Chapter Sixty-Two: The Art of Gu Poison

At this moment, chaos filled the room. A woman sat to the side, weeping, while a man spoke in hushed tones with a police officer whose rank seemed rather high. I also noticed the elderly man I’d seen earlier on the street, now seated beside the children, checking their pulses.

When the people inside heard the commotion, they turned to look at us. The junior officer who had accompanied us in announced, "Captain Guo, these people insisted on coming in. We couldn’t stop them."

The police officer across from us frowned deeply and addressed us: "This is not a convenient time. You can’t just barge in; please step outside."

My master waved his hand, replying bluntly, "Is something wrong with the children?"

The officer’s frown deepened. "I’m sorry, I can’t disclose much due to work regulations. Please leave."

He then exchanged a look with a colleague, who moved to force us out. But my master blocked him and said, "I can save these two children. You’d best not interfere—this matter is beyond the police’s reach."

At this, the officer’s patience snapped. "Here’s my badge. If you keep causing trouble, don’t blame me for removing you by force."

My master ignored him. As he was about to act, the two children lying on the bed suddenly began convulsing violently. Foam and a hint of green fluid trickled from their mouths. The elderly Mr. Hu, sitting beside them, hurriedly pinched their philtrums, but it was useless—their convulsions showed no sign of stopping, their faces turning an ominous blue as if they were suffocating.

The woman and man, seeing this, rushed over in panic, crying out for their children. My master didn’t wait any longer. He strode toward the children. Captain Guo tried to stop him, but my master shook him off effortlessly. The other officers, startled, simultaneously drew their pistols and pointed them at my master. Undaunted, he stood firm. Captain Guo, regaining his footing, drew his gun and shouted, "Step back! Hands on your head, quickly!"

But my master seemed not to hear. He snapped his fingers; a sharp crack rang out, and the triggers of every pistol broke off, clattering to the floor. The officers stared in disbelief at their ruined firearms. I heard Captain Guo whisper to his men, "What’s going on? Didn’t I tell you to check your gear?"

The other officers looked equally bewildered and said nothing. My master snorted, moved to the children, and placed his hand on their foreheads. The moment he touched them, he quickly withdrew his hand, frowning and muttering, "How could this be?"

Everyone around heard him and watched as he formed a seal with one hand, his lips moving slightly. He touched seven points on the children—their brows, underarms, navels, and others. Everyone stared in amazement. I saw it most clearly: as my master’s fingertip touched each spot, a golden light penetrated their skin. The junior officers, thinking he was meddling, wanted to seize him, but Captain Guo motioned them to stop. They hesitated, looking to their captain for guidance.

Captain Guo, however, was watching my master with surprise. Even I could see why: after my master’s actions, the children’s convulsions subsided visibly, their faces showing some relief.

Mr. Hu sat stunned. No matter how he tried, the children only improved slowly before, but my master had instantly stabilized them—and cowed the police into restraint.

The children’s parents, witnessing all this, finally began to relax and looked gratefully at my master. He stood up and motioned us to follow him out. Once we reached a quieter place, he frowned and said to me, "This is a tricky situation."

Surprised, I asked, "What’s wrong, Master?"

After thinking a moment, he replied, "If I’m not mistaken, those two children have been afflicted by a gu curse."

"Gu curse?" I echoed in confusion.

He nodded. "Yes, gu. There are two kinds: animal gu and plant gu. Judging by the children’s symptoms, it must be animal gu. When I touched their foreheads, I found the poison had spread throughout their bodies, nearly breaking through their crown. Fortunately, I used the Seven Dragons’ Probe to suppress the poison. Otherwise, they wouldn’t last through tomorrow."

Stunned by his explanation, I was horrified that someone could be so cruel to children. Was this even human? I asked, "Is there any way to save them?"

"That’s the problem," he said, brows knitted. "There is a way, but we must find the gu witch who cast it. In western Hunan, corpse driving and gu magic are most mysterious. Practitioners of gu are often linked to corpse driving. Both are notoriously ugly, have no descendants, and gu masters must be women, hence the term ‘gu witch’ is more common. But western Hunan is vast. To find a single gu witch is no easy task. So, it’s not that the children can’t be saved, but that the perpetrator is hard to find."

I lapsed into silence. Chu Mengxi, seeing our expressions, said nothing. After a long pause, my master spoke again, "I've thought of a way!"

I immediately looked up. "But it won’t be easy," he added.

"Master, can’t you just say everything at once?" I said, rolling my eyes at him.

He nodded. "I'll go in and collect a little blood from the children. But the police won’t allow it and will try to stop us. If we push them, things could get even more complicated. So, you call Lin Fang—the Public Security Bureau chief. He can contact the local station and get us some leeway. Tell him it’s a matter of life and death. Chu, I’ll need your help too: when we go in, take the children’s parents out of the room, make up any excuse you like, as long as they leave."

Chu Mengxi nodded. I walked aside and called Lin Fang, briefly explaining the situation. He promised to handle it right away and hung up.

Returning to my master, I nodded. He smiled faintly, waited a moment, then went back inside. As planned, Chu Mengxi led the parents out. The police wanted to stop us again, but Captain Guo surprisingly waved them off and even smiled, following my master closely.

Clearly, the call to Lin Fang had worked. My master glanced at Captain Guo and said, "Captain Guo, please take everyone else out and disperse the crowd. There’s nothing to see here."

Captain Guo hesitated, then nodded with a smile. He led the other officers out and cleared the bystanders. My master closed the door, approached the children, spread his left hand, and with his right traced a sigil in the air. When his hands came together and parted, a golden light flared. He pressed his hands to the children’s foreheads and slowly lifted them. A thread of blood, wrapped in golden light, was drawn out, yet the children’s skin was unbroken. With a brief chant, the golden light and blood threads vanished from his hands.

Only then did he withdraw and say to me, "It’s done. We must find the culprit without delay."

I nodded, opened the door, and saw the crowd had been dispersed by the police. The children’s parents, accompanied by Chu Mengxi, sat anxiously at the door. When they saw us, they rushed over, asking, "Doctor, doctor! How are my children? Are they alright?"

Seeing their anxiety, my master could only play along: "The children are stable for now; don’t worry too much. I’ll come back tomorrow to check on them. Rest assured."

"Oh, thank you, doctor! Do the children need medicine? I’ll pay whatever it costs," the father exclaimed.

My master was momentarily taken aback. "Medicine won’t help in this case. Here’s what you do: buy two roosters, stew them, and give the children the broth—just the broth, not the meat."

"Roosters? Alright! Go to Old Chen’s and buy two roosters!" he urged his wife.

She nodded, grabbed her purse, and hurried out.

"You’d better go back and look after the children. I’ll return tomorrow," my master added.

With that, we headed for the door. The children’s father saw us out. Passing Captain Guo, my master told him, "Captain Guo, you can stand down now."

Leaving the officers staring after us, we walked straight back to our lodging. Once in our room, I asked my master, "Why did you tell them to feed the children rooster broth?"

Without looking up, my master dragged over a table and explained, "The rooster is the nemesis of all evil forces, including gu poison. For animal gu, rooster broth can treat it—but only the broth, not the meat. The meat, being animal as well, would actually worsen the condition."

"What about plant gu?" I asked.

He looked up. "There are many ways to counter plant gu—using plants of pure yang energy. Think—what are some examples?"

I pondered and blurted out, "Uh, peach tree, willow, locust tree..."

With a loud smack, he rapped me on the head. Rubbing the sore spot, I heard him say, "Locust tree? Where did you get that idea? Is the locust tree a pure yang plant?"