Chapter 97 Springtime Heart in Turmoil (Part 5) Much more delicate than he had imagined…
A silent silence spread between the two.
After a short while, Gu Lianzhou picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup for him and Liu Dai. "Perhaps it's because you haven't been resting well lately, and you're feeling a bit feverish."
These words, spoken in a nonchalant tone, made Liu Dai's eyelids twitch. How could these two kinds of "anger" be confused? This was simply an insult to his medical skills.
"I didn't mean to tease you, but since it concerns Brother Gu's health, as a doctor I must remind you that you must abstain from lust and sexual activity during this period, and guard your body. Only in this way can you strengthen your foundation and prevent excessive depletion..."
Before they could finish speaking, a violent coughing sound suddenly rang in their ears. Liu and Gu froze and looked back in the direction of the sound, only to see Song Qiling holding a teacup and coughing incessantly on the bamboo chair behind them.
Seeing people looking at her, she hurriedly waved her hands, and before she could catch her breath, she forced herself to remain calm and said, "Just pretend I don't exist, please continue, continue."
Liu Dai: "..."
Gu Lianzhou: "..."
This interruption made it difficult for Liu Dai to continue. He looked at Gu Lianzhou, who seemed dazed, and cleared his throat. "Remember?"
"Hmm, I've got it." Gu Lianzhou slowly withdrew his gaze, staring at the tea swirling in the rough earthenware cup, and replied in a low voice.
After giving some kind and compassionate advice, Liu Dai was summoned by the sect leader for a talk, leaving only Gu and Song in the bamboo house.
Song Qiling nestled in the large bamboo chair, holding a teacup that had long since gone cold, her gaze unfocused, unsure of where to look.
It's never good to overhear other people's private matters, and she wasn't very thick-skinned, so she retreated to her own little world and processed it for a while before finding a topic to break the silence.
"Well... Yu Qi couldn't sit still, so after finishing his meal, he went into the mountains with Xiu Ming to gather herbs."
Her fingernails unconsciously dug into a small chip on the rim of the cup, her voice slightly weak, "Dr. Liu specifically instructed that your most important task right now is to rest and recuperate; leave all the heavy lifting to me..."
After a pause, she suddenly seemed to find her confidence, sat up straight, and looked at Gu Lianzhou with a brighter gaze. "By the way, is there anything you want to eat or drink? Or anything you want to do? You're just idling around anyway, how about your senior brother teaches you demon-slaying magic?"
Towards the end, he suddenly heard his junior brother burst out laughing.
He sat upright, exuding an ethereal aura. He listened to her speak with a serious and focused expression, but when he suddenly smiled, he was like a fairy descending to earth, now tinged with a touch of worldly life.
Strangely enough, the faces I'm used to seeing every day look so different today.
Could it be that the scenery in these mountains is more flattering to people?
Song Qiling was stunned for a moment, and could not speak properly: "W-what? Do you think I'm too long-winded?"
Gu Lianzhou shook his head, finding his senior brother's rare display of naivety quite endearing, and his smile deepened. "Senior brother wants me to use demon-slaying techniques, have you forgotten my current status as a half-demon?"
Upon hearing this, Song Qiling let out a short "Ah," hurriedly turning her head to look around. Seeing that no one had come to the house, she finally felt relieved. When she looked at her junior brother again, she said with some annoyance, "You can't say such things carelessly. If others hear it, they might make things difficult for you."
"Yes, I won't say it again." Gu Lianzhou smiled. "Senior brother doesn't need to always watch over me. You can do whatever you want. Don't let my injuries hold you back."
Upon hearing this, Song Qiling scratched his head, puzzled, and said, "I... don't really want to do anything. Although there are many spirits in these mountains, they are mostly kind. I have a lot of magical skills, but I have nowhere to use them."
Besides, isn't the most powerful demon in Qingyun Creek sitting right in front of her? Why would she need to run away?
Naturally, he couldn't let his junior brother hear these words; he could only keep them to himself.
