He stood up and opened the door. This time, he didn’t bother going to Lian Li’s room to find him, instead infusing his voice directly with internal energy.
“Lian Li, come here.”
After calling out, he returned to the room and sat by the table.
Removing this Gu could not wait. If he delayed for even a couple of days, more eggs might be laid within the body.
Before long, Lian Li came running in. Upon entering the room, he didn’t even look at the West Island Lord, who was sitting in the most prominent position in the center; instead, he looked directly toward the bed. Without a moment’s pause, he began walking toward the bedside.
Seeing this, the West Island Lord felt a lump of annoyance in his chest.
He reached out with a grasping motion, and Lian Li was yanked back to the table through the air.
“Hmph!” He let out a snort, staring at Lian Li without saying a word.
Only then did Lian Li snap back to his senses. He gave a placating smile and called out, “Junior Uncle.”
The West Island Lord pushed a teacup across the table and said, “Blood.”
Without a word of protest, Lian Li picked up the dagger and made another cut on his arm.
Seeing that he hadn’t cut his wrist directly this time, but had instead made a slice near the previous wound, the West Island Lord nodded slightly. At least the boy was being sensible; otherwise, if he did that again, having to stop him would only waste more time.
He once again took out the medicinal herbs from before, grinding them into a powder. As he packed them, he heard Lian Li ask, “Junior Uncle, do we need more this time?”
“No need,” the West Island Lord replied. “No matter how much you put in, the medicinal effect only lasts for so long, and blood becomes useless if left out for too long. Just stay here; I might need you to give more blood at any moment.”
Lian Li nodded and handed the cup containing the blood to the West Island Lord.
The West Island Lord glanced at it, and seeing that the amount was roughly the same as what he had requested before, he said nothing more.
After mixing the second portion of medicinal juice, he walked to the bedside to continue the previous procedure.
Lian Li followed him and watched from the side.
He could not use internal energy to observe the situation inside Yun Huizhou’s body, so he could only watch the West Island Lord’s movements.
The West Island Lord first checked the condition inside Yun Huizhou again. After identifying the areas where the Gu insects were most densely clustered, he made several small incisions at the nearest points and dripped the medicinal juice onto the skin beside the wounds.
Fresh blood flowed out and quickly began to congeal into scabs. The West Island Lord frowned slightly and said to Lian Li, “Go to the second shelf of the cabinet. Third black bottle from left to right.”
Lian Li hurried over. The West Island Lord’s instructions were very precise, and Lian Li locked onto the specified bottle as soon as he opened the cabinet.
Carrying the bottle back to the West Island Lord’s side, he carefully opened it and handed it over.
The West Island Lord took a look to confirm it was the right one, then used a small porcelain spoon to scoop out some medicinal powder and sprinkle it onto the wounds. The speed at which the blood congealed at the incisions slowed down instantly.
Lian Li watched nervously from the side, yet he saw nothing unusual at the wounds for a long time.
Just as he was about to speak up and ask, his pupils suddenly constricted.
Small black dots were actually crawling out from the incisions the West Island Lord had made.
“Are these…” Lian Li asked.
“The insects,” the West Island Lord said. “They have to be lured out slowly.”
He used his internal energy to capture all the crawling insects into a bottle. Estimating that the effect of the medicinal juice was nearly exhausted, he said to Lian Li again, “Go and draw the same amount of blood. I have already prepared the other medicines and placed them in several small bowls according to the required portions. Once you’ve drawn the blood, pour it into one of the bowls. Bring it over when the juice turns pale green and gives off a fragrance.”
Lian Li nodded quickly and walked to the side to follow the process the West Island Lord had described, not daring to deviate in the slightest.
Soon, he had prepared a portion of the medicinal juice and walked to the West Island Lord’s side to hand it to him. “Junior Uncle, is this alright?”
The West Island Lord took a look, gave it a sniff, and said, “Yes, just like that.”
He took the juice and applied it just before the previous portion lost its effect and the swarm of insects could scatter.
Seeing the blood at the wounds about to congeal again, the West Island Lord sprinkled more powder to prevent the clotting.
From the moment the first insect crawled out, two or three more would emerge from the wounds every so often, heading straight for the medicinal juice.
Lian Li watched from the side, calculating the time it took for the previous portion to lose its effect. Estimating that this portion was almost spent, he asked, “Junior Uncle, should I go prepare another one?”
The West Island Lord didn’t reply verbally, only giving a slight nod before continuing to stare at the situation inside Yun Huizhou’s body and the emerging insects.
Having received a positive instruction, Lian Li immediately went to the table to continue drawing blood and mixing the medicine.
This cycle repeated five times, making Lian Li’s already pale face look even more bloodless.
Just as Lian Li was preparing for the sixth time, the West Island Lord finally spoke. “That’s enough. Stop for now.”
He stood up, straightened his clothes, and fished a pill out of his sleeve. He walked up to Lian Li and, with lightning speed as Lian Li looked up at him, stuffed it into Lian Li’s mouth.
“Nourish yourself a bit.” He looked Lian Li up and down. “Your complexion looks worse than a dead man’s.”
Lian Li chewed and swallowed it, then asked him, “Junior Uncle, is the Gu considered cured now?”
“Mm… more or less,” the West Island Lord said. “You stay here and keep watch. Every two hours, use your internal energy to probe his meridians. If you sense anything inside becoming exceptionally active when it touches your internal energy, come to the next room and tell me.”
“If no abnormally active things are found after two days, then it’s mostly settled. We’ll just have to wait for him to wake up and check himself again.”
“Alright,” Lian Li said. “I understand.”
After finishing his instructions, the West Island Lord left the room and went to the room next door.
Once the West Island Lord had left, Lian Li sat down by the bed. After sitting for a while, he felt uncomfortable, so he slowly slid down to the floor and sat cross-legged against the edge of the bed.
***
Yun Huizhou was woken up by hunger.
The moment he woke, he felt nothing but a headache, aching meridians, and a stomach that hurt from hunger.
Even though he had just woken up, he still felt dizzy and blurred, and his reactions to his surroundings were much slower.
He lay flat, staring at the roof beams for a good while. Once he felt a bit better, he took a deep breath, preparing to get out of bed to drink some water and find something to eat.
As he turned toward the outside of the bed, his hand suddenly brushed against a slightly cool arm.
Enduring his discomfort, he immediately sat up alertly and looked over. Once he saw clearly, his heart relaxed slightly.
It was Lian Li. He was sitting on the floor, his arm resting on the bed, his face buried in his arms as he slept with his eyes closed.
Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, Yun Huizhou didn’t want to disturb him.
Bypassing Lian Li to get out of bed, Yun Huizhou walked behind him and reached out to grab Lian Li’s shoulders to pull him close. Just as he was about to pick him up and place him on the bed, he saw Lian Li’s left forearm.
A wound made by a sharp weapon was faintly visible beneath the sleeve. With his eyesight, he could tell at a glance that this wound was definitely not shallow; it wasn’t the kind of scratch that would scab over immediately, but a depth that would cause a significant amount of blood to flow out.
