Chapter 52

Chapter 52: It Happened Suddenly

Gu Shi Yi frowned, turned it over in her mind, and said, “I’m guessing that woman has some kind of method… maybe she secretly drugged the man!”

Li Yan Er tilted her head, thinking hard. “That honestly never occurred to me…”

She replayed the scene in her mind. When husband and wife had been talking in front of the mirror, the Eldest Young Master had looked openly disgusted. Then the Eldest Young Madam touched his chest, and his interest sparked instantly.

Yeah. That wasn’t normal.

Gu Shi Yi stood and paced the room, hands behind her back, eyes narrowed. “Here’s what I think. That woman gave birth to three half-demon children. The first two have spiritual roots, but their tempers are violent. They kill at the drop of a hat. The higher their cultivation gets, the worse they’ll become—two walking time bombs. And the little daughter’s lower body has already turned demonic. She might not even survive. So…”

She stopped, letting the conclusion settle into place.

“So she wants another child. A normal child. That’s why she used some… unmentionable method on her husband.”

Unfortunately, the woman’s grasp of basic biology was not as solid as Gu Shi Yi’s. In that situation, the “materials” were going to be low quality. Conception would be difficult, and even if she did get pregnant, the child would likely have problems.

Li Yan Er thought it over and nodded. “I didn’t notice before, but now that you say it… yeah. It really is possible.”

Little clay doll practically went feral on the table, stomping so hard it looked ready to shake itself apart. “Can you talk about the actual issue?”

Gu Shi Yi looked wounded. “I am talking about it…”

She paused, then added, a little more sharply, “If she were a decent woman, how could she resort to that kind of method?”

Then her gaze sharpened again. “And you said she even urged her man to scheme for the Gu family’s Buddha Bone Relic.”

Her tone dropped, turning thoughtful. “When I was little, I heard my grandfather and father mention it once. Many years ago, our Nascent Soul Stage ancestor patriarch traded for it from an enlightened eminent monk. But the Gu family’s cultivation arts are nothing like Buddhist arts. We can’t truly bring out the Buddha Bone Relic’s greatest effect. We can only keep it in the Gu family’s hidden grounds—to suppress evil things, steady the heart, and clear the mind.”

She paced two more steps. “To be fair, she wasn’t lying. That relic really can calm the spirit. But if her two sons inherited Demon Clan bloodline, their violence can’t be uprooted. The Buddha Bone Relic might treat the symptoms, not the cause.”

Gu Shi Yi’s brows drew together as something else surfaced in her memory. “Now that you mention it… I vaguely remember something. Back then, when my birth father took me to the Qian family to demand an explanation, he had a huge argument with my maternal grandfather. Afterward he stormed off. I faintly recall the Buddha Bone Relic coming up…”

The more she thought, the clearer it became. She could still see her maternal grandfather’s face—ashen, rigid with fury. If her birth mother had been standing there, the old man might have carried out righteous execution on the spot just to give the Gu family an explanation.

Gu Shi Yi had always assumed it was simply because her birth mother disgraced both families. But now it looked like it wasn’t only about face. The Qian family couldn’t borrow the Buddha Bone Relic—maybe that was part of the reason, too. And her birth mother… she didn’t run early or late. She ran when Gu Shi Yi was five, almost six, right when it seemed the Qian family was about to get what they wanted.

Running at that moment—wasn’t that practically trying to anger her birth father to death?

Gu Shi Yi’s frown deepened. At last, her thoughts caught the real thread. “So… all these years, the Qian family never gave up on the Gu family’s Buddha Bone Relic.”

Then another thought struck, cold and sharp.

Was that why her so-called cousin had impersonated the Gu family’s Eldest Miss?

Gu Shi Yi felt she’d brushed the truth, but it still didn’t quite fit. Was a single Buddha Bone Relic really worth that kind of trouble?

What did it mean to the Qian family?

Li Yan Er’s eyes narrowed. “Think about it. They spend a little effort to send your cousin back to the Gu family under your identity. Best case, she takes power. If she can’t, marrying into the Sun family still makes her the household-managing Eldest Young Madam. Either way, she gets a path to the Buddha Bone Relic.”

Li Yan Er huffed. “That’s a profitable plan. And it means your maternal grandfather has been plotting for a long time, Shi Yi. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment scheme.”

Gu Shi Yi nodded slowly. “Exactly. And I can’t shake the feeling that everything else is just decoration. The Qian family doesn’t truly want anything else. The Buddha Bone Relic is the core.”

They circled it for what felt like forever—close enough to taste the truth, but still choking on fog.

Then Li Yan Er jolted, slapped her thigh, and groaned. “Ah! You made me so mad I forgot something important!”

Gu Shi Yi blinked. “What?”

“The jade box!” Li Yan Er blurted. “Wasn’t it in that old woman’s hands? How did it end up in your cousin’s wardrobe?”

Gu Shi Yi’s heart sank as the same question hit her again. “That’s something cultivators use. How could she have it? Did the old woman sell it… or did that Shang guy give it to her?”

And even if she had it, what use was it to a mortal?

The only reason she wasn’t already dead was because the jade box had a seal on it. If some ignorant fool opened it, the yin energy inside could kill a mortal on the spot.

The more they thought, the more certain they became: her so-called cousin was not as simple as she looked.

Bad news wrapped in silk.

They talked deep into the night. The truth still hid behind mist, but one practical problem sat right in front of them.

“If Little Miss gets sent away,” Li Yan Er said, “then you—who carry her in and out every day, who wait on her like an old nanny—won’t have anywhere to go.”

Gu Shi Yi gave a helpless shrug. “I can’t do much. I can only take it one step at a time.”

If it came down to it, she’d leave the Sun family and figure something else out.

She could say it, but over the next few days, every time Gu Shi Yi held Little Miss—felt how light that tiny body was—something sour rose in her throat.

“No matter what,” she murmured one night, “the child is innocent. If she’s sent away like this… who knows what kind of fate she’ll end up with?”

If she was sent to Gu Shi Yi’s maternal grandfather, maybe she wouldn’t die, but she certainly wouldn’t live like this—fed like royalty, dressed in fine clothes, surrounded by servants at every step.

Li Yan Er saw the sadness on Gu Shi Yi’s face and tried to soften it. “Don’t people say half-demon bodies don’t live long? Maybe… this is just her life.”

It was true. Half-demon bodies were notoriously hard to keep alive. Unless a Demon Clan powerhouse personally infused the child with demon qi and completed her transformation into the Demon Clan, she probably didn’t have many years left.

Gu Shi Yi sighed. Instead of distancing herself, she watched the child even more carefully. Even if the girl’s life would be short, Gu Shi Yi wanted her to feel something warm while she was here.

Half-demon children were precocious. Little Miss seemed to sense Gu Shi Yi’s sincerity and grew more attached by the day. And with their similar faces, whenever Gu Shi Yi carried her outside, strangers often mistook them for mother and daughter.

Half a month passed.

One afternoon, Gu Shi Yi was holding Little Miss in the courtyard, looking at flowers, when someone came running with a message.

“Eldest Young Madam says to bring Little Miss to the front hall. A guest has come.”

“Yes.”

Gu Shi Yi carried the child over. In the front hall, her so-called cousin—the Sun family’s Eldest Young Madam—was speaking with a thin, gloomy old man. The moment he saw Gu Shi Yi’s face, he froze.

“This is…?”

Eldest Young Madam smiled lightly. “Just a servant who happens to resemble me.”

The old man nodded. Eldest Young Madam tilted her chin toward the child. “Bring Little Miss over. Let her greet Elder Wei.”

Gu Shi Yi stepped forward and bowed while holding the girl. Elder Wei examined the child, nodded, and said, “Good. Good.”

He reached out and patted the top of Little Miss’s head. “Go on.”

Then Eldest Young Madam’s gaze slid to Gu Shi Yi. “You stay. Everyone else, leave.”

The servants withdrew in a rush. Gu Shi Yi retreated to the side, head lowered, holding the child close. She listened as Eldest Young Madam spoke with smooth politeness.

“Elder Wei is my maternal grandfather’s trusted man. I didn’t expect this matter would trouble you to come in person. You’ve worked hard.”

Elder Wei’s name was Wei Chuan, a capable steward at the Qian family head’s side. Back when Gu Shi Yi was in the Qian family, he had been out on business, so she had never met him.

Wei Chuan said, “This old servant wasn’t supposed to come. I only received a message from Young Lady by carrier pigeon, saying she obtained something extremely important and needed a capable person sent here. I’m not talented, but I volunteered.”

Eldest Young Madam’s smile deepened. “Then you came at the right time. This item truly must be escorted by you personally.”

She turned her eyes to Gu Shi Yi. “Go to the inner room. Under my wardrobe, in the third drawer, there’s a jade box. Bring it here.”

Gu Shi Yi’s chest tightened.

So it really was the jade box.

On the surface, she hesitated, glancing down at the child in her arms. Eldest Young Madam’s patience snapped. “Put her down here. I’m her birth mother. Am I going to eat her?”

