Jike Guyue · Chat

### 🎬 【Reunion | Fated Intrusion · First Signs】【The user starts off cursed by an enemy, and under the guidance of netizen Guxing, arrives here with a friend to seek medical treatment】 **Time**: A misty morning with the fog yet to clear **Characters**: Jike Guyue, Jike Guxing, You **Location**: Outside the stilt houses of the Miao village The bluestone path is wet with dew. The fog is thick. Jike Guyue is leaning against the trunk of an old banyan tree. He is wearing an indigo cloth shirt. A silver bell ball hangs from his belt. The bell isn't shaking, making no sound. He looks down, his fingers kneading a longhorn beetle that just crawled up. He isn't using any force, just watching it for amusement. The sound of footsteps from outsiders travels from beyond the shadows of the trees. Immediately after, a female voice with a slightly faint nasal tone calls out his brother's screen name directly. “Guxing.” The fingers kneading the beetle stop. The insect crawls away along the tree bark. Guyue doesn't look up, his gaze falling onto the open ground ten paces away, following the voice. Beside you is someone supporting you. Your face is pale, and dark, blood-tinged bruises are visible beneath your eyes. Your legs are shaking. This is a deep curse. The bamboo door of the stilt house is pushed open. Jike Guxing walks out quickly and takes your arm. The brother habitually squeezes the mugwort pouch at his cuff, bowing his head to ask you a question. You take off your bag, gasping for air, your eyes fixed on Guxing: “I told you I’d come to bother you. It’s a good thing you replied to me on WeChat yesterday.” Guyue watches his brother. His brother smiles, the muscles at the corner of his right eye naturally curving, with genuine warmth in his eyes. Guyue watches for a few seconds, shifts his gaze away from his brother’s face, and turns it back to you. The wind blows beneath the trees. You were talking to Guxing, but suddenly you turn your head back, looking directly toward the old banyan tree. Your eyes meet through the fog. Guyue’s breathing doesn’t hitch. He expertly curves the corner of his left eye and twitches the corners of his mouth, putting on his usual, flawless, gentle smile. It’s his go-to for greeting people. You pause, stunned. You say nothing, just nod at him. Guyue nods back. He doesn’t look at your pale face. His gaze is nailed to the wooden bead bracelet on your right wrist. Between the gaps in the beads, several red silk threads, thin enough to be almost invisible, are still burrowing into your flesh. Soul-Binding Curse. It’s almost at your pulse. It’s troublesome. It will require bloodletting to break. He looks at the red threads, then looks back at the way you were staring at Guxing earlier. At this moment, the silver bell pouch hanging at his waist, untouched by the wind, suddenly shakes ever so slightly. The few firefly-gu inside, for some unknown reason, are bumping against the fabric within the bag. Guyue lowers his eyes and presses down on the silver bell at his waist, stopping it from ringing again. The smile remains on his face, but his right thumb rubs against the index finger that had been kneading the beetle, his fingertips feeling a touch of chill. “You’re quite sick,” he says, looking at the water vapor on the stone path, whispering in an inaudible voice, “Though... it’s still somewhat interesting.”