They carefully wrapped the stack of books in several layers of silk cloth, just in case it decided to bite or explode. Song Meiyu also added a peach-scented sachet "for protection." Linyue decided not to ask what exactly it was protecting them from. Demonic curses? Explosions? Bad smell? Some questions were better left unanswered. So together, like suspicious criminals with a bundle of forbidden texts, they marched off toward Master Tian Mo's residence.
When they reached his door, Linyue raised a hand and knocked.
A grumpy voice came from inside. "Come in."
Linyue pushed the door open. Song Meiyu wasted no time. She strode in and slammed the silk-wrapped books onto the table with a loud thud.
Master Tian Mo nearly lost his teacup. His eyes widened, wrist snapping with quick reflex to keep the liquid from spilling. He stared at the bundle, then at the girls, suspicion heavy in his gaze. "…Do I want to know?"
Linyue answered first, her face perfectly serious. "They twitched."
Song Meiyu nodded quickly. "Also possibly cursed."
Chaos Sisters: Reporting for duty.
Master Tian Mo: Too old for this nonsense.
Master Tian Mo stared at the silk bundle for a long moment. His expression didn't change. "…This better not be another one of those spiritual cooking manuals you brought last time."
Song Meiyu pressed her lips together to hide a smile. Linyue did not. She stood tall, her expression steady and dignified.
"Master," she said calmly, "I was training my spiritual sense. For a pure and noble purpose. But then I sensed something from those books."
Master Tian Mo raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Pure and noble," he echoed, dry amusement in his voice.
Song Meiyu leaned forward and helpfully whispered, "She was probably spying on the Demon King."
Linyue coughed into her sleeve, face perfectly straight. "Anyway, that's not the point. I sensed something strange. It wasn't a normal kind of energy. So we thought it would be best to seek your guidance, Master."
Master Tian Mo turned his gaze to the bundle on the table. With a weary sigh, he began unwrapping it, layer by layer.
Layer one. Silk.
Layer two. More silk.
Layer three. Peach-scented sachet.
He dangled the sachet by its string and gave them a flat look. "Do you two… actually think this counts as spiritual protection?"
Song Meiyu's eyes darted away, her mouth twitching. "Well…"
Master Tian Mo snorted. "If these books explode, this little bag will not save you."
Linyue muttered, "If the books explode, at least our corpses will be fragrant."
For a brief moment, Master Tian Mo closed his eyes, as if praying for patience or perhaps considering launching both of them out the nearest window. With another long sigh, he continued unwrapping.
Layer four. Silk again.
Layer five. Even more silk.
Layer six. Unbelievably, still silk.
By then, his eyebrow had developed a visible twitch. "Did you two intend to mummify the books?"
Song Meiyu beamed, hands on her hips. "It's not mummification. It's fashion. Protection with style."
Linyue nodded without hesitation. "At least this way they cannot escape."
Master Tian Mo pressed his fingers to his temple, as if warding off a headache. Finally, the endless wrapping gave way to the actual contents. The books were revealed. It was a stack of titles that looked like they had been rescued from the most chaotic corner of a village bookstall.
Master Tian Mo picked the top one, tilted his head, and read aloud. "Reborn as a Mosquito and Bitten by Love."
A silence followed. He looked at Linyue. Then at Song Meiyu. Then back at the book as though hoping the words would rearrange themselves into something less ridiculous.
Song Meiyu straightened her back and said with an impressively straight face, "It's just… a very normal and very pure storybook."
Linyue explained calmly. "They looked normal at first. That's why I want to try sensing them again. I think something is hidden there. Probably an array."
Master Tian Mo flipped the mosquito love story open with a wary frown. "If this book explodes," he said slowly, "I am sending both of you to copy scrolls for a month."
Linyue muttered under her breath, "Should've just gone to the Demon King instead…"
Chaos Sisters: groaning dramatically.
Book Bundle: suspiciously quiet.
Demon King: somewhere far away, probably sneezing.
Linyue took a deep breath, gathering her focus. "I'll try again. We should move a little farther from the books. Just in case."
Master Tian Mo did not argue. He stepped back without hesitation, hands clasped behind his back. Song Meiyu followed him quickly. Then she shuffled behind Linyue and peeked out from over her shoulder.
Linyue stared at them. "Are you two… hiding behind me?"
Song Meiyu blinked innocently. "You're the strong one."
Linyue sighed. "Unbelievable."
She closed her eyes and extended her spiritual energy slowly. At first, the space around the books felt quiet. Nothing stirred.
Then it came.
