Fairy, Don't Be Afraid, I Am Blind-Chapter 73 - 63: Confessions in the Cave (Part 2)

You Su then started to take note of the surroundings. It was a small stone cave, with slender beams of light penetrating through the cracks between the stone and dirt, filling the air with the scent of moist earth.

You Su glanced at Ji Lingruo again, her eyes still ink-black with no visible expression, but Ji Lingruo understood and said:

"What... what could be wrong with me? You should take care of yourself first."

After speaking, You Su didn’t avert his gaze, continuing to stare at Ji Lingruo, while Ji Lingruo was somewhat uneasy under this scrutiny:

"Oh dear, really, I’m fine. Anyway, you already know, don’t you..."

As she spoke, the girl’s voice grew quieter, she buried her head, choking:

"Senior brother, I’m sorry... It’s all my fault. We’re being treated like this because of me, it’s my fault, boo hoo, I dragged you into this, you shouldn’t have cared about me. Why did I become possessed, I really didn’t do anything, why, why! Boo hoo..."

Ji Lingruo seemed to be questioning her fate, wrapped in guilt and resentment, unable to hold back any longer, and burst into tears.

Seeing his junior sister crying her heart out, You Su felt even more hurt.

He wanted to speak to comfort her, but Ji Lingruo’s hand was still covering his mouth, and he couldn’t move his body, so he could only tap her palm lightly with the tip of his tongue.

The girl recoiled as if she had been bitten by a snake that appeared from nowhere, pulling her hand back quickly while crying harder:

"Boo hoo, you’re disgusting..."

You Su felt a bit awkward, but it was indeed a helpless move. He swallowed audibly and said:

"Junior sister... it’s not your fault."

"Don’t you say boo hoo... It’s clearly this ugly thing on me that’s at fault!"

Ji Lingruo’s tears flowed like a broken dam, unable to stop.

You Su had no choice but to keep silent, knowing that when a girl really wants to cry, persuasion won’t help. It’s better to let her vent her pent-up emotions; while she does, he can also rest silently.

Only when tears could no longer flow did Ji Lingruo’s cries subside and the stone cave fell into silence, broken only by the intermittent sobbing that echoed continuously.

"Senior brother... when did you find out?"

"The day you celebrated my birthday."

Ji Lingruo’s face was a mess of black and white tearstains, and she asked confusedly:

"Then how did you discover it?"

You Su was a bit surprised, his junior sister asking this question meant that the part of her consciousness hidden in his mind hadn’t returned. She was still at the stage of slightly realizing there was a problem but not being sure.

This meant there was still a chance to remedy things!

"That day, when I descended the mountain, I encountered an old Taoist. He said I was tainted with evil aura."

"And then?" Ji Lingruo raised her delicate eyebrows.

"He said he wanted to save me. I didn’t believe him, so he gave me a stone, the same one that the official used to test you, called the Exorcism Order. Inject Profound Qi into it, and if there are evil spirits around, it will turn black and hot."

"But... I was hiding at home every day, who would have thought I’d become possessed?"

You Su also frowned, unable to understand why Qi Daodong would suddenly come and test Ji Lingruo secretly. How had he detected any signs?

Could it be just because he was the last to see Mr. He?

You Su didn’t say it directly; instead, he told Ji Lingruo about the great crisis facing Chuyun City at that time. As for the test, it was something the City Lord required everyone to do. It was his fault for not coming back sooner, otherwise, he might have found a way to stop that person.

Ji Lingruo nodded, accepting You Su’s explanation, and then asked about the old Taoist.

"That old Taoist wasn’t a good person, but an Evil Cultivator. He saw that our sect was isolated and wanted to use me to turn us into evil objects. The evil spirit on you probably came from him."

"What!" Ji Lingruo’s eyes widened, "How could there be such a bad person!"

"It’s alright. Senior brother anticipated his move and had already killed him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out how to remove the attached evil spirit."

"How did you kill him?"

You Su chuckled and winked: "I was possessed too, how could I let my junior sister be the only one? When I was fighting Mr. Qi, he stabbed me in the stomach. Look, just because I was possessed, it stopped bleeding on its own."

