"Let me check on my two cousins first," Mo Sigui said.
Mei Yanran nodded.
Mo Sigui was clearly more interested in Mei Jiu's condition, but due to the two unpleasant encounters before, Mei Jiu shrank back uneasily.
Mei Ru Yan smiled and said, "Cousin, my hand hurts terribly. Why not take a look at mine first?"
"Alright." Mo Sigui curled his lips and sat down beside her.
Seeing his eerie smile, Mei Ru Yan put on an innocent expression. "Cousin, I already admitted my mistake for accidentally pushing you into the water last time. You’re magnanimous—don’t hold a grudge against me and take revenge now, okay?"
Caught red-handed? Mo Sigui laughed heartily. "How could I? If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve forgotten."
That statement was far too ambiguous! Even Mei Jiu sensed his ill intentions.
"Mother, I’m afraid it’ll hurt." Mei Ru Yan withdrew her hand and looked pitifully at Mei Yanran.
Mei Yanran observed the thoughts of all three. When it came to trivial matters like this, she didn’t mind shielding Mei Ru Yan. With a faint smile, she coaxed her like a child, "Such childishness. Didn’t the physician bandage you without pain yesterday? Sigui’s medical skills are renowned throughout Bianjing, far surpassing that physician’s. Not only will it not hurt, but this minor injury will heal within a couple of days."
The implied meaning was clear—if it hurt or took longer to heal, it would be Mo Sigui’s deliberate revenge. Having heard of Mei Yanran’s reputation since childhood, Mo Sigui, bold as he was, dared not retaliate against her daughter under her watch. "Aunt, you flatter me."
Only then did Mei Ru Yan obediently extend her hand.
Mei Yanran watched Mei Ru Yan’s poised demeanor while Mei Jiu remained timid and cautious, and her heart ached. With Mei Jiu’s innate talents, she should have been outstanding, yet she had been reduced to this unpresentable state—all because of her. And in the end, she still couldn’t escape the shackles.
Guilt weighed heavily on her.
True to his reputation as a renowned physician, Mo Sigui skillfully applied the medicine. Throughout the process, Mei Ru Yan felt no pain. The cool sensation of the medicine seeped through her fingers, quickly suppressing the burning discomfort.
"Cousin, your medicine is miraculous—it doesn’t hurt at all!" Mei Ru Yan didn’t hold back her praise.
Mo Sigui was speechless. These two cousins—one appeared naive and lively but hid sharp claws behind her back, while the other seemed fragile and introverted yet could unleash violence without warning.
The former was a classic two-faced schemer, which was normal. What intrigued Mo Sigui was Mei Jiu, who possessed two entirely unrelated personalities.
"Cousin Ruxue, you don’t look well. Let me check your pulse?" Mo Sigui offered eagerly.
Mei Jiu shook her head repeatedly. "No, no! I’m just startled, not sick."
You’re startled? I’m the one who got startled!
Mo Sigui gritted his teeth inwardly but maintained a faint, friendly smile. "Being startled can be trivial or serious. If it leads to a fever that dispels the Wind Evil, that’s fine. But if it leaves a psychological scar, it’ll be difficult to cure later."
A thought flashed through Mei Yanran’s mind. "Jiu’er, let Sigui examine you."
Bound by her mother’s command, Mei Jiu clenched her teeth and stretched out her wrist with a look of tragic resolve.
An Jiu didn’t want to voice her opinion. First, she disliked all physicians. Second, she disliked Mo Sigui. In the past, An Jiu’s approach to such people was simple: if they didn’t cause trouble, she treated them as air; if some reckless fool insisted on provoking her, there was only one word— kill . But now, she decided to endure it for the time being.Cool fingers touched her wrist, sending a shiver down Mei Jiu's spine.
When diagnosing female patients, it was customary to use the Suspended Thread method or place a sheer silk handkerchief over the wrist. However, neither method was as accurate as direct pulse-taking, especially when detecting subtle variations in the pulse.
The Mei Shi clan, regardless of gender, had practiced martial arts for generations and didn't pay much attention to such formalities.
Mo Sigui closed his eyes, carefully assessing the pulse.
It was no different from an ordinary person's. Most would attribute a person displaying two distinct personalities to "ghost possession," but Mo Sigui dismissed that notion, convinced it was a medical condition.
"Well?" Mei Yanran asked as he withdrew his hand.
