Chapter 403: The Affected Man

Lao Langzhong nodded, "So you already have a plan to deal with it."

Gu Xixi laughed carefree, "What's there to think about."

"It's just a matter of a packet of medicine."

Lao Langzhong fell silent.

For a moment he couldn't tell whether his teaching of this disciple was worthy of the ancestors.

After a moment, he said, "You must protect yourself; don't take the enemy lightly."

"What medicine to use… how to use it, you know it in your heart."

Gu Xixi answered solemnly, "Master, rest assured."

"I will definitely not lose face for you and our sect!"

"As long as we catch him in the act of wanting to do evil again, at worst I'll see to it that he can't leave that bed for eating, drinking, urinating, or defecating for the rest of his life."

Lao Langzhong staggered slightly with his steps, lifted his head and faced the sky with his unseen eyes.

"Master, venerable ancestors, a child's innocent words—please forgive us!"

Gu Xixi, however, thought the master was worried about her, and comforted, "I know he's full of bad ideas, how malicious he is."

"This time I may let him go temporarily, but I won't give him a chance to strike."

"As the saying goes, an open spear is easy to dodge, a hidden arrow hard to guard against."

Gu Xixi had long decided: rather than wait for Gu Tiezhu to lurk in the dark, not knowing when he'd bite.

"Better to draw the snake out of its hole quickly and drag him into the open."

Gu Xixi's trip revealed that Gu Tiezhu's madness was feigned.

Taking advantage of the situation, she caused a scene at his home—not just tit for tat, but deliberately to provoke Gu Tiezhu.

"Isn't he just pretending to be mad?"

"Then let's see how long he can endure!"

"Since we've confirmed the potential dangerous target, we just need to spread a big net and wait."

Returning home, An Qinghe was splitting firewood.

Zhang Shen and Lv Jing sat under the tree shade picking wild vegetables.

Seeing the two return, Zhang Shen laughed and said, "At this time the purslane is tender; I picked some with Jingjing, let's have vegetable dumplings for lunch with a mung bean soup—how does that sound?"

Gu Xixi happily said, "Mm! I want the mung bean soup cooled, and the vegetable dumplings hot with a garlic chive dip."

Zhang Shen smiled and nodded, "These don't need you to say; don't I know your tastes?"

Lv Jing raised her hand and said, "I can cook; from now on, as long as I'm home, I'll share the kitchen chores with Auntie."

Zhang Shen looked at Lv Jing affectionately, "Indeed, a young lady is the most thoughtful."

An Qinghe, while swinging the axe to split wood, didn't forget to display his agile posture, striving for Gu Xixi to see.

"Auntie, am I not thoughtful? Why don't you ever praise me!"

Everyone laughed; Zhang Shen couldn't help but say, "When have I ever not praised you before?"

"Who did you make all those tasty things for?"

"Jingjing just came to our house, and you still want to compete with her!"

Now Gu Xixi finally noticed An Qinghe.

She walked over to him, "Not bad, your firewood-splitting is getting smoother."

An Qinghe immediately perked up, chest out, head up, "Don't you also feel I've gotten stronger lately?"

"Look at my arm, isn't it?"

Even back when he was at the Xiao He residence in the capital, An Qinghe had added a daily exercise routine to train his body.

Even on the way back from the capital, he persisted every night.

Today, when he exerted himself splitting firewood, he felt it was quite effective.

"Look at this muscle strength, this qi sinking to the dantian!"

"Isn't it just martial arts? If Mu Nan Zhao can do it, so can I!"

An Qinghe considered himself strong and mighty as he split firewood.

In Gu Xixi's eyes, however, only confusion remained: "Your motion, twisted like that… aren't you tired?"

"Crack!"

The axe went askew, a small splinter of wood shot into Zhang Shen's vegetable basket.

Zhang Shen laughed and scolded, "Ay, are you throwing flying knives or splitting wood?"

An Qinghe grabbed the axe, steadied himself, "I just slipped."

He looked again at Gu Xixi; she had already gone with Lao Langzhong to the rear courtyard.

The words left for him still floated in the air:

"Prepare more, it's not just for cooking; the master also needs a large amount for processing medicinal ingredients."

A spring breeze carrying floral scent blew by.

An Qinghe's golden hair was disheveled in the wind.

Lv Jing let out a puff of laughter, burying her head.

An Qinghe followed the sound, looked over, and gave her a silly smile.

Lv Jing, however, turned her face away sternly and continued picking vegetables attentively.

Zhang Shen saw their expressions and chuckled, "What are you laughing at?"

Lv Jing pursed her lips and said, "Just now a foolish bird flew past, flapping its wings clumsily, its posture affected."

"Maybe it thinks other birds find this attractive."

Zhang Shen was busy picking vegetables, and casually said, "That's really quite funny; next time I see it, also let me have a look."

"Okay~" Lv Jing drew out her tone in agreement.

An Qinghe is good-natured; any embarrassment passes in an instant.

An Qinghe took Lv Jing's reminder to heart.

An Qinghe continued chopping firewood, furrowing brows while silently making gestures.

That doesn't look good; how about this? Or this?

In the Western Regions, many male birds change up their dance patterns when courting.

An Qinghe strove to attract their beloved's attention—nothing embarrassing about that!

In the Houyuan dispensary, Gu Xixi helped Lao Langzhong weigh and divide the medicine.

After finishing these basic chores, she took out the medicine bottle she had brought back from the capital.

"Master, please have a look at this medicine."

Lao Langzhong took the medicine bottle; hearing Gu Xixi's detailed account of its origin, brows furrowed.

"It dissolves on contact with water, colorless and odorless, and takes effect upon penetrating the skin."

"What a vicious thing!"

Gu Xixi asked, "Can an antidote be made?"

She paused, then said, "I can only make antidotes for the poisons I myself prepare."

"This medicine is too complex; I can't even tell what ingredients it contains."

Lao Langzhong nodded, "If you say it comes from the southwest, I can roughly recall the formula."

"An antidote might be worth a try."

Gu Xixi breathed a sigh of relief.

Lao Langzhong said solemnly, "Fortunately you handled it properly—first take the detox pill, then wipe yourself with hot water."

"Otherwise, even if Xiao Mu used the yin-yang union method to dispel the poison,"

"At best, vital energy would be gravely damaged, shortening one's lifespan."

"At worst, one would suffer wind-induced rigidity, unable to speak for a short time."

"This is only because Xiao Mu is young and strong; if it were anyone else, they might lose their life."

Gu Xixi also felt a lingering fear upon hearing this.

"No wonder you say this substance is vicious."

She exclaimed indignantly, "To achieve their goals they resort to any means—these people truly deserve to die!"

Lao Langzhong again smiled and comforted, "Don't panic, my disciple."

"Compared to the strange poison Xiao Mu previously suffered, this medicine is merely a trivial trick."

"Within three days, I will surely have prepared the antidote."

"Have someone send it to the capital; then you can rest easy."

Gu Xixi's face flushed; she said, "Master, what do I have to worry about?"

Lao Langzhong smiled without a word, his meaning profound.

In the afternoon, Lv Jing followed Gu Xixi to inspect the orchard.

This was Lv Jing's first time seeing the pingbo fruit tree; she was curious about everything.

"Why is this tree only a little taller than me?"

"Moreover, almost all the trees grow to about the same height?"

Gu Xixi chuckled, "These are grafted pingbo fruit trees; they are not their original appearance."

"Grafting?" Lv Jing stroked the lower and upper parts of the trunk, noticing they were indeed different.

She marveled, eyes wide as she leaned against the trunk and examined it up and down.

"They're both trees—can tea trees be grafted too?"