Chapter 65

The lingering heat of early summer still lingers; the sun remains scorching during the day, but a refreshing coolness can be felt in the mornings and evenings. The sycamore branches and leaves within the palace walls grow ever more lush, rustling in the warming breeze and casting dappled, swaying shadows.

Three days later, at dawn, just past the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), before the sky was fully bright, only a sliver of pale light appeared on the eastern horizon.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, candles burned brightly all night. It was at this moment that Yin Huaisi, without being announced, appeared brazenly outside the hall, his trousers rolled up and stained with morning dew and mud. The guards on duty, clearly having received orders, did not stop him, but silently pushed open the hall door.

He walked casually, holding a folding fan that seemed out of place in the solemn hall. The fan ribs were painted with gold and the fan surface was decorated with a butterfly painting. He fanned himself as if no one else was around, stirring up a few strands of hair that were not properly tied at his temples.

He remained calm and composed, with even a faint smile playing on his lips, as if there had never been any grudges or entanglements involving betrayal, exploitation, or life-or-death struggles between him and the emperor who held the power of life and death.

Pei Yun stood with his back to the palace gate, his tall figure revealing an undeniable weariness. In his hands, he held an ancient book with yellowed pages, the writing and strange runes densely intertwined, which he was intently studying.

The flickering candlelight cast deep shadows on his sharply defined profile. He seemed oblivious to the light footsteps behind him and the rustling of the fan, as if he were immersed in the complex world constructed by the secret arts of the witch clan.

"Your Majesty works tirelessly day and night, which I truly admire." Yin Huaisi put down the slightly flamboyant folding fan in his hand, walked silently to Pei Yun's side and stopped about three steps away. His gaze quickly swept over the ancient book that exuded an old smell, and his tone was elusive.

"However, the lineage of the Witch Clan is mysterious and unpredictable, beyond human control. I am unworthy, having immersed myself in this path for over a decade, yet I have only scratched the surface, often trapped in a half-baked understanding, unable to grasp its true essence." He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, his smile deepening, but not reaching his eyes. "It's strange, really. This original tattered manuscript, though its records were scattered, was relatively easy for me to understand. But now, with Xi Xiao's... repeated filling, corrections, and even reshaping, the energies are intertwined and complex. My clumsy mind is too dull to comprehend it, and I can no longer discern its depth or ominousness."

Pei Yun unconsciously frowned, and the throbbing pain in his temples, like being pricked by fine steel needles, began to flare up again, bringing with it a feeling of tightness in his chest.

He slowly put down the ancient book that seemed to bear countless secrets and curses, his voice low and hoarse, suppressing his surging emotions: "What is her current situation?"

Yin Huaisi picked up the gilded folding fan again and fanned himself even more vigorously. His wide sleeves billowed in the wind, as if the heat inside the hall was unbearable for him. "This is the consequence of feeding and stimulating the Gu worms with a large amount of essence blood and forcibly performing secret techniques beyond one's own capacity. The essence blood is depleted, the soul is damaged, the body becomes emaciated, and the vitality gradually fades away."

His words were ambiguous, his gaze sweeping subtly over Pei Yun's chest. His lips moved a few times, but he ultimately kept the words tightly shut, letting out a barely audible sigh.

The mother Gu is on the person who cast the Gu, fed with blood. The pain she endures is only greater than that of the person who was afflicted. The fact that it took so long to be discovered must be because drugs were used to conceal it, but he did not intend to tell Pei Yun this.

"Speak your mind, no need to beat around the bush." ​​Pei Yun finally turned his head and glanced at him, his eyes as deep as an ancient well. He picked up the ancient book again, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the corners of the pages that had been turned over repeatedly.

"Your Majesty's prediction is correct." Yin Huaisi readily put down his fan and turned to look at the glass bottle reflecting a cold, eerie light on the rosewood table beside him. "That 'Bewitching Powder' was merely a trigger. The truly potent poison is the 'Snake Gu' that Your Majesty was afflicted with that day. This Gu is insidious and treacherous, a secret technique from the Southern Frontier. Once it enters the body, it's like a maggot clinging to the bone. The afflicted person may not feel it at first, but upon awakening, they will feel as if countless tiny living creatures are burrowing and wriggling within their body, darting between their meridians and flesh, never finding peace. This is followed by indescribable, excruciating pain throughout the body, especially in the head. Waves of pain will strike, enough to make even the most resolute person wish they were dead. Furthermore, it can disrupt the mind, cloud the senses, and gradually change one's temperament, making one irritable and easily angered, completely different from before."

He shifted his tone slightly, becoming somewhat elusive, carrying an uncertain speculation: "However, the natural order is balanced, and all things are mutually reinforcing and restraining. This Gu is not entirely incompatible. If one can stay away from power struggles, avoid worldly troubles, find solace in nature, and maintain a peaceful and tranquil state of mind, it is not easy to trigger its ferocity. This 'Living Snake Gu' prefers peace and happiness and abhors worries. It is said that... if there are things that truly bring joy and pleasure to the host, nourishing the soul, it might even suppress its toxicity and produce some unexpected... calming effects, who knows?" His words were ambiguous, sounding both like guidance and a vague hypothesis.

"What do you mean by that, Young Master Qin?!" He Song, who hadn't appeared for a long time, suddenly spoke up. His face instantly turned red, his chest heaving violently, and he stepped forward indignantly. "Could it be that you want to persuade His Majesty to abandon the importance of the country and the people, stay away from the court, and hand over the hard-won unified land of Yuan Chu to traitors like Ge Quan?! How is such talk any different from that of a rebellious minister!"

