A simple two-wheeled carriage with a canopy, four horses, and eight people set off lightly.
Zheng Quchi had already arranged with Wei Yao and the others to meet at Shuilu Town, about five miles from Shengjing, and then they would enter the capital together once everyone was there.
Since Yuan Xingzhou's injuries had not yet fully healed, Zheng Quchi did not dare to travel too recklessly. After all, the carriage rented from Fuxian was like a rocking horse when it ran. In order to make his buttocks feel more comfortable, he basically traveled at a steady speed.
Sometimes when she got tired of sitting inside, she would run out and ride the same horse with Lan Yue. Although the carriage was moving slowly, the air and environment outside were much better than in the enclosed space.
If you happen to come across a village on the way, you can stay in a guesthouse for the night. If you pass through a town, it will be more comfortable to stay in a hostel. But more often than not, there is no place to stay, and there are no shops or villages in sight. Temples, Taoist temples or caves are good choices.
However, there are times when there is no shelter at all, and you can only camp on the spot. Fortunately, Wei Yao is very helpful and usually packs her luggage properly, including items such as bedding, pillows, tinder, and toiletries.
That night, they had to sleep outdoors. Zheng Quchi returned to the carriage and planned to move his bedding out to sleep on the ground, but Yuan Xingzhou stopped him.
He has noticed some problems these days.
"You didn't tell that person about my situation?"
During the day, he always acted profound and serious, but now that there were only the two of them in the carriage, Yuan Xingzhou's expression was somewhat different.
Zheng Quchi glanced at him a few times and said, "Well, for now, it's better to avoid trouble. We can talk about it when we get to Shengjing."
Yuan Xingzhou turned his head, relaxed his body and leaned against the carriage. He glanced outside and asked, "Are they your older brother and younger sister?"
He emphasized the word "dear," which sounded a bit strange to Zheng Quchi.
"Yes, doesn't it look like it?"
She felt that her face shape and mouth were quite similar to Sang Yaomei's, and her eyes were similar to Sang Dage's. All three siblings were high-quality candidates with excellent appearances, but they were unlucky. One of them suffered hardships from childhood, resulting in a weak physique and a limp in one leg, while the other was mentally challenged.
Yuan Xingzhou didn't answer her question. After confirming that they were biological siblings, he asked, "Why did you bring them with you to Shengjing?"
At this time, Shengjing is in a very turbulent period, with all sorts of strange and monstrous things appearing. He didn't believe she was unaware of this.
Seeing that he seemed to want to have a long talk, and since it was still early and she couldn't fall asleep, Zheng Quchi simply sat down and chatted with him: "I need to treat my brother and sister."
The matter of her younger sister being poisoned was not something she could tell outsiders. With her clear eyes slightly lowered, her round little face was quite capable of concealing the truth.
Yuan Xingzhou noticed her older brother's leg problem at a glance; it was just a chronic ailment. But what her mentally challenged younger sister needed to see was not her brain.
“But she’s not sick,” he suddenly said.
Not sick?
Zheng Quchi raised his eyes, feigning confusion: "Who are you saying isn't sick?"
His eyes shone like cold, sharp stars, and he cut to the chase with a single sentence: "Your little sister."
"...Do you know something?" The naive and simple-minded look on her face vanished instantly.
Seeing her like this, Yuan Xingzhou pursed his thin lips. He beckoned to her with his finger, and as she frowned and leaned closer, he whispered in her ear as if exchanging a secret: "Zheng Quchi, she has been poisoned by a curse. Once the person who cast the curse decides to kill her, she will have no chance of survival."
Thump!
Zheng Quchi's heart sank into a bottomless, icy lake in an instant.
Although startled by his words, Zheng Quchi remained calm and said, "Gu? You think I'd believe you just because you say it casually?"
"Was your little sister not mentally challenged when she was little? Or did she suddenly become increasingly mentally challenged one day, but lately, she seems to have become more intelligent?"
She didn't know what happened before, but she did have a feeling about what happened afterward lately.
"She had an illness when she was little, and it caused her to become mentally impaired due to the fever..."
Yuan Xingzhou interrupted her hesitant words and said, "You don't believe me, but you must also suspect that she wasn't simply burned stupidly, otherwise you wouldn't be so insistent on taking her to Shengjing at this time. The more normal she is, the worse her condition is. When she fully recovers, her life will be over."
Zheng Quchi grabbed his collar and pulled him closer: "Yuan Xingzhou, you better not lie to me."
Yuan Xingzhou looked at her. She was actually not very old, but she had learned early on to be a protective umbrella for her family, wanting to shield them from the wind and rain, and to bear all the hurt and suffering for them.
"I'm not lying to you," he replied.
Zheng Quchi gritted her teeth, released him, and after a long while, she exhaled a breath of stale air, straightened her body, and looked directly into Yuan Xingzhou's eyes.
"I apologize, I was too excited just now. Since Your Highness has figured it out, is there a cure for this Gu?"
Anxiety flickered in her eyes. She had always thought her younger sister was just suffering from a slow poisoning, but if it was this kind of bizarre, insidious, and incomprehensible Gu... most people probably had never even heard of it. What could she do to save her younger sister?
Yuan Xingzhou said expressionlessly, "This prince cannot cure it."
The word "no" dashed all the hopes and expectations in Zheng Quchi's eyes.
"If you can't treat it, then how did you figure it out?"
“I have my own way of identifying it, but just because I can tell doesn’t mean I can cure it. It’s like how a good eater isn’t necessarily a chef.”
There was nothing wrong with what he said.
If this curse was cast by someone from the Mohist school, then only someone from the Mohist school would know how to decipher it?
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