Nan Shiying finally softened her stern demeanor and gestured for Poison Elder to extend his wrist.
Poison Elder glanced at Ji Jinmo, who was currently staring intently at the teacup before him, as if searching for some new, never-before-seen pattern at the bottom. Poison Elder couldn't help but tut, thinking, "Look at that! The Regent of Linyuan's fearsome aura has completely crumbled. You're really bringing honor to us men!"
It was a case of the pot calling the kettle black, a look of extreme disdain and sarcasm.
Nan Shiying raised an eyebrow slightly. Poison Elder obediently extended his wrist, and just as Ji Jinmo looked up, he also cast a glance at Poison Elder.
Poison Elder: "..."
"Oh, for crying out loud! My temper!"
Nan Shiying looked at the wrist Poison Elder offered, noting the only remaining shallow scratch, and said impatiently, "The other one."
"Oh, oh!"
Poison Elder's indignant huff was interrupted. He mumbled "oh, oh, oh" and obediently switched hands.
"Tsk!"
Now it was Ji Jinmo's turn to click his tongue.
Poison Elder: "..."
"Rumors are nothing compared to firsthand experience. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, who would have known that the Regent of Linyuan was such a petty, doting husband! The truth is just too cruel. Destruction."
Nan Shiying took Poison Elder's pulse. His pulse was stable. It was expected, as his body had no more room to decline. However, the Gu worm in Poison Elder's body seemed to have awakened its activity after devouring the Gu worm in Jinmo's body. It was later suppressed by Sheying's blood pressure, resulting in a strange state, and consequently, his body showed signs of exhaustion and depletion. He really needed to replenish his health. The most critical issue now was the Gu worm. If the Gu worm in the old man's body could be safely removed and then reinserted after it matured, it would be beneficial to him in every way. However, in the current situation, the idea of surgically removing the Gu worm attached to his spine had become rather difficult to implement.
Given the activity of the Gu worm in his body, it was likely that as soon as she peeled back the old man's skin, the wound would be covered by a layer of Gu worms the next moment. She would then have to constantly monitor the edges of the incision while removing the Gu worms, always ready to cut away the flesh that had healed over by the worm eggs.
"Alright, tell me what exactly happened!"
As Nan Shiying carefully considered the medication, Poison Elder withdrew his hand. The Gu worm in Ji Jinmo's body would not have suddenly erupted without reason; there must have been a trigger.
Nan Shiying recounted the day's events to Poison Elder in detail. As she spoke, Poison Elder's frown deepened.
"Something that makes one's thoughts chaotic and can trigger the Gu worm's eruption, not taken orally but through contact in the air..." Poison Elder rubbed the porcelain bottle of wound medicine with his fingers. There were many drugs that could make one's thoughts sluggish, affect the activity of brain cells, and cause symptoms such as dullness, lethargy, and forgetfulness. There were also many drugs that could trigger the eruption of Gu worms in those who had been ensnared. However, for a drug that fit both criteria, Poison Elder was at a loss for a moment. Nevertheless, it wasn't entirely without hope.
"What about that woman?"
Nan Shiying's expression was somewhat strange. "Fed to the dogs!"
Poison Elder was silent for a second, then asked, "The dogs?"
"The backyard!"
A special area had been designated in the backyard for raising dogs. Outside the kennels stood towering walls, and all the maids and servants in the mansion were forbidden from approaching. Only guards and hidden guards who carried the scent of blood were allowed entry.
There were no small dogs in the mansion, only large wolfhounds, which had killed countless offenders and devoured their flesh. Therefore, they exuded an air of ferocity, their eyes were crimson, their teeth sharp, and the hot air they exhaled with their tongues hanging out carried a fetid odor.
Poison Elder stood outside the fence, and the dogs confined within the fence snarled and bared their teeth at him.
*Hiss*, how fierce! Even fiercer than the tiger his unlucky disciple kept as a pet!
"They've all eaten?"
"They've all eaten!"
"Which one ate the most!"
Jia Huan pointed to a dog that was clearly a size larger than the others, the "dog king": "That one!"
"Bring it out and let it bleed!"
"Yes!"
No matter how fierce the dogs were, they couldn't threaten a hidden guard like Jia Huan. Without exerting much effort, he pulled out the dog king, slit its throat, and then, holding the dog's head with one hand and its body with the other, let the blood flow into the wooden bucket beneath it.
Only after the blood had completely drained did Jia Huan toss the dog aside.
"Not enough!"
Upon hearing this, Jia Huan didn't let Poison Elder say more. He pulled out another dog, slit its throat, and let it bleed.
After bleeding three dogs, the wooden bucket was nearly full, and Poison Elder finally called a halt. Jia Huan carried the wooden bucket and, following Poison Elder's instructions, set up a simple stove in the enclosed room. After lighting a fire, he poured the blood into the pot and began to heat it.
As the steam rose, Poison Elder, enveloped by the smell of fresh blood, detected a faint scent in the room, similar to that of bracken grass scorched by the midday sun.
Jia Huan shook his head. The rising steam made his head feel heavy, giving him a sensation of his brain seizing up and becoming unable to think.
"That's enough!"
It was a full five seconds after Poison Elder spoke that Jia Huan belatedly realized, picked up the pot, and extinguished the fire. Poison Elder took the pot from him.
He placed the pot aside, took out a notebook, and recorded the scent emitted by the heated dog blood.
After writing, he added a note beside it: "Uncertain if the scent is a result of the dogs consuming food and the combined scent within their bodies."
Having made the note, he used a clean medicine spoon to scoop out a little blood and dripped it onto a piece of white paper.
Jia Huan stood by for a long time before asking, "Poison Elder, is there anything else you need me to do?"
Poison Elder replied without turning his head, "No, you may go. Oh, right, don't close the door."
The weather was bitterly cold. As Jia Huan opened the door, a gust of cold wind swirled down from above. Jia Huan shivered violently, and the congestion in his brain instantly cleared up considerably. Recalling his sluggishness just moments before, his pupils widened. He had initially wondered if it was too cold to leave the door open, but now that thought was gone.
The wind dispersed the medicinal properties that had permeated the room. Although Poison Elder was not significantly affected, the slightly cool air did invigorate his brain. He began to research the medicinal components contained within the dog blood.
Nan Shiying, on the other hand, took out the Gu technique book that Poison Elder had given her once more. If the mother worm could nourish the host, then what about the offspring? Were there any ways to subvert the master, to use the offspring to control the mother worm and cause the enslaver to suffer a backlash? And for the Gu worm in the old man's body, besides removal, were there any other methods?