But it was already too late when several guards rushed over to cover Su Chen's mouth. Su Chen had bitten into the poison hidden under his tongue already, and a stream of black blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he stiffly fell to the ground.

In his final moments, his eyes, filled with resentment, were locked on Xu Hao. This time's plan was seamless; everything was perfect. However, Xu Hao's appearance not only neutralized the poisonous gu from the elder's body but also exposed Su Chen. With nowhere to escape and bound by the rules of that place, Su Chen faced only death.

As Su Chen lay on the ground, the guards attempted to approach and examine him. Xu Hao hurriedly shouted, "Don't come close, the Mother Gu hasn't emerged from his body yet."

The guards drew back, and from Su Chen's nostrils and mouth crawled out two or three thumb-sized, plump insects. Xu Hao stepped forward swiftly, his Silver Needles moving as fast as lightning, skewering these Gu Insects and burning them with a lighter. Only then did he deeply sigh in relief.

"That settles the poisonous gu. Elder, I'll prescribe you a few more formulas. You take the medicine according to these prescriptions, and within a week, you should recover fully and likely live another twenty years without any issue," Xu Hao assured.

Jiang Longchi nodded, "Thank you, Little Brother Xu. Today this old man regained a lifeline!"

...

What Xu Hao did not know was that the poisonous gu killed on Su Chen's body were not the real Mother Gu; they were merely a relay station. They could transmit messages between the Mother and Child Gu, but the real Mother Gu's controller was someone else entirely.

The moment all the poisonous gu on Su Chen's body were exterminated, in a civilian house 2 kilometers away from the banquet hall, a figure clad in black cloaks spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, with a vicious gleam flashing in their eyes.

Looking at the message sent by Su Chen on the phone, the figure in black clenched their teeth and hissed, "Xu Hao! You've ruined our plans, I'll remember you."

The elder wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and signaled to someone outside the door, "Withdraw, instruct our brothers to evacuate immediately, it's not safe here anymore!"

...

Back at the banquet hall, Elder Jiang looked down at the corpse of Su Chen and felt a wave of sorrow, "Give him a proper burial," he signaled to his guards. Despite his wrongdoings, Su Chen had been at Jiang Longchi's side for many years.

By this time, the Silver Needles had been removed from Elder Jiang's body, and thanks to the nourishing energy from Xu Hao's Floating Light, the elder's health had been fully restored, enough for him to sit up in bed on his own.

Jiang Longchi's lips moved hesitantly before he finally said, "Little Brother Xu, your medical skills are truly outstanding! I have yet another favor to ask. I have an old comrade in Jing'an who, during his time serving in the Southwest Region, contracted something, and for years his body has been continuously deteriorating, to the point it's almost reaching his bone marrow. I wonder if I could trouble you to help treat him?"

By now, Liu Ruyan, Liu Tianxiong, and others had also come over. Standing beside Xu Hao, Liu Tianxiong whispered into Xu Hao's ear, "Young Master Xu, you can take a look at the elder's comrade, it's likely Elder Chen..."

Elder Jiang had indeed earned great military honors on the battlefield, but his comrade was even more formidable!

Xu Hao was not entirely aware of this, but Liu Tianxiong was acutely aware of the power and influence of that comrade. It would be beneficial for Xu Hao to owe him a favor. At least for Xu Hao's current situation, it would be advantageous.

Having a powerful ace up his sleeve in the Southwest Region could make Xu Hao's endeavors more effective.

Liu Tianxiong having said this, Xu Hao nodded, "Alright, I'll take a look tomorrow, but I can't guarantee a cure!"

Though Xu's mind harbored a wealth of medical knowledge, he was still not certain whether he had a cure for these particular symptoms.

Now that the elder's health was restored, the Yun Family's bodyguards quickly tidied up, and the banquet continued.

Jiang Xuezhun approached Liu Ruyan and Xu Hao, her face shyly flushing as she took Liu Ruyan's arm, "Ruyan, Xu Hao saved my grandfather... does that mean we're going to become a family now?"

With a sly glint in her eye, Jiang Xuezhun glanced at Liu Ruyan. There was no trace of sorrow in her gaze, rather, there appeared to be an air of excitement!

Liu Ruyan helplessly looked at Jiang Xuezhun and playfully patted her, "You naughty girl, what are you thinking about?" Find this сhаptеr's sоurсе оn

Jiang Xuezhun giggled, "Am I naughty? I remember our pact from college. We said that when the time came for us to get married, we would..."

Seeming about to reveal a secret from their university days, Liu Ruyan quickly covered Jiang Xuezhun's mouth, "Ay, don't say it!"

Liu Ruyan sighed helplessly, contemplating the potential future circumstances surrounding an outstanding individual like Xu Hao, who would undoubtedly attract other girls. Rather than letting someone else benefit, perhaps having Jiang Xuezhun by Xu Hao's side would be a good choice after all!

With that thought, Liu Ruyan looked at Xu Hao and feigned annoyance, "This benefits that big bad guy, but the final decision should be asking Xu Hao himself—I can't decide for him, can I?"

As she finished speaking, Liu Ruyan and Jiang Xuezhun both turned their gaze expectantly toward Xu Hao, "Xu Hao, what do you think about this?"