The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 24

Jiang Yilan’s statement that the cure for the Zhong family child’s was not difficult was no exaggeration. It was a matter of dexterity, something a person not well-versed in the way of Gu could not handle.

The herbs were ground into a paste and placed in a copper basin. Jiang Yilan sprinkled some medicinal oil on top and lit it. There was little flame, just a lot of smoke.

“Cough, cough, cough…” Yuan Ruo, standing nearby, was choked by the smoke. “This is… too smoky!”

Jiang Yilan, however, remained calm, continuing to work with the herbs, producing a thick smoke that soon filled the entire room. “If you can’t stand it, go outside and wait. Same for everyone else. If you’re not used to this smoke, it’ll be difficult!”

“Cough, cough… I… cough, cough… I’m not leaving!” Squire Zhong also refused to leave, insisting on staying with his son.

“You two…” Jiang Yilan finally finished her work. She sighed and looked up at them through the thick smoke. “Don’t you know to cover your mouth and nose with a wet cloth?”

“Cough, cough…” Squire Zhong coughed as he went to the door, calling for a servant. “Go get some water and a few towels!”

With the help of wet towels, Yuan Ruo and Squire Zhong were finally able to breathe more easily, but the dense smoke still made it hard to open their eyes.

“Sigh!” Jiang Yilan sighed, no longer bothering with the two stubborn men. She went to the bed, helped the still-unconscious Zhong family son sit up, and tried to keep him from falling over. A hand quietly reached out to help her.

“I’ll hold him!” Yuan Ruo squinted and supported the boy.

“Can you do it?” Jiang Yilan asked.

“Yes!” Yuan Ruo nodded. “But hurry, the smoke is really uncomfortable!”

“Okay!” Jiang Yilan said no more. She held the copper basin below the boy’s face, letting the wisps of thick smoke be inhaled by him.

After about an hour, there was some movement on the Zhong family son’s forehead. As before, a small, moving lump appeared.

“Almost there, almost there!” As the lump moved down, Jiang Yilan slowly lowered the copper basin to rest on the boy’s legs. Just as the lump disappeared, she acted swiftly, pinching the boy’s glabella with two fingers and applying continuous pressure. When the still-sleeping boy began to react and frown, she inserted two silver needles into his nostrils and held them there for a long time.

The fire in the copper basin gradually went out, and the thick smoke dissipated. Squire Zhong, worried about his son, couldn’t help but ask, “Lady, how is he?”

Jiang Yilan didn’t answer. Instead, she gently moved her fingers down the boy’s nose. Finally, one silver needle slipped out, and the other pulled out a black, worm-like creature covered in mucus. Its appearance was quite disgusting.

“This… is this…?” Squire Zhong was both excited and apprehensive, unable to form a complete sentence.

“This is the Gu worm that was harming your son!” Jiang Yilan threw the Gu worm into the copper basin full of ashes. She then picked up the basin and stood, giving the space to Squire Zhong. “Go see him!”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ruo settled the boy back down and also got up, removing the wet towel from her face. “Phew…”

“Are you okay?” Jiang Yilan asked Yuan Ruo.

“Yeah!” Yuan Ruo nodded. “But it was really smoky. You didn’t even react!”

“I’m specially gifted!” Jiang Yilan tilted her head from side to side. “And I’ve been smoked so many times, I’m used to it!”

Yuan Ruo was curious. “How so? Do you often cure people of Gu?”

“Not often!” Jiang Yilan said, placing the copper basin on the table. “But when I encounter it, I can’t just stand by. Besides, this method isn’t just for curing Gu. It can also be used for certain illnesses that are hard to treat with medicine.”

Yuan Ruo pondered this. “So you’re skilled in medicine, too?”

“A little, but not much!” After saying this, Jiang Yilan sprinkled another handful of medicinal powder into the copper basin, completely corroding the disgusting Gu worm.

“Huh? This…” Yuan Ruo’s brows furrowed as she watched the worm being corroded. “That medicinal powder of yours…?”

“It’s harmless to people, it won’t dissolve you!” Jiang Yilan guessed what Yuan Ruo was thinking and explained to her, “But it’s very effective against this kind of poisonous Gu.”

Yuan Ruo chuckled softly. “I was worried you might accidentally get some on yourself and get hurt!”

“Hmm?” Jiang Yilan said with a half-smile. “So concerned about me? Could it be…?”

“I…”

“Ladies!” Squire Zhong suddenly interrupted Yuan Ruo’s speech, his expression full of anxiety.

Jiang Yilan asked, “What’s wrong?”

Squire Zhong said, “I just wanted to ask, why hasn’t my son woken up yet?”

“It won’t be that fast!” Jiang Yilan said. “The Gu has just been removed. It will take at least a few hours for him to wake up. And he’s been greatly weakened this time, so even after he wakes up, he’ll need some time to recover!”

“That’s understandable!” Squire Zhong was finally relieved to hear this. “Thank you for saving my son, Lady!”

“You’re welcome!” Jiang Yilan smacked her lips. “But since we’re on the subject, I need to remind you. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that those two scoundrels targeted your son. It’s likely they won’t give up and will come back again.”

“Ah?” Squire Zhong was shocked. “What should I do now?”

“Take him and leave to hide somewhere else,” Yuan Ruo said. “We can’t stay here to protect you forever.”

“This…” Squire Zhong didn’t want to leave the place where he had lived and built his roots, but for his son’s sake, he gritted his teeth and agreed. “Okay, after I make some preparations, I’ll take him and leave!”

“You don’t need to be so sad,” Jiang Yilan said. “Even if they’re still thinking of him, after a year or so, they should give up. Then you can come back.”

Jiang Yilan and Yuan Ruo thought that the square-faced man would come after the Zhong family son again, but they were unaware that after being so badly injured by them and losing his brother, he had already shifted his target.

“My name is Qiu Yue. My brother and I were planning a big project here, but we didn’t expect a man and a woman to meddle,” the square-faced man, Qiu Yue, said with gritted teeth to Wu Yunfei in an inn, recounting his experience.

Wu Yunfei took his time. “What kind of big project? And what man and woman meddled?”

Qiu Yue refused to say clearly. “The project isn’t finished, so there’s no point in talking about it. When I complete it, I will repay your life-saving kindness.”

“Oh?” Wu Yunfei became interested. “Is it some kind of powerful weapon?”

Qiu Yue said, “You could say it’s a weapon, or you could say it’s a killing machine!”

Wu Yunfei was silent for a moment. “Can it be used by me?”

Qiu Yue lowered his head. “I must repay your life-saving kindness!”

“Very good!” Wu Yunfei’s mouth curled into a smile. “Then I’ll help you get your revenge!”

Qiu Yue looked up in surprise. “You’ll help me get revenge?”

“Of course, I’m also curious about this killing machine you speak of,” Wu Yunfei said, beckoning to a person. “Go to the Zhong family’s house and look for the whereabouts of that man and woman!”

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