Chapter 437: She Wants to Cure the Gu Poison? Cannot Be in the Same Room

Zhao Mingyan gently raised his right hand, and the soldiers lowered the cage.

Chi Rui’s brow furrowed slightly. He asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, is something wrong?"

Ji Qingwu composed herself and walked forward, the she-wolf staying close by her side.

She pulled a silver needle from her sleeve and extended it toward the cage.

The Wolf King bared its sharp fangs as its caged territory was invaded. But the she-wolf guarding Ji Qingwu let out a sharp bark, and the king could only snap its jaws shut, turn its head, and obediently lie down.

Ji Qingwu patted the she-wolf’s head. Then, with the silver needle, she flicked up a tiny red dot that was playing dead on the bottom bars of the cage.

Ji Qingwu frowned. ’I knew I wasn’t mistaken. It’s this thing again. I just didn’t expect it could control not only humans but beasts as well.’

Zhao Mingyan’s gaze darkened. "You’ve seen it before?" he asked.

Ji Qingwu nodded, her tone calm. "Last time at the Ji Family estate, the eunuch at Prince Yong’s side was controlled by this little spider. He was trying to lure me into the Imperial Prison."

Zhao Mingyan lowered his gaze to her fingertip and stated with certainty, "This must be the Spider Gu of Xijin."

At the mention of the Spider Gu, the color drained from the faces of Chi Rui and the soldiers.

As they spoke, the small red spider suddenly splayed its legs and scurried up the silver needle, trying to dart into Ji Qingwu’s sleeve.

"Be careful!"

Zhao Mingyan had just cried out in warning when he saw that Ji Qingwu was already prepared. A small, clear vial had appeared in her left hand, and she swiftly trapped both the needle and the Little Red Spider inside.

Ji Qingwu sealed the vial with a frosted stopper. The Little Red Spider began playing dead again. She flicked the side of the vial with her finger, and it tumbled to the bottom.

Zhao Mingyan frowned. "You intend to keep it?"

Ji Qingwu said, "The person controlling the Spider Gu can likely sense the Red Spider’s location. Once the Gu leaves its host, the person behind it can direct it to find a new one."

Zhao Mingyan’s gaze was grave. "It just tried to burrow into your body. You shouldn’t keep something so dangerous."

’It is indeed very dangerous.’

Ji Qingwu glanced around. The young commander looked sharp. She handed the small vial containing the Red Spider to Chi Rui.

"I’ll prepare some medicinal powders. I must trouble you to help me feed it for a few days."

Seeing that Emperor Wu Su didn’t object, Chi Rui took the vial, his heart pounding as he held it in his hand.

"You want to find a cure for this Spider Gu?" Zhao Mingyan said disapprovingly. "This Gu is a secret technique of Xijin. Only members of the Xijin Royal Family can learn the method to plant it, and to this day, no one has ever been able to break the spell."

Ji Qingwu said, "I want to see if it’s possible."

Zhao Mingyan stared at her for a moment before finally nodding. "Fine. As you wish."

Although he believed the chances of successfully neutralizing the Gu poison were minuscule, he wouldn’t rain on her parade since it was what she wanted to do.

Chi Rui was even more stunned. ’Not only can she make the Emperor back down, but it seems she also has the ability to cure the Gu poison. Where on earth did this girl come from? What is her background?’

A thought occurred to Ji Qingwu, and she asked doubtfully, "To control the wild animals, did they really plant a Spider Gu in every single one?"

Zhao Mingyan pondered for a moment. "No. The Red Spiders of the desert are rare to begin with. Even fewer can be refined into a Gu."

Ji Qingwu understood instantly and continued, "So, Your Majesty means that only the leader of the pack is afflicted with the Gu. For example, with the wild wolves, they only needed to plant the Gu in this Wolf King, and the other wolves would obey its commands."

Chi Rui and the other soldiers had a sudden realization. No wonder the Wolf King had charged directly at Emperor Wu Su while the rest of the pack merely provided support.

Zhao Mingyan nodded. "Ah Wu is very sharp. You get it immediately."

Ji Qingwu’s lips curved, but a flicker of doubt crossed her eyes again.

"But capturing a Wolf King and planting the Gu behind its ear must be far more difficult than doing it to a person."

Zhao Mingyan said nonchalantly, "That’s not so difficult either."

Ji Qingwu pressed, "Why not?"

Chi Rui and the other soldiers pricked up their ears, waiting for the explanation.

But Zhao Mingyan chose this moment to be mysterious. "We’ll talk back in the tent," he said.

Ji Qingwu said, "But the she-wolf..."

’Can she stay?’

Ji Qingwu gazed at him with wide, pleading eyes filled with a thousand entreaties. The she-wolf lay quietly at her feet, its eerie green eyes also showing reluctance and dependence.

Zhao Mingyan sighed inwardly, but his expression remained stern as he spoke. "If she doesn’t want to leave, she can stay outside. But she cannot enter the tent, she cannot harm anyone, and she cannot steal food."

Ji Qingwu knew this was already a concession from Emperor Wu Su.

She nodded with a beaming smile, even pressing down on the she-wolf’s neck to make it nod as well, accepting on its behalf.

Ji Qingwu remembered she had one saucy meat bun left and fed it to the wolf.

The she-wolf ate the bun from her hand, nibbling carefully so its sharp fangs wouldn’t hurt her.

Seeing this, Chi Rui and the soldiers couldn’t help but smile. They held a certain appreciation and reverence for wolves, so as long as it didn’t harm anyone, they had no objection to keeping one in the camp.

The Wolf King was released outside the camp. The she-wolf didn’t see it off, but a short while after it had left, she climbed to the highest point in the military camp and let out a long howl at the sky.

From the other side of the mountain, the faint echo of the Wolf King’s howl returned.

Afterward, the she-wolf returned to the area outside the main tent. But unable to go inside, she could only pace around.

Chi Rui stood guard outside the tent, watching a figure approach from the distance.

He cupped his hands in a salute. "General Wei."

Wei Ting stared at the gray wolf circling the main tent. His right hand gripped the scabbard of the sword at his waist as he asked in surprise, "Is that the one we captured yesterday? Why is it out here?"

The she-wolf sensed the man’s hostility. It stopped pacing and crouched low, ready to attack at any moment.

Chi Rui quickly said, "General Wei, please don’t draw your sword! This wolf won’t harm anyone. It’s not the same one from yesterday."

Wei Ting’s hand remained on his scabbard. "Then where did this wolf come from?"

Chi Rui replied, "General, His Majesty ordered for her to be kept. She is the she-wolf that once nursed the little prince with her milk."

As Chi Rui spoke, he suddenly remembered where he had seen the woman who was with Emperor Wu Su.

’Isn’t she that female military doctor who was always pestering General Wei?!’

’She only looks about seventy percent similar, but that lively air about her when she speaks... it has to be her!’

’Emperor Wu Su was also in the army back then. It’s impossible he doesn’t know about the gossip of a woman chasing after a man like that.’

Chi Rui was horrified. Realizing this secret, he stared fixedly at Wei Ting. ’I can’t let those three be in the same room together!’

Wei Ting scrutinized the wolf. He, too, had heard the strange tale of a she-wolf nursing a human infant.

But he was here on official business. "Is His Majesty inside?" he asked.

Chi Rui replied, "He is."

Wei Ting said, "I have business with His Majesty. Please announce me."

Chi Rui’s face turned ashen. "General Wei, perhaps you shouldn’t go in right now..."

Wei Ting asked, "Is there someone else in the tent?"