In a daze, Nan Xian was awakened by a commotion.

She lifted the bed curtains and peeked out the window; it was just beginning to get light.

Because of the "phone call" she received from Diao Yu, she didn't close her eyes until three or four in the morning, and only slept for a few hours.

Her head was throbbing slightly. She rubbed her temples, got up, and put on her coat.

The First Chief's residence had no servants, only attendants. The backyard was mostly filled with women, who, having all come from military camps, exuded a dashing and heroic air.

Nan Xian opened the door and saw a maid rushing over from the other end of the corridor. She called out to her, "Excuse me, why is it so noisy? What happened?"

Knowing that this was a distinguished guest, the maid dared not be negligent. She quickly stopped and bowed, saying, "It's about Miss Ruizhu. She suddenly developed a high fever, and the leader and strategist have already rushed over."

A high fever?!

Upon hearing this, Nan Xian's drowsiness vanished almost instantly. She stared wide-eyed in astonishment and asked, "How could this be? Everything was fine last night—" Then, realizing what she could possibly know, she quickly added, "Take me to see her right away!"

The two hurried to Ruizhu's room. As soon as Nanxian stepped over the threshold, she heard Huo Shaoying's suppressed anger coming from inside—

"Before I left, I instructed them to take good care of her and to report to me immediately if they noticed anything amiss!"

Two servants knelt before her, both looking ashamed and silently enduring the reprimand.

The first leader said in a deep voice, "Go down and receive fifty strokes of the military rod."

The two bowed their heads in agreement, without uttering a single word of pleading, and stood up and left at the same time.

Nan Xian glanced at the two of them, then lifted the curtain and went inside.

When Huo Shaoying saw it was her, she raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "Miss Nan, did I disturb your rest?"

Nan Xian shook her head. She looked at the bed. Rui Zhu had already fainted from a high fever. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were slightly open, and her breathing was rapid. She seemed to be in great pain. Even in her dream, she was frowning and occasionally let out a few painful murmurs.

Their condition certainly looked terrible.

Nan Xian lowered her voice: "Has the doctor come to see me?"

Huo Shaoying nodded.

"How so?"

Huo Shaoying pursed her lips, glanced around, and the servants in the room quietly withdrew.

She then said to Nan Xian, "Ruizhu has been poisoned by the Heart-Eating Gu. The doctor said that unless the person who cast the Gu is found, otherwise..." She closed her eyes, not daring to continue.

Upon hearing the name, even Nan Xian, who knew little about witchcraft, knew it must be something extremely terrifying and dangerous. Seeing Huo Shaoying's face full of pain, she couldn't help but gasp.

She looked at the weak young girl on the bed and couldn't help but feel sorry for her—what a tragic fate! She had lived a good life, never done anything wrong, yet she was suddenly kidnapped by evil people... She was finally rescued, and before she could even catch her breath, she was bewitched...

Wait a minute, it's a Gu poison!

Nan Xian suddenly remembered something, and her eyes lit up—

"I can help!"

As soon as she said this, the two people in the room who were still awake looked at her, and Huo Shaoying's face instantly lit up with hope.

Nan Xian reached into her treasure bag and rummaged around until she pulled out a book from the very bottom that looked extremely old.

A striking character was prominently displayed on the book cover: 【蛊】 (Gu).

At this moment, Nan Xian was incredibly grateful for her intuition. Before setting off that day, she was taking stock of the contents of her treasure bag. As if by some strange twist of fate, she suddenly remembered the book on Gu techniques that Ah Jiao, a little girl skilled in Gu techniques and able to control snakes, had given her before she left when she first recorded "Unveiling Ghost Stories".

She couldn't understand the writing on it, nor could she find any information related to it, so she had to give up on exploring the art of Gu poison.

Out of caution, she kept it locked in a safe afterward.

Several months had passed, and Nan Xian had almost forgotten about the book. She didn't know why she suddenly remembered it, but she still followed her intuition and took out the book on Gu techniques—it wouldn't take up much space in her treasure bag anyway, so she might as well take precautions.

Surprisingly, it actually came in handy!

Even Diao Yu didn't know he had this book, so it's even less likely that anyone else would know. This could only be a coincidence—or rather, a karmic cycle in the dark.

Nan Xian became increasingly certain that coming to the Dark Zone and getting to know the First Leader and Huo Shaoying was the right decision she had ever made.

Upon seeing that she had actually taken out a book on Gu techniques, the First Leader and Huo Shaoying exchanged a glance, both of them unable to hide their surprise.

It is important to understand that "inheritance" is extremely important for all practitioners; otherwise, there would be no distinction between "outer disciples," "inner disciples," and "personally transmitted disciples."

Especially the art of witchcraft, nowadays only the descendants of the Miao people in the whole of China continue to practice it. They attach great importance to the core of their culture and will not easily show their witchcraft in front of others. So how could they casually give a book containing witchcraft to an outsider?

However, in reality, Nan Xian is indeed an exception.

Huo Shaoying had learned some basic witchcraft from Grandma Huo, and she could understand some of the unique symbols and characters of the Miao region. After reading just a few pages, she understood that the book on witchcraft in Nan Xian's hands was more comprehensive and detailed than any other book on witchcraft she had ever seen before.

Moreover, a large part of the Gu techniques recorded in it are the oldest and most powerful types!

Compared to these, the Heart-Eating Gu... is really just child's play.

Huo Shaoying took a deep breath. She looked at Nan Xian, then at the book on Gu techniques in her hand. She felt a sudden dizziness, and in broad daylight, she experienced an unreal feeling as if she were walking on clouds.

Huo Shaoying felt like crying: ...God, I must be dreaming! Or is it that the reason I suffered so much for the past twenty-two years was actually to accumulate all the good fortune for today, so that I could meet a benefactor like Nan Xian?