Chapter 105: I Have an Idea

In the end, the two of them had no choice but to take the two girls with them on the road back to the Qinghong Sword Sect.

On the night of the third day of their journey, the four of them checked into an inn. Suddenly, they heard a woman’s cry for help coming from outside. Zhao Honglan immediately gave chase, leaving Qu Tingquan behind to protect the two girls.

Once Zhao Honglan caught up, he discovered that the person was actually the Celestial Maiden.

He instantly realized he had fallen for a trap and tried to rush back, but he was intercepted by the Celestial Maiden.

The Celestial Maiden was no match for him, but she was still capable of stalling him for a while. By the time she retreated on her own and Zhao Honglan hurried back to the inn, he found that Qu Tingquan had vanished. Her sword had been left behind in the room, and the two girls were lying unconscious on the floor.

They had only just crossed paths and formed a grudge with the Celestial Maiden a few days ago, and today she had brought people to seek revenge.

She had deliberately lured Zhao Honglan away to take her revenge on Qu Tingquan.

Realizing this, Zhao Honglan was absolutely livid.

However, there were no signs of a struggle in the inn at all; not a single clue had been left behind.

He went downstairs to question the night watchman of the inn. To his surprise, he was told that Qu Tingquan had walked out on her own. The watchman had even called out to her, but she had ignored him completely, walking straight out of the inn in a daze and never returning.

Hearing this, the expressions of both Lian Li and Yun Huizhou became extremely solemn.

“Miss Qu doesn’t seem like the type of person to ignore others,” Yun Huizhou said. “Her state was abnormal. Could it be related to that trace of poison her Dantian absorbed earlier?”

Zhao Honglan nodded and said, “I suspect the same. I sent a message back to the Qinghong Sword Sect to inform my father of the situation, hoping he could ask the Medicine Hall, but I haven’t received a reply yet.”

“Since I happened to be near Linjiu City, I thought of going to the Linyao Tower in the city to ask around. As it turned out, I had just arrived here yesterday morning when Miss Xin Ci found me and said she wanted to challenge me to a duel.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “At the time, I felt as if she were specifically waiting here for me to arrive. After everything that happened today, I’m certain of it.”

“Then when you went into the woods with Xin Ci earlier, did she tell you any news about Senior Sister Qu?” Lian Li asked.

Zhao Honglan nodded, then shook his head. He said, “She said she doesn’t know much. A former benefactor of hers found her and asked her to say she knew the situation, using that to trick me into a duel to stall for time. The Sui Xin Monk appeared last night; he was also brought in by her benefactor.”

“The only thing she could confirm is that Tingquan’s condition isn’t due to poisoning, but something she carries within her own body. She told me to ask Tingquan’s father to see if he knows anything.”

After listening, Yun Huizhou said, “Then let’s go find Miss Qu’s father and ask him. Does her father know about her disappearance?”

Zhao Honglan shook his head with a bitter smile. “Her father is in poor health, and she is his only daughter. I’ve been keeping her disappearance a secret from him, fearing that the shock would cause him harm.”

“Who is Xin Ci’s benefactor? Did you ask her?” Yun Huizhou asked again.

“I did. She said she doesn’t know who the person really is either, but that person saved her life and showed her great kindness. Even if she did know, she wouldn’t tell me,” Zhao Honglan replied.

“Then it seems we still have to ask Miss Qu’s father,” Yun Huizhou said in a low voice.

“Indeed.” Zhao Honglan sighed. “It seems I have no choice but to disturb the old gentleman.”

After listening to them for so long, Lian Li weakly raised his right hand to catch their attention.

“Junior Brother Lian, what do you want to say?” Zhao Honglan asked Lian Li.

“I was just thinking… is there a possibility that Senior Sister Qu actually has a Gu parasite in her body?” Lian Li said softly.

“Gu?” Surprise flashed in Zhao Honglan’s eyes, followed by a slight frown. “Why would Junior Brother Lian have such a suspicion?”

Facing Zhao Honglan, Lian Li said, “I previously saw a similar case in a book in the West Island Lord’s library. After being infested with Gu, a person loses consciousness, yet their body can move normally. Their specific actions depend on the intent of the person controlling the Gu parasite.”

“I think it sounds quite similar to what the inn’s night watchman described. Xin Ci also said it was something Senior Sister Qu carried in her body and wasn’t poison. If it’s not poison, then maybe it’s Gu?”

As Lian Li spoke these words, he didn’t dare turn his head to look at Yun Huizhou.

Because although he had been to the West Island Lord’s library, he had never looked at anything related to Gu. Furthermore, Gu was something that no one in their region practiced. While there were indeed books on it in the West Island Lord’s collection, they were few and far between.

Moreover, he and Yun Huizhou were almost inseparable on Drunken Dream Island. Every time he entered the West Island Lord’s library, Yun Huizhou was right there beside him.

Yun Huizhou knew exactly what books he had read.

Therefore, Yun Huizhou would definitely know that his claim about reading about Gu in the West Island Lord’s library was a lie.

After Lian Li finished speaking, he kept praying in his heart that Yun Huizhou wouldn’t speak up to expose him.

His knowledge of this book’s plot relied entirely on what his childhood friend had told him back then. He hadn’t even listened carefully; many things were just scattered memories that he couldn’t normally recall. Only when he encountered related events did they feel familiar, and only then could he barely squeeze out a bit of information by reminiscing.

And this “Gu” business seemed to be related to the Female Lead. Because it was a long plot arc, his friend had talked about it for a long time, which was why he had an impression of it.

Feeling Yun Huizhou’s gaze piercing his back, Lian Li felt apprehensive.

Fortunately, Yun Huizhou did not speak up to expose him, allowing Lian Li to feel a bit more at ease.

Zhao Honglan frowned in deep thought. After a long while, he spoke: “No one in our Central Plains martial arts world deals with Gu. The major practitioners of Gu are the Southern Border Spirit Sect and the Demonic Sect that was driven out of the Central Plains—they now call themselves the Sacred Sect in the Western Regions. Which side could it be?”

“…” Lian Li: “That is beyond the scope of my knowledge.”

It was already good enough that he could remember it was a Gu; how could he possibly remember which sect did it?

If he named the wrong sect, the distance between the two was so great that by the time they traveled back and forth, they would have wasted too much time.

“It seems we can only go and ask Uncle Qu to see if he knows anything,” Zhao Honglan said.

“There’s no time to lose, let’s set out immediately,” Yun Huizhou said. “Lian Li, come back to the inn with me first to get the horses and our things.”

Lian Li looked at Yun Huizhou, wanting to say, You can just go back and get them yourself, I’ll stay here with Senior Brother Zhao and analyze things further.

But the moment he met Yun Huizhou’s eyes, he immediately chickened out.

Yun Huizhou didn’t have an expressionless face, nor was he looking fierce; instead, he was looking at Lian Li with a smile.

But from this supposedly gentle expression, Lian Li read a single sentence: If you dare say no, you’re dead.

Hilarious. He didn’t dare at all.

Lian Li caved. “Okay…”

He said to Zhao Honglan, “Then Senior Brother Zhao, we’ll head back first to get the horses and our things.”

“Thank you both,” Zhao Honglan said. “I’ll have to trouble you two to make this trip with me.”