Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

Yang Xu kicked open the door. Wang Yanni was reviewing official documents in the office when she heard the noise and looked up. She saw Yang Xu covered in blood, carrying a person on his shoulder. The person's face was purplish-blue.

The calligraphy brush in Wang Yanni's hand fell onto the official document with a thud.

"What happened? What's wrong with Xu Xiaoqi?"

"Tsk...ambushed on the road! Four men in black, Old Xu has been poisoned!"

Yang Xu placed Xu Xian on a bench in the office building, wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve, and said, "Call the pharmacist, quickly!"

Wang Yanni rushed to the door and shouted, "Where's Old Man Sun? Call him here!"

Looking back at the black line on Xu Xian's wrist, Wang Yanni frowned deeply.

"Damn it, these people are incredibly audacious! They're ambushing and killing people from the Inspection Department right here in Qingzhou. Do they think I, Wang Yanni, am dead?"

He crouched down and examined Xu Xian's eyes; the pupils had not yet dilated.

"Xu Xiaoqi, hang in there. If I, Wang Yanni, let you die here because of what happened on my Qingzhou turf, I might as well give up my position as governor."

Old Sun, the pharmacist from the Qingzhou Inspection Bureau, jogged in carrying his medicine box. He squatted down by the bench, put down Xu Xian's arm, checked his pupils, took his pulse, and left his fingers on Xu Xian's wrist for a long time.

Then he lowered Xu Xian's hand and shook his head.

"Tsk... Old man, what do you mean by shaking your head?" Yang Xu grabbed the pharmacist's beard.

"Hey, hey... don't pull it, don't pull it. I've never seen this kind of Gu worm before."

Pharmacist Sun, baring his teeth, pulled his beard from Yang Xu's hand and pointed at the black line on Xu Xian's wrist.

"This isn't a parasitic Gu in the body; it travels along the blood and qi... Look at these black lines; these are traces of the Gu poison spreading in the meridians. The Gu worm has already dissolved into the blood; it can't be caught or removed."

"I can only use medicine to temporarily suppress its spread, but it won't last long. At this rate, the poison will spread to the heart meridian in two days at most. Once it reaches the heart meridian, even a god can't save it."

"What happens after you suppress it? Is there no way to cure it completely?"

"Even the most poisonous Gu worms are still evil creatures, and evil creatures fear righteous energy."

Pharmacist Sun stroked his goatee.

  

"There is a Confucian academy twenty miles outside the city called Zhengxin Academy, where three generations of Confucian sages attained enlightenment. If we can persuade a master of Confucianism or Taoism of the fourth rank or above to use his spiritual power to cleanse Xu Xiaoqi's meridians with righteous energy, there might still be hope."

"Hurry! At this rate, the poison will invade your heart meridian very soon!"

Without saying a word, Yang Xu picked up Xu Xian and walked out.

Wang Yanni grabbed him and said, "Wait a minute! Zhou Yuanfu, the dean of Zhengxin Academy, is an old acquaintance of my father. I'll write you a letter. The academy has many rules, and without an acquaintance's introduction, you might not even be able to get in."

He walked to the table, spread out the paper, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote a few lines of characters with flowing strokes. He then folded the brush and stuffed it into Yang Xu's hand.

"Here you go. I'll stay in the Investigation Division to oversee things. Xu Xiaoqi was ambushed outside the city, which means there's an inside agent in Qingzhou City who leaked your whereabouts to those people today. I'll investigate this inside agent. I'm entrusting Xu Xiaoqi to you. Make sure you bring him back alive."

Yang Xu tucked the letter into his pocket, nodded emphatically to Wang Yanni, and turned to leave.

Before long, a carriage stopped at the entrance of the Inspection Office. Yang Xu personally drove the carriage and put Xu Xian, wrapped in a blanket, into the carriage.

Hua Xi silently climbed into the car, clutching the tortoise, and sat down next to Xu Xian.

The carriage sped through the night. Hua Xi didn't say a word the whole way, only occasionally reaching out to touch Xu Xian's forehead, her brows slightly furrowed.

The turtle poked its head out from her arms, glanced at the black line on Xu Xian's wrist with its beady green eyes, blinked, touched Hua Xi's little hand, and then withdrew its head back.

Hua Xi glanced at the tortoise, a glint of light flashing in her eyes. She grabbed Xu Xian's hand with her small hand, and wisps of white mist flowed into Xu Xian's body.

...