Gu Lianzhou recalled Liu Dai's instructions and looked at his senior brother who was completely unaware of what was happening. A strange emotion mixed with the smile in his eyes.
With his senior brother constantly in front of him, it's really hard for him to calm down...
If it were truly a long-term companionship, that would be fine, but it was only because he was still recovering from serious injuries that his senior brother stayed to take care of him out of a sense of responsibility and pity.
He knew perfectly well that he was recovering extremely quickly, and his body, nourished by demonic energy, was getting stronger day by day. He was afraid that in just a few days, his senior brother would notice something was wrong and then leave, just like before.
My senior brother is always like this, like a gust of wind that can't be caught. He tries to escape to the ends of the earth whenever he gets the chance, leaving me nowhere to find him.
I really want to stay in Qingyunxi forever...
He suppressed the smile in his eyes and said softly, "Senior brother, is the matter in Nancheng... over?"
He recalled the dense demonic aura and the demon's hatred for his senior brother, and had already made a guess in his mind. However, when he saw his senior brother's suddenly pale face, he swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
The senior brother was clearly unwilling to revisit his experience in Zhao Yu's room that day.
"It's considered closed." A hint of confusion flashed in Song Qiling's eyes. "But there are still many questions that remain unanswered. Once you've recovered, I still need to go back to Nancheng to investigate further."
Putting aside her parents' unpleasant past, what she wants to understand now is what role Chu Yue played in it all.
Where did the demonic energy that brought Zhao Luan back to life in the fire come from? And is that demonic core related to Chu Yue?
A cloud of doubts piled up in her mind, making it difficult for her to sleep day and night. Whenever she closed her eyes, Zhao Luan's sad past and cruel acts would flash back in her mind again and again.
She will never give up.
She wants to find out the truth about what happened back then.
"I will accompany my senior brother." Gu Lianzhou said, propping himself up on the table and standing up, then slowly walking to her.
Under his senior brother's surprised gaze, he slowly bent down and squatted down, a deep, dark glint in his eyes. "I want to stay by your side forever, senior brother."
Seeing that he was serious, and that his hands were about to touch him, Song Qiling's brow twitched, and she quickly made a hand seal and tapped his forehead. "Fool, the demonic energy in your body is out of control again."
With a sudden clarity in his mind, Gu Lianzhou's hand, which had been suspended in mid-air, fell down, heading towards his senior brother's knees.
Gu Lianzhou's heart was pounding, but it wasn't the work of demonic energy. Knowing his own despicable thoughts, he lowered his eyes and stared at the hem of his senior brother's clothes, not daring to look up.
After a few breaths, he sighed softly, "Senior brother, the demonic energy is so surging. Without you by my side to suppress it, what am I supposed to do..."
-
Behind the mountain, beside the medicinal spring.
Song Qiling kicked a pebble at her feet, then idly broke off a bamboo leaf, put it to her lips, and blew out a few off-key notes.
She didn't understand music, but she felt that she needed to do something to make some noise and break the silence.
Because in other people's eyes, she and Gu Lianzhou had always been close friends, like brothers, so it was only natural that the task of accompanying her to soak in the medicinal hot spring was assigned to her.
Fortunately, her junior brother recovered quickly and can now go into the water on his own without any help. She is not a voyeur who likes to watch people bathe, so when she saw her junior brother safely immersed in the spring and leaning against the stone wall with his eyes closed to rest, she went around the stone screen and came out to relax.
The bamboo leaves were tender and had a refreshing aroma, which reminded her of bamboo leaf cakes. With a slight thought, she turned around and looked at the green leaves rustling in the wind, and a different idea came to her.
When Gu Lianzhou came out of the bath and walked around the stone screen to the outside, he saw his senior brother standing on tiptoe to pick bamboo leaves.
Fortunately, the bamboo forest was lush, so even after she picked a whole bag of leaves, it didn't become sparse.
Hearing the noise, Song Qiling released the bamboo pole in her hand, grinned at her junior brother, and said, "I'll treat you to something delicious tonight."
Even a fool could guess what my senior was up to.