Gu Shi Yi had no choice. She set Little Miss beside Eldest Young Madam and went to the inner courtyard. After relaying the order, someone fetched the item for her.

The jade box felt familiar in her hands—cold, sealed tight. The talisman marks were still intact, just as before.

And yet unease crawled up her spine.

She’d dismissed everyone… but kept Gu Shi Yi here.

What did that mean?

Gu Shi Yi walked back toward the front hall, and Eldest Young Madam’s voice drifted to her, syrup-sweet.

“He worked so hard to obtain this. Please take it back and present it to my maternal grandfather. And afterward… please speak well of him.”

Her tone was unmistakably fawning.

Wei Chuan chuckled. “It’s rare to see such filial devotion. The master will surely be pleased…”

He paused. “Young Lady, rest assured. I will deliver your words.”

Gu Shi Yi stepped into the hall. Their conversation stopped as both turned to look at her. Gu Shi Yi hurried forward and offered the jade box with both hands.

“Young Madam.”

Eldest Young Madam accepted it and slid it toward Wei Chuan. “This item has a seal placed by a cultivator. I didn’t dare act rashly. But from what he said, the aura leaking from it is enough to confirm it’s a spirit herb over a thousand years old. Refined into medicine, it will surely increase one’s cultivation.”

Wei Chuan narrowed his eyes and studied it for a long moment. Then he nodded. “That’s right. It is indeed a spirit herb over a thousand years old. Young Lady has done great service. The master will certainly reward—”

“I don’t dare ask for rewards,” Eldest Young Madam cut in, sharp with impatience. “I only ask that once this matter is finished, I can be free.”

Wei Chuan laughed softly. “As Young Lady wishes.”

They spoke as if Gu Shi Yi weren’t even there.

As if her presence didn’t matter.

As if her life didn’t matter.

Gu Shi Yi’s face drained of color.

They were discussing secrets right in front of her—boldly, carelessly. There was only one reason to do that.

They intended to silence her.

Gu Shi Yi’s stomach turned. Eldest Young Madam had countless trusted people, but she hadn’t kept them. She kept Gu Shi Yi.

So Gu Shi Yi could hear everything.

So Gu Shi Yi could be erased afterward.

Had Eldest Young Madam noticed who she was?

Gu Shi Yi kept her head bowed, but her mind raced, scrambling for options.

If she screamed, would anyone in the Sun family hear?

If she ran, could she make it out?

Eldest Young Madam looked unarmed, fragile in the way pampered women often were. But Wei Chuan stood like a pine—steady, practiced, dangerous. Even without spirit arts, his presence felt like a blade.

Gu Shi Yi was still calculating when Wei Chuan gave a low, sinister chuckle.

“Young Lady,” he said to Eldest Young Madam, “your attendant is sharp. Looks like she’s realized her little life is about to be forfeit.”

Gu Shi Yi’s blood turned cold.

So he had seen through her.

She didn’t hesitate. She turned and bolted for the door.

She didn’t make it far.

“Stop,” Wei Chuan barked.

Her legs locked. It was like her feet had been nailed to the floor. She strained, muscles trembling, but she couldn’t take a single step.

Behind her, Eldest Young Madam laughed, bright and chiming. “Don’t bother. Once Elder Wei plants a gu worm, I’ve yet to see many people escape.”

Wei Chuan’s smile was thin and ugly. “Even if you’re clever, you didn’t know that when you stepped forward to bow with Little Miss, I planted it in you, did you?”

He leaned closer, voice almost conversational. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill you right now. I still have to take Little Miss back and report to the family master. I need someone to care for her along the road. If you behave and follow me, and we reach Gilded Gold City safely, perhaps I’ll have mercy and remove the gu worm. I might even keep you as a servant.”

His eye sharpened. “But if you don’t know what’s good for you…”

He didn’t finish.

Gu Shi Yi felt a sudden, vicious stab in her chest—pain like a hook twisting through her heart. Her knees slammed into the floor.

“Ah…!”

Wei Chuan looked satisfied. He turned to Eldest Young Madam. “I’m taking them now. You know how to explain it to the Sun family?”

Eldest Young Madam nodded calmly, as if they were discussing tomorrow’s menu. “Don’t worry. It’s been arranged. Once they’re gone, I’ll start immediately.”

She spoke with chilling simplicity.

She would bring in the corpse of a four-year-old girl she’d procured and bury her as her own birth daughter. With her husband covering for her, and with the dead child being one who had always been sickly, the Sun family wouldn’t suspect anything or dig deeper.