“Relax. This is the antidote you bought at any cost,” Si Que paused slightly, “my guest.”
He looked at You Yuji’s pale face, released his grip, and handed her the pill. “Then take it yourself.”
You Yuji struggled to lift her hand to take the pill, but her hand had no strength at all. She watched helplessly as the pill slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground. She opened her mouth, but it felt like a stone was lodged in her throat, preventing her from making any sound.
Si Que’s gaze followed the pill, watching it fall from her fingers and roll into the cracks of the stone bed. He looked up at You Yuji again, unexpectedly seeing her eyes turn red.
Si Que turned around and poured another pill from the bottle on the table, returning to the stone bed. This time, he successfully placed the pill into her mouth.
He looked at You Yuji; she lowered her eyes, her expression showing little emotion.
Before long, You Yuji’s eyelids grew heavier, and she lay down powerlessly. In her last conscious moments, she turned her head slightly to look inside the stone bed. She saw Baisui lying on her discarded skirt, sleeping soundly. Her fingertips trembled as she tried to pull her skirt over to cover herself, but she was too weak to do so, and could only watch it lie just out of reach.
Gradually losing consciousness, You Yuji closed her eyes and fell into a semi-comatose state. Sometimes she felt trapped in a misty dream, with no way out. Other times, she was tormented by the painful poison marks on her body.
Most of the time, she lay there quietly, unable to open her eyes, but able to hear faint sounds around her. She could hear the footsteps of the Poison Pavilion’s people and the occasional meows of Baisui. Baisui’s occasional meows comforted her, letting her know he was okay.
She could feel Baisui snuggling against her hand and clearly felt the Pavilion Master lifting her leg to give her medicine at regular intervals.
In the involuntary foggy predicament, she felt humiliated.
Later, she could barely open her eyes.
The light in the jade chamber was dim, making it impossible to tell the time, whether it was day or night outside.
A blood-red mask appeared in her vision. You Yuji closed her eyes weakly again.
The pain from the poison marks on her body slowly subsided.
Once, she opened her eyes and barely turned her head to look at the table and chairs not far away, seeing the Pavilion Master with his back to her, seemingly asleep on the table. Baisui was lying beside him, his black tail sweeping lightly.
You Yuji wanted so much to hold Baisui in her arms and scold him to stay away from the Pavilion Master. As she closed her eyes, she regretted not listening to Lady Jing’s advice to send someone to take Baisui back…
This time, when You Yuji woke up again, she clearly felt a change in her body, no longer as heavy as before. She opened her eyes and first saw Baisui sitting beside her, chewing on a piece of her silk handkerchief.
She tried to sit up and found she could slowly push herself up. She anxiously looked down at herself and found her cotton cloak covering her.
She immediately looked around the room and did not see the Pavilion Master. She lowered her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
A weight on her leg indicated that Baisui had jumped onto her lap.
You Yuji lowered her eyes and looked at Baisui, gently stroking its head. She noticed her fingertips were still trembling slightly. With a trembling hand, she pushed her sleeve up, frowning at the red spots on her forearm. She then lifted the cotton cloak covering her body to look at her legs, which bore the same red spots as her arms.
The door creaked open, and You Yuji, with shaking hands, hastily covered herself with the cotton cloak. She turned her eyes to the Poison Pavilion Master who walked in, his usually gentle gaze now filled with anger and more wariness.
Si Que glanced at her without a word, walking straight to the square table and sitting down with his back to You Yuji.
You Yuji pressed her lips together, weakly clutching the cotton cloak around her, her gaze fixed on his back. During those semi-conscious moments when she was bound, her senses had been very clear.
He had fed her the pills with his long fingers twelve times in total.
After a long while, You Yuji seemed to deflate, slowly lowering her eyes. Her tightly clenched hand on the cotton cloak gradually loosened. She looked at her still trembling pale fingertips and told herself in her heart—
You Yuji, don’t be unreasonable. Right now, he is the healer, and you are the patient. In the face of life and death, why fuss over minor details?
Baisui stood up, retracted its sharp claws, and raised a small paw to pat You Yuji’s shoulder.
You Yuji bit her lip, holding back the moisture in her eyes. She took a deep breath and swallowed the grievance. She raised her eyes again, looking at the tall figure in black, and spoke weakly, “Thank you.”
Si Que’s hand paused while handling the medicine bottle. He suddenly turned the chair to face You Yuji, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.
A strange atmosphere slowly spread.
You Yuji couldn’t understand why the Poison Pavilion Master seemed suddenly angry.
She reflected, wondering if it was because she had accidentally spilled the poison from the shelf, causing such troublesome consequences and making him unhappy?
Her thoughts churned, but she didn’t dare speak hastily again.
After a moment of tense silence, she saw the Poison Pavilion Master turn away once more.
Si Que poured a glass of water and walked over to You Yuji, handing it to her.
You Yuji, feeling parched, immediately reached out to take it. Holding the cup with both hands, she tried to control herself, but her hands were still trembling. She gripped the cup harder, fearing she might spill the water.
Si Que placed his hand over hers, steadying the cup, and helped her drink slowly.
Perhaps because he had been handling a lot of poisons and had washed his hands repeatedly, his hands smelled faintly of soap, with a hint of warmth in his palm.
You Yuji didn’t dare look at their entwined hands, keeping her eyes half-lowered as she hurriedly drank the water.
He let go and took the empty cup away. The warmth on her hand vanished, and You Yuji sighed softly in relief, quietly thanking him again, “Thank you…”
The Poison Pavilion Master had already turned back to the table, placing the cup down heavily.
