"Gu?" Ye Xi was a bit confused.
"Master, are you saying there's a Gu worm in my body?" Her voice trembled slightly. Just thinking about having a worm in her body made her skin crawl.
Hun Yuan had already withdrawn his hand. He circled around Ye Xi and examined her carefully. "It's a Gu, not a Gu worm. But my cultivation is not profound enough to tell what kind of Gu it is. If my master were here, he should be able to tell..."
As he said this, Hun Yuan suddenly stopped. He placed his hand on Ye Xi's wrist again to feel her pulse. After a moment of silence, his expression suddenly became excited. "It's really my master's aura! It's so faint, but it's definitely my master's..."
Ye Xi was greatly startled by his sudden outburst. Seeing Hun Yuan so excited and hearing his words related to his master, her heart skipped a beat. She asked hopefully, "Master, does this mean that your master has already helped me get rid of the Gu?"
The excited expression on Hun Yuan's face suddenly froze. He looked a bit embarrassed. "No, not yet."
Ye Xi: ...
Seeing the disappointment on Ye Xi's face that she couldn't hide, Yi Yuan gave Hun Yuan a cold look and couldn't help but say, "Hun Yuan, speak properly."
Hun Yuan shivered under Yi Yuan's cold warning gaze. Feeling ashamed, he glared back at Yi Yuan defiantly. But then he still said honestly, "Miss Ye has two layers of Gu on her body."
"One is the Gu I don't know about, and the other should be the one my master placed."
Everyone present: ???
Seeing everyone's contemptuous looks, Hun Yuan quickly explained, "Hey, no, don't jump to conclusions... My master's character is upright. He definitely didn't place it to harm her."
Then he continued, "Although I don't know exactly what that Gu is, I once heard my master mention the one he placed. But I was still young at that time, and I don't remember the details clearly. I only vaguely remember that it was used to seal and suppress other Gus. Combining it with the other Gu in Miss Ye's body, the one my master placed should be used to seal and suppress that Gu. But the aura of the Gu my master placed is so faint that it's almost imperceptible. It should have been cracked or transferred. And the so - called curse of sacrificing one life for another in the Ye family should be transferring the Gu my master placed on the second Miss Ye to the eldest Miss Ye."
"So it's very likely that someone also placed a Gu on the eldest Miss Ye, but they couldn't find a way to crack it. So they could only transfer the Gu my master placed on the second Miss Ye to suppress it. Since my master's Gu has been transferred, the other Gu on the second Miss Ye will naturally take effect again, which is the so - called 'sacrificing one life for another'."
"Judging from Miss Ye's current situation, my master's Gu should have started to be transferred when the second Miss Ye was very young. At most, there is still one year left before the transfer will be completely completed."
After Hun Yuan finished speaking, Ye Xi, who knew her own situation, didn't show much reaction. But Sai Xing and Yi Yuan both turned pale.
Sai Xing's trembling voice was already on the verge of tears. "Miss, why didn't you tell me earlier? Wuwu... There's only one year left..."
"Master, please help my miss..."
Yi Yuan pursed his lips tightly. His dark eyes were like abysses. He stared straight at Ye Xi through the crowd. "The method to get rid of the Gu." His voice was as cold as jade, with a hint of nervousness that he himself didn't notice.
Hun Yuan frowned and paced back and forth. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "There is a way..."
"But it will take a long time. The Gu on Miss Ye is already incurable. Only by suppressing it again can there be a glimmer of hope. Before my master left, he left a string of white jade Bodhi beads in the palace. There are six hollow beads in the string, and inside are the pills for sealing the Gu left by my master."
"As long as Miss Ye gets that string of beads and takes one pill regularly every two months. After one year, she can suppress the Gu again."
Now that there was a solution, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Their tightly - knitted brows finally relaxed. Yi Yuan said naturally, "Okay, I'll go and get it."
With the current emperor's trust in him, getting a string of beads should not be a problem.
Unexpectedly, Hun Yuan rolled his eyes at him without any hesitation and said straightforwardly, "You can't get it."
"My master said before he left that this string of beads must never be given to others. It can only be the prize for the champion of the women's competition in the Qingyun Tournament after this year's autumn imperial examination."
Yi Yuan was speechless.
Hun Yuan's master was extremely famous in the Great Yin Dynasty. His divination, fortune - telling, and numerology were never wrong. From the current emperor and the empress dowager to ordinary peddlers, everyone trusted him very much.
Since he had already said so, even if the emperor wanted to keep the beads privately, he might not be able to do so.
"Tsk..." Hun Yuan murmured as if in nostalgia and admiration. "Old curmudgeon... You probably knew this would happen, right?"
He had left everything ready and calculated the time just right, waiting for this day.
Ye Xi was secretly thinking about this year's Qingyun Tournament.
The Qingyun Tournament was a long - standing tradition in the Great Yin Dynasty. Initially, it was set up to let the talented scholars relax after the autumn imperial examination every year. It was more like a grand event than a competition.
There were many events in the tournament, such as horse - riding, archery, backgammon, polo, etc. Since it was a competition for scholars and many young masters from noble families participated, many ladies and wives would come to watch the competition under the pretext of finding a suitable match for their children, and many good marriages had been made.
When the former emperor was alive, he heard about this and simply added a women's competition: flower - arranging, tea - art, playing musical instruments, calligraphy, and painting. It was convenient for the young masters and ladies from various families to get to know each other.
The reason why Ye Xi had accidentally saved Grand Tutor Cao was that one year the archery competition was held in the hunting ground. When the Ye family went to watch the competition, Ye Xi got lost accidentally and happened to meet Grand Tutor Cao, who had gone to look for a granddaughter - in - law but accidentally fell into a trap.
That was also the reason why Cao Sheng and Ye Xi got engaged later.
Thinking about it now, it was really the will of fate.
At that time, Ye Jueyao had been eager to perform well and win the championship in order to find a suitable partner. She was famous in the capital for her beauty and talent. But this good marriage with the Cao family had unexpectedly fallen to Ye Xi, who was not allowed to participate in the competition by the Ye family.
Recalling the past, Ye Xi couldn't help but smile mockingly.
After avoiding and preventing for so long, she must participate in this competition this year.
"I'm quite familiar with these events. As long as no one cheats, I should be able to win the championship." Ye Xi thought and said.
But Yi Yuan's eyes were complicated. He hesitated and said, "The Great Yin Dynasty values literature over martial arts and has been weak for a long time."
"In order to promote the development of military force, this year in the Qingyun Tournament, the emperor has specially added horse - riding and archery events to the women's competition."
"Ah???" Ye Xi was stunned.
Fine! This is clearly not wanting her to win!
"Does the emperor not want to part with that Bodhi bead string?" Ye Xi couldn't help but mutter.
Nodding thoughtfully, Hun Yuan looked at Ye Xi appreciatively. "It's very possible."
Yi Yuan: ...
It's not that serious.
"The prince..." Yi Yuan said indifferently. His eyes were cold, as if the words were not coming from him. "Can help you train."