The water beneath her bubbled with rising steam, yet she felt as though she had been drenched in ice water, a chill seeping into the very core of her heart.
Her mind was a blur, with only one thought: get out of here.
She took three steps before a shadow blocked the sunlight, casting down from above. Gu Yujing's tall, imposing figure stood before her.
"Trying to run?"
He stepped forward.
She stepped back.
He pressed closer, step by step.
The water churned beneath her feet, sending up splashes, yet none could rival the turbulent waves crashing within Chun Jingshu's heart.
Until her body pressed against the hard rock of the artificial mountain—there was nowhere left to retreat.
Chun Jingshu's heart leapt to her throat. Her sharp nails dug into her palms, her teeth chattered, and she was so tense she nearly bit her tongue. "N-no, I wasn't trying to run."
Gu Yujing's expression was indifferent as he swept his gaze over the woman before him.
Her neck was slender, and wet strands of hair clung to her face, covering half of her features, making it impossible to discern her true appearance.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Chun Jingshu summoned every ounce of strength to meet Gu Yujing's gaze.
The moment their eyes locked, her breathing faltered.
A sharply defined face, deep and sculpted eyes, thin yet rosy lips.
Aside from his heavy aura, he remained as peerless as ever.
Memories of that first night overlapped, and Chun Jingshu's heart gave a pang of pain.
She held her breath, forcing herself to stay calm. Her heart, threatening to leap from her chest, pounded restlessly, while her overly straight back ached against the rock of the artificial mountain.
Gu Yujing's eyes were utterly unruffled, fixed on her without blinking.
"Didn't they say the girls at Yage are all seasoned? Why would they send a novice like you to seduce and assassinate me?"
Chun Jingshu's almond-shaped eyes flew wide, her face turning pale.
Her fingers, clenched until nearly stiff, loosened from her palms, and the breath trapped in her chest slowly released.
So—he hadn't recognized her.
Of course. She was no longer the skinny little Hei Ya she used to be.
Now her skin was fairer than snow, her figure graceful and curvaceous, tall and striking—she was a beauty.
She regained some composure, cleared her throat, and began to explain, "Young master, I wasn't trying to seduce you. I'm a physician, here to treat someone."
"Nonsense."
Gu Yujing didn't believe her.
Yage was nestled deep in the mountains, with no one within ten li. How could a physician come here to treat patients?
She was lying.
He despised liars, especially women who tried to lie and escape right under his nose.
She carried a familiar scent.
Her features seemed vaguely recognizable, yet there was no small red mole by her ear. He wondered where Yage had found this counterfeit to deliberately unsettle him.
Gu Yujing lost his patience and pressed a dagger against her neck.
"Young master, believe me—look, over there is my medicine bag!"
Chun Jingshu's heart, which had only just slowed, suddenly raced again. She pointed at the cloth bag hanging from the willow branch, grasping for a thread of hope.
She turned her head to avoid the dagger.
But that single movement made her inadvertently catch sight of the woman who had been behind the artificial mountain. Fair-skinned and beautiful, she now lay stiffly on the ground, blood at her neck, utterly lifeless.
The dagger in his hand caught the light reflecting off the water, with faint traces of blood still on it.
So Gu Yujing's earlier entanglement with that woman hadn't been about pleasure—it had been murder.
Cold sweat beaded on Chun Jingshu's skin.
Gu Yujing's ruthlessness—she had learned it six years ago.
Now, if she didn't provide more proof, Gu Yujing truly would kill her.
"What can a shabby bag prove?"
Sure enough, Gu Yujing remained unmoved. He let out a scoff, and the dagger at his hand pressed a fraction deeper into her flesh, poised to slit her throat in one stroke.
"Master! She really is a physician!"
The sword-bearing guard arrived at Yage at that moment, and upon seeing the scene before him, he shouted loudly, stopping Gu Yujing just before the dagger could cut through his blood vessels.
He jumped down into the hot spring and hurried over, explaining, "After I learned you had been afflicted with the Aphrodisiac Poison, I went out to find an antidote and happened upon a physician gathering herbs in the mountains."
"My surname is Chun."
"Yes, that's right, Physician Chun."
The guard recounted the whole sequence of events.
"Fortunately, our people arrived in time—the key witness in the water transport case has been captured according to your plan."
Gu Yujing's gaze swept across Chun Jingshu's face, and he released his grip.
Chun Jingshu's taut nerves relaxed, and she felt a stinging pain on her neck.
She reached up and touched it—it was sticky, and her fingertips came away stained with red.
"Physician Chun, your neck is bleeding…"
The guard's startled cry was cut short.
The next second, Gu Yujing collapsed straight into the hot spring, water splashing into Chun Jingshu's eyes and blurring her vision.
Through the haze, she seemed to glimpse a streak of red sinking to the bottom of the water.
