Chapter 63 Threat: “Little Sister, are you threatening me?”

Chapter 63: Threat: "Are you threatening me, little sister?"

During the days Xie Tanwei was away, Tian Qin frequently went to Qianjin Hall and always found excuses to shake off the porters and maids sent by Xian Qiu.

Xian Qiu was busy preparing the master's birthday banquet, with a thousand matters on her mind. Too lazy to bother with a clever girl, seeing that Tian Qin hadn't caused any trouble, she let her be.

Meanwhile, inside Qianjin Hall, Master Xizhong, along with several medical masters skilled in poison arts, worked tirelessly day and night to remove the Love Gu from Tian Qin.

Just as a traveler must climb a mountain upon seeing it, a glutton must taste fine food upon seeing it, they were all medical fanatics. Seeing Tian Qin's rare and difficult condition, their eyes lit up with fervent obsession. The irresistible temptation of experiencing the extreme thrill of solving a strange disease made them willing to defy even the powerful Xie family.

Master Xizhong and the masters engaged in heated debates, ultimately agreeing that only suppressive therapy could be used, rather than removing the Gu worms.

Normally, Gu victims relied on excretion to expel the worms, but Tian Qin was exceptional. The Gu worms were too small, had merged into her internal organs, and had been deliberately cultivated by someone. They recognized their master and were eerily intelligent and sinister, making extraction impossible.

Master Xizhong and the masters attempted medicinal treatments. After four days of arduous care, Tian Qin underwent various therapies and consumed countless bitter potions. Finally, the frequent stabbing pains were alleviated.

At least seventy percent of the shackles had been lifted. When Tian Qin entertained thoughts of escape, she no longer felt the electric jolts of punishment.

The physicians breathed a sigh of relief and congratulated each other, surprised by the unexpected smoothness.

But then, on the remaining thirty percent, the tide turned. Drugs could not penetrate, and acupuncture provided no aid.

The physicians were driven nearly mad, like climbers about to summit a snowy peak only to be stuck at the final stretch, scratching their heads in frustration. They were not battling the Love Gu but engaging in an invisible contest with the person who had cast it, each vying to show superior skill.

When they learned that the caster was merely a young man in his twenties, Xizhong and the others were consumed by the fire of humiliation—having devoted a lifetime to medicine, how could they, as mighty medical masters, be outdone by a youth?

Was it true that beyond the mountains there are higher peaks, and the new generation excels the old?

No, Xizhong and the others refused to admit defeat. The finest physicians in the Nine Provinces were gathered here—where else could there be higher mountains or better people?

Tian Qin watched from the sidelines. They had fallen into a demonic obsession, gradually straying from the original goal of healing, instead stubbornly competing with themselves, possessed by a mania that insisted on cracking the Love Gu for the sake of honor and obsession.

The situation gradually spiraled out of control. This was the Gu's insidious nature—it could imperceptibly manipulate a person's mind.

The more anxious and meticulous they became, the more the scales of failure tipped.

In the shadows, the opponent let out a demonic sneer, mocking them for struggling in the wrong direction, flailing about like clowns in vain.

Xizhong, after burning the midnight oil for days, exhausted beyond his limit, coughed up blood and fainted.

The other physicians knew it was nothing serious, merely the result of overexertion. They themselves were bleary-eyed, trapped in the deadlock, scratching their heads and fuming with rage.

The sweet taste of victory was within reach, sealed behind a glass dome—visible but untouchable. A drunkard, smelling wine from afar but unable to drink, felt his insides burning, ants gnawing at his heart.

Five days had passed. Tian Qin had no more time to wait for them.

Tomorrow was Xie Tanwei's return; she had to play the role of the obedient little sister again. If the Gu could be removed today, fine; if not, there would be no more opportunity.

After five days, all the physicians fell ill.

