"Ten years ago, the Jade Kingdom didn't exist. What was his identity then?" she asked Mu Hangzhi, word by word.
"By my mother's grandmother, how would I know? I only know he found me personally and asked me to detoxify the Ruan Gusan. But at that time, I had just secretly learned Ruan Gusan and was discovered by my sect, expelled from it. I didn't know how to detoxify at all, but he forced me with his men.
Later, to scare him away, I said I hadn't detoxified Ruan Gusan before and needed a test subject. I thought he would retreat, but to my surprise, he agreed. Then I said he had to be poisoned with Ruan Gusan. Who would have thought he'd be poisoned with it so soon?"
Mu Hangzhi looked at her and continued, "That's how it happened."
"Is there any medicine that can transfer Ruan Gusan to someone else?"
Mu Hangzhi thought for a moment and said, "I haven't heard of any, but I know someone who possesses such a transferring technique."
"Who?"
Mu Hangzhi looked at her and said, word by word, "The Fifth Prince of the Jade Kingdom."
She was stunned, "The Fifth Prince who died?"
The Fifth Prince of the Jade Kingdom? How did this matter involve the Fifth Prince of the Jade Kingdom? Xue Xingyue found it unbelievable and was shocked.
"I've told you everything I can. Don't ask me any more," Mu Hangzhi glanced at her, then stood up and said, "I'm tired and going to rest. You'll take care of this matter. If you need anything, call me. I'm not far away."
After speaking, without waiting for Xue Xingyue's reply, Mu Hangzhi vanished without a trace.
No wonder he was called the Ghost Doctor; his movements were indeed like a phantom.
She looked at Song Xiuyuan lying on the ice bed and fell into deep thought.
"She lowered her head to look at Song Xiuyuan's right shoulder. Indeed, she saw the scar there. It was from the sword she had angrily thrust at him years ago. She reached out and gently touched it. She never imagined that the person back then was Song Xiuyuan. Then the truth was clear as day. The Song Xiuyuan of the past was the Song Xiuyuan of the present.
After she left the cave that year, she returned to the army. The army doctor, Mu Xingqing, brought her an antidote, saying his senior brother had developed an antidote for Ruan Gusan. Three days later, when Mu Xingqing examined her pulse again, he found that the poison had been cleared, and she had successfully detoxified.
But she knew that such a difficult poison as Ruan Gusan couldn't be so easily cured.
And listening to the Ghost Doctor's words just now, it was clear that someone had transferred the poison to someone else, and she now knew that person must be Song Xiuyuan, because only he could do it. The Ghost Doctor also said that only the Fifth Prince of the Jade Kingdom possessed such a skill. As the current Empress was Song Xiuyuan's maternal aunt, he and the Fifth Prince must have known each other.
Therefore, Song Xiuyuan was the only one who had done these things.
It was only after experiencing rebirth that she understood the truth of that year. She couldn't articulate how she felt.
"You are so foolish. If you had told me back then, why would I have stabbed you this sword?" she looked at the scar he bore, feeling a pang of sadness.
Suddenly, Song Xiuyuan muttered to himself.
She leaned closer and heard, "Water."
She got up and went to the table, pouring a cup of warm water. But looking at the person on the ice bed, she hesitated. He couldn't drink water normally now; how could she help him? Seeing his pale lips due to thirst, she poured the water into her mouth, held it, and pressed her lips to Song Xiuyuan's. She pried open his teeth and transferred the water in her mouth to his.
His parched lips touched the water, and he sucked greedily.
She tried to pull away, but found her body firmly held by him. She pushed his hands away, but he had already rolled over and pinned her beneath him. She was startled. He made no further moves, merely resting his head on her chest and falling asleep.
She had thought the ice bed would be cold, but lying there, she realized it wasn't cold at all. Instead, a clear substance was gradually entering her body. She immediately felt light as a feather, and gradually, she felt so comfortable that she drifted off to sleep.
The person holding her opened his eyes, his gaze instantly filled with a fleeting brilliance. He glanced at Xue Xingyue beside him, his gaze softening considerably. He reached out his arm, and the quilt from nearby flew into his grasp. He pulled it over both of them.
She subconsciously lowered her head to look. She saw an arm resting there. She slowly turned her head and saw a familiar face – Song Xiuyuan.
She was startled and quickly recalled. Then she remembered that Song Xiuyuan had asked for water, and she had given it to him. Thinking about the way she had fed him the water, her earlobes felt a little hot. She secretly raised her head and stared at him.
His mask, perhaps from wearing it for too long, had cracks at the joints. Remembering the time she had inadvertently seen his astonishingly beautiful face, she suddenly felt a desire to explore it further.
She reached out and gently touched his face. Suddenly, she accidentally brushed against his eyelashes. The long, slender lashes tickled her palm. A peculiar sensation bloomed in her heart.
Suddenly, his eyelashes flickered, and then, as if a covered pearl finally saw the light of day, they instantly flowed, gathering ten thousand beautiful scenes, making her linger and forget to return.
She was captivated by this beauty and stared at him blankly.
He suddenly smiled slowly, curving his lips. In an instant, he was like a blooming flower under the bright moon, astonishingly beautiful.
"My dear wife, if you wish to see, your husband will show you," his deep voice carried a hint of magnetism, like a gently flowing spring.