Interpretation by the Bureau (Part 3)
"Really?" Chen Zhuangmu stood up excitedly and asked.
Zhao Yi stood still, looked at her and smiled for a while, then said, "Of course, why would I lie to you?" He pulled Chen Zhuangmu back to sit at the table and said, "There is a way to remove the Gu worms. I found it in the library."
Chen Zhuangmu's heart was pounding, and she couldn't make a sound. The words "there's a way" kept repeating in her head. To calm herself down, she drank a full cup of tea.
Their eyes met unconsciously, fixed on each other, their joy almost overflowing.
I came here despite the hardships, determined not to have any regrets. On the way, I never dared to believe that there would actually be a solution, fearing that I would ultimately be disappointed. But now, my dream has come true.
Zhao Yi suddenly couldn't help but pull her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her arms and back. His tone was filled with lingering fear as he kept saying, "Thank goodness, thank goodness."
Chen Zhuangmu put her arm around his shoulder. This was the first time she had seen him smile genuinely in three days. She knew that Zhao Yi was not only worried about how to get rid of her Gu poison these past two days, but also concerned about the fact that he himself had burned down the library.
The two of them truly have an inextricable connection with the Miao region.
"Knock knock." The door was knocked twice, and as the door opened, Miao Xin emerged from outside.
He was carrying a food box, which was actually just a bowl suspended by several ropes so he could carry it. The bowl was filled with something black and yellow.
As she approached, she immediately smelled a pungent stench.
"Drink this." Miao Xin placed the bowl on the table.
“…Okay.” She thought flies would probably like the taste.
"There's no more candy." Zhao Yi's voice came from the side, sounding somewhat regretful. "We've already given it all out."
Miao Xin looked at him, then at Chen Zhuangmu, and unconsciously frowned in confusion. She asked Zhao Yi, "Didn't you say that the more sugary medicine you take, the more bitter it becomes?"
Chen Zhuangmu immediately realized what was going on; Zhao Yi must have lied to her about Miao Xin's previous illness. She couldn't help but laugh, but that laugh seemed to make the atmosphere between the two of them a little awkward.
Since Miao Xin was already so old, Zhao Yi couldn't keep making things up and said directly, "I was lying to you before, your teeth are bad."
Miao Xin seemed reluctant to speak, as if she felt sorry for her past self. Then, remembering something, she added, "Drink it now. The detoxification process will begin in an hour. After you drink it, the Gu worms will not adapt to the environment inside your body. When you enter the detoxification room, we will need to make a cut on your wrist to let the Gu worms dissolve."
Chen Zhuangmu nodded, feeling somewhat at ease knowing the details. Looking at the bowl of foul-smelling medicine, it didn't seem so unpleasant anymore. So, under the incredulous gazes of the two, she picked up the bowl and took a sip. She immediately felt a bitter, spicy sensation from her tongue to her throat. From that one sip, she knew she absolutely couldn't force-feed this stuff; she would vomit.
So she took a few big gulps, and the bitter, spicy, and foul taste in her mouth finally subsided, so she took a few more gulps. After repeating this process, the bowl of foul-smelling medicine was finally empty.
Standing to the side, Miao Jie praised without reservation, "A hero, a hero!" After saying that, he picked up his bowl and went out.
"Is it bitter?" Zhao Yi brought her some water, but Chen Zhuangmu refused it.
“No, I can’t drink any more.” She rubbed her neck and said, “My breath stinks right now.”
Zhao Yi chuckled inexplicably, "How smelly?"
She said casually, "Even if you kissed me, you might not be able to bring yourself to do it..." Her voice gradually lowered as she realized what she had said.
She tried hard to remain calm, even reaching for the bowl of water. But before she could touch the rim, a hand grabbed her wrist. Without looking up, Zhao Yi leaned close behind her and whispered in her ear, "What are you thinking?"
