Chapter 807 His Protection (First Update)

Gu Jiao's eyes turned unusually dangerous: "You'd better have a reasonable explanation."

Otherwise, I don't care if you're the godfather or not, I'll just assume you are and I'll beat you up!

—I absolutely refuse to admit that I wanted to beat him up!

Gu Changqing was in a deep coma at the moment. The Grand Preceptor came to the bedside, looked at him with a complicated expression, sighed, and said, "This is his own decision."

"Explain yourself clearly," Gu Jiao said calmly.

The Grand Preceptor said, "He was struck by the Dark Soul Sword without any protection. His foundation was destroyed, his dantian was damaged, and countless meridians were severed... You are a healer, you should understand that at this point, he is basically a cripple."

Gu Jiao did not refute this point.

She had already realized just how bad Gu Changqing's condition was when she performed the surgery on him.

Otherwise, when the Imperial Advisor asked her what would happen if Gu Changqing became a cripple, her answer would be "I will take care of him," instead of "I will heal him."

From a medical perspective, Gu Changqing is incurable.

Gu Jiao asked, "So you turned him into a suicide squad member?"

The Grand Preceptor sighed helplessly: "I have said that this is his own choice. I only provided him with a solution. Whether he accepts it or not is up to him."

Gu Jiao recalled the conversation that had taken place in this intensive care unit.

She asked, "Was he already awake then? You deliberately asked me in front of him, 'What will I do if he becomes a cripple?' You wanted him to hear my answer, to move him, and to strengthen his resolve not to be a burden to me."

The Grand Preceptor opened his mouth, but did not refute.

Gu Jiao's icy gaze fell on the Grand Preceptor's weathered face: "And you still have the nerve to say it was his own choice?"

The Grand Preceptor raised his fist to his lips: "Ahem. Okay, I admit, I used a little underhanded methods, but—"

Gu Jiao said, "You'd better not say it's for my own good, or I'll kill you right now."

The Imperial Advisor looked at her with shock and confusion, as if to say—How dare you? You even dared to kill the Imperial Advisor?

"Never mind, I spoiled him."

A certain national advisor muttered to himself.

"What are you muttering about?" Gu Jiao didn't hear clearly.

The Grand Preceptor said earnestly, "What I mean is, this is the only way to restore him to normal. Although it may not succeed, it is still better than turning him into a cripple. Given his pride, becoming a cripple is more terrible than letting him die."

Gu Jiao recalled the dream she had in Zhao Kingdom. In the border war, the remnants of the previous dynasty colluded with the army of Chen Kingdom to turn Gu Changqing into a cripple and a useless person, making him suffer a fate worse than death for the rest of his life.

The Grand Preceptor continued, "So I told him that if he didn't want to become a cripple, there was only one way: to become a death warrior with the help of drugs. Death warriors are born from destruction and are reborn. There have been similar precedents in the Grand Preceptor's Hall, provided that they take an incurable poison."

Gu Jiao paused: "The same kind of poison that Fifth Master Han was given?"

The Grand Preceptor nodded: "That's right. That kind of poison has a nine-out-of-ten chance of killing someone. If you survive it, you'll be qualified to become a suicide soldier."

Shitian and Anhun became assassins because they were poisoned by this same poison.

The chances of surviving this poison are slim, and those who did survive, except for Master Han, all became assassins. Whether poisoning and becoming an assassin are necessarily related remains unknown.

However, although Master Han did not become a suicide soldier, he developed premature aging, which shows that the aftereffects of this poison are indeed quite severe.

The Grand Preceptor said, "That poison is very strange. Most people can't survive it, but once they do, they become exceptionally powerful. I call it 'screening'."

Gu Jiao frowned slightly: "Screening?"

The Imperial Advisor gave Gu Jiao a deep look and said, "It's a kind of genetic selection."

Gu Jiao was lost in thought with her eyes down, unaware of the look the Grand Preceptor was giving her.

When she looked up at the Grand Preceptor, there was no emotion left in his eyes.

"Where did this poison come from?" she asked.

The Imperial Advisor said, "It is the juice extracted from the root of a type of gromwell, but it is now very difficult to find that kind of gromwell."

It's a real shame; if I had one, I might have been able to bring it back and study it.

Gu Jiao then asked, "Then where did you get the poison you gave Gu Changqing?"

The Imperial Advisor said helplessly, "There's only one bottle left, give it all to him."

Gu Jiao voiced another question that had been bothering her: "But why didn't I sense any assassin's aura on him?"

The Grand Preceptor said, "Because he...didn't become a suicide soldier."

