Inukami Jusaburo's face turned red and white in the firelight.
He spent several days making arrangements at the Prince An's Residence, using the Bliss Elixir to control Gu Mochen, and then using the port, money, and military power to force the Prince An to sign the terms.
Just one final step is needed to turn this Prince Great Yan into a puppet in the hands of both countries.
But Gu Mochen actually swallowed the sheepskin document.
This is more than just a rejection.
This is pressing their faces into the mud.
Park Roejang took a step back, his hand reaching for his sleeve.
The old soldier on the left raises his sword.
The back of the knife struck the stone door with a crisp sound.
"Move again, and I'll chop off your hand first."
Park Roejang stopped in his tracks.
He looked at Inukami Jusaburo.
Both of them knew that there were at least ten skilled guards inside the mansion.
If we make our move here today, they might not leave alive.
Inukami Jusaburo gritted his teeth, staring at Gu Mochen on the ground.
" Your Prince An, you will regret this."
Gu Mochen leaned against the stone pillar, blood streaming down his chin.
He lifted his eyelids, the lingering taste of sheepskin still in his mouth.
"Go back alive first, then you can worry about me later."
Inukami Jusaburo clenched his fist.
" Wa and Silla will not let you get away with this."
"Perfect."
Gu Mochen raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I have no intention of letting you go either."
Zhou Huaili turned his head to the side.
"See a visitor out."
The three veterans advanced simultaneously.
With the blade closing in, Inukami Jusaburo Park Roejang- jang.
The two retreated outside, where the torchlight illuminated their mud-covered shoes.
Before Inukami Jusaburo could speak, Zhou Huaili had already raised his hand.
"Close the door."
The heavy stone door closed.
The footsteps outside faded into the distance, and Inukami Jusaburo's muffled curses were swallowed by the wind.
The only smells in the room were of medicine, blood, and Gu Mochen's heavy breathing.
The physician, carrying his medicine chest, knelt beside him.
"Your Highness, please forgive me."
Gu Mochen glanced at him.
"Let's do it."
The physician tore open his robe.
The fabric, soaked with blood, clung to his skin. As soon as it was torn away, Gu Mochen's shoulders and back tensed.
The physician didn't stop; he first cut it open with scissors, then put the red-hot iron tongs into the charcoal brazier.
The tongs were burnt white.
Zhou Huaili stood to the side, his eyelids twitching.
"How about... we use anesthesia first?"
The physician looked up at him.
"Your Highness has been drugged with an evil potion. After the anesthetic is administered, who knows if it will react with that substance?"
Gu Mochen said, "No need."
The physician poured strong liquor onto the wound.
The alcohol seeped into the skin and flesh.
Gu Mochen's palms dug into the floor tiles, his five fingers pressing down.
He didn't shout, only letting out a muffled groan.
The physician used wooden pieces to fix the ribs and then pushed the broken part back into its original position.
Each movement was slow.
The slower it goes, the more it hurts.
Gu Mochen stared at the wall in front of him, with only one thing on his mind.
The Bliss Pills cannot be kept any longer.
He had already tasted that stuff.
When the drug takes effect, the body will kneel down first, then the brain, and finally even one's name and stance will be completely forgotten.
The reason I can swallow the sheepskin document today is because the pain has temporarily suppressed the effects of the medicine.
What about next time?
If in a military camp.
If in the imperial court.
If someone were to deliver that medicine to the Emperor...
Gu Mochen closed his eyes.
This score shouldn't be settled solely with Inukami Jusaburo and Park Roejang.
Zhou Huaili looked at him.
"Your Highness, we must send this message to the capital and have Elder Shen come to your aid. Your poison..."
Gu Mochen did not answer.
The physician wrapped a white cloth around his chest and tied it in a tight knot.
Gu Mochen spoke through gritted teeth.
"It cannot be sent to the capital."
Zhou Huaili lowered his brows.
Why?
