Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

After the vegetarian meal, the two maids cleaned up the dishes and then followed the nun to the back to help in the kitchen.

Lin Zhiyao took Xiao Tao back to the east wing where they were temporarily staying.

Xiao Tao lit the lamp, rearranged the bedding in the meditation room, and placed a cup of warm tea on the table.

"Miss, it's chilly at night. You're thin and easily catch a cold. Have some tea to warm your stomach."

After Xiaotao finished speaking, she carefully checked the window latches again.

Lin Zhiyao sat on the edge of the bed, watching her busy herself with tears welling up in her eyes. She felt a pang of heartache and suddenly said, "Xiao Tao, you don't need to stay here tonight. Go sleep in the outer room."

Xiao Tao turned around, somewhat surprised: "Miss, this won't do. I'll stand guard outside the door, so it'll be convenient for you to add tea or water at night."

"These past few days, Chunlan has been calling you out to stay up late proofreading the accounts, and you've been dozing off during the day. I can't bear to see you like this," Lin Zhiyao said. "Besides, the temple is quiet; what could possibly happen there?"

Xiao Tao opened her mouth, wanting to insist a few more words.

But Lin Zhiyao's gaze was gentle yet stubborn.

Xiao Tao was brought from the Lin family. The two of them became mistress and servant from a young age. Their branch was not valued in the Lin family, so there were not many rules. Although they were called mistress and servant, they were more like playmates who had been together since childhood and were naturally closer.

Moreover, her parents passed away one after another, leaving only Xiao Tao to stay with her. So, in her eyes, Xiao Tao was more like a sister than a maid.

Seeing Lin Zhiyao's serious attitude, Xiao Tao didn't refuse anymore. Touched, she bowed and said, "Then this servant will listen to Miss. If Miss needs anything at night, just call out and this servant will hear you."

"Mm." Lin Zhiyao nodded with a slight smile.

Xiao Tao tiptoed to the outer room, took one last look at her mistress's profile, which appeared even more serene and beautiful in the candlelight, closed the thin wooden door, and went to sleep.

Lin Zhiyao sat on the edge of the bed, holding a cup of warm tea in both hands and took a sip.

Inside the house, only a single lamp cast a dim light, and the shadow of the old cypress tree in the courtyard was projected onto the window paper; its branches cast slanted shadows that swayed slightly in the wind.

Wait until the tea is finished.

The nun on night duty knocked on the door. She had a kind face and spoke softly. Standing outside the threshold, she gave a few instructions on the nighttime rules, saying that the temple lights were turned off at 7:00 PM. If you needed to get up at night, just pull the rope bell by your bedside, and someone would answer from next door.

Lin Zhiyao: "I understand, thank you, Master."

The nun closed the door, and the sound of her footsteps gradually faded away along the corridor.

Lin Zhiyao blew out the lamp and lay down.

The quilt was made of coarse cotton and was washed very clean, carrying the clean scent of soap and sunshine. It was much simpler than the scented silk quilts in the Shen family mansion, but it gave people a sense of peace.

She closed her eyes and heard the faint chanting of evening prayers in the distance, low and long, as if it were rising from the ground.

Very hypnotic.

Lin Zhiyao tossed and turned a few times while wrapped in the quilt. The red marks around her ankles had faded considerably. She hadn't brought either the ointment or the bell; she had left them at the bottom of a drawer in the Shen residence.

Thinking that Shen Jin wouldn't follow her to the temple, she was finally able to have a month of peace and quiet, and the tension in her heart completely eased.

Sleepiness washed over her like a tide. Lin Zhiyao yawned, feeling unusually relaxed, a faint smile on her lips, and soon drifted into a deep sleep.

*

In the latter half of the night, a sudden gale arose.

The branches of the old cypress tree rustled in the wind, and the wooden fence of the courtyard gate was pushed by the wind, making a soft creaking sound, and then it was slammed back by the wind. The wooden wedge was stuck in the door socket, making a clattering sound.

It swayed back and forth like that several times.

Suddenly, a long fan unfolded and entered from the side, then closed and was pushed upwards, instantly loosening the wooden bolt, which was then put down.

Continuing inside, the east wing door was opened.

The bright moonlight rushed in, spreading a small patch of silvery white across the blue brick floor.

Then, a tall, dark figure slowly entered from outside.

I stood by the bed, gazing at that peaceful sleeping face.

"Oh."

Shen Jin sneered.

He gently touched Lin Zhiyao's soft cheek with his knuckles, which were still slightly damp with the night dew.

After a while.

Lin Zhiyao was still awakened.

—It was that familiar scent that crept into my dream first.

The coolness of the night dew and the bitter scent of ink felt like a fine needle gently pricking the back of her neck.

Lin Zhiyao frowned in her sleep, vaguely sensing that something was wrong. Her eyelids felt as heavy as lead, but the scent grew closer and stronger, mixed with extremely light footsteps falling on the blue brick floor, almost swallowed up by the rustling of leaves outside the window.

