Chapter 424

I, Pangzi, and Yuan Qiu already had tears welling up in our eyes at that moment; each of us, watching this scene on television, couldn't help but feel a deep shock.

After the shock, everyone, without exception, panicked and rushed toward Dong Yumin's ward.

I seemed to have begun to understand why Dong Yumin could remain clear-headed under the control of the Heart-Eating Gu, and in a brief pause she unhesitatingly stabbed the knife into her own heart.

There is something called love! It transcends natural power, can change everything; what seems utterly impossible can happen under this force.

When we entered the ward, we saw only this scene.

Chen Zheng lay on the left and Dong Yumin on the right, quietly lying on the bed; although Dong Yumin was still unconscious, tears welled at the corners of her eyes, while Chen Zheng's face, though beginning to darken, bore a satisfied smile.

Their hands were tightly clasped, just as their vows promised, forever binding each other.

The moment Chen Zheng was poisoned, Pangzi ran out to fetch QingSongShu; after acupuncture, Dong Yumin and Chen Zheng's conditions finally improved considerably.

However, Dong Yumin's condition was not optimistic; a black line had spread from her wrist up her arm, and if it were to completely reach her palm, that would likely be the day she meets her end.

Either we save both, or we watch them die together. This couple would never abandon the other, nor would either survive alone in this world.

Their love had transcended life and death, the bounds of time. Seeing Chen Zheng pump Dong Yumin's toxic blood into his own body moved everyone; even the hospital nurses and doctors silently wept.

……………………

In the hospital cafeteria, we casually grabbed a few fast-food meals; the fast food was light, all vegetarian dishes, but nobody had much appetite—worry made it hard for me to swallow.

"Dad, do you have any way to save Brother Zheng and his older sister-in-law?"

I was idly playing with my chopsticks, Yuan Qiu listlessly sighing; as Pangzi asked that, everyone's gazes involuntarily turned to QingSongShu.

QingSongShu paused, stroked his mustache, frowned, and said: "The heart is the palace of the five viscera; those poisoned by gu most fear gu invading the heart. And the gu poison afflicting Dong Yumin is a forbidden gu among gu… the Heart-Eating Gu."

Pangzi asked, bewildered: "Heart-Eating Gu, what is that?"

"Unlearned and incompetent!"

QingSongShu's face turned dark as he gave Pangzi a cold snort, then slowly explained to us.

"Those who raise gu, the grass-spirit hags, must still observe the precepts; they call these precepts gu law. There are seven gu laws: first, one must not place gu in the heart; second, one must not place gu in the spirit; third, one must not raise gu using humans…"

QingSongShu said, this is the gu law of Miao Jiang; gu keepers, no matter what they do, must leave a third of leeway. To place gu upon a person's heart, or to release gu to corrode the spirit—such gu are absolute gu.

In the Five Phases, the heart belongs to fire; the spirit governs clarity, the heart governs blood. If gu is placed in the heart's abode, it will certainly sever a person's life, with no possible remedy.

Gu masters and Daoist Sect practitioners are alike; within the trade there is a rule: unless it is a deadly feud, they will not readily deal a lethal blow to a person. And within this rule there is an additional condition.

"If you ask us to punish a wicked person, we will toss cups before the altar to ask the gods; if the gods consent, proving that this person indeed deserves a light punishment, we will then help you chastise them."

However, after casting the art, we will leave a margin, injuring but not killing. Even if the spell is later undone, we will never strike the same person a second time.

This is the ironclad rule of the trade, without exception. Whether among wizards, Daoist Sect, spirit-mediums, or the various other magical schools, this law is well known to all. If one transcends this track and violates the ironclad rule, the Daoist himself will incur heavenly retribution, and the calamities of five flaws and three deficiencies will follow him like a shadow.

Now this gu master, having placed gu in the heart, has inflicted one of the lethal gu forbidden by Miao law. Naturally, from his actions it's easy to guess he walks a demonic path, not the orthodox one; thus the five flaws and three deficiencies retribution means nothing to him—just a scrap of paper.

Three years ago, he pretended to help Dong Yumin prolong her life, but in fact he was merely using this method to drain Chen Zheng's vitality. The true source of Dong Yumin's continued life was the Heart-Eating Gu he had placed on her.

Of course, many may wonder why the black-robed elder would go to such trouble; it's simple: because Chen Zheng's terrifying power remains, even after his lifespan has been consumed, when he is angry he still exudes a shocking, domineering aura. It's hard to imagine what Chen Zheng was like at his peak.

Moreover, Chen Zheng's fate is that of a rare half-life hero; with the Kui Gang occupying his destiny, if he had been born in ancient times he would certainly have been a famed general, decisive in slaughter, leaving countless souls beneath his blade.

Internal martial arts may not match the ferocity of sorcery, but ordinary people don't know that one possesses a destiny aura: those under the Wen Qu star have literary fortune, those under the Zi Wei emperor have authority. Even an ordinary person, if they are in a mutually generating year, will be strong in body and wealth; ordinary sorcery cannot inflict harm upon them by the likes of hobgoblins and ghosts.

