Chapter 17: Bitter Grass

After dinner, it was already past seven in the evening.

Ning Shuang went upstairs to grab a jacket and dressed Ning Dundun in its clothes before the two of them and the dog finally headed out.

The moment Ning Dundun left the house, it burst with energy, straining desperately against the leash in Ning Shuang’s hands as if eager to break free and dash off to frolic on its own.

A cool evening breeze rustled through the leaves, and the fresh air carried the earthy aroma of soil and green grass.

Walking side by side, Ning Shuang tugged his jacket closer and spoke up first. “Military training starts for you tomorrow.”

“Have you washed the military training uniform?” he asked with concern.

Ji Huaizhi replied, “Mm.”

“That’s fine then. It’s only for a month, and things won’t be as strict the last week anyway. Plus, I’m your class assistant, and your instructors know me, so they won’t push you all too hard.” Ning Shuang stared down at the white line on the ground beneath his feet as he spoke slowly.

Their school’s instructors came from the Flag Guard Team. Every year, sophomores led the military training. Before it wrapped up, they’d scout promising freshmen from the ranks to train for the Flag Guard Team, and the next year, those freshmen-turned-sophomores would lead the new batch. It was an ongoing cycle.

That was why their instructors were sophomores, and it wasn’t surprising that Ning Shuang knew them.

“Okay,” Ji Huaizhi replied.

“Two weeks into military training, you’ll also head out to the nearby forest for a camping trip—some hands-on field practice. It’s actually pretty fun.” Ning Shuang reminisced about his own freshman military training. The weather hadn’t been too cold back then. Everyone had huddled together to cook instant noodles and forage for wild greens… Those memories felt like they were from just yesterday.

“Are you going too?” Ji Huaizhi suddenly asked.

Ning Shuang turned his head to look at him and nodded with a smile. “Of course. I’m your class assistant, after all. I have to stick it out at least until military training ends and we’ve picked the class committee after midterms. That’s when my job’s officially done.”

“Anyway, don’t worry about it! Our school’s military training is pretty humane.”

“Okay,” Ji Huaizhi said again, his response as brief as ever.

They took Ning Dundun out of the park along another path. At the subway station entrance, an auntie was selling oden, and Ning Shuang caught the scent from a distance.

Ning Dundun, needless to say, lost it completely. It kicked off with its hind legs and yanked Ning Shuang straight to the stall. “Woof! Woof! Woof!”

It let out a high-pitched whine.

Ning Shuang bent down and clamped Ning Dundun’s muzzle shut before whispering sternly, “Don’t scare people.”

“Woo—” Ning Dundun immediately let out a pitiful whimper from its nose.

“It’s fine. We have a little dog at home too—I’m not scared of dogs,” the auntie said with a warm smile. Her voice was gentle and kindly.

Ji Huaizhi followed Ning Shuang to the stall and asked, “Do you want some?”

“Let’s get some! I haven’t had it in forever. We can give Ning Dundun a bit later too.” Ning Shuang wedged Ning Dundun between his legs to keep it in check and reached for the disposable paper cup the auntie was handing over. But Ji Huaizhi beat him to it.

“I’ll hold it. You pick,” Ji Huaizhi said.

Since he still needed a free hand to wrangle Ning Dundun, Ning Shuang nodded. “Sounds good.”

Standing shoulder to shoulder, Ning Shuang selected a few skewers of his favorites and loaded them into the cup. “Pick some you like too. My treat.”

Ji Huaizhi glanced at Ning Shuang’s choices and took exactly the same ones.

Ning Shuang didn’t think much of it. When it was time to pay, he flashed the auntie a scissor sign with his fingers. “Auntie, add two fish cake balls—and scoop in some extra soup.”

“Got it,” the auntie said as she got to work. “That’ll be thirty-six yuan.”

“Alright, alright.” Ning Shuang paid with WeChat.

He turned back to the cup Ji Huaizhi was holding, fished out a skewer of ham and beef balls, and squatted down to feed them to Ning Dundun.

“You try some while it’s hot too.” Once he’d finished feeding Ning Dundun, Ning Shuang straightened up and noticed Ji Huaizhi hadn’t taken a single bite. He was just standing there quietly, watching Ning Shuang and Ning Dundun. Ning Shuang spoke up quickly.

“Okay.” Ji Huaizhi nudged the cup forward a little, and Ning Shuang grabbed a mushroom skewer and popped it into his mouth.

“These mushrooms are delicious!” Ning Shuang hissed and blew on his mouth furiously, tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes from the heat.

Ji Huaizhi cracked a smile and quietly pulled a stack of handkerchiefs from his pocket to hand over. Ning Shuang took one and dabbed at his eyes. “Thanks.”

He passed it back once he was done, but Ji Huaizhi glanced at it and said, “You keep it for now.”

Ning Shuang, who hadn’t brought any tissues himself, just pocketed it. “I’ll wash it clean and give it back later then.”

His gaze lingered on Ji Huaizhi’s face for a beat longer. Ji Huaizhi wasn’t the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve, so Ning Shuang usually had to guess whether he was happy or not. But right now, the smile was genuine.

They strolled slowly toward home. Ji Huaizhi wasn’t big on street food like this—he only nibbled at some veggies—and the rest all went into Ning Shuang and Ning Dundun’s stomachs.

Not long after they got home, Ning Shuang bid Ji Huaizhi goodnight and retreated to his room.

Ning Shuang filled a paper cup with warm water and brought it back to his room. After locking the door, he cleared off his desk and pulled the weight loss pills he’d swiped from the hospital out of a drawer. He dropped them into the cup.

Before long, the pills began to break down and dissolve.

A white phosphorescent powder floated to the surface. Ning Shuang scooped up a bit with a small knife and examined it closely. Then he rubbed some between his fingertips and brought it to his nose for a sniff.

