An Jiu fell into deep thought, struggling to accept the fact. "Is my singing really that bad?"
Mo Sigui nodded without hesitation.
"Why do I think it's passable?" An Jiu asked.
Because you're not an ordinary person! Mo Sigui thought to himself.
"The antidote won't be ready until next month at the earliest, and I can't guarantee it will completely remove the Gu," Mo Sigui changed the subject.
Every Gu poison was different. Based on the half-dose of antidote left by Mei Jiu, Mo Sigui first tried to recreate the same medicine to guess what kind of Gu she had been infected with, then sought a way to remove it.
The antidote could only provide temporary relief. It was impossible to fully determine the composition of the Gu poison from it alone—a tremendous challenge for any physician.
After a moment of silence, An Jiu said, "I thought you were omnipotent in the way of medicine."
Mo Sigui pursed his lips and turned his face away. "Reverse psychology doesn't work on me."
The effectiveness was evident from his reaction, so An Jiu didn't argue further.
"At the very least, there's an antidote that can alleviate the Gu poison in her body," Mo Sigui said.
Removing the Gu was difficult, but recreating the same antidote based on the original formula was something Mo Sigui was confident he could achieve.
"Actually, removing the Gu carries great risks," Mo Sigui said as he sat on a stone stool. He stuffed another wad of medicine into his pipe, lit it with a fire starter, took a few puffs, and continued, "If I make even one mistake in the formula, it could cause Mei Jiu to suffer a backlash from the Gu poison. The reason your aunt's Gu was easily removed was because you gave me the original Gu, allowing me to tailor the cure accordingly."
"What about Mei Jiu's original Gu..." An Jiu thought that if the original Gu was kept by the emperor himself, it might be obtainable.
Mo Sigui exhaled smoke, seeing through her thoughts. "Don't even think about it. You won't get the original Gu. For someone with Mei Jiu's special status, they might have used a specially crafted Gu poison."
"Who made the Gu?" An Jiu asked. "If the emperor uses Gu to control his closest Shadow Guards, isn't he afraid the Gu master might betray him? I heard the emperor is a very suspicious man."
Mo Sigui's expression turned grave. "Are you suggesting..."
That the person who planted the Gu was the emperor himself?!
Mo Sigui pondered carefully. "You have a point. Asking Sheng Changying might give us some clues."
"I was just about to look for him. Let's go together," An Jiu said.
When they arrived at Sheng Changying's door, they unspokenly chose not to knock. Instead, they quietly lifted the latch and slipped inside, standing silently by his bed.
"Put out the pipe," An Jiu frowned at Mo Sigui.
His smoke wasn't ordinary—it was a powerful sedative strong enough to knock out an entire village!
"Who's there?" Sheng Changying bolted upright.
As his idle time increased, his sleep quality had worsened. Moreover, having grown up in the Crane Control Institute, he remained highly alert even in slumber.
"It's me and Mo Sigui," An Jiu said.
Sheng Changying's mind cleared slightly as he recognized An Jiu's voice. Wiping away a cold sweat, he got out of bed and put on his shoes. "What brings you here in the middle of the night?"
"Yes, we wanted to ask you—does the emperor know how to make Gu?" An Jiu asked.Sheng Changying lit the oil lamp and spoke almost without hesitation, "Whether the current emperor understands Gu is unknown to me, but during Emperor Taizong's reign, there was a favored consort who hailed from Miaojiang. I heard she was the daughter of a tribal chieftain. The tribe was called Ju, descendants of Chiyou. Despite dynastic changes, this tribe maintained its most primitive form. Their clan understood witchcraft, and each generation had grand shamans assisting the chieftain in guarding the tribe. Since ancient times, witchcraft and Gu have been inseparable. That Miao consort was highly likely proficient in both."
"After so many years, even if many Gu poisons were left, they would have been used up by now. Presumably, Emperor Taizong learned the arts of witchcraft and Gu and passed them down to his descendants," Mo Sigui speculated.
