Chapter 181: Drilling into a Cow’s Horn^[1]“鑽牛角尖” (zuān niú jiǎo jiān) is a Chinese idiom that literally translates to “Drilling into a Cow’s Horn.” It is used to describe someone who is being … Continue reading

Luo Cheng shook his head. “I’m not sure, I only discovered it today. That line has already grown to three fingers’ width at the wrist.”

Gu Huaizhi frowned deeply and decisively said, “To avoid any unexpected changes, head to Xiliang Kingdom as soon as possible.”

“I’ll make arrangements right away!” Luo Cheng quickly left.

Gu Huaizhi returned to the inner room, where Su Wan had already packed everything that needed to be brought to the Regent’s residence, all neatly boxed and ready.

“Did you forget anything?” Gu Huaizhi asked, his mind preoccupied as he glanced around, his eyes landing on a medical book atop one of the boxes. He picked it up casually. “Your medical skills have already reached the pinnacle. Aren’t these books too elementary for you?”

“Not at all. This book talks about witchcraft medicine, and it’s actually quite interesting.” Su Wan moved closer to Gu Huaizhi, her slender white fingers flipping open the cover. Inside were ancient and intricate characters, with illustrations beside them. Together, they were just about comprehensible. “I’m reading it very slowly. I’ve been at it for several days, but I’ve only managed to get through a few pages.”

“Where did you get it from?” Gu Huaizhi didn’t recall there being any medical books at the Gu residence, and since coming to the capital, Su Wan hadn’t had time to go out shopping.

“There was one on the bookshelf in the house we’re staying in. I saw it and thought I might as well study it to pass the time.”

Su Wan gazed into his dark eyes, her own black eyes reflecting confusion. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing.” Gu Huaizhi closed the book and placed it back in its original spot. “Do you have any understanding of witchcraft medicine?”

“I find it quite easy to understand, although some parts are rather superstitious. It talks about how witch doctors can communicate with spirits and gods and are more proficient in medicine than regular shamans.

As for the charms and incantations in the book, I’ve only just started grasping the basics. If I could get some guidance from someone knowledgeable in this area, I could probably learn faster.”

Su Wan said casually, “But it’s not really useful anyway, so I’ll just take my time with it.”

There was one thing Su Wan hadn’t mentioned: the book also explained how to create poisonous Gu. Just reading about the sinister effects made her scalp tingle.

On one hand, she doubted the authenticity of the Gu poison, but on the other hand, if it were real, it would be incredibly malicious.

She chose not to delve into that subject and was more interested in witchcraft medicine for the time being.

“Shall we head to the Regent’s residence early? Father’s health isn’t great, and I’d like to prepare nourishing meals for him. If the kitchen lacks ingredients, we’ll still have time to buy them.”

Su Wan smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around Gu Huaizhi’s, tilting her head and asking, “What kind of dishes does Father like?”

Gu Huaizhi’s heart was filled with mixed emotions. The words he had originally intended to say were swallowed back when he heard her chattering on about the Regent’s preferences. He couldn’t bear to dampen her spirits.

“Luo Cheng mentioned that my father-in-law was poisoned by Gu over a decade ago. This time, due to his recent poisoning, the Gu poison has flared up, and his health isn’t doing well. Wanwan, if you can’t treat him, we need to go to Xiliang Kingdom as soon as possible. The monks at Baima Temple know how to cure it.” Gu Huaizhi’s expression was heavy, concerned that Su Wan might break down.

Su Wan felt as if a block of ice had lodged in her heart, freezing the blood in her veins.

All her joy vanished, dissolving into nothing.

She couldn’t help but feel that fate loved to toy with her.

One moment, she was told that her mother was still alive. The next, she learned that her mother had remarried and was living a happy life with a new family, with children of her own. Su Wan felt like she was just an unnecessary person, someone her mother didn’t want to see at all.

Although Su Wan was disappointed, with a lingering sadness in her heart, she felt that no matter if it was in her past life or this one, she had no fate to be with her parents.

When she had long stopped harboring any hopes, the little wooden figurine revealed her true parentage—that her biological father was someone else, and he cared for her deeply.

