"It stinks to high heaven!" Er Ya wrinkled her nose as soon as she entered, "What a foul smell of dead insects!
Did someone die? It's so pungent!
Hmph!
It must be the Miao family's doing!
Where's Miao Tong? Where did he disappear to?"
Listening to Er Ya's barrage of complaints, Xia Qingtian's alarm bells went off. She immediately pulled Er Ya to the bedside and pointed at the sleeping Gaia. "Er Ya, take a look at her!"
"Holy moly! So the smell is coming from her! It's so awful!" As soon as Er Ya got closer, her round little face contorted. "Just throw her into the sea already, she's stinking up the place!"
"We can't throw her away, she has to live!" Xia Qingtian said sternly. "Er Ya, stop messing around and find a way!"
"What way can I find? She looks like she's about to kick the bucket…" Er Ya felt like Xia Qingtian was deliberately making things difficult for her.
Didn't she say before that she only needed to pick Qing Yu up for a sleepover?
Adding work halfway meant a different price.
"She's Xiao Xiao's sister," Xia Qingtian said immediately. "She can't die!"
"Ah? Xiao Xiao's sister? Li Xiao Xiao?" Er Ya pouted. If it was Li Xiao Xiao's sister, then she really couldn't let her die like this. But this was a Gu, not poison, and a very potent kind of Gu at that. She couldn't do anything on her own. Er Ya said, "Hurry and call Miao Tong, maybe he can help."
Xia Qingtian immediately contacted Miao Tong. Not long after, Miao Tong came running over. "Who has been afflicted by the Gu?"
As soon as he pushed the door open, Miao Tong couldn't help but take two steps back.
The pungent scent of the Gu insects was almost unbearable even for him.
"You're finally here!" Er Ya quickly said. "You Miao family created this mess, so you deal with it yourselves! I'm suffocating!"
For once, Miao Tong didn't argue with Er Ya. Even he, a Miao person, found it difficult to bear, let alone the Tang family members who were equally sensitive to these kinds of pheromones.
Miao Tong walked to the bedside, his expression grim. He looked at Gaia's face and finally shook his head. "I can't resolve this Gu."
"You can't either?" Xia Qingtian's brows furrowed. "What about you and Er Ya together? Do you have a solution? She can't die! I need to send her home!"
"Even if you say so…" Miao Tong hesitated. "This is a 'Soldier Gu'. It needs to be fed from childhood. The Gu worm will gradually devour the host's memories and emotions, making the soldier absolutely loyal to the Gu mother's holder. If the soldier starts to waver, the Gu worm will immediately activate, causing the soldier to die within a short period, creating a false impression of death from cerebral hypoxia during a coma."
"As expected of your Miao family, truly ruthless…" Er Ya twitched her lips.
"You are the least qualified person in this room to say that," Miao Tong glanced at Er Ya. In terms of ruthlessness, the Tang and Miao families were equally matched.
"Is there… truly no way…" Xia Qingtian looked at Gaia, her heart aching slightly.
"I'm sorry," Miao Tong said. "This Soldier Gu is from a very old Gu formula. I've only heard about it from the older generation. Only my uncle knows how to research such malicious formulas. Although he's still locked up in our family's cellar, even if we set sail immediately and send her to the Miao family, it will be too late."
"What if we use poison to sustain her life?" Di San, who had been silent all along, suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Er Ya, try using poison. Can you seal her senses, inhibit the Gu worm's progression, and buy more time?"
"It's possible, but it can only delay it for half a day at most…" Er Ya's beautiful eyes flickered. She leaned closer to Di San and chuckled slyly. "Unless Third Brother helps me out a bit."
Di San met Er Ya's large, round eyes, his mouth twitched. He then shifted his gaze to Xia Qingtian and finally nodded. "Alright."
Hearing Di San agree, Er Ya immediately cheered. "Hooray~"
"Brother Di San, thank you for your trouble." Xia Qingtian looked at Di San gratefully.
"Hmm…" Miao Tong stared at Di San's profile for a long time before finally asking, "Are you from the Di family of the Nine Tomb Guardians?"
"Yes." Di San did not deny it, nodding his head. He looked at the face that was almost identical to Xia Shang's, but far too lively. "You should lend a hand too."
"Fine, I haven't collaborated with anyone from the Di family before. I'm quite looking forward to it." Miao Tong chuckled, appearing very interested.
Although Xia Qingtian didn't know what the Nine Tomb Guardians were, seeing Miao Tong and Er Ya look so relieved, she also felt slightly at ease.
Xia Qingtian did not witness the specific process.
Under the guise of "it's for your own good," Er Ya ushered Xia Qingtian and Xia Qingyu out of the room, only asking for some strange items to be prepared.
Fortunately, Er Ya was still wearing those peculiar overalls, always able to pull out all sorts of oddities. Di San also brought some essential items. After the siblings scorned Miao Tong for his insufficient equipment, they were soon ready to begin.
Xia Qingyu and Xia Qingtian stood before the closed door, looking at each other. Finally, they both let out wry smiles.
Earlier, they thought everything was fine, but who knew another thing called Soldier Gu would appear.
As time ticked by, Xia Qingtian took a deep breath and said to Xia Qingyu, "Qing Yu, why don't I ask Bai Yuqi to prepare another room for you? You should go rest, you're still injured."
"I'm fine, Sister. I can't sleep." Xia Qingyu's gaze dropped slightly, her slender eyelashes unable to hide her sorrow.
"This has nothing to do with you," Xia Qingtian saw Xia Qingyu's pain at a glance. She reached out and gently stroked Xia Qingyu's head, saying softly, "It's not your fault. You are now the daughter of Aunt Liu and my father, my sister. You have no connection to that person. You don't need to blame yourself for his mistakes."
"But…" Xia Qingyu looked up at Xia Qingtian, intending to say something, but her nose began to feel sore, and her throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, rendering her speechless.
"It's alright," Xia Qingtian seemed to be comforting Xia Qingyu, and also trying to boost her own confidence. "Everything will be alright."
"Sister…" Xia Qingyu threw herself into Xia Qingtian's arms, tightly encircling Xia Qingtian's waist with her hands, her little expression extremely aggrieved.
Looking at Gaia, Xia Qingyu couldn't help but wonder how many more people, like Gaia, were suffering like this in places she didn't know.
These people could have grown up safe and sound. Why were they treated like this…
All for Xiang Xueyuan's selfish desires?
Why was this kind of person her biological father?
Why did she carry the blood of such a person? Would her future self also become such a terrifying, cold monster?
Xia Qingyu was very scared.
Then, she thought of Nie Qingkong, and the bitterness in her heart deepened.
Xia Qingtian gently patted Xia Qingyu's back, carefully avoiding her injured arm, her gaze gradually growing somber.
These matters needed to be settled.