Gu Jiao asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

The Imperial Advisor smiled politely: "I only realized the medicine had expired after I gave it to him."

Gu Jiao: "..."

"So he is now..."

The Grand Preceptor continued with an awkward yet polite smile: "You thought you were a suicide soldier."

Gu Jiao again: "..."

To be honest, even the Imperial Preceptor didn't expect things to turn out this way. He only discovered the medicine was expired the next day and rushed over to check on Gu Changqing's condition.

Unexpectedly, Gu Changqing, leaning on his cane, stood by the bedside with a spirited expression and excitedly said to him, "Grand Preceptor, the medicine you gave me really worked! I can stand up again!"

The Imperial Advisor's expression at that moment was utterly bewildered, unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Gu Changqing asked in bewilderment, "But why... did I not feel the kind of pain you described?"

The Imperial Advisor had mentioned to Gu Changqing that the process of brewing this poison was no different from dying once.

Then, the Imperial Advisor decisively stopped giving him painkillers.

After experiencing three days of agony, Gu Changqing became even more convinced that he had survived the deadly poison.

This is not a miracle that medicine can create; it is the powerful willpower to protect his sister at all costs.

The Grand Preceptor sighed innocently, "Seeing that he was in such good spirits, I couldn't bear to expose him."

I'm afraid that if I expose him, his beliefs will crumble and he won't be able to recover.

Looking at the various lists of assassins in her hands, Gu Jiao asked in bewilderment, "Then... what about these books?"

The Imperial Advisor truthfully replied, "It's all nonsense."

But it took him a lot of effort; just finding the yellowed blank booklets and coming up with a name almost drove him crazy.

Gu Jiao then picked up a book titled "Ten Days to Become a Qualified Death Squad" and twitched her lips: "No wonder these books look so frivolous."

Grand Preceptor: "..."

-

Given Gu Changqing's current condition, it is naturally more appropriate for him to remain in the Imperial Preceptor's Hall. As for when to tell him the truth, that depends on his recovery. Before he is fully recovered, we cannot allow him to lose faith halfway.

It was already past midnight when Gu Jiao and the Black Wind King left the Imperial Preceptor's Hall and returned to the Duke of Anguo's Mansion together.

The Duke of Anguo's mansion was very quiet.

Xiao Heng didn't tell his family that Gu Jiao had gone to the palace to steal the king; he only said that she had some business at the Imperial Preceptor's Hall and might not return until tomorrow.

Everyone took a break.

Xiao Heng waited for Gu Jiao alone in the room.

He didn't know how Gu Jiao was doing, but according to the plan, the king was to be taken back to the Duke's mansion.

creak—

The gate of Maple Courtyard was pushed open.

Xiao Heng hurriedly came out of the house: "Jiao..."

It wasn't Gu Jiao who came in, but Steward Zheng.

Steward Zheng, holding a lantern, glanced at Xiao Heng who was hurrying out from under the eaves and asked in surprise, "Your Highness, are you still not resting so late?"

Xiao Heng suppressed his disappointment and asked calmly, "Why did you come here so late?"

Steward Zheng pointed to the courtyard gate behind him and explained, "Ah, I saw that the gate was not closed, and I wondered if some servant was being lazy, so I came in to take a look."

Xiao Heng said, "I asked them to leave the door open."

After a moment of confusion, Steward Zheng asked, "Aren't Lord Xiao and Young Master Gu supposed to return tomorrow?"

Only the two of them went out of the entire courtyard.

Xiao Heng said calmly, "We might be back sooner. It's getting late, Steward Zheng, go and rest. There's nothing to do here."

Manager Zheng smiled and said, "Ah, yes, I'll take my leave now."

Steward Zheng had only taken a few steps when he turned back and asked Xiao Heng, "Your Highness, are you finding it difficult to get used to your place? The Duke said you can go directly to his courtyard; it's spacious, and there are too many people in Feng Courtyard..."

Xiao Heng said seriously, "No, I'm living very well at Maple Courtyard."

Steward Zheng smiled awkwardly, thinking to himself, "How come you, the eldest grandson of the emperor, don't live with your maternal uncle, but instead live with a few people from Zhao?"

"Alright, just let me know what you need."

This time, Manager Zheng really left and never came back.

Time passed slowly. At first, Xiao Heng was able to sit, but soon he stood up, looking out the window for a while and then wandering around the room.

Just as he was about to enter the palace to gather information, there was another commotion outside the courtyard.

Xiao Heng didn't wait for anyone to push the door open; he strode out and flung open the courtyard gate.

Then he saw Long Yi standing at the door.

(End of this chapter)