A chill slid across her thoughts like icy fingers creeping into her mind. Linyue flinched but didn't pull back. She pushed forward. The cold thickened, sinking deeper, until her mind felt like it was trapped in frozen ice. And then came the pain. A sharp spike stabbed into her spiritual thread, dragging her violently into memories she had locked away.
The palace burning.
Her brother's voice screaming her name.
The smell of ash. The stench of blood.
Endless demons crawling toward her.
Linyue's breath caught. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. This wasn't an ordinary array. Whatever it was, it wasn't just resisting her. It was feeding on her fear, dragging out the worst pieces of her past. But she wasn't prey. She wasn't a weak flower waiting to be plucked. Her jaw tightened. She gritted her teeth and wrapped her spiritual energy tighter, forcing it to harden, to glow. For every horrible memory clawing at her, she sent back strength.
The warmth of Shu Mingye's embrace. Song Meiyu's chaotic laughter. He Yuying with snacks stuffed in his mouth. Shen Zhenyu calmly sipping tea while everything burned in the background.
Linyue focused harder. Her spiritual energy surged, pressing back against the darkness.
The books trembled on the table. Song Meiyu squeaked and grabbed Master Tian Mo's sleeve.
Linyue's energy pushed deeper until she found it. Or rather, it found her. A black, vine-like energy pulsed deep inside the book. It writhed slowly as if alive. Then it lashed out. Cold, thorny tendrils slithered through her mind. She didn't let it spread. She shaped her energy into a sharp blade and sliced at the vines.
The black energy fought back viciously. It clawed at her thoughts, filling her head with icy static and blooming pain behind her eyes. Her vision spun wildly like she had read all of Song Meiyu's cursed romance novels in one sitting. Then came a sound that wasn't quite a sound.
Crack.
The black energy snapped. Darkness thinned. The suffocating cold broke apart. Linyue forced one last wave of power through. The cursed presence hissed as it dissolved into nothing. She opened her eyes slowly, her vision swimming. Everything tilted slightly. Her legs wobbled. And then warmth. Strong arms wrapped around her from behind, steadying her easily. She didn't have to look. She already knew.
Shu Mingye.
His voice was soft but sharp at the edges, brushing her ear. "You did something dangerous without telling me again."
Linyue blinked slowly. Her head felt heavy, thoughts still tangled. She turned her eyes toward the books. A thin black fog was rising from them, curling lazily into the air. Something red had also spread across Master Tian Mo's table. Possibly ink. Possibly not ink. Possibly best not to ask.
"What happened…?" she murmured, her voice hoarse.
Master Tian Mo leaned closer to the books, completely unfazed by the ominous red stains creeping across the table. "Fascinating," he muttered, poking the red-stained wood with one finger.
Shu Mingye sighed deeply. "That should've been my question."
Song Meiyu peeked from behind a pillar, clutching a scroll like a shield. "Sister Linyue! Those books are really cursed?! You've been poking at them for more than half a day and didn't respond! We thought you got possessed or something!"
"Half a day?"
Shu Mingye added, "Don't forget the more."
Linyue stared at nothing for a moment, trying to untangle her spinning thoughts. Whatever those black vine-like things were, they had dug deep, pulling at memories she wished had stayed buried. She felt completely drained. Every part of her buzzed uncomfortably, her thoughts barely holding together. So she gave up trying to think and leaned fully back into Shu Mingye's chest, letting his warmth chase away the lingering chill.
He caught her instantly, his arms tightening around her without hesitation. His voice softened, low enough that only she could hear. "Pie, are you okay?"
She just mumbled faintly, "Cursed books are exhausting."
Master Tian Mo, still poking at a now-sizzling page with the end of a scroll, nodded thoughtfully. "Yes yes. That's why I only drink tea and eat pastries. Much safer hobbies."
Linyue didn't respond. She stayed slumped against Shu Mingye, her head tilted slightly as she whispered, "I want to look closer at the books."
Shu Mingye's brow twitched at her stubbornness, but he didn't argue. He picked her up and walked toward the table. With one smooth motion, he set her down in front of the cursed book pile. Then he stayed there, standing close, arms extended like a protective wall around her.
"You can look," he said grimly, "but only like this."
In front of them, Master Tian Mo chuckled softly and resumed poking at the books as if nothing about this situation was strange.
Linyue's eyes drifted down to the red liquid spread beneath the stack. It had a strange sheen, sticky and dark. It looked like blood but colder somehow, almost metallic, like blood that had been… rewritten.
She frowned slightly. "Master Tian Mo, do you know what this is?"