Chapter 122 Venom: “Come undo the Love Gu.”

Chapter 122: The Poison Needle: "Come and remove the Love Gu."

When Nanny Chen went to the prison to pick up Bo Ge, tears streamed down her face like rain.

In just a few short days, he had undergone a brush with death. His cheeks were sunken, stubble sprouted wildly, his frame was withered and thin, and he was reduced to a mere shadow of his former self. His entire being seemed drained of vitality, his body covered in wounds large and small, with hardly a patch of unscathed flesh left. He looked more ghost than man.

The constable unshackled him with ill grace, flashing a "you got lucky" expression, and shoved him forward roughly. Bo Ge staggered, frail as a paper kite blown away by the wind.

Nanny Chen rushed forward and embraced her son, choking on sobs, unable to utter a single word. Tian Qin wept by her side as the three of them clung tightly together.

"Mother, Tian'er…" Bo Ge's shattered nerves had been reduced to infantile fragility. He tried to speak but could not finish, dissolving into bitter, heart-wrenching sobs.

The inhuman tortures of the dark cell were still vivid in his mind—a place no one would ever willingly visit a second time. The three of them fled that abyss as if escaping death, supporting one another, limping and stumbling toward home, leaving behind a trail of messy footprints.

Nanny Chen's heart ached with worry; her tears had not ceased for days. Only when she heard that her son was safe did the light return to her old eyes. Her blindness had come from sudden grief, but Tian Qin was not so lucky—hers was a permanent pathological loss of sight.

Back in the familiar home, Nanny Chen fussed over him, making a large bowl of noodle soup and breaking tradition by adding two eggs. Bo Ge devoured it ravenously. After enduring hellish days, even a bowl of noodle soup felt like a luxury.

"Tian'er…" Bo Ge noticed Tian Qin standing silently nearby and sniffled. "Sit down and eat."

But Tian Qin kept a measured distance, as if separated by an unbridgeable chasm, with an invisible wall standing between them.

Sunlight fell on her, yet it was bitterly cold.

Something in her had changed—a sense of alienation, of strangeness. Her demeanor had reverted to that of an unapproachable noblewoman.

Nanny Chen no longer tried to push them together. She forced a smile at Bo Ge and urged gently, "Tian'er has already eaten. You go ahead."

Bo Ge sensed acutely that his safe release from prison had likely come at a price Tian Qin had paid. He immediately set down his chopsticks, a surge of panic rising within him, mingling with an unbearable rage. He seized Tian Qin's shoulders and demanded, "What happened, Tian'er? Tell me!"

His thin, bony fingers dug painfully into her shoulders.

Tian Qin trembled, recoiling from his touch, and brushed him aside. Her long black lashes cast deep shadows over her blind eyes. "Bo Ge, don't rush. Aunt Chen will explain everything to you slowly."

How could Bo Ge not be frantic? He was beside himself with desperation.

Though they had not yet formally married, he regarded Tian Qin as his wife.

"No, no—I want you to tell me yourself."

Seeing this, Nanny Chen stepped in to persuade him, "Bo Ge, you've just come out of prison; your body is still weak. Listen to your mother and take good care of yourself."

As she spoke, she half-dragged, half-pulled Bo Ge away from Tian Qin. Her manner suggested that Tian Qin had already become someone else's property, about to be packed up and delivered, not to be touched by him.

Bo Ge's heart ached as if it were being sliced open. The red bridal satin, the burnt incense and candles, the longans and lotus seeds still littering the happy bed, the groom's big red flower and the bride's red veil—everything was still there, yet his marriage to Tian Qin had fallen through.

Happiness had been so close, only to be shattered into dust.

Why did the world have to be this way?

"I won't let you go… I won't let you go…"

Bo Ge muttered, dazed and lost. His weakened body slipped off the long bench, rolling in the dust, grabbing the hem of Tian Qin's skirt and begging bitterly, "I can go back to prison! I'd rather die! Tian'er, don't do anything foolish! You must still be my wife!"

