MO XI'S HEAD whipped around. With his handsomely chiseled face in profile, he stared at them with an interrogative air.
Jiang Yexue's warm almond eyes were wide with shock.
Murong Chuyi's expression darkened, and he squeezed a sentence between clenched teeth. "You caught me cultivating."
"All right, if you say so. It's not like you would've forgotten the circumstances. I know you wanted me to hide your illness from the rest of the Yue Clan, but the truth is young Yue-gongzi already learned of it long ago."
Murong Chuyi said nothing.
"He was looking for treatments for you, to help you. But since you always hid it from him, he had only a rough idea of what to do and didn't know how to proceed. His sole option was to collect and comb through all sorts of texts on medical cultivation."
"And how do you know so much about it?" Murong Chuyi asked.
This time, it was Jiang Yexue who sighed before Gu Mang could answer. "Yue Chenqing's interest in medical texts is no secret. If you showed a little more concern for him, you would know this too."
Murong Chuyi seemed extremely dissatisfied with Jiang Yexue's words. His eyes narrowed dangerously.
Gu Mang sighed. "So you see, even though Murong-xiansheng took pains to hide his ailment, young Yue-gongzi's care for you is such that he must have noticed long ago."
After a moment of silence, Murong Chuyi turned aside. "He's little more than a child. Why should I let him meddle in my business?"
"You're not wrong," Gu Mang said. "But even a blind man could see the reverence young Yue-gongzi holds for Murong-xiong. Even if you want him to stand back and do nothing, it's impossible for him. He's not a healer,but he wants more than anything to find some sort of miracle cure for your illness."
After a pause, he continued, "Let's return to the matter at hand. There are countless legends of miracle cures in the Nine Provinces: fruits from the Flame Emperor's sacred tree, the tears of the Xiangfei Empress, indigo woad root watered with the sweet dew from Guanyin's sacred bottle."
Murong Chuyi said nothing.
"But these are fairy tales. Of all of these legends, the only one with creditable records within the past few centuries is the Xueling Pill of the Dream Butterfly Islands."
"Xueling Pill? Why have I never heard of such a thing?" Murong Chuyi countered.
"Because it's not orthodox medicine. There aren't many who know about it in Chonghua. However, were you to flip through any of the Liao Kingdom's ancient texts—for example, the copy of Compendium of Plants Demonic and Divine Xihe-jun lent to the cultivation academy some days back—you would find it mentioned."
"Wait a minute," Murong Chuyi cut in.
"What is it?"
Murong Chuyi narrowed his eyes. "You seem very knowledgeable about the Liao Kingdom's records."
Heart pounding, Gu Mang's face paled.
As Murong Chuyi stared at him, his voice took on a predatory edge. "But as I recall, you've forgotten everything from the five years you defected."
Silence fell.
Jiang Yexue hadn't noticed, and Mo Xi's thoughts were in turmoil— but this statement instantly alerted them to something extremely obvious. Yes, Gu Mang had indeed said he couldn't remember anything about the Liao Kingdom. So why then had he mentioned the Liao Kingdom's records just now, and the Liao Kingdom's spells earlier? Sure enough…this traitor was still hiding the truth from them!
The atmosphere that had eased became strained again, the pressure in the air like a silk bowstring braced against flesh.
"Why did you lie?" Murong Chuyi's gaze was as vicious as a cheetah's, and the words that left his pale, thin lips were laced with murderous intent. "Speak up."
Even Rongrong could see that something was amiss. She stopped with her handful of fire suspended in midair, unsure if she should still be eating.
Gu Mang took in Jiang Yexue's frown, then Murong Chuyi's glare, and finally Mo Xi's face. Mo Xi stood at the mouth of the cave, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his expression inscrutable. But Gu Mang could see he was silently watching him from afar, waiting for his answer.
For a moment, Gu Mang was still. "Because I don't want to be dragged into anyone's black magic experiments." He glanced away indifferently, his fluttering lashes concealing all the mysteries within his eyes. "If you guys knew I still remembered so many things about the Liao Kingdom's black magic techniques, would you have agreed to keep my secrets so readily?"
