Chapter 1188: Can he awaken? (2/2)
Mu Linger’s face flushed immediately. She realized now that Qi gege was probably still completely naked. She whirled around but couldn’t help asking, “Then when can I go in?”
“Probably tomorrow,” Gu Beiyue intoned.
No one would know how someone as calm and cool as Gu Beiyue last night had hugged Qishao and cried so bitterly. But using the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion was the most logical of his illogical actions! Back at the tent, Gu Beiyue skipped dinner to explain the events to the group. It wasn’t until Han Yunxi personally pushed a bowl of hot soup in front of him that Gu Beiyue deigned to drink it all up.
Now that he was here, everyone else could eat their dinner without worrying too. They chatted as they ate. Gu Beiyue summarized Gu Qishao’s state from last night in one succinct sentence, not wishing to torment them with his suffering. He himself didn’t want to recall the details again.
He went on to describe Little Qi’s reaction after he poured Perplexing Butterfly Illusion over his body. All of the vines rotted up and died without a speck, leaving only scarlet droplets behind that deeply resembled blood. But they weren’t blood at all. In despair, Gu Beiyue could only look on as the plants continue to vanish. To his surprise, Gu Qishao’s flesh and blood were also recovering at the same time. The shriveled up vines seemed to drop off by the roots from Gu Qishao’s body. By the time he saw Gu Qishao in full, there was nothing but a puddle of red, blood-like substance on the ground.
He immediately took Gu Qishao’s pulse and found that it was practically normal, only very very weak. His heartbeat was close to stopping all together. With no time to take care of the red puddle, he brought Gu Qishao into the room and immediately used needles to preserve his pulse in an emergency rescue effort. Afterwards, he examined the man thrice before determining Gu Qishao had stabilized and was out of danger.
Mu Linger only listened blankly, occasionally sniffling. Han Yunxi quickly asked, “So that red puddle sent roots down into the ground and grew into a thorny thistle tree?”
Gu Beiyue had noticed the tree as well and nodded in confirmation. “Princess, that red liquid must be the plant extract essence inside of Gu Qishao’s body.”
“Why did Perplexing Butterfly Illusion cure the poison?” Long Feiye asked next.
Han Yunxi had given the poison to Gu Beiyue after they left Medical City. Despite having the antidote in their hands all this time, they had busied themselves for months in ignorance. It made them feel helpless just thinking about it.
“This is something this subordinate can’t figure out either. When it comes to pharmaceutical knowledge, it’s better to wait until Qishao wakes up. He can study the question with Linger. Medicine and poisons have a way of countering and assisting each other. Since Perplexing Butterfly Illusion was originally created with a mix of plants, it doesn’t seem so miraculous that it could cure Qishao’s undying body as well,” Gu Beiyue mused. “But this subordinate believes that using it wouldn’t have yielded the same effects before Qishao’s body was overtaken by vines.”
Han Yunxi was thinking the same thing. If they used Perplexing Butterfly Illusion on Qishao before the vines ran rampant, it might have eaten through his flesh and bones instead. Nobody could predict its effects completely. Moreover, Gu Qishao’s body had already tried all sorts of medicines before getting doused in the liquid last night. Perhaps the remnants of his drugs had been stored in his body, affecting the vines that grew out of it as well?
Suppose they followed the original prescription, found the poisonous medicine from plague patients, and recreated the entire thing. Would the toxicity of their creation vary much from Perplexing Butterfly Illusion?
This really was a question for Gu Qishao and Mu Linger. Even the two of them combined weren’t guaranteed to uncover the mystery. It also wasn’t easy to obtain poisonous medicine made from plague patients. In any case, Gu Qishao had recovered now, so Han Yunxi would rather they never make that antidote than see Cloud Realm Continent plunged into another plague infestation.
Mu Linger wept as she cried, “Big sis, thank goodness you still kept some Perplexing Butterfly Illusion! Otherwise...sobsob…”
Of course Han Yunxi was relieved as well!
“Qishao’s body is still very weak. We don’t have enough medicine here, so I have to bring him back to Medical City. I’m afraid he’ll be stuck soaking in medicinal decoctions for a while,” Gu Beiyue said.
“I’ll go with you!” Mu Linger said urgently.
Gu Beiyue helplessly nodded his head. “I’ll need Miss Linger to write up some prescriptions.”
Tears were still dangling at the edges of Mu Linger’s eyes, but she only nodded furiously. She was both miserable and overjoyed, still caught up in all her emotions. With Gu Qishao’s matters set, Gu Beiyue estimated it’d take him at least a month before regaining consciousness again. That night, everyone thought back to all of his brilliant, unrestrained smiles.
After dinner, Gu Beiyue rose to his feet and cupped his fist respectfully towards Long Feiy and Han Yunxi. “Congratulations to Your Highness and princess on the birth of the royal son.”
Mu Linger finally remembered she was here to visit her nephew. “Big sis, how about I go see little Rui’er tomorrow?” she asked.
“Let’s all go down the mountain tomorrow,” Han Yunxi agreed. Although she missed being away from her son for a day, she still wanted to spend time with Gu Beiyue and Mu Linger. Long Feiye didn’t have any objections either.
The group camped out for a night. Next morning, Han Yunxi and Mu Linger both went to pay Gu Qishao a visit. His face was as devastatingly beautiful as always, his slender eyes shut and draped with long lashes. Gu Beiyue had changed him into a white brocade robe, making his quiet form resemble a noble young gentleman or the big brother from next door.
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