Mo Sigui quickly applied needles to Xiao Yue to calm it down, then hurried back to his residence to pack his medicine chest.
"A Jiu!" Mo Sigui knocked urgently on the door, the medicine chest strapped to his back.
The door creaked open, revealing An Jiu's composed face. "What happened?"
Mo Sigui pulled out a medicine bottle and pressed it into her hand. "This is for Cousin Mei. Have her take this for now to ease her condition. I'll remove the Gu when I return."
Aside from treating patients or preparing medicine, Mo Sigui was usually laid-back, so his current agitation made An Jiu instinctively ask, "Did something happen to Lou Mingyue?"
Mo Sigui froze, his mind suddenly clearing, though his expression remained grim. "Yes."
"Then go," An Jiu said, tucking the medicine bottle away. "I'll deliver it to Mei Jiu."
Mo Sigui raised a hand to pat her shoulder, wanting to say something, but in the end, he felt any words would be superfluous. He turned and hurried off with Xiao Yue.
"Mo Sigui," An Jiu called after him. "Wei Yuzhi might be nearby. Be careful."
"Got it." Without looking back, Mo Sigui vanished into the mist.
An Jiu stood at the door for a moment, sensing Mei Yanran's presence nearby. She hesitated, then decided to pretend she hadn't noticed.
"I'll take the medicine to her," Mei Yanran said, stepping out from behind the rockery.
She was responsible for preparing meals for everyone on the island, so she rose early in the morning. Passing by, she had overheard Mo Sigui and An Jiu's conversation, and upon hearing Mei Jiu mentioned, she couldn't help but linger.
"Aren't you supposed to avoid going out?" Mei Yanran wasn't sure of her intentions, so she added cautiously.
An Jiu was never one to shy away from trouble. She had a rough idea of Wei Yuzhi's current predicament in the Liao Kingdom, so his available resources were limited. Even if they crossed paths, she might not be the one at a disadvantage.
But since Mei Yanran volunteered, she wouldn't deliberately stop her. She pulled out the medicine bottle and tossed it over.
"Thank you." Mei Yanran caught the bottle, a faint smile appearing in her eyes.
An Jiu paused briefly before replying, "You're welcome."
Having spent time together, Mei Yanran had come to understand An Jiu's temperament somewhat. Though she didn't know what An Jiu had been through, she felt the girl was pitiable, and her initial resistance had gradually softened. Mei Jiu's current plight was ultimately her own failure as a mother—it had little to do with An Jiu.
The two looked at each other, both wanting to say more, but after a long silence, the mere seven or eight zhang between them felt like an insurmountable chasm. The cold wind rustled past, making the moment awkward.
"I'll go prepare breakfast first," Mei Yanran finally said. She was usually good at socializing, but with An Jiu, she didn't know where to start. For now, she gave up on trying to bridge the gap.
An Jiu nodded, watching her leave.
Mo Sigui left Plum Blossom Village, riding his tiger northward as the wind whistled past his ears. His brows were tightly knit, his thoughts as scattered as the wind—one moment recalling the lively Qiu Ning Yu, the next the frosty Lou Mingyue, until the two figures gradually merged into one.
Deep down, he knew Lou Mingyue's location was likely far from Bianjing, and by the time he arrived, it might already be too late. But even if it was just to retrieve her body, he had to do it himself.
The thin layer of snow on the road reflected the sunlight, dazzling to the eyes.The winter in Bianjing faded away with the melting of the last light snowfall, as if the mountains and fields had donned a tender green cloak in just a few short days.
Rumors outside the palace claimed the emperor had recovered from illness and resumed handling court affairs. However, only a few key ministers knew the truth—the emperor's condition had taken a sharp turn for the worse, and he was barely clinging to life, sustained only by medicinal decoctions.
For several days now, Plum Blossom Village had been occupied by the Crane Control Army.
They had come to "invite" Mo Sigui.
Amidst the curling mist, everyone on the island stood at the dock, gazing into the distance.
Through the thin fog, faint silhouettes could be vaguely discerned. Sheng Changying remarked, "I think they're planning to land on the island."
"So, do we fight or not?" An Jiu asked.
The island was home to only An Jiu, Ling Ziyue, Lou Xiaowu, Sheng Changying, Sui Yunzhu, Li Qingzhi, and the apothecary's apprentice. Mei Yanran had gone to Hua's residence two days prior to deliver medicine and, likely due to the Crane Control Army's presence along the lakeshore, had been unable to return. Zhu Pianxian, as per routine, had left for Bianjing to audit accounts and wouldn't be back for five or six days.
Lou Xiaowu's eyes sparkled as she said, "Let's fight! I recently made some underwater mines—perfect chance to test their power!"
Ling Ziyue shot her a glance, and she immediately shrank back, murmuring meekly, "Was I wrong…?"
"There are only seven of us…" Ling Ziyue didn't finish his sentence. Among the remaining seven, two were practically useless in combat—Sheng Changying and the apothecary's apprentice. Not only could they not be counted as fighters, but they would undoubtedly become liabilities in a fight.
Beyond that, while Ling Ziyue's martial arts were decent, he was more skilled in leading troops than facing off against professional assassins. As for Sui Yunzhu, Li Qingzhi, and Lou Xiaowu, their abilities were average by Crane Control Army standards. Then there was An Jiu, whose strength was an unknown variable… Was this ragtag group really up to the task of confronting dozens of top-ranked assassins from the Crane Control List?