"Master!"
The guard called over several servants, and they fished Gu Yujing out of the water, hurrying toward the edge of the pool.
Halfway there, he turned back and said with a sincere expression, "Physician Chun, that was all a misunderstanding just now. I'm willing to offer you triple the payment if you would treat our master."
Chun Jingshu stopped in her tracks.
She had no intention of tending to Gu Yujing, but even if she refused now, these people wouldn't let her leave.
She picked up her cloth bag from the willow branch, took out a strip of cloth to wrap around her neck, and followed the servant to the edge of the pool.
"Take off Gu Yu—"
Realizing the strange look the guard was giving her, Chun Jingshu quickly corrected herself, "Take off the overly cumbersome outer robe and have this young gentleman lie down in the bedchamber."
The guard promptly acknowledged the order.
He laid Gu Yujing on the bed, removed his upper garments, and went to the inner room to fetch clothes from the cabinet.
Chun Jingshu walked to the bedside.
Gu Yujing's breathing was heavy, and his fair skin, due to the Aphrodisiac Poison, was covered in dense red patches that formed tiny red bumps like small beans.
On his wrist, resting against the inner side, there was a thin white mark that looked somewhat familiar.
Just as Chun Jingshu leaned in for a closer look, a cough pulled her curiosity back.
"Physician Chun, have you finished your examination?"
Perhaps her gaze had been too direct, for the guard stepped in front of her, partially blocking her view.
"If Physician Chun needs to apply medicine or anything of the sort, you may have me do it. Our young master has a cleanliness obsession and doesn't like being stared at by women…"
His master was handsome, and young ladies' gazes often lingered on him.
If it hadn't been absolutely necessary, the guard wouldn't have sought out a female physician to cure his master of the poison.
He had completely forgotten that moments ago, he had intended to use Chun Jingshu's body to detoxify Gu Yujing.
At this moment, Gu Yujing's breathing grew even heavier, and through the green gauze bed curtain, it carried an unexpectedly alluring quality.
His master's seductive state was enough to make even him, a man, feel rather embarrassed.
Chun Jingshu understood.
She had been by Gu Yujing's side for three years and had never seen this guard before.
Perhaps it was because she had taken advantage of him six years ago, so now Gu Yujing made sure to have a servant watching him wherever he went, keeping women at a distance.
She let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I've already understood his symptoms. Now I'll take his pulse."
The guard quickly thanked her, hurriedly drew back the gauze curtain, and fetched a brocade cloth, which he placed over Gu Yujing's wrist, gesturing with a "please" toward Chun Jingshu.
"How long has he been poisoned?"
"About an hour."
She calculated the time.
The Aphrodisiac Poison was potent—half an hour after entering the body, its effects peaked.
Without an antidote, it would cause bone-deep itching, and the only relief was to find someone to ease it.
The poison's effects were at their strongest when Gu Yujing was in the pool with that woman.
Yet he had no antidote, and he hadn't done the deed.
How had he managed to hold out until now?
He didn't believe Gu Yujing was a man of great restraint in that regard.
Back then, he hadn't even been able to resist the effects of alcohol, and had taken his own "Hei Ya."
Like a wild beast, he'd claimed her four times in a row.
The Aphrodisiac Poison was far stronger than alcohol.
So why hadn't he touched that fair-skinned beauty, and instead killed her?
Chun Jingshu frowned.
The only explanation for Gu Yujing enduring this long was that the aphrodisiac he'd taken today was impure, or the dosage insufficient.
Otherwise, given Gu Yujing's impeccable track record in battle, that woman would have ended up like her—carrying a child.
Seeing that Chun Jingshu remained silent, the guard blushed and asked worriedly, "Doctor Chun, can this poison be cured? My master…"
"The dosage he ingested isn't high—nothing serious."
Chun Jingshu took out a white medicine bottle and removed a pill from it.
If this antidote was taken in excess, it too would cause poisoning.
She glanced at Gu Yujing, deliberating, then split the pill in half.
She handed one half to the guard.
"Grind this half of the pill into powder and mix it with water to drink. Within an hour, the poison in his body will be neutralized."
Half an hour later, the red spots on Gu Yujing's body had faded by half.
The guard brought over a set of clean clothes.
Chun Jingshu changed into them.
She sat for a while longer. As the sun slanted toward the west, she rose to take her leave. The guard produced three ingots of gold and, with profuse thanks, escorted her to the door.
"Doctor Chun, thank you so much for today. Which medical clinic do you practice at? In the future…"
"Rest assured, your master is out of danger and will have no lasting effects. I have matters to attend to at home. Farewell—let's not meet again."
Afraid the guard would press further about where she lived, Chun Jingshu hurried away with quick, short steps.
She wanted no further connection with Gu Yujing.