sorry
Xixi's spiritual power exploded in front of Lin Mo's chest, sending him flying. Lin Mo stumbled back a few steps, bumping into the tree trunk behind him, a flash of shock in his eyes.
"You really are..." He gasped, but a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Only then did Xixi realize what she had done. The remaining black spiritual energy in her palm was slowly dissipating. She hurriedly put her hands behind her back, but it was too late. Lin Mo's eyes turned from surprise to excitement, like a hunter who finally found the prey he had been tracking for a long time.
"I knew it," Lin Mo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "How could Gu Tinglan keep an ordinary girl by his side?" He put his hand into the inner pocket of his uniform, "Especially when he has a father like that."
Before he finished speaking, a silver light shot out from Lin Mo's hand. Xixi instinctively raised her hand to block it, but her pupils suddenly shrank when she saw the object clearly - it was an ancient pocket watch, the cover of which was engraved with exorcism runes, glowing ominously in the sunlight.
She fought back in a hurry, completely forgetting that he had such a deadly weapon in his hand.
This thing was originally a suppressing weapon used against demons, not to mention that she is not a demon. Succubus are far lower-level creatures than demons. So this killing weapon is a complete dimensionality reduction attack on her, and she has no ability to fight back.
"No!" Sissy's scream was drowned out by a sharp metallic clatter. The pocket watch automatically opened before her, its delicate gears spinning in reverse with a teeth-grinding sound. A silvery-white light burst from the center of the dial, piercing Sissy's chest.
"Ah—!" Xixi felt her blood boiling. The demonic power surged through her body, trying to resist the sealing force. Dark purple lines appeared under her skin, as if they were alive and flowing through her veins. Her knees gave way, and she fell to the ground, her fingers digging deep into the soil.
Lin Mo looked down at her and said, "I didn't expect the Gu family's ancestral exorcism equipment to be so effective. It seems that Gu Tinglan has been hiding a lot from you, little succubus."
Xixi's vision began to blur and her ears began to buzz.
Gu Tinglan?
Isn’t Gu Tinglan an ordinary human being?
Had he been pretending all along? Had he been... on guard against her?
"Don't look at me like that," Lin Mo squatted down and roughly pinched Xixi's chin with his fingers. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too conspicuous. Demonic Rose? Ha, how many people do you think can recognize it now?"
Yes, being able to recognize it will either be beneficial or detrimental to her.
She shouldn't be so conspicuous.
Xixi struggled to gather the last bit of strength, but felt a heart-wrenching pain the moment she tried to mobilize her spiritual power - those runes were taking root in her body, like countless tiny chains entwining her essence.
"Give it up," Lin Mo shook the pocket watch in his hand. "This thing is specifically designed to counter dark creatures like you." His eyes fell on Xixi's painfully twisted face, and suddenly he smiled. "But don't worry, I won't kill you. A living forbidden fruit that can be toyed with at any time is much more interesting."
In Xixi's blurry vision, she could vaguely see his hand reaching out to her. She tilted her head to avoid it, but she had no strength. She shook her half-conscious head and said viciously, "Just wait, I won't let you go, and neither will Gu Tinglan."
"Ha~" Lin Mo stopped and laughed softly as if he had heard something funny. "I've blocked this place a long time ago. Before you say anything harsh, think about whether he can find you."
Just as he finished speaking, he heard hurried footsteps in the distance, and Lin Mo's face changed slightly. He quickly put away his pocket watch, but the moment he stood up, he was knocked away by a dark shadow.
"Stay away from her!"
The familiar voice made Xixi's heart tremble. She tried to lift her heavy eyelids and saw Gu Tinglan's back blocking her way. He was tall and his whole body was like an impenetrable wall protecting her behind him.
"Hey, the flower protector is here?" Lin Mo steadied himself and said with a sarcastic smile, "I'm communicating with your little pet."
Gu Tinglan ignored his provocation and quickly glanced at Xixi. When he saw the magic patterns on her skin and the painful expression on her face, his eyes instantly turned cold.
"What did you do to her?" His voice was terribly low.
Lin Mo shook the pocket watch in his hand: "I just used a little of your family's heirloom toy. What, are you feeling bad about it?" He deliberately dragged out the tone, "Or... you don't even know what she is?"
Gu Tinglan's fists clenched, but surprisingly, he didn't act immediately. Xixi noticed that his eyes were fixed on the pocket watch, and a complex emotion she had never seen before flashed in them—like anger, but also like an unknown... fear?
