“I know. Don’t think about anything — it will be alright.” Jiu Qing gently laid her down on the bed.

Feng Jiu’er suddenly sat up, clutching her own head. “I can’t… Yan…”

She had completely forgotten — Tuoba Keyan’s Gu Poison would also flare up tonight. She needed to go administer acupuncture for him.

She had barely gotten out of bed and taken two steps when a wave of headache struck, her body going limp, nearly collapsing to the floor.

Jiu Qing caught her, his brow furrowing. “In your current state, how can you still think about helping someone else?”

“But…” The pain! It truly hurt!

When she looked at his face, she felt nothing much. But the moment she caught sight of his figure, the pain surged so violently it nearly drove her mad.

Why could this man also make her ache this deeply? Could it be — had she truly developed some indescribable feeling for him?

“Go away!” Feng Jiu’er shoved him hard, so frustrated she wanted to tear her own heart and mind to pieces.

She genuinely liked Jiu Qing a little — the Heartless Gu did not lie.

But why? They had known each other for barely a month, not even half a month. How could she have fallen for someone she had known for only half a month?

No. She absolutely would not. She would never betray her Ninth Imperial Uncle — never!

“Go away! Get out, get out!” If one could say Jiu’er now suffered from a headache, it would be more accurate to say her very heart ached as well.

She felt as though she were being unfaithful — knowing it was wrong, yet whenever she saw Jiu Qing, she felt the same fondness she had for being with her Ninth Imperial Uncle, that same enjoyment in his company.

There was always something about him, a quality that drew her in, again and again without end.

He was the first person she thought of whenever danger arose.

He was the first person she wanted to see when she snapped back to her senses and woke.

No! It shouldn’t be this way! It couldn’t be this way.

“Get out…” She shoved Jiu Qing away and fell back onto the bed.

The blanket was nearly torn apart in her grip, yet the excruciating pain did not diminish in the slightest.

Outside, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly approached.

Xuegu, holding something in both hands, pushed the bedroom door open.

Upon seeing Jiu Qing inside the room, she seemed to feel no particular surprise.

She walked in, set what she was carrying on the table — and it was, unmistakably, the Blood Spirit Mushroom.

The Blood Spirit Mushroom — its flower bud was now drenched in fresh blood, its petals flickering in and out of visibility, as though it were on the verge of blooming.

“Jiu’er, bear with it a little longer. The Blood Spirit Mushroom is about to bloom — it will be better soon!”

Seeing Feng Jiu’er lying on the bed, then looking at that vivid crimson Blood Spirit Mushroom, Xuegu’s heart burned with anxiety.

That wretched Blood Spirit Mushroom — it was so close to blooming, yet why was it still only half-open?

Half-open meant it had not fully blossomed. If its efficacy proved insufficient, what would they do?

There was only one Blood Spirit Mushroom. If it bloomed only halfway and its potency fell short, consuming it would simply be wasted — what then?

“Jiu’er, how are you?” Xuegu moved to the bedside and tried to help her up, but Feng Jiu’er pushed her away.

“Don’t touch me — none of you touch me!” The pain! Her head hurt so terribly!

Compared to past episodes, this was worse by far. The pain was so severe she could barely breathe. The tightness in her chest grew heavier and heavier, her breathing more and more difficult. It looked as though she might suffocate at any moment.

Xuegu’s heart ached for her. She wanted to help, but right now, there was nothing she could do.

Tuoba Keyan had said the Blood Spirit Mushroom responded to blood. It had first absorbed the Ninth Prince’s blood, which was why when Tuoba Keyan began feeding his blood to it in the beginning, the mushroom still showed some resistance.

Tonight, when Tuoba Keyan saw it on the verge of blooming, he immediately let it drink a considerable amount of his blood.

Yet his blood was nearly drained, and still the flower remained in that half-bloomed, half-closed state.

Now, Tuoba Keyan was bound by her and laid on the bed — she feared his Gu Poison would flare and he might hurt himself.

As for Xuegu, she had brought the Blood Spirit Mushroom over, expecting it to bloom. But once Tuoba Keyan’s blood supply was cut off, it simply stopped and refused to open further.

Xuegu glanced back at the Blood Spirit Mushroom, then suddenly rolled up her sleeve and drew a long cut on her forearm with her extended finger used as a blade.

Fresh red droplets fell onto the Blood Spirit Mushroom’s bud — and the half-open flower’s luster instantly dimmed.

Xuegu panicked and yanked her arm away immediately, terrified that her blood might cause the half that had already managed to open to close back up.

Feng Jiu’er clutched the blanket in a death grip, the pain draining all color from her face. Even the breath she exhaled was growing faint and weak.

Tonight — why was this episode so much more severe than before? If this continued, what would they do?

Jiu Qing had already helped Jiu’er sit up and was preparing to channel his inner energy to her.

Xuegu said urgently: “It’s no use! If that method worked, it would have been tried long ago.”

Jiu Qing’s gaze fell on the Blood Spirit Mushroom, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Suddenly, he set Jiu’er down, rose to his feet, and walked toward the Blood Spirit Mushroom.

Xuegu stared at his tall, broad back — anxious, yet with a faint undercurrent of unease. Her emotions were too tangled to describe.

Then she watched as Jiu Qing rolled up his sleeve and drew a cut along his forearm with one long finger.

Fresh blood fell — and the color the Blood Spirit Mushroom had just lost began, gradually, to return to a rich, vivid red.

The Blood Spirit Mushroom did not reject Jiu Qing’s blood. It was as though it had long since grown accustomed to him.

Xuegu’s expression grew increasingly grave, but then Feng Jiu’er tumbled off the bed with a thud, and the fright knocked every other thought clean out of her head.

The Blood Spirit Mushroom truly needed human blood. After Jiu Qing’s blood fell, not only did its color deepen and brighten — even the petals began, slowly, to unfurl.

It was going to bloom!

Something flashed across Jiu Qing’s eyes. He drew another cut on his forearm; fresh blood fell onto the flower, absorbed in an instant.

Petal by petal, they opened. Gradually, from within the heart of the petals, a deep crimson fruit was revealed.

So it was not simply that the Blood Spirit Mushroom needed to bloom — it needed to bloom so that this Blood Spirit Fruit within could be harvested.

Jiu Qing’s expression did not change. He drew a third cut on his arm.

The Blood Spirit Fruit’s color grew more and more vivid, more and more striking.

The fruit slowly worked itself free from the floral membrane that had encased it, easing its way out.

It was not until Jiu Qing had sliced open three more cuts on his other arm as well, feeding it its fill of blood, that the Blood Spirit Fruit finally rolled free from its floral casing.

“Success!” Across Jiu Qing’s face — which for ages untold had remained utterly impassive — a faint glimmer of joy at last surfaced.

He carefully lifted the Blood Spirit Fruit and strode back to the bedside, looking at Xuegu. “Should she take it directly?”

“No…” Feng Jiu’er was still very weak, but at the very least she could see what was happening before her.

“Split it… split it into two halves.”

Tuoba Keyan had also been afflicted by the Gu Poison. She could not swallow the Blood Spirit Fruit alone — she had to give Tuoba Keyan half as well.

“Alright, Jiu’er, you eat first. Afterward I’ll bring Yan the other half!” Xuegu said urgently.

Seeing Feng Jiu’er’s face — now white as a sheet — she felt a sharp, wrenching pain in her own chest.

“Quickly, take it. Once you do, the pain will stop very soon!”