When the two returned to the bamboo hut, they happened to see Liu Dai instructing Yu Qi on how to identify the newly picked medicinal herbs. They were both taken aback when they saw Song Qiling rushing across the courtyard and heading straight for the back of the house, clutching a bag of fresh bamboo leaves tightly in her arms.
"Song San, what are you doing..." Before Yu Qi could finish his question, Song Qiling, without turning around, raised his voice and asked, "Where's the kitchen?"
Gu Lianzhou followed slowly behind her, looking pitiful and neglected. Upon seeing this, Liu Dai exchanged a surprised and uncertain glance with Yu Qi, and quickly turned to Gu Lianzhou to ask, "What is he trying to do?"
Gu Lianzhou's gaze followed the figure that disappeared around the corner of the room, and he chuckled, "We're probably in for a treat today."
These words deepened the confusion on Liu Dai and Yu Qi's faces.
In less than half an hour, that brief expectation vanished completely amidst a suspicious, burnt smell wafting from the direction of the kitchen.
After a short while, Song Qiling finally placed a ceramic plate on the table with a "bang," her gaze sweeping over the three people present with an undeniable air of authority. She cleared her throat and said, "Come, try my special bamboo leaf cakes!"
The air froze instantly.
Yu Qi stared at the charred pancake, subconsciously taking a half-step back. Liu Dai's lips twitched almost imperceptibly as he tried to maintain his composure as a healer, speaking tactfully, "Brother Song, this pancake seems..."
It's not a pancake.
Before he could finish speaking, he was forced back to his seat by Song Qiling's piercing gaze.
She personally picked up a dark-colored pancake and handed it to Yu Qi, then picked up another one and handed it to Liu Dai, and finally handed the slightly better-looking one to her junior brother.
Gu Lianzhou looked at the ash on the tip of her nose and the genuine enthusiasm in her eyes, remained silent for a moment, and finally accepted it.
Under the intense gaze of his senior brother and the incredibly complex stares of Liu Dai and Yu Qi, he lowered his head without changing his expression and took a small bite.
The burnt, bitter taste instantly spread across the tip of the tongue, seemingly mixed with a strange sourness, which was completely different from the imagined fragrance of bamboo leaves.
He slowly raised his eyes, met Song Qiling's expectant gaze, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but he ultimately swallowed it down.
Several people asked in unison, "How does it taste?"
Gu Lianzhou replied without batting an eye, "It's fine."
"Really?" Yu Qi didn't believe it. Seeing that Gu Lianzhou hadn't had any problems eating it, he mustered up his courage and took a bite along the edge of the not-so-dark pancake. His expression immediately changed.
"Pah, pah, pah..." He spat several times, looking up at Song Qiling with disgust, "Why are you cooking all of a sudden? Are you trying to poison us?"
After saying that, he pointed at Gu Lianzhou and said, "Is your mouth made of iron? How can you eat this and praise it like this? Besides, can you even eat bamboo leaves?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Dai suddenly remembered something, broke out in a cold sweat while clutching the pancake, and looked at Song Qiling, who was scratching his head, and asked, "Brother Song, you didn't pick these bamboo leaves by the medicinal spring in the back mountain, did you?"
Song Qiling felt a slight itch in her fingers and forearm, and nodded upon hearing this: "Yes."
"Oh no!" Liu Dai put down the pancake and snatched the one from Gu Lianzhou's hand, saying helplessly, "That bamboo grows next to the medicinal spring, so it naturally has some medicinal properties. If you crush it and get the juice on your skin, it will cause unbearable itching. How can you pick it and eat it?"
Upon hearing this, Song Qiling hurriedly asked, "What will happen if I eat it?"
Liu Dai truthfully replied, "The toxicity will decrease after roasting, and there will be no harm in eating it."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Song Qiling.
Whether it was the effect of Liu Dai's words or the toxicity of the bamboo leaf juice, Song Qiling suddenly felt a slight tingling on her neck, as if tiny insects were crawling on it.
