Chương 14: Talisman Drawing

Biên tập viên: Atlas Studios

Doctor Cheng said with a patched throat, "Sir, I'm a doctor. I only save people, not harm them."

"This matter will benefit you as well." Si Hai's lips curled into a cold, meaningful smile. "This is what the Crown Prince asked me to convey to your country."

Doctor Cheng pursed his lips tightly and was shocked. Everyone knew that the Eldest Prince, Chu Yi, had not been conferred the title of King. Could the Crown Prince this person was talking about be…

Kang Wang?!

Could this be someone planted by Kang Wang to harm Chu Yi?

The more Doctor Cheng thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

What shocked him even more was that Kang Wang actually knew about their stronghold in Danyang City.

Doctor Cheng clenched his hands into fists in his wide sleeves, his eyes dark.

He was not from the State of Jin, but from the State of Yue. He had been lurking in Danyang City for more than ten years.

Now, the Sage had the intention to form an alliance with Kang Wang of the State of Jin. Once the alliance was established, the State of Yue would do their best to help Kang Wang inherit the throne. After Kang Wang's promise was fulfilled, he would help the State of Yue take down the southwestern State of Qiang.

This cooperation concerned the two countries, and there was no room for mistakes. Doctor Cheng had no choice but to be extremely cautious. He was skeptical of Si Hai's words. With no evidence, who could prove that this person was a subordinate of Kang Wang?

Seeming to have seen through Doctor Cheng's doubts, Si Hai continued, "The Eldest Prince is weak and sickly to begin with. He has traveled thousands of miles north and is exhausted from the long journey. It's inevitable that he will become sick again. This is a rare opportunity."

"When he returns to the capital, there won't be another chance like this."

"Can you take responsibility for delaying 'something big'?!"

Si Hai pressured the other party.

Doctor Cheng clenched his fists even tighter, his eyes hesitant.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth in response. "I'll have it delivered tomorrow."

Si Hai extended his hand and made an inviting gesture. He did not continue to send the guest off and stayed behind to watch Doctor Cheng leave.

The surroundings were as quiet as a tomb. From afar, Chu Yi could be heard coughing in the back hall.

"Cough…"

"Cough, cough, cough…"

Doctor Cheng strode out. As soon as he left the Danyang Manor, he returned to the Cheng Medical Center and closed the door early.

Doctor Cheng carefully fastened the bolt and looked out through the crack in the door. Only then did he relax and walk inside. He walked through the front hall, the courtyard, and all the way to a private room at the back.

A bamboo curtain hung down, blocking the person behind it. Through the gap, he could vaguely see a man in blue sitting on the other side.

"Sixth Master." Doctor Cheng bowed respectfully with a salute.

He did not dare to look up at the man behind the curtain. He methodically recounted what had just happened at the Danyang Manor. Finally, he said, "Sixth Master, the Jade Moon Grass is colorless and tasteless. It will make the consumer's body weaker. Then, he will die slowly."

"Sixth Master, do you want to add the Jade Moon Grass to Chu Yi's medicine?"

The Jade Moon Grass was a secret medicine unique to the State of Yue. It was a slow-acting poison. The person who consumed the Jade Moon Grass would not show symptoms of poisoning, be it in appearance or pulse. Others would only think that he had been sick for a long time and was gradually hollowed out.

The blue-clothed man known as the Sixth Master casually tapped the lid of his tea, making crisp porcelain clinking sounds.

The air in the house was dry and dull, making one feel as if they would suffocate in the next moment.

Doctor Cheng maintained his bow without moving. After a while, he heard the Sixth Master ask slowly, "Is there anything special about Chu Yi's pulse?"

Doctor Cheng carefully recalled. "Today, I checked Chu Yi's pulse again. His pulse is like cotton in water, and his Qi is weak. It's a weak pulse."

"Chu Yi has always been weak…" The Sixth Master seemed to be talking to himself, his expression dark and gloomy.

Chu Yi had been in the State of Yue as a hostage for eight years. Apart from not being able to leave the capital at will, he could move freely in the city. He also often interacted with the royal family and nobles of the State of Yue. Among them, he was famous for being a gentleman.

At the beginning of the year, Emperor Mingde ascended the throne and negotiated with the Sage to release Chu Yi.

Kang Wang planned to kill Chu Yi silently after he entered the State of Jin. This matter was not a secret. The Sage's attitude was that they would just sit back and watch the internal strife of the State of Jin.

However, Kang Wang's plan to assassinate Chu Yi failed again and again. Chu Yi actually arrived at Danyang City safely.

The Sixth Master frowned tightly and threw out another question. "Can this pulse be faked?"