Despite not wanting to interact with him at this moment, You Yuji had to muster the courage to speak, “How long… how long was I unconscious?”
He didn’t immediately respond.
Just when You Yuji thought he wouldn’t respond, he spoke hoarsely, “One day.”
One day? Only one day? You Yuji was surprised. She had thought she had been unconscious for much longer. She suddenly recalled those twelve doses of medicine.
One day, twelve doses—does that mean he administered the medicine every two hours?
Wouldn’t that mean the Poison Pavilion Master hadn’t slept properly for a whole day and night?
You Yuji quietly raised her eyes, secretly observing the Poison Pavilion Master sitting not far away.
Suddenly, the Poison Pavilion Master stood up, startling her. Before she could look away, she saw him standing sideways, pouring a pill from the bottle into his palm.
Seeing the white pill, You Yuji’s face instantly turned pale, and her entire body tensed up.
—
By the third day, You Yuji was no longer so weak and could get out of bed and move around freely. Her hands had stopped trembling.
She finally walked out of the jade chamber, looking worriedly at Zhuo Wen and the two guards.
They were still unconscious.
Even Zhanxue remained in a slumped position on the table, unconscious.
Clearly, the Poison Pavilion Master hadn’t bothered with them these past few days.
You Yuji hurried over to check, feeling relieved to find them still alive. She turned back to the jade chamber, keeping her distance from the Poison Pavilion Master, and spoke in a gentle tone, “Can you save them?”
As soon as she finished speaking, her expression changed abruptly, and she cried out, “Watch out! There’s a spider next to you!”
Si Que turned his head and saw the red spider climbing up the wall. Without any expression, he reached out and grabbed the spider in his hand. Then he walked out of the jade chamber and placed the red spider back into Zhanxue’s gourd, setting it casually on the table.
You Yuji stared in disbelief, whispering, “You, you’re not afraid of the spider?”
“It doesn’t have my poison.”
You Yuji was stunned.
Si Que walked past You Yuji, and she instinctively took a step back.
Si Que found this somewhat amusing. Was she avoiding him because she thought he was covered in poison? How ironic, considering how much she had toyed with him.
Si Que stopped and glanced at her.
You Yuji had no idea what he was thinking, still worried about Zhuo Wen and the two guards’ safety.
Si Que walked to the table, tidying up, and explained, “That spider is called a sleep spider. Its bite causes one to sleep for seven days. That’s all.”
You Yuji breathed a sigh of relief, marveling at the wonders of the world’s poisons.
“When the imperial court’s people chased after us, your subordinates drove the carriage away,” Si Que said, pouring white pills into a bottle with a rustling sound. “They went to the You family.”
You Yuji frowned. Lady Jing had been working by her side for a long time, so she quickly understood her intention. When something suddenly happened at the Poison Pavilion and Lady Jing couldn’t find her, she must have sent the carriage back to the You family, claiming that You Yuji had returned there.
Immediately, another thought struck You Yuji.
Zhuo Wen would remain unconscious for another four days. Did that mean she would have to stay here with the Poison Pavilion Master for the next four days? The thought made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Si Que saw through her worry at a glance.
“I will send you back to the You family now,” he said, slowly smiling under the blood-red mask, “my guest.”
“Leaving now?” You Yuji’s eyes lit up with joy.
Si Que glanced at the stone bed and chuckled with his hoarse voice, “Put your pants on, and we will leave.”
The smile in You Yuji’s eyes froze, and she blushed instantly.
She was wearing a skirt, but for the convenience of frequent medication, she had not been wearing undergarments. She quickly walked to the stone bed, pushing aside Baisui, who was sleeping on her pants, and hurriedly put on her clothes.
“What about my subordinates…”
“When they wake up, the people of the Poison Pavilion will send them back to the You family.”
You Yuji avoided looking at the Poison Pavilion Master, nodding randomly and once again whispering her thanks.
“The fourteenth time,” Si Que muttered to himself.
—In the past three days, this was the fourteenth time You Yuji had thanked him.
You Yuji didn’t understand what he meant. She held Baisui in her arms, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly, “The medicine…”
A bottle of medicine was thrown over, and You Yuji quickly caught it. However, it was not the medicine she had been using for the past three days.
“Put one pill in your bathwater every night. You will be cured in seven days.”
“Thank you.”
The fifteenth time.
Si Que walked out.
You Yuji put away the medicine, holding Baisui, and hurriedly followed him, keeping a distance of three steps.
As they walked upstairs, You Yuji couldn’t help but wonder if they should turn back. What if the court’s people were still around?
However, as soon as they reached the upper level, she got her answer.
The Poison Pavilion Master took her another way. When the stone door opened, You Yuji looked at the plum grove outside and couldn’t help but say, “Wasn’t this supposed to be a dead end?”
She heard a strange, hoarse laugh. Then he said, “Do you believe everything a man says?”
You Yuji was stunned, pausing for a moment before quickly catching up to the Poison Pavilion Master. However, she was still weak, and after walking a considerable distance, her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto a bed of fallen leaves, the cool wind blowing through her disheveled hair.
When the Poison Pavilion Master’s hand reached out to her, You Yuji instinctively avoided it, even moving her gaze away.
—She couldn’t bear to look at his hand; it would remind her of the times when she was unconscious.
The next moment, she was suddenly lifted off the ground, carried horizontally.
You Yuji instantly tensed up.