"Normal pulse." Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he changed tack, "But there's a slight fluctuation at the end—almost as if, while feeling my cousin's pulse, my fingers also detected another pulse beneath, like a Suspended Thread."
The three people and one spirit in the room were stunned!
"This is the first time I've encountered such a situation," Mo Sigui deliberated. "We could try the Dream Locking Technique."
"Cousin, you..." Mei Ru Yan wanted to ask if he was seizing the chance for revenge! But she also found Mei Jiu's changes truly bizarre, so her words became, "Are you sure?"
Mo Sigui instead looked at Mei Yanran. "I can't be certain, but the Dream Locking Technique is harmless and beneficial. Cousin has suffered a fright—this could dispel the Wind Evil."
How many people in this world are entirely selfless? Even someone as kind-hearted as Mei Jiu couldn't help but entertain a selfish thought at this moment. An Jiu had threatened her mother's life—she was a danger. If this opportunity could resolve the issue, wouldn't that be ideal? But she feared that if it failed, it might only provoke An Jiu further...
After much internal struggle, Mei Jiu still couldn't decide.
"Let's try it," Mei Yanran made the decision for her.
Mei Jiu protested urgently, "Mother, I don't want the Dream Locking Technique."
Mei Yanran frowned. "Why?"
She knew about the technique—it induced a half-awake, half-asleep state, revealing hidden secrets. At worst, it might cause the subject to fall asleep or have no effect at all, but it was harmless. Mei Jiu's recent behavior had far exceeded Mei Yanran's understanding of her, so she saw no harm in trying.
"Let him try," An Jiu suddenly spoke.
Mei Jiu was taken aback. "You want to try?"
An Jiu didn't respond. Under Mei Yanran's persuasion, Mei Jiu reluctantly agreed.
Mo Sigui was overjoyed.
The others then watched as he pulled out the necessary items one by one from his person: a small segment resembling sandalwood, a few crimson beads, a delicate snow-white porcelain incense burner with intricate carvings, and a small porcelain vial with a red stopper.
Mei Ru Yan stared wide-eyed. If this wasn't premeditated, then he must carry all sorts of random things on him. But his sleeves fluttered lightly, hardly seeming to conceal much, so she concluded it was the former.
"This is the antidote to the Sleep Incense I prepared. Aunt and Cousin Ru Yan should take it first to avoid falling asleep." Mo Sigui tipped two medicinal pills from the small vial.
After they took the medicine, Yao Ye and Dan Yue were sent to guard the door and ensure no disturbances.
Mei Jiu was so nervous she broke out in a sweat, while An Jiu remained eerily silent, unresponsive no matter what was said.
Mo Sigui casually pulled a fire starter from his sleeve, lit the incense segment, and placed it along with the red beads into the burner. Wisps of smoke curled up through the carved openings.Mei Ru Yan was utterly convinced—she even dared to carry a fire starter close to her body, as if she wasn’t afraid of accidentally setting herself on fire!
"Do you remember everything that happened in front of the ancestral hall?" Mo Sigui sat down across from Mei Jiu.
Mei Jiu nodded, then shook her head. She remembered, but not the entire sequence of events.
Mo Sigui didn’t press her about the meaning of her gesture and continued, "Close your eyes. Can you smell the fragrance?"
The scent made her whole body feel languid, and Mei Jiu gradually relaxed. "Yes."
"What kind of fragrance is it?"
Mei Jiu heard Mo Sigui’s voice, soft and slow, as if drifting from beyond the clouds. She murmured, "Pine."
The white smoke from the incense burner had, at some point, turned a faint red.
"Do you see the endless pine forest stretching to the horizon? The moon rises in the east, a clear spring murmurs, and you feel light, as if you could fly." Mo Sigui spoke as if whispering a secret. "Closer and closer to the moon, surrounded by a vast sea of clouds, unsure of where you are..."
Mei Jiu had already closed her eyes, while An Jiu’s vision plunged into darkness, listening indifferently to his words.
There had been a time when An Jiu was frequently injected with sedatives, to the point where even small doses of sleep-inducing Medicine had minimal effect on her. Later, after joining the assassin organization, she underwent specialized training against hypnosis, rendering any hypnotic techniques useless on her.
Because of this, her therapists faced significant difficulties during her treatment, eventually forcing her to rely on killing to quell the restlessness in her blood.
"Who are you?"
An Jiu heard Mo Sigui ask.
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