Doctor Cheng thought for a moment and asserted, "Based on my decades of experience as a doctor, Chu Yi has an ailment brought about by his mother's womb. This pulse is difficult to fake."

The Sixth Master lowered his eyes and smirked cynically. He thought to himself, 'Kang Wang must be anxious. He's afraid that Chu Yi will return to the capital and didn't hesitate to ask them to help him deal with Chu Yi.'

Since the Sage had the intention to form an alliance with Kang Wang, this matter would not do them any harm…

The Sixth Master considered the pros and cons in his heart. He suddenly opened his eyes and emitted an ambitious and fierce glint. He said, "Give it to him."

"I'll go prepare now." Doctor Cheng bowed and accepted the order, his eyes shining.

The sun was setting, but the weather showed no signs of turning cold. It was stiflingly hot.

The city was dead. There was neither wind nor insects.

Gu Yanfei looked up at the setting sun outside the window. The afterglow of the setting sun dyed half the sky red.

A suffocating feeling came from her chest. Gu Yanfei narrowed her eyes, and her dark pupils seemed to flash with blood. She whispered to herself, "There's not much time left."

"Meow, meow~"

The little kitten that was squatting at the table meowed softly with a cute endearment that made one's heart tremble.

The kitten was less than two months old and was at the age of being playful. It reached out a furball-like claw to pull at the cinnabar in the porcelain bowl, but in the next moment, the flesh on the back of its neck was pinched by a few slender fingers. Immediately after, its body was lifted up.

The originally noisy kitten curled up its body obediently as if its acupuncture points had been tapped. Just like that, it was thrown into the cat bed by Gu Yanfei.

Qing Guang squatted in the cat bed, licking its paws and washing its face.

Gu Yanfei picked up a calligraphy brush and dipped it in a bright red cinnabar.

Spiritual energy poured into the tip of the brush, and the tip of the brush outlined a winding curve like an earthworm on the pale yellow talisman paper.

But the drawing became slower and slower…

Over the past few days, she had been drawing talismans. However, the spiritual energy in this small world was too weak. Every talisman had failed. Only the two talismans she had drawn with her blood essence on the day of her rebirth had succeeded.

She couldn't possibly use her blood essence to draw talismans every time. She would die early!

Gu Yanfei stared intently at the tip of the brush that was dipped in cinnabar. Her eyes were sore, but she still did not blink.

The hand that held the brush was as light as a feather and yet heavier than Mount Tai.

After repeated failures, she gradually grasped how to communicate with the almost non-existent spiritual energy in the world. She learned how to turn spiritual air into spiritual energy and connect it with the cinnabar at the tip of the pen…

In the beginning, she hadn't been able to draw even a third of a talisman. Now she was only a fraction away.

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Chương 15: Done

Biên tập viên: Atlas Studios

When she reached the last stroke, the brush trembled uncontrollably. A finger-sized blood-red stain appeared on the end of the charm.

Gu Yanfei put away her brush and placed it on the brush holder beside him. She crumpled the talisman paper into a ball and threw it into the white porcelain wastepaper basket without looking at it…

The cat's eyes lit up. It leaped up and bit the paper ball, successfully intercepting it!

After it landed lightly, its little claws plucked at the balls of paper on the floor. Chase, intercept, push… It was having a lot of fun.

After Gu Yanfei closed her eyes and meditated for a while, she dipped her brush into the cinnabar again and drew the next talisman.

Unfortunately, the tip of the brush crooked again at the last stroke. Gu Yanfei failed for the 101st time.

The kitten raced over and crouched obediently by her skirt.

When Gu Yanfei threw out the next ball of paper, it leaped up again…

The balls of paper on the ground increased one after another. The satisfied cat felt like it had a fish pond and was playing crazily.

It was tired by midnight, yawning wearily and bleary-eyed.

Gu Yanfei ignored it and continued drawing talismans.

There was still no wind that night and it was as stuffy as a steamer.

As the long night wore on, the sky began to lighten, and the sun rose.

The morning sun shone through the window into the house. The flowers and trees in the courtyard shone brightly.

There were a few green chrysanthemums in the plum vase at the head of the table, and an elegant scent filled the air.

The room was silent.

Gu Yanfei, who had not slept the entire night, was reading a book. Her figure was straight and slender, as straight as a bamboo, as elegant as a green willow. She was quiet but tenacious.

Outside the window, the goldfish in the pond leaped out of the water and plopped back into it. At the same time, her brush finally completed the last stroke smoothly.

She let out a long breath between her pink lips.

It worked!

It was the first talisman she had completed in recent days, the first using the cinnabar.

Gu Yanfei admired the talisman she had drawn with satisfaction and smiled.

That smile was like the warm April sun, spreading from the corners of her lips to the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, like clusters of beautiful wisteria blooming.