But she heard it in her dream.

Then, it felt like something cold touched my cheek.

The scent was closer now, crisp and familiar.

Lin Zhiyao's consciousness was still floating in drowsiness, and she was in a daze for a moment. She couldn't remember what the taste was, but then, the loose string was suddenly tightened, so tight that her back stiffened for a moment.

The scent of pine ink.

Lin Zhiyao suddenly opened her eyes.

The moonlight shone brightly through the window paper, casting indistinct outlines of the room.

A person stood by the bed, their long shadow stretched diagonally by the moonlight, covering the quilt and shrouding half of her face in darkness.

Lin Zhiyao's almond-shaped eyes widened suddenly, her mind buzzing, unable to figure out if this was reality or a dream.

The man was wearing a dark-colored robe with subtle patterns, over which he wore a dark-colored silk cloak. The white jade pendant at his waist gleamed softly in the moonlight, and his shoulders were still damp with night dew.

It was naturally Shen Jin.

He stood in the moonlight, looking down at her, his lips slightly pursed in a smile that was neither angry nor happy.

Lin Zhiyao shivered from the cold night wind.

Not a dream.

She opened her mouth, but her throat seemed to be blocked by something, and only a few weak, trembling sounds came out: "Cousin...cousin..."

Shen Jin did not respond.

He stood in the moonlight, his face outlined with a handsome profile by the moonlight, his fox-like eyes slightly upturned at the corners, making Lin Zhiyao even more flustered.

Then her ankle was grabbed.

His palms were warm, his fingertips calloused, and he gently tapped on the delicate bone, his thumb slowly rubbing the beautiful blue veins beneath the tender skin of her instep.

Shen Jin sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbed her ankle, and placed her delicate calves on his thighs.

Because he changed his posture, the thin layer of silvery moonlight finally fell on the man's shoulder and profile.

It clearly outlined those delicate and handsome features.

The moonlight bathed his brows and eyes, his fox-like eyes slightly lowered, the curve at the corners of his eyes appearing deeper in the darkness than in the daytime, his pupils reflecting a sliver of light coming in from the window, a deep and dark expanse, like a bottomless, icy pool in the mountains.

I felt a slight tremor in my palm.

Shen Jin raised his eyes, the usual gentle smile on his face had completely disappeared, and the corners of his lips were slightly curved, but the smile did not reach his eyes at all, which made his eyes look even colder.

Like moonlight shining on a blade, thin and sharp, it could almost pierce Lin Zhiyao.

Lin Zhiyao felt a tightness in her throat from being stared at.

"cousin."

Shen Jin spoke slowly.

His voice was a little lower than usual, slightly hoarse from traveling, but he enunciated each word very clearly.

Are you avoiding me?

Lin Zhiyao froze, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the mattress, her lips moved slightly but she couldn't utter a word.

Before she could answer, Shen Jin tightened his grip on her ankle, his fingertips sinking into her delicate skin and leaving faint pink marks.

He leaned down slightly, moonlight slipping from his shoulder, half of his handsome face shrouded in shadow again, his fox-like eyes growing even deeper in the darkness, like two dark flames that could devour her.

"My cousin fled from the Shen residence to Jin Guang Temple, insisting on staying to pray for that old, immortal emperor, thinking that this would allow her to escape?"

The last bit of feigned laughter in Shen Jin's voice finally dissipated, leaving only a thin layer of chill, just like the mountain night wind, seeping into Lin Zhiyao's skin and chilling her to the bone.

"If that's the case, then there's no need to pity them."

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly grabbed Lin Zhiyao's slender white wrist and pressed her soft body, which had just been propped up halfway, back heavily onto the couch.

"Hmm!"

Lin Zhiyao's head hit the pillow, and before she could speak, Shen Jin leaned down and pressed down on her. His lips were cool, but his breath was unusually hot. He landed heavily on her neck with anger, kissing and biting her.

Like a beast that has finally torn off its disguise, completely peeling away the warm and dignified skin of the past few days to reveal the scalding, dark, and crazed true nature of the demon beneath.

The old trees outside the courtyard rustled in the strong wind, and the thin moonlight that seeped in through the window covered the two intertwined figures, also concealing all the movements inside the room.

Lin Zhiyao tilted her head back, her almond-shaped eyes gradually filling with tears.

What made her heart tremble even more was that she seemed to hear that short, crisp bell ringing again, so close to her.

"jingle--"

Lin Zhiyao's body stiffened slightly in disbelief, and her pupils contracted.

Then, she saw Shen Jin take out the red rope bell that she was familiar with. Hearing the faint sound of the bells colliding, she finally couldn't help but tremble slightly, and tears quietly fell down her cheeks.

She was truly terrified, terrified by her cousin's madness.

"Cousin! How could we... how could you... commit such lewd acts in such a pure and sacred place as a temple, before the eyes of the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas?"

Lin Zhiyao asked him while crying.