Chapter 79 Locking the Phoenix Tree (Part 12) I was indeed very hungry, especially after seeing...
My fingertips felt burning hot, as if they were about to sear my skin.
Song Qiling was forced to tilt his head back, his light brown pupils contracting as he trembled violently, reflecting his unusually bewitching face.
The man's narrow eyes were tinged with red, and although he smiled, his expression was as cold as a demon crawling out of an abyss.
My heart was pounding erratically in my chest, blood was rushing to my eardrums with a roar, and even breathing became a luxury.
Unlike Gu Lianzhou's kindness, and unlike the dodder's obedience, the man before her possessed an undeniable strength. His body, like molten lava, radiated a terrifying heat, burning every inch of her skin.
Hot breath brushed against my earlobes and the side of my neck, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, sending shivers down my spine.
Every inch of skin, every hair on my body, is screaming—
Danger!
Danger! !
Danger! ! !
This person was more powerful than any illusion she had ever seen before; if he wanted to, crushing her would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Say something... Yes, I should say something.
Since he exists within Gu Lianzhou's will, perhaps he still cares about her dignity as his "senior brother" and might let her go?
"My intrusion was...unintentional." Her chin was in someone else's hand, and as she spoke, her cheeks dug into the man's fingers, making her words unclear and adding a touch of comicality.
Seeing that he made no further move, Song Qiling steeled herself, closed her eyes, and said, "My only intention was... to find out why you were hungry, and to feed you, that's all..."
After he finished speaking, a long silence fell over the room.
Song Qiling's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes. She saw the man looking down at her, a glint of light flashing in the golden-red crack of his right eye socket.
As if savoring her words, the man's fingertips slid down and pinched her pale, delicate chin.
"Hungry?" He narrowed his eyes, his fingertip brushing against Song Qiling's lower lip, lingering on her full, moist lips for a moment, before pressing down hard on them.
Feeling the heat from her lower lip, Song Qiling's breathing suddenly became erratic, and she forced herself to say, "It wasn't you who said you were hungry..."
Is that right?
Something hot and soft probed into her mouth, cruelly interrupting her movements and forcing her to swallow all the words she was about to say.
Song Qiling's brow twitched suddenly. She looked down at the man's pale wrist bone protruding from his sleeve, her head buzzed, and she belatedly realized what she was holding in her mouth.
His well-defined index finger probed against her lower teeth, gently pressing against her warm, moist tongue, as if out of curiosity, tracing the tip of her tongue.
As if a thread had snapped in her mind, Song Qiling clenched her teeth abruptly and bit her knuckles without hesitation.
Hot, pungent liquid seeped out.
She looked up at the man's perfectly black left eye, catching a fleeting look of panic within it, and mumbled, "Shameless."
"What did you say?" He seemed to laugh in anger, his beautiful lips curving slightly into a beautiful arc, which made Song Qiling feel uneasy.
The next instant, the finger bent slightly, as if it felt no pain, and pushed its way in through the gap between Song Qiling's teeth, tracing a line across the base of her tongue.
It itches, it itches so badly.
The strange sensation, accompanied by an overwhelming nausea, forced her to open her lips abruptly, about to gag.
She didn't know what method this person used, but they rendered her immobile, allowing the finger to do as it pleased. Only when her vision blurred and warm tears rolled down her cheeks did the finger finally leave her lips and tongue.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Song Qiling took deep breaths. The scorching air, mixed with the pungent smell of sulfur, rushed into her chest, forcing a few tears to stream down her face.
In a short while, a fair face was flushed with a deep crimson, and glistening tears hung on her cheeks, like a ripe snow peach in August.
The culprit looked down at the scene, seemingly quite satisfied with his "masterpiece".
“I am indeed very hungry.” His voice was nine-tenths similar to Gu Lianzhou’s, but the one-tenth difference was that he was much more frivolous than the original owner. “Especially after seeing you.”
His harsh tone lessened Song Qiling's fear to some extent, but a feeling of humiliation and anger suddenly arose in his heart.
Even though he was just a figment of her junior brother's imagination, she couldn't hold back any longer. She opened her mouth to curse, but then she caught a glimpse of his slightly raised right hand, and her heart skipped a beat. She quickly shut her mouth again.
"Suiyin likes you very much." He smiled again, his eyes filled with complex emotions that Song Qiling couldn't understand. His left eye was completely black and bright, while his golden-red right eye was devoid of any human warmth, so cold that it sent chills down one's spine.
Song Qiling wanted to ask who "Suiyin" was, but suddenly saw the man lean down and get close, reaching through the hair behind her neck, his burning palm pressed against her skin, almost lifting her up.
In an instant, the distance between the two closed to an extremely close level, so close that they could see each other's eyelashes clearly. The man leaned down, his warm breath brushing against her nose, bringing a slight tickling sensation, and their lips almost touched.
Song Qiling saw her own panicked self reflected in his pupils, her lips trembling slightly, and she subconsciously said, "Junior Brother... Junior Brother."
The voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, drifting lightly into my ears, carrying with it an unspeakable sense of grievance.
As soon as she finished speaking, the man's eyes flickered slightly, his brows furrowed, and he clicked his tongue softly, muttering to himself, "Why are they all coming to my door, and I can't even take them?"
Whom should we eat? Her?
With only this thought in mind, the hand behind her neck suddenly loosened, and Song Qiling felt her legs go weak, then she fell backward.
