Chapter 64 Worm Gu: “Why must you run?”

Chapter 64: The Insect Gu: Why Must You Run Away?

At this moment, Tian Qin felt the illusion of having the upper hand over Xie Tanwei.

Perhaps there was always someone better, someone more skilled—Xie Tanwei's pride and joy—his signature technique—was unexpectedly cracked, and for a moment, he didn't fire back, quietly listening to her words.

Just as Tian Qin thought he had given up, Xie Tanwei shifted his tone, neither angry nor impatient: "Since things have come to this, I too want to let you go, little sister, and have you keep my secret, to keep my reputation from being destroyed. But isn't there still thirty percent of the Love Gu left unbroken? There's no cure for that thirty percent."

The dangerous sense of triumph was suddenly doused with cold water.

"What do you mean?"

Within the curtains, Xie Tanwei's laugh was as fleeting as spring snow.

Silence stretched on.

Tian Qin was on fire with anxiety; she hated most his carefree attitude, which just wore her out. Whenever he showed this expression, it meant she had made a mistake—and a grave one at that.

"Is brother-in-law deliberately being cagey, can't you say it? You've done every evil deed and exhausted every scheme, yet even you have miscalculated."

Unable to hold back, she lashed out with harsh words, pressing him directly, taking control first, as if whoever projected more power would win.

"Do you like it?"

Xie Tanwei remained calm, reaching into her nightgown, his hand finding the place over her heart, stroking back and forth, feeling its beat. His tone was playful, unhurried as he explained:

"The Love Gu is not any kind of insect gu recorded in the world's texts. I raised it myself for over a decade. A pair—one male, one female; they are lovers. The male is placed inside your body, the female inside mine. Every day, they call out to each other in longing, separated by flesh. They can never be parted, and neither can we."

Tian Qin's heart grew cold under his touch.

Insects, lovers, romance and cruelty.

His lips lightly brushed across her cheek, traced her slender brows and eyes, utterly intoxicated by his masterpiece, lost in it, remembering and smiling involuntarily. This was the most satisfactory answer he had produced in over a decade of studying poisons—an unbreakable lock, the most stable in the world, laced with romantic elements. Unique between heaven and earth, he planted it for her alone. As long as the Love Gu remained, he could find her no matter how far.

Tian Qin harshly cut off this romantic mood, her voice tinged with urgency, refusing to accept the established fact, her tone sharp: "No! You're lying. The Love Gu has already been seventy or eighty percent resolved. That so-called unbreakable lock is just junk metal."

Xie Tanwei's smile was knowing and pitiful, mocking how naive she was. How should he tell her—directly reveal the truth, or soften it so she wouldn't be disappointed too soon?

"The Love Gu falls under the category of gu. The first seventy percent is just the standard gu removal method from the texts. But the remaining thirty percent is a dead end. That thirty percent goes straight to the most secret, dangerous core."

"That last antidote is something you'll never find in any pharmacy—anywhere, little sister."

"Forcibly unraveling it means the Love Gu will scramble your mind, causing excruciating pain, paralysis, turning you into a lifeless doll lying in bed, unable to speak or move. Every day, on top of all my own work, I'd have to feed you water and food."

Tian Qin listened to these pitiless words, fully present, her warmth draining away bit by bit, the heart she had been hanging on was finally ripped to pieces.

"Madman, madman." She trembled, unable to believe it, venting uselessly. "I don't believe it."

She had likely lost her reason.

"It's good to have faith, and striving for your faith keeps you alive—but you can overdo it." Xie Tanwei covered her soft, moist palm in time, cold and gentle, as if he were kindly teaching her a life lesson.

Tian Qin could no longer hold back, pressing her hands tightly over her head, letting out a sharp, broken whimper, a deep, fading sorrow.

"Why be so cruel to me? Why? You must be deceiving me."

He was rarely so kind—he explained the whole riddle so clearly. But the clearer the explanation, the more it snuffed out that tiny sliver of hope, the more it pushed her into the abyss of ruin.

He had watched her every move during her trip to the Qianjin Hall. The opportunity she thought she had was a 'mistake' he let her have—with his cunning, how could he let the Love Gu be broken for nothing?

He indulged her because he wanted to see how far she could go. So whether the Love Gu was seventy percent, eighty percent, or ninety percent undone, it was all allowed by his silent permission.

The part that was broken would, given time, regenerate and slowly restore itself to its most perfect form.

From start to finish, he had calculated every detail flawlessly.

Tian Qin felt as if she had fallen into a thorn thicket, struggling for nothing for so long, then lying dazed on the bed.

A dead heart is no different from a corpse.

"How ridiculous. I've given you more reason to laugh at me. I'm too stupid, unworthy to play this game with you."

"Don't you understand yet, little sister?"

Xie Tanwei's expression turned cold, suddenly gripping her shoulders, his twisted affection was like a nail driven into her very soul: "I was afraid you'd be too desperate, too heartbroken, and end up depressed and dead like in your past life, so I kept playing along with you, changing my act. I want you to be happy and carefree in this life. If you like, I can act like I've lost, or any form that pleases you—but you can't overstep my line."

Tian Qin, tears streaming, clung to her last lifeline: "Xie Tanwei, how ruthless your heart is, how black your soul! What awful karma did I accumulate to run into you in two lifetimes?"

Her fleeting happiness shattered like sunlight trapped in a glass cup, shattering on the ground, everything she sought slipping away, all her struggles in vain.