His warm breath brushed against her ear and neck, and Chen Zhuangmu's face flushed instantly. She slowly turned around and saw Zhao Yi's bright eyes and a malicious smile, which suddenly reminded her of the first time they met.
She didn't speak, but she felt Zhao Yi move forward a little. Her right cheek was supported by a hand, and then she saw a magnified handsome face, followed by the warmth of his lips.
It was supposed to be a light kiss, but Chen Zhuangmu suddenly felt something slide into her mouth, and then it was pulled out shortly afterward.
She was still stunned, but when she came to her senses, her eyes widened in astonishment, and she exclaimed, "You...you..."
This time, Zhao Yi didn't dare laugh at her. He just said with a bitter expression, "It is indeed quite spicy." He then stood up straight, picked her up, and said, "Come on, let's go see if we're ready."
The Miao village was newly built and there wasn't much usable space, so they easily found the "anti-poisoning room." The name sounded nice, but it was actually just a temporary structure.
It was even simpler than a regular house, with stones laid on the ground and something to start a fire nearby.
After taking a look, Chen Zhuangmu basically understood the principle and was no longer as nervous as before. The people around her were busy boiling water and sealing the antidote chamber, which looked simple but required the efforts of many people.
It was nearly noon when everything was ready, but for better therapeutic effects, it was necessary to begin immediately after setup. The Miao people were two-way; one group would eat, then the other would join.
Before entering the antidote chamber, Chen Zhuangmu grabbed Zhao Yi and said, "Don't come in, wait for me." Zhao Yi nodded in agreement, and after she went in, he asked Miao Jie, "Can't I really go in?"
Miao Xin looked bewildered and said, "Didn't you already promise my sister? You'll die if you go in." To prevent this person from acting rashly, she explained, "The environment inside my sister's body is not suitable for Gu worms to live in, but the environment in the Gu chamber is. So the Gu worms can be lured out."
After staying inside for a while, Miao Xin felt it was about time and said to Zhao Yi, "I'm going to administer the acupuncture now, don't wander off." With that, he plunged into the antidote room.
Chen Zhuangmu, dressed in a thin shirt, was not comfortable in the room. It was both cold and hot, and even the gaps in the air were filled with a pungent smell, which felt like sharp blades scraping her face.
"It won't hurt you, it's just that you're not feeling well." Miao Xin's voice wasn't loud, but she could hear him clearly. He held her arm and said, "Relax."
This is to make it easier to puncture the hole and lure out the worms.
“I told you before that the chances of success are unpredictable. If you fail, you might die immediately or become a Gu person. Why do you still want to continue?” Miao Xin asked, busy with her work.
Chen Zhuangmu smiled. "As long as I can hold out for three to five days after I return to Huijing, that's fine. Besides, even if I don't take the gamble, I don't have much time left to live. You didn't tell your brother about this, did you?"
"No." Miao Jie finished administering the acupuncture and left with his medical kit.
The door to the antidote room creaked shut. The stones underneath, heated by the surrounding heat, emitted scorching steam that was both spicy and pungent. Chen Zhuangmu felt cold inside her body but hot outside, and found it hard to bear.
She lifted her eyelids to look at the blood on her pulse, which seemed about to flow but wasn't.
No matter what, she had to hold on until she was alive and thoroughly investigate her mother's case from three years ago.
The weather in Miao territory was cool and comfortable everywhere. Miao Xin stretched, dragged a stool to Zhao Yi's side, and said, "Sit down and wait."
Zhao Yi shook his head and said, "Don't relax, sit down." He lowered his head and paused, his voice almost inaudible as he spoke, but Miao Xin could see from his lips that he was saying, "I'm scared."
These words caused him to suddenly take several meters back, looking Zhao Yi up and down as if he didn't recognize him at all.
This man, who slaughtered his entire village when he was a teenager and was known for his unruly behavior even in Huijing, was now so nervous about someone.
Miao Xin found it difficult to connect Zhao Yi's past appearance with his present appearance.
