Jiang Xuewan was the first to move. She immediately noticed Jiang Songwei beside Qi Buyan. Without even bothering to finish her bun, she stood up, pushed her legs apart, and ran towards Jiang Songwei, shouting “Third Uncle” as she ran.
The moment Jiang Songwei saw Jiang Xuewan, he finally felt relieved. He had followed Qi Buyan’s butterfly here with half-belief along the way.
He Sui’an also reacted with joy.
She walked towards them.
“We were just thinking of looking for you,” she said, filled with a mixture of joy and confusion, though joy prevailed over doubt.
Qi Buyan brushed aside the long braid hanging over He Sui’an’s shoulder. “It’s time to come back. We’ve been away too long, and I’m not used to it.”
For now, he didn’t ask why she had left the big ship and ended up here.
He Sui’an wanted to ask something more.
Jiang Songwei interrupted her.
He wanted to know exactly what had happened. What had they experienced over the past day? Jiang Xuewan couldn’t fully tell him, so Jiang Songwei could only ask He Sui’an.
Just as He Sui’an was about to speak, her stomach let out a loud growl.
She couldn’t be blamed.
She hadn’t had a single grain of rice all day and had been exhausted from escaping from the Duan mansion, both physically and mentally. She needed to eat.
Jiang Xuewan chuckled.
“Miss He, your stomach is growling.”
Jiang Songwei first found a place for them to eat. Seeing that they seemed to have been hungry all day, he specifically asked for a private room to make it easier to talk.
As soon as the food came, He Sui’an devoured it, stuffing her cheeks full in just a few bites, eating with gusto.
Seeing He Sui’an eat so quickly, Jiang Xuewan sped up too, as if trying to compete with her.
They ate ravenously.
Seeing this, Jiang Songwei, feeling helpless with Jiang Xuewan’s childlike behavior, pressed down the bamboo chopsticks in her hand. “Eat slowly, be careful not to choke.”
Always obedient to her third uncle, Jiang Xuewan slowed down, holding a large meat bun in her left hand and picking vegetables with her right. She took a bite from the left and then from the right, her mouth greasy, which Jiang Songwei wiped off.
Although He Sui’an ate quickly, her face remained clean, and she finished two bowls of rice.
Two empty bowls appeared on the table.
Qi Buyan propped his chin up and watched her eat.
He didn’t eat. His slender fingers played with her long braid, which had become quite disheveled, with loose strands scattered about, looking much more unruly than it had that morning.
She had only been away from him for a day, and she had ended up like this. Qi Buyan’s fingertips nonchalantly toyed with the butterfly hairpin at the end of He Sui’an’s hair. His lips curled slightly, appearing calm, but with a murderous intent.
After eating her fill, He Sui’an put down her bowl and told Jiang Songwei everything that had happened today in detail.
Jiang Songwei listened with a furrowed brow.
It turned out that Jiang Xuewan had unintentionally stumbled upon people on the ship secretly selling illusionary worms, leading to this disaster. The Great Zhou had always prohibited the sale of these worms, yet these people, driven by greed for silver, brazenly broke the law.
Qingzhou, a place neither too far nor too close to the capital, had officials who turned a blind eye to the sale of these worms to foreign merchants. If it was like this here, other places might be even worse.
Jiang Songwei was not naïve.
He knew that without the protection of local officials, foreigners couldn’t maintain such a business. But even though Jiang Songwei understood the complexities involved, he couldn’t intervene. He hadn’t yet uncovered the truth behind the defeat at Weicheng and had to keep a low profile, often hiding his identity while taking care of Jiang Xuewan.
Jiang Songwei felt despondent.
Seeing his mood drop, He Sui’an fell silent.
Jiang Xuewan, sensitive to Jiang Songwei’s emotions, thought he was angry because she had run around recklessly today. She threw away her greasy chicken leg and hugged him. “I won’t run around anymore.”
“Third Uncle isn’t angry with you. Third Uncle blames himself for not being able to protect you.” Jiang Songwei said.
Then, he suddenly knelt in front of Qi Buyan.
He Sui’an was so shocked she stood up.
She couldn’t understand and said, “Third Uncle… what are you doing?”
Qi Buyan remained unperturbed, his hands clasped under his slender chin, his long, curled eyelashes slightly arched. He looked down at the kneeling Jiang Songwei, appearing able to calmly accept anything.
In the Great Zhou, people only knelt to heaven, earth, and their parents. A man should never kneel to a boy much younger than himself, yet Jiang Songwei knelt before Qi Buyan.
This was the only way he could express his sincere intentions to the other party.
Jiang Xuewan wanted to pull Jiang Songwei up.
“Third Uncle.”
Jiang Songwei kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, ignoring her. He only said, “Young Master Qi, I know you are skilled with Gu. I beg you to help remove the Gu from Xuewan.”
He had no other way. He couldn’t think of any terms that would make Qi Buyan agree to help. Not wanting to leave the Gu in Jiang Xuewan’s body any longer, he had no choice but to take this desperate measure.
“Remove the Gu?”
He Sui’an was stunned.
Since they had met, Jiang Songwei had never mentioned that Jiang Xuewan was afflicted by a Gu. He Sui’an thought Jiang Xuewan’s condition was due to other reasons, such as hitting her head or being ill.
She hadn’t expected it was because of a Gu. He Sui’an glanced at Jiang Xuewan.
Reflecting on the past, Jiang Songwei looked despondent. “Yes, removing the Gu. Xuewan was infected with a Gu before we met you in Weicheng, and has been in this state ever since. I have searched everywhere but found no way to remove it.”
Qi Buyan smiled.
