Although Cheng Jingtian is usually a bit careless, he proves to be quite reliable when it comes to getting things done. Just two days later, he had already concocted an antidote for Duan Yunhe to take. And sure enough, the antidote worked—the two most potent poisons in Duan Yunhe’s body were neutralized, leaving only residual toxins that could be cleared by other healers at Xing Gu.

With Duan Yunhe’s crisis averted, she was naturally overjoyed, and Qiu Huan breathed a sigh of relief as well. Partly because he cared about her, but also because his own situation was truly urgent. If the antidote formula circulating in Xing Gu hadn’t been effective, he might have had to put Duan Yunhe’s case on hold—but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Just as Duan’s recuperation had barely begun, Yuan Mo pulled Cheng Jingtian into the living room of Qiu Huan’s chamber and then stepped aside, glaring at him—after all, the sachet was still in his hands. Qiu Huan stayed with Duan Yunhe for a while, only coming over to sit once she had fallen fast asleep. Without saying a word, she reached out and took Cheng Jingtian’s pulse.

Cheng Jingtian looked at her with a half-smile. “I thought you weren’t going to talk anymore.” Qiu Huan carried one of his蛊 insects—a little charm they’d used to communicate that day—and as soon as they met, he sensed something was off. With his suspicions aroused and his knowledge of her internal qi so keen, he quickly noticed that her qi flow was again disrupted. He even suspected she was hiding this from him, perhaps to guard against Ming Zhen. Well, there was some truth to that—just a small part. The main reason was that Qiu Huan didn’t want Cheng Jingtian distracted by Duan Yunhe’s situation. Of course, he could never have imagined such a thing; he had no idea how deeply Qiu Huan cared about Duan Yunhe, though Yuan Mo did have some inkling.

Qiu Huan didn’t offer any explanation, letting him fill in the blanks himself.

Cheng Jingtian had only said it casually, not expecting her to respond. His hands kept moving, but his brow slowly furrowed as he gestured for Qiu Huan to turn around and pressed his palm against her back.

After running his own qi through her body for a full cycle, Cheng Jingtian frowned and said, “What’s going on with you? Where did you pick up this poison?”

Of course, Qiu Huan wasn’t about to give him a detailed account. She offered a vague reply: “It was just something we stumbled upon by accident. Stop lecturing me—hurry up and figure out a solution. Right now, feeling completely powerless is really unbearable.” Saying “powerless” was an exaggeration; even if she couldn’t use her internal energy or external martial arts, she was still far from weak. At present, Qiu Huan could still handle ordinary martial artists. But someone like Yuan Mo, who could move freely without relying on internal power, would be a different story altogether.

Seeing that she refused to elaborate, Cheng Jingtian’s eyes twitched, and he dropped the subject. “Anyway, with Xiao Mo protecting you, I think it’s best if you just stay quiet and keep out of trouble—otherwise you’ll only end up causing yourself more headaches.” His words subtly implied that Yuan Mo wasn’t doing a good job of protecting her and that Duan Yunhe kept running into trouble.

“Then why don’t you trade your martial arts skills for mine?” Although Cheng Jingtian’s primary profession was medicine, his martial prowess was also top-notch—otherwise, how could he have risen to become the head of Tonglou Covert Division? “Besides, Xing Gu is a powerful faction; as the leader of the valley, you don’t really need such high-level martial arts anyway—it’d be a waste to keep them locked away.”

“Pfft,” Cheng Jingtian rolled his eyes. “And you’re even bringing me into this? Afraid Xiao Mo will get hurt if he hears you talking like that? Don’t worry—he’s as dumb as a rock. As long as you, Xiao Huan, don’t actually start sawing him apart, he won’t even notice a breeze blowing nearby.”

It was one thing to say such things when they were alone, but Yuan Mo was right there! Hearing this, Qiu Huan unconsciously glanced at Yuan Mo. Luckily, his expression remained calm, showing no sign of anything unusual, which eased her embarrassment a bit.

Well, actually, someone’s ears were red—hidden behind her hair, so you couldn’t see them.

“You!” Qiu Huan ground her teeth, and to Cheng Jingtian, that look said it all: she was mortified and furious. “Do you have a plan or not? Or are you just wasting time chatting?”

“Sure, I do have a plan,” Cheng Jingtian cleared his throat and gave Yuan Mo a meaningful glance. Qiu Huan immediately said, “A-Mo, why don’t you step outside for a bit?”

Yuan Mo complied without hesitation.

“So what exactly are you trying to pull, Cheng Jingtian?” Qiu Huan tapped the table twice with her finger, her tone brimming with impatience.

The great healer paid no mind and instead smiled even wider. “Since I’ve helped you so much, Xiao Huan, why don’t you treat me a little better? I only have one tiny, tiny request.” With that, he held up his hand, making a gesture about the size of a needlepoint.

“Hmph,” Qiu Huan laughed, clearly amused. “If I believed everything you said, my grave would already be overgrown with weeds by now. Just spit it out—what is it? But let’s see if I can even accept it.” She probably had a pretty good idea of what he was going to ask, and for a moment, she couldn’t think of a way to refuse. Deep down, she still clung to a sliver of hope: what if it wasn’t about that after all?

Cheng Jingtian grinned, saying nothing aloud but making an exaggerated mouth movement. It should have been a funny scene, but Qiu Huan wasn’t laughing at all. For an assassin, lip-reading is a must, and she understood every single word he said perfectly.

“The child will take my surname.”

“What happened to that guy?” Yuan Mo stared at the dejected Qiu Huan, his brows tightly knit. He was ready to rush over and beat up Cheng Jingtian if she said he’d done something wrong.

“He went back to Xing Gu to prepare the medicine, and it’ll take two months to make it,” she mumbled, burying her head under the covers and not even moving a finger.

“For your internal energy problem?” he asked, knowing full well the answer.

“Yeah.”

“…” Yuan Mo opened his mouth as if to say something, then hesitated and fell silent.

After waiting in vain for a response, Qiu Huan peered through the gap, puzzled. “What’s wrong? Xiao Mo, don’t pay attention to Cheng Jingtian—he doesn’t even know what really happened that night.” She assumed he was upset because of Cheng Jingtian’s subtle—or perhaps not-so-subtle—accusations.

“I…” Yuan Mo turned his head slightly, and Qiu Huan couldn’t see his expression anymore.

For her, that night was clearly in the past. She always lived in the present, never dwelling on the past or dreaming of the future. But he wasn’t like that. Whenever he thought about that night, he couldn’t help but blame himself and feel afraid—even though he knew those feelings were pointless, he just couldn’t stop. He simply couldn’t bear showing such weakness in front of her, so he could only escape by avoiding the issue.

End of Chapter 23: Sealed Secrets