CHAPTER 277: CHAPTER 235

Hmm?

Lan Tian suddenly paused. Just now, her Spiritual Energy swept across Ji Feng’s heart, and she felt a fluctuation of Spiritual Energy. Although that wisp of fluctuation vanished in a flash, Lan Tian truly felt the surge of Spiritual Energy.

The fluctuation of Spiritual Energy, that’s strange indeed. Ji Feng is a mortal; how could there be a fluctuation of Spiritual Energy in his body? He’s not a Cultivator, right? What secrets could this body possibly be hiding? A meaningful glint flashed in Lan Tian’s eyes as she directed her Spiritual Energy towards the heart.

As expected, the closer the Spiritual Energy was to the heart, the more noticeable the fluctuations became.

With her Divine Sense locked onto that spot of fluctuating Spiritual Energy, Lan Tian was even more cautious and careful, daring not to be the slightest bit negligent as her Spiritual Energy slowly swam towards that area.

Lan Tian clearly saw two intersecting points at the crown of the heart, a small protrusion ’pounding, pounding, pounding’, hitting against it. It crawled out from the crown of the heart, heading towards the direction of the Spiritual Energy—it seemed to have seen some delicious food, opening its mouth to eat it.

Focused entirely on that insect, Lan Tian did not see the pained expression that crossed Ji Feng’s face as the worm crawled out. On the other hand, Old Mo did see it, but he was helpless and could only feel anxious.

Does his reaction mean there’s still hope for this young man?

Lan Tian saw that dot, which turned out to be a small worm. Incredibly, the worm seemed to possess not the slightest bit of Spiritual Energy. Despite eating Spiritual Energy, it did not explode and die, which suggested that this was no ordinary worm. After the worm finished consuming the Spiritual Energy, it returned to the crown of the heart, and her Divine Sense withdrew from Ji Feng’s body.

"How is it? Is there any hope for Ji Feng?" Seeing the solemn look on Lan Tian’s face, Mr. Mo grew anxious too.

Lan Tian didn’t respond to Mr. Mo, but went through her Sea of Consciousness, searching for the Spirit Insect Atlas left by her inexpensive Master. Mr. Mo thought Lan Tian was deep in thought and did not bother her, quietly waiting by the side.

Her inexpensive Master was truly remarkable, having a collection so comprehensive. Lan Tian indeed found it in the Spirit Insect Atlas—a Heart-eating Worm, a type of insect that specifically feeds on the life force of humans as well as Spiritual Energy, ranking one hundred and eighth on the list of spiritual insects.

Lan Tian checked the bodies of both Mo Junhua and Ji Feng, by transforming her Spiritual Energy into Wood Spiritual Energy. Wood Spiritual Energy is gentle and possesses healing effects. It also represents vitality, which is why the worm ate it with such relish. If it had been grey Spiritual Energy...maybe her Spiritual Fire. Lan Tian intuitively felt that she could restrain the worm, perhaps it was worth a try.

"Grandpa, Ji Feng isn’t sick, he’s been poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Mr. Mo suddenly widened his eyes, and it took him a moment to realize, "That’s why I couldn’t find the cause of the illness. It turns out to be the mysterious gu of the Miao Clan."

No, that’s not right!

Mr. Mo suddenly turned around, looking at Lan Tian in a panic, "Girl, are you sure you didn’t see it wrong? Is it really a case of poisoning?"

Lan Tian nodded solemnly, "Grandpa, this is nothing to joke about."

"That makes it even more wrong. This boy has always been frail since childhood and has never left Beijing, nor has he ever been to the Miao Clan regions. How could he be poisoned?"

"This is not a common gu, Grandpa, nor is it a gu from the Miao Clan. Let me put it this way, there should be people like me in Beijing, and it was they who placed the gu. If they wanted to poison someone from the Ji Family, you would not have detected it at all. Moreover, this is a mother-child poison; the one on Ji Feng is the child poison, and there’s still a mother poison in the Ji Family. If I’m not mistaken, Ji Feng’s Grandpa should have the mother poison."

"What should we do? Could the person still be hidden within the Ji Family? Is there a way to solve this? Ji Feng coming to you can’t be hidden for long, and wouldn’t that old gentleman be in great danger?"

"..." It was hard for Lan Tian to say, "The old gentleman should be safe. If they wanted his life, they would have taken action long ago without leaving any trace. The fact that the old gentleman is still alive is the best proof. Perhaps they acted on a whim and have already left the Ji Family." These words from Lan Tian were mostly to comfort Mr. Mo.

"I’ll try to see if there’s a way to resolve this, but, Grandpa, please don’t hold too much hope. To be honest, I’ve never solved a case of poisoning before." Lan Tian said this subconsciously; in her previous life, Ji Feng had fought for her, forsaking even his life. Lan Tian would do anything to remove the gu worm from Ji Feng’s body.

"I’ll need to prepare for this. We’ll start tomorrow."

After inspecting the situation, the two went outside to sit in the courtyard downstairs. In a corner of the vegetable garden downstairs, an open space had been set aside with a few wooden chairs placed around. Once seated, Su Qing brought over a stove from nowhere, complete with a kettle for boiling water and a delicate tea set.

Without being asked, Su Qing deftly started the fire to boil the water, while Lan Tian fumbled with her bag and still took out a small canister of tea leaves, taking over Su Qing’s work herself. Lan Tian dared not drink tea brewed by Su Qing.

