The medicinal application took a full quarter of an hour, leaving both of them drenched in sweat, making one wonder if they had engaged in some strenuous activity.
Nan Shiying put on her dress and glared at Ji Jinmo, a mixture of shyness and anger on her face. Ji Jinmo looked around furtively, not daring to meet Nan Shiying's gaze.
Elder Du walked into the Xinyuan Pavilion, observing Lv Wan and the others standing by the door. He fell silent for two seconds, then looked up at the sky and down at his shadow.
He hadn't misjudged; the sun was already setting in the west!
Lv Wan caught sight of Elder Du and glanced back into the room. She thought to herself, 'Great, caught red-handed again.' Just as she was contemplating an excuse, a voice called out from inside.
Lv Wan busied herself by pushing the door open and entering, lowering her head and focusing on her own nose and nose. First, she reported, "Master, Madam, Elder Du is here," then stood to the side, awaiting the prince and madam's instructions.
"Brew a pot of fresh tea," Ji Jinmo commanded.
"Yes!"
Lv Wan bowed and retreated, inviting Elder Du into the room before leaving.
Elder Du strode in, walked to Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo's side in three swift steps, and sat down. He looked at Ji Jinmo, then at Nan Shiying, a playful glint in his eyes. Nan Shiying's pretty face turned cold, and she glared fiercely at Elder Du, thinking, "This disrespectful old rogue!"
Elder Du, unfazed, clapped his hands with delight. "Congratulations, congratulations."
"The iron tree finally blossoms, the nun..."
"Yin..."
Nan Shiying gritted her teeth. Before she could utter the words "Yin Alliance," Elder Du promptly shut his mouth.
As everyone knew, when someone calls you by your full name, it was best to concede immediately, lest the consequences be dire.
Elder Du knew when to stop, not adding further taunts to avoid truly angering his disciple to the point of no return. However, he hadn't realized before that his disciple could also be shy. Truly a sight for sore eyes.
"Alright, let's talk business!"
Elder Du raised his hand to stop Nan Shiying from greeting him, changing the subject with a serious expression.
Nan Shiying: "..."
If he wasn't so skilled in poisons, he would have been beaten to death years ago, wouldn't he?
Nan Shiying took a deep breath and asked with a forced smile, "What is it?"
Elder Du coughed and took out a small porcelain bottle from his embrace. Seeing the medicine bottle, Nan Shiying was reminded of the scene when Ji Jinmo had applied medicine to her. She clenched her fist, covering her lips, and coughed lightly. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, partially hidden by her fist. She instinctively looked towards Ji Jinmo, only to find him looking at her as well. Their eyes met, and Nan Shiying's heart leaped as if struck by an electric current.
"No, you two! That's enough!"
Elder Du held up the small porcelain bottle and saw Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo looking at each other with affectionate expressions. He felt as if he had been force-fed a mouthful of maple syrup, his throat aching from the sweetness.
He understood. It was inevitable for them to be clingy after their first taste of forbidden fruit, their bodies intertwined. But when someone else was present, couldn't they at least restrain themselves a little? What were they doing? Should he just leave? m..oΓg
Upon hearing Elder Du's teasing, Nan Shiying's cheeks grew redder. She abruptly turned her head, snatched the small porcelain bottle from Elder Du's hand, and asked with a slightly flustered voice, "What is this?"
Good heavens, he was just trying to change the subject, wasn't he?
Elder Du pursed his lips and said, "Gu worms."
"Specifically, adult female worms."
Adult female worms typically resided within a host's body. Upon the host's death, the female worms would gradually die from lack of nourishment. Nan Shiying knew of only one method to extract a living female worm from its host: a live dissection.
"Were they dissected from those people? Are they still alive?"
"Of course!"
Elder Du proudly tilted his neck back. If the host died, it wouldn't be a live dissection.
Nan Shiying looked at Elder Du in astonishment, thinking that this old rogue truly lived up to his reputation as an elder of Medicine King Valley. To dissect the female worm with his bare eyes required not only years of experience but also a one-hundred-percent understanding of human anatomy. Any slight misstep would result in the host's death. Her own success relied entirely on her mutated eyes; without them, she wouldn't have been able to achieve this.
"Amazing!"
Nan Shiying praised him sincerely, but before Elder Du could preen, she continued, "As expected of someone worthy of being my master."
Elder Du: "..."
Was she praising him incidentally while actually praising herself?
Where was her face?
"Tsk!"
Elder Du clicked his tongue. His disciple, while stunningly beautiful, had such a mouth. If she were mute, she would be perfect!
Elder Du sometimes truly wished to poison her tongue into silence, but then he remembered that this was the disciple he had begged and pleaded for. What could he do? He could only mutter to himself: 'It was my choice of successor, my choice of successor, my choice of successor!'
Just as he was muttering the incantation to calm his emotions, Nan Shiying asked, "What are you clicking your tongue about? Did your tongue cramp?"
What incantations? Today, even if the Jade Emperor himself descended, he would still deal with this rebellious disciple!
Seeing Elder Du's facial muscles twitching and anger clouding his brow, Nan Shiying paused for a second before speaking, "Master, where is the host from whom the female worm was extracted? What is their current condition?"
Elder Du: "..."
A lump formed in his throat, neither able to be spat out nor swallowed. Elder Du glared at Nan Shiying for a long time before slowly pressing down on the bulging veins on his forehead.
This little brat only called him Master when it was convenient like this!
But what could he do? His precious disciple had called him Master.
"Not dead!"
He had extracted the female worm from the host the day before yesterday, and even now, the host was still alive.
Nan Shiying suddenly stood up in excitement, forgetting that she was still somewhat uncomfortable. The sudden pain from the strain made her frown slightly, but she smoothed her brow in an instant, grabbed Elder Du's hand, and walked out. "Come on, come on, take me to see."
Ji Jinmo rose to follow.
The person was not in the prince's mansion, but in a cave outside the city.
Nan Shiying realized that Snake Shadow had returned.
"Not returned!" Ji Jinmo said.
Nan Shiying pointed at the python coiled at the main entrance, silently questioning him.
Ji Jinmo said, "It's not Snake Shadow."
"The snake charmers are a clan. Although few in number today, it's not just Snake Shadow alone."
Nan Shiying: "..."
"Only two!" Ji Jinmo said.
Nan Shiying: "..."
Damn it!
So she still had to wait for Snake Shadow to return? Never mind, that matter wasn't urgent anyway.