Chapter 139: Brother Chu Does Things in a Peculiar Way

Shen Tianci sneered inwardly and glanced silently at Xie Yuheng twice. This fool didn’t call on him, which suited him perfectly; he had no intention of making a fool of himself by arguing with this idiot again.

Xie Yuheng, utterly oblivious, let out a proud and disdainful snort at Shen Tianci.

Shen Tianci turned his head aside. Stupidity was contagious, and he wasn’t about to become any dumber.

“What are you all doing? Stand right there!” Before Xie Yuheng and the others could leave the tent, Shen Zhao shouted to stop them.

The group looked puzzled.

Brother Chu, General, what does he mean? Why is he stopping us? And whose anger is Brother Chu showing on his face? It looks like Brother Chu is mad at us. What’s going on? We’re going to save his mother. If he’s ungrateful, that’s one thing, but why is he giving us the cold shoulder for no reason? It feels unfair, so unjust.

“Brother Chu, we’re going to the Jingzhaoyin to rescue your mother. The old madam is advanced in years, and the prison is dark, damp, and stifling. How could she possibly endure it? Brother Chu, why are you angry without cause? Has Yuheng not done everything thoroughly?” Xie Yuheng looked at Shen Zhao with a wronged expression.

Shen Zhao’s heart softened; Yuheng only meant well.

But this kind of ‘well-meaning’ was truly unwelcome.

She had finally arranged for the old woman to be imprisoned, and before the deed was done, they were trying to get her out. Was all her effort going to be wasted?

Chu Mu looked helplessly at Xie Yuheng and gently chided him, “Yuheng, you’ve misunderstood Brother. As Tianci said, we don’t yet know the full story. How can we just use our status to demand the release at the Jingzhaoyin? If word gets out, people will think we’re abusing power. It won’t be good for any of us.”

Xie Yuheng felt Brother Chu’s words had merit.

Yet something felt off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Annoying. Maybe his brain was just too dull to understand what was wrong.

Brother Chu was considering their reputation, thinking things through thoroughly, unlike him who acted impulsively.

He found himself appreciating his elder brother’s thoughtfulness more and more.

Relieved, he said, “Brother is truly considerate. Thanks for the reminder. Otherwise, my reputation as the little tyrant of the capital would have been further tarnished.”

Shen Tianci nearby sneered sarcastically, “Now you think you’re reasonable? What about that stubbornness earlier?”

“You...” Xie Yuheng glared at the annoying Shen Tianci, but before he could scold him, he finally realized where the odd feeling came from.

Back when they rushed to the Jingzhaoyin to rescue Shen Tianci, Brother Chu had no such reservations.

They had barged in recklessly, even threatening and coercing the magistrate to release Shen Tianci.

At that time, neither he nor Brother Chu knew what crime Shen Tianci had committed.

No wonder he found Brother Chu’s recent words strange.

In the same situation, Brother Chu had chosen two very different approaches.

Was his brain just not sharp enough? Why didn’t Brother Chu storm the magistrate’s office first like before?

“What do you mean, ‘why’?” Shen Tianci snapped irritably at Xie Yuheng.

He was simply unhappy inside; he couldn’t bear to see that old witch well.

“Enough, you two stop arguing.” Shen Zhao said, then turned to Liu Zhong, who was waiting nearby. “Go find out what’s happened in the city, then inquire at the residence.”

Liu Zhong looked puzzled. Why did the general want him to investigate in the city? Wouldn’t it be better to just go directly to the general’s mansion? That would save time in rescuing the old madam.

In Liu Zhong and Zhang Liang’s minds, the old madam held an incomparable position in the general’s heart.

The general was famously filial, utterly obedient to his mother, and would do whatever she ordered.

Though the general appeared calm on the surface, inside he was probably a mess.

It was a difficult position: balancing the customs of Southern Chu and worrying about the old madam’s safety.

Liu Zhong promptly replied, “Yes, I will go swiftly and return quickly. I will not delay the general’s rescue of the old madam.”

“Brother Chu, rest assured. We brothers have your back. If anyone dares harm your mother, we’ll be the first to oppose them,” Xie Yuheng stepped forward and comforted him.

His eyes filled with sympathy. Brother Chu was truly pitiful—troubles kept coming, and no one even knew what poison he had contracted. Now with this mess, it was almost forgotten that Brother Chu had just recently awakened from the brink of death.

He hurriedly turned to the old physician who was still poring over medical texts, “How is it, old doctor? Have you identified the poison that afflicted Brother Chu? You mentioned earlier that such a miraculous healer had disappeared ages ago. I went to the mansion to fetch the texts you need. Have you found anything?”

Earlier, the old doctor had failed to detect anything peculiar in Brother Chu. Fearing another poisoning episode, he pressed the old doctor to examine him thoroughly.

The old doctor was almost ready to cut into Brother Chu’s flesh but found nothing.

Under pressure, the old doctor recalled a legendary healer from Southern Chu who had traveled widely—a divine physician who had even visited the Wa kingdom and written a compendium about various poisons and antidotes.

That book had accidentally come into the possession of the healer’s grandfather. The old doctor was now studying that very volume.

The old doctor was completely absorbed in the tome—it was exhaustive.

Many poisons recorded were things he had never even heard of.

But when young master Xie called out, the doctor’s excitement quickly deflated.

Although the compendium was comprehensive, there was not a single case matching General Chu’s symptoms.

“Perhaps General Chu isn’t poisoned at all, or maybe he’s been afflicted by a gu,” the old doctor murmured, unable to explain the general’s condition.

“A gu? You mean that dark sorcery from the southern border?” Xie Yuheng exclaimed.

Southern Chu people avoided that region at all costs.

Especially the infamous gu—evil and mysterious.

It was said to trap victims in a torment of neither life nor death. Even in death, those people controlled corpses, preventing peace in the afterlife.

“Is it gu?” Shen Zhao muttered, knowing all she did about the southern border came from one source—her father.

As a child, she was practically glued to her father and elder brother.

Since she could remember, she knew her mother disliked her, caring only for her elder brother and Qianmeng, treating her with indifference.

Her father often told her strange tales of the world, especially about the gu poison from the southern border.

Could she have been afflicted by gu?

If so, things would be difficult.

Southern Chu’s knowledge of gu was scant, and curing it would require traveling to the southern border.

“Or perhaps not. This ancient compendium also records methods to detect gu. I shall try the prescribed techniques to see if General Chu truly suffers from gu,” the old doctor’s eyes gleamed.

Shen Zhao couldn’t help but twitch at the sight.

Especially facing the old doctor’s eager expression, she felt like a fish on a chopping block, with the doctor as the butcher wielding the cleaver.

Suddenly, Xie Yuheng jumped up, his voice tinged with anger: