The Sovereign – Chapter 114

Volume Six: A Cold Rainy Night Buries the Famous Flower

Regaining Vitality

Finally saved one

Liu Zhu’s poison gu treatment caused pain every day that felt like being skinned and dismembered. Whenever she woke up, the pain was unbearable, but Yi Qingyu dared not let her sleep continuously, fearing she might never wake up.

Every day she endured the poison gus crawling and gnawing inside her body, while continuously having to take medicine to allow her damaged lungs to recover, which needed time. Therefore, whenever she woke up, Yi Qingyu’s heart remained suspended, not daring to relax.

“Ah Yu…” Liu Zhu trembled in pain, grabbing Yi Qingyu’s hand but not daring to grip hard, afraid of hurting her. Yi Qingyu couldn’t bear to see her suffering and wanted to forcefully use her internal energy to suppress it.

“Wait!” Guiguzi rushed in to stop her, saying if Yi Qingyu continued depleting herself like this, she would die from exhaustion of internal energy – she truly had no regard for her own life!

“Do you have any other way?” Yi Qingyu asked while already sitting cross-legged behind Liu Zhu.

“Today is the last day. Don’t use external force to drive out the poison gus. Little Liu Zhu, just endure it. Once the pain passes, it will be fine – just one shichen more [2 hours].”

“One shichen? She can’t even last one incense stick’s time [30 minutes]!” Yi Qingyu said without hesitation, gathering her energy, but suddenly felt her internal energy becoming chaotic, with a sweet metallic taste rising in her throat.

Guiguzi anxiously paced in circles, saying: “You really frighten me! One incense stick’s time, just one incense stick’s time, alright? This old man will then remove the medicinal poison gu.”

“Really? Will it affect her body?” Yi Qingyu asked skeptically.

“No, no.” Guiguzi had been forced into a corner. He inserted a blood-clotting pill into Liu Zhu’s mouth, sealed the major acupoints with silver needles, then burned medicinal herbs to lure out the poison gu with the scent.

“Mmm~” Liu Zhu’s body curled slightly; she could even feel something crawling inside her organs, but each step it took felt like countless needles stabbing her.

“Zhu’er…” Yi Qingyu embraced her shoulders, and Liu Zhu leaned against her waist, instantly feeling more secure in her heart.

This was the only solution available. Guiguzi bringing out the medicinal poison gu early would affect the treatment’s effectiveness, but Liu Zhu was no longer in mortal danger – she just needed more time to recover. However, if he didn’t remove the mother poison gu and let Qingyu intervene again, then Qingyu’s life would be in danger.

Guiguzi couldn’t persuade Qingyu, so he had to resort to this method.

This brief period of one incense stick’s time was for Liu Zhu like pain that could split heaven and earth. If she wasn’t staying close to Yi Qingyu, she might have died from the pain. Cold sweat soaked her entire body, her lungs felt like something was stretching them bigger and bigger, yet her body showed no abnormalities.

“Zhu’er, when it hurts, pinch me. It’s fine, I’m not afraid of pain.” Yi Qingyu saw Liu Zhu enduring pain, reluctantly held her hand, letting her grab onto herself.

Liu Zhu just shook her head – how could she bear to? Even in extreme pain, she only lightly held Yi Qingyu’s hand. This way, she wouldn’t feel like dying anymore; she would think about living well, about staying with Qingyu longer.

She wanted to respond to Yi Qingyu but had no strength to utter a word. She breathed lightly, her lungs feeling increasingly swollen, her throat increasingly itchy.

Guiguzi’s expression was grave. Seeing Liu Zhu’s lungs slightly swelling, he felt the time had come and brought her a bowl of medicine to take. This was the poison gu expelling medicine, with a fishy smell emanating nauseous air.

“Is this the blood of the medicinal poison gu?” Yi Qingyu, having received Guiguzi’s guidance, could understand some medical techniques. This bowl of medicine had a terrible smell; she felt such distress, wishing she could take this suffering in Liu Zhu’s place.

“Drink it quickly.” Guiguzi handed it over. Yi Qingyu took it, personally bringing it to Liu Zhu’s lips, “Zhu’er, it’s bitter, but bear with it. How about I take a sip first? We’ll share the hardship together.” As Yi Qingyu was about to bring the medicine to her mouth, Guiguzi’s mouth gaped open, just about to snatch it away, but Liu Zhu beat her to it, raising a gentle smile, “Ah Yu, I’m not like I used to be, I’m not afraid of bitterness anymore.”

These years, hasn’t she suffered enough? What’s this bowl of medicine compared to that?