Murong Chuyi said nothing.
"But I really didn't lie to you. I only remember disjointed fragments from those five years in the Liao Kingdom." He paused. "If you don't believe me, I'll swear an oath here and now." He raised a hand and said solemnly, "If I, Gu Mang, speak a single false word, let me live and die alone, shunned by men and women alike, while the person I love marries and finds happiness with someone else…"
It might've been a trick of the light. As Gu Mang said these words, Mo Xi seemed to see a faint gentleness come over his expression. As though he wasn't swearing an oath, but rather sorrowfully yet tenderly giving his blessing.
"Let me die of jealousy." In the end, the softness disappeared, and too the sorrow. When Gu Mang looked up, his eyes gleamed anew with cheerful light. "How 'bout that. You gotta believe me now, right?"
Jiang Yexue sighed and shook his head helplessly. Murong Chuyi looked as if he didn't believe a word of it, but neither did he want to waste more breath on Gu Mang.
Mo Xi knew without a sliver of doubt that Gu Mang was still hiding something. But given Gu Mang's temperament, no one would have a single true word from him if he didn't wish to speak it, even if they pried his lips apart with a knife.
In the face of their silence, Gu Mang spread his hands. "Now, are you three beauties willing to hear about the notes in the Liao Kingdom's ancient texts?"
Murong Chuyi was silent for a while. "Proceed."
"You won't regret it. Sirs, if you have coin to spare, spare it; if you have none, lend me your ears. This storyteller will spin you a tale!"
Silence.
Gu Mang cleared his throat. "It's like this. Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, the mother of a low-level Liao Kingdom cultivator was stricken by foul disease. The cultivator sought doctors throughout the land, but none could cure his mother's illness. One day, he heard of an immortal island, carried through the sea on the shell of the Xuanwu. All seasons were mild as spring on that island, and it was home to a wise immortal. The cultivator gathered his last strands of hope and boarded a ship for this legendary isle, along with his mother.
"The weather on the sea was changeable, and one night, a wild storm rose from the ocean. The oars of their ship were depleted of spiritual energy, and they drifted aimlessly on the waves for three days and three nights. To keep the boat afloat, the little cultivator expended almost all his spiritual energy, fainting from exhaustion. When he woke, he discovered that he had arrived on an island populated with thousands of bat demons.
"This island…" Jiang Yexue muttered.
"Yes," Gu Mang said. "It's written in some of the more obscure records of the Liao Kingdom that when this little cultivator reached the demon island, he was certain they were doomed. Yet to his surprise, the demons on the island did not devour him immediately. Instead, they escorted him to the island's Bat Queen."
"Wuyan?"
"Quite possibly, yes."
"Then what happened?"
"Then? The records differ on what happened next. Some describe Wuyan as a peerless beauty with a heart of gold and claim that she bestowed a Xueling Pill upon the little cultivator's mother. After the declining lady took the medicine, she recovered to full health within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. Not only that, but so effective was this medicine that the aged matron regained her youth and reassumed her radiant appearance from decades ago. They thanked Wuyan for her grace a thousand times over, and mother and son happily returned home."
Jiang Yexue nodded. "And what do the other records say?"
"The others are all a little wild. I'll pick some of the slightly more promising ones to recount. In other legends, Wuyan was a wrinkled, whitehaired hag who had never laid eyes on a man in her life. Thus she presented some terms to the little cultivator: she really did have a Xueling Pill made of fresh blood that she would furnish his mother to cure her illness, but in exchange, the little cultivator must stay on the island as her obedient little boy toy."
Murong Chuyi and Jiang Yexue stared at him in silence.
"How about that, isn't it disgusting?" Gu Mang said. "But in the end, whatever the truth, the fact is that there are more than a few records of the Xueling Pill on Bat Island."
"So you're saying Yue Chenqing came here for this pill?" Jiang Yexue asked incredulously.
