Chapter 197

"The one who opened the door was Lan Qiao, and inside the room there was also an elder of slightly older age."

"But Li Li Weisi could tell at a glance that this elder was not the clan chief that Fifth Master Gou had mentioned."

"Judging by his age, he should be Miss Lan Ling and Lan Qiao's father."

"Li Li Weisi introduced himself, and also explained that he was a Western doctor invited by Fifth Master Gou."

"Hearing his identity, Lan Qiao sighed, shook his head, and said: It's useless, doesn't he understand yet? No doctor can save him. Only if he comes back with us to the stockade in Mengli and never comes out for the rest of his life will he be fine."

"Hearing Lan Qiao speak with such certainty, as a doctor, Li Li Weisi could only ask: What exactly is your gu? May I take a look?"

"Hearing Li Li Weisi's request, the expressions of all three people in the room changed."

"Miss Lan Ling, who was very kind-hearted, said with a hint of worry: Some gu you may look at, but with others, the moment you see them you get infected. That would be very dangerous for you."

"Li Li Weisi certainly wasn't afraid. He said excitedly that he didn't believe in gu arts, so naturally he wouldn't be afraid."

"But that elder slowly shook his head and said: Gu arts are the secret of our clan; outsiders are not allowed to see them. If you wish to see them, you can only come back with us to the stockade in Mengli. But once you've seen our secret, you can never leave the stockade for the rest of your life."

"Li Li Weisi fell into a dilemma; his longing for the unknown was now tormenting him madly."

"Ever since he learned of the existence of gu arts, he could no longer let himself refrain from studying them."

"Now the elder's words had been made very clear—if he wanted to see, it wasn't impossible, but the price would be his freedom."

"At this moment, countless thoughts flashed through Li Li Weisi's mind, but in the end, the temptation of gu arts made him choose to give up everything he had now."

"He said solemnly to the elder: I am willing to go back with you to Mengli. As long as you let me see what gu is, I can also never leave for the rest of my life."

"These three people had no idea how difficult it was for someone like Li Li Weisi to make such a decision."

"Freedom is certainly precious, but truth also holds an immense attraction."

"Ladies and gentlemen, in fact, a man like Mr. Li Li Weisi can truly be called a genuine scholar."

"They will often, for the sake of truth, do things that ordinary people cannot understand."

"But generally speaking, when it comes to such people, even if I don't understand them, I will choose to respect them."

The audience below, hearing these words, all nodded one after another.

Scholars who achieve great things often have this or that flaw.

Some are obsessive, some are mad, and some are even utterly cold-blooded.

But the one thing that cannot be denied is their attitude toward learning and truth.

Afterward, people may look down on a scholar's character.

But they cannot slander his contributions to science!

"Now everyone knows that Li Li Weisi, for the sake of gu arts, was willing to give up his freedom and follow Lan Qiao and the others back to the Miao stockade."

"But in fact, the Li Li Weisi family has always had descendants, and never lived in the Miao stockade."

"This doesn't match what the elder said—that Li Li Weisi must stay in the Miao stockade for the rest of his life."

"Therefore, something must have happened in between."

All the audience stared intently at Zhang Lin, waiting for what came next.

"Although Li Li Weisi had made up his mind to give up his freedom for the sake of gu arts,"

"the matter Lan Qiao and the others had come for this time was still unresolved—their purpose was to bring Fifth Master Gou back to the Miao stockade."

"Otherwise, once Fifth Master Gou truly goes completely mad, even the person who placed the gu won't be able to save him."

"At this moment, Miss Lan Ling's face was full of sorrow. She gazed out the window, quite puzzled, and said: Mr., this place doesn't seem as beautiful as our stockade, and the people here aren't kind either. Why won't he come back with me?"

"Regarding this question, Li Li Weisi truly couldn't explain clearly to a Miao girl as innocent as Miss Lan Ling."

"Accustomed to the bustle of the outside world, the Miao stockade was far too dull for Wu Laogou."

"Making him stay in the Miao stockade all the time would be the same as killing him!"

"This can be seen from the fact that although Wu Laogou has already begun going mad, he has never once entertained the thought of returning to the Miao stockade."

"Going mad and living in the Miao stockade for the rest of his life are equally terrifying to him!"

"So Li Li Weisi could only say: You Xia people have an old saying, don't you? A melon forcibly twisted off the vine won't be sweet. Since Mr. Wu is unwilling to return to the stockade, why don't you simply let him go?"

"Hearing these words, Lan Qiao was the first to flare up in anger. He said furiously: What melon? What sweet? He married my sister! They were wed under the witness of the Gu God, and this marriage is protected by the Gu God!"

"Miss Lan Ling was also somewhat puzzled. She said sorrowfully: If he wasn't willing to stay, why did he agree to marry me?"

"Li Li Weisi stood there dumbfounded; faced with the Miao people, even he couldn't come up with anything to say in defense of Wu Laogou."