You Su slightly tilted his head, intending to show the pierced abdomen to Ji Lingruo. However, Ji Lingruo didn’t turn her head, continually looking into You Su’s eyes, the whites completely black, asking with a sob:

"Then why didn’t you tell me earlier? You just think I’m nothing but a hindrance!"

The lie grew more complicated as You Su hurried to deny it, inadvertently making a larger movement and aggravating the abdominal wound, drawing sharp, cold breaths in pain.

Ji Lingruo became flustered, looking at You Su’s blood-stained wound, unsure of what to do. She asked concernedly, "Are you alright?"

You Su endured the intense pain and said hoarsely:

"It was my cowardice and arrogance, foolishly thinking we could live as before if I didn’t break the windowpane, trying to take on everything myself. Junior sister, I’m sorry... Ah!"

"Don’t speak, I’m not angry!" Ji Lingruo said anxiously.

The junior sister trusted him so easily, each act of deception towards her filled You Su with immense guilt.

He slowly relaxed the tense features due to faking pain: "I won’t do this again, junior sister. From now on, let’s face everything together."

"Okay..." Ji Lingruo lowered her head.

"By the way, junior sister, do you know where the Master went?" You Su eagerly wanted to change the subject.

Ji Lingruo shook her head, "I don’t know either, she even told me she was possessed. She also said..."

"Said what?"

"She also told me to stay hidden within the sect with you, not to run around."

"When did she say this?"

"Just... the night after your competition with Wu Cheng."

Upon hearing this, You Su became filled with doubts. With danger lurking outside, for the Master to seemingly foresee everything and instruct them to hide, it seemed that Gu Yao’s death, the evil spirit, and the fog’s mystery were all inextricably linked to the Master.

You Su sighed inwardly; there were too many things he couldn’t understand, so he chose to stop thinking about them. What was most important now was to determine whether this place was safe and quickly restore his state to face the ensuing potential crisis with confidence.

"Help me to sit against the wall."

Ji Lingruo blushed and asked, "Uncomfortable?"

"Too comfortable." If possible, no one would want to leave a girl’s soft, fragrant lap, "But now’s not the time for comfort; there’s something important I need you to do."

"Oh." Ji Lingruo obediently helped You Su up, leaning him against the stone wall beside her.

Their shoulders touched, and feeling each other’s warmth seemed to make them both feel even warmer.

You Su struggled to lift his hand; at this point, there was no need to hide the existence of the Qiankun Bag any longer. He took out a candle and a fire striker from it and handed them to Ji Lingruo.

Ji Lingruo was visibly shocked, and You Su explained: "It’s the relics from that evil cultivator, a type of storage magical artifact."

"So, you were never going to reprimand those people that night, right?" Ji Lingruo said, taking the candle and lighting it, making the stone cave considerably brighter. Their shadows danced on the stone walls.

"Mhm." You Su nodded and took out a roll of pitch-black thread, saying, "Junior sister, hold this candle and try to find the way we came. I’ll stay here holding this end, and you tie the thread around the path several times to mark it."

Ji Lingruo understood what he meant and didn’t hesitate; she stood up, feeling her way against the stone wall to the exit.

"Be careful, junior sister."

"Mhm."

Not long after, Ji Lingruo returned, having completed the task, and she continued to lean against You Su, even closer than before.

Feeling it still wasn’t enough, she gently tilted her head to rest on You Su’s shoulder. As his nose filled with her fragrance, warmth spread through his heart.

The two fell into silence; despite having many things to say, both were too exhausted to speak, leaving only the warm yellow candlelight as their intimate companion.

"Junior sister, are you hungry?"

"A little."

You Su took out a box of green bean cakes from the Qiankun Bag, offering them to Ji Lingruo expectantly.

Ji Lingruo smiled sweetly, opening it and feeding You Su half before taking the remaining half herself, eating it slowly, as if afraid of finishing it too quickly.

"It seems junior sister is truly hungry; you used to never touch green bean cakes..."

Ji Lingruo paused, her movement of pursing lips stopping, her dense eyelashes covering her gaze:

"With nothing to eat, one has to eat... there’s no choice."

You Su didn’t respond. She looked at You Su in the candlelight.

The boy’s jawline was clear under the play of light and shadow, with his eyes closed, already fast asleep.