Most likely," replied Gu Mang. "A few days before young Yuegongzi left for the Dream Butterfly Islands, I heard he was looking to borrow a Liao Kingdom book of herbal medicines. Once I made the connection, I thought it prudent to take a look in Wuyan's pill-refining room; perhaps I could find some clues." He glanced at Rongrong. "And found them I have."
"So the Xueling Pill is medicine refined from Miss Rong's blood?" asked Murong Chuyi.
Gu Mang nodded. "That's right."
Jiang Yexue sighed. "How awful."
"Right—this Bat Queen is quite the shady character; I'm more inclined to believe the second legend about the little cultivator. Wuyan doesn't seem the type to give out medicine after hearing a pretty story. If you ask me, she'd definitely demand a commensurate price."
Murong Chuyi lifted his chin slightly in Rongrong's direction. "Why didn't you ask her for the truth?"
Rongrong had been quietly listening in, but as soon as they turned their eyes on her, she lowered her head in fright and resumed her meal.
"Of course I asked her. But Rongrong has been locked in the pillrefining room for years being used for medicine. She doesn't know much about what happens outside, so I couldn't get any concrete answers. But my guesses are usually correct."
"Then you have other guesses?" Murong Chuyi asked coolly. "Why not just share them all while we're at it?"
Gu Mang rubbed his palms together and smiled. "I do, actually. I also suspect the reason Wuyan wanted to keep the little cultivator as her plaything might not be because she's lived on the island for too long and has never seen a man. Perhaps it was because she had seen a certain man before and had never forgotten him."
A slight crease appeared between Murong Chuyi's swordlike brows. "What makes you say that?"
Gu Mang looked at the feverish Yue Chenqing. "The gu worm." After a pause, he continued. "The gu worm in Yue Chenqing's body can change someone's voice and appearance, as well as their memories and personality. If Wuyan merely wanted to snatch a man to keep as her plaything, why on earth would she go to so much trouble?"
Murong Chuyi pondered this and then said, "Makes sense, keep talking."
"The shangao said before that young Yue-gongzi had violated some taboo—most likely, that men are not allowed on this island. Young Yuegongzi rashly landed here and was captured by Wuyan, just like that cultivator from hundreds of years ago, who was nurtured and transformed into the man Wuyan actually wants to possess. Of course," Gu Mang added, "perhaps there are other reasons we aren't aware of. But I can't think of a better explanation than this."
Murong Chuyi looked at Gu Mang thoughtfully. In the past, he and Gu Mang had almost never interacted. He only knew that, for a time, many in Chonghua believed they had nothing to fear so long as General Gu stood on the front lines, even if the sky were to fall. But he and Gu Mang rarely crossed paths; Murong Chuyi couldn't recall ever having spoken to him directly. Thus, he had never understood why people had that sort of superstition about a general. But as he listened to this sound analysis and observed Gu Mang's thorough and methodical reasoning, Murong Chuyi couldn't help but scrutinize his face in earnest. Slowly, he realized that Gu Mang did have a powerful charisma. When Gu Mang was taking things seriously, when his blue eyes were flashing with light, the vigor in his features was deeply compelling.
"So that's what I think," Gu Mang said, concluding his tale. "In any case, the fire bat tribe and the feathered tribe share a common origin. Jiangxiong, Murong-xiong, you guys don't need to worry too much. I'm sure that Miss Rongrong will find a way to dispel the poison Wuyan used."
Gu Mang exuded an aura of competence; perhaps this was why, whenever he said there was nothing to worry about, it seemed to act as a soothing balm. A few words were all it took for them to believe that he had everything under control.
After a long moment of silence, Murong Chuyi replied, "All right."
Reality proved Gu Mang correct: as Rongrong ate more and more flames, the red marking between her eyebrows became darker and darker. In the end, she let out a little hiccup of flickering sparks and covered her face in embarrassment: "I-I-I'm done resting. I can help now!"
"Many thanks," said Jiang Yexue.
"Please don't thank me," Rongrong said anxiously. "If Gu Manggege hadn't rescued me from that pill-refining room…I would've been Wuyan's prisoner for a lifetime." As she spoke, she unfolded herself from the ground and approached Yue Chenqing. "This little gege who's been poisoned with gu… Would it be all right if I touched his face?"