"At this moment, Miss Lan Ling spoke again: He needs to come back with me. The gu that's driving him mad was placed by my grandfather, and none of us can undo it. On the night he married me, I planted a Heart Gu on him. The moment his heart changes and he falls in love with someone else and marries that person, he will die on the second day after the wedding!"

"Hearing this, Li Li Weisi's heart leaped into his throat. He hadn't expected Wu Laogou to actually have two kinds of gu on him!"

"Li Li Weisi had also seen something of Wu Laogou's abilities. Having stayed at the Wu household for so many days, he had also come to understand more or less what Wu Laogou did for a living."

"A man who is so alert when entering tombs was still able to have two kinds of gu planted on him by someone. One can see how difficult gu arts are to defend against—if a gu master wants to plant a gu, they will certainly find a way to make you fall victim."

The audience, hearing that Wu Laogou actually had two kinds of gu on him, were also greatly shocked.

Especially the first gu, which was very clearly planted on Wu Laogou when he entered the clan chief's room!

At the time, Wu Laogou didn't feel a thing.

Only a spider crawled across the back of his hand, and just like that, the gu was planted.

It must be said, the Gu Miao clan chief's mastery of gu arts was truly extraordinary!

As for Miss Lan Ling planting the gu, it was relatively easier.

Between a man and a woman, there are plenty of unguarded moments; it was probably in such a gap that Miss Lan Ling planted the Heart Gu on Wu Laogou.

"Li Li Weisi was silent for a long while, and only after a great while did he ask: What is a Heart Gu?"

"Miss Lan Ling replied: The Heart Gu means that as long as his heart is toward me, he will be perfectly fine. But once his heart turns away from me, he will surely die!"

"Such an absurd statement, Li Li Weisi naturally could not believe."

"As a renowned doctor of Western medicine, he simply could not imagine that there was a kind of virus capable of controlling a person's heart!"

"From ancient times to the present, no such virus has ever been discovered."

"If there really were a virus that could control people's minds, the world would have long since been ruled by ambitious sorcerers who knew gu arts!"

"So he asked again in detail: Did you put something inside his body?"

"That question was really asking about Miss Lan Ling's method of placing the gu. Miss Lan Ling didn't hide it either, but her expression was a little troubled, as if she didn't know how to put it into words."

"After quite a while she said: I'm sorry, my Han speech isn't very good — it's because of him that I only slowly began to learn it. All I know is that I let him look at some things, and smell some things, and that was already the whole of it."

"Li Li Weisi hadn't expected that the so-called placing of a gu could actually be so simple?"

"Driven by a strong curiosity, Li Li Weisi boldly said: I'd like to see this heart-gu — would that be all right?"

"Miss Lan Ling said, somewhat startled: If you look at the heart-gu, then the gu will have been placed on you. From then on, if your love for the one you love should ever change, you will die!"

"Li Li Weisi, however, felt that his true love was still nowhere to be found, so the matter of a change of heart simply didn't arise."

"And even if in the future he really did meet a Miss who made his heart stir, he would absolutely never lightly change his heart."

"Most men are like this — before anything has happened, they think they are the most faithful of all!"

"Seeing that Li Li Weisi was insistent, Miss Lan Ling opened a straw-woven case she carried with her."

"When Li Li Weisi saw clearly what was inside, he was instantly stunned."

"Inside the case was a clump of dark-red stuff, and its shape happened to look just like a human heart!"

"That clump was also beating away, just like a human heart!"

"And its color was gradually changing too, from dark red to bright red, as if blood were about to drip out!"

"After looking closely at that clump, Li Li Weisi immediately determined it was the heart of some kind of bird."

"But how could a single bird's heart keep on beating inside a case like that?"

"After that, Li Li Weisi also saw two extremely fine threads, one red and one white, slowly worming their way out from within it."

"The red and white threads writhed like snakes! In all his life Li Li Weisi had never seen such a marvel!"

"Afterwards, Miss Lan Ling closed the bamboo case, and the first thing Li Li Weisi asked was what those red and white threads were."

"Miss Lan Ling's answer took Li Li Weisi rather by surprise."

"She said this heart-gu had been passed down from very long ago, was the supreme treasure of the clan, and the entire Fierce Chestnut tribe had only this single one!"

"These red and white threads seemed to be something that came into being alongside the heart-gu; even they themselves had never figured out what kind of creature it was."

"This heart-gu is an existence entirely different from other gu."

"All other gu arts require insects to serve as a medium, but only this heart-gu does not."

"Miss Lan Ling spoke for a long time before saying again: Our people suspect this is a kind of gu art different from the ones we use now — its principle is completely different. But unfortunately we cannot fathom it, so since you wanted to see it, I let you see it."

"At this moment something suddenly stirred in Li Li Weisi's heart — he felt he had discovered the greatest secret of the gu seedlings!"

…….