"You're hallucinating from the long journey." Jiang Songyi gazed at the ripples on the pond, the handkerchief in her sleeve soaked with sweat. Ordinary Gu insects couldn't possibly be this intelligent, unless... She suddenly remembered the "Tongxin Gu" from the Miao borderland's secret lore.
This Gu requires heart blood to feed, and those who are infected will develop a deep affection for the person who cast the Gu. Even more terrifying is that the Gu eggs can remain dormant for ten years, and once hatched, the host will become a puppet.
A cool breeze swept across the water. She looked at Bai Linxi's innocent profile, a bitter taste rising in her throat. Such a sinister creature was definitely not targeting Linxi. Perhaps its true target... was the Second Prince, the heir apparent.
"Songyi?" Bai Linxi waved his hand in front of her eyes, "What are you daydreaming about?"
"I was thinking..." Jiang Songyi crushed the ginkgo leaves in her palm, letting the crumbs drift away in the wind. "The grapes in Weiyang Garden should be ripe now. I'll treat you to some iced sweet soup tomorrow."
She smiled and took Bai Linxi's arm. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Xue Xin standing under the willow tree on the opposite bank. The moment their eyes met, Xue Xin suddenly raised the corners of his lips, and the silver bells on his fingertips rang out in the wind, making a bewitching sound.
Copper bells tinkled softly beneath the eaves. Bai Linxi tugged at the tassels of her stone-blue skirt. Suddenly, she saw a few osmanthus petals drifting from a branch, landing squarely on Jiang Songyi's dark-black hair. She reached out to brush them away, her fingertips tinged with sweet fragrance. "Actually, Jiang Yuyao is used to playing the pitiful role. Last year, during the Flower Festival, she insisted I pushed her into the water."
Jiang Songyi leaned against the vermilion lacquer column, the silver bell on her wrist tinkling as she chuckled. "You see clearly."
"Of course!" Bai Linxi suddenly clenched her handkerchief. "That year, he paraded in triumph, wearing silver armor and a red-tasseled spear, with the head of a Hu general hanging from his saddle." The setting sun reflected in her eyes. "Blood dripped from the tip of the spear onto the blue bricks of Zhuque Street, more dazzling than the fireworks at the Lantern Festival."
Jiang Songyi suddenly leaned close to her ear and said, "If I tell you, I can let you see his face under the mask tonight."
"No!" Bai Linxi was so anxious that she covered her mouth, and the hairpin in her hair hooked the other's pomegranate red hairband, "Brother Yihuan said that he would marry whoever takes off his mask." The voice stopped abruptly, and her cheeks turned red like the sunset in the sky.
Jiang Songyi raised an eyebrow and pulled out the whip from her waist. The golden bell on the whip happened to brush against the sachet on Bai Linxi's waist. "Is that the reason?" She suddenly turned and pointed at the white rabbits in the yard. "What if I use these rabbits to threaten you?"
Before he finished speaking, Bai Linxi had already pounced on the bamboo fence. Her hands fluttered like butterflies, and in a flash, she turned around, holding the two rabbit ears. A cold light flashed from her sleeve, and the ruby-encrusted dagger was pressed against the rabbit's neck. "How about roasted rabbit legs for lunch?"
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