Within her limited field of vision, the man stood motionless, his lips slightly parted, a faint smile playing on his lips, as he spoke something to her.
Song Qiling's pupils suddenly contracted, her gaze fixed on the other person's moving lips, struggling to decipher the lip movements amidst the howling air currents.
Goodbye, senior brother.
Before the silent farewell could reach her ears, a scorching wave of air suddenly lifted her clothes, and in an instant, crimson magma opened its blood-red maw like a giant beast, swallowing her whole.
-
Inside the cramped bedroom, bluish smoke floated like a thin veil, shimmering with an eerie halo under the sunlight.
Song Qiling staggered down, leaning on the table for support. She clutched her chest and clothes tightly with her fingers, coughing and trembling all over. The lingering heat from the illusion made her unable to straighten up.
With a flick of her wrist, the bronze mirror rolled to the ground, its oily surface reflecting her disheveled appearance—pale face, sweat-dampened hair clinging to her cheeks, and shallow bloodstains on her lips from being bitten.
After bending over and calming herself for a while, she turned her head to look at her junior brother on the couch with lingering fear.
The man's face in the illusion overlapped with Gu Lianzhou's. Suddenly remembering that man's frivolous appearance, Song Qiling clenched her knuckles and stood up, supporting herself on the stool.
If it were the old her, she would have definitely rebuked the evil spirits for bewitching people, but now, looking at her junior brother sleeping soundly, she suddenly felt a sense of absurdity.
The hunger her junior brother described seemed to be something different from what she had imagined.
As soon as Gu Lianzhou opened his eyes, he saw his senior brother guarding the bedside, staring at him with a solemn expression. When he saw that Gu Lianzhou was awake, his senior brother opened his mouth, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Senior brother, what's wrong?" He sat up, his eyes filled with confusion, seemingly unaware of what had happened in the illusion.
Song Qiling unconsciously twisted her sleeves, creating deep wrinkles in the fabric, before finally letting go. She scratched the back of her head in annoyance and swallowed the question that was on the tip of her tongue.
She took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Junior brother, your illusion is not easy to deal with. As soon as I entered, it tried to eat me. It's really fierce."
"Eat people?" A hint of panic flashed in Gu Lianzhou's eyes. He subconsciously reached out and grabbed Song Qiling's arm, urgently examining him from head to toe. "Did it hurt you? Senior brother, are you alright?"
Song Qiling waved his hand to indicate that he was alright, but his brows had unconsciously furrowed: "I'm fine, but there's something you don't understand, Senior Brother."
She pointed to her junior brother's feet, her brows slowly furrowing. "According to my demon-seeking technique, I should have entered the illusion of the dodder, but what I just saw was not like that."
She pondered for a moment, trying to find a fitting description, "That place is full of scorching, churning lava, like a hellish inferno, where a person is trapped. He looks nine-tenths like you, but his temperament is completely different from yours."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lianzhou was slightly taken aback. He suddenly recalled the dream he had after escaping from Yin Yang Ravine and falling into a deep sleep for several days. Just as his senior brother had said, he was in a lava purgatory, and the man sitting alone on the high platform, whose face he could not see clearly... actually had the same appearance as him?
“And…” Song Qiling unconsciously licked her slightly dry lips, the intimate and unrestrained scene from the illusion flashing uncontrollably through her mind. A faint blush gradually crept onto her ears, and even her voice became slightly shaky. “Junior brother, if you have any troubles, just tell me, and we’ll solve them together. Don’t keep them bottled up inside. If you keep them hidden for too long, they might become a chronic illness and breed inner demons…”
Her words were like casting pearls before swine. Gu Lianzhou nodded solemnly and replied, “Indeed, I shouldn’t have hidden it, Senior Brother. I was not honest with you. Long before I left Huanxi Village, after the demonic energy entered my body, I saw the illusion you mentioned in my dream. It seems that this thing did not originate from dodder, but was already lurking in my body all along.”
He slowly lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on his outstretched palm, a chill rising in his heart. "Just like my innate ability to see ghosts, perhaps I am a half-demon."
Song Qiling was speechless for a moment.
This conclusion was completely beyond her expectations.
"Humans and demons cannot unite, let alone reproduce?" she retorted instinctively. "Your mother is human, so how could she give birth to a half-demon?"
Gu Lianzhou shook his head and said, "I don't know... Maybe I really am a jinx reincarnated."
Seeing his dejected and self-loathing appearance, Song Qiling gently patted his shoulder and comforted him, "What nonsense are you spouting again? I've never seen such an honest jinx as you. Besides, we haven't even figured out what that illusion is yet, so don't jump to conclusions. If you really feel bad about yourself, why not do some things for me as repayment for what you did in that illusion..."
At this point, her tongue seemed to be tied in knots, and her eyes flickered, avoiding her junior brother's gaze, before landing on the corner of his lips.
His lips were perfectly shaped, with soft and distinct contours. The peaks of his lips were slightly upturned in a reserved arc, not sharp, but rather exuding a gentle restraint. His lips were a light pink, making him look... very soft and vulnerable.
Song Qiling's throat moved slightly, and then she was startled by her own reckless thought, and hurriedly looked away.
What's wrong with her?
Could it be that I was influenced by that illusion? Otherwise, why would I have such delusional thoughts about my junior brother?
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