In the days that followed, it was unclear whether he had been weakened by the battle that day or something else.

In short, the Japanese pirates never attacked Canggu City again. The thick fog outside the city remained, even obscuring the formations set up by Xu Nian. The white expanse made it impossible to see anything outside the city.

However, it is clearly distinct from Canggu City, as if there is a barrier between them.

Even though the thick fog tried every means to get through the city walls and into the territory of Canggu City, it still had to stay obediently less than a meter away from the city gate.

Xu Nian, Gu Zhan, and the others would go to the city wall to check every day.

The task of going outside the city to check on the situation has been completely halted, because Xu Nian went to see those who had returned from outside the city.

The wounds on his body were from ordinary weapons, but his consciousness had clearly been impacted in some way. Yet, he had no yin energy, not even demonic energy.

She looked like she was simply terrified, so she could only prescribe some calming medication.

"Princess! Princess!"

As usual, she stayed on the city wall, looking at the surging fog outside the gate, feeling a faint sense of powerlessness. Suddenly, she heard someone rushing towards her from afar.

He rushed to her, kneeling on one knee. "Princess, no, something terrible has happened! That, that person who took the tranquilizer, he, he..."

What's wrong with him?

The visitor was Bi Yan, Mo Yun's attendant. He looked extremely flustered and couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Xu Nian was getting impatient, so she turned and ran into the city. Gu Zhan followed behind her, and when they reached the city gate, he mounted his horse and carried his little wife up with him.

The two soon arrived at the city lord's mansion.

In a side courtyard, most of the soldiers who went out to scout lived here for easy care and medical treatment.

The once quiet courtyard is now bustling with servants, their faces filled with fear and panic, as they hurriedly carry basins saturated with blood.

Surprisingly, no one noticed Xu Nian and the others' arrival.

"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

Heart-wrenching screams filled the entire courtyard, and even the other sick soldiers began to stir.

The loud banging on the door of their residence added an eerie touch to the bright daylight.

"Princess? Marshal?" Mo Yun came out from inside to catch her breath and saw the two people standing outside. "Princess, come quickly and see what's wrong with Meng Fan? He was fine after taking the medicine yesterday, but today he has started vomiting blood."

As he entered, the soldier, who had looked fairly handsome yesterday, now had bulging veins on his forehead.

He was vomiting large mouthfuls of blood, the smell of medicine and blood mingling together in the room, creating an indescribable odor. Just stepping inside made one hold their breath.

What's that on his neck?

Xu Nian, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed the inconspicuous bulge on her neck, hidden beneath her clothes. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be slowly wriggling.

The doctor who had been there bowed and said, "Your Highness, this is just a normal phenomenon after he fell ill. It's caused by his body being too tense, so it's nothing to be surprised about."

He spoke calmly, as if Xu Nian didn't even know about such things yet dared to prescribe medicine for people.

The soldier's family was also present. Upon hearing this, they dared not let Xu Nian get any closer to their son. Seeing her walking this way, the panicked family members hurriedly stepped forward to block Xu Nian's path.

"What are you doing?" Xu Niandi's expression remained unchanged, but Mo Yun's expression immediately darkened.

A group of people refused to leave, kneeling on the ground: "Your Highness, City Lord, my son was mentally challenged before, but his health was still relatively good. Today, I think Your Highness still doesn't understand my son's condition, so we won't trouble you to come."

The lady at the head of the group spoke tactfully, but Xu Nian could hear the distrust in their words.

In the past, she might have simply ignored the matter if she got angry, but she felt that the bulge on the man's neck looked very familiar.

She must have seen him some time ago, but he was too far away to see clearly, so she didn't remember.

Seeing them all kneel down, she didn't even lower her head, nor did she tell them to get up. She walked past them to Meng Fan and pressed a pressure point on his body.

"Princess! What are you doing?!"

The doctor was about to burst into a tirade when he saw Meng Fan, who had been vomiting blood violently, suddenly stop. His head lolled to the side and he collapsed onto the bed.

The old doctor's face immediately turned bright red, utterly embarrassed. The remaining "uh-huh" stuck in his throat, and he was reluctantly dragged away by Mo Yun's men.

A bunch of ignorant fools.

Do they really think that the princess conferred by the imperial court is someone they can slander at will? If she gets upset and kills them, there's nothing the city lord can do about it.

To be honest, Mo Yun's thoughts were a bit overthinking.

Xu Nian didn't even spare a glance for the old man; her eyes were fixed on the bulge on Meng Fan's neck, and she looked at it even more carefully the closer she got.

"I see."

She wasn't mistaken; although the bulge under Meng Fan's skin wasn't obvious, it was indeed slowly wriggling upon closer inspection.

It felt like there were insects moving restlessly inside.

She had only seen this on one person before: when Jiang Yuanqing was forced to expel the Gu poison, the swelling on his arm was in the same condition.

Mo Yun heard her muttering to herself, "Princess, what did you say? You know why Meng Fan is like this?"

As Meng Fan fell into a deep sleep, the Gu worms within his body gradually subsided. His previously swollen skin slowly flattened out.

No wonder I hadn't noticed it before; it turns out this poison won't manifest without medication. It's different from the one in Jiang Yuanqing's body.

She lowered her eyes, suddenly remembered something, and her gaze towards Meng Fan became serious.

"This is not the place to talk." Xu Nian said, turning to leave. Gu Zhan knew her; if it were simply the work of the enemy, she wouldn't be so secretive.

That must be someone from inside...

The three of them were in Mo Yun's room, with the doors and windows tightly closed and the servants dismissed.

There were many soldiers guarding the entrance, and no matter who it was, even if they had extraordinary abilities, they couldn't possibly get in to eavesdrop.

Xu Nian didn't beat around the bush. Once the three of them were left in the room, she got straight to the point: "I've seen what's on Meng Fan. If I'm not mistaken, it should be a Gu worm."

"Gu worms?!"

Mo Yun's eyes widened. This place wasn't exactly close to Southern Xinjiang. He had only ever heard legends about the Gu worms before, never imagining they were actually true.

Gu Zhan, however, thought more deeply than him; he knew what had happened to Jiang Yuanqing.

Knowing who the truly capable Gu Master was in the palace, his expression instantly sharpened. "Nian'er, this is a matter of great importance. Are you certain?"