Things have changed after all.
The heat from the Gu chamber had spread to their surroundings, making their skin feel as if it were burning. He had just blown on it when Zhao Yi asked, "It's so hot, is this alright?"
Miao Jie, no longer displaying his usual carefree attitude, said, "She has a Gu poison, unlike us."
Zhao Yifang was finally relieved. Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw a little boy running towards him trip and fall. Seeing that Miao Xin was about to help him up, the little boy got up faster and shouted, "Clan leader! Clan leader! The Gu House is about to erupt!"
Before Zhao Yi could even process what was happening, Miao Xin had already disappeared faster than a rabbit. He dared not leave, and unable to communicate with those around him, he could only wait there.
A moment later, Miao Xin ran back, her face and neck glistening with sweat, and said urgently, "Come with me somewhere."
Before Zhao Yi could agree, she grabbed his arm.
"What should we do here?" Zhao Yi was unwilling to leave.
“Nothing will happen. Everyone around here knows about Gu, and she’s been conscious all along. She can come down on her own!” Miao Xin’s tone was extremely urgent, and Zhao Yi suddenly had a bad feeling.
The two ran wildly along the path. Although they hadn't been to this area during their trip to Miao territory, Zhao Yi felt that the small house in front of him was very familiar.
The small house still had no door, and inside there was a large vat bigger than a person.
The jar was jet black, as if ink were about to drip from it, and something heavy was placed on top of it.
"How is it?" Miao Xin hurriedly asked the lady next to him. She looked to be in her forties or fifties, with all her hair braided. Her eyebrows were lowered, and she looked very serious.
Miao Xin asked a question in the Central Plains dialect, and the woman replied in the same dialect: "It's about to break down, clan leader. If the Gu worms inside erupt, nothing will grow within a hundred miles!"
Her voice was filled with sorrow, yet she added fiercely, "That despicable village massacrer, I will tear him to pieces! These Gu worms could have been dealt with, but now..."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Miao Xin. "Only if the clan leader sacrifices his life can the lives of the clan be saved." Seeing that Miao Xin's face did not show any sign of compromise or agreement, her expression darkened again.
Miao Xin seemed to snap out of her daze and said, "Um, um." Before she could finish, Zhao Yi sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "A sacrifice? A ritual? Fate? What's happening here?"
“The Gu worms need to be fed to prevent them from getting out of control. A few years ago, we sealed them in a vat to destroy them, but unexpectedly they survived and grew stronger. Now, for some reason, the Gu worms are about to get out of control.” Miao Xin explained to him with his head down, his forehead already sweating with tension. He stood in front of the Gu chamber, anxiously looking inside.
Zhao Yi felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his face turned deathly pale.
Is this fate? He slaughtered the entire village a few years ago, and now all these things are retribution?
He swallowed hard a few times, barely managing to steady himself, and grabbed Miao Xin, asking, "Is there any other way now?"
"I..." Miao Xin stammered, unwilling to speak, but her head kept turning back and forth behind her, almost focusing all her attention on what was behind her.
"Bang!" A deafening roar erupted from the vat in the Gu chamber, the earth trembled, and the stench that hit people made it impossible to open their eyes.
"Clan Chief!" The woman from before knelt down before Miao Xin, bowing deeply. "Clan Chief! There really is no time!"
Everyone around him was urging him to take on this damned responsibility. Grief and indignation filled his heart, and hatred brimmed in his eyes.
He roared and shoved Zhao Yi aside, then strode toward the vat. Zhao Yi reacted quickly and grabbed his clothes.
The woman immediately stood up and tried to separate the two of them. At this critical moment, someone cried out in anguish, "Chieftain! Chieftain! There's hope!"
"Chieftain!!"
"Chief! We succeeded!"
This immediately drew the attention of all three of them, who turned around to look behind them.
They were immediately drawn to the fat pig in the very center, which had strange black and white markings on its body. It was so fat that it couldn't stand up and had to be carried over by more than a dozen people.
