There's a chance.
At the edge of the forbidden area of Medicine Master Valley, despair, like a thick fog that could not be dispersed, weighed heavily on everyone's heart.
The medicine boys had been searching for a long time with their medicine pouches, but they were still stuck on the edge of the miasma, and no one dared to actually go near the center of the miasma.
Xuanru and Changfeng remained in the same spot, one busy handling the herbs, using their activity to suppress their inner fear. Changfeng stood like a stone statue at the edge of the thick fog, his gaze fixed on the deathly white expanse that had swallowed his master.
The flickering light of the campfire cast shifting shadows on their faces, and each passing moment felt like a dull knife cutting into their nerves.
Just when this suffocating silence was driving people almost mad—
"Look! What's that?!" A sharp-eyed apprentice pointed sharply into the depths of the thick fog, his voice trembling with shock.
All eyes immediately turned to that direction.
From the edge of the churning, thick fog, something extremely strange and indescribable was wobbling and "flying" out!
That thing... resembled an extremely rudimentary, even crude, bird-shaped skeleton. It flew low and unsteadily, wobbling as if it might fall apart at any moment, yet it moved with unusual tenacity toward their direction.
What's even more heart-stopping is that below this strange "bird," the thick fog is being painstakingly parted, revealing a slender yet exceptionally resilient figure carrying a man much taller and heavier than herself, moving step by step outwards.
Xuan Ru and Chang Feng's pupils contracted sharply—it was Gu Jinghong, and the unconscious, life-or-death figure on her back was none other than Prince Jin, Xiao Chengyan!
"Your Highness! Miss Gu!" Changfeng's voice was filled with unbelievable joy and a hoarse, torn voice. He was the first to react and rushed out to her.
Xuan Ru suddenly looked up, the despair in her eyes instantly replaced by immense shock and ecstasy. She threw down the herbs in her hand, staggered to her feet, and tears streamed down her face: "Ah Hong! Your Highness!"
When Gu Jinghong saw Changfeng's familiar figure breaking through the thick fog and running towards her, the tension that had been stretched to its limit finally eased.
She struggled to lift her head, extremely slowly, her face covered in mud and frost, her lips frozen blue, yet she managed a weak smile, exhausted yet radiant with the light of relief, as she faced Changfeng and Xuanru rushing towards her.
That smile, like a fleeting yet dazzling epiphyllum blooming in the darkness.
Her body could no longer support her, and she slumped forward.
Changfeng arrived like the wind, catching Gu Jinghong as she fell with one hand, and swiftly supporting Xiao Chengyan who was sliding off her back with the other. Xuanru also rushed forward, her trembling hand immediately touching Xiao Chengyan's cold wrist, and then quickly reaching for Gu Jinghong's neck.
"Quick, he's still breathing! Get him inside!" Xuanru's voice was urgent and choked with sobs.
The group hurriedly lifted the two unconscious people onto stretchers, and with hurried but steady steps, they crossed the rocks and thorns at the edge of the forbidden area, heading towards the warm lights in the Valley of Medicine Masters.
Amidst the turbulence, Gu Jinghong seemed to hear Changfeng's urgent shouts and Xuanru's tearful commands before plunging into complete darkness.
...
As Gu Jinghong's consciousness slowly rose from the chaotic darkness, the first thing she felt was the warm, soft bed and the familiar, slightly bitter scent of medicine lingering in her nostrils.
She struggled to lift her heavy eyelids, and her blurry vision gradually focused, revealing Xuan Ru's face, which was filled with worry and exhaustion.
"Awake? How are you feeling?" Xuanru's voice was a little hoarse, but filled with obvious joy. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a bowl of sweet and hot medicinal soup.
Gu Jinghong tried to move, but her whole body felt like it was falling apart, especially her shoulders and back, which ached terribly, and her throat was parched. "Water..." she stammered.
Xuan Ru quickly helped her sit up, carefully put down the medicine cup, and replaced it with warm water to feed Gu Jinghong a few sips.