In the past, Liu Zhu feared bitter medicine the most. When she was unwell, Yi Qingyu would take medicine with her and prepare a sweet fruit for her. Twenty-some years have passed, Yi Qingyu still hasn’t forgotten Liu Zhu’s youthful preferences, but Liu Zhu has experienced life’s vicissitudes [a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.], and what she once feared is no longer the same.

Even in such pain now, her eyes still showed a smile, because Qingyu remembered everything about her. Such happiness made her fearless of everything. She tilted her head back and drank it all at once, feeling her internal organs burning and about to expand. She held her chest, feeling a strong fishy-sweet air mixed with medicinal smell rising up.

“Cough cough~” After violent coughing, greenish bloody water spilled from her mouth, followed by intense nausea, and she began vomiting continuously.

Like poison that had been stagnant in her heart for long, it was expelled from her mouth. In the vomit, several medicinal poison gus could be seen writhing before dying.

“Zhu’er, Zhu’er, how are you?” Yi Qingyu anxiously supported her body with one hand and held her chin with the other. Liu Zhu felt her whole body lighten, and the intense pain was gone.

“Ah, little medicinal poison gu, you can finally retire with success,” Guiguzi exhaled, having finally saved one person.

“I’m fine, Ah Yu.” Liu Zhu’s complexion improved instantly, her voice becoming clearer. Having survived a calamity, as if reborn, she held Yi Qingyu’s hand, seeming to see a longer future ahead.

“That’s good.” Yi Qingyu’s heart finally relaxed. Guiguzi breathed a deep sigh – Liu Zhu’s poison gu treatment had finally succeeded. But before he could catch his breath, Li Yue rushed over, “Senior Ghost Doctor, the Emperor seems to be regaining consciousness.”

“What timing.” Guiguzi was busy again without rest.

He must have owed Yi Qingyu something in his past life – no, her whole family!

Liu Qianxun disregarded her own safety, sitting constantly by Qin Junlan’s bedside. Qin Junlan seemed trapped in a nightmare, continuously mumbling “Xun’er, Xun’er” in her sleep. Though darkness surrounded her body, she felt a ray of light guiding her. Her fingertips moved slightly, feeling surrounded by a warm palm.

“Yan’er, are you awake?” Liu Qianxun anxiously watched her, afraid it was her imagination.

Qin Junlan opened her eyes slightly, as if in a dream – without complicated state affairs, no war, no need to deploy troops, no need to face mountains of imperial memorials, nor so many formal protocols – only Liu Qianxun’s figure remained.

They would gather morning flowers and evening harvest, view life lightly, and retreat to a secluded valley. Actually, she never wanted to be emperor, had no desire for power, but never had a choice – she was born with heavy responsibilities.

She raised her hand with difficulty, gently caressing Liu Qianxun’s face, weak and frail, still unable to make a sound. Yet just looking at her like this made her feel happy and at peace.

“Yan’er…” Liu Qianxun’s joy was hidden in her moving eyes and slightly upturned lips, feeling both bitter and touched.

Qin Junlan glimpsed Liu Qianxun’s shoulders and tenderly stroked them, suddenly remembering how Liu Qianxun had harmed herself to save her and swallowed the mother poison gu, becoming instantly panicked. She tried to get up, but this pulled at all her wounds, and all the pain struck at once, forcing her back down.

“Don’t move recklessly!” Guiguzi shouted, rolling up his sleeves to check her pulse. He frowned, looking up to see Liu Qianxun’s poor complexion, and raised his other hand. Liu Qianxun understood and extended her wrist. He checked both their pulses simultaneously to determine treatment methods, but saw these two paying no attention to their bodies, instead gazing at each other deeply and tenderly.

Guiguzi drew back his head, truly wanting to sink into the ground – he was the doctor, yet why did he feel like such an intrusion now?

“How are they?” Liu Zhu entered with Yi Qingyu’s support. In just a moment, her complexion had somewhat recovered, her previously dull skin gradually brightening, her weak eyes gaining some luster.

“Mother? Are you alright?” Liu Qianxun was overjoyed, the gloom of recent days finally releasing into a relaxed smile upon seeing Liu Zhu.

“Mother is fine.” Liu Zhu looked worriedly at Liu Qianxun, whose already slim body was now as weak as a leaf in the wind.

“Aunt Liu… I… didn’t take… good care of Xun’er… please forgive me.” Qin Junlan spoke weakly, trying to rise but was pushed down by Guiguzi, who said with squinting eyes, “Just saved your life and already trying to please the mother-in-law?”

“Mother-in-law?” Liu Zhu seemed to understand something, a smile crossing her lips as she saw Liu Qianxun’s shy smile.

“Enough, old ghost, how are the children?”

“Aunt.” Having followed palace etiquette since childhood, she tried to bow to Yi Qingyu, but Yi Qingyu waved it off, “I’ve told you, no need for formalities with your aunt.”