Zhao Yi didn't know what was going on, but he cooperated with the others and moved aside. The group of people struggled to walk towards the Gu chamber, shouting "one, two, three," and forcefully tossed the pig into the air. A loud bang followed, so loud it was almost inaudible. After a moment of dizziness, he saw black smoke billowing from the vat.
After the black smoke dissipated, everyone rushed to the rim of the vat and looked down. Seeing the pitch-black vat filled only with some disgusting slime, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"What happened? Where's the pig?" Zhao Yi was completely bewildered. Miao Xin grabbed him and ran, saying as they ran, "The pig was infected with a Gu poison. It perished along with the Gu worms; they all disappeared!"
As he spoke, he suddenly slowed down and said, "It's the right thing for me, at least I don't have to die."
In a short time, Zhao Yi had already figured out the whole story.
Miao Xin was raised as a vessel for Gu worms since childhood. His body had an environment that the Gu worms were adapted to. When he first arrived in Huijing, he was not used to it. It took him a lot of effort to stabilize the Gu in his body.
It was such a relief, such a stroke of luck, that he managed to catch him. Zhao Yi felt his fingertips trembling slightly.
The two ran fast and soon arrived at the antidote chamber where Chen Zhuangmu was. Zhao Yi stopped in front of the antidote chamber, which looked no different from before. He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Miao Jie's startled shout made his heart jump again.
"How could this happen!" Miao Jie's face turned pale; clearly, something terrible had occurred.
Zhao Yi suddenly hesitated to ask what was wrong. He could barely find the right voice to ask, "What's wrong?"
"The temperature around here should have dropped by now, why hasn't she come down? It's so hot, my sister will be steamed alive!" Miao Jie said, and was about to rush inside.
But Zhao Yi overtook him, and he grabbed Zhao Yi, but they were too fast and both fell to the ground.
Water droplets condensed on the grass, and the ground was damp. The fall left them covered in wet mud from head to toe.
Zhao Yi lost his composure and frantically tried to run back to the antidote room, but Miao Jie's shout brought him back to his senses.
"Are you looking for death?!" Miao Jie's face turned pale with anger. "Can't you just stop making things worse? Wait outside! If you go in, you're dead for sure!"
"Your sister is fine, but you're going to die first? What will happen to her if you die?"
So Zhao Yi stopped moving. If the dressing room needed him, he would have to appear. He couldn't go in, but he couldn't calm himself down at all.
To their surprise, the door to the antidote room opened a crack, and a pale hand covered with blood-red patterns reached out.
Zhao Yi scrambled over the door the moment it opened, which was utterly unforgivable of him. He lifted up Chen Zhuangmu's body and ran outside. At that moment, her hair was plastered to her face, her lips were pale, and she was completely silent.
Zhao Yi touched her; her body was burning hot, like a furnace. Except for her hands and face, the rest of her body was scalding. Just as he was about to grab a blanket, the little girl next to him handed it to him. Zhao Yi took it and quickly wrapped it around her, holding her and asking, "What happened? How are you?"
Miao Xin was clearly still reeling from what had just happened. He gulped down several large bowls of water, utterly bewildered, and said, "How could this be? Even if I'm inexperienced, this shouldn't have happened..."
"That's all nonsense," Zhao Yi interrupted, "I'm asking you how the person is!"
Miao Jie suddenly said, "The person is fine. But I'm sure someone added something to the antidote room, otherwise this wouldn't have happened."
"What's going on?"
“The Gu worms are more adapted to the environment inside my sister’s body…” He paused for a moment, then said, “Perhaps the Gu worms have already reached a place closer to the heart meridian.”
The heart meridian? He knew perfectly well what that symbolized. At that moment, he felt as if his head and body had been hollowed out, with only his heart throbbing with excruciating pain.
His voice was much lower, and he could barely speak a complete sentence: "Is...is there any other way?"