His eyes were innocent, but he said, “Just because you beg me, I should help you remove the Gu?”
“You misunderstand; that is not my intention,” Jiang Songwei denied. “I am merely asking Young Master Qi to give me a chance. Whatever I need to trade, I am willing.”
He Sui’an did not interject.
She had lived with Qi Buyan long enough to understand his character. He had his own way of doing things, and He Sui’an generally did not impose her views on him.
Moreover, Qi Buyan was right; not everything could be obtained by begging.
Selfishly, He Sui’an naturally hoped Jiang Xuewan would recover.
But this matter was beyond her control.
Furthermore, Qi Buyan was not an omnipotent saint. He might not be able to remove the Gu from Jiang Xuewan. He Sui’an had also learned from Shen Jianhe that even Gu masters might face backlash from controlling Gu.
At the Fengling Town inn, Shen Jianhe had quietly told He Sui’an that when Qi Buyan played the flute in the Yan King’s tomb to counter-control the puppets controlled by the Yin Corpse Gu, he had bled from his seven orifices.
He Sui’an wasn’t clear on the specifics.
After all, she had fainted at the time.
She could only rely on Shen Jianhe’s account afterward. Even from his description, it sounded harrowing and very dangerous.
This meant that refining, controlling, planting, removing, and killing Gu all carried risks. He Sui’an was not Qi Buyan and didn’t know the truth, so she wouldn’t interfere with him now.
Jiang Songwei was still kneeling on the ground.
He Sui’an couldn’t stand it any longer. “Third Uncle, please get up.”
Jiang Xuewan echoed, “Get up.”
She only knew to repeat this phrase.
Qi Buyan remained unmoved. He picked up the teacup He Sui’an had drunk from and took a sip. “You say you only ask for a chance, and are willing to trade anything for it?”
Jiang Songwei hesitated for a moment.
He then replied without hesitation, “Yes, I am willing to trade anything.”
He Sui’an, hearing this, looked at Qi Buyan.
Not sure if she was worried that he would get into trouble because of breaking the Gu or if she wanted him to agree to help break the Gu.
Qi Buyan finished the tea, slowly rubbed the teacup with his fingertips, and said regretfully, “But you don’t have what I want, so what should we do? I won’t make a deal with you.”
Jiang Songwei changed his tune and said, “Then what do you want? I can get it for you.”
“What I want…”
Qi Buyan put down the teacup, smiled gently, but his words were as cold as a ghost’s whisper, without any warmth, “What I want, I will get myself. I don’t trust others.”
“You should get up.”
He said, “I will not break this Gu.”
Jiang Songwei stood up, his expression difficult to describe, “Then I would like to ask Young Master Qi a question.”
Qi Buyan looked at He Sui’an for some reason, and agreed, “Alright, if I know the answer, I will tell you. If I don’t know, there is nothing I can do.”
“I want to ask if there is a way to break the Gu in Xuewan’s body?” Jiang Songwei was more worried that there was no way to break it in the world.
“Of course, there is.”
Qi Buyan replied, “Since this Gu exists, there must be a way to break it.”
Jiang Songwei was silent for a moment.
He spoke with difficulty, “Is the Gu in her body very difficult to break?”
“Yes.” Qi Buyan gave a definite answer, “She has had the Gu for a long time. It’s very difficult to break. She won’t die, but as long as the Gu is in her body, she will always be in this state.”
He Sui’an sighed in her heart. This Gu was indeed very difficult to break.
Jiang Songwei asked, “What kind of Gu is this?”
Qi Buyan’s thin lips moved slightly, “A Soul Capturing Gu, which can make people foolish.”
Jiang Xuewan vaguely felt that they were talking about her, but she couldn’t understand what they meant. She nervously grabbed He Sui’an’s hand.
The boy suddenly raised his eyes and looked at her. Jiang Xuewan instinctively let go of He Sui’an and hurriedly hid behind Jiang Songwei.
Jiang Songwei did not force Qi Buyan to agree to help break the Gu for Jiang Xuewan.
Even if he wanted to force him, he couldn’t.
But he didn’t intend to give up.
Jiang Songwei would find another Gu master to break the Gu for Jiang Xuewan or wait until the day Qi Buyan changed his mind.
Qi Buyan didn’t know what Jiang Songwei was thinking and wasn’t interested in knowing. He left the table, put down some silver coins, paid for the meal, and left the tavern without looking back, taking He Sui’an with him.
Jiang Xuewan peeked out from behind Jiang Songwei, looking at her with reluctance in her eyes.
The two figures gradually disappeared into the crowd.
Jiang Songwei pulled Jiang Xuewan out from behind him, gazing at her with a layer of sadness and aged sorrow in his eyes, muttering to himself, “Xuewan, what exactly did you go through in the past?”
Jiang Xuewan hugged him, inexplicably not wanting to see her third uncle show a sad expression.
*
On the long streets and narrow alleys, pedestrians were bustling about.
He Sui’an walked slowly with Qi Buyan, and after a while, she couldn’t help but ask, “Are we heading to the dock to take a boat out of Qingzhou now?”
He walked to the front of an inn and replied, “No, we won’t be leaving Qingzhou for now.”
Are they going to stay in Qingzhou for a night?
She suddenly slapped her forehead, realizing that their baggage, with all their clothes and jewelry, had been left on the boat. He Sui’an’s face instantly turned bitter.
The inn they were about to stay in was the well-known Yunlai Inn in Qingzhou. Qi Buyan requested an upper room and asked the waiter for bathwater, which He Sui’an knew was for her.
After a day of travel, how could her body not be dirty?
She obediently went upstairs and entered the room.
