“What, changed your mind again?” Lu Wujiu lowered his gaze slightly.
Lian Qiao forced a dry laugh: “…It’s not that urgent, really.”
After all, although this medicine was somewhat uncomfortable when it took effect, for now it only made her uncontrollably want to get closer, and the effect lasted only one hour. As long as she endured it and stayed in the same room for that one hour, it was far from requiring such a sacrifice from her.
Besides, spending seven days and seven nights with Lu Wujiu?
Impossible!
Wouldn’t that be the death of her?
Lian Qiao was uncharacteristically reserved: “Um… I think the medicine cultivator is quite capable. Maybe we should wait for his antidote…”
As she spoke, she rubbed her nose, feeling slightly awkward.
Lu Wujiu’s face clearly read, “I knew you’d be like this.”
Lian Qiao followed him while trying to save face: “What’s with that attitude? You should’ve said so earlier. It’s all because you’ve tricked me too many times before, of course I’d misunderstand.”
Lu Wujiu didn’t even look back.
Lian Qiao couldn’t help but pout: “So full of yourself! Even if I were willing, you? Could you last seven days?”
Lu Wujiu finally stopped.
He slowly turned around, a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips: “I can’t?”
Just as Lian Qiao was about to retort, she accidentally brushed her forehead against his jaw as he turned.
Lian Qiao had always thought of Lu Wujiu as the fair-skinned, rosy-lipped little crown prince she first met, wearing Cloud-Piercing Boots and a Purple-Gold Crown. But at some point, he had already grown much taller than her.
When his warm breath brushed past the tip of her nose, a strange sensation washed over her.
Lian Qiao stiffened all over: “You… what do you think you’re doing…”
Lu Wujiu didn’t speak, only lowering his gaze slightly.
For some reason, the places his eyes swept over felt slightly feverish.
Lian Qiao would rather fight Lu Wujiu than stand this close to him.
She couldn’t help but follow his gaze, only to see her chest, full and rounded, rising and falling with her breath, the curve particularly noticeable.
How dare he look there!
Lian Qiao didn’t know whether to cover herself or his eyes, flusteredly moving her hands up and down: “Don’t look!”
At that moment, Lu Wujiu’s cold hand suddenly slid to the collar of her clothes, his tone teasing: “Don’t? Are you sure?”
“Y-You, you, you…”
Lian Qiao’s face flushed red with shock.
How could someone be so shamelessly brazen?
Just as she was panicking, that hand brushed past her lapel and suddenly stopped at the sash around her waist.
Then, in a cold, stiff tone, he pointed—
“Your clothes are on inside out.”
Lian Qiao: “…”
Looking down, she realized that in her haste to find Lu Wujiu earlier, she had put her inner garment on inside out.
He was deliberately messing with her, wasn’t he?
“Don’t get cocky!” Lian Qiao quickly rubbed her flushed face, clutching her waistband as she stepped back. “What’s the use of being all talk? Next time it’ll be your turn to have an episode, won’t it? We’ll see if you’re a donkey or a horse when the time comes!”
Lu Wujiu raised an eyebrow slightly: “An attack?””
Then Lian Qiao saw his face clearly saying, “This thing isn’t even worth mentioning?”
“…”
So he meant it was because she was too weak to resist the Gu Insect, right?
She retorted indignantly: “Fine, fine! You’ll see how tough it is when the time comes. I hope someone can keep their word and definitely not come knocking on my door late at night. Even if you knock a hundred times, I won’t open it!”
Lu Wujiu’s response to this was—complete disregard.
He then turned and walked toward the mountain gate.
That direction seemed to lead toward Medicine King Valley once again.
Lian Qiao grew anxious and hurried after him. "Hey, didn't we agree not to tell Divine Physician Han? What are you planning?"
Lu Wujiu didn't even turn his head. "Just asking if anyone has come looking for an anti-itch remedy."
The implication was clear—if the Gu had truly been mixed up, someone else must have administered the wrong one, meaning there might be another person suffering from the Itching Gu right now.
Lian Qiao replied sarcastically, "How can you be so sure it was a mix-up? I think it's more likely that someone simply lacked the skill to defend against it!"
Lu Wujiu replied calmly, "Oh? Then let's go and see for ourselves."
Unable to stop him, Lian Qiao had no choice but to follow closely behind.
Just then, a voice from the direction of Medicine King Valley suddenly called out to her.
"Hey—Lian Qiao, stop right there!"
Not far away, a young woman in a fiery red pomegranate skirt was storming over with an angry stride.
The newcomer was Jiang Li, the eldest daughter of the Jiang Clan of Kuaiji, one of the four great families of the Cultivation World, and also one of Lian Qiao's sworn rivals.
Being confronted by two rivals in one night—today was truly an unlucky day.
Lian Qiao was baffled. "What's wrong with you now? Who provoked you?"