"Give me the watch." Gu Tinglan stretched out his hand, his voice filled with an order that could not be refused.
Lin Mo laughed out loud: "Why? I bought this on the black market at a high price. Speaking of which, you should thank your father. If it weren't for him..."
Before he could finish his words, Gu Tinglan had already charged forward. The fight between the two was more ferocious than anything Xixi had ever witnessed. Each of Gu Tinglan's moves was aimed squarely at the vital points, unlike the usual, fleeting exchanges at school. Although Lin Mo was skilled, he was quickly outmatched by the enraged Gu Tinglan.
Xixi tried to stand up to help, but the moment she moved, she felt dizzy. The power of the runes surged through her body, like countless red-hot needles moving through her veins. She bit her lower lip, tasting the rusty taste of blood.
"Gu... Tinglan..." She called weakly, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of fighting.
At that moment, Lin Mo suddenly pulled a small knife from his pocket. The blade glowed an eerie green in the sunlight—it was coated with poison. Gu Tinglan dodged nimbly, but his arm was still cut. Blood immediately soaked the sleeve of his sweater, but he only frowned, not slowing down his movements.
"Is this all you can do?" Gu Tinglan sneered, suddenly changed his tactics, and elbowed Lin Mo hard in the chest.
Lin Mo groaned and took a few steps back, his pocket watch slipping from his hand. Gu Tinglan quickly caught it and kicked Lin Mo to the ground.
"Get lost." He looked down at the disheveled Lin Mo, his voice as cold as ice, "I don't have time to deal with you now."
Lin Mo clutched his chest and climbed to his feet, his eyes filled with resentment. "Do you think this is the end? Gu Tinglan, what your father did back then will come back to haunt you sooner or later." He gave Xixi a sinister look. "Especially now that you have a succubus by your side."
Gu Tinglan made a move to step forward, but Lin Mo immediately took a few steps back, turned around and staggered away.
After confirming that Lin Mo had truly left, Gu Tinglan immediately returned to Xixi's side. He knelt on one knee and carefully checked her condition. When his fingers touched the magic pattern that had emerged on her arm, Xixi couldn't help but flinch.
"Does it hurt?" Gu Tinglan's voice suddenly became gentle, completely different from before.
Xixi wanted to shake her head, but she couldn't help shaking. The power of the rune was eroding her magical core, and the pain was like someone cutting her heart bit by bit with a blunt knife.
Gu Tinglan frowned and quickly checked the pocket watch. When he saw the family crest engraved on the inside of the watch cover, his face turned extremely grim.
"I need to take you back," he whispered, "The seal here can only be broken by asking my mother."
He recognized the family emblem, but he had no idea about what Lin Mo was talking about or the so-called ancestral artifact in his hand.
Ji Yunbai never told him these things.
Xixi tried to say she could walk, but as soon as she moved, her vision went black. The next second, she felt a pair of strong arms pull her sideways. Gu Tinglan's clothes had a faint scent of cedar mixed with a hint of blood. She subconsciously shrank into his arms, resting her forehead on his collarbone.
"Hold on," Gu Tinglan's voice came from above her head, with an urgency she had never heard before, "We'll be home soon."
Gu Tinglan took off his coat and put it on her to cover the terrifying magic patterns on her.
Xixi nodded dazedly, feeling her consciousness slipping away. Her last memory was the surprised looks and whispers of the surrounding students as Gu Tinglan carried her across the campus.
******
When Xixi regained consciousness, the first thing she felt was the soft mattress beneath her and the thin duvet covering her body. She tried to move her fingers and found that the heart-wrenching pain had eased a lot, but her whole body was still limp and powerless.
The room was dark, with only a small nightlight by the bed emitting a soft, warm glow. She recognized it as the guest room in Gu Tinglan's house, where she had stayed several nights before. The curtains were drawn tightly, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.
"woke up?"
A low voice came from the corner of the room. Xixi turned her head and saw Gu Tinglan sitting in an armchair, holding a thick ancient book in his hands. Under the light, his outline looked particularly deep, with a clear shadow under his eyes, and it looked like he hadn't rested for a long time.
"What time is it now?" Xixi was startled by her own hoarse voice as soon as she opened her mouth.
Gu Tinglan put down his book and walked over, sitting down beside the bed. "It's three o'clock in the morning. You've been unconscious for nearly eighteen hours." He reached out and touched her forehead. "Does it still hurt?"
Xixi shook her head, but was stunned when she saw the bandage wrapped around his arm: "Your injury..."
