Chapter 135 The Hairpin (Part 1) The World Is Going Downhill
A strong wave of dizziness washed over them, and only when their feet touched solid ground did the two finally break free from the illusion.
Before they could even stand still, a wisp of black smoke drifted out from the painting, attempting to slip into the wall and escape.
"Why are you running?" Gu Lianzhou's eyes sharpened. He had suffered a lot in the painting earlier and was already full of anger. Now that he saw it trying to escape, he was not about to let it go.
With a slight thought, the dodder seed suddenly rose from the shadows, instantly annihilating the fleeing black aura.
With a "glug," that bit of demonic energy vanished as quickly as it had entered a tiger's mouth.
Song Qiling glanced sideways and gently pressed her brow with her hand.
After this incident, she officially broke off relations with Chu Yue.
Recalling the battle in the painting, although Chu Yue did not go all out, his methods were still quite astonishing.
They were lucky to escape unscathed today, but what if Chu Yue comes to besiege them with the full strength of his sect in the future?
Now it seems that this place is not a good place to stay.
We must find a safe place as soon as possible to protect Lianzhou.
Once this thought arises, it's like spilled water—impossible to retrieve.
She looked up at her junior brother, who had just finished eating and drinking and looked satisfied, and said in a deep voice, "Chu Yue has found out where we are. We can't stay in Lake Stone Lane anymore. You should pack up tomorrow and set off back to Huaidu."
"Even if we return to Huaidu, will he be unable to find us?" Gu Lianzhou knew that she was just worried and didn't agree with her. He just pondered and said, "With all this trouble, he might ambush us on the way back to the family. In that case, it would be even easier for him to make his move in the wilderness."
He can hide for a while, but can he hide forever?
“He killed me in order to achieve immortality,” Gu Lianzhou laughed. “But what he didn’t know was that although the flesh of the Tai Sui can prolong life, it will eventually lead to death. If you really want to live forever, you can only keep the Tai Sui alive and take it when you need it… So, senior brother, I will not die.”
Even at a time like this, he still has the mind to comfort her.
Moreover, how is this method of raising without killing, and taking what is needed, any different from skinning alive?
It's amazing that he could come up with such a thing.
Song Qiling was so angry that her forehead throbbed. She raised her hand to press against his front, and said helplessly, "Since you know he has such intentions, aren't you afraid?"
Gu Lianzhou lowered his eyes, gently cupped the hand, and instead of answering, asked, "Everyone in the world seeks immortality, doesn't Senior Brother want it too?"
Hearing his nonsense, Song Qiling struggled, but couldn't break free.
She looked up and met those dark eyes, and said irritably, "Birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural cycle of life. I cannot bring harm to others just because I am afraid of death."
He paused, then said in a low voice, "Besides, that person is you."
Before she could finish speaking, the man smiled slightly and pulled her into his arms. “Senior brother, don’t worry. I will live well and be with you forever.”
"Such a glib tongue, have you thought of a way to deal with Chu Yue?" She buried her face in his warm chest, her voice muffled. "He won't let this go so easily. From now on, we'll probably have to live in fear."
"What discouraging words are you saying, Senior Brother?" Gu Lianzhou gently pinched the soft flesh on her lower back, listening to the soft moan in her ear, and laughed, "We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater and punish ourselves for other people's mistakes, can we?"
“When the Tianji Sect was first established, the sect leader and his disciples divided and ate the Tai Sui, so they could not be considered a righteous sect.” After a pause, he glanced guiltily at Song Qiling and added, “Senior brother is naturally not included in this category.”
His tone then turned somber: "Chu Yue has committed countless evil deeds, and his crimes are beyond redemption even if he dies a hundred times. One day, I will expose his true colors to the world."
“You…don’t act rashly before you have the ability to protect yourself.” Song Qiling lowered her eyes to look at the scattered portraits of ladies and sighed softly. “In short, let’s take care of the present situation first, and then make a long-term plan.”
She released Gu Lianzhou, turned around, picked up the scroll from the ground, gently dusted it off, and carefully rolled it up. "Now that the evil spirits have been eliminated, I will return this painting tomorrow."
After all that fuss, Song Qiling felt her eyelids getting heavy. She chatted with her junior brother for a few more minutes, then turned and went to bed.
She closed her eyes for only a moment, then suddenly remembered something, opened them abruptly, and murmured as she looked at the top of the green gauze tent: "You knew that Chu Yue was watching us, yet you still acted intimately with me in front of him... Was that on purpose?"
After waiting for a moment, Gu Lianzhou replied without much confidence: "If he wants to watch, let him watch to his heart's content. At his age, hiding his face and doing things like spying on other people's private affairs, doesn't he feel ashamed of his status?"
Is this the key point?
"You knew perfectly well that's not what I was asking." Song Qiling closed her eyes helplessly, turning over to face the inside of the bed. "You deliberately let him see, were you trying to make him know something?"
Gu Lianzhou lay back on the daybed, his brows furrowing slightly upon hearing this. "I want him to know that there are some people he can't afford to care about."
The room fell into a deathly silence.
A few breaths later, Gu Lianzhou realized he had misspoke and hurriedly explained, "That's not what I meant."
"Alright." Song Qiling raised her hand to her forehead and sighed softly, "Even you noticed, so what else do I have to hide?"
Gu Lianzhou understood and immediately fell silent, listening quietly as the somewhat weary voice spread through the night.
