At that moment, Ning Wanwan and Si Zhan exchanged a quick glance. Si Zhan knelt on the ground with his back to Xu Manyao, trying to hide his disgust toward her.
Ning Wanwan pressed Si Zhan’s palm, and he nodded back at her.
“Oh! Brother Zhan, how did your arm get injured?” Ning Wanwan exclaimed, grabbing Si Zhan’s arm in panic. His sleeve had a large tear, blood visible through the fabric.
Hearing this, Xu Manyao quickly turned her gaze to Si Zhan’s arm.
“Just a small injury, don’t worry,” Si Zhan said, slightly turning to display the ‘wound’ to Xu Manyao.
Xu Manyao’s dark eyes flashed. Noticing no one was paying attention, she discreetly removed a black ceramic tube from her sleeve, flipped open the cap, and began to mumble something as small insects crawled out and rushed toward Si Zhan’s back.
Just as the life-controlling insects were about to climb onto Si Zhan’s back, a black leather boot suddenly appeared, stomping on them. Xu Manyao looked up in horror, seeing Yuan Bi with a grim expression.
Si Zhan stood up, supporting Ning Wanwan, and coldly said, “You finally made a move, Witch… Yao Saner!”
Yao Saner, shocked, leaned against the tree trunk as Yuan Bi quickly stood in front of her, gripping her neck tightly. Her face turned red, and she tried to pull at his wrist.
“Tell me, what were those things on the ground?” Si Zhan asked.
Yao Saner coughed and managed to say, “They were insect spells.”
Yuan Bi loosened his grip, allowing Yao Saner to lean against the trunk, coughing violently.
“What kind of spell?” Si Zhan pressed.
After catching her breath, Yao Saner glanced at Si Zhan and Ning Wanwan, her eyes evasive, and remained silent.
“What’s a gu?” Yuan Bi’s grip tightened again, lifting her slightly.
“The… the life-linking gu…”
Ning Wanwan was intensely shocked upon hearing this. Life-linking gu are mother-child life-linked gu, where the child gu controls the host, and the mother gu controls the child gu.
Once the mother gu dies, the child gu inevitably dies, along with the host controlled by the child gu, hence the term life-linking gu.
The Empress Dowager’s ultimate goal was to have Xu Manyao place a life-linking gu on Sihan.
Chapter 53: Turning Sides