"Girl, how long have I been out for? All hell has broken loose in Shanghai, and right when I come back, I hear about Hua Zi’s great achievements. One after another, first accused of betraying the country, then said to have improper conduct; what’s really going on? Tell grandpa about it." Old Mr. Mo squinted his eyes, concealing the cold light in his eyes. He was confident in his assessment of Hua Zi, who was loyal and devoted to the country—how could he possibly betray it? His son-in-law proved himself too, uncovering the real traitor.

As for having ambiguous relationships with other women, that’s even more nonsensical. Maybe others don’t know, but could he be unaware? That kid, although appearing cold and detached, his eyes blaze with passion when he looks at you, obviously deeply in love with you. There are some people who seem cold and heartless as if they are indifferent to everyone, but in reality, their feelings are buried deep, often going unnoticed until they fall for a woman or a man, after which they are devoted to this one person for life. Even if that person dies, they would rather live out their lives alone, their hearts closed to anyone else. Mo Junhua is exactly that kind of person.

When he heard about the accusations, he just found it laughable.

Lan Tian glanced at Su Qing and said with a calm expression, "Great grandpa, you believe the nonsense that people outside are saying too? I’m not sure about others, but I know about Mo Junhua. The rumors about his unclear ties with Zhou Yuwei are complete slander; they are just ordinary comrades-in-arms. Isn’t there a saying, mediocrity incites no envy? It’s just that our Mo Junhua is too talented, making some people anxious."

"Ha ha," Old Mr. Mo laughed heartily, "Girl, what you said is right, mediocrity incites no envy."

After finishing their tea, Old Mr. Mo wandered around the vegetable garden with his hands clasped behind his back, in a particularly good mood. How do you know, you ask? Because Old Mr. Mo hummed songs all afternoon.

Lan Tian leaned back in her chair, glancing up at the sky, her gaze seeming scattered. Su Qing had many questions to ask her, but before she could speak, Old Mr. Mo came over and dragged her away.

Lan Tian’s seemingly scattered gaze was actually focused on figuring out how to deal with the Heart-eating Worm. Killing it wouldn’t work, as if the mother poison sensed the death of the child poison, it would violently attack the host. Similarly, if the mother poison died, the child poison would do the same. She needed to figure out a solution to keep both parties intact, letting the mother poison sense that the child poison was alive without allowing the child poison to harm Ji Feng.

After much consideration, Lan Tian concluded that isolation was the only option. They would first deal with the mother poison upon their arrival in Beijing before disposing of the child poison. That night, Lan Tian organized her Sleeve Universe, where setting up an Array was essential. She prepared various Spiritual Medicine Pills—ones for survival, for healing internal injuries, and for other emergencies—a whole stack of them.

At breakfast the next morning, Lan Tian noticed Old Mr. Mo’s bad complexion, "Great grandpa, what’s wrong? You look pale, didn’t you sleep well?"

Old Mr. Mo nodded, "Thinking that the problem that has puzzled this old man for years is finally about to be resolved, I was a bit too excited to sleep."

Lan Tian was speechless—it was because of this problem. After breakfast, she went upstairs, with Old Mr. Mo following behind. Lan Tian glanced back at him but continued to walk. Lan Tian pushed the door and went inside, and Old Mr. Mo tried to follow, but Lan Tian blocked him from entering.

"Great grandpa, this matter is of great significance and cannot afford the slightest mistake. Having you in the room might distract me, so I must ask that you do not enter. Since you didn’t sleep well last night, go back and get some good sleep. It won’t be easy to resolve this issue; by the time you wake up, I might not even have come out yet."

Old Mr. Mo was genuinely curious about how the girl would resolve the gu insect issue. He was about to persuade her when the two guards at the door, hearing Lan Tian’s words, didn’t rush Old Mr. Mo away, but they positioned themselves at the door, the message clear—they would not let Old Mr. Mo approach.

"Great grandpa, please tell them not to come near this place for the next few days."

Lan Tian closed the door and laid out her Array, turning the room into a net of heaven and earth. If anyone dared to come in, they would not return. She went to check on Mo Junhua and found him unchanged. For safety’s sake, she drew a wisp of Spiritual Fire and circled it around Mo Junhua, ensuring that if the Heart-eating Worm, cornered and desperate, tried to escape, Mo Junhua would not be in danger.

Having made all the preparations, she took out a cushion from her Sleeve Universe and sat on it. With a wave of her hand, Ji Feng flew up from the bed and slowly fell in front of Lan Tian.

After circulating the Cleansing Heart Technique once, she rubbed her fingertips together, and a wisp of grey Spiritual Fire danced at the tips. The grey flames looked almost cold, but this fire was capable of burning heaven and earth.

She flicked her fingertips, and a spark of flint floated in the void. Lan Tian drew out a wisp of Divine Sense into the Spiritual Fire, with the flame following her intention and taking on various shapes before she stretched it into a thread.

Wrapped in Spiritual Energy, the thread followed her finger, which rested on Ji Feng’s wrist, entering his body. She cautiously and thrillingly proceeded all the way to the heart.

The Spirit Fire formed a circular ball with an opening, and Wood Spiritual Energy surrounded it. The Bloodthirsty Worm, unable to resist temptation, crawled out from the crown of the heart—perhaps instinctively aware of danger ahead; it did not immediately rush to devour the inviting Wood Spiritual Energy.

Lan Tian remained patient and calm, quietly waiting.