It wasn’t really that Murong Qiufeng was especially bold—he simply didn’t understand. All he could do was learn, and naturally, his only teacher was Shangguan Ye.
So whatever Shangguan Ye did to him, he took as the natural way for two men to be together. It wasn’t that he found it unbearable—just that he still struggled to fully let go.
When he was a child, he once asked his mother why she never fought back against his father’s domineering ways.
She had always told him that for a husband and wife to last, one must advance when the other retreats; they must yield and adjust to each other.
So he too believed that since he and Shangguan Ye had chosen to be together, they needed to adapt, to find a balance, to fit each other as best they could.
As for the intimacy between them—Qiufeng never doubted that such things were bound to happen, that they were only natural. The reason he had always resisted Shangguan Ye’s advances was partly because being with a man still felt unfamiliar to him, and partly because he didn’t understand, and ignorance bred fear.
Everyone wants to look their best before their lover—not to show their weakest, most helpless side. And truthfully, Qiufeng’s nature had a streak of pride; he didn’t like always being the one protected, the weaker half.
The two of them lingered in the hot spring for quite some time, until the water gradually cooled and they had no choice but to leave.
Yuxiang had already prepared ginger tea and was waiting. When she saw the two of them emerge from the room, dressed and looking refreshed—though with a faint flush still on their cheeks—her smile widened knowingly. She’d clearly been eavesdropping again.
After drinking the tea, Qiufeng asked, “How is Brother Yun? Has he woken yet?”
Yuxiang pouted. For some reason, she seemed especially displeased with Yun Tian. “No reaction. Still the same. We’ll have to wait a few more days. I treated his external wounds, but the rest depends on fate. Oh—right, there’s a letter from Huan.” She hurriedly pulled a small rolled note from her sash and handed it to Shangguan Ye.
Shangguan Ye unrolled it, glanced at it, then passed it to the visibly anxious Qiufeng. Perhaps because he was still in a good mood from earlier, he showed no trace of jealousy over Qiufeng’s concern for Yun Feiyang. In fact, the faint smile at his lips looked downright smug, as if flaunting his happiness.
The letter was brief: All is well at Mufeng Tower, but Yun Feiyang has gone missing. The people at the Tower are searching for him. Yun Tian was injured while looking for him.
Qiufeng closed the note, frowning deeply. It seemed they’d have to wait for Brother Yun to wake up after all. Still, missing was better than… worse possibilities.
He sighed, though the news that Mufeng Tower was safe eased his heart somewhat. If the Tower was fine, it likely meant that whatever happened wasn’t aimed at them directly. Yun Tian’s injuries probably had nothing to do with his senior brother’s case; more likely, he’d simply stumbled into some unrelated conflict.
That was believable. After all, Yun Tian had one fault—which was also a kind of virtue: he loved to meddle. Outwardly, he was calm and refined, but the moment he opened his mouth, people wanted to hit him—because he was venomously sharp-tongued. Worse, when he cut people down with words, his expression stayed perfectly serene, as if his barbs were undeniable truth.
Just then, Shangguan Ye suddenly asked, “Tell me about that gu worm.”
Yuxiang blinked, surprised. Her master rarely showed interest in such matters. “Did you… come across one, Master?”
Before Shangguan Ye could answer, Qiufeng immediately thought of something. “Could those men who died at the Ministry of Justice have something to do with this gu?”
Shangguan Ye stroked his chin. “I’m not sure. Just a suspicion.”
Yuxiang’s face grew serious. “That kind of gu is a national treasure in the Snowland kingdom of Xuelai. There, it isn’t even used as poison—it’s revered as a holy cure. Properly handled, it can neutralize a hundred toxins. That’s why it’s called the Venom-Eater Gu.”
“It works as a pair—mother and child gu. The mother is usually implanted in the one who controls it. That person commands the mother, which in turn commands the children. Since the gu feeds on poison, it’s extremely venomous itself. The silk it secretes, if soaked in blood long enough, becomes a deadly toxin that can be woven into fabric, gloves, or handkerchiefs.”
“But raising them is extremely difficult. The mothers reproduce very slowly. Sometimes out of a thousand attempts, only one survives. The children are different, though. With the mother’s venom, many child gu can be bred. But the mother’s venom is limited. The more children it feeds, the weaker and shorter-lived they are.”
“I checked Yun Tian’s body earlier. The worm inside him was a weak one, barely carrying any venom. It was fully under the mother’s control. When the mother died, it didn’t immediately go berserk. That’s the only reason Yun Tian managed to kill it inside himself. Honestly, his luck was incredible.”
“So, there may be many of these child gu?” Shangguan Ye tapped the table. At the Ministry, he’d found pale white worms, about the size of a little finger, in several corpses.
If he hadn’t seen Yuxiang extract a similar worm from Yun Tian before, he never would’ve made the connection.
Yuxiang froze, her expression darkening as she pressed her lips together. “The mother gu is hard to implant, but the child gu… only needs one thing to enter someone’s body.”
“What thing?” Qiufeng’s face paled. If it was that easy for these worms to infest people, then countless lives could already be in danger.
“All it takes is for someone to ingest food or drink tainted with the mother gu’s secretions. The child gu will then seek out an entry point—mouth, nose, ears, even the smallest wound. At first they’re tiny, barely thicker than a strand of hair. But once inside, they gorge on blood. As they grow, they reach the size of a little finger.”
Qiufeng’s scalp prickled at the thought, his face tightening in dread.
“Don’t worry,” Yuxiang added quickly. “I’ve studied this before. These worms have one weakness—they’re repelled by lime powder. I’ll prepare lime water right away to test whether anyone’s been infected. If they have, the reaction will show.”
She paused, her voice lowering. “This method was taught to me by my master, who was once close to the old king of Xuelai.”
Qiufeng swallowed. “And if someone has been infected? What happens when they drink the lime water?”
