Hidden Shadow – CH 202

Chapter Two-Hundred-Two: Blood Collection

Mo Sigui stared at her, speechless.

When he first met An Jiu, Mo Sigui thought she was like a leopard or a wolf, her face radiating an aura of unapproachability, either noble and aloof or fiercely ruthless. However, the more he got to know her, the more he realized she was just a seven- or eight-year-old girl inside! A rebellious child covered in thorns.

He remembered once asking her if she had ever done anything good, and all she talked about were things from her childhood.

Thinking this, Mo Sigui’s heart stirred, and he began to treat her like a child. “Go play somewhere else today. I have something to do. How about I roast sweet potatoes for you tomorrow?”

“What is it?” An Jiu sat up straight, her wide robe cascading down, her waist-length black hair falling behind her, slightly disheveled. Her calm, unwavering eyes stared straight at him, both cold and innocent, making her seem quite strange.

“As physicians, we must have integrity. We cannot casually publicize patients’ private matters. Someone’s coming for a consultation tonight.” Mo Sigui directly pulled her away.

An Jiu nodded in deep agreement. “You actually have integrity. That’s surprising.”

Mo Sigui was too lazy to argue anymore. He simply pushed her out the door, picking up the two tiger cubs lying by the door and stuffing them into her arms. “Go, go, go play! Take Xiao Yue and Da Jiu with you.”

“Which one is Da Jiu?” An Jiu asked.

Mo Sigui had already closed the door and called out from inside, “Of course, it is the dumber one.”

An Jiu grabbed the two tigers by the scruff of their necks and compared them carefully, muttering skeptically, “Can someone with that kind of intelligence raise intelligent pets?”

After a few glances, she muttered to herself, “They are both equally dumb.”

The two tigers seemed to understand, struggling unhappily.

Inside the house, Mo Sigui was so angry at her words that he wanted to open the door and confront her, but remembering that there were more important things to do, he had to grit his teeth and hold back.

An Jiu carried one tiger in each hand. She glanced thoughtfully at the closed door, then slowly returned to her room.

She placed the two tigers on the couch, rolled them over, and scratched their bellies. The struggling little creatures immediately stopped moving, lying on their backs with their paws in the air, eyes half-closed in enjoyment.

Mo Sigui was bustling about in the room.

The last thing to prepare was the medicine to save Gu Jinghong’s life. After drawing a large amount of blood from his heart, because the body’s normal circulation would be disrupted, the heart would temporarily stop, waiting for blood to return to the heart. Gu Jinghong would enter a state of suspended animation, at which point external assistance would be needed to prevent actual death. Since he could not take any herbal medicine at this time, Mo Sigui planned to use acupuncture and a self-created smoke-like drug.

Night fell.

Gu Jinghong arrived as promised.

An Jiu noticed him the moment he arrived.

After Gu Jinghong entered the room, An Jiu put on a cloak, opened the door, and silently went to Mo Sigui’s window. Two tiger cubs trotted after her, their sounds so clear that Mo Sigui opened the door and came out just as she reached the window.

What did it mean to be caught off guard? This was a perfect example.

An Jiu glanced at Mo Sigui, then bent down to grab one of the tiger cubs. Pretending to be chasing after a runaway pet…

Mo Sigui said, “Perfect timing, come in and help me out.”

“Ahem.” An Jiu cleared her throat, speaking with difficulty. “Alright.” Following him into the room, An Jiu saw Gu Jinghong sitting on the edge of the mat. “Are you sick?”

She had a silly-looking tiger tucked under each arm, making her serious expression appear somewhat blank.

Gu Jinghong looked at her, a rare moment of amusement flashing across his face, and smiled at her. “Yes, before going to fight someone, you have to be in top condition.”

An Jiu nodded and sat down opposite him.

Two tigers and one person, motionless, both with serious expressions.

“Hey! I did not call you here to watch the show!” Mo Sigui, already dressed in a robe and with a cloth covering his face, pointed to the medicine pot on the stove and said with obvious displeasure, “Watch it, do not let it overflow.”

“Alright.” An Jiu nodded and sat down in front of the medicine pot.

It gurgled inside, emitting white smoke.

Smelling the strong medicinal aroma, An Jiu’s vision blurred. When she realized something was wrong, she collapsed to the ground with a thud. The two little tigers were already fast asleep, only reflexively stretching their paws when she fell, showing no signs of waking.

From the moment An Jiu sat down to when she fainted, only a few breaths had passed.

This was a specially prepared, enhanced sleeping potion by Mo Sigui. In a confined space, it could easily knock out an entire village.

Gu Jinghong also fainted on the bed.

Only Mo Sigui, his mask soaked with the antidote, stood in the room, still refreshed.

He laid Gu Jinghong on the couch, unbuttoned his shirt, and gazed at the muscular chest and defined abs before him. He stretched Gu’s neck and limbs, then poured the prepared medicinal liquid over Gu’s body and carefully wiped him clean with a clean cotton cloth.

After doing all this, he took a slender, half-inch-wide dagger and held it against Gu Jinghong’s pale chest. The cold glint of the dagger reflected on his face, and his peach-blossom eyes held a chilling excitement.

“What to do? I am so excited,” Mo Sigui muttered to himself, taking several deep breaths to steady his hand. Using his left hand to measure Gu’s body, he found the right spot and, without hesitation, slowly plunged the sharp blade into the wound.

Bright red blood instantly oozed from around the wound, blooming like crimson garlands on the pale skin with an eerie beauty. Due to years of taking various rare medicines, the blood carried a rich, pure medicinal fragrance. Mo Sigui smelled this aroma, and his eyes shone even brighter.

He released the dagger and collected all the blood in a small bottle.

This blood, mixed with the surface of the skin, was not pure heart’s blood, but it still possessed medicinal properties.

As he collected the blood, he observed its changes. When he noticed it becoming more vibrant red and increasingly translucent under the light, he immediately switched to a bottle carved from black stone.

The bleeding began to flow more rapidly. When Mo Sigui estimated it was about right, he quickly stoppered the bottle and placed it in a jar filled with ice. Then, he raised the dagger slightly, using his internal energy to locate the fatal wound. He then inserted several hair-thin, hooked silver needles, hooking them onto the blood vessels. He then withdrew the dagger and plugged the wound with a piece of silkworm silk soaked in medicinal liquid.

In a short moment, fine beads of sweat appeared on Mo Sigui’s forehead.

He stood up and lit an incense stick.

As the medicinal liquid seeped in, the bleeding from the wound gradually decreased.

After an incense stick had burned out, Mo Sigui carefully removed the silkworm silk and replaced it with a new piece.

An Jiu was in a daze, not knowing how long she had slept. When she regained consciousness, she only heard the sound of water.

She groaned softly and got up from the ground. Through her blurry vision, she saw that Mo Sigui had changed into a moon-white robe and was calmly leaning back in his chair, drinking tea. Gu Jinghong was lying on the couch next to him, covered with a blanket.