Dwelling on all of this right now served little purpose.

“Master Yu, regarding Ninth Imperial Uncle’s condition — may we speak privately?” Jiu’er asked.

“Miss Jiu’er may speak freely. Apart from a handful of trusted individuals, no outsiders can enter this courtyard of His Highness’s.”

Seeing the gravity in her expression, Yu Jingfeng understood that the Gu Poison in His Highness’s body had likely grown quite serious.

In that case, Jiu’er would not conceal it. She said directly, “The Gu Poison within Ninth Imperial Uncle has now penetrated deep into his bloodstream. I have not yet worked out how to counter it, but if I could obtain a Gu worm of the same kind to study, I believe I could find a way.”

“A Gu worm of the same kind?” Yu Jingfeng’s brow furrowed.

“That is correct. If I can observe one of the same kind and learn how it was cultivated and controlled, I would say I have a fifty-percent chance of finding a cure.”

“Miss Jiu’er, this… this is no small matter.” Yu Jingfeng did not distrust her exactly — he simply did not trust her medical ability.

After all, he had never witnessed her skills firsthand, and she was no more than a girl of fifteen or sixteen. At such an age, with no background as a renowned physician’s heir, could she truly… cure Gu Poison?

Feng Jiu’er understood his doubts. If the person in question were anyone else, she would likely not have bothered to address them. But since it was Ninth Imperial Uncle, she had no other choice — she had to prove herself to Yu Jingfeng first.

“The Gu Poison in Ninth Imperial Uncle’s body has been there for approximately fifteen years.”

Yu Jingfeng was quietly startled, though he quickly arrived at what he thought was the explanation.

“Did His Highness tell you this?” There could be no other explanation. This matter was known to very few — among those closest to His Highness, there were only a handful who knew.

Feng Jiu’er paid his bewilderment no mind and continued: “Three years ago, someone must have attempted to lure the Gu worm out of his body.”

“The attempt failed. Instead, it roused the Gu worm from its dormancy and damaged Ninth Imperial Uncle’s heart meridian.”

“You… did His Highness tell you that as well?” Had the two of them grown so close that he would share even this?

His Highness was not a man given to loose talk, and yet he had disclosed all of this to her. It spoke to the depth of their bond.

Feng Jiu’er glanced at him, beginning to lose patience.

“About a year ago, a highly skilled physician introduced a second Gu worm into his body — one with no toxicity whatsoever, placed there solely to keep the original toxic Gu worm dormant.”

“If I am not mistaken, the physician who introduced that secondary worm has already gone to the Southern Wilds, searching for the person who originally infected Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

“Because you are entirely at a loss and have run out of options — you can only seek out the one who placed the Gu worm.”

She met Yu Jingfeng’s astonished gaze and pressed on: “But have you considered this — the Gu Poison may have originated from the Southern Wilds, and that place will not change, but people are not rooted to the ground. What if that person is no longer in the Southern Wilds? Would your people not have made the journey for nothing?”

“And that is not even the most pressing concern. The most pressing concern is this: it will not be long before the toxic Gu worm within Ninth Imperial Uncle fully awakens. When that happens, the secondary worm that was placed inside him will be consumed and assimilated by it.”

“Miss Jiu’er…”

“There is something even Ninth Imperial Uncle likely does not know: if the Gu Poison is not cured before that happens, it will never be curable again. And his life — he will not survive past the coming spring.”

“Miss Jiu’er!” Yu Jingfeng was struck with alarm and cut her off sharply. “How do you…”

“Do you still think Ninth Imperial Uncle told me all of this?” Feng Jiu’er’s mood had turned heavy.

Without knowing when it had begun, she had already come to regard Ninth Imperial Uncle’s affairs as her own.

His life was now her life. She had said she was working on a solution — she just had not said so to anyone who would believe her.