"You tell me!" Jiang Li gritted her teeth, glaring at her while drawing her sword, clearly ready to settle a score.
Except, the hand gripping the sword trembled slightly.
Her whole body kept twitching left and right, as if she were convulsing.
But wasn't this young lady the most particular about her appearance?
It was said she was so strict that if even a single wrinkle appeared on her daily change of clothes, the maids attending to her would be punished with a beating.
Lian Qiao asked, "…Have you suffered a Qi Deviation?"
Jiang Li pointed at her nose. "Still pretending?"
Lian Qiao grew even more confused. "Pretending what? Speak clearly!"
Jiang Li fumed with rage. "Don't play innocent. I couldn't find you all night—if it wasn't you, why are you acting so guilty?"
Lian Qiao retorted, "What did I do? Explain yourself."
Jiang Li kept scratching left and right, and only when she drew closer did Lian Qiao notice the numerous red rashes covering her face and her disheveled hair.
That face, which had always been pale and unremarkable, now looked like an unripe wild fruit under the rash.
But those rashes, that twitching—why did it seem so familiar?
A sudden suspicion dawned on Lian Qiao. "You… you haven't been afflicted with the Itching Gu, have you?"
Jiang Li instantly gritted her teeth. "So it really was you! Quick… give me the antidote!"
Lian Qiao was stunned.
Lu Wujiu had guessed correctly—it really was a mix-up. They had been afflicted with the Love Gu, while someone else had been afflicted with the Itching Gu!
But she truly hadn't expected that person to be Jiang Li.
At that moment, Jiang Li followed Lian Qiao's gaze and noticed another person standing in the shadows nearby. And that person seemed to be Lu Wujiu. Instantly, she froze in place, as if turned to stone.
She awkwardly smoothed her hair and softened her voice. "Your Highness, you're here too?"
Lu Wujiu responded with a hum. "What happened to you…?"
Jiang Li looked as if she were about to cry. "I… I…"
Then she angrily pointed at Lian Qiao. "It's all her fault! This wicked woman secretly afflicted me with a Gu, causing unbearable itching—utterly malicious!"
Lian Qiao tried to explain, "…It's like this—the Gu you're afflicted with wasn't administered by me."
"Who else could it be if not you?" Jiang Li pressed her advantage relentlessly. "I never said I was afflicted by a Gu just now, yet you immediately saw through it—not only did you know I was under a Gu's influence, but you also recognized it as the Itching Gu. At this point, how can you still try to deny it?"
Lian Qiao: She was truly wronged.
As she struggled to figure out how to explain, Jiang Li grew even more furious. "Don’t even think of making excuses. I have the box right here. I took it to the divine physician, who said this box of Itching Gu was originally stored in the Scripture Pavilion—the very pavilion your Lian family donated and built. Who else but you would steal such a pointless and malicious Gu?"
Lian Qiao: Why did everyone keep looking at her like that?
She grew angry too. "So what if I stole it? But I never intended to use it on you. I meant to use it on Lu Wujiu. Somehow it got switched along the way. If you want to argue, go find the person who actually harmed you!"
Jiang Li seemed to find this utterly absurd. "Switched? Lian Qiao, why don’t you make up an even more ridiculous story? Switched for what? Tell me!"
"It was switched for the Love…" Lian Qiao started to explain, but a faint glance from Lu Wujiu made her swallow her words.
So infuriating!
Left with no choice, she could only stiffly insist, "In any case, I didn’t cast that Gu on you."
Naturally, Jiang Li refused to believe her. "It seems to me you simply can’t explain it! What a coincidence—just after you argued with me and left during the day, I started itching all over? Since that’s the case, let’s go to the Discipline Hall and see who believes your absurd story."
With that, she grabbed Lian Qiao’s wrist, clearly intent on escalating the matter.
Lian Qiao was suffering in silence, unable to reveal what she had actually been doing that night.
Damn it all, it was truly just a coincidence!
She wanted to break free but feared further provoking Jiang Li.
Reluctantly, Lian Qiao could only frantically hint at Lu Wujiu, urging him to clear her name.
Lu Wujiu remained unmoved until Lian Qiao threatened him with her lips, signaling she would expose the matter of the Love Gu. Only then did he finally speak up. "Wait—"
Jiang Li indeed stopped. "What else does Your Highness have to say?"
Lu Wujiu said, "You’ve misunderstood. It wasn’t her."
Although the four great families each held their own territories, there were still distinctions among them. Jiang Li naturally dared not clash with Lu Wujiu.
Her aggression softened slightly, but she remained unconvinced. "How does Your Highness know this? Don’t be fooled by her innocent and lively appearance. If she didn’t do it, why did she flee overnight? I think she’s most likely…"
"She was with me on a night hunt tonight." Before Jiang Li could finish, Lu Wujiu abruptly interrupted.
Jiang Li: "…"
Well done, Lian Qiao!
Usually, you act as if you and Lu Wujiu are sworn enemies, but as soon as the Kongtong Seal is lost, you start forming alliances too?
