Bai Zhier’s face turned deathly pale. "Don't say it..."
"Xue'er, no," Chu Ruo pleaded.
"Ruo'er," Nan Muxue’s gaze could be ice-cold when directed at others, yet it softened into pure tenderness the moment it landed on Chu Ruo. "You are too kind-hearted. I fear some people simply won't appreciate it."
"What?" Bai Shanshan looked at their expressions, her voice trembling. "What do you mean? You all know? What are you talking about!"
"Do you not understand?" Nan Muxue enunciated every word with chilling clarity. "You... are not a descendant of the God of Medicine."
Bai Shanshan burst into laughter. "What a clumsy trick. Do you really think I’ll believe such nonsense?"
"Whether it is true or not, ask your sister directly."
Still laughing, Bai Shanshan grabbed Bai Zhier’s hand. "Sister, she’s making up such ridiculous lies..."
Bai Zhier remained silent. It was this very silence that made Bai Shanshan freeze. She looked at her sister in disbelief, then glanced at Chu Ruo and Nan Muxue. After a moment, she forced out another smile. "It’s fake. It must be fake."
"You truly are a fool," Nan Muxue’s voice sounded particularly piercing at that moment, each word stabbing like a needle. "Can't you see it? You are only deceiving yourself."
"Shut up!" Bai Shanshan roared in fury. "You venomous woman! This is you—this is your scheme!"
"Venomous? Between the two of us, who deserves that title more? For all these years, you’ve been obsessed with seeking revenge against us, yet you never once considered that you aren't even a member of the Bai family."
"You're lying! My father, my mother, and my sister..."
Nan Muxue was consumed by a cold rage, hating the woman before her for planting that so-called Heart-Linking Gu in her Ruo'er. Ignoring the attempts of Bai Zhier and Chu Ruo to stop her, she let the words fall like shards of ice, casting Bai Shanshan into an abyss. "Why do you think your adoptive father never told you about the entanglements between them all those years ago, yet he told your sister? The Bai family has always been renowned for their medical expertise, yet you are far more skilled in using poisons. Have you never wondered why?"
"Impossible. I am a descendant of the Bai family. My sister and I, we are both... we are both..."
Nan Muxue let out a cold, mocking laugh. "The names."
Bai Zhier looked over, her expression grim. "This is our family matter. I will find a way to remove Ruo'er's Gu. Shanshan, let's go back first—"
"Your names," Nan Muxue continued, refusing to give her an opening. "The descendants of the God of Medicine have always been named after medicinal herbs. Your father was Baiji, your sister is Baizhi. Your ancestors were Baizhu, Bailian, Baishao... do I need to go on?" She utterly crushed that final sliver of hope.
"Sister..."
"You are nothing more than a bastard of unknown origin. You aren't a descendant of the God of Medicine at all. What talk is there of revenge? You don't even have the right!"
"Enough!" Bai Zhier shouted, then hurried to comfort her sister. "Shanshan, we—"
"You’ve known all along, haven't you?" Bai Shanshan gripped her sister with a fierce intensity. "Should I even call you sister?"
"Shanshan..."
"Answer me! Who am I? I want to know. Tell me!"
Bai Zhier turned her head away. "It was my adoptive father who told me. Last time, when he spoke of the old grudges, he forbade me from telling you. Only after I questioned him repeatedly did he finally relent. That year, I was still young. I heard that a couple had appeared in the martial world who used poison to harm people. They would poison their victims, then extort money for the antidote. But even after taking the money, they wouldn't save them, leaving the victims to die in agony. A bounty was placed on their heads. Father encountered some of the victims; many lost their lives because they couldn't be treated in time. My parents took me along to track them down. We reached a village and learned that the surrounding areas were infested with the plague. The officials had already begun burning the villages. By a stream, we saw a wooden tub floating down the current. My parents and I found you inside, still an infant. Fortunately, you hadn't contracted the plague, so we took you with us. Later, we learned that your biological parents had released plague-infested rats just to test their poisonous herbs. Not long after the incident, they were beaten to death by the villagers who were suffering from the plague. But no matter what, in my heart, you will always be my sister."
