The Gu family’s storehouse sat on the mountainside, to the left of the east wing. Gu Suying’s own internal skill was nothing to scoff at—with a few quick leaps, she reached the mountainside and rushed straight into the storehouse.

Seeing it was the Second Miss, the guards dared not stop her. They didn’t even dare ask questions—they let her through at once.

Gu Suying seemed to know the storehouse like the back of her hand—understandable, since she’d practically grown up playing in there. Unless something had just been newly added to the inventory, there was hardly a treasure in that storehouse she didn’t know about.

The storehouse was divided into many sections—weapons, medicines, antiques, and so on. Gu Suying headed straight for the medicine section, and it was clear she knew everything stored there inside and out.

She went straight to her destination—the last two compartments on the seventh shelving unit of the medicine store. In the entire storehouse, there were only two yang-natured red medicinal plants: iris root and fallen-red vine.

Her face was tense with anxiety, her small hands trembling. Even though deep down she resented Gu Meiting, who had bullied and ordered her around, forbidding her this and that, ever since childhood—she adored children more than anything. Jiang Yuan had been raised by her own hands. He was the treasure of her heart.

His illness had already dragged on far too long. It absolutely could not be delayed any further.

Even an adult with a fever this high risked having their mind damaged—how much more so a small child!

But when she yanked the two drawers open, she found them completely empty—nothing inside at all!

For a moment she froze. But she quickly recovered, and let out a furious shout. “Someone, come here!”

No one who heard that cry could have guessed it came from such a small, delicate frame—it was fierce and frightening.

Guards came rushing over almost instantly. “Second Miss!”

“Where are the things? Where’s what was in here?!” Gu Suying demanded furiously.

“We… we don’t know, Second Miss!” the guards answered quickly. It was true—they weren’t permitted into the storehouse without authorization, so how could they possibly know what had been kept there?

“Useless, all of you! Go get me the entry and exit records!” Gu Suying snapped, and immediately turned and strode toward the door.

She hurried the whole way, appearing outwardly calm despite her urgency—but her tightly clenched fists gave away just how tense she truly was.

There had only been two stalks of the red yang-natured herb left in the entire storehouse. If someone else had already gotten to them first, what were they supposed to do now?

Where on earth would she find medicine on such short notice?

And more than that—how would she explain this to her father?

The moment she reached the entrance, a guard hurried over with the ledger. Gu Suying flipped straight from the back toward the front and quickly found the record. When she saw the name “Yingzi” written there, her heart couldn’t help but race.

“Did it say what it was taken for?” she asked coldly, not pointing directly at the two herbs, simply asking about that day’s record.

“It was all for the young master’s use, Second Miss. Look further back—the prescription list is right after. The master permits Yingzi to take whatever medicine he needs, but every time he comes to collect anything, there’s always a detailed record. It’s not that he takes things first and registers them after—he writes out the prescription first, then takes the medicine, checking it item by item against the list!” the guard explained.

Gu Suying flipped further back and found a prescription—among roughly twenty ingredients was one stalk of iris root.

She flipped a few more pages and found another prescription, only seven or eight ingredients this time, including one stalk of fallen-red vine.

Gu Suying’s brow knit tightly. She slammed the prescription list back down onto the table and snapped angrily, “This is absurd! What a coincidence!”

Judging by these records and the timing between them, it seemed clear that Yingzi hadn’t deliberately taken the red yang-natured medicines at all—it was simply what the prescriptions had required.

So now what was she supposed to do?

The guards all looked at her with confusion but didn’t dare ask further.

Gu Suying, unusually, found herself explaining to them instead. “The young master is ill, and he desperately needs this particular herb. Where on earth are we supposed to find it now?”

“The young master is sick!” the guard exclaimed in shock. “Oh no—that shadow guard has been to the storehouse several times these past two days, the medicine’s practically been cleared out! There won’t be a new supply until the day after tomorrow!”

Hearing this, a dark flicker crossed Gu Suying’s eyes. Without asking anything further, she turned and left at once.

By the time Gu Suying made it back to the pavilion at the foot of the mountain, Doctor Hua was still using needles on Jiang Yuan. Without medicine, needles alone could only barely hold things steady—no one knew for how much longer.

Seeing Gu Suying return empty-handed, Madam Gu cried out anxiously, “Where’s the medicine?!”

The sharpness in her tone startled Gu Suying, though she quickly grew used to it—her sister had always been brash and outspoken, doted on by their parents since childhood, while Gu Suying herself had always been reserved and quiet, always following in her sister’s shadow, always taking the blame for whatever trouble her sister caused. She’d long since gotten used to being snapped at without warning.

“I searched the entire storehouse and found nothing. It’s not just the red yang-natured medicine—almost everything else is running low too. The guards say the medicine store has practically been emptied out by Yingzi these past two days,” Gu Suying explained, then shot a resentful glance toward Ziqing, who was still seated calmly off to the side.

Ziqing met her gaze without hesitation, calm, composed, giving nothing away.

“So you’re saying there’s none left!” Gu Meiting exclaimed in shock.

“That’s impossible!” the Gu family head suddenly burst out angrily. He’d waited long enough watching Jiang Yuan suffer, his heart aching too. “How could it possibly be such a coincidence, not a single stalk left?”

Even someone with no knowledge of medicine could tell, on a little reflection, that red yang-natured medicine wasn’t a single herb but an entire category of them. For a storehouse this large to have none at all was simply too much of a coincidence.

“I searched everywhere, there’s none. The guards say if no new stock comes in, the store will be completely empty within two days,” Gu Suying said, her tone icy, clearly implying something.

Ziqing still said nothing, leaning lazily against the railing—a rare moment of calm before this family.

“How… how could this be such a coincidence.” Even Doctor Hua couldn’t help speaking up. “This category of medicine, while not common, shouldn’t be entirely absent either!”

The family head, suspicious, was about to ask further when Madam Gu snapped angrily, “If there’s none, then there’s none—hurry and find a way to get some! Yuan’er can barely hold on!”

As she spoke, she clutched Jiang Yuan tighter, wailing helplessly, “Oh, Yuan’er, my poor Yuan’er, why is your fate so bitter! Wuuu…”

“Doctor Hua, is there still time? I’ll go down the mountain right now to look!” Jiang Chen said quickly, glancing repeatedly toward the family head, his brow knit tight.

Doctor Hua looked troubled. Liuxian Mountain, where the Gu family resided, was the highest peak on Liuxian Isle and its most remote spot—quite far from any town.

But there was no other choice.

“I’ll do everything I can to hold on—son-in-law, go quickly and come back quickly!” Doctor Hua said earnestly. Without another word, Jiang Chen turned and left at once.

Doctor Hua, too, dared not delay further, saying gravely, “My lord, madam, even at his fastest, the son-in-law will need one or two hours. Please send someone at once to fetch ice—acupuncture alone won’t hold much longer. We’ll need to combine cold compresses with the needles, treating both internally and externally!”

Madam Gu and the family head split up at once to act. Madam Gu carried Jiang Yuan and hurried after Doctor Hua toward a nearby guest room, while the family head went personally to prepare ice. Gu Suying and Gu Meiting anxiously followed after Madam Gu, neither one sparing Ziqing so much as a glance.

Soon, only Ziqing remained alone in the pavilion.

“Yingzi, guard the gate. Watch for when Jiang Chen comes back—and what he brings with him,” Ziqing ordered coldly, then rose and headed up the mountain.