How could there still be a hint of teasing? Li Junnan, standing nearby, rolled his eyes upon hearing this.
“Brother Jue doesn’t mind having outsiders around, and I don’t care either. Sooner or later, it’ll all be mine anyway.”
Hmph, who’s afraid of whom? So what if I see something I shouldn’t? This treatment is a perfect opportunity to check the size—let’s see if Brother Jue has the guts for it.
As soon as Gu Ran finished speaking, Fu Sijue remained relatively calm, but Li Junnan beside him was so shocked his mouth hung open.
So, is this how this damn couple interacts in private? What kind of outrageous talk is this? Although he’s a doctor, he doesn’t have a fetish for looking at people naked, especially not his brother’s naked body.
“Ahem, you two, could you tone it down a bit?”
Gu Ran and Fu Sijue exchanged a smile, clearly indicating that their previous words were just jokes.
In the end, however, Fu Sijue was left wearing only his underwear.
Well, Gu Ran couldn’t help but blush and feel her heart race. Seeing Fu Sijue’s upper body in the morning had already made her think this man was a demon. Now, with only a pair of tight underwear on, his straight legs and well-defined muscle lines made Gu Ran’s mind uncontrollably drift to some inappropriate scenes.
Fortunately, she still had her sanity. After a moment of daze, Gu Ran collected her thoughts and began to administer acupuncture to Fu Sijue.
This acupuncture technique was Gu Ran’s original creation, based on her master’s method but with a few additional acupoints. However, these extra acupoints placed high demands on the practitioner. The slightest mistake could cause irreversible damage to the patient, ranging from disability to death.
Gu Ran began the acupuncture. At first, she only targeted a few common acupoints. Li Junnan, who had watched her perform acupuncture the night before, wasn’t particularly curious and stood silently to the side.
But when Gu Ran took out the nineteenth gold needle, Li Junnan’s expression began to change—from initial confusion to later disbelief.
Fu Sijue didn’t understand traditional Chinese medicine, but Li Junnan was sitting right across from him, and he could clearly see the changes in Li Junnan’s expression.
Finally, Li Junnan stood up, his gaze fixed on the hand Gu Ran was using to administer the needles. He muttered the names of the acupoints one by one, looking both stunned and shocked.
By the time Gu Ran inserted the thirty-sixth gold needle, Li Junnan had confirmed his suspicions.
“How do you know the Soul-Chasing Thirty-Six Needles? No, that’s the Poison Doctor’s exclusive technique. What’s your relationship with the Poison Doctor? Are you the Poison Doctor’s disciple? But that can’t be—I’ve never heard of the Poison Doctor taking on any disciples!”
Li Junnan felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his throat. How could this be? How could an eighteen-year-old girl know the Poison Doctor’s unique acupuncture technique?
A disciple? Right, if she weren’t the Poison Doctor’s disciple, how would she know the Soul-Chasing Thirty-Six Needles?
Gu Ran had just finished administering the needles and was exhausted from the effort. She had just sat down when Li Junnan bombarded her with questions.
At first, Gu Ran had hoped Li Junnan wouldn’t recognize the technique, but when she saw him stand up from his chair, she knew she couldn’t hide it anymore.
Earlier, Gu Ran had been thinking about how to explain herself later, but she never expected this guy to come up with a reason for her.
Fu Sijue, on the other hand, remained calm. When Li Junnan asked if she was the Poison Doctor’s disciple, he was also somewhat shocked.
But thinking about the traces Dan Zuo hadn’t been able to uncover, Fu Sijue felt that everything made sense.
“Yes, the Poison Doctor is my master, but she keeps a low profile, so no one knows she has a disciple.”
Gu Ran suddenly felt this excuse wasn’t bad either. As the Poison Doctor’s disciple, having such exceptional medical skills wouldn’t seem strange, and she wouldn’t have to repeatedly explain herself to others in the future.
Upon hearing this, Li Junnan immediately grew excited, darting to Gu Ran’s side. If not for Fu Sijue’s warning cough, Li Junnan would likely have grabbed Gu Ran’s hands by now.
“You’re really the Poison Doctor’s disciple? Then can you find your master? If the esteemed Poison Doctor were here, the poison in Sijue’s body could definitely be completely eradicated.”
Ahem, ahem, ahem…
Regarding the matter of the “esteemed Poison Doctor,” Gu Ran felt a headache coming on.
Facing Li Junnan’s intense gaze, Gu Ran composed herself slightly and said, “My master is unpredictable in her movements. She usually contacts me first, so I don’t know where she is now.”
“Ah, then what if you have an extremely urgent matter?”
“Tough luck.”
Gu Ran’s indifferent reply instantly doused Li Junnan’s fervor, but he still couldn’t quite accept it. “Gu Ran, do you really not know where the Poison Doctor is? Aren’t you worried about Sijue’s health? Both the Heart-Devouring Poison and G3 are among the ten rare poisons. With just the two of us, how long will it take to develop an antidote?”
“That’s your problem. I’ve inherited my master’s true teachings—these two poisons are nothing to me. Hurry up and check if the medicinal bath is ready. Brother Jue will need to soak in it after the needles are removed.”
Distracted by Gu Ran’s deflection, Li Junnan could only leave in disappointment. However, he had already made up his mind to find out the Poison Doctor’s whereabouts. Even if it wasn’t for the poison in Fu Sijue’s body, he still wanted to become the Poison Doctor’s disciple.
Thinking that Gu Ran might become his senior sister in the future, Li Junnan decided to treat her better from now on. If this future senior sister were to complain about him to their master, the esteemed Poison Doctor might refuse to take him as a disciple.