There exists a kind of destiny: though the person is not a Daoist, it still makes Daoists wary.

Chen Zheng's eight characters are exactly such; though his slaughter is excessive, destined to come to a bad end. Yet the destiny aura within his chart was extraordinarily vigorous in the first half of his life, capable of slaying ghosts and spirits; fundamentally, ordinary witchcraft cannot harm him.

Thus, the Seven Stars Sharing Life method is a good approach: it consumes Chen Zheng's lifespan, essence, energy, and spirit. Then, using the Heart-Eating Gu to control Dong Yumin, it leaves a trusted confidant beside Chen Zheng.

However, I believe Dong Yumin's affection for Chen Zheng is so deep that even the black-robed elder, the gu controller, never anticipated it; she would rather kill herself than harm Chen Zheng.

After QingSongShu finished explaining the Heart-Eating Gu to us, my and Pangzi's expressions inevitably grew low and grim. According to his explanation, Dong Yumin's heart is likely the gu king itself; to purge the gu poison, we would probably have to cut out her heart.

But… if a person loses their heart, can they still live? QingSongShu's words amount to sentencing Dong Yumin to death by a thousand cuts.

"Actually, there is a way!" While everyone felt downcast, QingSongShu frowned and muttered to himself.

I and Pangzi simultaneously lifted our heads, staring anxiously at QingSongShu and asking: "Uncle, (Dad) what's the solution? Do tell!"

QingSongShu frowned, thought for a moment, then soon sighed and shook his head, leaving our feelings tangled.

"There is a method, but speaking of it is tantamount to saying nothing." QingSongShu said: "If we want to save them both, the Daoist Sect has a spirit elixir that can wash their tendons and marrow, renew their blood. However, this spirit elixir…"

"Uncle, what is this spirit elixir called?" I suddenly had a faint premonition.

QingSongShu glanced at us and said: "Eight Treasures Purple Gold Bloom."

Pangzi and I exchanged astonished glances, wondering if the Eight Treasures Purple Gold Bloom could really be that miraculous—first it could repair Shishi's severed Spiritual Aperture, and now it could actually replace a person's blood?

QingSongShu said: "The Eight Treasures Purple Gold Bloom was invented by the Wudang Sect's patriarch Zhang Sanfeng; its efficacy is said to be heaven-defying. However, elixirs are graded into heaven, earth, and man tiers. If it were truly a heaven-tier Purple Gold Bloom, just the refining time would take three years. Let alone what is currently circulating, even an ordinary high-ranking adept of the Wudang Sect could not possess an earth-tier Purple Gold Bloom."

"QingSongShu, to cure the sister-in-law and Brother Zheng, at least which tier of Purple Gold Bloom is needed?" After a moment's thought, I anxiously asked.

"At least earth-tier!" Without even thinking, QingSongShu blurted out confidently: "The human tier only sustains life, dispels ordinary toxins, or aids Daoist cultivation and clears bodily impurities. Only an earth-tier Purple Gold Bloom can wash tendons and marrow, granting them a rebirth."

After a pause, QingSongShu eyed me suspiciously and asked: "Hai Sheng, why are you asking this? Could it be you have a way to obtain a Purple Gold Bloom?"

I was stunned at first, then at a loss, my expression hesitant for a long time; finally I related the matter of Murong Jia Jia.

After saying that, I lowered my head, not daring to look at QingSongShu; frankly, I was worried he would scold me, for although I am a disciple of the Yin Mountain Sect, QingSongShu has always opposed my raising ghosts.

Little Fat is my commander spirit, Red Granny is the karmic debt I owe. Those two need no explanation, but Murong Jia Jia… a single misstep would make people think I am lustful, bewitched by a ghost to confuse my Spiritual Aperture.

But as time passed, I realized my worry was unnecessary; moreover, QingSongShu oddly asked me: "What does the ancient spirit look like?"

"Hehe, Dad, you don't know—she's gorgeous!" Pangzi eagerly described Murong Jia Jia to QingSongShu.

Then QingSongShu himself gestured with his hands, saying: "Isn't she wearing her hair in a bun and dressed in a white long gown?"

"Yes…" I and Pangzi nodded together; immediately my mind couldn't help but spring a question: How does QingSongShu know? Could he have seen Murong Jia Jia?

"When you were unconscious, a female ghost burst into your ward in the dead of night. I thought she meant to harm you, so I struck to drive her away. Yet this ghost was remarkably strong, actually able to withstand my Blazing Light Fire Technique!" QingSongShu sighed and continued.

Upon hearing that QingSongShu and Murong Jia Jia had clashed, I anxiously asked: "Where is Jia Jia now?"

QingSongShu pointed to the ward building we had just exited and said calmly: "She is being held by my talisman flag in the storage room at the western corner; that room is tiny, located on the same floor where you were hospitalized."

I: "……"