Chapter 35: Using the poison of the needle, she maintained the demeanor of a proper husband and slapped him...
Xi Feng raised an eyebrow and looked at Qi Baitong: "What do you need the scar-removing medicine for?"
Qi Baitong remained silent for a moment: "It's useful."
Xi Feng chuckled and teased, "I didn't realize that someone as stubborn as you would ever do this, actually knowing to remove scars to win Gu Shanyue's favor?"
He burst into laughter without any restraint, while Qi Baitong silently raised his hand.
Xi Feng: "..."
That's enough! He's not some servant in Gu Shanyue's backyard. Why does Qi Baitong always act like a proper husband and slap him? Is he sick in the head?
"Alright, here's a bottle for you."
Xi Feng pulled out an unopened porcelain bottle and handed it to Qi Baitong. Qi Baitong's expression shifted, and he was about to take it when Xi Feng suddenly withdrew his hand, threatening with a forced smile, "If you hit me again..."
"No more," Qi Baitong immediately promised.
They really seem to want this bottle of medicine.
Xi Feng chuckled to himself, never expecting that even the seemingly invincible Qi Baitong had a weakness, which turned out to be a scar-removing ointment.
"You'd better keep your word." Xi Feng tossed it into the air.
Qi Baitong reached out and caught the ointment. Without wasting a second, she immediately turned and left.
He walked quickly to the door, then suddenly stopped.
Xi Feng asked warily, "What are you doing? Trying to back out again?"
Qi Baitong didn't respond. His back was tense, and his fingers hanging at his sides trembled slightly. Something was definitely wrong.
"What’s wrong with you?"
As Xi Feng got up and walked over, Qi Baitong could no longer stand and leaned against the door frame.
His face was deathly pale, and he was covered in cold sweat. All the exposed skin was covered with a dense layer of red dots, each the size of a pinhead. The veins beneath his skin were visibly twisted and tangled, like the muscles and tendons of his body being twisted into a ball of yarn. It was not hard to imagine what kind of torture he was enduring.
Xi Feng saw the unusual pulsation under his skin and instantly got goosebumps.
As distant memories surfaced in his mind, Xi Feng was horrified: "This is a Needle-Threading Gu! How did you get it on you?"
This poison was a major feature of the Blood Mirage back then. The worms were as small as hairs, making them difficult to detect and defend against. Once the worms entered the body, their offspring multiplied extremely quickly, rapidly traveling throughout the body's meridians.
Each time it flares up, the Gu worms are like needles, and the tendons are like threads. They pierce through the needles and pull and tear the tendons. No matter how high one's martial arts skills are, one cannot resist the excruciating pain of the misaligned tendons and bones.
Without an antidote, the only outcome would be the gradual collapse of the tendons and ligaments, leading to stiffness and death.
This Gu poison is extremely vicious and difficult to guard against. It has killed countless people and caused countless bloodshed in the martial arts world back then.
Until Wu Shanyu led his army to flatten the Blood Mirage, all the Gu worms were reduced to ashes.
Since then, Xi Feng has never heard of the famous Needle-Threading Gu again.
He never expected to see its traces on a court guard again today.
Qi Baitong could hardly breathe, panting like a bellows. Ignoring Xi Feng's questions, she only said, "Don't... tell A Yue," before struggling to her feet and running outside.
When he wasn't by Gu Shanyue's side, he was always as silent as a shadow. Seeing him running through the mansion now, the servants and maids were all shocked.
Finally arriving at Li Yuheng's courtyard, they saw him rushing in with a pale face, and the guards immediately drew their swords to stop him.
"Where is His Highness...?"
Qi Baitong's voice was almost squeezed out of his throat, unable to conceal the deep pain that went to his bones.
The guard said, "His Highness is out and has not returned; you are not allowed to enter without permission."
Qi Baitong said slowly, "When... will you return..."
Guard: "I don't know."
Qi Baitong turned around, leaning against the wall, and moved slowly and laboriously. He wanted to hold on until he could go back, but a sharp pain struck him, and his arm bent into an eerie arc. He couldn't straighten up.
