(The main story is told in third person.)
I was at odds with my younger brother. One day, he slung his sword over his back and stormed out. I steeled myself and didn’t go after him, but he didn’t come back for a long time.
He had never been away from me for so long. I was frustrated, remorseful, and full of regret, so I took my sword and set out to find him.
Unexpectedly, my younger brother came back.
But the one who returned wasn’t the adopted younger brother who had grown up by my side. It was my biological younger brother, whom I had lost with my own hands more than a decade ago.
I hadn’t seen my biological younger brother in years. He was even more striking than I had imagined, with long brows and lovely eyes, red lips like vermilion, and a smile that made his eyes look like shadowy crescents. He was hard to describe, but in short, beautiful.
He was gentler and more obedient than the adopted younger brother I had raised at my side as a way to ease my longing for him, and he made my heart ache more, too. But whenever he experienced a negative emotion, such as anger, hurt, or sadness, his pupils would turn completely black against his will. When he was happy, excited, or delighted, they would sometimes turn completely white. It was extremely strange.
He said he was ill, so I racked my brains to find a doctor for him. When he was afraid at night, I stayed with him out of concern. But something was odd: whenever we were alone, I would get sleepy, and I could vaguely feel an invisible qi brushing over my face and body.
As for my adopted younger brother, he came back on his own after storming out in a rage and staying away for days. But when he saw me holding the boy’s hand and speaking fondly of our past, his beautiful face looked about to cry, like the most vivid glaze painted on white porcelain. There was something sinister about it.
The adopted younger brother was strange after he came back, too. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I noticed he was always sneaking glances at me, hiding behind doors and windowsills. Once, I even caught him with his face flushed red under the bed.
I scolded him a few times. He always promised he would change, but instead he only got worse. Every time I caught him, he would cover his eyes, his face red, and pant as he cried through the gaps between his fingers, saying it would be the last time.
The two younger brothers were so strange that I couldn’t help worrying they were both ill. So I slung my sword over my back and set off to find an immortal master.
I returned from my search a day earlier than expected, and finally discovered what was so strange.
They had fought while I was away. The sky had darkened, the wind howled, and a sinister aura hung thick in the air.
And then I realized that the one who had returned wasn’t my biological younger brother, and the adopted younger brother wasn’t the same adopted younger brother as before. At least the ones from before had both been alive.
(Reader’s guide:
Neither of them is related to the protagonist. The biological younger brother she believes she has had been dead for a long time. The one who returned is a ghost born from his obsession, but half of him was formed from his biological brother’s bone and blood, and he has all of his memories. Yandere and deranged +1.
The adopted younger brother died outside after leaving, then returned because he was obsessed with finding his older sister. He loves the protagonist deeply. Yandere and deranged +2.
One woman, two men.
Also known as Evil Spirit.
Blurb saved on Weibo on November 12, 2025.)
Theme: Stop fighting
Spring Returns