Chapter 115 A worrying sign

Before Aunt Zhang could continue speaking, Gu Xixi suddenly rushed over and hugged her.

"Aunt, I missed you so much! I woke up early and rushed back, only letting Lai Fu rest for a short while. Lai Fu and I both miss home so much, so even if it gets dark, we have to keep going and we have to get home today!"

Gu Xixi's coquettish outburst completely extinguished Aunt Zhang's anger, leaving her with only heartache.

"My dear! You didn't have much flesh on your body to begin with, and in just a few days, your face has become thinner due to exhaustion!"

"Look at your cold hands. You must be hungry. What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you right away!"

The moon was at its zenith, and Lai Fu was eating grass mixed with bean curd cakes in his wooden shed.

Gu Xixi sat next to the small stove in the kitchen, eating a bowl of hot clear soup noodles.

The soup contains cabbage and dried shrimps, which is light yet delicious. Two poached eggs are placed on top of the noodles.

Gu Xixi slurped the noodles, "It's so delicious. Home-cooked food is still the best."

Aunt Zhang looked at her lovingly and said, "Eat slowly."

"Before you left this time, you said you would be back in two or three days, but you ended up being gone for six whole days."

"If you don't come back tonight, I will have to go to Yunling to look for someone by myself no matter what."

Gu Xixi swallowed a mouthful of soup and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

"It's mainly because I didn't expect Yunling County's commerce to be so prosperous before I went there."

"I bought a lot of good things. I'll sort them out slowly tomorrow morning."

Aunt Zhang sighed and said, "Thanks to Xiao Chen for giving me peace of mind these days."

"Otherwise I would have come to see you two days ago."

Gu Xixi glanced sideways, "What's wrong with him?"

Aunt Zhang said, "He said that there are many merchants from outside Yunling County, and you must have been dazzled by those things."

"He also said that I have the ability to survive in an unfamiliar place, so I don't need to worry too much."

"Six days at most. If you don't come back, he will definitely take me to pick you up."

"I couldn't sleep well tonight, and you actually came back today."

Gu Xixi was silent. How could she calculate the date exactly?

Does Mu Nanzhao really understand her, or is it his informant in Yunling County who tipped her off?

After eating and drinking, Gu Xixi and Aunt Zhang cleaned up the kitchen.

When she came out, she glanced at the west room. It was dark and very quiet, and she couldn't help feeling a little surprised.

Mu Nanzhao is very alert and has always been a light sleeper.

When Gu Xixi came back just now, there was the sound of a mule braying and the car stopped making noises.

But Mu Nanzhao didn't move at all.

Aunt Zhang urged, holding the hot water bottle that had just been filled with water, "Go back to your room and go to bed. I'll warm the bed for you."

After they entered the house, Gu Xixi asked casually, "How is Chen Fang doing recently?"

Aunt Zhang replied casually as she made the bed, "It's fine."

"I get up early every day to go to the village school and come back at noon. Occasionally I go out, and I don't know where I go. Anyway, it's no different from usual."

Gu Xixi didn't want to ask too directly, so she had to ask in a roundabout way, "Then what medicine has my master made for Chen Fang recently?"

Aunt Zhang put the pillow away, straightened up and said, "Speaking of this, it's a little different."

"Your master has been cooking more medicine lately, forgetting to put handfuls of herbs in the pot."

"Every night he watched Xiao Chen take a bath in the medicinal soup. I took a look and it seemed that he also had to get acupuncture."

"The strong medicinal smell can be used to marinate people."

When Gu Xixi heard this, she already had a bad feeling in her heart.

But she didn't show it, she just smiled and said, "Well, you should go to sleep soon, Shitou should be asleep by now."

Aunt Zhang walked out and said, "This kid talks about you dozens of times every day. I wonder how happy he will be when he wakes up and sees you tomorrow morning!"

After Aunt Zhang left, Gu Xixi took off her clothes and got into bed, thinking that Mu Nanzhao's condition might have worsened.

Her mind was turning over and over, thinking of countless possibilities, and gradually she fell asleep.

During breakfast the next day, Shitou happily pestered Gu Xixi and talked about this and that.

Gu Xixi also distributed the gifts she bought for everyone in Yunling County one by one.

What the old doctor bought were naturally some medicinal herbs produced in the Western Regions.

Aunt Zhang is a woolen headscarf.

The stones are two exquisite exotic baubles.

Mu Nanzhao's brush is a wolf-hair brush from the Western Regions, with a pen holder made of topaz, and it feels great.

There are also foods such as pralines, fig jam, air-dried beef, and naan that the whole family can share.

Gu Xixi smiled and said to Mu Nanzhao, "You used to use good brushes and inkstones. I bought this one because I thought you had to use a school-level brush for the past six months. I hope it works for you."

Mu Nanzhao took the brush and tried it. "It feels good. Thank you."

He said, coughing slightly.

But it was just a cough.

Gu Xixi was not in a hurry to return the peace locket that Mu Nanzhao gave her.

It was not until after dinner, when Mu Nanzhao and Shitou went to the school, that Aunt Zhang went to the kitchen.

Gu Xixi turned to the old doctor and asked, "Master, are you hiding something from me?"

The old doctor's expression froze, and he smiled and said, "You just came back, what can I hide from you? Don't make blind guesses."

"That's not right." Gu Xixi said solemnly, "I came back last night, but Chen Fang didn't know anything about it."

"Has he become lethargic lately?"

"Also, I just looked at his face. Although his blood and qi are better than before, you can see that there is a hint of paleness under his eyelids."

"When I handed him the brush, I noticed that his breathing was a little disordered and not as strong as before."

Gu Xixi observed the old doctor's expression.

She noticed that with every word she spoke, the old doctor's expression became more gloomy.

Finally, Gu Xixi was able to basically confirm, "Has his poison worsened?"

Seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, the old doctor nodded.

Gu Xixi then asked, "He asked you to help him hide it from me?"

The old doctor nodded again.

Even though Gu Xixi had prepared herself mentally last night, when she finally confirmed it, she still felt like a huge rock was blocking her heart.

She lowered her head and remained silent for a long time, her voice so low that it was almost inaudible.

"Master, do you know how much time he has left?"

The old doctor sighed and said, "At least half a month, at most... one or two months."

Since she entered the book, Gu Xixi has never had such a painful moment.

She never thought that her arrival would change the entanglement between Gu Qingye and Mu Nanzhao.

At the same time, it also caused Mu Nanzhao, who could have detoxified, to be unable to do so.

However, it is not time to give up yet.

Gu Xixi calmed down and asked, "Master, how is your progress in preparing the antidote?"

The old doctor said, "I used his body to test the medicine, and it was almost successful, but..."

His brows knitted together, "Now we only need the last medicine."

Gu Xixi saw hope and asked, "What medicine?"

The old doctor sighed again, "Although there is only one ingredient missing, I still can't identify it."

Gu Xixi was anxious. "It's hard to be sure. It means you have already ruled out all the options. List them out and I'll find them. Let's try the drugs as soon as possible!"