The red light in Fang Jie's eyes was too eerie, like two sparks burning in his eye sockets. Qiu Yu, supporting Shen Qingshan, subconsciously took two steps back, and then the two of them almost simultaneously let out a soft gasp. The shock in Shen Qingshan's eyes gradually turned into joy. Looking at the man slowly sitting up on the bed, she couldn't help but feel her eyes welling up with tears.
This was the first time Shen Qingshan had shed tears. This stubborn and strong woman wanted to cry out in happiness.
The red in Fang Jie's eyes didn't last long, quickly disappearing. But his body gradually changed. A point of light suddenly appeared on his lower abdomen, becoming increasingly dazzling. Then, centered on this point of light on his abdomen, several red veins extended towards his limbs. Wherever they passed, points of light gradually shone.
Qiu Yu's white eyes stared unblinkingly at Fang Jie's body, her mouth agape in astonishment. Trying to see more clearly, she channeled her cultivation power into her eyes. Because of her intense focus and the concentration of her cultivation power, numerous bluish lines appeared on her face, resembling the veins on a leaf.
Her eyes were fixed on the red veins on Fang Jie's body, trying to discern what they were.
As these blood-red veins gradually connected from his lower abdomen to his limbs, thirty-six bright spots became clearly visible on Fang Jie's body. Perhaps Fang Jie was still in a dazed state, unaware of the changes occurring in his body. Although the red light in his eyes gradually faded, his vision remained unclear.
When the red veins finally reached the ends of his limbs, the light from the thirty-six bright spots reached its peak. Immediately afterward, Fang Jie's clothes began to shatter, revealing a masculine body brimming with masculine power before Qiu Yu and Chen Qingshan. Without the obstruction of clothing, the red veins and bright spots became even clearer.
Following this, Fang Jie's muscles began to ripple and change. His body suddenly curled up and then abruptly straightened, his muscles bulging, looking incredibly imposing.
When his body fully stretched out, his muscles stopped moving.
Fang Jie's body suddenly trembled violently, and a mouthful of black, inky blood spurted from his mouth. Shen Qingshan instinctively pulled Qiu Yu back, otherwise the black blood would have splattered on her. The blood was completely colorless, as black as ink. It sizzled as it hit the ground, and bluish smoke rose from it.
Shen Qingshan looked down closely, and her expression changed drastically.
In the black blood on the ground, she saw tiny worms struggling anxiously. They had no heads, tails, or legs, writhing back and forth in the blood, seemingly in great pain from the sunlight shining on them. Soon, the tiny worms began to burst, the pus flowing out also as black as ink.
Qiu Yu's white eyes shifted from Fang Jie, focusing on the worms. Her expression was grave, as if she were deep in thought.
Soon, dozens of worms died one after another, turning into black liquid. Under the sunlight, the black blood on the ground evaporated at a visible speed. The hard blue bricks were corroded and mottled by the black blood, like the bricks of an ancient city that had been weathered by wind and rain for hundreds of years. The last worm, struggling and bursting open, was the largest, about the length of a little finger joint, curled up, and could be mistaken for a peanut if not looked closely.
This largest worm rolled and curled back and forth, like a small piece of ember, while the blue brick beneath it was like snow, slowly corroding a small pit, then it seemed to gradually cool down and become still, finally bursting open with a "poof," turning into a small puddle of black liquid.
After all the worms died, Fang Jie's body suddenly convulsed a few times. He opened his mouth and spat out another mouthful of blood, this time the blood was a normal red. Then his body fell backward, falling into a coma again.
Qiu Yu and Shen Qingshan rushed over almost simultaneously to support Fang Jie. Qiu Yu grasped Fang Jie's pulse, while Shen Qingshan pressed her head against Fang Jie's chest. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with joy.
The strong, steady beating of their hearts was incredibly comforting.
Marylian, kneeling at the doorway, was utterly astonished by what she saw. She even forgot to wipe away the tears from her eyes. She didn't know what she was feeling—surprise or fear. Her gaze towards Fang Jie was complex, then she screamed, scrambled to her feet, and ran away.
Perhaps she was truly terrified.
She couldn't understand how someone could vomit such thick, black blood, nor could she comprehend why such disgusting worms were wriggling within it. Her worry for Fang Jie and her previous sorrow were completely overwhelmed by fear. She couldn't control herself; she could only flee.
Just as she left, Dean Zhou, who had disappeared from everyone's sight, suddenly reappeared at the doorway. The black blood on the ground had disappeared; he hadn't witnessed the shocking scene. Therefore, his eyes were filled with confusion.
"What happened?"
He asked Qiu Yu.
Qiu Yu opened her mouth, but ultimately shook her head. "I don't know. He suddenly woke up."
Perhaps even she herself didn't understand why she suddenly didn't want to tell Dean Zhou the truth. She didn't want anyone to know about the strange red veins on Fang Jie's body, nor the thirty-six dazzling bright spots. She didn't even want to tell Dean Zhou, or perhaps she simply thought that Fang Jie probably didn't want others to know the secret of his body.
Dean Zhou could tell that Qiu Yu was hiding something, but he didn't ask further. He simply nodded, then smiled and said, "It's good he's not dead, it's good he's not dead."
After repeating these four words twice, Dean Zhou turned and left again.
Qiu Yu reached out and touched Fang Jie's muscles, finding his body as hard as iron. But this hardness was gradually disappearing, returning to normal after about thirty seconds.
...
...
"What...is that?"
Fang Jie lay on the bed, fast asleep, his breathing even. Sitting beside him, Qiu Yu couldn't help but glance at Shen Qingshan before asking. She just felt that Shen Qingshan might know the truth.
