Chapter 54 The Voodoo Doll

In the stillness of the night, candlelight shone in Jiang Xi's room as he opened a book of witchcraft and sorcery to familiarize himself with its contents.

The first page describes the making of a witchcraft doll. The birth date and time of the person being cursed, along with shed nails, hair, and other debris, are stuffed into the doll, which is then laced with witchcraft poison. The doll is placed around the person being cursed, and upon touching the doll, the witchcraft poison quietly enters their body.

The poison on the voodoo doll can be adjusted according to needs.

If you want to kill the person who touches it immediately, you must use a deadly poison that draws blood.

If you don't want to be discovered, hide the witchcraft doll well and let it release its toxins silently, gradually harming the body of the cursed person.

By the time it was discovered, the toxins had already penetrated deep into the bone marrow.

There were also simple slanders and framing, which were more about political infighting. Since they didn't involve bloodshed, Huigu mentioned them briefly and then glossed over them.

There's no need to learn a poison technique that can't take lives.

Jiang Xi carefully examined the description on the voodoo doll, which stated that it could be placed beside the cursed person for a long time, and he was tempted.

Ah Ji's witchcraft doll must be as beautiful as hers.

He wants to make Ah Ji's witchcraft doll!

The kind without the poisonous Gu.

He happened to have learned embroidery, which he could use to weave dolls.

If Huigu knew that he had learned how to weave a personal doll from the witchcraft doll, she would have no answer.

She had initially avoided harmless witchcraft, but his first creation turned out to be nothing more than a simple, soft rag doll.

Jiang Xi went to select soft fabric, picked up the needle and thread by candlelight, and began to sew the doll's body.

As the first rays of dawn appear, the sky is bathed in a peach-pink glow, wisps of clouds drift lazily by, and birds awaken a new day.

Jiang Xi estimated when Shang Yuji would wake up and knocked on her door.

Shang Yuji opened the door, still half asleep, and saw Jiang Xi standing there, fully dressed and beaming.

"Ah Ji, let me help you wash up!"

Shang Yuji, who was used to him coming to her house to help her with her makeup, didn't think much of it, turned around and made room for him, inviting him in.

After washing up, he skillfully styled her hair into a gentle bun, and inserted a silver-white pear blossom hairpin that he had bought in Jingzhou. Shang Yuji propped her face up with her hand and saw through the bronze mirror that he had put something away.

Puzzled, she turned to look and saw him carefully gathering the hair that had fallen out while he was combing it.

Shang Yuji: ...

She hesitated, then reached out and touched her tied-up hair, before looking at the strands of hair he had carefully put into the brocade bag, as if he were collecting a rare treasure.

Could her hair loss be that severe?

"Jiangxi, am I going to go bald?" Shang Yuji asked in a trembling voice.

Jiang Xi immediately looked up and said, "No! Aji has a lot of hair!"

"Then why did you take my hair?"

It's as if she's saying goodbye to her hair forever, so she's putting away her existing hair as a memento for the future.

Hearing her question, he lowered his head, his long fingers tightening around the brocade pouch, and felt a familiar warmth on his earlobe as he softly explained:

"I want to be Ah Ji's witchcraft doll..."

"?" A voodoo doll? Is it the voodoo doll she knows, the one that frames people, curses people, and takes lives?

This is more perplexing than her going bald.

If she hadn't known that Jiang Xi wouldn't harm her, she might have punched him.

Why the sudden change of heart and make me a witchcraft doll?

"Aji's witchcraft dolls are so cute, I'd like to make one myself."

"You're using my hair to do a doll's hair?"

"Hmm... just take Ah Ji's fallen hair." It won't hurt Ah Ji.

Seeing his confident and proud expression, Shang Yuji couldn't resist pinching the soft flesh on his cheek: "Then where's your doll?"

"Um?"

Jiang Xi was only thinking about making dolls for Aji, she didn't expect that there would be dolls for him too.

Shang Yuji raised her eyes, leaned closer, and stared intently at him: "What, am I allowed to lose my hair, but you can't?"

"No, no!" Her anxious and moist eyes seemed to hold a pool of clear spring water, and with the soft flesh she was pinching, she looked extremely pitiful.

The ruthless Shang Yuji raised her voice and asked, "How lonely must she be, just a Shang Xiaoji without Jiang Xiaoxi by her side?"

"The formidable Young Master Jiang wouldn't let a child like Shang Xiaoji be born into this world all alone, would he?"

He pulled at the black hair hanging down his back, forcefully tearing out a few strands: "Waaah, I won't let her be a lonely baby. I'll make it, Jiang Xiaoxi, I'll make it."

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he said in a muffled voice, "Aji, don't be alone..."

Shang Yuji let go, rubbing the back of his head where his hair had been pulled out with one hand, while smiling and wiping away his tears: "I have you with me, I'm not alone."

"So when you're taking care of your own hair, you can't hurt yourself, otherwise what will I do without you by my side?"

Jiang Xi reached for the hair she had just pulled out, wrapped her arms around her waist, hugged her, and slumped softly against her, muttering:

"Yes, I want to stay with Aji. I can't leave Aji alone..."

"Mmm..." After a brief embrace, he nuzzled her cheek and murmured, "Ah Ji, will we be husband and wife from now on?"

"Hmm." Although she didn't understand why he suddenly brought it up, she still responded.

“Ah Ji said that husband and wife can be intimate, and I want Ah Ji to kiss me.”

Shang Yuji tried to back away, but the arms around her waist were strong enough that she couldn't go very far. However, the distance was enough for her to see his face.