The carriage stopped at the entrance of Zhengxin Academy. The academy was built against the mountain, with green tiles and white walls. On a pair of stone pillars in front of the gate were the two large characters "Ren Li" (仁礼), written in vigorous strokes.

A young student who was sweeping the floor saw the carriage stop at the door, put down his broom and went to greet it.

He saw the bloodstains on Yang Xu, who was driving, and then he saw Xu Xian's bluish-purple face inside the car. His expression turned serious.

"Sir, what's going on?"

"Young man, we are from the Inspection Department. We've been poisoned by a Gu curse. Does your academy have anyone who can cure us?"

Yang Xu pulled out Wang Yanni's letter from his pocket. "A personal letter from Wang Yanni, the garrison commander of Qingzhou, requesting an audience with Dean Zhou. This is a matter of life and death; please grant me an audience!"

"Hold on..."

The young student glanced at the letter, didn't accept it, and quickly ran into the academy.

Before long, an elderly man with white hair and beard walked out of the academy.

The old man was dressed in a plain-colored robe, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, and was followed by two young scholars.

"My surname is Zhou, and I am the headmaster of the academy. Do you have a letter from Commander Wang, young hero?"

Yang Xu bowed respectfully, "This is it, please take a look, Dean."

The old man walked to the carriage, took the letter Yang Xu handed him, glanced at it, and nodded.

"This is the courtesy name of Wang Zhenfu. His father was a great help when the academy was robbed years ago, and I have always remembered him... And this gentleman is..."

"Xu Xian, a junior officer of the Chief Inspector, was ambushed by a sorcerer while investigating the case of the massacre of the governor's family in Qingzhou."

Yang Xu carried Xu Xian out of the carriage. "Old Sun said only the Confucian spirit of righteousness can save him. Please, senior, save his life!"

Dean Zhou stepped forward and examined Xu Xian's eyelids. He then noticed the black line on Xu Xian's wrist and frowned slightly.

"The poison enters the blood; this is a technique used by blood gu in the Southern Region. The gu worms are refined into blood essence, which is then splashed onto the opponent and seeps into their meridians through the wounds. Ordinary pharmacists cannot cure this."

He stepped aside to make way, "Carry him to the side room. Someone, go and invite Master Meng."

Two young Confucian scholars took Xu Xian and carried him into a side room of the academy.

Yang Xu and Hua Xi followed behind, passing through several corridors and lecture halls, where several young students peeked out from the windows.

Upon arriving at the side room, a middle-aged scholar was already waiting inside.

The man was in his forties, with a thin face, and a scroll of bamboo slips hanging from his waist, the edges of which were worn shiny.

Dean Zhou introduced, "This is Master Meng, a Confucian and Taoist of the fourth rank. In the academy, when discussing the art of exorcism, Master Meng ranks among the top three."

Master Meng waved his hand.

"The dean is too kind..."

He walked to the bedside, glanced at Xu Xian, examined his wrist, and then asked Yang Xu when he had been poisoned by the Gu poison.

Without hesitation, Yang Xu replied, "About two hours ago."

"Two hours?"

Master Mencius was very surprised.

"This poison must take effect extremely quickly, yet this gentleman is still alive! Truly strange..."

Yang Xu glared at him. "Tsk... What kind of talk is that? Isn't it good to be alive?!"

"It was an oversight on my part..."

Master Meng smiled apologetically, sat cross-legged in front of Xu Xian's bed, formed a mudra with his hands, and chanted scriptures.

Golden, righteous energy seeped from the bamboo slip, transforming into countless tiny specks of light that landed on Xu Xian and seeped into his skin.

The black lines on Xu Xian's wrist began to fade slowly in the golden light, retreating from his shoulder to his elbow, from his elbow to his wrist, and finally gathering into a small dot on the back of his hand before disappearing completely.

Master Meng finished his practice, stood up, and straightened his robes.

"The Gu worms have been completely expelled. Although the Gu poison in his body has been cleared, his meridians have been eroded by the Gu poison for two hours, resulting in a significant loss of Qi and blood. He will recover after taking two doses of Peiyuan Decoction and resting for three days."

Yang Xu plopped down in the chair, let out a long sigh, and buried his face in his hands, rubbing them together several times.

Hua Xi stood by the bed, stretched out a finger and touched the back of Xu Xian's hand; the black line was indeed gone.

She smiled, lowered her head and said something to the tortoise, which made a very low gurgling sound in its throat, as if in response.

...

At that moment, Xu Xian opened his eyes to find himself facing an unfamiliar bed. He froze for a moment, then abruptly sat up in bed.

"Holy crap! Wearing it again!"