A flash of light passed quickly through the silver fox’s eyes. It seemed like reluctance, yet also held an unspoken helplessness. "This child has a clear plan in her heart."
"Boss, you really are confident. I wonder if you’ll still feel that way when you’re poisoned down one day."
"She won’t poison me," the silver fox replied directly to Old Ma. Then he said, "Let’s go. Shanghai. Some people have grown bold. Since they want me back, I’ll go back and have a good chat with them."
A trace of killing intent flashed across the silver fox’s face. Whether in Shanghai or Jinling, his territory would not tolerate any traitors. Since one had appeared, there was only one outcome: death.
"Miss, what exactly is the silver fox planning?" Wang Ye asked.
Zhu Yanyi elegantly finished the remaining cherries. "I don’t know. But my intuition tells me she won’t harm me this time. The details will become clear once we reach Shanghai, so I’m not in a rush." Zhu Yanyi said with a smile.
Well, since Zhu Yanyi wasn’t anxious, Li Yang and the other three exchanged glances and relaxed too. Their only task was to protect Zhu Yanyi; nothing else mattered.
"Let’s go. It’s time to board the plane." Zhu Yanyi called out to Xie Yijun, who was still dazed nearby.
Xie Yijun was still shocked by having seen the silver fox earlier. "Ani, who exactly was that person just now?"
"Nothing special. Just a business partner." Zhu Yanyi didn’t want to tell Xie Yijun about the silver fox. Seeing her thoughtful expression, she raised an eyebrow. "Why? Do you know her?"
"No." Xie Yijun waved his hand slightly. "Oh, wait, not exactly. I don’t know him, but his face feels familiar. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere, but I can’t remember." Xie Yijun shook his neck and head, trying to recall where he had seen the silver fox, but to no avail.
"Maybe the silver fox has a common face. If you can’t remember, filed it away without dwelling." Zhu Yanyi was curious about Xie Yijun’s sense of familiarity, but since she couldn’t recall, she saw no need to dwell on it. "Maybe you’ll remember someday."
Xie Yijun nodded slightly, agreeing with Zhu Yanyi’s logic. "Alright, let’s go board the plane."
Shanghai. Zhu Yanyi hadn’t expected to return here. When she left Shanghai before, it was only under Yan Aohan’s protection. Now, she was willingly walking into danger, knowing full well the risks.
Upon arriving in Shanghai, Zhu Yanyi, along with Wang Ye and Zhang Yan, headed straight to Shanghai Hospital. Li Yang and Qin Tianxiang separated from them to arrange accommodation for Zhu Yanyi’s stay.
Originally, Xie Yijun suggested Zhu Yanyi stay at her home, arguing that there was plenty of space. However, Zhu Yanyi refused. If she were to confront certain enemies, staying at Xie Yijun’s house would only endanger her.
After Xie Jingyun fell into a coma, she was rushed to Shanghai Hospital. Various tests failed to identify the cause of her unconsciousness. The doctors were at a loss and could only maintain her vital signs with daily glucose and nutrient drips.
When Zhu Yanyi and Xie Yijun arrived at the ward, they saw Xie Jingyun lying in bed, an oxygen mask over her nose, and an IV drip in her arm.
Ouyang Jingyun sat beside the bed, looking at her unconscious daughter with pity and anxiety. Seeing Xie Yijun and Zhu Yanyi enter, she held back her tears and rushed into Xie Yijun’s arms. "Husband, I don’t know what happened to Jingyun. Why is she unconscious?"
"Don’t worry. Ani is here. With Ani, everything will be fine." Xie Yijun suppressed her own anxiety, patted Ouyang Jingyun’s back to comfort her, and then turned to Zhu Yanyi. "Ani, please help us."
Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly, then moved over to take Xie Jingyun’s pulse. She observed Ouyang Jingyun’s condition closely. It was too obvious. A worm was swimming freely inside Ouyang Jingyun’s body. Without a doubt, it was a gu worm. Zhu Yanyi sighed softly, then looked at Ouyang Manqing. "Auntie Manqing, where has Jingyun been recently?"
"She hasn’t gone anywhere special." Ouyang Manqing thought for a moment. "This child never runs around recklessly. She always says she wants to enter Kyoto University, so she studies hard all the time. Oh." Ouyang Manqing seemed to remember something. "She just finished her exams a few days ago. I told her not to be so tense and to relax, so she invited some classmates to watch a movie."
"What movie?" Zhu Yanyi asked casually. "Where was it shown?"
"It was Peerless Elegance, a Republic-era film, shown at the Shanghai Cinema." Ouyang Manqing said seriously. "I had a cameo role in that movie, so the crew gave me several tickets when it premiered. I gave some to her so she could relax." Ouyang Manqing wiped away her tears. "If I had known something would happen, I wouldn’t have let her go."
"Don’t cry. It’s okay. Ani is here." Xie Yijun comforted her wife, then looked at Zhu Yanyi. "Ani, do you know what happened to Jingyun?"
"She was infected with a gu." Zhu Yanyi spoke directly, hiding nothing. Xie Jingyun was indeed infected.
"Infected with a gu? You mean the kind from the Miao region?" Xie Yijun had heard of such things.
"The theory is similar, but Jingyun was infected with a flower gu. The gu worm inside her body is like playing in a sea of flowers. The worm doesn’t realize it’s inside a human body. To make its environment comfortable, it constantly changes the surroundings, which causes problems in the person’s body." Zhu Yanyi sighed. "The witch doctors have appeared, the poison doctors have appeared, and now even the flower doctors have emerged."
"Huh????" Xie Yijun and Ouyang Manqing didn’t understand what Zhu Yanyi was saying.
Zhu Yanyi waved her hand. "It’s fine. Jingyun’s condition isn’t too serious. I’ll prepare some things, and then I can remove the gu." Zhu Yanyi wasn’t overly worried about Xie Jingyun’s health, but she couldn’t figure out why flower doctors were appearing now, especially using gu infection methods.
Flower doctors usually appeared in a healing capacity. Therefore, while many people disliked witch doctors and poison doctors, few disliked flower doctors. It wasn’t because flower doctors were more skilled, but because their methods were easier to accept. Using flowers for medicine and incorporating flowers into treatments sounded beautiful and gentle.
Zhu Yanyi had many doubts, but it wasn’t the right time to ask too many questions. The most important thing now was to treat Xie Jingyun.
"My presence in Shanghai must remain secret for now. So, Uncle Yijun, you and Auntie should handle Jingyun’s discharge procedures first. We’ll take her home for treatment." Zhu Yanyi instructed seriously.