Sheng Changying said, "Whether Emperor Taizong knew witchcraft and Gu is impossible to verify, but Emperor Zhenzong was the son of that Miao consort, so it wouldn’t be strange if he understood them."
"Oh? Wasn’t Emperor Zhenzong born to Lady Li?" Mo Sigui expressed mild surprise.
Sheng Changying replied, "That Miao consort was Emperor Taizong’s Lady Li."
"To think it was so!" Mo Sigui sighed.
The entire Great Song Dynasty believed Lady Li was Han Chinese and of noble birth. Who would have guessed Emperor Taizong had pulled off such a grand deception? The intricacies were complex, and they had no intention of delving deeper—what needed to be known was already known.
With confirmation in hand, An Jiu declared, "I’ll infiltrate the palace to retrieve the original Gu."
Mo Sigui glanced at her and remained silent for a long while.
Noticing his reaction, An Jiu asked, "Do you have objections?"
"Last time you retrieved Gu for your aunt, you nearly died. And now you’re going again?" Mo Sigui said. "In terms of life debts, haven’t you repaid enough?"
When Mo Sigui first met An Jiu, he thought she was a cold-blooded killer. Later, he discovered beneath her indifferent exterior lay an immature and neurotic madman. Gradually, he even glimpsed what was hidden deepest within her—her loyalty, passion, and kindness.
An Jiu had never thought about repaying debts; she simply couldn’t stand idly by while others faced life and death. If she did her best, perhaps regret wouldn’t consume her.
"If you don’t have absolute certainty, I’ll definitely go," An Jiu stated resolutely.
Mo Sigui’s peach-blossom eyes, buried in dark circles, curved slightly. "If one day I were in dire straits, would you help me like this too?"
"Then I wouldn’t be able to help," An Jiu retorted, eyeing his dark circles. "Your dire straits would only come in two forms: Lou Mingyue dies, or your insomnia worsens to the point of killing you."
If Mo Sigui truly faced hardship, of course she wouldn’t stand by. But Lou Mingyue was someone wholly consumed by vengeance, sinking deeper into that quagmire—much like her past self. The difference was, she had been dragged in by various circumstances, while Lou Mingyue had a clear, even coldly rational mind. From the bottom of her heart, An Jiu had no desire to exert effort for such a person.
"The Miracle Doctor’s spirits have indeed been lacking lately. You should take good care of yourself," Sheng Changying remarked, seeing a reflection of himself in Mo Sigui. Had he always appeared this listless?
"Mm." Mo Sigui responded gloomily, feeling the medicated smoke he’d inhaled all night finally taking some effect. His eyelids drooped as he said, "I’m going to sleep."
An Jiu followed him out.
The two walked along the corridor in silence until they reached a fork in the path. Suddenly, Mo Sigui said, "There’s no need to retrieve the original Gu."
An Jiu paused. "Why?"
Mo Sigui yawned lazily. "I will definitely unravel this Gu."
Beneath his nonchalance was not determination but absolute confidence.An Jiu trusted him in her heart, but couldn't help asking, "You're not just testing the Gu antidote, are you?"
"What kind of person do you take me for? I know how to repay kindness too!" Mo Sigui said displeased. "Mei Jiu basically died for me back then. Now that heaven's given me this rare chance to repay that life, would I treat it lightly?"
"It's not that I don't trust you," An Jiu said. "But by your own calculations, you owed Mei Jiu one life, and you've already saved her mother - that debt was repaid long ago."
She was throwing Mo Sigui's own words back at him.
Mo Sigui choked momentarily before snorting, "I'm giving a free bonus with purchase, what's it to you!" (To be continued...)
PS: The author's dog had some health issues and is currently hospitalized. Only got three hours of sleep last night and spent all day at the animal hospital today with it on IV fluids - poor thing. Sorry for missing yesterday's update without notice.
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