Qiao Ranran knew exactly what that thing was.
"The Human-Faced Gu!"
Xiang Rongxi's eyes lit up. "I knew you'd recognize it, Fellow Daoist Qiao!"
Qiao Ranran shot him a disdainful glance. "That 'I knew it' makes me think there's more to this than you're saying."
Xiang Rongxi lowered his eyes. "I only meant that, with your knowledge and skill, you must have a way to deal with it. Before this, every Medicine Cultivator and Pill Cultivator we consulted—including ourselves—thought the poison was exceedingly strange, but no one could identify its origin. You named it at once, so surely—"
Qiao Ranran cut off his flattery. "Aren't you afraid I'm making it up?"
Xiang Rongxi fell silent.
From what Qiao Ranran remembered, Xiang Rongxi had always been resourceful, calculating, ambitious, and talented. He usually presented himself so well that people liked him, and he knew how to handle others. She had not expected Xiang Rongxi, without Wen Ziheng's friendship, to end up like this. The light in his eyes was no longer what it had been when he had stood before her years ago, outwardly approachable but proud beneath the surface.
She did not know what he had been through. It was as though time had worn away his sharp edges. He had lost his brilliance, yet there was something more genuine about him now.
Perhaps Qiao Ranran had looked too earnest when she said she was making it up, because Xiang Rongxi stared at her, stunned and faintly bewildered. She sighed. "It really is the Human-Faced Gu. If the Medicine Cultivators and Pill Cultivators you found couldn't identify it, then whoever planted the gu was highly skilled. Or they simply couldn't detect it before the Gu Poison fully took hold."
Understanding dawned on Xiang Rongxi. "By the time the Human-Faced Gu