"Let's cool her down first. I'll go ask the wizard who's been helping me find a solution." Miao Jie said without delay, and Zhao Yi also turned and headed towards their resting place.
There was no bathtub here, but Zhao Yi had made one in his spare time a while ago. Apart from its ugly design, it worked quite well. When he rushed over, Xiao Tong had already filled it with water. He touched it with his hand; it was cold.
After Xiao Tong went downstairs, Zhao Yi began to undress Chen Zhuangmu. In his haste, he forgot to close his eyes. After removing only her undergarments, he placed Chen Zhuangmu in the bathtub, but she was now unconscious and unable to control herself, so her body slid down.
Zhao Yi then pulled her from behind the bathtub, but then he thought that the rough edges of the tub would definitely chafe her. So, he wrapped her in another layer of clothing, got into the tub himself, and helped her steady herself from the opposite side.
He was a martial artist, so the water temperature was fine for him, but her complexion was what truly broke his heart.
This reminded him of what the old fortune teller had told him when he was a child: "A person like you will bring bad luck to anyone who gets close to you."
Being an assassin is the most suitable job for him.
The icy water couldn't cool the burning pain in his heart; instead, it made him more and more awake.
————
Running on the solid mud always made a "thump-thump" sound. Miao Xin ran quickly to the woman with a head full of braids who had once stood in the Gu chamber.
"Uya!" Miao Xin shouted, "What's going on in the Gu-dispelling room?"
Uya, however, seemed to have foreseen this and was not in a hurry at all. She stood up from the stool, slowly walked to Miao Jie's side, and said, "I was the one who put the stuff there."
She continued, "You're a complete loser! He's the one who slaughtered our entire clan! You've lived among him for so many years, and now you have this chance, why don't you kill him!"
She was clearly furious, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. Miao Jie listened calmly to her words, a sinister expression suddenly appearing on his face. He said, "Who's your clansman? You're the one who makes poisons, I'm the one who cures them."
"You're talking nonsense! Poison doctors and physicians are inseparable!"
Miao Xin didn't have time to waste words with her and said, "Are you going to save her or not?"
Uya's angry expression vanished instantly, replaced by a malicious smile: "There's a lot more to this story. Go find him."
Miao Xin sneered, "Fine, but you'll have to go to the Black Prison."
Uya lost her composure and cried out in panic, "Are you crazy? You scoundrel! This is the enemy who slaughtered our entire clan! You don't want to rip out his heart and drink his blood..."
"Shut up!" Miao Xin stared at her mouth as she spoke, and said in a deep voice, "Slaughtering an entire clan? Ha, I can only say, it was well done! Thanks to him slaughtering the clan, I can finally live a normal life..."
Miao Xin approached Wuya step by step, and she kept retreating, but she could still hear his deep voice: "Because my mother is the clan chief and gave birth to me, a baby boy. So you not only want to use me as a vessel for making Gu poison, but also to obscure my gender. I still have the so-called scars from my clansmen cutting me on my thigh."
Miao Xin wasn't saying this to her at all. His voice carried a hint of sadness as he continued, "After being a vessel for insects for so many years, having my blood extracted to imitate a woman's menstrual flow for so many years, I've lived those years in a state between being human and a ghost. Only my brother has been unconditionally good to me."
After listening to his words, words that had been weighing on his heart for years and filled with immense sorrow, Uya remained incomprehensible and indignant, saying, "So what? As a member of our tribe..."
Miao Xin ignored her and said, "Guards! Take Wuya to the dark dungeon!"
Seeing Wuya glaring at and threatening those around her, he slowly added, "If you resist, I will personally cast a curse on you."
She knew in her heart that Miao Xin was like a curse, and no one could surpass him in casting spells. If he cast a spell on her, she would be in a state of neither living nor dying.
Seeing Wuya being pushed down, Miao Xin breathed a sigh of relief and went to find Zhao Yi.
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