Tian Qin covered her face and turned away, unable to reason with a man driven mad by despair.

Her ruthlessness turned Bo Ge to stone once more, his heart chilled from the inside out. Her departure seemed an irreversible reality.

"Bo Ge, Bo Ge! Do you want to worry your mother to death?" Nanny Chen clung desperately to him, rolling on the ground with him, tears mixing with mud, wailing to the heavens. "Don't make things hard for Tian'er. For the sake of this old life of mine, can you do that?"

Bo Ge's outburst was futile, only adding to the family's grief. To prevent him from becoming more agitated, Tian Qin turned and left.

She pondered everything. Her brief compassion flickered like the last flame of a dying candle, soon extinguished. She had no way to change fate. The sin of abandoning her husband and forgetting his kindness was hers to bear.

Perhaps time would smooth everything over.

The next day, Nanny Chen rose early with exhausted limbs and made porridge and steamed buns for Bo Ge. The family sat together for a meal. Tian Qin handed Bo Ge a bowl of porridge. He was silent as a corpse, his spirit crushed and his heart withered. He seemed calmer than the day before.

"There are red dates in the porridge—sticky and sweet. You both should have more."

Nanny Chen's hair had turned largely white, her wrinkles piled up like mountains, aged and worn. The red dates had originally been bought for Tian Qin and Bo Ge's wedding, now reduced to mere seasoning in the porridge.

Bo Ge looked at his mother's frosty temples, lowered his head, and drank the red date porridge without another word.

Birds chirped, melting snow dripped intermittently from the eaves, and the little cottage in the suburbs was filled with peace and harmony.

From their family table came the occasional clink of spoon against bowl, the sound of sipping porridge, the noise of chewing—a faint, hopeless atmosphere shrouding the humble thatched house.

After the meal, Tian Qin followed Nanny Chen to prepare vegetables. Since she was blind, Nanny Chen divided the chives into bundles and handed them to her one by one. Tian Qin was only responsible for peeling the mud from the outer roots.

Zhaolu and Wan Cui were still making and selling their pastries. As for Bo Ge, he stayed home to recuperate from his injuries.

Tian Qin had grown accustomed to life in darkness. She memorized the positions of the stove, water basin, pots, and pans fairly accurately. With her cane, she could work in the kitchen almost as well as a sighted person.

Nanny Chen stared at her solitary, thin back, filled with pity and regret. Such a fine girl, such a good daughter-in-law.

She turned and met Bo Ge's gaze. He, too, was staring blankly at Tian Qin, lost in the dimming light, drowning in endless regret and sorrow.

Tian Qin stayed a few more days, living peacefully. She helped Nanny Chen with housework or boiled medicine for Bo Ge.

Though prison had been harsh, it was only physical pain. Bo Ge was strong; his mottled wounds gradually blended into his dark skin. He tried lifting a bucket of water and found he could manage easily—four buckets at once was no problem.

"Don't overdo it. Your arms might dislocate," Tian Qin warned kindly from the doorway, for Bo Ge's arms had suffered the worst injuries in prison.

Bo Ge paused. A spark of hope flared in his heart, but it was quickly extinguished. He obediently set down one bucket, but the movement was a bit too abrupt, and water splashed, soaking half his body.

Hearing this, Tian Qin silently handed him a handkerchief, signaling him to dry himself.

Bo Ge smelled the fragrance of the handkerchief and felt like weeping.

Separated as birds flying apart.

Nothing was crueler than losing something after having gained it—far better never to have had it at all.

He realized he could no longer face Tian Qin with a normal heart. Clutching the handkerchief, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, as if speed alone could leave behind the pain of humiliation, jealousy, and lingering attachment.

Tian Qin seemed about to speak but stopped. She stood frozen at the threshold, sighing several times.

When Nanny Chen returned from the street, she said, "Winter is almost over. A few winter jasmines have bloomed in the fields at the village entrance. Yellow and bright, mixed with snowmelt, from a distance they look like ingots swaying in the wind."

