Removing the Gu

At the Morning and Evening Group's reception desk.

"Excuse me, is President Bai here? We arranged to meet at three this afternoon," Zhang Siliang asked.

The receptionist nodded. "Yes. You're President Zhang, correct? Young Master Bai is upstairs. He's been waiting for you for quite a while."

Zhang Siliang nodded. "All right."

Not long after Zhang Siliang arrived in Capital City, he received a call from Third Young Master Bai.

The Bai Family of Capital City was a renowned, powerful family. Although Zhang Siliang had some money, he had never expected their esteemed third young master to invite him personally. He felt flattered, but also rather puzzled.

Zhang Siliang took the elevator up and entered the president's office.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw the handsome, dignified Third Young Master Bai.

Although Bai Yunxi was young, plenty of young ladies from prominent families already had their eyes on him. Many wanted to become Third Young Master Bai's Wife, but perhaps because he was still too young, Bai Yunxi gave none of them the time of day.

To Zhang Siliang's surprise, someone else was sitting in the swivel chair beside Bai Yunxi. With his back to Zhang Siliang and his feet propped high on a nearby bookcase, the man was eating ice cream.

A family like the Bai Family placed great importance on decorum. Seeing someone so slovenly in Bai Yunxi's office left Zhang Siliang utterly bewildered.

"Third Young Master Bai, you wanted to see me?" Zhang Siliang asked nervously.

Bai Yunxi shook his head with a smile and casually pointed at the man beside him. "Actually, he's the one who wanted to see you, not me. But I was worried you wouldn't be able to get away, so I arranged the meeting."

"He did?" Bai Yunxi's words only made Zhang Siliang more curious.

"It's me!" Ye Fan turned around in the executive chair.

Zhang Siliang looked at Ye Fan and quickly recognized him. "You-you're the young man from the plane."

Zhang Siliang had wanted to speak to Ye Fan on the plane, but Yuan Yi had been there, so he hadn't been able to ask any further questions.

Perhaps Yuan Yi had sensed something, too. She had kept a close watch on him over the past few days. He had obtained Ye Fan's phone number several days earlier, but still hadn't found an opportunity to contact him.

After Bai Yunxi invited him, Yuan Yi had confirmed several times that the invitation really came from Third Young Master Bai before letting him leave!

Zhang Siliang had never imagined that Ye Fan would be acquainted with Bai Yunxi.

"Tell me, how much do you know about your own condition?" Ye Fan asked lazily.

Seeing how close Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi were immediately dispelled Zhang Siliang's lingering doubts. Someone Third Young Master Bai thought highly of surely wouldn't swindle him.

At that, Zhang Siliang immediately said, "Yuan Yi was my secretary, and also my wife's classmate. Back then, she tried to seduce me, so I intended to fire her. She played pitiful and invited my wife and me to a farewell dinner. Somehow, in a daze, I ended up sleeping with her."

"After that dinner, everything spun out of control. Heaven knows, I never really liked her, but whenever I was around her, I would unconsciously do whatever she wanted."

"When my wife found out that Yuan Yi and I had slept together after drinking, she fell out with Yuan Yi, and the two of them argued. I ended up pushing my wife down the stairs, but I truly had no idea what I'd done. When someone told me afterward, I couldn't believe it."

"But then something even stranger happened. I nearly killed my son!"

"I told my wife I might be possessed, and divorced her."

During the divorce, he and Ning Shuang had appeared to be locked in a bitter dispute. In reality, he had transferred seventy percent of his assets to their son. He had also secretly gone to the hospital for a vasectomy. Yuan Yi had always wanted a child and had tried all sorts of folk remedies, but she didn't know that no matter how many she took, she would never conceive his child.

"My wife and I have actually stayed in touch over the years. She thought someone might have placed a Jiangtou Curse on me, so she found several masters to examine me."

"Once, Yuan Yi accidentally found out, and I became seriously ill! No matter what tests the doctors ran, they couldn't find the cause. Later, my wife left, and after Yuan Yi visited me a few times, I recovered on my own."

Bai Yunxi listened with keen interest. "What do you think?"

"It probably isn't a Jiangtou Curse. He's been infected with heartbond gu," Ye Fan said.

"There are two types of heartbond gu. One is equal heartbond gu, which has very few drawbacks. If two people in love take it, they can sense each other's thoughts and feelings, and coordinate better in a fight. The only issue is that if something happens to one of them, the other will also be affected to some extent."

"The other is probably what Mr. Zhang has: mother-and-child heartbond gu. The child gu originates from the mother gu and obeys it completely. The closer the child gu is to the mother gu, the greater its influence on its host. So, Mr. Zhang, you often lose your senses when you're near Yuan Yi, but recover once you leave her, correct?" Ye Fan asked.

Zhang Siliang nodded. "Yes, exactly." Back when he saw his wife fighting with Yuan Yi, he had clearly wanted to help his wife, yet somehow he had ended up pushing her down the stairs.