" I am not! All this time, the identity I was so proud of... I thought I was doing it for Father... It turns out, I am just the daughter of despicable, shameless people. Even my name... Hahaha..."
"Shanshan!"
Bai Shanshan suddenly shoved her away. "Get away! I'm not! Since I'm not, then I'll take you all down with me!"
At this moment, Bai Shanshan appeared utterly deranged. She screamed and laughed, her steps swaying as if she were about to run. Nan Muxue moved instantly. Bai Zhier moved to protect her sister, but seeing that Nan Muxue only intended to seal her acupoints, she stopped.
"Shanshan..."
"We cannot let her leave." Nan Muxue stepped forward and tapped several more major acupoints, causing the girl to fall unconscious. Her first instinct was to support Chu Ruo, fearing she might have fainted as well, but Chu Ruo remained awake.
Chu Ruo spoke up, "It seems this Gu only makes me share her injuries. If something happens to her, it happens to me, but other things don't seem to transfer. However, I don't know if this Gu is bidirectional. If something happens to me, will she feel it too?"
"Regardless, she must not leave. Otherwise, you..."
"I'm fine." Chu Ruo held Nan Muxue’s hand, offering a gentle smile. "Don't worry. It's late; let's go back and rest. Zhier, please take good care of her."
Nan Muxue wanted to protest. "Ruo'er, you—"
"Don't worry. I believe in her." She looked at Bai Zhier. "Zhier won't let anything happen to me, and she certainly won't let anything happen to her sister. Right?"
"Ruo'er," Bai Zhier called out softly. "Go back to your room. I will find a way regarding the Gu."
"She has tried to harm Ruo'er more than once," Nan Muxue countered. "Last time with the Dream of Fulfillment, you couldn't save her either. Ruo'er had to rely on herself."
"No, last time was because of you. So this time, I'll be fine too. Xue'er, trust me."
Nan Muxue supported her beloved. Before leaving, she said coldly, "I have sealed her Eight Extraordinary Meridians using the Hundred Flowers Palace technique. She cannot use her martial arts, and no one else can undo it. She won't be escaping."
The moment they returned to their room, Nan Muxue’s calm and rationality vanished. She helped Chu Ruo to the bedside and immediately began circulating her internal energy to heal her. Yet, she was so frantic that she kept checking the cuts on Chu Ruo's hand, her movements uncharacteristically clumsy. "Ruo'er, Ruo'er..."
"Xue'er, calm down. I'm fine."
"I was the one who hurt you. I struck you."
"It has nothing to do with you. Don't waste your internal energy; it's not like I can't heal myself."
"Ruo'er..."
Chu Ruo pulled her into an embrace. "I'm not going to die. You know exactly how hard you hit her, don't you?"
"Precisely because it was me, I know how ruthless that strike was." Nan Muxue’s voice was thick with a self-reproach she had never shown before. "Once again... I've hurt you once again."
"I told you, it's not your fault. No one expected her to plant the Gu so early."
"No, it's all my fault. She was right. I was the fool who went back to court death, otherwise she wouldn't have found the opportunity. Ruo'er, I'm the one who harmed you. Every decision I make is so foolish, from the Hundred Flowers Gu until now..."
"Alright, be good and listen to me. I've never blamed you, and I don't think it's your fault. Perhaps this is just heaven's test for us. But I know that no matter how bad things get, nothing can tear us apart. I'll only love you more and more. I survived the Hundred Flowers Gu; do you think I'm afraid of this little Heart-Linking Gu? My Xue'er won't let anything happen to me, right?"
Nan Muxue held her tight. "No," she murmured. "I won't let anything happen to you, Ruo'er."
The night seemed to stretch on forever. The room was pitch black and silent, but Chu Ruo knew the woman beside her had no intention of sleeping. She took the initiative to break the silence, stroking Nan Muxue’s back. "You shouldn't have said those things today."
At the first touch, Nan Muxue immediately burrowed into her arms. In the darkness, her emotions were unreadable. "She planted a Gu in you, and you're still worrying about her?"