He fell heavily to the ground, his forehead hitting the wall, and blood flowed out.
Qi Baitong seemed oblivious; the pain was completely negligible to her body in the face of the Gu poison taking effect.
He huddled up against the wall, like a stray dog that could no longer stand, trembling like a leaf.
The guards kept their eyes straight ahead, and were used to it.
In the courtyard, Gu Shanyue had just finished washing up. As she walked out of the washroom, she raised an eyebrow. Usually, Qi Baitong would be waiting outside with a fruit platter or honey water, so that she could have a bite to tide her over.
Even though breakfast was served in the main room just a few steps away, he seemed unwilling to let Gu Shanyue walk there on an empty stomach.
He was always exceptionally considerate, taking care of Gu Shanyue as if she were a child, which Gu Shanyue appreciated very much.
But where are they today?
Gu Shanyue stopped in her tracks and scanned the area; Qi Baitong was indeed not there.
When they entered the main room, there were only two plates of cold dishes on the table, with no bowls or chopsticks set out. How could Qi Baitong possibly let her get the bowls and chopsticks herself?
Something's not right.
Gu Shanyue frowned and raised his voice: "Paulownia lacquer?"
There was no answer. She searched the yard but couldn't find anyone. Could it be that Li Yuheng's men had taken them away again? But hadn't she said that she would handle any more of these kinds of things?
A surge of irritation welled up in Gu Shanyue's heart, and her gaze fell on Xi Feng, who was standing in a daze in the courtyard.
He had maintained this posture since he came out of Gu Shanyue's house, his hand supporting him against the wall, lost in thought, and had not moved an inch.
Gu Shanyue called out to him, "Xifeng, where's Qi Baitong?"
Xi Feng was startled, then came to his senses: "He..."
Although Qi Baitong forbade him to tell Gu Shanyue, Xi Feng knew better than anyone how terrifying the Needle Gu was. Thinking of how much Wu Shanyu valued Gu Shanyue in the past, even though Qi Baitong had been bringing him medicine all this time, Gu Shanyue still held a greater place in his heart.
He hesitated briefly, then Gu Shanyue swiftly walked over, grabbed his collar, and said coldly, "Speak!"
Xi Feng coughed and patted her hand: "Go find him quickly. He's been poisoned by the Needle-Piercing Gu, and he wouldn't let me tell you. He ran away by himself."
"A needle-threading gu?!"
Xi Feng knew, and Gu Shanyue certainly knew as well, that anyone who had even heard of the Blood Mirage had heard of the infamous Needle-Piercing Gu.
Wasn't this thing burned to ashes by my senior sister? How could it reappear?
Gu Shanyue's expression was solemn. He released Xi Feng and rushed out. The most urgent task now was to find Qi Baitong.
It wasn't difficult to find them. Besides their courtyard, where else could Qi Baitong go? Gu Shanyue flew directly towards Li Yuheng's courtyard.
Sure enough, the person was huddled against the wall, face buried deep in his chest. His usually slender and lean body was abnormally contorted, and his bent hands were covered in bright red blood. He looked extremely disheveled.
The moment Gu Shanyue saw his face clearly, she was filled with rage.
"White lacquer paulownia!"
Gu Shanyue called to him, ran over and squatted down in front of him, but Qi Baitong was trembling violently and did not respond to her words.
Gu Shanyue reached out and brushed aside the blood-streaked, disheveled black hair on his face, revealing a deathly pale face with crimson bloodstains crawling on it like eerie totems.
His eyes were closed, his breathing was shallow, and he had been tortured into unconsciousness.
Gu Shanyue immediately helped the person up, took them back to the courtyard, and then summoned the physician from the manor to examine them.
But as soon as the doctor entered the room and saw Qi Baitong's appearance, his expression immediately changed: "How can I possibly treat this?"
He was about to run away when Gu Shanyue Wugou stopped him, coldly saying, "Why are you running? Do you know what this is?"
The doctor was evasive, waving his hand and refusing to say more, only repeatedly saying, "It's incurable, it's incurable."