"It's a minor injury, it's been treated." Gu Tinglan brushed it off lightly and asked, "Can you sit up? You need to drink some water and eat something."
"Or, do you need a hug from me?"
"Um."
With his help, Xixi managed to sit up on the bedside, and then took the opportunity to quickly lean into his arms. Gu Tinglan handed her a glass of warm water, and she sipped it, feeling her dry throat much better.
"Lin Mo's pocket watch..." She leaned against Gu Tinglan's arms and hesitated to speak, "Is it from your family?"
Gu Tinglan's expression instantly became complicated. He was silent for a moment before nodding, "This is one of the exorcist tools my father made in his early years. A lot of it was lost back then."
Xixi noticed the sneer on his face when he said "lost", and it was obvious that things were not that simple.
"Did you know all this from the beginning?" Xixi looked at him with a sad expression, as if she was looking at a heartless man who had deceived her.
Gu Tinglan looked directly into her eyes: "I don't know."
"My mother never told me this. I only know that she started from scratch, and my father is just an ordinary painter who is rarely seen. It's just that the Gu family is a large family, and he is the eldest son, so he is in power now."
This answer shocked Xixi.
She didn't understand a word about his family, but she felt relieved that he didn't lie to her on purpose.
"If you are an ordinary human, why would you dare to..."
"Take you in?" Gu Tinglan took over her words, a wry smile on his face. "At first it was out of curiosity. You know the Peisong family is a family of exorcists. I know there are succubi, but I've never encountered one. I want to know why you're wandering around the human world."
In reality, it was because she looked so naive, and they were afraid she would be bullied if she went out. Ancient texts recorded that succubi were of low status, and once exposed, they were usually imprisoned and used as a sexual prey, to be toyed with. Someone like Lin Mo, with even a few tools to deal with succubi, could easily capture her.
It's just that there are very few people like this. The demons have become legends, and exorcists are almost extinct. I didn't expect to meet one in such a small school."
Xixi lowered her eyes, twisting the corner of the quilt with her fingers unconsciously: "What happened next?"
"Later..." Gu Tinglan's voice suddenly became very soft, "Later I discovered that you are not quite the same as the rumored demons."
Much dumber than them.
The room fell into a brief silence. The light from the night lamp cast a swaying shadow between the two people, like a silent conversation.
"I've already removed most of the seal on that pocket watch," Gu Tinglan suddenly changed the subject. "But there's still some residual power that needs time to dissipate." He hesitated. "You might feel your magic power isn't flowing smoothly these past few days. That's normal."
He had asked Ji Yunbai as soon as he came back. As a member of the Gu family, his blood could lift the seal. Of course, the barrier made by Lin Mo with the pocket watch was useless to him.
Xixi tried to mobilize the magic power in her body and did feel a sense of stagnation, but it was much better than the heart-wrenching pain before.
"It hurts so much, why didn't you come earlier?" she said softly.
Gu Tinglan lowered his eyes and said softly, "I'm sorry. If it weren't my family's stuff..."
"That's not your fault." Xixi interrupted him, "Lin Mo said...your father..."
"Don't listen to his nonsense." Gu Tinglan's tone suddenly became stiff, but Xixi keenly noticed the slight tightening of his fingers. "Some things are very complicated and cannot be explained in a few words."
To be honest, he is also very angry now. He has been deceived by his parents for so many years and almost caused the person he likes to be kidnapped.
If he had understood these things earlier, he would not have been caught off guard and caught off guard by Lin Mo.
But he also believed that his father would never do something wrong by covering it up as Lin Mo said.
Xixi tactfully didn't ask any further questions. She knew too well the feeling of not wanting to talk about the past—everyone has wounds they don't want to be touched.
Gu Tinglan stood up: "You should rest for a while. I'll get you something to eat."
He turned to leave, but Xixi grabbed the corner of his clothes. Gu Tinglan stopped and looked back at her in confusion.
"What are you doing?!" Xixi was dissatisfied with his action of pushing her away. She was already a little angry because of her injury. "Can't you let me hug you more?"
Gu Tinglan looked at her quietly for a few seconds, then sat back down on the bed. He didn't say anything, simply gently holding Xixi's hand and letting her hold him. His palm was warm and dry, with a thin layer of calluses on his fingertips, and stroking the skin on the back of her hand brought a strange sense of comfort.
Xixi rubbed against his safe embrace and closed her eyes.
The night light at the head of the bed cast their shadows on the wall, interweaving and blurring the boundaries.
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