Wan Cui was about to go dig for wild vegetables. Hearing this, she exclaimed happily, "I'll go pick some!"

Tian Qin followed along. She couldn't bear to stay at home facing the perpetually gloomy and bitter Bo Ge. Wan Cui held Tian Qin's left hand, while Tian Qin leaned on her cane with her right, stepping out onto the melting snow-covered fields. The fresh breath of spring was invigorating.

From the neighbors came the barking of dogs and the crowing of roosters; smoke curled from chimneys. It was time to cook, and from every house, large and small, wafted faint, barely perceptible aromas of food. It felt as if they were strolling through a painting of the Peach Blossom Spring, a rare tranquility settling in their hearts.

Wan Cui whispered furtively into Tian Qin's ear, "Miss, let's go back later. We'll help them with fewer chores…"

Tian Qin was absorbed in picking the winter jasmines. The white gauze covering her eyes slipped off, and she fumbled to retie it. She was about to chide Wan Cui with a smile when Wan Cui's laughter abruptly stopped, as if someone had gripped her throat.

Tian Qin sank heavily, raised her head, and opened her misty eyes wide in vain.

What she couldn't see was that Wan Cui was gagged and dragged away, and Xie Tanwei's elegant figure unexpectedly appeared on the field. In the half-light interwoven with twilight and shadow, the originally warm-toned daylight turned horrifying, connected with the silent sky, sending chills down one's spine.

In his hand, he held what looked like an extremely fine strand of hair—but was actually an acupuncture needle four inches long that could pierce to the bone. At this moment, it reflected a gloomy, icy blue light in the sunset, clearly poisoned.

Tian Qin couldn't help but shiver.

Although blind, every hair on her body stood on end, her alertness enough to let her guess who the newcomer was.

The Love Gu stirred wildly, reveling in an apocalyptic frenzy, sensing a terrible crisis yet also welcoming its long-lost master, like parched earth greeting rain and thunder, every inch of her body soaked in madness.

"Miss Yu's promise is utterly meaningless."

Xie Tanwei reproached slowly.

Tian Qin tried her best to suppress the creepy goosebumps on her skin. Under the primal urge of the Love Gu, her body was already rushing toward him, while her will still futilely resisted.

She gave a bitter smile: "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"You tell me," Xie Tanwei said coldly.

He had waited for her for far too long, yet she never came.

She still holed up in the mountain village, planning to hide from him forever. And he had given her the promised benefits, letting the steamed bun seller go.

His patience was exhausted, and he would show no further leniency.

"As you wished, I have already called off the engagement with Bo Ge and fulfilled the agreement."

Tian Qin also felt the danger approaching. She took the initiative to bargain with him in a tone that was innocent yet serious, believing she still had the right to stay in the countryside.

Xie Tanwei's nimble fingers adjusted the angle of the acupuncture needle, the sharp edge perfect for piercing flesh and bone. The poison seemed to scream, and his approaching steps seemed to step on her heartstrings, about to end her self-righteous life.

"You've ostensibly canceled the engagement, but in reality you continue to be lovey-dovey, eating and living together, right?"

He accused.

That thatched cottage was completely under his surveillance. "Don't be an ingrate. The money I gave you for medical treatment and the help I gave to keep you out of prison—I wasn't being kind for nothing."

He spoke extremely bluntly.

Tian Qin shuddered with horror, plunging into great fear. On the desolate field, a maid had been knocked unconscious, leaving her a lone blind girl, a powerful opponent with an unknown poisoned needle in his hand.

"Don't come near me!"

She still had a sliver of sanity, crossing her arms in a tense defensive posture, as if she were about to threaten her own life the next moment. Her entire body was tensed like a bow, and she bit her lip until it bled.

Xie Tanwei smiled sympathetically, the rare long needle in his hand emitting an even bluer gleam. He coaxed her in a gentle, calm voice, "Weren't you asking me to remove the Love Gu? Come over, I'll remove it for you now."