Chapter 90 Attendant Forty-One
It wasn't until Gu Xi sat down on the edge of the bed that she belatedly realized that she had followed Masaki's orders without thinking.
He snapped out of his daze and tried to get up, but Masakuni happened to move in front of him, and they almost bumped into each other. Masakuni simply pressed his acupoint and pressed him back down onto the bed.
Gu Xi's eyes widened like copper bells, probably thinking she was about to die here. She glared fiercely at Masakuni, but couldn't move at all.
Shinju didn't pay attention to his gaze. He placed his thumb and forefinger on Gu Xi's temples and began to draw out the toxins.
People who have been using Mi Wu Shi San for a long time have suffered severe mental damage. Even if the remaining toxins in their bodies are removed, their craving for drugs cannot be changed.
Shinju's plan was to fight fire with fire, attacking their destroyed Nine Palaces (brain). In his divine sense, he could clearly see their Nine Palaces structure and patterns, which differed from ordinary people. Since poison could alter the patterns and destroy the brain, it also meant that further attacking with poison could restore the original patterns, thus repairing the Nine Palaces.
Such delicate work was an extremely risky undertaking, so Shinju decided to prioritize "treating" those who had already shown signs of bodily stiffness and impending death. This placed a tremendous burden on Shinju's secondary dantian, and even at full efficiency, the treatment was still quite slow.
This was also a challenge for Shinju's control abilities. His previous methods mostly relied on brute force, rarely focusing on precise control. Fortunately, the "threading the needle" technique he used to repair his dantian had laid a solid foundation; it was all a matter of accumulating experience before unleashing its full potential. With each attempt, Shinju became more skilled, and the time taken decreased. Now, "treating" Gu Xi was even more effortless, completed in just a quarter of an hour.
The Nine Palaces, which were originally like ruins, were reshaped brick by brick with ink, meticulously crafted until the last trace of ink flowed back into the palm of the True Abode. Gu Xi felt a long-lost clarity in his mind, as if he had been relieved of a long-standing ailment.
The pain at the corner of his mouth was more intense than ever before. This time, he didn't add any new wounds because it was just too painful. But the pain permeated his entire body, and the dull sensation that felt like a barrier was gone. The blood that flowed down was no longer black.
Gu Xi was utterly incredulous. Before coming in, he couldn't fathom what Shinju had done to the others ahead of him to elicit such joy, but he never imagined it was because of this. Although he didn't know how Shinju had managed it, this change was nothing short of a rebirth.
Being sober is such a luxury.
Seeing that his eyes were clear again, Masakuni knew that he had succeeded again. He raised his eyebrows slightly and said to him, "Go out and call the next one in for me."
Gu Xi counted on his fingers, knowing he should thank them, but he couldn't utter a word. He looked down at his skin, which had been touched by countless people. He was conscious, but he had to face the most real pain. He no longer had the right to be jealous. He hated others being aloof and superior, hated that only others were flawless, but now he didn't even have the courage to glare at them.
Mayuki didn't know what he was thinking while he was sitting still for so long, but he felt good and didn't want to delay, so he urged, "Go quickly, just wait in the room, don't go anywhere. I'll take you back later."
A sweet feeling welled up in Gu Xi's heart, almost making him think he was dreaming. He wondered why Shinju was being so kind to him. But then he caught a strange word and hesitated, "...Go back?" Where could he go back to? Did he even have a place to belong?
Shinjuku explained, "It's the house that Gu bought in the capital."
Gu Xi's heart tightened suddenly, "...Did A Xiang send you?!"
Shinjuku nodded.
His younger brother had actually made a name for himself in the palace? And he even had such a powerful person helping him escape his predicament? Gu Xi truly felt like he was dreaming. Forgetting the awkwardness in his heart, he obediently got up and walked out of the room.
Stepping over the threshold, a sense of lightness washed over her; the annoying itching and numbness were gone, and fresh air rushed towards her. In that instant, a wide smile involuntarily appeared on Gu Xi's face, just like everyone else in front of her.
.
After dealing with the matters at Fuyiyuan, Gu Xi was then taken to Gu Yixiang's residence. By then, it was already dark, close to the end of the Xu hour (7-9 PM).
Shinju casually remarked, "The palace gates must be locked by now. Perhaps we shouldn't return to the palace tonight."
The guards appeared at the opportune moment and advised, "There are always people waiting at the palace gates, so you can return at any time. Please go back, sir."
"..." Shinjuku pouted and could only get into the carriage with the jingling bells and head towards the red wall in the distance.
To Shinju's surprise, the person waiting at the palace gate was not a palace servant, but King Zhen himself.
Scattered pieces of paper lay at the feet of the King of Poison, whose face was so dark it seemed to drip ink.
Shinju guessed that it was probably a letter sent back in advance by the secret guards, and that the King of Poison must know what he had done today.
The King of Poison strode up to Shinju, grabbed Shinju's wrist, and asked in a cold voice, "You touched ten people?"
The hidden guard broke out in a cold sweat instantly. He was the one who reminded Masukuni to act first and report later, but he hadn't instructed Masukuni to do such a thing! It would have been better to actually kill someone!
Shinjuku paused. How could that be considered touching? He had merely touched their temples.
But he couldn't say he was treating someone; that was impossible to explain. So, Shinju could only snuggle into the King's arms, trying to deceive him, and said with a wronged tone, "I'm hungry."
The King of Zhen was not easily fooled. He glanced sideways at the person buried in the crook of his neck, picked up Shinju, and placed him on the palanquin. Upon returning to the Zhengren Hall, they would first have a meal, and then settle the accounts.
late at night.