“Is Ranran really the Poison Doctor’s disciple?”
In the room, only Gu Ran and Fu Sijue remained.
Fu Sijue, still covered in acupuncture needles and unable to move, fixed his intense gaze on Gu Ran.
Gu Ran raised her eyebrows slightly, a smile dancing in her eyes as she asked, “Brother Jue doesn’t believe me?”
“It’s not that, I’m just a bit curious. Didn’t you say you learned your medical skills from that itinerant doctor in the village? Based on the timeline, it shouldn’t align with the Poison Doctor.”
Hearing Fu Sijue’s explanation, Gu Ran felt a twinge of guilt. Indeed, talking to clever people was always risky. But she had no intention of confessing and simply said, “Who said I could only have one master? A few years ago, I happened to meet the Poison Doctor by chance. She saw my exceptional talent and my mastery of ancient and modern medical principles, so she took me as her disciple.”
“So that’s how it is. My Ranran is truly lucky to have encountered such a remarkable person by chance.”
Fu Sijue smiled, his eyes deep and unfathomable, as if concealing an inscrutable mystery. Meeting his gaze, Gu Ran felt inexplicably guilty but forced herself to remain calm and composed.
“Hehe, maybe I’m just naturally lucky. Otherwise, how could I have won Brother Jue’s affection?”
This reasoning left Fu Sijue with no retort.
“Then, Ranran, is your Poison Doctor master male or female? How old are they?”
“Brother Jue, are you conducting a census? Unfortunately, my master always wears a mask when showing herself. I only know she’s female, nothing else.”
Hmph, so you’re trying to get information about the Poison Doctor from me? Well, I won’t tell you.
Fu Sijue didn’t expect Gu Ran to answer like this, but he wasn’t disappointed either. He smiled faintly and said meaningfully:
“Ranran’s master is quite mysterious, not even showing her true face to her own disciple.”
“Hehe, perhaps Master wants to protect me too.”
Thinking of her original intention, Gu Ran answered this way.
“The medicinal bath is ready, but this amount can’t possibly be enough for bathing.”
“We’ll add water later. Just maintain it at forty degrees.”
As she spoke, Gu Ran checked the time – exactly fifteen minutes had passed. She stood up to remove the needles from Fu Sijue, then had him enter the bathroom.
“Sit in it. It might hurt a bit at first, but bear with it. I’ll need to apply acupuncture again later.”
Fu Sijue didn’t hesitate at all. Whatever Gu Ran said, he listened and complied, being a very cooperative patient.
Another half hour passed.
It had to be said the medicinal bath was highly effective. After just five minutes of soaking, Fu Sijue felt like his whole body was being pricked by needles. Then even his joints began to ache as if being gnawed by countless insects.
But after enduring for over ten minutes, Fu Sijue began to feel an unprecedented lightness. His entire body felt warm, but not the burning kind of heat.
He felt completely comfortable throughout his body, as if all the previous blockages inside had been cleared. Using martial artists’ terminology, it was like having opened up the Ren and Du meridians.
Li Junnan had been accompanying them the entire time. Watching Fu Sijue’s expression change from restrained to twisted, then to enjoyment, he almost wondered if he was dreaming. This medicinal bath was truly miraculous.
“Gu Ran, will Sijue experience this much pain every time he takes the bath?”
“No. This medicinal bath has body-strengthening effects. Although Jue appears healthy, his body is actually severely damaged. This bath can improve his constitution. Probably after two or three more sessions, he won’t feel any pain.”
“So miraculous?”
Li Junnan couldn’t help exclaiming in admiration. Gu Ran chuckled lightly and said:
“You can try it too, but with your constitution, you’d probably pass out from pain the first couple times.”
“Impossible! My body is in great shape. I usually pay close attention to maintenance. There’s no way I’m in worse condition than Sijue.”
“Oh, really? It seems Doctor Li needs a thorough physical examination, especially of your liver and kidneys. Wouldn’t want it to affect human reproduction later.”
As she spoke, Gu Ran’s gaze lingered around Li Junnan’s waist for a few seconds.
Li Junnan immediately bristled. Although he was actually a year older than Fu Sijue, he now resembled an unruly brat.
“Damn, impossible! Gu Ran, don’t scare people with alarmist talk! This young master can go seven rounds in one night!”
“If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. Physicians can’t heal themselves – I understand, I understand.”
After saying this, Gu Ran stopped paying attention to Li Junnan. Instead, she moved a chair beside the bathtub and began removing the needles.
“Drink the traditional medicine later. After that, you’ll keep sweating and urinating. Your urine will appear coffee-colored – that’s detoxification, don’t be alarmed.”
At this point, Gu Ran looked down at her watch again, then continued:
“I need to go out soon to meet someone and pick up some things. After that, I’ll head directly back to Tan Palace. Let’s have dinner together tonight.”
The meaning was clear: she wouldn’t be accompanying him at noon.
When Fu Sijue heard that Gu Ran was leaving, his brows furrowed slightly. But recalling that Gu Ran had mentioned meeting someone yesterday, he could only nod and say, “Then I’ll have Dan Zuo pick you up.”
Gu Ran initially wanted to refuse, but to set Fu Sijue’s mind at ease, she agreed.
“By the way, remember to drink plenty of water—at least two liters. Otherwise, you might become dehydrated from sweating.”
Fu Sijue nodded. After this series of treatments, he now trusted Gu Ran completely. Even Li Junnan had come to fully believe in Gu Ran’s medical skills—though his trust was limited to her medical skills; he still didn’t believe that Gu Ran truly loved Fu Sijue.