But Shen Qingshan only shook her head, her eyes blank.
She thought to herself, perhaps Da Quan and Mu Xiaoyao knew something. Back then, because she was still very young, she wasn't a core member of the team protecting Fang Jie. Later, she gradually became the commander because her cultivation had advanced at an astonishing speed, surpassing everyone else.
She remembered that back then, Da Quan always carried a sword box on his back, and Mu Xiaoyao wore a brocade pouch around her neck.
When they met again, Da Quan's sword box was gone, and Mu Xiaoyao's brocade pouch was gone too. She didn't ask what had happened, but she was certain that among all those protecting Fang Jie, only Mu Xiaoyao and Da Quan knew the most. Now Mu Xiaoyao was in the Northwest Grasslands, and she didn't know if she had returned. Da Quan had gone to Jiangnan, and she didn't know when he would return.
Seeing that Shen Qingshan didn't answer, Qiu Yu remained silent for a moment before softly saying, "I haven't seen those things, but I can vaguely guess what they are."
"What are they?"
Shen Qingshan asked instinctively.
"In the southwest of the Sui Dynasty, there are many uncivilized barbaric tribes. I've heard that some tribes living deep in the forests are skilled at using poisonous insects to control strangers who stray into their territory. Those controlled by these insects become walking corpses, completely obedient to the caster, and won't resist even if forced to commit suicide. There were tribal sorcerers skilled in using these insects who left the forest and their tribes, but they were considered evil and were all killed by chivalrous heroes of the martial world."
Qiu Yu sighed and said, "I'm wondering if the insects Fang Jie spat out were poisonous insects?"
"You mean, Fang Jie was poisoned by insects?"
Shen Qingshan asked.
"You've heard of them too?"
Qiu Yu asked. Shen Qingshan nodded slightly and said, "I'm from Southern Yan... I've heard some things about poisonous Gu. What I've heard is roughly the same as what you just said—a person infected with Gu will become a walking corpse. But Fang Jie hasn't seemed to do anything wrong all these years; he eats, drinks, acts, and speaks like a normal person."
Qiu Yu shook his head: "Even you, someone close to him, don't know this, so it's difficult for me to deduce anything from those things. Perhaps something suppressed the Gu poison, preventing it from taking effect. Or perhaps his own constitution is very special, so the Gu poison couldn't control him and was eventually forced out by the power within his body."
Shen Qingshan said, "Fang Jie said that when he was in Fan Gu, Prince Zhong, Yang Qi, used some method on him, and only after that did his body gradually change. Could it be that Prince Zhong suppressed the Gu poison with his cultivation power?"
"Perhaps..."
Qiu Yu sighed: "Prince Zhong's cultivation..." It's said his power is so high it's almost awe-inspiring. If he truly discovered the abnormality in Fang Jie's body and suppressed it with magic, that could be explained. But why didn't he just eliminate those things directly? Even with Prince Zhong's cultivation, couldn't he do that?
"But that doesn't make sense..."
She frowned. "If even Prince Zhong was helpless, how could Fang Jie force it out himself?"
"Perhaps it wasn't Fang Jie who forced the insects out, but rather the insects escaped on their own?"
Shen Qingshan thought of the strange red veins and thirty-six bright spots on Fang Jie's body: "Could it be that the changes in his body made the poisonous insects unable to survive?"
"You mean, these poisonous insects were originally suppressed to near extinction by Prince Zhong's magic, and then as Fang Jie's body gradually became stronger, the weakened poisonous insects could no longer survive and then crawled out on their own?"
Qiu Yu was startled by this deduction. "Perhaps no one will know the answer."
Shen Qingshan let out a long sigh, looking at the sleeping Fang Jie and smiling. "In any case, these disgusting things have been forced out of his body. For him, this is the most celebratory thing. We should be happy for him, shouldn't we?"
Qiu Yu nodded, stood up, and said, "I'll go get some medicine. You stay with him."
Shen Qingshan stood up and bowed solemnly. "Thank you."
Qiu Yu paused for a moment, then smiled. "When he wakes up, let him tell me himself."
...
...
Darkness.
Fang Jie found himself in absolute darkness, so profoundly dark. He stretched out his hand, but couldn't see anything at all. He didn't know where he was; it seemed vast, empty and boundless. Yet it also seemed small, a confined, narrow space.
He couldn't see anything, so he groped his way forward.
Then, he suddenly smelled a very fragrant scent, so alluring. He turned his head and saw what seemed to be a sliver of light in the far distance. The light, though so faint it was almost imperceptible, instantly filled him with hope. He began to run, rushing towards that sliver of light.
As the light grew clearer, the fragrant scent intensified.
The aroma was intoxicating, and he inhaled it greedily.
He could even feel the fragrance flowing through his body. He had never experienced such a comfortable sensation before; it was captivating.
As the light grew stronger, he suddenly heard someone softly calling his name.
Seeing Fang Jie open his eyes, Shen Qingshan couldn't help but let out a soft cry of joy. Lying in her arms, Fang Jie suddenly realized that the sliver of light was the gap between his closed eyes, growing brighter because he had opened them. So, what was that enchanting, intoxicating fragrance?
He carefully sensed it, wholeheartedly savoring its beauty. After a long while, a slow, curved smile appeared on his lips.
This feeling is wonderful. He silently cheered in his heart: This must be the taste of the primordial energy of heaven and earth!
"What's wrong? Why are you laughing?"
He heard Shen Qingshan ask him.
Fang Jie smiled: "Nothing, it's good to be alive."