Clearly, the doctor was not completely ignorant, but he was keeping quiet about it. Gu Shanyue drew Wugou sword with a clang, the tip hovering above the doctor's eyelids.
What do you know?
The doctor was so frightened that his legs trembled, he broke out in a sweat, and his face turned ashen, and he dared not speak.
Xi Feng was also anxious: "Haven't you heard of the name of the Immaculate Sword? If you don't tell the truth, be careful that Gu Shanyue will take your life with one sword right now!"
This statement was very effective. Saying it might not necessarily lead to death, but not saying it would put one's life in danger.
The doctor's lips trembled, and sweat poured down his face: "Miss Yue... Miss Yue, we don't have the antidote for this Gu worm. It's all in the master's hands. Even if you kill me, I still can't cure it..."
He knew the truth as expected. Gu Shanyue pressed, "Master? You mean Yu'er has the antidote?"
Xi Feng couldn't wait to ask, "Where did these Gu worms come from? Who poisoned Qi Baitong?"
“Your Highness certainly has the antidote,” the doctor said, wiping sweat as he spoke of the palace secrets. “Once the secret guards enter the Imperial Guard, they will swallow the poison and rely on the antidote for the rest of their lives.”
"So that's how it is..."
Xi Feng was shaken and met Gu Shanyue's gaze, whose brows were furrowed.
It seems that the Gu worms that were stored in the Blood Mirage were not completely destroyed. The imperial court secretly kept the Gu worms for use by the Inner Guard to train secret guards.
No wonder that after that battle, the Imperial City Guard rose to prominence and became Emperor Yong's most trusted right-hand man.
The fact that those in power could trust him so much was not because of loyalty, but because of poison and witchcraft, which is both laughable and absurd.
The room fell into a deathly silence. Qi Baitong was curled up on the tatami, his body twisted unnaturally. Even in his unconscious state, he clenched his teeth and did not utter a single cry or groan.
After a long silence, Gu Shanyue finally spoke: "Is there an antidote for this poison?"
The doctor nodded, met Gu Shanyue's eyes, and immediately shook his head: "I only know that the secret guards can get the antidote to suppress the Gu worm's attack. As for whether there is an antidote to completely eradicate the Gu worm, I really don't know."
Gu Shanyue pondered for a moment, then deftly sheathed his sword and didn't make things difficult for him any further: "Prescribe some medicine to alleviate the pain."
The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly replied, "Yes, yes, yes."
While Xi Feng was still pondering, Gu Shanyue patted his shoulder and said, "Take good care of Qi Baitong." Then she turned and left.
Where are you going?
Gu Shanyue didn't even turn her head: "Take the antidote."
The guards could turn a blind eye to Qi Baitong, but not to Gu Shanyue.
First, the Crown Prince had given prior orders; second, Gu Shanyue was renowned for her power, and everyone feared that she would draw her sword and kill someone at the slightest provocation.
"Miss Yue...please be patient. The Prince of Pingliao has recently come to the capital. His Highness attended a banquet and will return later."
After the guards confessed, Gu Shanyue retracted the three-finger-drawn Wugou sword and flew out of the mansion.
Li Jing, the Prince of Pingliao, was known to Gu Shanyue. He loved his wife dearly and was as skilled as a soldier and a god. He had guarded Liaodong for many years, and she had even fought against him twelve years ago.
Li Yuheng respected Li Jing greatly, not because of blood ties or Li Jing's integrity, but because of the military power he held that could shake the border regions.
Gu Shanyue arrived at the Prince's Mansion. The sounds of silk and bamboo instruments lingered in the distance, and the garden was full of blooming flowers. The elegant ladies and noblemen were all there.
Gu Shanyue stood on the wall, showing no intention of using the main gate, and descended directly from the sky, immediately startling countless soldiers who rushed forward with swords to capture this uninvited guest.
She stood gracefully in place, dressed in white with a long sword at her waist. Her features were delicate and refined, and she didn't even glance at the swords approaching her.
Gu Shanyue frowned and looked at Li Yuheng: "Yu'er."
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