There had been a strong bitter medicinal scent before, but now that it had melted into the water, this powdery residue carried an even clearer, faint bitterness—the smell of ashes from burned bitter grass. In the Miao Frontier, the ashes from most kinds of bitter grass burned pure white, making them hard to spot when mixed into something like these pills.

What exactly was it…?

By now, even if Ning Shuang didn’t want to admit it, he knew Ming Qingning’s hospitalization was tied to gu somehow. But how on earth was gu involved?

He leaned in for another sniff of the powder. He was certain now: these were the ashes of a bitter grass grown back in his hometown. There were many varieties, and most could only be used in strict moderation—too much and problems arose. The effects varied by type as well.

All he knew so far was that Ming Qingning had slimmed down drastically and feared the light. He hadn’t noticed any other symptoms today, so he’d have to head to the hospital tomorrow, take a closer look, and treat accordingly.

“Sigh…” Ning Shuang let out a breath.

He had no interest in meddling in anything Miao Frontier-related, but this involved a friend he knew, which dragged him in whether he liked it or not.

The weight loss pills had probably come from some online seller, right? Or was someone at school peddling them on the sly? Ning Shuang frowned as he pondered it, then messaged Yang Mengqi: 【Senior, where did Qingning Senior get her weight loss pills?】

It wasn’t long before Yang Mengqi replied: 【University Town Night Market. She heard they were selling weight loss pills, muscle builders, stamina boosters, beauty pills—all sorts of stuff. Supposedly super effective, so she went and bought some.】

A total three-no product? No fear of the cops if someone got sick? How bold. Or maybe the seller had some way to cover their tracks?

Hearing that the seller was off-campus brought Ning Shuang some relief. At least it wasn’t on school grounds. If things blew up, it probably wouldn’t lead to an investigation of the school—and thus, nothing to do with him.

Truth be told, ever since the gu ban came into effect with the reforms, Ning Shuang had understood the dangers involved.

Gu was the Miao Frontier’s lifeblood, but to outsiders, it was incredibly hazardous. That was why they’d been confined to their villages, forbidden from leaving the Miao villages at will.

After the reforms, gu was banned and Miao Frontier folk were finally allowed to come and go freely. Gradually, the outside world came to consist of ordinary people and Miao Frontier people.

Gu-raising was prohibited, but when profit beckoned, there would always be those tempted to exploit it for cash. The incident at the Abandoned Experimental Building had been one example; now these so-called “pills” were another.

All this thinking had worn Ning Shuang out.

He kicked off his shoes and flopped flat onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling light fixture. He pursed his lips in thought. Well, as long as he cured Ming Qingning, everything should blow over. If it really escalated, the elders would step in and handle it.

He was just from a branch family—no need for him to worry about major tribal affairs.

With that settled in his mind, Ning Shuang no longer felt the headache or irritation.

~~~

In the dead of night, the hospital lay silent. The corridor lights were off, leaving only the green glow of the evacuation signs.

Room 2109.

Yang Mengqi was already fast asleep on the caregiver’s bed.

The patient in the hospital bed suddenly snapped her eyes open. She lay there in silence for several long seconds before her hands began clawing at her own arms, producing a harsh “scratch-scratch” sound—like nails raking over scales.

By the end, her fingernails were a bloody mess, and her breathing grew more and more labored.

“Qingning… what’s wrong?” The noise roused Yang Mengqi from the caregiver’s bed. She rubbed her eyes and flicked on the bedside lamp switch. Dim yellow light flooded the room.

She looked toward the hospital bed.

In the next instant, her eyes flew wide. A massive swath of the white bedsheet was soaked dark red with blood. Ming Qingning’s head was tilted to the side, her wide eyes locked intently on Yang Mengqi.

Moments later—

“Doctor! Doctor!” Yang Mengqi bolted from the room, triggering every motion-sensor light in the corridor.

…

A little past one in the morning, Ning Shuang was jolted awake by his phone ringing.

He fumbled around under his pillow for ages before finally grabbing the phone and answering without even checking the screen.

“Hello?” Ning Shuang mumbled, eyes still closed.

There was no response on the other end of the phone, only the sound of a girl sobbing. Ning Shuang snapped awake in an instant. He sat up quickly and checked the caller ID—it was Yang Mengqi.

“Senior Sister? What’s wrong? Did something happen to Senior Sister Qingning?” Ning Shuang asked urgently.

Yang Mengqi sobbed as she stumbled through her words. “Ning Shuang, c-can you come to the hospital right now? Qingning’s condition suddenly got worse.”

“I’ve already contacted Qingning’s parents. They’re on their way… on a plane. They probably won’t arrive until tomorrow morning.” Yang Mengqi didn’t know who else to call. Remembering how Ning Shuang had promised before leaving that he would come back to see Ming Qingning, she decided to reach out to him first.

Ning Shuang rolled out of bed in a hurry and soothed her in a gentle voice. “I’m on my way right now. Try not to worry. Oh, and don’t call anyone else to the hospital yet—too many people there wouldn’t help.”

“Okay. I’ve only contacted you and her parents.” Yang Mengqi wiped away her tears and glanced toward the hospital bed. The doctor had just administered a sedative to Ming Qingning. Now she was sleeping soundly, and the scratches on her arm had been properly bandaged. Everything that had happened moments ago felt like nothing more than a dream she’d had herself.

Ning Shuang hung up the phone, quickly pulled on some clothes, then retrieved several bottles of gu-dissolving medicine from the cabinet at the bottom of his wardrobe. These were all remedies specifically for bitter grass gu. If he could determine exactly which type of gu had afflicted Ming Qingning, he could administer the precise antidote.