Chapter 1187: Tell Linger what she should do (1/2)

Nobody expected Mu Linger to pop up now of all times. Han Yunxi was stunned. Isn’t Mu Linger in Medical City?

Long Feiye only knew that she had gone looking for medicine, but never thought she’d search all the way over here. The shadow guards showed her in, dusty and travelworn. Her delicate and pretty face showed signs of exhaustion, but he limpid eyes were bright and clear, carrying traces of a smie.

She heard that the country next door had a few patients who caught something similar to the plague of the past and personally came to take a look, hoping she could re-create the original poisonous medicine from plague patients. Unfortunately, she failed after all her efforts. After finishing up there, she hurried here without bothering to tell them just so she could surprise her big sister. She even prepared a present for her new little nephew.

Now Mu Linger only looked doubtfully at the couple and asked, “You two are heading out?”

Long Feiye and Han Yunxi didn’t know what to say.

Mu Linger turned somber and said, “Big sis, you can’t leave your confinement period yet, right? Go in, go in. No matter how important it is, it can’t be more important than that. If you catch something bad because of this, you’ll definitely regret it!”

Zhao mama and the servants stood on the sidelines, not daring to say a word. Mu Linger hadn’t caught on to their silence. Although she was only a slip of a girl, she spoke to Han Yunxi like an experienced matron.

“Are we going?” Long Feiye murmured in a low voice. He was also asking implicitly whether they should tell Mu Linger the truth as well.

Could Han Yunxi keep quiet or hide the truth at this point? She hadn’t told her beforehand because she had no idea about Gu Qishao’s condition, either! If she didn’t speak now, then when? Would Linger get another chance to see her Qi gege again?

“Linger, Gu Beiyue told you to help him make medicine?” Han Yunxi asked.

Mu Linger looked closer at Han Yunxi before noticing her eyes were red as if she’d been crying. She suddenly felt unwell as she nodded and replied, “I went off looking for ingredients. Since I was nearby, I happened to come over for a visit.”

“Did you find the medicine?” Han Yunxi asked next.

Mu Linger shook her head helplessly. “It’s a quandry! Gu Beiyue wanted poisonous medicine from plague patients, but it’s extremely hard to make it from scratch unless the medical academy has some in storage.”

Once again, Han Yunxi’s eyes brimmed with tears.

“That patient’s in a lot of danger. If we can’t find medicine within the next few days, I estimate...they won’t be able to avoid death.”

When Mu Linger finished, tears dripped down from Han Yunxi’s face. Now Mu Linger felt even more restless. “Big sis, what’s wrong? You guys both know that patient? Is it a friend? I...do I...do I know them?”

“Gu Qishao…” Han Yunxi wept.

Mu Linger stiffened. It felt as if something had bashed through her head and left her rooted to the spot.

“Gu...Gu Qishao…” she muttered to herself, feeling that the name sounded extremely strange to her ears. She had forgotten how long it’d been since she’d said those three words.

“Gu Qishao...Gu Qishao…” Large, fat teardrops fell from Mu Linger’s eyes as her mumbles changed from “Gu Qishao” to “Qi gege.”

But why does even “Qi gege” sound so foreign to my ears?

Mu Linger’s head whipped up, her eyes filled with tears as she forced a watery smile. “Big sis, this joke...isn’t funny at all! Qi gege’s in the prime of halth!”

Han Yunxi didn’t know how to explain. She was also running out of time.

“He’s right in the rear mountains,” she said, “Let’s go find him.”

As soon as she finished, Mu Linger ran off ahead of them, faster than any of them. Long Feiye took Han Yunxi to chase after the girl with Chu Xifeng hurrying to catch up. He had lit a torch to help Mu Linger lead the way.

By the time they scaled the peak of that little hill and saw the house from a distance, the skies were turning faint in the horizon. Dawn was approaching.

From far away, Long Feiye saw a large tree growing by the door, its fan-shaped canopy like a big umbrella sheltering the house from wind or rain. He suddenly stopped, his heart feeling like a knife had sliced through it. It was suddenly too painful for him to take another step.

Neither Han Yunxi nor Mu Linger had come here before, so neither of them realized the huge tree didn’t used to exist. It was too far for them to tell what kind of tree it was. The plant looked more like a protective guardian, or perhaps a solitary person standing all by himself.

“Little Qi is over there?” Han Yunxi asked.

Long Feiye didn’t reply as he carried her up step by step. But when they got closer, Han Yunxi’s view of the tree gradually cleared. Its branches were made up of nothing but intertwined vines, its canopy covered in sharp red thorns. At a glance, one might even mistake them for cherry blossoms instead!

But Han Yunxi could clearly see that this was a thorny thistle tree! Long Feiye had already told her all about the vines eating through Gu Qishao’s body on their way up.

“Long Feiye, is this tree…” Han Yunxi trailed off.