling, but the edges are worn smooth, and a small piece of paint has peeled off from one corner, revealing the light white wood underneath.
This is the tool those two thugs were referring to as "cheating".
It also refers to the dice used in gambling dens.
Looking at the man again, even though he was on his deathbed, his cloudy eyes were still fixed on the dice, and his withered fingers were still futilely scratching at the mud.
Passersby either kept their distance or pointed and whispered, and no one dared to approach.
As if guided by fate, Song Qiling stepped forward, put down her vegetable basket, bent down and picked up the dice closest to her, brushed off the dust and dirt, revealing its original wooden base.
Just as she was intently examining the dice, a chilling voice seemed to pierce directly into her heart from within the dice: "You bet... how much of your junior brother's affection for you is genuine?"
Song Qiling shuddered, as if doused with ice water, and was instantly jolted awake from that inexplicable pulling force.
There's something strange about these dice.
Without hesitation, she bent down to return the strange object to its rightful owner, only to find that the man on the ground had his eyes closed and had fainted, no longer reacting to the dice that were so close to him.
At the same time, a woman's heart-wrenching cries came from one end of the street.
She turned around and saw a disheveled woman in simple clothes stumbling towards her.
She rushed to the unconscious man, wanting to touch his many wounds, but withdrew her hand at the sight of his gruesome state. In the end, she could only clench her fists and pound the ground, uttering a heart-wrenching accusation: "I told you not to gamble, but you insisted! When you lost all your possessions, you stole, and when you couldn't steal, you cheated. My child and I can't even afford to eat a full meal, but all you care about are those cards and those dice!"
"Now look what's happened... My hand has been broken too, how am I supposed to get your medicine? How am I supposed to pay off those uncollectible loan sharks? You've killed my son and me, you've killed this family..."
The cries were piercing and filled with despair.
Song Qiling looked at the dice in her hand that had caused the trouble, then glanced at the unconscious man and the weeping woman, shook her head, gently placed the strange dice beside the man, then deftly picked up the vegetable basket, turned and merged into the crowd, and quickly left in the direction of Lake Stone Alley.
She needs to get back quickly.
Her junior brother was still waiting for her at home.
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