Chapter 71 Freedom Makes Up for What It Owes
Gu Shanyue sat down with a sense of relief and took a big bite of the pancake.
The medicine powder in the celadon bottle was very effective; the swarm of Gu worms lingering in the water had all disappeared. However, as soon as Qi Baitong entered the water, she soon experienced the same symptoms as the night before: trembling, bleeding, poisoning, stiffening, and loss of consciousness... without exception.
His body surface had another layer of dark red skin that stretched and breathed, and when he fell into the water, there was still a large number of Gu worms.
Seeing this, Gu Shanyue couldn't help but feel anxious. He had gone to so many places yesterday, yet there were still so many Gu worms in his body. Just how many of these things were left?
After Qi Baitong regained some mobility, she climbed ashore, took medicine to restore her strength, killed all the Gu worms in the water, and then climbed back in...
This process was repeated until the tenth time, when the Gu worms in the water finally began to sparse. Even when they gathered together, they were not noticeable and would appear and disappear in the water.
The number of Gu worms had decreased, but Qi Baitong's reaction was more intense than before. His veins bulged, his skin cracked, and his whole body convulsed. No matter how Gu Shanyue called him, he did not respond. It was as if he was sinking into a nightmare from which he could not wake up. The duration was also longer than the previous attacks, lasting almost the entire afternoon.
Gu Shanyue kept calling him until dusk, when he finally responded. He raised his head, his eyelids drooping, half-covering his dark, lifeless eyes, his face as white as jade.
Between her bright red, thin lips, a damp headband was tightly held.
Gu Shanyue recognized it; it was the hairband she used to wear.
Aside from the Immaculate Sword, she never cared about material possessions, leaving everything to Qi Baitong. It seems quite normal that he has her hair ribbon in his possession.
Qi Baitong's thin lips parted slightly, her scarlet tongue flicked at the hairband, her white teeth biting down, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Gu Shanyue shouted in a hoarse voice, "Do you have the strength? Climb up!"
Qi Baitong bit her hairband, her lips slightly twitched, and obediently climbed ashore.
From that point on, the number of Gu worms in the water decreased, but his physical pain symptoms did not lessen at all, and even became more severe.
Qi Baitong remained silent, never revealing how much pain he was in. Gu Shanyue couldn't get close to him, even though she wanted to touch him, because she couldn't let everyone's efforts go to waste.
After the last white pill was consumed, Hu Fei and Bai Zhen went up the mountain together to drive Gu Shanyue even further away, in order to completely remove the Gu worms from Qi Baitong's body.
A gentle breeze rustled the flowers, but Gu Shanyue had no heart to appreciate it. She kept turning back, but all she could see were rocks and flowers; she couldn't see anything else. Yet she kept looking back, though it was unclear what she was looking at.
Mao Hong'er squatted down next to her and used a small wooden stick to dig at the dirt on the ground. "Don't worry, with the Valley Master's help, Young Master Qi will definitely be cured."
Gu Shanyue nodded and said, "You're right."
That's what she thought too, but she just couldn't wait patiently; she was constantly worried.
It's as if there's a thread connecting them, invisible most of the time, but if something happens, that thread will tighten and grip her heart, making it impossible for her not to care.
Now that line is tauter than a guitar string; the slightest sound makes her so agitated that she can't sit still.
Seeing Gu Shanyue fidgeting, Mao Hong'er asked curiously, "You must really like him, right?"
After thinking it over, Gu Shanyue gave his answer: "It should be so."
She liked the lacquer-white tung tree in a way that was different from how she liked anyone else.
He is the most unique and irreplaceable person.
Gu Shanyue waited for a long time, or perhaps not so long, because the sun had not yet set.
But when Qi Baitong was carried down by her disciples, the joy she felt was so long-awaited, as if she had been waiting for him for ten years, leaving Gu Shanyue at a loss for words.
Hu Feiwei is indeed the most skilled doctor in the world; he has truly cured the needle-threading Gu that has been deeply rooted for decades.
The pond on the mountain where the medicinal herbs were applied was completely emptied and burned for three days. Dozens of empty celadon bottles were also used to kill the insects in the surrounding land. Even though the Gu worms cannot survive outside the body and water, any potential dangers must be strictly eliminated.
When Qi Baitong woke up again, his eyelids were burning from the heat. The first things he heard were the buzzing of bees and the chirping of birds. The fragrance of flowers lingered in his nostrils, and among the rich aroma, he keenly caught a faint scent of hibiscus.
“Ah Yue…”
He slowly opened his eyes.
The sky was indigo, flowers floated, butterflies fluttered, and the face that haunted his dreams peeked over, smiling with joy and surprise.
"Qi Baitong, you're awake!"
It was like a beautiful dream.
Qi Baitong lay on the grass, her eyes lingering longingly on the moonlit surface of Gushan Mountain, unable to get enough of looking at it.
“Ah Yue”.
Gu Shanyue threw herself into his arms, the flowers trembled and swayed, petals scattered everywhere, dazzling sunlight poured down from behind her, her hair, shimmering with light, fell on his face, cool and carrying her fragrance.
He appeared overly calm on the mountain, but in reality, he was terrified.
He was terrified he would die there, terrified he would never see the person in front of him again; he had become a coward.
This life, which was as insignificant as a blade of grass, became as heavy as a thousand pounds, priceless, because of her gaze.
"You're finally awake. The Valley Master said you would wake up today, so I specially moved you out to bask in the sun. How are you feeling?"
Gu Shanyue nestled in his arms, propping her head up like a kitten, her bright eyes looking at him.
