"But isn’t Cailing a virgin? How could she have breast milk?"
Zi Yiyi asked, still confused.
"Yiyi, you still don’t understand what I mean." You Su shook his head. "Cailing indeed doesn’t have breast milk, and ghost mites might not consume human breast milk anyway. However, ghost mites naturally parasitized on Cailing since they instinctively absorb nutrients from bigger ghost mites. In this sense, the evil spirits are actually no different from ordinary creatures."
Zi Yiyi mused for a long time before she sighed with emotion:
"This is an astonishing conclusion."
You Su nodded in agreement. When he learned about evil spirits from his Master, he found out that the common understanding of evil spirits on this continent was that they were considered impure spiritual entities, fundamentally different from true living beings, which is why they are enemies of all creatures.
This discovery of You Su’s could potentially overthrow a millennia-old belief. They previously knew that evil spirits could reproduce offspring, but they didn’t know they could also nurture them and even have organs for nurturing.
In terms of nurturing behavior alone, they have even surpassed most living creatures. This indicates that the current evil spirits have evolved to an unimaginable degree.
"This is not the critical point. The key is that we know cultivating ghost mites is not a simple matter. The ghost mite that sucked the life out of Qiao Xiuying of the Middle Meridian Realm couldn’t even fully grow these two young ghost mites. So, things haven’t yet reached an irreparable state," You Su continued.
Zi Yiyi looked bewildered and suddenly became very curious about this young man and couldn’t help asking:
"If I may ask, you are evidently blind, but your level of observation is not something a blind person should typically develop."
Upon hearing this, You Su smiled calmly: "It’s precisely because I can’t see regularly that when I do see the evil spirits, I can’t help but take a closer look."
For a moment, Zi Yiyi was taken aback, her gaze towards You Su no longer held any trace of disdain, and there was even a hint of recognition.
You Su’s ability to arrive at such conclusions was certainly not achieved by just taking a casual glance; it involved countless hours of pondering behind the scenes.
This young man seems to have a unique quality, attempting to deconstruct the behavior of evil spirits with the most practical and reasonable explanations. If this task were undertaken by someone else from the Exorcism Bureau, it might be mistakenly believed that the courtesan’s place at Xiao Xiang Pavilion had been cursed.
Someone like him becoming the Divine Son... doesn’t sound too bad?
"So, what do you plan to do next?"
You Su held the Exorcism Order over the two young ghost mites, and in an instant, the two naive evil spirits were absorbed into it, disappearing without a trace.
"The immediate plan is to find the body of Qiao Xiuying. Although I was mentally prepared, I still didn’t manage to get anything useful from Cailing. She’s just a beautiful girl brought back from a distant city by Mr. Xiang, used as a courtesan substitute to attract the city’s attention."
"You didn’t get anything? Then why were you in there for so long?" Zi Yiyi asked innocently, "Capturing these two evil spirits should have been a walk in the park for you."
Hearing this, You Su had to bow his head quietly, looking embarrassed:
"To avoid scaring Miss Cailing, I had to exert a bit more effort."
Zi Yiyi thought it over and agreed; matters with evil spirits are best kept away from commoners.
Upon hearing this, Ji Lingruo unexpectedly slammed the table in anger, causing the teacups and teapot to momentarily suspend in the air.
Zi Yiyi was startled. Seeing the upset expression on the young girl’s face, she immediately understood the reason.
After nearly two days together, she had long noticed the deep feelings between this master-disciple pair.
Although it was for the sake of exorcising, the position was indeed awkward... It’s only natural for the young girl to be jealous and upset.
"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Get some rest early; we still have to continue the investigation tomorrow." Zi Yiyi had already thought of retreating; she didn’t want to get involved in this mess.
Although You Su wanted to persuade her to stay, he had no reason to, so he could only watch as this savior maintaining the calm returned to her room.
The scene fell silent again, and You Su felt somewhat awkward, subconsciously rubbing his thumbs together.
This little action was fully observed by Ji Lingruo, who said angrily:
"Enjoying it so much?"
"I’m just wiping my hands, shimei, it’s dirty..." You Su smiled awkwardly as he wiped his hands on his black robe twice.
"Ha!" Ji Lingruo snorted coldly, then pinched her delicate nose, "Go ask the owner to boil water and wash up quickly! You’re covered in that vulgar stench! It’s disgusting, like a rabbit god."
You Su was a bit surprised. His shimei didn’t pursue the matter further; it seemed this possessive girl was quite reasonable after all.
After all, all of this was for the sake of exorcising evil, and he certainly had no intention of enjoying it.
"I’m on it!"
With that, You Su darted downstairs.
...
The stars and moon hung high, enveloping the entire Mo Ye City in darkness, with only the night watchmen illuminating the long streets with a lantern.
You Su and Ji Lingruo slept on one end, covered by the same blanket, though a distinctly visible chasm separated them.
But it was still the closest they’ve been since reuniting.
Originally, You Su proposed to stay awake on watch, leaving the bed entirely for Ji Lingruo. However, Ji Lingruo stubbornly insisted that he, being the main force, must get proper rest, and she would keep watch.
You Su, of course, would not relent; if Ji Lingruo wouldn’t sleep, neither would he, leading to this situation of sharing the same bed but different dreams.
In the darkness, Ji Lingruo carefully opened her bright eyes, cautiously turning her head to look at You Su, who had been silent for a long time, only to be startled:
"You—you’re still awake?!"
It turned out that You Su hadn’t closed his eyes but had been lying on his side, quietly admiring her profile. Even though he was blind, it couldn’t hide the fondness in his eyes.
"Shimei isn’t asleep either, are you?"
Ji Lingruo felt a bit embarrassed at being gazed at so intensely, "Don’t look... Close your eyes!"
"What are you afraid of, Shimei? I can’t see anyway." You Su placed his hand under his head, making it more comfortable to gaze.
Yet, this action seemed like bare provocation in the eyes of the girl.
She was not one to back down easily, so she also turned and met his gaze defiantly.
"Then look, after all, you can’t see me, and I can see you. The one at a disadvantage is still you."
"Ah, it’s the first time I’ve heard that when a man and a woman share a bed, the man is at a disadvantage." You Su teased.
Ji Lingruo was momentarily speechless, her blushing face hidden by the night.
She initially intended to sit on the chair all night to frustrate him... but it still benefited this blind man...
Ji Lingruo! You’re so useless!
The girl was terribly annoyed, using her foot under the blanket to gently kick You Su’s calf.
You Su, however, reacted quickly, immediately using both legs to trap the girl’s graceful ankle, rendering her unable to escape.
"Khehehe, Shimei, you were the one who first stepped over the line, okay? Don’t blame your shixiong now!"
You Su laughed as if he were the cunning villain in a folktale.
But, unbeknownst to him, in the darkness, the girl had the same smile as he did.