"Go ahead," Murong Chuyi answered.
Rongrong performed a crooked obeisance at him and clumsily replied, "Then—I ask the beauty to please pardon my offense."
Seeing Murong Chuyi's expression, Gu Mang couldn't hold back a laugh. "She's been locked up since she was young; her only exposures to the outside world were a few bat demons and random books tossed in the pill-refining room to entertain her. She talks a little strangely; try to get used to it."
Rongrong pursed her delicate scarlet lips, realizing she'd said something wrong again. Her face flushed a rosy-pink and she spoke no more. Head drooping, she reached out and carefully placed a fuzzy little claw over Yue Chenqing's forehead.
After a while, she asked, "May I touch his neck?"
"You may," said Murong Chuyi.
Rongrong touched the side of Yue Chenqing's neck. After inspecting it for a while, she asked, "May I also touch his chest?"
Murong Chuyi preferred doing things simply and quickly, so he soon grew impatient with all her requests. "You may touch him wherever you like as long as you cure him."
Having received consent, Rongrong examined Yue Chenqing's chest, arms, and ankles.
"How is he?"
"He can be cured, but there's not much time. And I'll need to use a relative's blood for the antidote…" She glanced hesitantly at Murong Chuyi, "Isn't this xianjun his uncle? I-is Xianjun willing to give yourself over to…"
She shivered at the sight of Murong Chuyi's dark expression. "Is—is that how the phrase 'give yourself over to' i-is used?" she stammered.
"No." Murong Chuyi pressed his colorless lips into a thin line, the glint in his eyes turning stormy. "Besides, I'm not his real uncle."
"Y-you adopted him?" asked Rongrong.
Murong Chuyi's features were chilly. "I was the one who was adopted."
Rongrong was rendered speechless before this awe-inspiring cultivator.
At this moment, Jiang Yexue spoke up from nearby. "Miss Rong, does it have to be the blood of a relative?"
"Mn…it's best that way… Otherwise, it'll be very dangerous…"
"Then you can use mine," said Jiang Yexue.
Rongrong stared at him, taken aback. "You're…?"
"I'm his elder brother from the same father but a different mother." Jiang Yexue smiled bitterly. "Unfortunately, we don't have exactly the same parents—will my blood suffice?"
Rongrong had noticed the way these men had spoken earlier. She saw that Murong Chuyi always acted as Yue Chenqing's guardian while pushing Jiang Yexue aside so he couldn't get a word in edgewise. She had assumed Murong Chuyi was close to Yue Chenqing, and Jiang Yexue was the outsider. She hadn't expected that Jiang Yexue was Yue Chenqing's blood family, while Murong Chuyi had no blood relationship with him to speak of. Naturally, she didn't understand the difference between di and shu sons, nor the twists and turns of harem infighting. The inexplicable ways of these humans made her head spin.
It wasn't until Jiang Yexue warmly spoke up for the third time —"Will my blood suffice?"—that Rongrong snapped out of it. She nodded repeatedly. "I-it will! It will!"
It would take time and effort to draw the gu out of Yue Chenqing, and the process was perilous and could not be disrupted. Jiang Yexue was wary. "Wuyan has had her prisoner stolen, her prized tower destroyed, and now we've taken Miss Rongrong too. She'll no doubt be furious. I set down invisibility barriers around the cave, but if she can't find us with magic, I'm worried her next step will be to send her people to comb the island in search of us. Can we find a more secure hiding place?"
Rongrong shook her head. She pointed at Yue Chenqing as she shyly turned down this request. "This little gege cannot be moved right now. He's had the gu worm in him for a few days already. If we delay, I don't know if I can destroy the worm… We can't afford to wait."
As Jiang Yexue hesitated, Mo Xi—who had been listening silently at the mouth of the cave—turned around. "You all stay here and guard Yue Chenqing while the gu is drawn out," he said. "I'll deal with Wuyan myself."