Xie Tanwei was like a sliver of cold moonlight caressing a wound in the night, using the utmost gentleness to pull her back from the brink of despair: "Why must you run away? Isn't it good to stay by my side? I can give you the stability and glory you want. We can talk about anything."

"In this world, everything is a cage. Outside, you must toil and struggle for a living. The poor have nothing but sorrow—what real freedom is there in that? If you marry, you'll have to serve a stranger, go through ten months of pregnancy pain for him. I, your brother-in-law, am at least a man you know, who can give you a wealthy life and protection, and won't force you to get pregnant."

"Tian'er, you should stay. Freedom is forbidden to both of us. I won't give it, and I don't want you reaching for it either. You'll only have freedom when you behave."

Tian Qin's resistance was like a child's game, and now came the reckoning. She should have abandoned her naivety long ago. Given the difficulty of her past confrontations with Xie Tanwei, there's no way the Love Gu could have been broken so easily—the lack of any obstacles was way too suspicious.

Xi Zhong and the others didn't understand Xie Tanwei, but how could she not?

"Whatever revenge you have, bring it all on me."

Her dried eyes reflected a look of reckless surrender. Since resistance had failed, she naturally had to endure his mad retaliation.

Those people—Xi Zhong and the others—were innocent. A bunch of medical addicts, with no intention of competing with the Xie family and no political background. She hoped he would let them off.

"Xie Tanwei, don't kill the innocent."

Xie Tanwei sighed helplessly, rubbing against her temple, lamenting her compassion. His good girl had always been kind-hearted, as merciful as a goddess—he was proud of that.

"Don't think of me as so wicked. I'm not a killer."

In recent years, he rarely took lives anymore. Xi Zhong's motley crew of dilettantes wasn't worth his effort to clean up.

She could still go to Qianjin Hall if she found joy in it. But the hope of dissolving the gu was gone forever.

Having obtained his promise, Tian Qin finally calmed down.

She wasn't crying. Her whole being was hollowed out.

When disappointment reaches its peak, tears often won't come.

"Why tell me all this? Are you so sure I can't defeat you?"

Each word she forced through clenched teeth.

"You should know I won't give up. These things will eventually become chips for my future victory."

Xie Tanwei was certain she wouldn't become a walking corpse, wouldn't take her own life from this blow, wouldn't resort to extreme measures, nor blindly try to forcefully tear apart the Love Gu.

Having weathered the treacherous seas of officialdom for over a decade, he was most adept at reading people's minds, let alone her pitifully naive little thoughts.

"I'd like to offer you some guidance, little sister."

He seemed genuinely to care for her, watching her struggle so hard, hitting one wall after another in the darkness, and wanted to lower the game's difficulty a little, to help her wake up quickly from this beautiful yet poisoned dream.

"I can still die. Even if it means mutual ruin, I will break free of the [Love Gu]."

Tian Qin's fierce, bloodshot eyes locked onto his. If she died, the Love Gu would die too.

She could win—if she was willing to pay an insane cost.

"No, you won't."

Xie Tanwei's heart was as clear as a mirror, his tone unwavering.

"Why?"

He stroked her colorless lips, breathing deeply. Her breath was tender and lingering, their heartbeats intertwining.

"Because it's not worth it. You value life more than I do, and you can't afford to lose. If you die, there's nothing left. Compared to a momentary act of desperation, you fear losing forever the chance to win freedom. You've already lived a second life—you'll be twice as reluctant to concede."

"I don't mind either way. Even if you die, your corpse will forever belong to me."

Tian Qin did not argue, at a complete loss, like a ghost in a cage.

Xie Tanwei caressed her leisurely. At least she was still willing to put in the effort, not giving up, racking her brains to match wits with him—that was enough.

"Give up. Staying isn't such a bad choice either."

His interest in her grew deeper and deeper, and he became more and more reluctant to let her go. He was even surprised that such a little enchantress had been left neglected in the back courtyard in her previous life—a terrible waste.

As her brother-in-law, he doted on her unconditionally and would continue to play along with her as always.

He and she were destined to be together; neither could shake off the other.

...

The season gradually shifted to late spring. The few medical devotees at Qianjin Hall were still brooding over the unresolved Love Gu, hoping Tian Qin would return.

They had found new treatments and new herbs, pooling their ideas, perhaps with a chance to reverse the situation.

But Tian Qin never appeared again.

All she left behind was a pile of cold gold ingots as payment for the consultation.

Her disappearance, along with the Love Gu, would become a mystery forever unsolved in the medical world, a regret that made the medical devotees sigh in regret.

Xi Zhong and the others sighed deeply, half in lament for the collapse of their medical aspirations, and half in sorrow for Tian Qin.

Such a young girl, infected with such a wicked thing—her life was ruined. The private affairs of the wealthy were truly sordid.

Master Xizhong stopped taking disciples, dejected, and went into seclusion to focus on self-cultivation, admitting his skill was insufficient, that continuing to teach would only mislead students.

With Xi Zhong's retreat, Qianjin Hall lost its former bustle. Its luster was hidden, gradually dimming.

The common people were initially unaccustomed to it, but gradually they began seeking medical treatment at other clinics, forgetting Qianjin Hall.

In late spring, rain fell frequently. Willow leaves spread green, pine trees rustled softly. The capital's residents, wearing straw raincoats, went about their various trades on the streets—bustling, noisy, the smoke of human life.

The sun rose and set each day as it has since time immemorial. Clouds gathered and scattered, the seasons cycled, unchanged by anyone or anything.