Master, Please Help Me Break the Love Curse! - Chapter 34

Deep within the dungeons of the Lingxiao Sect, the bone-chilling cold permeated the air. The prison held numerous criminals, most confined to the outer cells. Only those with exceptional magical power were imprisoned in the deepest recesses of the dungeon.

Luo Jiu descended the stone steps, her boots clanging against the frozen, hardened earth with each step.

She spotted a woman in red lying on the floor of one of the cells.

The Snake Lady’s face was deathly pale, her eyes tightly shut. The wound on her abdomen had been treated and wrapped in white bandages. Though disheveled, the faint rise and fall of her chest indicated she was still alive.

Only when Luo Jiu stood before her cell did the Snake Lady open her eyes. She glanced at Luo Jiu sideways before turning away expressionlessly.

“It’s been two days already. How long do you plan to hold out?” Luo Jiu’s voice was as cold as the dungeon air. Her dark eyes fixed intently on the woman lying on the floor. “The antidote to the Gu poison. Hand it over.”

The Snake Lady chuckled, lying on the ground and gazing up at the rocky ceiling. “Do you really think I’d carry the antidote to the Gu on me? You demand it, and I’m just supposed to hand it over?”

“I don’t care if you have it on you or not,” Luo Jiu retorted. “I just want the antidote to the Gu.”

The Snake Lady slowly pushed herself up into a seated position. The movement must have aggravated her wound, as she gasped sharply in pain. Clutching her injury, she leaned against the wall, studying Luo Jiu with a thorough, appraising gaze.

“I’ve only glimpsed the Fairy from afar before,” the Snake Lady said with a smile. “Never had the chance to meet you up close. I never imagined Luo Jiu Fairy would blossom into such stunning beauty. No wonder Shang Qianye is so infatuated with you. If I were her, I’d be utterly bewitched too.”

Luo Jiu frowned in disgust, ignoring the Snake Lady’s flirtatious remarks. “You not only placed the Gu on Qianye, but you also used the Gu to trigger her Heart Demon. Hand over the antidote now.”

The Snake Lady blinked innocently, feigning ignorance. “Heart Demon? What Heart Demon? I admit I placed a Gu on Shang Qianye, but I certainly didn’t trigger her Heart Demon. Fairy, are you mistaken?”

Luo Jiu’s face darkened. “Your excuses are useless.”

She raised her hand, forming a hand seal. A talisman instantly adhered to the Snake Lady’s forehead. The Snake Lady offered no resistance, allowing Luo Jiu to cast the Soul-Searching Technique.

As soon as the technique was activated, Luo Jiu’s expression shifted. She glanced at the Snake Lady and withdrew the talisman.

“Oh, no more soul searching?” the Snake Lady teased, winking. “Is the Fairy showing mercy?”

“There’s a seal in your mind?” Luo Jiu asked, surprised.

It was rare for ordinary people to have seals deep within their consciousness. Moreover, this seal was unlike any spell Luo Jiu recognized, radiating an eerie aura. It was likely a unique seal from the Demonic Sect.

The Snake Lady’s eyes curved into a smile as she said to Luo Jiu, “Because I knew that if you captured me, you’d inevitably use soul searching. Unless the Fairy is willing to fight me to the death, you’ll never break this seal.”

She relaxed her posture, leaning against the wall and laughing merrily. “I wouldn’t mind taking the Fairy down with me, but if I die, my corpse will vanish into ash. You’ll never learn what I know—a real pity.”

“But perhaps…”

The Snake Lady flicked out her crimson tongue and said to Luo Jiu, “If the Fairy pleasures me, I might just tell you how to cure the Gu.”

Luo Jiu had no patience for this woman’s nonsense. She replied coldly, “Even without soul searching, I’ll eventually find the cure for the Gu.”

Watching Luo Jiu walk away, the Snake Lady called after her with genuine disappointment, “Fairy, come visit often! I’m quite fond of you. My offer still stands—just pleasure me, and I’ll tell you how to cure the Gu~”

Luo Jiu ignored her completely.

Inside the Apothecary Ward, Gu Yunqing carried a bowl of freshly cooked shredded chicken congee into Shang Qianye’s recovery room.

“Senior Sister, wake up and have some congee,” Gu Yunqing said, looking at Shang Qianye lying in bed. “You need to replenish your strength. I had the kitchen prepare this specially for you. Try it and tell me what you think.”

When Shang Qianye woke up early that morning, Luo Jiu was already gone. The other half of the bed was cold, indicating Luo Jiu had been up for some time.

How could I have slept so deeply that I didn’t even notice Luo Jiu leaving?

Gu Yunqing helped Shang Qianye sit up against the headboard, picked up the bowl, blew on the congee, and began feeding her.

“I can manage myself,” Shang Qianye said awkwardly, reaching for the bowl. But Gu Yunqing dodged her hand.

“Senior Sister, you’re still too weak. Let me feed you.”

Gu Yunqing was so insistent that Shang Qianye eventually gave up trying to refuse and resigned herself to being spoon-fed.

As Gu Yunqing fed her, Shang Qianye noticed her expression was unusually warm and gentle.

“Senior Sister, you have no idea! As soon as Junior Aunt heard you were injured, she stopped chasing after that woman who ran away and brought you straight back to the mountain. She even pulled you up and started treating you herself!”

Gu Yunqing fed her another spoonful of porridge, sighing, “I never expected her to care about you so much.”