Jiang Li refused to let it go. "What about during the day, then? That can’t be explained away. As soon as she left in the morning, I started itching. If it wasn’t her, who else could it be?"
Lu Wujiu replied, "It wasn’t her during the day either."
Unwilling to concede, Jiang Li asked while enduring the itching all over her body, "Why is Your Highness so certain?"
Instead of answering, Lu Wujiu countered, "Did you only see Lian Qiao during the day? Were there no other outsiders besides her?"
Suppressing her anger, Jiang Li said, "There were, but aside from Lian Qiao, there was only Junior Brother."
"Junior Brother… is that Xie Mingran?" Lian Qiao finally managed to interject.
Jiang Li rolled her eyes. "Otherwise? Little Junior Brother was sent by our Jiang family. You're not going to say he tried to plant a Gu on me, and it was an Itching Gu at that? How absurd could that be?"
An Itching Gu was naturally impossible, but if it were a Love Gu, that would be just right.
After all, it was common knowledge that this little junior brother had long harbored feelings for Jiang Li. But Jiang Li had always been harsh toward him. If he had momentarily lost his senses and done something extreme, it would be entirely understandable.
The more Lian Qiao thought about it, the more convinced she became—this Xie Mingran was very likely the one who stole the Kongtong Seal and the Gu.
At this point, they had to capture him as soon as possible for questioning.
However, just as she was about to set off to apprehend him, Jiang Li grabbed her arm. "Trying to run? You don’t actually think I’d believe it was Little Junior Brother, do you?"
Lian Qiao grew anxious. "Let go first. If you don’t believe me, wait until I bring him before you and interrogate him. Then you’ll know."
But Jiang Li wasn’t one to be reasoned with so easily. She sneered and tightened her grip on Lian Qiao. "No. Way. Tonight, you must come with me to the Discipline Hall."
As the two argued, Lu Wujiu suddenly spoke up. "Miss Jiang, you’re being a bit hasty. You said the itching started as soon as Lian Qiao left, but that’s not right. This Gu has a delayed onset, and the symptoms aren’t like this."
Jiang Li was taken aback. "How does Your Highness know so clearly?"
Lu Wujiu replied calmly, "Because I switched the Gu."
Jiang Li: ?
Lian Qiao: ??
Lu Wujiu remained composed and continued addressing Jiang Li. "Your father should have told you that I’ve been guarding the Scripture Repository these past few days. I discovered early on that someone had entered, so when the thief left, I swapped her pouch and replaced it with this Gu. The real Itching Gu is still in the Treasure Pavilion. If you don’t believe me, you can go check."
This time, it was Lian Qiao’s turn to grit her teeth.
So, he had known all along what she was up to, and he had even secretly switched the Gu!
Jiang Li was also stunned. "Then… what Gu did I get?"
Lu Wujiu replied, "A Silence Gu, sprinkled with itching powder. So, it only causes temporary itching."
Jiang Li trembled slightly. "Silence? For how long?"
Lu Wujiu pondered for a moment. "About three days."
Jiang Li let out a cry of alarm, then suddenly realized she truly couldn’t speak!
She covered her mouth, glaring furiously at Lian Qiao, but unable to utter a single word.
After whimpering for a while, Lian Qiao looked bewildered. "Hold on, I know you have a lot of misunderstandings, but you heard it yourself—it really wasn’t me. I’ll go catch him now. Once I bring Xie Mingran back, everything will be cleared up."
Jiang Li was seething with anger but couldn’t say a word.
Seizing this golden opportunity, Lian Qiao quickly pulled Lu Wujiu away. "Since you’re not speaking, I’ll take it as your consent."
With that, she vanished in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Li was furious.
But in her current state, she couldn’t follow them at all. She could only stomp her foot and watch them leave.
Only after finally escaping Jiang Li’s line of sight and running a good distance did Lian Qiao finally let out a sigh of relief.
She patted her chest—that was close!
But on second thought, even though she had dodged Jiang Li, knowing that Lu Wujiu had secretly switched the Gu again—and with an even more malicious Silence Gu—was infuriating too, wasn’t it?
So Lian Qiao suddenly stopped and turned back to settle accounts with Lu Wujiu: "Well, you actually played a trick on me too? I just wanted to make you itch a little, but you swapped it for a Silence Gu?"
Not only did Lu Wujiu show no remorse, he even sized her up: "You actually believed that?"
Lian Qiao: "…Huh?"
Lu Wujiu said: "Just deceiving her, otherwise how could you have gotten away so quickly?"
Lian Qiao: ??
"Then what about the Silence Gu? Jiang Li clearly couldn't speak."
Lu Wujiu said calmly: "That? A Silence Curse I just cast, to prevent her from talking nonsense. Or would you rather we announce to everyone that we both fell for the Love Gu?"
Lian Qiao: "…"
What a slick move!