Two overlapping shadows were reflected on the dark gold screen around them. For a moment, the shadows and the coiled dragon pattern on the screen merged into one, extremely intimate.
The low breathing sounds, if heard from outside, would be completely drowned out by the swaying of the solid wood of the bed, but if heard up close, they would fill both ears, even causing the gold earrings to vibrate slightly.
The King of Zhen was already tall, and sitting on Zhenju made him appear even taller. His slender shadow bent down, lowered his noble head, and sealed the mouth that he both loved and hated.
"Your Majesty, it was you who said you wanted to be on top again." Every time, Shinju managed to find a moment in the midst of a deep kiss to slip out these words.
"..." The King of Zhen narrowed his phoenix eyes, resisting the trembling that went straight to his bones, and said through gritted teeth, "I haven't settled accounts with you yet. Today, the people you touched, Qing'er said, should I cut off their heads or cripple your hands?"
Shinju could sense the murderous intent hidden in the King of Poison's words. The King of Poison was not joking; he seemed to really want to kill those people or cripple his hands.
The King of Poison's eyes darkened as he imagined the pitiful state of Shinju, whose hands were powerless and who could only rely on him for everything.
Shinju instinctively felt a chill, and the hand on the King of the Poisonous Jade's waist suddenly shifted its force, as if he were squeezing it hard.
The waist is already sensitive, and this pinch immediately disrupted the Poison King's dark thoughts, once again plunging him into the turbulent waves of life.
As Shinju saw the ruthlessness emanating from the corner of the King's eyes and heard the other's rapid, uncontrollable breathing, he slowly lowered his eyelids, concealing the subtle glint of emotion in his golden eyes.
The next day.
Although Shinju managed to appease him, the area he could go to was restricted. He had to submit a report to leave the palace, and it would take half a day to process his request.
Fearing that things might change over time, Shinju had no choice but to immediately seek out Gu Yixiang.
Fortunately, Gu Yixiang had his connections, and even though he couldn't leave the palace, he was still able to find out that Gu Xi was safe.
Gu Yixiang believed that Fuyi Garden had controlled his brother, which was why he righteously asked Masu to make this trip, but that wasn't the case. However, Masu didn't tell him the truth, since the task was too easy and he was afraid that the other party would change his mind.
"Brother, you seem to be in good spirits." Gu Yixiang smiled genuinely, revealing a rare hint of childishness. He propped himself up from his illness and bowed deeply to Masakuni. "Thank you sincerely. Lord Qing, if there is anything you wish to ask, I am happy to answer it."
Shinju cut to the chase: "How did the person from outside the realm possess Uncle Wu?"
"Possession...?" Gu Yixiang pondered for a moment, then looked directly at Zhen Su. "Initially, they sent down 'sacred words' from beyond the heavens, giving me instructions. Observing stars and making calculations were not my abilities, but rather my imitations. However, their repeated successful predictions indirectly elevated my abilities, leading to Lord Pan assigning me to the Imperial Observatory."
"Later, they taught me to use tortoise and snake divination blocks to form hexagrams. Although I didn't know what their purpose was, from that time onwards, I began to grow white hair, and my hands gradually became like those of a fifty-year-old man..."
Gu Yixiang then slowly revealed many inside stories. In the end, when Zhensu gathered all the information, he discovered that Gu Yixiang had acted as the anchor for that group of people. Using Gu Yixiang as the center, they would then communicate with nearby people or animals, seize control of their bodies, and carry out a revenge killing against Zhensu.
"I can tell you for sure which person they will possess next, and when."
“But didn’t you say earlier that astronomical calculations are not your ability?” Shinju asked, puzzled.
"Actually, I've only learned a little about the divination method of the snake and tortoise, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to predict that you would come looking for me," Gu Yixiang said with a slight smile.
The next moment, a turtle-like shell and several pieces of paper were scattered on the bed...
As he was leaving, Gu Yixiang called out to Masakuni.
Shinjuku turned around and looked at him.
Gu Yixiang parted her lips slightly and said something to him.
As he left the backyard of the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau, Masatsu was still thinking about Gu Yixiang's words: "If you had been chosen by Lord Pan back then, perhaps none of this would have happened."
He, who missed the selection process in the outer government in his tattered clothes, and Gu Yixiang, who went with Manager Pan in his carriage, took completely different paths.
"Ha." Perhaps this is the wonder of fate, but in any case, it cannot change the fact that those people are chasing after me.
.
Day by day, the King of Poison kept a closer eye on him, even making sure he could bathe within the other's sight. But just as his golden body was about to be completed, he desperately needed a place to be alone to cleanse his marrow and bones.
There are still two days before those outside the border break through.
Shinju found the King of Poison and said, "I wish to go to the Azure Cloud Palace for a bath."
The King of Zhen readily agreed, but unexpectedly, the next moment, the King of Zhen put his arm around his waist, clearly indicating that he wanted to go with him.
So Shinjuku, forcing a smile, said, "I wish to bathe myself..."
The King of Poison's gaze lingered on Shinju's face, as if scrutinizing whether Shinju truly wanted to be alone or had ulterior motives.
Silence means refusal. Unable to get the King of Poison's consent, Shinju blurted out the title he'd always used for Gu Xi.
"elder brother!"
King Zhen was suddenly stunned.
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Author's Note: Physics Senior Level: Shinshu (Grandmaster Level)
Mental older man: Poison King (father figure)
Wow, 300,000 words!
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