The moment Imperial Physician Gu reached the chamber, he found the small holding cell in complete disarray — everything breakable had been smashed to pieces. Bai Mengmeng sat disheveled on the one remaining intact couch, glaring at him coldly, looking every bit like a madwoman.

Holding back his anger, Imperial Physician Gu said coldly, “You wanted to see me?”

To his surprise, at those words Bai Mengmeng snatched up a broken vase and hurled it straight at him. “You have the nerve to ask me that! You’ve kept me locked in here for months — what exactly do you intend to do with me!”

Why was Bai Mengmeng so furious?

After healing her, Imperial Physician Gu had simply confined her to this tiny chamber and left her to rot, ignoring her entirely. If she hadn’t caused this scene today, would he have come at all?

She was starting to wonder if he’d simply forgotten about her entirely!

She knew absolutely nothing of what was happening in the outside world — whether Jun Beiyue had woken, whether Han Ziqing had been found — none of it. Every single day she went half-mad with wondering, speculating, guessing!

And beyond all that, this tiny, completely sealed chamber let in not the faintest sound from outside. Every day only the medicine boy came to deliver her three meals, the food tray shoved through a dog-flap in the door. If this kept up much longer, she was certain she’d lose her mind entirely.

“Tell me — what exactly do you want me to do for you? Why did you save me? Has Han Ziqing come back?” Bai Mengmeng roared, half-crazed!

Imperial Physician Gu grew ever more disgusted, saying coldly, “Bai Mengmeng, kindly remember your current position. You are my prisoner. You do exactly as I say. I told you to sit here quietly and wait — so you will sit quietly and wait. Don’t say I never warned you — if you dare try to break out, I will absolutely make sure the poison in you kills you.”

At this, Bai Mengmeng froze for a moment, then roared furiously, “You’ve poisoned me?”

Imperial Physician Gu snorted coldly. He hadn’t originally intended to reveal this outright, but Bai Mengmeng was being far too fanciful — did she really think he’d have saved her so easily without some leverage to hold over her?

“Sit tight and wait. Once Han Ziqing returns, this old man will absolutely let you out, exactly as you wish!” Imperial Physician Gu said with a cold sneer. In truth, Bai Mengmeng was his fallback plan — he had no intention whatsoever of hoping Han Ziqing would ever come back!

“So you’re saying Han Ziqing still hasn’t returned?” Bai Mengmeng finally calmed down somewhat.

Imperial Physician Gu didn’t bother answering, only shot her a warning glance before turning to leave.

“Wait!” Bai Mengmeng called after him. “If Han Ziqing never comes back, do you plan to keep me locked up here forever?”

Imperial Physician Gu didn’t turn around, didn’t answer either, only a cold sneer curling at his lips as he strode out the door.

Locked up forever — Bai Mengmeng was surely overthinking this.

But Bai Mengmeng wasn’t overthinking it at all — she was finally seeing clearly. This old wretch had saved her and kept her only as insurance for some worst-case scenario — the moment she outlived her usefulness, he’d kill her without hesitation.

The more she thought about it, the more it unsettled her. She lunged toward the door, but the stone gate had long since sealed shut. Panic seizing her, she raked her fingers through her disheveled hair, and then, without quite knowing why, suddenly threw herself down beside the dog-flap and screamed through it, “Imperial Physician Gu, come back! Come back!”

But beyond the chamber lay only more sealed chambers, guarded entirely by Imperial Physician Gu’s most trusted men. Bai Mengmeng could have died right there and no one would have cared in the slightest.

If there was ever a taste worse than death, this was surely it.

Bai Mengmeng didn’t even register that she was barking like a dog at this point. After a long, long while with no response from outside, she slowly crawled back and sat against the wall, forcing down her fear, telling herself over and over that Han Ziqing was sure to come back, sure to.

She would get out of here. She would definitely get out of here.

Having stationed additional men to guard the chamber, Imperial Physician Gu hurried off to Xuanlong Palace — Sha Qiuzi was going to gather herbs in person today, which meant he had to watch over Prince Yao himself.

Once Sha Qiuzi had left, Imperial Physician Gu took out a set of silver needles.

Ever since Imperial Physician Beiqiu’s consultation had revealed that Jun Beiyue’s constitution was of the Fire element, he’d never once stopped researching it further.

Jun Beiyue’s constitution truly was Fire — and yet he still couldn’t understand why it would be Fire at all!

After all, everyone in the Gu Clan of the Isle of Lost Immortals possessed a Wood-element constitution without exception. Jun Beiyue was the son of the Gu Clan’s patriarch — there was no possible error in that bloodline — and he possessed extraordinary talent for the Gu Clan’s internal art. Yet it turned out he hadn’t inherited the Gu Clan’s constitution at all — none of it made any sense!

Imperial Physician Gu had searched for a long time, examining Jun Beiyue himself, but found no clue whatsoever, and had no choice but to turn his attention elsewhere.

That was Jun Beiyue’s birth mother! Prince Yao must have inherited his Fire-element constitution from her.

But even so, that still didn’t explain how Prince Yao had managed to master the Gu Clan’s internal art to such a supreme degree — since cultivating that art absolutely required the Gu Clan’s Wood-element constitution as a prerequisite!

There was only one possibility left — that Prince Yao possessed two constitutions simultaneously, both Wood and Fire!

But by every principle of medicine, that was utterly impossible!

As Imperial Physician Gu inserted the needles, lost in thought, he suddenly froze, his brow furrowing tight.

What was that sound?!

“Thump… thump… thump…”

Faint, yet strangely powerful, almost like the sound of a heartbeat.

Imperial Physician Gu turned in disbelief to look at Jun Beiyue’s chest, but aside from the wound itself, nothing seemed unusual.

He gave a helpless laugh, assuming he’d simply misheard — after all, even a heartbeat couldn’t be heard without pressing directly against the chest.

He resumed inserting needles, but before long he stopped again — he’d heard that sound once more, and louder this time!

He immediately looked back at Jun Beiyue’s chest — again, there was nothing visible at all, yet that pulsing sound was unmistakably clear.

Unconsciously he leaned closer, and as the sound grew louder, his own heartbeat quickened along with it!

There was no mistake!

That thumping sound was coming from Jun Beiyue’s own heart!

He hadn’t even leaned in close yet, and already he could hear it clearly — pulse after pulse, forceful and powerful, nothing at all like the heart of a patient — in fact, even stronger than an ordinary person’s heartbeat!

This was too strange!

Imperial Physician Gu’s expression changed drastically as he stared fixedly at Jun Beiyue’s chest, and then, slowly, something eerie began to happen — with each “thump, thump” of the heartbeat, the skin over his chest actually pulsed visibly, again and again.

Terrified, Imperial Physician Gu scrambled backward, unable to believe his own eyes, unable to explain what he was seeing. What in the world was happening?

What was wrong with Prince Yao’s heart — could something be seriously wrong?

His face went ghostly pale with fear, yet he still retained the last shred of his composure, rushing to the door and shouting, “Someone, anyone! Fetch Sha Qiuzi back at once!”

This concerned Prince Yao’s very life — this was no matter to be taken lightly.