Qi Baitong's heart melted. He suppressed a cough and nodded gently: "It feels great, nothing could be better."
His voice was hoarse. Gu Shanyue groped around on the ground for a while, found a water bag, uncorked it, and brought it to his lips: "Drink water."
Just like the meticulous care he had once given her.
Qi Baitong drank half a bag of water; her dry lips had a faint pinkish-white tinge, and she looked somewhat weak.
He lay among the flowers with a smile, gazing intently at Gu Shanyue.
Gu Shanyue waved the water bag aside, leaned down, and kissed his lips.
"Qi Baitong, the Needle-Threading Gu has been removed, you are completely free."
Qi Baitong knew, but hearing Gu Shanyue say it herself, and looking into her pure, mountain-stream-like eyes, for some reason, a pang of sadness spread through her heart.
His eyes reddened slightly: "Yes, I'm completely free."
From then on, the Imperial Guard was a thing of the past, and Shengjing could no longer confine him. He could live his life freely and stay by her side forever.
“But,” Gu Shanyue rested her chin on his chest and swayed back and forth, “it’s not that free either, because you’re mine.”
She spoke frankly and openly, never afraid of being refuted by Qi Baitong. With him, she felt a great sense of satisfaction and trust.
The white tung tree's eyes were smiling, more tender and affectionate than the spring breeze brushing the treetops.
"It's yours, all of the Qi Baitong trees are yours."
He wrapped his arms around Gu Shanyue's waist, gently rolled her down, and pressed her into the flower bushes. Cool petals fell one after another, landing on her hair and her face.
Qi Baitong bent down, her thin lips slightly parted, and picked up the petals one by one.
Warm breath brushed haphazardly against her face, and Gu Shanyue giggled, shrinking her neck: "You're tickling me so much."
Qi Baitong smiled and gently kissed her ear: "I'm cleaning up the petals for A-Yue, do you really have to hide from me like this?"
His voice was right next to his ear, and the airflow was like a mischievous little bird flying around. Gu Shanyue laughed and hugged his neck, not to be outdone, and blew air into his ear.
Qi Baitong's neck turned red instantly, and her breathing became erratic.
Gu Shanyue, smug, mimicked his tone: "Just like that, you're going to hide?"
Qi Baitong chuckled softly, his chest trembling: "I didn't dodge. Even if A Yue took a bite, I wouldn't dodge."
He would gladly accept anything she gave him, whether it was rain or thunder.
“Oh, right, I found something in your bag,” Gu Shanyue said with a mischievous smile, taking out a small booklet from her pocket and waving it in front of him. “I didn’t know you were hiding something like this.”
Qi Baitong immediately recognized that this was a booklet that Nanxing had given him in Shengjing, and it was full of bedroom arts.
He reached out to take it, but Gu Shanyue nimbly dodged, and Qi Baitong missed.
Gu Shanyue watched his reaction with great interest, while Qi Baitong withdrew his hand and pretended to be at a loss, saying, "Don't look."
"If you can see it, why can't I?"
Gu Shanyue snorted. The more Qi Baitong said that, the more she wanted to see it in front of him.
She casually flipped open the booklet and pointed, "Wow, it's drawn quite realistically."
Upon hearing Gu Shanyue's words, Qi Baitong realized that the painting was indeed realistic, especially the man's...
Qi Baitong's expression changed slightly, and she reached out to snatch it: "You'd better not look!"
Gu Shanyue pushed his neck with her hand to prevent him from getting closer, while giving him a threatening look: "I want to see!"
Qi Baitong gave in to her wide-eyed stare, sighed helplessly, and lay down with her in the flower bushes, watching her turn the pages one by one, while rubbing her temples.
"You can even do that?" Gu Shanyue clicked her tongue, pointing at the painting and commenting, "The man's legs can be crossed that high, he's quite strong..."
Qi Baitong tried to hold back, but couldn't resist any longer. She whispered in his ear, "I can do that too. I often pick you up in my arms. Don't you remember?"
He looked like a dog that eagerly came over and nudged its owner's hand with its nose when it saw the owner petting another puppy's head.
Gu Shanyue found it amusing, but on the surface she still teased him: "That's different. You're just holding me, but this man doesn't just hold me, he also has to sway his waist."
She spoke with such seriousness and candor that it was not as if she were discussing such a private matter with someone else.
Qi Baitong's ears turned red, and he pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her neck, his voice lowering.
“Ah Yue, I can do it too.”
“Who knows,” Gu Shanyue glanced at him and casually pinched his lean waist. “You used to make all sorts of excuses, and now you’ve just recovered from a serious illness. Even if you can’t, you’ll have an excuse to fob me off…”
Qi Baitong grabbed her wandering hand and pressed it against his chest. His heart pounded powerfully, faster and faster.
"Don't say things like that, I'm afraid it will scare you."
Gu Shanyue scoffed and bit his cheek: "The person in this world who scares me hasn't been born yet. You think you can scare me? You must be dreaming."
"Even if it's just a dream, I want to dream it," Qi Baitong held the back of her head, preventing her from backing down, and gently sucked on her lips. "My wounds haven't fully healed yet, are you afraid of getting your blood on me..."
Gu Shanyue thought for a moment and said vaguely, "Then forget it."
After saying that, Qi Baitong kissed him even harder, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Forget it?"
Gu Shanyue hissed softly, placing her hand on his chest, slightly out of breath: "Otherwise what?"
"No, let's wait two more days and then settle things properly, making up for everything we owed along the way," Qi Baitong gently rubbed her soft lips, soothingly kissing them, "Okay, Yue?"
Gu Shanyue smiled brightly: "Alright, let me see what you're capable of."
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