An Jiu leaned against the thick trunk of a ginkgo tree, arms crossed, and interjected nonchalantly, "There are eight of us…"
Following her gaze, the group looked at the plump tiger sprawled at the tree roots, yawning lazily.
Da Jiu's massive jaws were mid-yawn when it noticed everyone staring. It froze momentarily, then warily tucked its paws in, puzzled as to how these people knew it had hidden a pouch of poisonous seeds beneath its belly.
Da Jiu survived by consuming toxic substances. Before Mo Sigui left, he had casually tossed it a small bag of poisonous seeds without much thought. The tiger figured that if Mo Sigui didn't return this year, it would need those seeds to get through the winter.
Absolutely no mishaps allowed!
The plump tiger's gaze hardened with determination, exuding a somewhat formidable aura.
Unaware of the truth, the others felt slightly reassured—at least this venomous tiger was marginally more useful in a fight than Sheng Changying.
Fortunately, the Dream Blossom had grown more vibrant in recent days, and the mist around the island had thickened again, which would prove quite useful.
"They're coming," Sui Yunzhu said.
The sound of splashing water grew louder as the Crane Control Army approached. Aware of the peculiar mist surrounding the island, they halted just outside it and began calling out, "Is anyone on the island?"
The voice, infused with inner force, wasn't loud but carried an eerie clarity, as if the speaker stood right before them.
No one answered. Everyone was silently debating—should they admit to being here, or pretend no one was home?Sui Yunzhu instructed the young apothecary's apprentice to respond. With the existence of mental strength, the Crane Control Army was filled with experts who would surely detect that there were people on the island—and more than one at that.
“My master has gone out to attend to patients and won’t return for several months,” the young apprentice answered in a clear voice.
“Where has Miracle Doctor Mo gone for consultations?” the man asked.
The apprentice replied, “I don’t know. The Miracle Doctor left in a hurry.”
The man continued, “The Emperor has ordered us to retrieve a certain medicine from the Miracle Doctor. Allow us onto the island—we’ll leave as soon as we obtain it.”
If that were truly the case, they wouldn’t have mobilized so many people at once. It was more likely that they intended to force their way in if deception failed.
The others were unaware of the matter concerning the heart blood, assuming instead that the Emperor was on the verge of death and had come specifically to summon Mo Sigui. But given the current situation, that clearly wasn’t the case.
“I think this is Wei Yuzhi’s scheme,” An Jiu prepared to reveal the truth about the heart blood to everyone.
Ling Ziyue, observing her expression, said, “Let’s discuss this inside.”
Speaking here risked being overheard by the Crane Control Army.
Everyone nodded, leaving the young apprentice to stall while they retreated. The surrounding area was filled with the poisonous mist of Dream Blossom, so the intruders wouldn’t be able to advance for a while.
The group gathered in the dining hall.
An Jiu explained, “Gu Jinghong was a medicine man raised by the Liao royal family, specifically used to prolong the Liao Emperor’s life. But he refused to accept his fate and left behind his most precious heart blood with Mo Sigui. Wei Yuzhi has been relentlessly pursuing us for this very reason. If this is truly about saving the Emperor’s life, do you think we should hand over the medicine?”
An Jiu personally had no desire to waste Gu Jinghong’s blood on saving that lust-blinded Emperor. But since they were now surrounded because of this, she sought the opinions of the others.
Sui Yunzhu didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “What does this have to do with the Crane Control Army?”
An Jiu replied, “I know the Liao Kingdom has planted a spy within the Crane Control Army. If not for him leaking the information, how would the Emperor know about the heart blood?”
“If that’s true, then even if we hand it over, it will still end up in Wei Yuzhi’s hands,” Sheng Changying said. While others might not understand the miraculous properties of heart blood, he knew better than anyone. He could foresee Wei Yuzhi going to any lengths to obtain it. “If he didn’t have a highly placed spy within the Crane Control Army, he wouldn’t have dared to use such a scheme. After all, if we were all loyal subjects who would hand over the medicine upon hearing of the Emperor’s illness, wouldn’t his plan fail? Therefore, he must be certain that once we surrender the medicine, it will fall into the spy’s hands.”
The fact that Wei Yuzhi was willing to expose such a deeply embedded spy just to obtain this item suggested that the new Liao Emperor didn’t have many years left to live.
“We absolutely cannot hand it over,” Li Qingzhi was the first to voice his stance.
Ling Ziyue remained silent, but his agreement was evident.
Though they had no desire to pledge loyalty to the current Emperor, they still remained devoted to the Great Song. If the enemy Emperor were to die prematurely, they would certainly rejoice.
“Right! Let all those Liao dogs perish!” Lou Xiaowu spat bitterly.
If not for the Liao women, the Lou clan wouldn’t have been wiped out in just a few days. Her hatred burned just as fiercely as Lou Mingyue’s, which was why, when Lou Mingyue entrusted her with the heavy responsibility of reviving the Lou clan, she had accepted without hesitation.Lou Xiaowu became increasingly obsessed with researching military equipment, largely due to this very reason. Her own martial arts skills were lacking, and if she were to attempt assassinating Yelü Huangwu, she would likely be cut to pieces before getting within a hundred paces. Therefore, she hoped to develop useful military equipment for the Great Song army, using overwhelming military might to crush the Liao Kingdom. Every time Xiao Wu thought about the enemy possessing terrifying weapons like the Blue Light Crossbow, she felt highly motivated. Her immediate goal was to develop a weapon capable of instantly overpowering the Blue Light Crossbow. (To be continued...)
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