Guiguzi continued checking pulses without stopping, suddenly his expression changed dramatically, looking at Liu Qianxun he asked: “You, you, how do you have a mother poison gu in your body?”

“I snatched the mother poison gu and swallowed it, so she wouldn’t dare harm Yan’er anymore. From now on, my life is connected with Yan’er’s, nothing will separate us again.” Liu Qianxun’s eyes reflected Qin Junlan’s weak figure, but her lips maintained a slight smile – after facing life and death, what was there left to fear?

After this ordeal, Qin Junlan would never let go of Liu Qianxun’s hand, and in this life would never fail her again.

“You really don’t treat your own life as life, but you’ve accidentally achieved success through failure. Having two hosts for the parent-child poison gus actually provides a way to draw them out of the body. However, she’s too weak now, not suitable for removing the poison gu – we’ll wait until her body improves.” Guiguzi finished speaking and checked Qin Junlan’s external wounds, noting the inflammation was gradually subsiding.

“Xun’er, with such severe injuries, how did you make it to the valley? You must have suffered greatly on this journey.” Liu Zhu saw Liu Qianxun’s numerous wounds, almost able to guess what happened.

“Look how anxious you are. Sit down first, let’s listen to the children slowly.” Yi Qingyu, being thoughtfully attentive, helped Liu Zhu sit down, standing beside her to provide support. However, she occasionally touched her own chest – she was already seriously injured, and with excessive internal energy consumption, her heart meridian was damaged.

While Liu Zhu was in danger, she kept herself tense, not daring to fall. Now that Liu Zhu had safely awakened, the string supporting her seemed to break – she might collapse at any moment. But she was too skilled at hiding herself; even with internal injuries only she knew about, she wouldn’t let others notice. Only Guiguzi’s eyes couldn’t be deceived – only he knew Qingyu’s body was likely failing.

Liu Zhu naturally leaned into Yi Qingyu’s embrace, while Yi Qingyu’s hand rested on her shoulder, offering protective support. Their mutual dependence always brought warmth to observers, and Liu Qianxun knew only one belief could have supported her journey here.

“Halfway through, Yan’er suddenly developed a fever. Finding no medicine shops along the empty road, I used spring water to wipe her palms. Her whole body was torn open, not one spot intact – I dared not touch her. Initially she could hazily call my name, but later fell unconscious, not waking no matter how I called.” Liu Qianxun felt fearful remembering this, holding Qin Junlan’s hand tightly, “I was so afraid she would never wake up.”

“Sorry, Xun’er, for making you worry.” Qin Junlan felt reluctant to part, but with Liu Qianxun there, how could she let anything happen to herself?

“The journey was too long. When passing through thorny mountains, I would get off to search for herbs. Fortunately, Ghost Master had taught me some basics, so I used them on Yan’er.”

“Not just that, Miss Liu herself vomited blood several times from poison attacks, forcing them down with internal energy.” Li Yue couldn’t help interrupting. Liu Qianxun never mentioned herself – it was too unfair. Her sacrifices shouldn’t go unknown; Li Yue couldn’t bear to see her like this.

“Compared to Yan’er’s pain, what do my troubles matter? In the end, I’m the one who caused Yan’er to be like this.”

“Don’t blame yourself like this – I was the one who misunderstood you.”

“Cough cough~” Guiguzi lightly coughed, feeling he should indeed withdraw, “Well, little Yueyue, come help this old man brew medicine. As for you two’s external wound medicine, no need for others to help – you can apply it for each other. Though little Liu Zhu is no longer in mortal danger, she still needs proper care. This old man will prepare some recuperative medicine.”

“I’ll go with you.” After speaking, Yi Qingyu bent slightly, gently caressing Liu Zhu’s face, a soft smile hanging at her lips. Seeing Liu Zhu recover made her finally able to relax, “Zhu’er, stay with the children, I’ll go help old ghost.”

Liu Zhu’s light smile settled between her brows and eyes, her previously devastated brown eyes now clear as amber, showing an alluring transparent luster. However, when she saw Yi Qingyu walking away, her lips traced a hint of melancholy, her heart growing worried.

Yi Qingyu walked away quickly. She didn’t join Guiguzi in brewing medicine, but went directly to a secluded place where fresh blood rushed from her mouth. The injury to her heart meridian was beyond description – the battle with Ling Yu had wounded her too deeply. Now with internal energy depleted and internal injuries worsening, she lost control. She felt everything spinning, her breathing became heavy, and consciousness gradually blurred.

“Ah Yu…”

Yi Qingyu thought she was hearing things. When she turned her head, she saw Liu Zhu looking at her with tears in her eyes, but she had no strength left to stay standing. Her eyes went black, and she collapsed.

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