Pei Yun ignored He Song's almost bursting anger. His gaze remained fixed on the complex and incomprehensible ancient runes on the ancient book. His voice was so soft that it sounded like he was talking to himself, yet it carried a hint of vulnerability that was hard to detect: "How exactly... can we wake her up?"

Yin Huaisi didn't even glance at the agitated Hesong. He continued in his calm tone, "The method of awakening... I do not know. The secret arts of Gu poison in the Southern Frontier, especially those involving backlash, have always been mysterious and beyond the comprehension of outsiders. Logically speaking, Your Majesty has been poisoned by Gu for a long time, and the Gu worms are so active. The person who cast the Gu should have suffered a severe backlash long ago, at best becoming seriously ill, at worst... their life would be in danger. Even if it is a member of the royal family of the Southern Frontier who uses Gu techniques, they must follow the principle of equivalent exchange and pay a corresponding price, let alone someone with a special bloodline, like Xi Xiao... the last inheritor of the Witch Clan."

He shook his head slightly, his gaze returning to the ancient book. "I just think that with her profound understanding of Gu poison and witchcraft, she might be able to find a glimmer of hope and wake up on her own."

These words are practically meaningless.

Yin Huaisi himself felt his words were somewhat hollow, and with a hint of embarrassment, he cleared his throat, his tone suddenly becoming deep and unfathomable: "Xi Xiaoruo is in a deep sleep, as if trapped in a tortoise's shell. Although the 'living snake gu' in Your Majesty's body cannot be removed, as long as Your Majesty does not overwork yourself and avoids extreme emotional fluctuations, your life is temporarily safe, and we can maintain a semblance of peace. But if she wakes up..." He paused meaningfully, "...the gu master will revive, and the gu worms will become active. At that time, even if Your Majesty intends to recuperate quietly and stay away from the strife, you will likely have to endure even more intense torment. Now, her mastery of gu poison and witchcraft is so profound that she has even forged her own path, and her unfathomable depths probably far surpass those of her mother, Wu Lingwei, back then. As for what strange changes this symbiotic gu will undergo depending on her condition, whether it will be a blessing or a curse, I... am too inexperienced to see through it all and dare not speak rashly."

Pei Yun closed his eyes, his thick, long eyelashes casting deep shadows beneath them. He tried to suppress his surging emotions, the increasingly sharp pain in his temples, and the profound sense of powerlessness stemming from his inability to see through things.

After a long while, he opened his eyes again. His deep eyes had regained their usual calmness. He no longer dwelled on the mystery of witchcraft and instead asked, "Ge Quan and his son, where are your troops now?"

A complex and strange look flashed across Hesong's eyes. He quickly composed himself, bowed his head, and said, "Your Majesty, the rebels are gaining momentum and have captured several cities. Yesterday, scouts reported that their vanguard had passed Xiangcheng and was less than four hundred li from the capital."

"I remember," Pei Yun suddenly changed the subject, his gaze fixed on Yin Huaisi, "that the Southern Frontier Secret Records mention an ancient Gu technique called 'Forget-Me-Not.'" He slowly raised the heavy ancient book in his hand, his voice calm and even, "If this Gu is used to make her forget her past, to extinguish all love and hate, then these entangled secrets of the Gu poison witch clan, along with all the painful memories associated with them, should vanish like smoke, shouldn't they?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Huaisi's heart skipped a beat and then began to race wildly. He stared into Pei Yun's eyes, which burned with an almost insane flame, and was momentarily stunned by the obsession within them, forgetting to speak.

After the pounding in his chest subsided slightly, he found his voice, which trembled slightly as he spoke: "The Forget-Me-Not Gu... as the name suggests, forcibly erases all sources of pain, sorrow, and hatred from the host, filtering and stripping away everything, leaving only... those joyful memories. If this Gu were used on Xi Xiao, she would not remember anything related to His Majesty... whether it was the exploitation, the harm done, or... perhaps even a fleeting moment of tenderness. She would no longer be the Xi Xiao she is now..."

"That's...very good."

Only a sigh, seemingly both joyful and sorrowful, remained in the air. The sigh echoed softly in the spacious and magnificent Hall of Mental Cultivation, swirling with the smoke of candlelight, before being completely swallowed up.

As Yin Huaisi stepped out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the sky outside was already bright. The rising sun leaped over the palace walls, its brilliance causing one to squint slightly. The gloom of the night and the oppressive candlelight inside the hall seemed to be instantly dispelled by this intense light, leaving only the warmth of an early summer morning carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees.

He didn't leave immediately, but paused on the high steps, his gaze passing over the layers of glazed tile roofs and eaves, precisely landing on the desolate and abandoned Changmen Palace in the northwest corner. His face remained expressionless, but his eyes, which always carried a hint of cynicism, now held a complex and unfathomable emotion.

Just as he was about to look away and leave, he caught a glimpse of another figure silently exiting the Hall of Mental Cultivation; it was Hesong.

The two noticed each other almost simultaneously.

Their steps faltered slightly, and their gazes met unexpectedly in the air. However, in that fleeting moment of eye contact, they both caught a glimpse of an extremely swift and unusual light deep within each other's seemingly calm and unwavering eyes.

The strange light flashed and disappeared in an instant, so fast that it seemed like just an illusion of sunlight flickering.

Immediately, Yin Huaisi's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. She subtly shifted her gaze, turned around, her robes fluttering in the morning breeze, and steadily walked away along the palace path, her figure quickly disappearing into the interlacing shadows of the palace walls.

Hesong paused for a moment, gazing in the direction Yin Huaisi had left. His eyes narrowed slightly before he regained his usual solemn expression and silently departed in another direction.

The palace road was deserted, with only the sound of footsteps fading into the distance and the lingering tension in the air.