Including Xizhong, who had retired from practice, they had practiced medicine their entire lives but never faced such a formidable opponent or such a sinister disease. The fervor in their eyes had drowned their reason. They stubbornly walked into a dead end, fighting against themselves, obstinately believing there was dawn ahead, glimpsing the sacred snowy peaks in the distance, only to collapse midway on their pilgrimage.

Tian Qin left a large sum of Xie Tanwei's gold ingots as consultation fees. Xizhong and the others ignored it; they were still stubbornly flipping through medical texts on their sickbeds, refusing to give up.

This state itself was dangerous.

Tian Qin could not dissuade them. She let out a deep sigh—she had brought this upon them.

It was time to stop. Xie Tanwei was coming back.

As long as they stayed away from Xie Tanwei, they could survive. As for the obsession with removing the Gu, time would eventually dilute it.

At least seventy percent had been broken, right? She consoled herself. Seventy percent was a huge improvement.

One cannot be too greedy. Perhaps seventy percent was enough to open the door to freedom.

Whether she could break the deadlock depended on heaven's will.

With seventy percent, she already had leverage to negotiate with him.

...

On the day Xie Tanwei returned, a steady spring rain was falling.

The sky was like a large sheet of Xuan paper stained with ink—light ink, dark ink, thick ink, splashed ink, all present. Mountains were green, waters clear, mist vast, leaden clouds pressing low. The vast landscape was shrouded in a gray shadow.

The master of the house arrived by boat. Xian Qiu, leading Tian Qin and a group of servants, braved the rain to greet him at the dock. Round oilpaper umbrellas crowded the narrow shore. The winding river, the emerald waves, the rain and flying clouds—in the distance, ink-colored mountains stretched endlessly, the spring rain drizzling.

A little past Shen hour, the boat fleet emerged through the misty rain and soon docked. Xie Tanwei bent to exit the boat, his clothes as white as snow, his demeanor cold and ancient, standing like a pine in the valley breeze, exuding the air of a first-rank court official. A young servant diligently held an umbrella for him.

"Husband—"

Xian Qiu's face lit up with a smile as she hurried to greet him.

Xie Tanwei gently touched her damp hair, saying with pity, "I told you not to bother coming to meet me in such heavy rain."

"Nothing much to do at home anyway. I wanted to see you sooner."

Xian Qiu's voice was soft. Under the oilpaper umbrella, the two were enveloped in a faint shrimp-green hue, sealed off from the world, isolated from heaven and earth.

She unconsciously closed her eyes and leaned toward Xie Tanwei's lips, trying to touch the longed-for warmth. But what she met was only the cool raindrops.

Xie Tanwei avoided her, without a change in expression, turning to Tian Qin beside her: "Tian'er came too?"

Tian Qin snapped back to reality and nodded.

Though her eyes stared blankly at Xian Qiu's failed kiss, her mind was wandering far away.

Was this seventy percent of the Love Gu truly effective? How far could it help her run? Could he still control her mind?

Xian Qiu blinked, her disappointment hard to hide. After a moment, she said, "Tian'er came of her own accord."

"Really? Then I am truly flattered." Xie Tanwei's particularly clear eyes swept over Tian Qin, as if reading her thoughts, a teasing smile on his lips.

Tian Qin was embarrassed, the bright gaze stinging her. She twisted the handkerchief in her hand: "How was your journey, brother-in-law?"

"Smooth."

"Sister and I missed you every day."

"After the ancestral rites, His Majesty wished to visit the vicinity of Mount Tai. We ministers accompanied him, which added a day to the trip. Otherwise, I would have returned earlier."

Xie Tanwei guided Xian Qiu and Tian Qin toward the carriage, leisurely recounting new sights along the way. "Let's go. We can talk in detail once we're back at the mansion."

The carriage was spacious enough for three or four people. Xie Tanwei and Xian Qiu sat in the main seats, while Tian Qin sat by the side—the spot usually occupied by close maids.

The window was half-open, fine rain slanting in, bringing a chill.