The cool water slid down his throat, and Gu Jinghong felt much more awake. Memories flooded back like a tide—the icy miasma, the deadly traps, the fierce battle against the unconscious Xiao Chengyan, the cold lips, the rudimentary mechanical bird…
"And him?" Gu Jinghong's gaze swept across the room. "How are things between the Prince and Xie Yan?"
Xuanru held the medicine bowl to her lips, gesturing for her to drink the medicine: "Drink the medicine first. You have cold air entering your body, and your internal energy is disordered. You need to take good care of yourself."
Gu Jinghong frowned and obediently drank the bitter medicine, her gaze still fixed on Xuan Ru.
Seeing that she had finished drinking, Xuan Ru sighed and said with a solemn expression: "Xie Yan... is seriously injured. Chang Feng's palm strike completely triggered his old injury 'Cold Marrow Induction,' which he had been suppressing with powerful internal energy. In addition, the miasma has entered his internal organs... He is still unconscious. I am using golden needles and strong medicine to keep him alive. I hope he can get through these two days."
"Cold Marrow Induction?" Gu Jinghong had never heard of Xie Yan being affected by this thing before, and his heart sank. "What is that?"
Xuan Ru's expression darkened further, his eyes filled with solemnity and a hint of barely perceptible disgust: "This is an extremely insidious secret poison technique of Nanzhao, incomparable to ordinary poisons. It does not kill immediately, but like a maggot clinging to the bone, once planted in the body, it will silently invade the muscles and bones, eventually... penetrating deep into the marrow."
She paused, seemingly considering how to explain the most insidious aspect of this poison.
"The most insidious aspect of this substance is its... 'aversion to warmth.' Anyone poisoned by it cannot tolerate even the slightest warmth in their body or mind. If they are bathed in sunlight, near a fire, or even... have a single thought of kindness, warmth, or a moment of sunny cheerfulness, it will trigger the extremely cold poison lurking deep in their bones, causing an immediate backlash that pierces the heart with excruciating pain, like ten thousand needles piercing the marrow, or ice stabbing at the heart!"
Gu Jinghong gasped in shock, her face draining of all color from her.
Xuan Ru continued, her voice heavy with sorrow: "One or two times may be bearable, but if it continues, the bone-chilling pain will become like torture, repeatedly tormenting and distorting one's mind. In order to avoid this heart-wrenching pain, the poisoned person will instinctively suppress, reject, or even hate anything and any emotion that can evoke feelings of warmth."
"The more sincere and open-minded a person is... the more intense the backlash and inner conflict they suffer after being afflicted by this Cold Marrow Poison, the more sinister and extreme they become. In the end, the cold poison corrodes their bones, their mind becomes twisted, as if they are walking in eternal night, unable to see any light anymore. Xie Yan... he has been able to suppress it with his internal energy until now, which is already an amazing will. Now... alas."
She sighed heavily, the unspoken meaning of which was self-evident.
Gu Jinghong lowered her eyes—So that's how it is! No wonder Xie Yan always... that cold and aloof demeanor, that rejection of warmth and kindness... it's because he's enduring such torment!
Xuan Ru paused, then her eyes showed even more worry, "As for the Prince..."
Gu Jinghong remembered the ice arrow in his shoulder, and the way he had coughed up blood from exhaustion, and her heart jumped: "What happened to the prince? He..."
"Your Highness's external injuries... are not fatal. The arrow wound on your shoulder has been treated, but the arrow was poisoned, causing a penetrating wound that is bleeding profusely... but that is not the main problem. The main problem is the internal injury."
Xuanru rubbed her temples, her tone filled with helplessness and a hint of barely perceptible complaint.
"The residual heat and toxins in his body were aggravated by the extremely cold environment, causing a severe backlash. In addition, the forced exertion of internal energy caused more serious damage to his meridians than expected. Logically speaking, he should take the special medicinal decoction I prepared for internal and external use, and rest well in order to stabilize his injuries and remove the remaining toxins as soon as possible."