Su Wan was overjoyed, especially because her father, the Regent, liked her. From now on, she would have a father.

But in less than an hour, misfortune struck once again.

Her father had been afflicted by the malicious Gu poison.

Tears burst from Su Wan’s eyes, and she wiped them away hastily with both hands, not wanting to cry. Tears were the most useless thing in the world, revealing only the fragility of human nature, serving no other purpose.

Since she had grown up, she had rarely cried.

But the tears wouldn’t stop, no matter how much she tried to wipe them away.

“Don’t cry.” Gu Huaizhi embraced Su Wan, gently wiping her tear-streaked face with a handkerchief. “It’ll be alright. There’s still hope.”

Su Wan clung to Gu Huaizhi, shaking her head in his embrace.

She remembered when she was in the first grade, coming home from school. The sound of a child crying and harsh scolding could be heard from the neighbor’s house next door: “Cry, cry, cry! What are you crying about, a funeral? Su Wan, that jinx, she used to cry all the time when she was little, and she cried her parents to death. If you want to cry your parents to death, go ahead and cry!”

Grandfather happened to come out of the house at that moment, and upon hearing those words, he was so enraged that he lost his composure and went over to argue with them.

The woman next door had a sharp tongue, and her cutting words stabbed into Su Wan’s ears: “What’s wrong with what I said? Su Wan is a curse, born with bad luck. She killed her parents. Those two were supposed to come back a few days later, but because she cried so much, they came back early and got buried alive in a mudslide on the way.”

Su Wan didn’t go home. In the backyard stood a century-old locust tree, its trunk hollowed out with a large opening. She hid inside the hollow.

When she woke up again, she was lying in bed. Grandfather and Grandpa both had red-rimmed eyes, and their hair seemed to have turned completely white.

They smiled at her lovingly. “Wanwan, you’re awake? Are you hungry? Grandfather made your favorite minced meat porridge, and Grandpa wrapped the sugar buns you love. If you don’t want to eat these, we can make something else for you.”

“Grandfather, Grandpa, Mom and Dad…”

“Wanwan, don’t listen to that gossiping woman’s nonsense. It wasn’t your fault. It was Grandpa, it was because of Grandpa’s birthday that they came back early.”

“You see, you always called your mom and dad back then. Didn’t you end up crying every time? They never came back just because you missed them; it was Grandpa’s fault.”

“And Grandfather too. It was Grandfather who called them, telling them I had hurt my knee badly and was in great pain, so they came back early to check on me.”

At the time, Su Wan was still young, and Grandfather and Grandpa managed to comfort her. It wasn’t until she grew older that she realized what the neighbor had said was true.

She had chickenpox at the time, with blisters all over her mouth, running a high fever. She was only two years old, crying in discomfort.

Grandfather was on the phone with her mom when he heard her crying and explained the situation. Her mother’s work had just come to a pause, so she rushed back early to see her. No one expected that they would encounter a mudslide on the way back.

Grandfather and Grandpa’s words were just meant to keep her from feeling guilty.

Su Wan kept this matter buried in her heart.

Until now, she couldn’t help but think that maybe her fate was just too hard. In this life, after she had just crossed over, Su Jihong, who was still her nominal father, had his right hand severed.

Qi Min kept her distance, living a happy life. Ji Xuan had just acknowledged her, and yet he was already plagued by illness, though he had been healthy and unscathed for over a decade before.

Su Wan couldn’t help but fall into the trap of overthinking: “It’s because my fate is bad. Ever since he met me, he’s faced hardship after hardship.”

“Father-in-law’s life wasn’t meant to end, which is why he met you and was able to reunite with you as his daughter.” Gu Huaizhi lowered his head and kissed her forehead, comforting Su Wan. “Don’t let your mind wander. Go see him—there’s a chance you can cure him.”

Translator’s Note:

From this point onward, I’ll use the following terms to differentiate between Su Wan’s paternal and maternal grandfathers:

(爷爷) as “Grandfather” to refer to Su Wan’s paternal grandfather.

(外公) as “Grandpa” to refer to Su Wan’s maternal grandfather.