How could one describe her as a pear blossom in the rain, a crabapple in full bloom? Her moist, fox-like eyes were brimming with autumn water, and her slightly upturned lips held a captivating allure amidst her pitiful appearance. When their eyes met, her soft smile blossomed, as pure as a deer in the forest, unaware of the ways of the world.

She chuckled softly, leaned back, and covered the tempting red mole with her warm, soft touch.

It was only because the Tongxin Gu was inactive in winter and the current atmosphere that I dared to give it a try.

He stood there, stunned, and reached out a hand to gently touch the spot where he had been kissed. Large tears welled up in his eyes, like pearls falling onto a jade plate.

Before Shang Yuji could stop him from reaching out, the strands of hair that were in her palm fell out, making all the pain he had endured from pulling his hair pointless.

Jiang Xi sobbed softly, leaning weakly against her shoulder and neck, murmuring her name:

“Ah Ji… Ah Ji…”

"Yes, I'm here." Shang Yuji patted his back. "If you want to cry, you'd better hurry up. It's almost time for martial arts practice, and it's not good to keep the seniors waiting."

He wanted to stay with Aji, and suddenly he didn't want to practice martial arts anymore.

Jiang Xi, who had been silent for the first time, felt a rebellious streak. He tentatively asked, "I... what if I don't want to practice martial arts today..."

"Hmm... If you don't want to go, we can apologize to the seniors, explain things to them properly, and then just rest. We can practice again when we feel like it."

The tears flowed even more freely, and it was impossible to stop them.

Shang Yuji felt the dampness on her collar getting heavier, but she didn't stop soothing her.

His voice choked with emotion: "No, no need, I'll go today, for martial arts practice..."

He couldn't let Aji be troubled because of his matter, and besides, he had already received an unexpected reply from Aji's words.

He's so happy, he's really happy.

My heart couldn't help but melt into a ball of joy.

Without blaming or scolding, Aji chose him unconditionally.

That's enough.

In the end, Shang Yuji led Jiang Xi, whose eyes were red from crying, to the backyard.

Today's lesson was arranged with Yi Sha as the instructor, but unexpectedly, the apprentice who came looked pitiful, as if he had been bullied, and the apologetic little merchant.

Today might not be a good day for martial arts practice, and I was just about to end the lesson when my young apprentice insisted on continuing.

Seeing that Shang Yuji nodded in agreement, she had nothing more to say.

Worried, Shang Yatou did not leave the backyard, but sat under the eaves watching her apprentice practice martial arts.

The apprentice appeared serious, but couldn't hide his shyness.

Yi Sha, unusually, did not see Xiao Shang off.

Because she hadn't expected that after learning the knife from Old Man Xiang, and with Xiao Shang watching from the side, the whip in Jiang Xi's hand seemed to come alive.

It possesses both a fierce and powerful style, as well as a swift and unpredictable elegance.

By integrating knife and whip techniques, without being confined to one, one can truly master what one has learned and make it one's own.

She almost... she almost lost control of him.

Only by facing him directly can one truly appreciate his remarkable growth and leaps in skill.

It far exceeded her expectations.

No wonder that old man Xiang Fengyun was so determined to become his disciple's third master.

Such a prodigy, after a while, she will have no one left to teach.

The new master, Xiang Fengyun, arrived with a bang, eager to make his mark and offer guidance.

Confirming that Jiang Xi was safe, Shang Yuji gestured to him that she wanted to leave first.

Despite his eyes being full of reluctance, he still obediently nodded and waved goodbye to her.

Yi Sha smiled, too lazy to argue with Xiang Fengyun, who was trying to interfere with the teaching.

As Shang Yuji passed by the plum blossoms beside the pavilion in the courtyard, she thought that it was time to replace the plum branches inside the house.

She carefully selected a branch under the tree, choosing one with abundant blossoms. However, it was a bit high, so she had to stand on tiptoe and put in a lot of effort to break it off.

Holding a handful of flowers, Shang Yuji didn't forget to comfort this greatest hero of winter: "I'll give you the fallen leaves that I sweep up later."

A gentle breeze carries the faint fragrance of plum blossoms, and the golden petals are swept away by the wind, swirling in the air before gently landing.

Jiang Xi tightened her grip on the long whip, her gaze softening unconsciously.

The clinic was unusually quiet, with neither of the two apprentice doctors present.

As soon as Shang Yuji, who had walked there, entered the room, she saw that Dr. Fang was busy, so she found an empty spot to sit down.

After Dr. Fang had rested, she got up, returned the medical book, and asked:

"Where are Xiao Mu and Xiao Shi? I haven't seen them."

Fang Mu: "They have learned everything they need to learn in the clinic. It's time for them to go out and practice medicine and become independent doctors."

"They've already left?" She had seen the two of them just a few days ago.

Fang Mu chuckled and said, "Not yet, I'm packing my bags and haven't decided where to go yet."

Shang Yuji hesitated, scratching the bracelet on her wrist, and swallowed the words she wanted to say.

"Young lady, is there something you want to say?"

"It's nothing. I imagine that after being taught by Master Fang, their medical skills must be superb."

"Miss Shang, do you have other ideas?" They had known each other for a period of time that was neither too long nor too short, but he could still tell that she had something she wanted to say.

"...I do have a suggestion, but it's extremely dangerous, so I think I'll pass."

She couldn't possibly push the apprentice whom Dr. Fang had painstakingly trained into a pit of fire.

Although they are very envious of Xiaomu and Xiaoshi's medical skills, they should have their own choices.

That familiar troubled expression was just like the look on his senior brother's face before he left.

He sighed, "The girl is talking about Yangcheng, isn't she?"