Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Yan shook his head, helpless. He was telling the truth. It was already a miracle Jun Li’s body had held on for so long.
The real surprise was how fast Jun Li’s condition had deteriorated. It caught him off guard.
Qin Shu reacted after what seemed like an age. She could not accept this outcome. Looking at Su Ying, who knelt on the ground, she felt a strong sense of empathy. Su Ying had always been by Jun Li’s side, and their relationship ran deep.
“Su Ying, get up. If Gu Yan could save Jun Li, he would certainly do so.”
Qin Shu glanced at Jun Li, who was lying in bed. The last time they talked, he did not mention his physical condition, merely mentioning how he had finished all the medicine Gu Yan prescribed. There was a good chance it was the reason he had not visited; his health did not afford him the luxury.
Still, she had not expected his condition to be so bad.
Jun Li was such a gentle person. How could the heavens be so cruel to snatch him away?
Su Ying got up. If begging was of no use, what else could he do? Then, it occurred to him that he had not served any refreshments to Jun Li’s guests. Qin Shu and Gu Yan had rushed over as soon as they got off the plane and could not have had the time for food or drink. All because they were concerned for
Jun Li.
“Miss Qin, Professor Gu, you must both be tired. Please allow me to prepare lunch. In the meantime, may I show you all to the dining room?”
Everyone shuffled out of the room, following Su Ying’s lead.
Xiao Jiu held his mother’s hand and kept looking at Jun Li from over his shoulder. He did not know what was wrong with Jun Li, except that everyone seemed unhappy.
In Xiao Jiu’s eyes, Jun Li was only taking a nap.
Lan Qi chose to remain behind. He was the only one left in the quiet bedroom, aside from Jun Li.
Lan Qi sat down on an empty chair by the bed. He stared at Jun Li, who was still unconscious, muttering in a choked whisper, “I’ve called Qin Shu over. Wake up, please…”
He received no response from the man lying in bed. It was as if the man had fallen into a deep sleep. Aside from the slow rise and fall of his chest, no other signs indicated his still being alive.
Jun Li had always told him not to cry. A man should not shed tears so easily.
He did not understand. Why did a man have to swallow his tears? Why could a man not cry whenever he needed to?
The afternoon sun shone like a ball of fire in the sky.
Gu Yan sat in the courtyard with a pen in his hand, furiously reformulating his prescription.
Reformulating the prescription was no easy feat, especially with Jun Li’s fragile physical state. With his body ready to pack up at any moment, Gu Yan needed to strike a balance that would suppress his condition without causing Jun Li further harm.
Qin Shu sat opposite Gu Yan with an extremely thick medical book in her hand. She only had a superficial understanding of pharmacology, and even then, only for Fu Tingyu’s sake.
Xiao Jiu hugged President Ba and stared at Lan Qi.
Lan Qi had seen Xiao Jiu once before when he was young. He had been no different from a small ball, playfully hugging anyone and everyone he could.
Ye Luo kept a watchful eye on Xiao Jiu, President Ba in his arms.
“You hugged me once when you were young. Come, let me hug President Ba too,” Lan Qi said.
Xiao Jiu did not know Lan Qi. Yet, he did not think it strange when he learned he had hugged him before.
He peered at the cat in his arms and said, “It’s President Ba, not Madam Jiao. I could let you hug him, I guess.”
Xiao Jiu viewed President Ba as family. It was alright letting someone else hug him, but no one should think of taking him away.
As Xiao Jiu spoke, he presented President Ba to Lan Qi.
Lan Qi scooped up President Ba quite naturally. It had been too long since he had hugged President Ba, and he missed the haughty cat. As he brushed President Ba’s shiny, black coat, he said, “President Ba is Madam Jiao. Your mother decided on the name to pick.”
President Ba purred happily, his dark green eyes narrowing into slits. It was a sign of how much he enjoyed the pampering.
Mother?
Xiao Jiu asked doubtfully, “Mother chose the name?”
“Yes.” Lan Qi nodded, his attention fixed on President Ba.
Xiao Jiu thought of Jun Li, who was still sleeping and asked, “When will Uncle Jun wake up?”
