“I traveled in Yunnan and Guizhou years ago. The mountain people there have this type of poison. The symptoms are similar, but the curse is complex. It’s hard to determine the exact type without the person who placed it,” the doctor said helplessly. “Commander Gu, I cannot confirm the Empress Dowager’s exact condition.”
“How can it be treated?” Gu Lianchang asked urgently.
“I don’t know,” the wandering doctor lowered his head, hesitant to speak.
Ruan Ning felt dizzy. When was she cursed? She had no idea!
“Carefully recall, when Xiu Xin last saw you, was there anything strange?” Gu Lianchang asked patiently, suppressing his anxiety.
Ruan Ning thought long before recalling that her first action was grabbing her wrist. She rolled up her sleeve to examine it. Her skin was smooth, with no marks, but she did feel a subtle pain at the time.
“Mountain people usually place a curse by first inducing the victim to take medicine to prevent sudden death when the curse enters the body. When the time is right, they guide the curse into the body through the skin with blood. The Empress Dowager felt pain in her wrist, which might be when the curse was introduced,” the wandering doctor explained.
Ruan Ning looked at Gu Lianchang, feeling frustrated. How could it be like this? She had originally suspected that Wei Shu and Gu Lianchang might confront each other, using her as a hostage, but a curse? How could this be resolved?
“Don’t be afraid,” Gu Lianchang said, holding her hand tightly. “I’m here. Nothing will happen.”
On a winter noon, Qin Zhi and Wei Shu were captured in the suburbs and brought before Gu Lianchang.
“Where is Xiu Xin? How do we cure the Empress Dowager’s parasitic poison?” Gu Lianchang asked expressionlessly.
Qin Zhi remained calm, saying, “Xiu Xin is dead. Ruan Ning is infected with a mother-child parasite, with the mother parasite planted on me. If you want Ruan Ning to live, you’d better listen to me.”