"In that case, couldn't he just stay far away?" Bai Yunxi asked.

Ye Fan shook his head. "No. The child gu needs nourishment. If it stays away from the mother gu for too long, it starts acting up, and Mr. Zhang will suffer all sorts of discomfort."

Zhang Siliang looked at Ye Fan in astonishment. Everything he had said was exactly right.

With Yuan Yi behaving so strangely, Zhang Siliang had naturally considered leaving her. But some unseen force compelled him to return to her side. Afraid of the consequences, and with the woman so unnervingly sinister, he hadn't dared act rashly.

"Isn't raising gu harmful?" Bai Yunxi asked.

Ye Fan nodded. "A little. The mother gu needs to absorb blood and vital energy to grow, which drains its host's vitality and shortens their lifespan to some extent." Quite a few cultivators raised gu as well. Their methods varied enormously, and many could replenish blood and vital energy, so the effects were relatively minor.

"What about the child gu? Does it shorten your lifespan too?" Zhang Siliang asked.

"Yes, but less so. Actually, the mother-and-child heartbond gu you have is only a half-finished product, Mr. Zhang. It doesn't qualify as a true gu yet. With a true mother-and-child heartbond gu, the child gu's host cannot disobey a single command from the mother gu's host. Any betrayal means a wretched death. They'll also gradually fall hopelessly in love with the mother gu's host. But real gu aren't that easy to cultivate," Ye Fan said coolly.

Zhang Siliang gave a bitter smile, faintly sensing Ye Fan's disdain for the gu inside him.

"Then, Master, can I still be saved?" Zhang Siliang asked cautiously.

Ye Fan nodded. "Of course. Otherwise, why would I have brought you here? But there's something we need to settle first. If I help you remove the gu, are you really willing to pay me fifty million?"

"Of course," Zhang Siliang said quickly. Fifty million was no small sum, but if it could cure his condition, it was nothing.

Ye Fan nodded. "All right, then."

Ye Fan took out a small cauldron and boiled all the herbs he had prepared in it.

"What is that smell? It stinks!" Bai Yunxi said, frowning.

Ye Fan glanced at Bai Yunxi. "Does it? Gu love this smell."

Ye Fan looked at Zhang Siliang and smiled. "You think it smells rather nice, don't you?"

Zhang Siliang nodded honestly. "Yes."

Bai Yunxi stared at Zhang Siliang, speechless, making him feel rather embarrassed.

"The gu inside you likes this smell, so you like it too," Ye Fan explained.

Zhang Siliang: "..."

"Give me your hand," Ye Fan said.

Zhang Siliang quickly raised his hand.

"Mr. Zhang, something's moving in your arm!" Bai Yunxi said.

Ye Fan smiled at Bai Yunxi. "Gu usually stay hidden, but once they're stimulated, they come out on their own."

Bai Yunxi smiled. "How interesting."

Listening to Bai Yunxi and Ye Fan's conversation, Zhang Siliang was utterly speechless. These two seemed to be treating him like an amusing toy.

Zhang Siliang was anxious, but he couldn't afford to offend either of the men before him, so he didn't dare say much.

The gu wriggled back and forth inside Zhang Siliang's arm, making his scalp prickle.

Zhang Siliang had long known something was wrong with his body, but seeing a bulge emerge on his arm and keep moving still left him feeling as though he had been struck by lightning.

"Master, when can you take it out?" Zhang Siliang asked cautiously.

Ye Fan looked at Zhang Siliang. "Don't rush. It's smelled something it likes, so it's become very active and wants to come out. But if you try to force it out too soon, it'll realize this is a trap and retreat. If it goes back into hiding, luring it out again won't be so easy."

"Are all gu this clever?" Bai Yunxi asked curiously.

Ye Fan smiled. "All living things instinctively seek benefits and avoid harm. Isn't fishing the same?"

Bai Yunxi nodded. "True."

As the medicinal smell grew stronger, the gu inside Zhang Siliang moved more and more frequently. Ye Fan cut open Zhang Siliang's arm, and a blood-red worm emerged, flying into the medicinal cauldron beside them. It was as thick as a finger and ten centimeters long. The sight made Zhang Siliang feel sick enough to vomit.

Zhang Siliang watched the gu swimming around in the medicinal cauldron, his scalp prickling.

"It stinks!" Zhang Siliang said.

"Now that the gu is out, your sense of smell has returned to normal, so it smells foul to you," Ye Fan said.

Zhang Siliang: "..."

"Master, now that it's out, I should be all right, shouldn't I?" Zhang Siliang asked.

Ye Fan nodded. "Yes, you're fine now. Don't worry."

Zhang Siliang let out a breath, feeling an enormous weight lift from his shoulders.

"Remember to transfer the money to me. If you ever get infected with gu again, give me a call. Next time, since you're a returning customer, I can give you a discount," Ye Fan said.

Zhang Siliang: "..." Infected with gu again? Once was terrifying enough.