Lan Qi shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Even if Uncle Jun is sleeping because he isn’t feeling well, Uncle Gu will give him something to help him feel better. Uncle Gu is a skilled medical practitioner. There’s nothing Uncle Gu can’t cure!” Xiao Jiu declared earnestly.
Lan Qi stared at Xiao Jiu but said nothing in response.
Gu Yan spent the whole afternoon revising the prescription but had yet to divine a feasible solution.
It was hard work since he had not brought many medicinal herbs. He could derive only so many combinations with so few materials available. When he bathed Jun Li later that night, he used acupuncture, hoping it would slow his body’s deterioration.
He spent three hours performing acupuncture while Jun Li soaked in the bathtub filled with hot water.
A touch of crimson coloured Su Ying’s face as he carried Jun Li out of the heated water.
Needless to say, after soaking in hot water for three hours, Jun Li’s whole body was as red as a cooked lobster.
Jun Li, who was over 1.85 meters in height, looked weightless in Su Ying’s arms.
Gu Yan went to the medicinal herbs market with Ji Fei the next morning.
Qin Shu went to see Jun Li.
In the wan light of dawn, Jun Li’s bedroom was dim. A golden shaft shone through the window, casting a long shadow over the room.
It was quiet.
Jun Li was still unconscious. He had not awoken despite the acupuncture he received the previous night.
It was almost the New Year, and lanterns and streamers decorated the streets. Spring was in the air.
Qi Manor, on the other hand, appeared lifeless and dead. Spring had not thawed the winter chill: no lanterns hung from the eaves, and not a whisper of the New Year dwelled in the dark manor. It reminded her of Bright Garden.
She had tasked Housekeeper Shi with making the appropriate arrangements. Regardless of how she felt, the New Year had to look like the New Year. No one could suspect a thing.
Qin Shu lingered in the room for a while. She got up and exited the room when she could bear the silence no longer.
Just as she turned the corner, she heard a voice. When they mentioned a method of saving Jun Li, she subconsciously stopped in her tracks.
“Is there really a way to save Master Jun?”
“Tm not sure. I heard from Su Ying that Miao Xin’s Gu worms might save Master Jun. I only heard about it while eavesdropping.”
“If Gu worms are the answer, why hasn’t Su Ying gone to Miao Xin? You must have misheard.”
“You don’t understand. There’s a deep grudge between the Jun family and Miao Xin.”
“Gu worms… It sounds creepy!”
‘The two maids chattered away as they continued their work.
Qin Shu leaned against the wall, deep in thought. She had overheard the conversation. Could Gu worms save Jun Li?
She had her doubts, but what if they really could save Jun Li? The question weighed on her mind as she went downstairs.
Gu Yan returned to Qi Manor after taking a stroll outside for most of the day. When he came back, it was already late.
Qin Shu saw him and immediately went up to him. “Jun Li hasn’t woken up. It doesn’t look like acupuncture was of much use.”
“Itll be a while before he wakes up. More importantly, we cannot allow his condition to worsen further.”
When Gu Yan left, he had already guessed it would not be easy for Jun Li to wake up because his whole body had been hollowed out. It was already a miracle he still drew breath.
Qin Shu pressed on, “Is there no other way to save him?”
Gu Yan stopped in his tracks. He faced Qin Shu and told her the truth, “Jun Li’s body has been failing for a long time. The last time he fell into the water, he told me not to let you know about his physical condition because he was afraid you would be worried.”
“You mean to say you knew of Jun Li’s worsening condition and did not tell me?! He is at his limit now, isn’t he? So you’re saying it’s a miracle he’s still alive…” Qin Shu could not accept Gu Yan’s words, no more than she could the news of Fu Tingyu’s disappearance.
Even now, she firmly believed Fu Tingyu was somewhere out there, waiting for her to find him and to bring him home.
“Jun Li’s body has reached its limit. Surgery isn’t an option. He might very well die on the table if we tried forcing it.”
Gu Yan knew how thin she had been stretched from work and worry over Fu Tingyu’s matter. Her exhaustion was palpable. Jun Li’s collapse was another blow, perhaps just as difficult to bear as her husband’s continued absence..
