Yan Xiao said this casually, but Situ Nanzhao felt much better after hearing it.

"If that's the case, where is he now? Why is he nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead?"

"Well, I don't know, but no news might actually be good news, don't you think?"

Upon hearing this, Situ Nanzhao glanced at Yan Xiao, then looked away and fell into a long silence.

Yan Xiao felt she had said everything and wanted to leave.

She glanced at the sky outside; it was almost midnight. She was getting hungry, and in order to have energy later, she felt she needed to eat something to replenish her strength.

But they couldn't just leave Situ Nanzhao here. After all, he was the son of their savior, and he had done them a great favor this time. They had to give him face, even if they didn't care about the monk.

Thinking of this, she said to Situ Nanzhao, who had his head bowed:

"Mr. Qian, you must be tired from your journey. Would you like to grab something to eat with me?"

When Situ Nanzhao heard Yan Xiao's question, he did not answer immediately. Instead, he stared straight at Yan Xiao. Although there was no malice in his eyes, it was still somewhat offensive for a man to stare at a woman like that.

Although Yanxiao wasn't as conservative as women of that era, she was still somewhat displeased.

She frowned slightly, her expression already showing some impatience. Just as she was about to speak, the person who had been staring at her silently suddenly said:

Aren't you curious why I have the same mark as you?

Yanxiao was somewhat curious, but her instincts told her that curiosity killed the cat, and it was better to avoid trouble.

But now that Situ Nanzhao has brought it up, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to avoid it. It would be better to clarify the situation first to avoid any unforeseen complications.

"I almost forgot about this if you hadn't mentioned it. Since Mr. Qian has brought it up, why not just explain the reasons to me?"

While Yan Xiao spoke, Situ Nanzhao observed her expression, and finally a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face:

"It seems that you really don't remember, Sister Lou."

As he spoke, he reached into his waistband and pulled out a dagger. Upon seeing this, Yan Xiao immediately took a step back in defensiveness.

The next moment, Situ Nanzhao stabbed his own ankle with a dagger.

Under Yan Xiao's surprised and suspicious gaze, Situ Nanzhao's dagger lightly sliced ​​across the small purple dot on his ankle, and then a piece of skin the size of a fingernail was cut off.

Situ Nanzhao's sudden action startled Yan Xiao.

What are you doing?

Situ Nanzhao glanced indifferently at Yan Xiao, ignoring the still-bleeding wound, and turned his gaze to the small patch of skin on the ground, his tone filled with a relieved yet wistful tone:

"I didn't do anything, I just removed the shackles that had bound me for more than ten years."

As he spoke, the small patch of skin began to shrink at a visible speed, and then something the thickness of a needle thread began to crawl out from the purple dot.

As it crawled out, the purple color gradually left the skin until all the lines had emerged, at which point the purple color disappeared completely.

After all the thin threads had crawled out, they quickly turned into a purple liquid.

"This...this is a Gu worm?"

Yan Xiao's scalp tingled at the sight, because she also had one on her ankle, but she had checked her body and found nothing wrong with it. Even when her superpower reached level three, she had not expelled it from her body.

Situ Nanzhao seemed to have seen through Yan Xiao's thoughts and said directly:

"You don't need to be nervous. Strictly speaking, this is not a Gu worm, but a harmless twin medium made from the juice of a plant unique to the Miao people."

It is originally lifeless; only when it is inserted into the skin by a Gu practitioner will it merge with the afflicted person, just like a normal birthmark.

Yan Xiao looked puzzled upon hearing this: "If it's so useless, what's the point of developing it?"

Upon hearing this, Situ Nanzhao gave Yan Xiao a half-smile, without keeping her in suspense:

"This is used by the Miao people when arranging marriages between men and women. Its only purpose is to determine whether the other party is still alive."

Because once the other dies, the symbiotic Gu will also lose its life force, and the symbiotic Gu will automatically burrow out of the skin.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiao's mind was filled with the words "engagement." Before she could even process what was happening, she felt a tingling or itchy sensation in her ankle, followed by a sharp pain.

She immediately pulled down her shoes and socks, and saw a thin thread crawling out from the purple dot on her ankle, just like before.

When all the thin thread had crawled out, the red dot on her ankle disappeared, leaving only a small hole the size of a pinhead from which a tiny bead of blood oozed.

Yan Xiao swallowed hard, then turned her gaze to Situ Nanzhao, only to find that he had already looked away when she pulled down her shoes and socks.

She quickly put on her shoes and socks, her mind a jumbled mess, but the first thing she uttered was:

"So, your refusal to marry, take concubines, or grant Yunniang a proper status involves me?"

Situ Nanzhao did not answer, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Seeing his pathetic state, Yan Xiao was immediately annoyed.

"Brother, I was only seven years old when I came to the Shen family. And Uncle Jing took me on a journey for several years. So I was just a child back then. There shouldn't be any romantic feelings between us, right?"

Besides, how old are you this year? Almost thirty, right? Why would I be so foolish as to get engaged to an old man like you? Are you a pervert?

What is turning the tables? This is it.

Situ Nanzhao had imagined many possible reactions from Yanxiao after she found out about their engagement, but even if he used up all his brain cells, he never expected it to be like this.

How is he an old man? Although he is older than Shen Muzhi, he can't be considered an old man, can he?

Realizing that he had been led astray by Yan Xiao, Situ Nanzhao quickly regained his senses, but the words "old man" just wouldn't leave his mind, playing on repeat in his head.

He took a deep breath, telling himself not to argue with Yan Xiao, and gritted his teeth as he explained:

“My Situ family originally ran a security escort agency. Once, my father encountered a calamity while passing through the Miao territory and was rescued by your father. The two hit it off immediately and became sworn brothers.”

Later, the two married one after the other. When my mother was pregnant with me, they joked that if the children born to the two families were a boy and a girl, they would become husband and wife; if they were of the same sex, they would become sworn brothers.

It's just that your father encountered a slight mishap when he was practicing Gu poisoning, and he had residual poison in his body, so it took him several years to conceive you.

After you were born, the Miao Gu worms showed unusual activity, and you were recognized as a Miao holy maiden who appears only once in a thousand years.

Because of the age difference between us, and because of your status, it's impossible for you to marry outside the family. Therefore, your father and my father considered the marriage arrangement we initially discussed as a joke, and I was made your sworn brother.

Situ Nanzhao glanced at Yan Xiao indifferently as he spoke, his expression unreadable:

"But when you were able to speak, you somehow found out about their jokes from back then, and you cried and made a fuss about marrying me when you grew up. In the end, you even threatened to go on a hunger strike."

"Your father and my father had no choice but to compromise, which led to our engagement. Otherwise, even if you were an angel, you'd still be just a baby. What feelings could I possibly have for you?"