Upon arriving at the Xie residence, Xie Tanwei bid farewell to Xian Qiu, took Tian Qin by the hand, casually kicked open a room, somewhat roughly pushed her onto the couch, gripped her waist fiercely, and coldly smiled and pressed, "After so many days apart, have you missed me?"

Tian Qin’s wrists were pinned on either side of her head, and her body was pressed down; thrashing from side to side, her embroidered shoes flailing uselessly. With difficulty, she said, "Brother-in-law, don't act like this as soon as you're back."

Xie Tanwei’s expression turned almost frenzied. "Otherwise, why would I seek out my sister-in-law?"

With that, he forced her knees apart and took her again and again, utterly without restraint, locking the door for the entire afternoon.

At first, Tian Qin could keep pace, enjoying it, but gradually she grew exhausted, her pupils unfocused and glazed, her eyes drowsy. Before, the Love Gu had fueled the passion, making her feel no mental pain in this act, as he morphed into her beloved. Now, with the Gu mostly gone, his loathsome form was starkly clear before her, making her nauseous, and she nearly retched.

"You’re half-dead again," Xie Tanwei said, patting her pale cheeks.

The bridge between them was clearly severed.

"Where is the Love Gu?" he sensed its absence.

Tian Qin clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, refusing to answer. He cruelly turned her over, pressing against her beautiful butterfly-shaped shoulder blades.

Tian Qin endured inhuman torment, her pupils shrinking further, on the verge of breaking down.

"I asked you, where is the Love Gu?" Xie Tanwei repeated, his voice ice-cold and utterly dark, seeming to swallow all light.

Tian Qin felt as if she had been dragged out of a stormy, icy tide. Gritting her teeth, she said, "It’s broken."

"Broken?"

"Yes."

Her teeth chattered from extreme agitation, but she had the upper hand, surpassing her former cowardice. "You can no longer control me."

Xie Tanwei was quite surprised. After a moment of silence, he laughed.

That laugh was terrifying, carrying a dark, sinister air that sent chills down the spine.

"Really, Tian’er?"

"Xie Tanwei, face the facts."

Tian Qin had been uncertain before, but now she was completely sure.

In their earlier contact, she had been able to fully control her will, as if walking through waist-high water, with most of the ropes binding her body cut, leaving only a single thread.

This proved that the Love Gu was indeed nearly gone.

She shot him a provocative glance, her eyes sparkling with defiant light, for the first time gaining an advantage in their confrontation. "It’s true, brother-in-law. Your prized possession is not invincible or indestructible."

Xie Tanwei kissed her quietly, feeling it for a moment. Yes, most of the Love Gu was indeed gone. His proud control had suffered an unexpected defeat, broken by a few old fools at the Golden Hall. It seemed there were always greater experts beyond the known, and true masters lurked among the common folk; one must not underestimate them.

"How did you manage it?"

Though he already knew the truth, he wanted to hear it from her lips.

Tian Qin, surrounded by informants, saw no need to hide it. She provocatively confessed how she had tricked him into letting her visit the Golden Hall for an antidote, but omitted the specific prescriptions of Master Xizhong and others.

"Brother-in-law won’t want to kill me to shut me up, will he? The Golden Hall is in the busy marketplace, a charitable hall all the sick in the capital rely on, watched by countless eyes. As an imperial official with vast influence, you can’t silence everyone who knows about this."

She let out a forced, grim smile, and instead grabbed his arm. "Brother-in-law has lost. Let me go. From now on, I will never be under your control again. If you compromise now, we can still talk. If you promise to trouble me no more for the rest of your life, I will keep your secrets, bury all these dirty secrets, and disappear without a trace, never disturb you and my sister's happy life."

"Otherwise, we'll both be ruined—"

"Is sister threatening me?"

Xie Tanwei listened to her plan with a hint of admiration. Well done. She was becoming more intriguing and admirable.

"Sister is truly formidable. I admit defeat."