She couldn't help but reach out and scratch, but the itch didn't subside; instead, it spread rapidly like wildfire.
In just a short while, her back, arms, and even waist and abdomen began to itch. The itch layered on top of each other, gradually becoming more intense and piercing, as if countless fine needles were crawling under her skin.
"Brother Song, I do have some anti-itch ointment here. Please wait here for a moment, and I will get it for you."
Liu Dai was a kind-hearted doctor. He returned in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, handed Song Qiling a porcelain bottle, gave her some instructions, and then urged her to go back to her room to apply the medicine.
Song Qiling was already itching unbearably, so she quickly took the ointment, thanked him, and hurried to her room.
As soon as she entered the room, she immediately closed the door behind her and locked it with a "click".
With trembling hands, she untied her belt and took off the clothes that were rubbing against her skin, making her feel itchy all over. She kept scratching herself until she was completely naked.
She scooped out a large piece of ointment, endured the chill, and carefully applied it to her reddened skin.
When she applied the ointment to her back, she was fortunate to have long arms, which allowed her to barely manage to apply the ointment.
The coolness of the ointment temporarily suppressed the excruciating itching. Song Qiling lay on the couch, not daring to move, hoping that the wet ointment would dry quickly.
The room was quiet, with only the occasional chirping of insects outside the window, and a faint but chilling rustling sound coming from beside me.
Song Qiling slowly shifted her gaze to the side, and upon seeing it, her blood almost froze.
There she saw a dark brown centipede, as long as half her arm, wriggling its countless legs, silently and rapidly climbing up the bed from the ground. Its carapace gleamed uncomfortably in the dim light, and its tentacles twitched sharply, reaching for the bed.
Song Qiling held her breath instantly, her scalp tingling. She suppressed the urge to scream, hugged the outer garment she hadn't had time to put on, and shuffled to the inside of the bed.
Centipedes that live deep in the mountains are much bigger than those in the city, and they are incredibly fast. In just a few breaths, they had already crawled onto the mattress.
As the centipede was about to crawl onto her foot, her scalp tingled with fear. Without thinking twice, she grabbed the bamboo pillow beside her and smashed it with all her might.
With a loud bang, the bamboo pillow landed heavily on the bed, but it didn't hit the agile centipede. Instead, it startled the centipede and made it slither away even faster.
Almost at the same moment, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, along with Gu Lianzhou's anxious voice, "Senior brother? What was that noise? Are you alright?"
Song Qiling was startled by the sound, and before she could reply, the door latch slid off and the door was suddenly pushed open with a creak.
For a moment, the two people inside and outside the door stared at each other.
The air fell into a moment of deathly silence.
The candlelight flickered in the room, and the bitter scent of herbs filled the air. Song Qiling knelt on the inside of the bed, her face drained of color, her eyes filled with the panic of having her privacy violated.
She glanced at the door latch lying peacefully on the ground, her mind buzzing, and she thought to herself as if possessed—what a locksmith.
Then she saw her junior brother quickly close the door, walk briskly towards her, pull out a handkerchief, press down on the scurrying insect, grab it, and throw it out the window.
The movements were smooth and fluid, executed in one go.
"It's alright now. That bug really knows how to pick its time..."
Gu Lianzhou breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and saw his senior brother stiffly huddled in the corner of the bed, trying to cover his body with his outer robe, but still unable to hide his bare shoulders and arms. His skin was glistening with moisture from the ointment, which was particularly striking in the dim light.
He was stunned for a moment.
His senior brother's arms were much thinner than he had imagined, with soft lines and no rugged muscles like those of men. Under the candlelight, one could even see the delicate skin with a slight sheen.
An extremely strange feeling suddenly rose in my heart, unfamiliar and intense.
He abruptly turned his back, his movement so fast it almost created a gust of wind. His ears burned uncontrollably, and his voice became unusually tense, full of annoyance and apology: "Sorry, I heard a noise and thought..."
His words abruptly stopped, and he was bewildered by his subconscious reaction.
We're all men, what is he afraid of?
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