Chapter 285: Knock Him Out

She had someone bring a tool that could extract plant components, and she tested it on the spot.

Everyone was waiting for her results, and nobody felt sleepy enough to go back to sleep first.

After about two quarters of an hour, Mu Yuanzhi finally extracted the components of this plant called Creeping Vine Luo.

"I need a white mouse."

"I'll do it! I don't mind being the guinea pig!" Gu Rongjin volunteered first, as if he had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Mu Yuanzhi: "I mean a real white mouse..."

"It's too much trouble to look for one; using me as a test subject is fine—after all, it's just a hallucinogenic effect, and isn't it legendary that it can cure diseases and communicate with spirits? It's a sure win!" Gu Rongjin said, moving to get it.

Mu Yuanzhi stepped aside to prevent him from getting it, saying: "What if this isn't Dead Vine Water? What if it's some unknown poison?"

"What are you afraid of? You're a detox expert! With you around, I'm afraid of nothing!" Gu Rongjin said.

Others: "We're still..."

Pei Di raised his hand: "I'll do it!"

The Pei clan immediately panicked: "Di'er!"

"Stop arguing, all of you!" Qi Shihuai waved his hand.

"How come, you want to drink it?" Gu Rongjin found it strange.

Qi Shihuai laughed: "As General, I mean, just stop arguing—you can go ahead and do it."

Gu Rongjin also laughed: "You really are my good brother."

Qi Shihuai: "No problem."

"Alright, Xiao Yuanzhi, stop dawdling—I'll drink it, I trust you." Gu Rongjin didn't give her a chance, snatching the Creeping Vine Luo water from her hand. As Mu Yuanzhi tried to grab it back, he tipped his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

Everyone stared nervously at Gu Rongjin, and Mu Yuanzhi forgot to breathe, staring intently.

She had been quite confident in her judgment, but whenever it involved Gu Rongjin, she always hesitated.

"How is it, Rongjin?" Mu Yuanzhi asked nervously.

After she said that, Gu Rongjin felt dazed and unsteady on his feet; she quickly supported him, asking: "How do you feel?"

Mu Yuanzhi frantically took his pulse.

His pulse was abnormal!

It was as if he were overexcited, his blood flowing too fast, his heartbeat also rapid!

What on earth has happened to him?!

He must have fallen into a hallucination, right?

Gu Rongjin shoved Mu Yuanzhi away with great force; the unprepared Mu Yuanzhi fell backward, but Qi Shihuai, quick-eyed and quick-handed, caught her, teasing: "Even you don't recognize it—the hallucination in this looks quite potent."

Everyone watched Gu Rongjin's reaction, saying it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was possessed; his whole person seemed dazed and confused as he walked forward.

Pei Di rushed over and locked the door to prevent Gu Rongjin from running outside, asking: "How long will it take him to return to normal?"

"It seems it really is Dead Vine Water; the book says you just need to sleep it off." Mu Yuanzhi said.

Qi Shihuai saw Gu Rongjin looking like a soulless zombie and said: "Now we can only knock him out."

Pei Di: "Agreed—he doesn't know anything now, but his abilities are still there; if he attacks us, we'd end up getting badly beaten by him."

Everyone looked to Mu Yuanzhi, this family member, waiting for her consent.

Mu Yuanzhi furrowed her brows deeply, but eventually she nodded.

What they said was correct; the unconscious Rongjin is indeed quite dangerous.

So, taking advantage of his inattention, she tried to sneak up and strike his pressure points—but who would have thought that, even deep in his hallucination, Gu Rongjin was still very alert, instantly sensing someone sneaking up on him, and he swiftly turned and struck out!

Mu Yuanzhi startled, unable to dodge in time; at the critical moment, Qi Shihuai grabbed her and pulled her behind him, then struck Gu Rongjin unconscious with a palm. He turned apologetically: "Sorry, sister-in-law, but sometimes simple and brutal is better."

"There's nothing we can do about it—thank you, General Qi." Mu Yuanzhi said helplessly.

Pei Di caught the falling Gu Rongjin and helped him lie down on the bed.

The fainted Gu Rongjin looked just like he was asleep; the uneasy Qi Shihuai said: "Princess, you should still seal his pressure points, just in case he wakes up midway—after all, this is Gu Rongjin we're talking about."

"Makes sense." Mu Yuanzhi looked heartbroken at the now-asleep Gu Rongjin, touched his restless sleeping eyes, and pressed several pressure points on him to ensure he wouldn't be able to get up even if he woke.

The Pei clan suddenly exclaimed: "He should have some late-night snack first!"

Qi Shihuai: "Exactly, that way Rongjin would have to go hungry all night."

Their dinner earlier had been rather early.

Mu Yuanzhi: "Being hungry can't be helped."

She felt even more sorry for him now.

She shouldn't have let him be the guinea pig earlier; she should have insisted on finding a real white mouse!

Qi Shihuai glanced at the dead-asleep Gu Rongjin and said: "So we can now be certain this isn't Creeping Vine Luo, but a kind of Dead Vine Water that causes hallucinations."

Mu Yuanzhi nodded: "That's right."

Pei Di: "How could such a plant be grown in the Imperial Garden? Could it be the work of Lord Nine Thousand?"

Otherwise, he really can't think of anyone else who could do it—could it be the Infant Void Kingdom's former emperor?

"Growing this kind of plant must involve some shameful secret, yet he actually planted it openly in the Imperial Palace? Clearly he could have chosen a hidden spot."

Moreover, transplanting a plant that can only grow in tropical rainforests must have required a great deal of effort to study.

These plants were already in their possession during the former emperor's reign—how long ago did this person start plotting?

Pei Di scoffed: "He's just that kind of arrogant person—he doesn't even put the emperor in his eyes; listening to Father Emperor, he was already extremely arrogant back when the former emperor was alive."

After thinking, he added: "Could he be using this hallucinogenic substance to control the emperor, making the emperor unknowingly poisoned?"

Qi Shihuai: "It could also be used to kill people."

Pei Di: "Just ask him and we'll know."

Qi Shihuai: "..."

Madam Pei worriedly said, "Di'er, you shouldn't always be so bold; your mother consort has worried for you several times."

Pei Di: "What's there to fear? What dare he do to me?"

"Even if you are the Crown Prince of Great Zhou, you are now on someone else's turf; they could silently kill you." Qi Shihuai both reminded and warned him.

Pei Di just snorted and said nothing.

"This child of yours is sometimes really hard to discipline." Qi Shihuai was speechless, "but I think that the Nine Thousand Years isn't bad toward you either."

"Putting on an act." Pei Di didn't buy it.

He certainly didn't believe that deceitful fake eunuch was any good.

Gu Rongjin only woke up late the next morning, while Mu Yuanzhi, who had risen early, stayed by his side without going anywhere.

The power of Dead Vine Water is great, and Qi Shihuai's palm strike was no less.

"……" Gu Rongjin woke up in a daze, feeling his head as heavy as a thousand jin, not knowing how to position himself.

"Rongjin, you're awake!" Mu Yuanzhi happily rushed over.

"Little Yuanzhi?" Gu Rongjin struggled to sit up, "I feel like I got hit hard!"