The little kitten beside her had long fallen into a deep sleep. It was sprawled on its back and had a small furry paw over its eyes.

Gu Yanfei was in a good mood. She quietly leaned over with the cinnabar brush and drew a small red plum between the little kitten's eyebrows.

The sleeping cat sensed something strange. It opened its green cat eyes and yawned lazily.

"My Lady," Juan Bi reported, entering the inner room at that moment. "The Eldest Lady is here."

Gu Yanfei picked up the cat and walked towards the central room outside.

Although she had not slept all night, she had once meditated for two to four hours on and off. At this moment, her face was rosy and she was full of energy.

"Second Sister." Gu Yunzhen, who was dressed in a lilac-colored dress, walked towards Gu Yanfei and said with a smile, "I'm here to have breakfast with you. It won't be convenient for us to travel later, so we can only make do with lunch. We have to eat breakfast well."

The maidservant behind Gu Yunzhen was holding a red-painted gold food box.

Gu Yunzhen's voice was gentle, and it warmed Gu Yanfei's heart. She readily agreed, "Okay."

She knew that Gu Yunzhen was a very good sister. She was the only daughter of the Gu family's third branch. She had lost her father three years ago and relied on her widowed mother.

In her previous life, when Gu Yanfei first arrived at the Marquis Mansion, she was unfamiliar with the place and was uneasy. Gu Yunzhen took good care of her and gave her pointers from time to time.

The two sisters sat down at the table. Gu Yunzhen took out a big red bib from her sleeve and said to the little kitten in Gu Yanfei's arms, "Your gem-faced civet is really cute. I sewed this bib for it last night."

Gem-faced civet was the elegant name for a calico cat.

"Meow!" The little kitten jumped from Gu Yanfei's arms to the table. It bowed and stretched, its long fur trembling.

Gu Yanfei said with a smile, "Big Sister, put it on."

"Can I?" Gu Yunzhen was a little flattered. She carefully put on a small bib embroidered with carp for the kitten, careful not to scare it.

The little kitten remained motionless as Gu Yunzhen served it.

"It's so obedient!" Gu Yunzhen stared at the little kitten with sparkling eyes. Her heart was about to melt.

After putting on the bib, the little kitten jumped back into Gu Yanfei's arms and eagerly rubbed against her clothes. Its round cat eyes narrowed into two crescents.

Gu Yunzhen's eyes were filled with envy. She asked gently, "Little kitty, have you eaten?"

Qing Guang rubbed its head against Gu Yanfei coquettishly and meowed, as if to say, no.

Gu Yunzhen could not help but reach out to touch the kitten's back. Her voice was softer and gentler. "There's still an hour before we set off. Qing Guang has to eat something too, it's still growing."

Gu Yanfei smiled but did not say anything.

She knew they would never leave today.

As they spoke, the maids opened the food boxes and took out the food one by one. There were two bowls of green onion mushroom lean meat porridge, a cage of crab roe soup dumplings, and a few plates of assorted vegetables. Each dish was steaming hot and had obviously just been fetched from the kitchen.

The sisters happily enjoyed their breakfast, and the kitten did not go hungry. Or rather, there were many people waiting on it. One of them fussed over it and added warm goat milk to its bowl, another fed it chicken, and another brushed its fur.

Wherever there were humans, it was like a fish in water.

The maidservants surrounding it were all treating it like a cat emperor.

Even the old woman, who had been ordered by Madam Gu to pass on a message, could not help but glance at the little kitten. Her eyes wandered as she reported, "Eldest Lady, Second Lady, Madam said that we can't leave for the time being. Let the two ladies rest first."

"What's wrong?" Gu Yunzhen's maid asked.

The old woman answered truthfully, "I don't know what exactly happened. The northern city gate was opened early in the morning, but just now, the officials suddenly ordered the city gate to be closed. They said that no one is allowed to enter or leave. Madam has already asked Granny Xu to take the token of the Marquis Mansion to the Danyang Manor. Please do me a favor."

Gu Yanfei lowered her eyes and drank her tea. The corners of her lips curled up behind the teacup.

Not just today, but tomorrow and the day after that too.

Gu Yunzhen frowned and asked the maidservant to send the old woman away. She comforted Gu Yanfei gently, "My Second Sister, it's fine. Even if we can't leave today, we'll just stay in Danyang City for a few more days."

"I don't know what's going on these days. It's October, but it's still so hot and humid, and there's no wind. It's like a sauna in the carriage. It would be good to leave a few days later."

A smile appeared on Gu Yanfei's lips.

Her Big Sister was like that. She was soft-hearted and always thought well of people and things. However, people were vicious. Sometimes, the so-called family would be more ruthless and vicious than strangers.

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