"Then he..." Gu Jinghong asked in confusion, as she trusted Xuanru's medical skills.
"The problem lies in the medicine and rest. The prince... absolutely hates the bitter taste of medicine. Every time I personally brew the medicine and bring it over, he either closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep, or he coldly says 'leave it,' but the medicine is never touched."
Xuan Ru glanced at Gu Jinghong and continued, "If he doesn't drink this medicine, its effectiveness will be greatly reduced, the internal fire toxins won't be completely eliminated, and the meridians will be repaired more slowly, so the recovery is much slower than expected. Also, he's always busy... his body can't rest, even someone made of iron would break down from all that strain."
Gu Jinghong was taken aback.
The King of Ash, who stood like a mountain in front of her amidst the miasma, shattering countless ice arrows, and who stubbornly held on even when coughing up blood and fainting... actually refused to drink the medicine because he was afraid of the bitterness? Like a child throwing a tantrum?
But—she suddenly remembered how Xiao Chengyan frowned as he drank his medicine in the Prince's mansion—he had actually finished it right in front of her, even though he looked very unhappy about it.
Furthermore, didn't she successfully feed him the medicine even in the cold, desolate miasma of the remote region?
Gu Jinghong hesitated for a moment, her face inexplicably flushed, and her voice lowered, "Actually... I gave him medicine before..."
Xuanru's previously tired eyes suddenly lit up, like a cat smelling fish: "Ahong, what did you say?"
Gu Jinghong's eyes seemed startled, and she even looked away: "N-nothing... I mean, if you don't want to rest, I can just knock you out with a chop to the neck."
Xuan Ru stretched out two fingers, tentatively touching her cheek. Her eyes darted around, watching Gu Jinghong's increasingly flushed face. The weariness on her face was instantly replaced by a burning passion for gossip.
“Ah Hong, I, Xuanru, am not deaf—you and the Prince… there must be something going on between you two, right? I’ve noticed something’s been off between you two for a while now…”
She suddenly leaned close to Gu Jinghong, almost whispering in her ear, her voice low but filled with excited encouragement: "Ah Hong, there's a chance! What kind of person is Xiao Chengyan? He's got the looks of a dragon and the beauty of a phoenix, and holds a high position of power. Which young lady in the capital isn't eyeing him with envy? Now it seems that in the end, he can't escape our Ah Hong's stunning beauty..."
She coughed lightly, winking, "Since it happened once, why worry about it happening again? Think about it, if his injury drags on, what if it damages his foundation? In the end, wouldn't you be the one suffering? You..."
"Xuan! You!" Gu Jinghong was both ashamed and angry. Before she could finish speaking, she covered her incessantly chattering mouth.
"Ugh... Ugh!" Xuan Ru was silenced, and tried to pry Gu Jinghong's wrists with both hands, making muffled protests.
Gu Jinghong glanced down at her, his eyes filled with warning: "Say one more word, and that consultation fee you're so obsessed with..."
Xuanru's struggling movements froze instantly, her eyes widened, and she nodded repeatedly to indicate that she understood.
Gu Jinghong then let go of her hand.
"Huff—" Xuan Ru gasped for breath, clutching her chest, and glared angrily at Gu Jinghong. "You, Gu Jinghong! Trying to blackmail me with consultation fees? You really are my 'good sister'! If you dare shortchange me, see if I'll let you off the hook!"
Before she could finish speaking, she swiftly shoved another bowl of medicine into Gu Jinghong's hands without a word, her face instantly filled with a bright, expectant look of anticipation: "Go, Ahong! For the sake of His Highness's good health, and for the sake of the reputation of my Medicine Master Valley, we're all counting on you this time!"
Gu Jinghong held the heavy, bitter-smelling medicine bowl and got off the bed helplessly—when had this girl ever cared about the reputation of Medicine Master Valley? She was clearly after her money.
However… her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the direction of Xiao Chengyan’s inner room, and a strange longing quietly stirred in her heart, so she didn’t bother to say anything more.
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