Chu Ruo chuckled. "Heh, even at a time like this, your jealousy has to flare up. How did you guess? I only suspected it because Tu Ao'zhi called us to talk about the past but didn't include her."
"The same as you. However, I had no intention of meddling in other people's business. I only care about you. But since she dared to harm you, I wanted her to feel the most pain. I wanted to destroy the thing she cared about most."
"I suddenly feel that you and your mother are quite alike in how you never let a grudge go." Chu Ruo hoped to lighten the mood and kissed her forehead. "I wasn't doing it for her."
"I know. It was for your 'Lady Zhier'."
Hearing that tone, Chu Ruo knew she was feeling a bit better. She playfully reached out to tilt Nan Muxue’s chin. "That's your sister."
"That is debatable. As for her being your confidante, that is beyond doubt."
Chu Ruo laughed, then turned serious again. "For so many years, Zhier and she have depended on each other. You don't know—when she went missing on Xianlai Island, Zhier was so worried she cried. She truly sees Bai Shanshan as her sister. By saying that, you've left her with no family."
"She wasn't family to begin with."
"You..."
"You should worry about yourself first. You certainly have the leisure to worry about others."
"I have you. You won't leave me be."
Nan Muxue also turned serious. "As things stand, we can only bring her back to the Palace and keep her under strict guard. With the combined efforts of Bai Xue, Phoenix, Bai Zhier, and myself, we will find a way to break the Gu."
"Are you so sure they'll help?"
"If they don't, I'll kill them all to accompany you in death."
"Are you wishing for my death? Ow! Why did you bite me? That hurts!"
"Speak recklessly again, and I'll finish you myself."
The familiar threat, long unheard, carried both a warning and deep concern. Chu Ruo couldn't help but lean in for a kiss. "Why do I feel like it's so sweet?"
***
Chu Ruo and the group rushed back to the Hundred Flowers Palace.
She seemed to have returned to her role as an idle person. Everything else was dumped onto the five Protectors. Nan Muxue now barely let her out of bed. Even Duan Ning complained that she was always getting poisoned and leaving a mountain of work for everyone else. Seeing Chu Ruo lying in bed all day, eating, sleeping, and complaining of boredom, Duan Ning was so annoyed she wanted to roll her eyes.
Since learning the truth of her birth, Bai Shanshan had become withdrawn and silent. Perhaps it was because she was under house arrest in the Palace. Chu Ruo had seen her once or twice; her emotions were unstable, and she often had to be tied up to prevent her from hurting others or herself. Chu Ruo hadn't expected her reaction to be so extreme, but it was understandable. She had always believed Nan Menghua was the reason she grew up without parents, and her heart was set on revenge. In the past, she had often shown pride and obsession with her status as a descendant of the God of Medicine. To be told she was merely a foundling was a devastating blow to someone already prone to extremes. Chu Ruo felt for Bai Zhier, who had to care for her sister while trying to find a cure for the Gu. It was a tragic situation; before Chu Ruo appeared, the sisters had been fine.
Clearly, this time, Bai Shanshan had overestimated herself.
Or perhaps, because of Bai Xue, everything was predestined.
Bai Shanshan had said her Gu was a combination of Miaojiang techniques. However, when Bai Xue left Miaojiang, she had taken the secret manual of Gu poisons—the very thing the group had failed to retrieve from the sacred grounds. Bai Xue was a formidable person; she had bypassed the traps in the cave and taken the manual without a scratch. Her goal had been to promote Miaojiang's Gu arts and lead her people into the world to claim a place for themselves. She hadn't expected that a single woman, Nan Menghua, would leave her so disheartened. Love truly was a ruinous thing. What remained in Miaojiang afterward were merely the basics. With Bai Xue and Phoenix using Miaojiang Gu, combined with Bai Zhier’s medical skills and the rare herbs Nan Muxue had preserved in the Hundred Flowers Palace, the so-called Heart-Linking Gu was easily broken.
Chu Ruo had once thought she would have to get married while still under the Gu's influence. The fact that it was resolved so smoothly felt almost surreal.