"My father suffered a stroke, the crown prince is imprisoned, and what the capital needs most right now isn't news, but a charge."
Gu Mochen sat up straight, leaning against a stone pillar. "If I were to report that I had been poisoned by an overseas evil drug, the first thing the palace would do wouldn't be send someone to rescue me."
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
"First, we need to remove the title of Prince An."
Zhou Huaili remained silent.
That's correct.
With the emperor bedridden, all the officials in the court were eyeing the throne.
Prince An were to expose his contact with overseas spies at this time, even if he did not sign the documents or even if he tore them up, people would only say that he had brought a wolf into the house.
The physician continued packing his medicine kit.
"Then let's go to Yi Prefecture."
Zhou Huaili looked at him.
Gu Mochen also raised his head.
The imperial physician said, "Besides Elder Shen, there's also his granddaughter. That Madam Shen understands toxicology, and besides, Elder Shen's primary task is to save His Majesty."
Gu Mochen's face darkened.
Going to Yi Prefecture would mean Gu Moran.
Moreover, he had previously sent people to intercept grain, secretly courted the Tubo, and used the chaos of war to force Gu Moran into a deadly predicament.
The issue between the two cannot be resolved simply by calling each other brothers.
Zhou Huaili did not urge him.
Gu Mochen leaned against the stone pillar, and his right hand began to tremble as soon as he raised it.
It's not a wound.
It's a medicinal property.
That familiar hunger crept up from my abdomen, through my chest, and into my limbs.
Every inch of flesh beneath my skin began to itch, and it felt like fine sand was stuffed into the crevices of my bones.
The physician's expression changed.
"Your Highness, we cannot delay any longer."
Gu Mochen pressed his hand to the ground.
He scratched a bloody mark on the blue brick.
Zhou Huaili.
"Your subject is present."
"Take the Black Iron Lock."
Zhou Huaili was stunned.
Your Highness?
Lock me up.
Gu Mochen looked up, blood flowing down his nose from his forehead.
"Lock your hands and feet, lock them to the pillar. The clasps must go through your arms, so that I cannot touch my face, nor can I bump my head."
The physician immediately realized what was happening.
Your Highness?
Gu Mochen stared at him.
"Go quickly, or I will truly go mad."
Zhou Huaili's lips moved slightly.
What are you still standing there for?
Gu Mochen shouted.
Zhou Huaili turned and rushed out.
Soon, the heavy iron lock and the thick cowhide rope were brought in.
The old soldier knelt behind Gu Mochen and wrapped the thick rope around his shoulders and back.
The other man raised his left arm, threaded the chain through the crook of his arm, and wrapped it around the stone pillar.
Gu Mochen's forehead was pressed against the pillar surface.
The rough stone chips abraded my skin.
Tighten it further.
Zhou Huaili gripped the iron chain.
"Your Highness, it can't be tightened any further."
Tighten it further.
The chains continued to tighten.
A deep mark was left on Gu Mochen's shoulder and back muscles from the straps.
Both legs were also locked.
In this way, he could neither lunge at others nor harm himself by banging his head against the wall; he could only consciously endure the effects of the drug.
Gu Mochen gritted his teeth.
"Note the time."
"One quarter past midnight".
Record it every half hour.
"Yes."
Gu Mochen turned his head to look at Zhou Huaili.
"Listen to my command: the first route, take the Nine Dragon Jade Pendant and the blood-written letter to Yi Prefecture."
Zhou Huaili immediately knelt down and removed the jade pendant from Gu Mochen's waist.
"Do not take the official post station."
The main route from Anyang to Yi Prefecture is being closely monitored, and swift travelers are being dispatched to take the trade routes.
Gu Mochen paused for a moment.
"Take the fragments of the parchment document I spat out with you."
Tell Gu Moran that they want to use this to force me to hand over the coastal ports.
The pills are not ordinary poisons; once ingested, they cause a strong dependence, with the condition worsening with continued use.