Mo Sigui looked at her speechlessly.

When he first met An Jiu, Mo Sigui thought she was like a leopard or a wolf, her face saying “keep away” – either noble and cold or fierce and strange. However, the more he got to know her, the more he realized she was like a 7 or 8-year-old girl inside! And a rebellious child covered in thorns at that.

He remembered once asking if she had ever done any good deeds, and all she mentioned were things from when she was little.

Thinking this, Mo Sigui had an idea and started treating her like a child. “Let’s go play somewhere else today. I have some business. How about I roast sweet potatoes for you tomorrow?”

“What business?” An Jiu sat up straighter, her loose robe falling around her. Her waist-length black hair hung down her back, slightly messy on top. Her calm, unwavering eyes stared directly at people in a way that was both cold and innocent, giving a very strange impression.

“As medical practitioners, we must have ethics. We can’t casually spread patients’ private matters. Someone is coming for a consultation tonight,” Mo Sigui said, directly pulling on her.

An Jiu nodded in agreement, “I’m surprised you have ethics.”

Mo Sigui couldn’t be bothered to argue further. He pushed her out the door, scooping up the two tiger cubs lounging by the entrance and stuffing them into her arms. “Go on, go play. Take Xiaoyue and Dajiu with you.”

“Which one is Dajiu?” An Jiu asked.

Mo Sigui had already closed the door. From inside, he called out, “The number one, of course.”

An Jiu lifted the cubs by the scruff of their necks, carefully comparing them. She muttered dubiously, “Can someone of that intelligence level raise smart pets?”

After looking for a while, she said to herself, “They’re both equally stupid.”

The two tigers seemed to understand, struggling unhappily.

Inside, hearing this, Mo Sigui was so angry he wanted to open the door and argue with her. But remembering he had more important matters, he had to grit his teeth and endure.

An Jiu carried one cub in each arm. She cast a thoughtful glance at the tightly closed door before slowly returning to her room.

She put the two tigers on the couch and flipped them over to scratch their bellies. The previously struggling little ones immediately went still, lying on their backs with paws in the air, eyes squinting in enjoyment.

Mo Sigui bustled about noisily in his room.

The last thing he needed to prepare was the medicine to save Gu Jinghuang’s life. After taking a large amount of blood from the heart, the normal circulation of the body would be disrupted, causing the heart to stall for some time while waiting for blood to gather back to it. Gu Jinghuang would enter a state of apparent death, and external help would be needed to prevent actual death. At this time, liquid medicine couldn’t be used, so Mo Sigui would use acupuncture combined with a smoke-based drug he had invented.

At dusk, Gu Jinghuang arrived as agreed.

The moment he arrived, An Jiu sensed it.

After Gu Jinghuang had been in the room for a while, An Jiu put on a large cloak and silently came out to Mo Sigui’s window.

The two tiger cubs followed behind her with clear pitter-patter sounds. As soon as she crouched by the window, Mo Sigui came out.

This is what you call a plan backfiring spectacularly.

An Jiu glanced at Mo Sigui, bending down to grab the tiger cubs, pretending she had come to chase after her escaped pets…

Mo Sigui said, “Since you’re here, come in and help me with something.”

“Ahem.” An Jiu cleared her throat, saying very reluctantly, “Fine.”

Following him inside, An Jiu saw Gu Jinghuang sitting on the edge of the couch. “Are you sick?”

With a tiger cub tucked under each arm, even her serious expression looked a bit silly. Seeing this, Gu Jinghuang felt a rare moment of amusement and smiled at her. “Yes, I need to be in top condition before fighting for my life.”

An Jiu nodded and sat down across from him.

Two tigers and one person, all motionless, all with very serious expressions.

“Hey! I didn’t call you here to watch!” Mo Sigui had put on a smock and covered his face with a cloth. He pointed at the medicine pot on the stove and said in an unsatisfied tone, “Watch it, don’t let it overflow.”

“Oh.” An Jiu nodded and sat down in front of the medicine pot.

It bubbled inside, white steam rising.

Smelling the strong medicinal scent, An Jiu’s vision started to blur. By the time she realized something was wrong, she had already collapsed to the ground with a thud. The two tiger cubs had long since fallen into a deep sleep. Even when they hit the ground, they only reflexively stretched their paws a bit, showing no signs of waking.

From An Jiu sitting down to fainting, it was only a matter of moments.

This was a specially formulated strong sleeping drug Mo Sigui had prepared for her. In a sealed environment, it could knock out an entire village.

Gu Jinghuang also fell unconscious on the couch.

Only Mo Sigui, whose mask was soaked in the antidote, remained clear-headed in the room.

He positioned Gu Jinghuang properly on the couch and undid his upper garments. Looking at the firm chest and clearly defined abdominal muscles before him, he stretched his neck and limbs. Then he poured the prepared medicinal liquid over Gu Jinghuang’s body, carefully wiping it with a clean cotton cloth.

After finishing all this, he took out a thin, half-inch wide dagger and held it against Gu Jinghuang’s fair chest, measuring. The cold light reflected on his face, his peach blossom eyes filled with a terrifying excitement.

“What to do, I’m so excited,” Mo Sigui muttered to himself. He took several deep breaths to steady his hand. His left hand measured Gu Jinghuang’s body, finding the right spot. Then, without any hesitation, he slowly pushed the sharp blade in.

Bright red blood immediately seeped out around the wound, blooming like a vermilion necklace on the fair skin, displaying a kind of demonic beauty. Due to years of taking various rare medicines, the blood carried a rich, pure medicinal fragrance. Smelling this scent, Mo Sigui’s eyes brightened even more.

He released the dagger and used a small bottle to collect all the blood.

This blood, mixed with skin cells, was not yet pure heart blood, but it still had medicinal properties.

As he collected the blood, he observed its changes. When he noticed the blood becoming more vivid red and increasingly translucent under the light, he quickly switched to a bottle carved from black stone.

The blood began to gush more urgently. When Mo Sigui estimated it was about right, he swiftly corked the bottle and placed it in a jar filled with ice. Then he pulled the dagger up slightly, using his qi to feel for the pulse and locate the fatal wound. Next, he inserted several hair-thin silver needles with hooks, catching the torn blood vessels. He then removed the dagger and stuffed the wound with a piece of silk soaked in medicine.

In just a brief moment, fine beads of sweat had formed on Mo Sigui’s forehead.

He stood up and lit an incense stick.

As the medicinal liquid seeped in, the blood flowing from the wound gradually decreased.

When the incense stick had burned out, Mo Sigui carefully removed the silk and replaced it with a fresh piece.

An Jiu was in a daze, not knowing how long she had slept. When she regained consciousness, she only heard the sound of water.

She let out a soft groan and got up from the floor. Through her blurry vision, she saw that Mo Sigui had changed into a loose moon-white robe and was calmly leaning against a three-sided seat, drinking tea. Gu Jinghuang was lying on the couch nearby, covered with a blanket.