Chapter 283 Butterfly's background: Is she the old Duke's biological daughter?
Zaina couldn't help but glance at Li Qingluo a few more times.
Her keenness and perspective are indeed unlike those of ordinary women.
Zaina simply replied, "If my elder sister weren't the sect leader, I certainly wouldn't be alive today. I would have been purged and killed long ago."
"Alright, let's get to the point."
"This poison is called 'Thread-Pulling Poison' not only because it is made from thousands of poisonous insects, but it also has another common characteristic: all those who are poisoned will have a long blue line on their arm."
"The most vicious aspect of this poison is that young people do not live past the age of thirty."
"Even a person in their prime, counting from the date of poisoning, has a maximum lifespan of only seven years."
"Moreover, this poison only applies to all men in the world, and anyone who is poisoned will never be able to have children in this lifetime."
After Zaina finished speaking, the room fell silent.
After a moment, Zhuiyu asked softly, "If... a man who has just turned twenty-nine... does that really mean he only has one year left to live?"
Pei Sanlang: "Back then, there was a seventh uncle who stayed at our mansion... but he only lived for half a year. He had just turned thirty when he suddenly died at home, and the cause of his death could not be found."
"Furthermore, in recent years... no more children have been born in the household."
So vicious!?
It not only affects lifespan, but also goes to extremes in its impact on offspring.
Does this mean the Pei family line will end?
Li Qingluo couldn't help but look at Pei Sanlang.
Zhuiyu went over, grabbed his arm, and rolled up his sleeve to check.
There was indeed a long, bluish line on his left arm that stretched out to an unseen place.
Madam Pei could not accept this outcome: "Does this mean there is no antidote for this poison? Is the Pei family destined to accept this unfair fate and allow others to plot against them?"
Li Qingluo: "There must be. Otherwise, they wouldn't have obediently listened to Sister Zaina, right?"
Zaina looked at Li Qingluo again.
"You are very smart."
Li Qingluo: "It's not that I'm clever, but there are just too many flaws in what you've said."
"The poison that is supposed to be drawn by the silk thread is probably real."
"But you avoid talking about your sister's purpose in doing this, and how you dealt with this matter."
"Furthermore, my maternal great-uncle has been clinging to life until now, and he will surely find a way to save the Pei family from extinction."
"It's up to you whether you say it or not."
The old Duke's somewhat cloudy eyes finally settled on Li Qingluo.
He asked, "Are you Xiuzhen's granddaughter?"
After receiving permission from Madam Pei, Li Qingluo stepped forward to greet her: "Luo'er greets her maternal great-uncle."
The old duke nodded repeatedly at her: "She's a good girl, and quite pretty too. Is she betrothed yet?"
Before Madam Pei could say anything, Prince Su, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.
"How many more young women does your Pei family intend to ruin now?"
This statement has a double meaning, making one wonder what it means.
Both Madam Pei and the old Duke looked at Prince Su.
The old Duke paused for a moment, looked at Li Qingluo, then at Pei Sanlang, and then shook his head sadly and regretfully.
Alas... it's just that Sanlang wasn't destined for that.
Madam Pei pretended not to understand and quickly pressed Duke Pei for clarification: "Brother, now that things have come to this, are you still not going to explain yourself clearly?"
"The Pei family is now burdened with countless sins; only by turning back in time can they atone for their crimes!"
"Perhaps His Highness Prince Su is still willing to consider the merits and hardships of the Pei family in the past, and your unavoidable difficulties. Perhaps there is still room for maneuver, and the Pei family can be given a chance to live!"
"Brother!!"
The old Duke remained silent.
Zaina glanced at him, and seeing that he was unwilling to say anything more, she naturally went along with it.
The two seemed to intend to bury the remaining secrets with them, so that they would never be known to the world again.
Li Qingluo suddenly asked, "Besides my maternal great-uncle, is there another person in Jinling City suffering from mad blood disease?"
"I wonder if the death of the Blood Gu Worm will have any impact on her?"
Zaina looked up at the sound: "What did you say? This... how is this possible!?"
Li Qingluo: "Don't you know that there is such a person locked in the Pei family's dungeon? Moreover, she is a terrifying woman with no hair, covered in sores, and missing teeth."
Zaina rushed over excitedly and grabbed Li Qingluo: "Where is she? How is she now? Is she still alive?! Is she—"
Before Li Qingluo could say anything, Madam Pei stepped forward, grabbed Zaina's arm, and swiftly ripped it off!
"How dare you! What do you think you're doing?"
Zaina fell to the ground with a thud.
She looked up at Pei Sanlang with tears in her eyes.
"Sanlang! Is what she said true!?"
"Didn't you say Guli was dead? Now, is the madwoman she's talking about Guli?"
"You're lying to me?"
Pei Sanlang: "The person who came up with this idea was your own sister. I was just following orders."
"Didn't you say that I should listen to her in everything and not have to report to you about everything?"
Pei Sanlang's voice was filled with cold hatred, as if at this moment, his lifeless heart had finally found a sliver of relief.
When Li Qinglu heard the name 'Guli', she already had some guesses in her mind.
"So, her real name was Guli? Who exactly is she?"
Zaina, her face pale, said with a mixture of agitation and sorrow, "She is my daughter with Pei Lang..."