"What, now that the Gu is gone, you're feeling uncomfortable? I think you're just looking for trouble," Duan Ning teased.
Chu Ruo shot back without hesitation, "Go away, you heartless woman. I was stuck in bed for days and you did nothing but complain."
"When have I ever not complained about you?"
"Then why are you here? Get out."
"I don't even want to be here. Hmph. Someone should give you another Heart-Linking Gu to see if you'll keep causing trouble."
"Hey, is there any of that Gu left?"
Duan Ning replied, "That woman surnamed Bai took it from her sister. To develop a cure, you have to have the poison first. But this Gu wasn't easy to break. The old Palace Master burned most of the herbs when she set fire to the Palace; there was hardly anything left. For your sake, Xue'er poured almost everything that remained into the cure. Some of those things might never be found again."
Chu Ruo nodded thoughtfully. "Oh..." Knowing the Little Scorpion's personality, she might... well, it was better to strike first.
That night, to celebrate, Chu Ruo invited Nan Muxue to their old spot, Silent Lake.
"You're smiling very happily today."
"Of course, because the Gu is gone. I can stay with you forever now. Come," she said, holding out two cups of wine. "Let's drink."
A gentle breeze blew past. Nan Muxue suddenly spoke, "It's much warmer now."
"Yeah, winter is over. These past few days have been as hot as midsummer. This weather is just like a woman's heart—impossible to predict."
"Your food is burning."
"Oh, crap!" Chu Ruo hurriedly turned around to tend to her grilled fish and chicken. Then, she raised the two cups of wine again, blinking. "Xue'er, will you do me the honor of a drink?"
Nan Muxue leaned in, her lips brushing Chu Ruo's in a fleeting kiss. Then, she took one cup and drained it in a single gulp. She parted her lips, smiling as she swallowed the liquid.
"Xue'er," Chu Ruo kissed her back, only to find the other woman even more passionate than herself. She pressed against Nan Muxue’s lips and whispered, "I have something to tell you. I added something to that wine."
Nan Muxue remained calm. "I know."
"You know? It's..."
"The Heart-Linking Gu."
"You really are... nothing gets past you, my Little Scorpion. I asked Zhier; this Gu comes in a pair, male and female. The female is the Master Gu. If the one holding the Master Gu is hurt, the other follows, but not vice versa. I put the Master Gu in your wine. Xue'er, I said it before—I came to this world for you. If you go, I will follow."
"You knew I would use the Heart-Linking Gu, so you tried to beat me to it?"
"Hehe, you know me, and I know you. You're always afraid I'll leave, and you'd rather die than live without me. You were definitely going to use the Heart-Linking Gu on me, and you would have taken the Master Gu for yourself. Like I said, I'm here for you; I wasn't going to let you have your way."
Nan Muxue stroked her face. "Just now, while your back was turned, I swapped our cups."
"What!" That meant Chu Ruo had swallowed the Master Gu. If she died, the Little Scorpion would... "You!"
Nan Muxue remained as unruffled as ever. She spoke a single sentence with utter composure: "I have taken the Heart-Linking Gu. If you leave, I will die." *You are the only warmth I have in this world. If you are gone, what meaning is there for me?*
Chu Ruo stared at her. Finally, she pulled the love of her life into a tight embrace. "I won't leave. I won't leave your side for the rest of my life. I'll never leave you again. What else is there to say? Nan Muxue, are you stupid? Doing such foolish things for me... You're a liar. You even lied to me at the very end."
"Since you could guess my thoughts, I could guess yours. You knew I would use the Gu, so you tried to get ahead of me. Why should I bother with extra steps? I only needed to act at the right moment."
Chu Ruo felt dejected and annoyed. "What kind of nonsense is this? I can never successfully scheme against you. What do they call this? You predicted my prediction of your prediction?"
"I am your Master. Naturally, I have my secret techniques."
"Not anymore. You haven't been that for a long time." She kissed her. "You are my lover."
***
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Master, Spare My Life: A Disciple's Sweet Rebellion | Chapter 218 | Hearts Bound Forever | Novela.app | Novela.app