"Perhaps it's because it's new. The girl I've raised since she was little has grown up, and even a heart made of bricks can be warmed by it. But... I've always regarded her as an elder, and I can't bear her enthusiasm."
"What master-disciple relationship, sect reputation, it's all just a fig leaf. Every time I call out 'Master,' it feels like I've swallowed a fly." Scenes of their past interactions flashed through her mind, and she said with a bitter smile, "So I can't call you 'Master' anymore, and I can't go back to the Heavenly Mystery Sect."
She exhaled lightly and said with disgust, "Now that I think about it, that place was actually made up of the bones of the Tai Sui, and everything I enjoy is also a resource accumulated by the murders committed by our predecessors."
“I never regret leaving, I only regret not seeing things sooner.” After a brief pause, she looked at her arm.
In the darkness, one's vision seems to pierce through the fabric, revealing the Heavenly Secret Mark beneath the skin. "Sometimes, looking at this mark makes me feel disgusted. Only if I could completely eradicate it, leaving not a trace, would I be truly free from the Heavenly Secret Sect and cleansed."
Gu Lianzhou listened silently until she poured out all her emotions and finally spoke: "But if it weren't for this Heavenly Secret Seal, I probably wouldn't have recognized you back then, and I wouldn't have been so persistent in pursuing you... Besides, how painful it is to have your flesh cut off. Now that you've left that quagmire, the future is bright and boundless. You can go wherever you want. Isn't that freedom?"
The night breeze rustled through the windowpanes.
Song Qiling chuckled and said, "You're right. How can we just cut off the meat that we've raised with such difficulty?"
Her furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and she muttered, "The Heavenly Mystery Sect can't hold me back, and neither can Chu Yue..."
As she spoke, the last syllables faded into the pillow, and her breathing became long and steady.
-
After a good night's sleep, Song Qiling felt refreshed and invigorated.
First, he went to the bookstore to return the painting, then went to East Street to buy some seasonal vegetables before returning to Lake Stone Lane.
Before I even got close, I heard a familiar, loud voice come through the courtyard wall and crash straight into my ears.
"You have no idea how many hardships and dangers we encountered on our journey. It was like the eighty-one tribulations we faced. If you don't believe me, ask him how long it took us to get back to Nancheng."
That loud and boisterous tone could only come from Yu Qi.
Immediately afterwards, a deep, steady voice rang out: "This journey has indeed been long and arduous, with many twists and turns."
This is Liu Dai.
Just as they were hesitating, they suddenly heard Yu Qi's loud voice say, "Where's that kid Song San? Did he leave without saying goodbye again and hide away, making us search for him?"
Song Qiling: "..."
It feels warm to have someone care about you, but it also makes you want to do something.
I want to knock him on the head.
Pushing open the gate and looking inside, I saw two figures sitting at a stone table in the center of the courtyard. Unpacked luggage was still on the table, and they looked travel-worn, clearly having just returned.
Both of them were much darker than when they left. Their once smooth skin was now tanned and rough, and their robes were covered in dust and frost, with even the edges worn frayed. They looked much more rugged than when they left.
Yu Qi was bending down, brushing the dust off his clothes, muttering about the hardships of the journey. Hearing this, he looked up at the wide-open door and his gaze suddenly fixed on the slender figure in the doorway.
A young woman in a simple dress stood at the doorway. She was slender and quiet, one hand resting on the doorframe. Her bright, watery eyes looked straight at them, and her lips...
His lips curved slightly, and his smile looked quite familiar.
Yu Qi blinked, a look of confusion on his face. He nudged Liu Dai next to him with his elbow and whispered, "Who is this girl?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Dai also looked closely at the woman.
As he looked at it, his brows furrowed slightly, a hint of surprise and uncertainty flashing in his eyes. Suddenly, he blurted out, "Brother Song?"
Yu Qi was tilting his head to look at him, and upon hearing this, he replied irritably, "Brother Song what? What Brother Song? Liu Xingchuan, are you seeing things?"
Even so, he couldn't help but stare at the woman for a long time. The more he looked, the more familiar he felt with the charm in her eyes and brows. However, her clothes and appearance were those of a woman, and he was momentarily confused.
Just then, the "young lady" carrying a vegetable basket stepped over the threshold and walked in, getting closer and closer until she came to the stone table.
Yu Qi's voice stopped abruptly.
His eyes widened suddenly, as if he had seen something "dirty".
The next instant, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, it stood up with a "howl" and took a big step back.
He raised his arm, his finger trembling as he pointed at Song Qiling, his voice distorted: "You...you...you're a pervert! Why are you wearing women's clothes?!"
Song Qiling put down the vegetable basket, calmly smoothed her sleeves, looked up at Yu Qi who was jumping up and down in shock, and smiled slightly. She did not refute him, but said confidently, "I'm willing."
Liu Dai, who was standing to the side, finally recovered from the huge shock. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady, his eyes still full of astonishment: "Brother Song...you, you are actually a woman?"
Yu Qi's arm remained frozen in the air, his fingers trembling like leaves, and his mouth was agape enough to fit an egg.
He looked at Song Qiling, then at Liu Dai who had an "I see" look on his face, and finally at Gu Lianzhou who was silent but had a smile in his eyes. It was as if a million thunderbolts were exploding in his mind at the same time, and he was completely dumbfounded.
Overwhelmed with shock and confusion, he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time. In the end, he could only mutter to himself in a daze.
"The world is going to the dogs, people's hearts have lost their way, even men can dress up as women... What kind of nonsense is this?"
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