"I am a priestess, and because I tasted all kinds of poisonous herbs and drugs in my youth, I am no longer suitable to have children."
“When I was with Pei Lang, I never thought about having my own child.”
"But...but after Pei Lang was poisoned by the Gu, I had the chance to become a mother..."
"At that time, I thought this might be an opportunity. If I used this child's blood to make medicine after she was born, would it be possible to completely cure Pei Lang's Gu poison without harming him?"
"I had no expectations of her to begin with, so I never imagined that during the ten months of my pregnancy, I would gradually develop feelings for her..."
"After giving birth to Guli, she was normal at first. But as she grew up, she would burst into tears whenever she saw Pei Lang, or become uncontrollably anxious and excited. Later, it wasn't just Pei Lang; whenever any man appeared, her emotions would completely spiral out of control."
"Once she even bit Pei Lang's finger and started sucking on the bleeding spot."
"It was then that Pei Lang and I realized that Guli was probably affected by the Gu poison, and that she was born with a blood madness disorder."
"But the difference is that Guli doesn't have an attack all the time; she just can't see men."
"In order to prevent her from hurting anyone, to prevent her from being discovered by the world, and to prevent Pei Lang from harming Guli when he has an attack, I settled her in... that dungeon."
"She was locked up in a place where she never saw the light of day since she was one year old...it's truly pitiful!"
“At first I visited her every day, then I only visited her once a month… and later, I couldn’t bear to see her crying and begging me to take her away so she could see the world… so I visited her even less.”
"She's a pitiful child. It's truly my fault, Pei Lang and I, who have failed her... Waaah..."
Zaina covered her face and burst into tears.
Madam Pei looked at Li Qingluo in surprise.
She clearly already knew who this Guli was.
Li Qingluo nodded to her grandmother.
Indeed, the truth was as he had imagined: Butterfly was Guli, the daughter of the old Duke and Zaina, and his grandmother's niece.
Zaina, unaware of the exchange of expressions between the two women, continued crying, "Five years ago, when my sister found me, she told me she had visited Guli in the dungeon."
"Because at that time I was already influenced by Pei Lang, and often had difficulty moving around. So when my sister said... that Guli had been driven mad by being locked up, and had died from a serious illness, I was powerless to do anything, and couldn't even go to see her in person!"
"I asked Saburo, and he didn't deny it, so I believed it!"
"So, Guli didn't die. She really didn't die?"
"But... but how could she have become the person Luo'er described—with missing teeth, bald, terrifying appearance, and covered in scars!?"
"Sanlang, what on earth is going on?!"
Zaina seemed unable to bear it any longer, and stumbled to her feet, wanting to rush towards Pei Sanlang to ask for clarification.
Seeing this, the old duke called out to her, "Zayna! Come back—"
Zaina then stopped in her tracks.
She turned back and looked at the old Duke with a mournful expression: "Pei Lang, you still want to protect San Lang, don't you? That's your own bloodline, your daughter!!"
"Shouldn't I find out the truth?"
The old Duke coughed heavily a few times: "I know, don't worry... come back!"
Zaina stood still.
She just stood there, tears streaming down her face.
For the past few years, she has been almost entirely bedridden and unable to move.
Her mind, however, remained perfectly clear at all times.
When she thought about her entire life, the person she thought about most was Gul.
That was her only flesh and blood in this world...
What did she do to her?
Even throughout her growing years, he never properly hugged her or showed her any love.
Because she was born with that strange disease, she has always disliked her own daughter!
But that illness was ultimately caused by her and Pei Lang, which is why she was born to suffer like this!
They, the priestesses, shouldn't have hearts.
If you have a preconceived notion, you will gradually erode the conscience that you've worked so hard to cultivate...
Only when a person is completely wicked will they not develop feelings that would harm them.
Zaina shook her head: "Pei Lang, if Guli hadn't died, I wouldn't be able to listen to you."
Duke Pei was enraged: "What do you want to do?!"
Zaina, however, asked Pei Sanlang first, "I'll ask you one more time, are you going to tell me or not!? What did you do to Guli!?"
She lifted her foot and walked outside.
Upon seeing this, the old Duke immediately shouted, "Zayna—!"
"Sanlang, aren't you going to tell her the truth?!"
"Saburo!"
In a fit of anger, the old Duke coughed violently again, and even turned his head to spit out a mouthful of black blood.
He was so anxious and agitated...
Zaina, however, seemed not to hear him at all, her gaze cold as she walked toward Pei Sanlang.
The old Duke behind him was then treated amidst a chaotic flurry of activity by Physician Luo and Doctor Du.
Seeing the murderous intent in her eyes, Pei Sanlang laughed heartily.
"You should hate me, not me."
"It was your sister who said that your daughter has a congenital poisonous constitution, is the best medicinal material in the world, and is also the best mother Gu in the world."
"So, she personally used your daughter's teeth, hair, and even flesh and blood to concoct many strange pills and even poisons."
She also said that your daughter is a freak, so you don't need to treat her like a human being. Just lock her up in those piles of dead bodies, give her one meal every few days, and let her live or die as she pleases.
Zaina went crazy when she heard this.
She went completely mad and started hitting Pei Sanlang.
"She's my own sister! Why would she do this to me? Why—"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
