After unlocking the small box, before opening it.
Shen Ling gave Gu Mu a meaningful look, then took out a piece of silk from her sleeve and blindfolded Gu Mu.
"The things inside are all my treasures, Your Highness cannot look at them casually," Shen Ling leaned down and whispered with a smile in Gu Mu's ear.
It was just a piece of silk, casually tied at the back of his head, which Gu Mu could easily tear off with a wave of his hand.
However, he treated it as a pastime for Shen Ling and did not act on it.
Shen Ling covered his face and coaxed him in such a gentle tone. If he suddenly tore off the silk, wouldn't he be too straight and too clueless about romance?
But soon... Gu Mu discovered that in front of a little devil like the princess, there was no such thing as charm...
Yes, but it's probably just arsenic disguised as sugar-coated bullets.
Because Gu Mu couldn't see what was inside the small box, he would only find out once Chen Ling took it out and used it on him.
Initially, Gu Mu envisioned that the contents would be something like essential oils to be applied to the temples for a refreshing effect, or some ancient silver needles for acupuncture.
The reason it was kept so secret is probably because the things inside are extremely rare.
But Gu Mu realized he was completely wrong.
He felt an itch on his face, as if something was crawling on it.
Moreover, you can feel the hairy and hard texture of that thing, like the foot of some kind of insect.
Gu Mu subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to swat the thing like a mosquito and kill it with a "smack".
However, his hand was caught by Chen Ling as he raised it halfway: "Your Highness, just bear with it for a moment."
"This insect will go into a dormant state in the dark, but once it awakens, it will only have less than half an incense stick's worth of life left."
"So Your Highness, you don't need to worry about it; it will die on its own."
Shen Ling said softly, while gently covering the silk covering Gu Mu's eyes with her palm: "This silk has special fragrance. Covering your eyes will prevent insects from crawling into Your Highness's eyes."
"Then am I now at your mercy?" Gu Mu asked, frowning.
Liking something is one thing, but there are limits to liking it.
Compared to beautiful women, Gu Mu loves himself and his empire more.
He didn't know the origin or function of this insect, and what if it was poisonous?
However, Gu Mu was merely displeased. This was because he could exchange them for antidote pills. His attention remained cautiously focused on the antidote pill section: "Tell me, what is the use of this insect?"
Seemingly sensing the displeasure in Gu Mu's tone, Shen Ling sighed before slowly saying, "Your Highness, have you ever heard of the Morning and Evening Insect?"
Gu Mu searched through the original owner's memories and actually found information about the Morning and Evening Insects.
This thing is so outrageous that it's been written into a book as a legend.
Many people believe that the mortal insect is just a fabricated legend and does not exist in the world at all.
However, the descriptions of the morning-evening insect in the records are too detailed, even including illustrations.
If these are all rumors, then they're made up to be too believable.
In short, the story of the morning cricket has always been just a legend, far removed from people's real lives, and has never been mentioned.
“I know.” Gu Mu said while recalling, “The Morning-Evening Insect usually falls into a deep sleep in the dark, but as soon as there is a little light, it will quickly burn its life. Because its awake time is too short, it is named the Morning-Evening Insect.”
"Your Highness, do you know... the function of the Morning and Evening Insects?"
“When the morning worm sees the light, it secretes a liquid. Legend has it that this liquid is the essence of the morning worm’s life.” Gu Mu paused before continuing, “Legend says that if someone touches the liquid secreted by the morning worm, he will be cursed and will also gain the power of the curse.”
Hearing this, Shen Ling chuckled softly, then added to what Gu Mu was about to say: "The power of the Morning-Evening Insect is that even in the dark, it can see its surroundings clearly, no longer constrained by light. And its curse... is that every month, it needs fresh human blood, wrapped in silk, to cover its eyes. Otherwise, it will temporarily go blind until its eyes are covered with blood."
“However,” Shen Ling’s tone turned cold as she said this, “Normally, there are no requirements for fresh human blood. But… if someone fed the Morning-Evening Insect with fresh blood before it died, then only the blood of the person who fed it will work; other blood won’t do.”
Hearing Shen Ling's cool tone, Gu Mu suddenly had a bad feeling.
As the two continued their conversation, the insect-like crawling sensation on Gu Mu's face completely disappeared, replaced by a cool liquid that instantly melted into his skin.
At this moment, it's too late to regret it.
I just don't know if the liquid from the morning worm is considered poisonous, or if it can be neutralized with an antidote.
However, it seems that the liquid from the morning worm can grant Gu Mu the ability to see at night, and there is no need to abandon this curse at the moment.
Therefore, Gu Mu did not rush to use the antidote.
“Your Highness…” Shen Ling pulled off the silk covering Gu Mu’s face, then touched his face with her palm, making Gu Mu look into her eyes.
In Shen Ling's eyes, there was a triumphant smile: "I am the one who feeds the morning and evening insects."
"So Your Highness... you need my blood every month."
"So, Your Highness, you can't live without me..." Shen Ling smiled gently.
But what he said sent chills down people's spines.
Gu Mu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed, grabbing Chen Ling's hand: "So what?"
"If you try to threaten me with this, I can imprison you and take your blood every month."
"If you want me to leave you, you don't need to play such tricks. You should try your best to please me and make me fall in love with you."
Gu Mu looked at Shen Ling.
No matter who it is, being tricked like this will never make them happy.
But to everyone's surprise, Shen Ling opened her innocent eyes and slowly said, "Your Highness, you have misunderstood me..."
"Your Majesty, I only have one Morning and Evening Insect, and I promise I will not leave your side, that is why I am giving you the Morning and Evening Insect to use..."
"If Your Highness wishes to do anything to me, how can I possibly resist?"
Shen Ling immediately and obediently admitted her mistake.
Gu Mu looked at Shen Ling, whose eyes were filled with a strong desire to conquer.
She never wanted to be prey.
She wanted to control Gu Mu, and this morning-after insect was the first step.
With this morning-after insect, Gu Mu would never kill her...
Even if she were imprisoned, as long as she didn't die, Shen Ling believed she would always have a chance to turn the tables, and she wasn't afraid at all...
A slight smile appeared on Shen Ling's face.
Gu Mu suddenly realized that although the system hadn't made her harm Chen Ling,
But the newly released tasks aren't much better.
Make him happy, Shen Ling?
Shen Ling is quite the little devil.
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