Shang Qianye’s face lit up at the news, her heart swelling with joy. A faint smile played on her lips as she asked, “Was Master really that worried about me?”

Gu Yunqing nodded. “Martial Aunt was so anxious, her eyes were red. If I hadn’t known her usual composure…”

Shang Qianye pressed her lips together, resolving to ask Luo Jiu about this properly when she returned. She needed to know if she truly meant that much to her.

“But I’ve always had one question,” Gu Yunqing said, looking at Shang Qianye with curiosity. “Senior Sister, do you have parents?”

Shang Qianye looked at her, puzzled. “No, why?”

“Then what was it like before you came to the Lingxiao Sect?”

“I don’t have biological parents, but I do have adoptive parents,” Shang Qianye explained. “Before I met Master, I lived in a small village a hundred li away. My adoptive parents didn’t treat me well—I was raised on charity meals until I was six. Then I met Master, and she brought me back here.”

“Oh,” Gu Yunqing said, then asked, “What were your adoptive parents’ surnames?”

“One was Chen, the other Wang,” Shang Qianye replied, puzzled. “Is there a problem?”

Gu Yunqing hesitated for a moment before saying, “You see, I don’t have parents either. My mother found me at the foot of the mountain and raised me, so I took her surname, Gu.”

“But Senior Sister, you didn’t take either your adoptive parents’ surnames or Junior Aunt’s surname,” Gu Yunqing asked, her voice filled with curiosity. “Then why is your surname Shang?”

This question caught Shang Qianye off guard.

She had never considered why her surname was “Shang.”

“Does it… really matter?” Shang Qianye blinked. “Maybe it was just a random name?”

“That can’t be right! Your name is Shang Qianye—it doesn’t sound like some random cat or dog’s name. It must have been carefully chosen,” Gu Yunqing proposed her own theory. “Senior Sister Shang, do you think it’s possible your biological parents’ surname was Shang?”

Shang Qianye froze, staring wide-eyed at Gu Yunqing. Neither knew how to continue the conversation.

The topic seemed to have died a sudden death.

Fortunately, Luo Jiu returned at that moment, instantly drawing Shang Qianye’s attention and completely erasing Gu Yunqing’s words from her mind.

“Master,” Shang Qianye greeted.

“Junior Aunt,” Gu Yunqing added.

Luo Jiu nodded and approached.

Seeing the half-bowl of chicken congee in Gu Yunqing’s hand, she reached out and said, “Give it to me.”

Gu Yunqing murmured an “Oh,” handed over the bowl, and naturally rose to give up her seat.

Luo Jiu stirred the congee a few times with the spoon, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and fed it to Shang Qianye. Shang Qianye’s eyes remained fixed on Luo Jiu’s face, and even the congee she swallowed seemed inexplicably more delicious.

“Where did Master go?” Shang Qianye asked. “I didn’t see you all morning.”

“To the dungeon,” Luo Jiu replied tersely, focusing on feeding Shang Qianye spoonful after spoonful until the bowl was empty. Gu Yunqing took the empty bowl and spoon and left.

For a moment, only Shang Qianye and Luo Jiu remained in the room.

With no outsiders present, Shang Qianye’s movements became much bolder. She took Luo Jiu’s hand in her own, her dark, luminous eyes fixed intently on Luo Jiu like stars in the night sky. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to Master much yesterday,” she said. “Yun Qing told me you were really worried when you saw me injured.”

Luo Jiu scoffed. “If you died, I’d be seriously wounded too. How could I not be worried?”

Shang Qianye smiled. “Really?”

Seeing her playful grin, Luo Jiu’s tone softened. She looked down at their clasped hands and said, “I was genuinely worried about you back then, afraid I hadn’t protected you well enough.”

“It’s not Master’s fault. It was my own mistake,” Shang Qianye murmured, gently rubbing Luo Jiu’s soft fingertips. “But knowing you care about me makes me so happy.”

Being cared for by the person she loved filled Shang Qianye with contentment.

But Luo Jiu frowned slightly, turning to Shang Qianye. “Speaking of which, this isn’t your first time fighting the Snake Lady. You should have been more cautious. Why were you so badly injured this time?”

This question had been puzzling Shang Qianye as well.

“I was already being extremely cautious that night, but I still fell into the Snake Lady’s trap,” Shang Qianye said with a sigh. “She must have coated the zither strings with a drug that suppresses spiritual energy. As soon as I smelled it, my entire body went limp, and I didn’t have time to dodge the explosives hidden inside the instrument.”

“If it weren’t for the hair ribbon Master gave me, I probably would have died on the spot,” Shang Qianye added.

She regretted the loss of the ribbon, which had protected her in the explosion but had disintegrated in the process, despite having worn it for only a few days.

If I get the chance, I’ll ask Luo Jiu to give me another one, she thought.

However, Luo Jiu’s expression didn’t improve upon hearing this. Instead, she seemed to be deep in thought.

“What’s wrong?” Shang Qianye asked, tilting her head. “Is something amiss?”

Luo Jiu looked up at her and revealed the truth: “Actually, when I brought you back, I examined your body and discovered traces of something foreign within you. It was this substance reacting with the drug on the zither strings that suppressed your spiritual energy.”

Shang Qianye’s eyes widened slightly. “Master, are you saying…?”

Luo Jiu said gravely, “I suspect there’s a Demonic Sect mole within the Lingxiao Sect.”