Chapter 42

Xie Fuyi’s utterance of “Brother” caused Ye Baixiao’s previously murderous gaze to instantly redden. He strode forward and tightly embraced the person on the bed. His grip was too strong, as the person in his arms was his precious treasure, regained after much difficulty.

When Qinghe and Xie Fuyi disappeared simultaneously before, Ye Baixiao nearly went mad. He immediately ordered the city gates to be closed, thinking that the two were hiding inside the city. He personally led people to search inch by inch but found no trace. Eventually, they found a secret passage leading to this place.

National Teacher Jiang Yingyao?

He should have thought of it earlier. With Qinghe bringing the emperor, who had lost his memory, they could only come here.

He was panicked at the thought… He had only just made progress in his relationship with the young emperor. If Jiang Yingyao really cured his amnesia, would the emperor hate him when he regained his senses?

Just thinking about the hatred that might appear in those eyes made Ye Baixiao feel anxious.

But upon seeing Xie Fuyi and hearing him call out “Brother,” Ye Baixiao’s heart relaxed. A sourness instantly spread, tightening his arms around the other.

“Ye Baixiao, let go of the Emperor!”

Suddenly, a cold shout rang out as Jiang Yingyao hurried over, immediately seeing Ye Baixiao tightly embracing Xie Fuyi.

Instantly, anger surged within him, his eyes as cold as ice. As he spoke, he had already begun to attack.

Seeing Jiang Yingyao’s darkening gaze, Ye Baixiao turned to face him, saying coldly, “You’re just in time!”

The two of them found each other particularly unpleasant, and for a moment, neither yielded to the other.

Xie Fuyi, unable to move, could only shout helplessly, “Stop fighting!”

With red eyes and a soft voice, he pleaded, “National Teacher Jiang, please stop. Brother Ye is someone I knew before, and he’s been very kind to me.”

“Your Majesty, don’t worry, he can’t hurt me.” Hearing Xie Fuyi’s words, Ye Baixiao smirked, provocatively glancing at Jiang Yingyao.

Although Xie Fuyi’s words stopped him, Jiang Yingyao felt uncomfortable. However, he showed no mercy toward Ye Baixiao, mocking, “After the Emperor lost his memory, his thoughts became simple. How dare you deceive him! When the Emperor regains his memory, do you think you’ll still have the right to stand here?”

Ye Baixiao choked, his fear confirmed by the other’s words, and he couldn’t help but attack even more fiercely.

Seeing Jiang Yingyao about to be injured, Xie Fuyi anxiously pleaded, “Brother Ye, don’t hurt National Teacher Jiang. He has been taking care of me during this time. When I had a stomachache at night, he massaged me all night…”

Now Jiang Yingyao looked smug.

Ye Baixiao paused for a moment, then his face turned livid as he looked at Jiang Yingyao, as if sharp, icy blades could fly out of his eyes. “Massaged all night? You hypocritical pseudo-gentleman! Where do you think you’ll end up?”

Instead of stopping, Xie Fuyi’s intervention made the two fight even harder!

Xie Fuyi could only resort to his old tricks. As long as he encountered trouble, they wouldn’t have the energy to fight each other anymore.

“Mm, Brother…” A muffled groan accompanied by a weak call came, along with a hint of restrained pain in the voice.

The familiar sound startled both of them, and they quickly turned around to see bloodstains at the corner of Xie Fuyi’s lips. He curled up by the bed, his face pale with pain.

“Your Majesty!”

Both rushed over in a hurry.

Ye Baixiao was the first to help Xie Fuyi up and lean against his chest.

“It hurts…” Xie Fuyi murmured, biting his lip.

Without hesitation, Ye Baixiao grasped his wrist and pressed against Xie Fuyi’s back, channeling his robust inner energy into him to soothe the pain in his heart.

Jiang Yingyao also hurriedly took out pain-relief ammunition and fed it to Xie Fuyi.

After a moment, Xie Fuyi’s condition finally stabilized. He half-lay in Ye Baixiao’s arms and fell into a deep sleep, his fragile and pale appearance eliciting sympathy.

Ye Baixiao carefully placed him on the bed, and only then did he have time to look at Jiang Yingyao. His face was cold and ugly. He grabbed Jiang Yingyao’s collar, and his eyes were so sharp that they seemed capable of cutting people. “What’s wrong with the Emperor? What did you do to him?”

This time, Jiang Yingyao didn’t resist because he was indeed the culprit behind Xie Fuyi’s current condition.

He closed his eyes and hoarsely said, “It’s the Puppet Gu. He’s been afflicted by the Puppet Gu. As time passes, the damage to his body caused by this Gu will become more severe. Eventually, his limbs will be paralyzed, rendering him helpless…”

With each word he spoke, his guilt deepened, and his trembling lips said, “It’s all my fault. I didn’t expect his constitution to be so special, I didn’t know he would have such a strong reaction to this Gu…”

Ye Baixiao instantly understood his meaning—

“How dare you use the Puppet Gu on him!” Ye Baixiao’s eyes turned red, and he directly punched Jiang Yingyao in the face!

This punch was too heavy. Jiang Yingyao’s head was knocked sideways, causing him to be numb for a moment. The next second, his cheeks began to throb with pain, and a strong taste of blood filled his throat.

But Ye Baixiao didn’t stop there. He punched Jiang Yingyao’s abdomen again and again, his eyes blazing like a wild beast.

Jiang Yingyao was in so much pain that his internal organs were convulsing, yet he still didn’t fight back. Finally, he spat out a mouthful of blood and murmured, “It’s my fault, I’ve harmed him…”

[Heart-wrenching value: Ye Baixiao 95/100; Jiang Yingyao 70/100.]

Ye Baixiao stopped only when he had had enough. He slowly released his grip, panting heavily, and looked coldly at Jiang Yingyao, who was covered in blood on the ground. “Jiang Yingyao, if it weren’t for killing you, I couldn’t save the Emperor. Do you think you can still live? You’re the one who used the Puppet Gu on him. You must find a way to undo it, or I’ll tear you apart with a thousand cuts!”

Jiang Yingyao slowly got up and rubbed his eyes, his eyes reddened. “If my death can be exchanged for his health, then I will not hesitate for a moment.”

Ye Baixiao impatiently interrupted him, “I don’t want to hear your nonsense. Do you have a solution or not?”

Suddenly, Jiang Yingyao thought of something and hesitated, “If we can get the Soul Reviving Grass nurtured by the blood of past National Teachers, there might still be hope. But this thing is guarded by a giant python in the Clean Dust Valley…”

Ye Baixiao clenched his fists. “I’ll bring it back within three days.” He said it lightly, but his eyes were unusually determined.

As he watched Ye Baixiao hastily leave, Jiang Yingyao kneeled weakly beside the bed, looking at the quietly lying Xie Fuyi on the bed, he sighed bitterly. It seemed that the Regent Prince Ye Baixiao, rumored to control emperors and vie for power, had also fallen into despair.

…

It had been two days, and Xie Fuyi had still not awakened.

Jiang Yingyao dared not close his eyes. He had been guarding the bedside, stabilizing the Puppet Gu inside Xie Fuyi’s body with silver needles and medicine.

He was truly afraid that the other would never wake up.

At this moment, a green figure flew in like the wind. He spoke excitedly, “National Teacher! I’m back! How is His Majesty?”

It was Qinghe!

For almost half a month, he had not rested, sleeping on horseback. His figure had become extremely thin, and he rushed back, covered in dust and bloodstains, looking exhausted.

However, his joyful expression froze when he saw Xie Fuyi lying on the bed, unconscious and pale. His hoarse voice sounded painful, “What… what happened?”

He trembled as he rushed to the bedside, wanting to touch Xie Fuyi, but hesitated when he saw his own nails covered in mud and cracked, not daring to dirty the other.

He turned abruptly, his angry gaze fixed on Jiang Yingyao with a menacing coldness. “Jiang Yingyao, what happened to His Majesty?”

Jiang Yingyao’s complexion was even worse than the person lying on the bed. His face was still swollen from Ye Baixiao’s previous blows, and he was suffering so much that he muttered numbly, “It’s because I used the Puppet Gu, I caused His Majesty to fall into a coma…”

“What did you say?” Qinghe couldn’t believe it. Then, anger surged from his chest, almost tearing his almost cracked red eyes with wetness. He roared, “I entrusted His Majesty to your care, and this is how you took care of him?”

It was almost the same scene as with Ye Baixiao, time and time again, like a dull knife cutting Qinghe’s heart—It was all his fault.

So, facing Qinghe’s angry fists, he didn’t fight back.

Only the pain brought by those fists filled with anger could alleviate the dull pain in his heart a little.

Jiang Yingyao’s eyes were moist, full of regret and remorse. “It’s my fault… As long as I can save him, I’m willing to do anything…”

[Heart-wrenching value: Jiang Yingyao 80/100.]

Qinghe paused for a moment, and his rationality slowly returned—yes, the most important thing now was to save the Emperor first.

He withdrew his hand, his knuckles covered in blood, and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the person on the bed—

He didn’t fear almost freezing to death in the ice and snow, nor did he fear almost being sucked dry of blood to let the Seven-Leaved Flower bloom, but now, he trembled with fear. He was afraid for the Emperor.

Qinghe slowly took out an obsidian box from his bosom and said in a hoarse voice, “I brought back the Seven-Leaved Flower.”

Jiang Yingyao was covered in wounds. He wiped the blood from his lips and sat down slowly on the other side. He shook his head weakly, “The most important thing now isn’t the Seven-Leaved Flower, but to find the Soul Reviving Grass to remove the Gu from the Emperor…”

Before he could finish speaking, a hoarse voice sounded—

“The Soul Reviving Grass is here.”

Ye Baixiao staggered forward, his face pale and his body covered in blood.

Qinghe’s first reaction upon seeing him was to reach for the short knife behind him, ready to attack. But the next moment, Ye Baixiao’s right hand, covered in flesh and blood, reached out a bloody green Soul Reviving Grass to him. And on his other hand, his palm severed at the wrist, bones almost visible.

But as if unaware of the pain, his icy features remained unfurrowed. He rushed back all the way, wounds still unbandaged, just to hurry back here.

He lost his hand to the python’s bite, and it was his own doing. Sacrificing a hand was worth it for what he obtained.

Jiang Yingyao’s eyes lit up when he saw the Soul Reviving Grass. “My blood, combined with the Soul Reviving Grass, should be able to lure the Puppet Gu onto me!”