Nan Shiying lit a fire starter, using the high temperature to sterilize the dagger. She then had Gouzi prepare a medicinal bath.
"Pour three bowls of your blood into the medicinal bath."
Nan Shiying didn't look up, nor did she pay attention to Gouzi's reaction. Du Lao reached out to pull Gouzi. "No, you don't have to..."
"Three bowls are enough?"
Gouzi frowned. If needed, he could add more.
"Enough!"
"Alright, I'll go do it now!"
Gouzi turned and left, disregarding Du Lao's obstruction. Du Lao's chest heaved slightly, wanting to say something but lacking the strength.
"Jin Mo, you should leave first. The蠱虫 (gu worms) in your body will be affected."
"Alright, I'll wait for you outside!"
"No, go wait in my room. Open the jewelry box on the dressing table. There's a hidden compartment inside with a packet of medicinal powder. If you feel the 蠱虫 in your body showing signs of unrest later, take a small spoonful, dissolve it in water, and swallow it."
"Alright!"
Ji Jin Mo didn't insist.
Nan Shiying asked Xuan Yi to invite Wei Yuan.
"Sister-in-law, what is this..."
Wei Yuan arrived in a hurry with his medical kit. Upon seeing the scene in the room, he froze on the spot.
What on earth was this!
"Didn't you always want to learn live dissection? How about assisting this time?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I can do it, I can do it. I love being an assistant the most in my life!"
Wei Yuan nodded quickly, almost shaking his brains out.
Xuan Yi and Gouzi carried the medicine tub into the room. After placing the medicinal soup as Nan Shiying had instructed, Gouzi directly cut his wrist with the dagger and placed his hand above the medicine tub, letting his blood pour out like a column of water.
Wei Yuan: "..."
The room was instantly filled with the smell of blood.
"Done!"
Du Lao turned his head, trying to stop Gouzi's action. Gouzi, however, seemed to not hear Du Lao's voice. It was only when Nan Shiying spoke that he pulled out gauze to wrap his wrist. Having lost three bowls of blood, Gouzi's face was almost pale, even his lips had lost their color.
"Get out!"
Du Lao snapped.
Gouzi obediently replied with an "en" and walked out, clutching his wrist.
Nan Shiying gripped the dagger and thrust it down fiercely. The dagger pierced the skin wrapped around the spine, and a viscous, purplish-red substance, like tentacles, slid out along with the blood. A foul stench mixed with the smell of blood assailed them, and Wei Yuan, unable to catch his breath, almost choked to death on the spot.
"Is this... a 蠱虫?"
Wei Yuan looked at the viscous purplish-red liquid hanging from the dagger. The liquid was stringy, and occasionally, one or two small, round soft masses the size of millet grains could be seen hidden within. Although Wei Yuan had never seen a 蠱虫, he had seen some after treating Ji Jin Mo for so many years.
Such disgusting things could only be insect eggs!
Nan Shiying grunted. Her entire focus was on the dissection, and she paid little attention to Wei Yuan.
She broke through one layer and, following the opened wound, peeled the skin to both sides until the connective tissue was exposed. She then stopped. She handed the knife to Wei Yuan, who skillfully covered the blade with a clean cloth, then wiped it forcefully, removing the blood and purplish-red liquid from the blade. He then poured a high-concentration alcohol onto the dagger, disinfected it, and wiped it again with another cloth.
"Done!"
In just two minutes, the dagger was re-sterilized.
Nan Shiying nodded and stabbed the dagger into the connective tissue again.
As she peeled layer by layer, the tissue and fluid secreted by the mother worm were completely removed. Nan Shiying shifted her body, and Wei Yuan sprayed alcohol onto the back that was being peeled away layer by layer.
The person below shivered all over, a suppressed groan trapped in their throat like a caged beast. Just listening to it was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Wei Yuan did not stop his movements. After disinfecting the entire wound, he turned to look at Nan Shiying, asking with his eyes if it was okay.
Nan Shiying gripped the dagger again and brought it close to the exposed spine.
Beneath the cervical vertebra at the person's Dazhui acupoint, a purplish-blue soft object could be faintly seen. Tentacles distributed on the object had wound around the entire spine along the Dazhui acupoint. Nan Shiying paused slightly, suppressing the urge to turn and look at Du Lao. She leaned her body over the person and suddenly reached out her finger, gripping the second cervical vertebra, and pulled hard. With a "crack~" sound, the fractured vertebra caused blood vessels to rupture. The eyes of the former楼主 of Wan Ku Tower bulged, turning instantly red, and blood flowed from the corners of his eyes and from his other five orifices.
Before his life force completely drained away, Nan Shiying used the tip of her knife to pick out the 蠱虫. She then, with extreme speed, cut open Du Lao's wrist. The 蠱虫 was three-dimensional and would naturally decay. The only way to sustain it was to quickly transfer it to another host.
Everything was proceeding smoothly until, just as Nan Shiying was about to insert the 蠱虫 into Du Lao's wrist, Du Lao laboriously flipped his wrist, pressing the wound underneath.
"Old man, what are you doing?"
Nan Shiying had calculated everything, but she hadn't expected the old man to become the sole variable at the critical moment.
"Let it die!"
Du Lao tilted his head slightly. His eyelids were too heavy; he had to look up to see her face clearly. He watched her gaze shift from shock to anger, watched her action of forcibly flipping his wrist, and watched the 蠱虫 wither from vibrant to dust. Everything was decided.
"Why?"
Nan Shiying looked at the 蠱虫 that had turned into ashes, her eyes bloodshot. So close, just one step away. If a person could live, why choose to die?
"For you to do everything you can, to do it to the fullest, is so that you won't have regrets. But saving me was your choice, and dying is mine!"
"You should know that there are things in this world that cannot be forced, shouldn't you?"
"I'm asking why?"
Nan Shiying enunciated each word.
Du Lao glanced at Wei Yuan, who was standing in the corner, trying to hide himself. Nan Shiying turned her head, and their gazes met. Wei Yuan, seeing her bloodshot eyes, trembled all over and quickly raised his hands, signaling that he would leave immediately.
Wei Yuan scrambled out, not forgetting to close the door.
Du Lao was silent for a moment. He wasn't deliberately stalling; his body simply couldn't bear it. He rested for a while before regaining some strength and the ability to speak. However, the first words he uttered were not an answer to Nan Shiying: "He's dead, isn't he!"
Nan Shiying paused slightly, then nodded.
"Dead!"
Du Lao grunted, and after a while, he spoke again, "Do you want to go see Ji Jin Mo?"
"No need!"
"So you know everything?"
Nan Shiying nodded in silence.
"When did you find out?"
"It was probably when the 蠱虫 in his body suddenly became violent, and you drew the 蠱虫 from his body into your own."
Nan Shiying suddenly smiled, her voice very soft. "Did you forget? I've read 'Gu Shu'!"
"Ah, yes!"
How could he forget?