Her eyes were wide open and the sudden pain almost made her scream out loud.
Had her throat not been sealed off, she might already be screaming by now.
The pain that followed this initial spike became harder to endure.
Her toes were curled up and a layer of glistening sweat had formed on her forehead.
In Lin Jin’s eyes, the curse within He Yu’s body was on a rampage. However, as it was being blocked off by the spirit sealing needles, it could only retreat to where Lin Jin intended it to go.
Out in the yard, Lu Bin was staring at the building, waiting in silence. He Qing, who was as anxious started pacing back and forth, mumbling under her breath.
“This Lin guy is definitely a con artist. If he fails later on, just wait and see how I’ll berate him.” After a few more steps, she got closer to the hall to sneak a peek at what they were doing inside but was pulled back by Lu Bin.
“I’m just trying to take a look. I won’t make a sound, what gives?” He Qing said. Seeing how Lu Bin didn’t respond, she knew that there was no room for negotiation.
“Hmph! Anyway, when that person I’m waiting for shows up, they’ll definitely be able to remove Sister Yu’s curse.”
Lu Bin hadn’t heard about this because he wasn’t in the imperial city lately.
“Oh ho, Seventh Princess, did you go off to find He Yu a doctor too?” Since he was bored, Lu Bin decided that maybe a little chat with He Qing was alright.
“Doctor?” He Qing scoffed loudly. “The expert I sought isn’t a doctor but is far better than that. When he comes, he’ll surely remove Sister Yu’s curse.”
Both her tone and behavior reflected how confident she was.
As Lu Bin was no stranger to He Qing’s personality, he didn’t mind it. Even if He Qing was merely joking about the matter, he would never doubt the bond shared between the two sisters.
He Yu had been shouldering this curse since a young age so all her life, most of the royal family tried their best to avoid her. Perhaps they were afraid that the curse would be transferred to themselves, they stayed away from He Yu.
Only He Qing, who was the closest to this sister of hers and came to visit her frequently.
Lu Bin’s general indifference towards the rest of the royal family did not apply to He Qing.
“Seventh Princess, you should have understood by now the significance of the curse on the Sixth Princess. For decades, none of the girls who contracted this curse could live past their coming of age ceremony. There are only ten days left until Sixth Princess’s coming of age ceremony. This Appraiser Lin I’ve invited is truly capable. Didn’t I tell you how the pain grows as one nears their death? Forget walking, the past hosts couldn’t even get out of bed at this point. It was due Appraiser Lin’s prescription that the Sixth Princess is as energetic as she is now. I do not doubt the person you’ve hired, but we simply cannot afford to let what remains of our precious time slip away.”
He Qing digested his words before finally understanding what he meant.
So he still didn’t believe her after all.
He Qing flared up in anger.
“Uncle Lu, I think you’re the one wasting your time. That Lin guy is so young so how good can he be? Hmph, forget it! There’s no point in talking to you anymore since you don’t believe me. When my guy shows up, you’ll know how amazing he is.”
Indignant, He Qing chose to stay quiet after that.
Lu Bin gave a helpless laugh and said no more.
Speaking of which, Lin Jin’s treatment was taking quite a while.
Inside the hall.
He Yu’s face was ghastly pale. For several times the pain was so excruciating that it almost knocked her unconscious, and yet, she couldn’t. Every passing moment, her mind only got clearer and more awake.
Her large watery eyes were fixated on Lin Jin. It was unclear whether she was trying to convey her hatred or if she was begging for mercy through her gaze.
However, Lin Jin who was still performing the acupuncture wasn’t any better off.
His face was white as a sheet and his forehead was covered in sweat. Despite doing a seemingly easy task like poking needles, the amount of energy required for the process was exhausting.
Each administering of the needle chipped away at his reservoir of spirit energy.
Since the beginning of the treatment, he had administered over a hundred needles by now. One could only imagine how much spirit energy had been spent in the process. Lin Jin even had to swallow two pills just to replenish his spirit energy.
Fortunately, things were coming along as he planned. The raging curse within He Yu had now been forced out of her every organ and redirected over to her right hand.
If they were to look at He Yu’s right arm now, there should be a purple blotch and this spot was still moving toward her palm and fingers.
Simultaneously, an enraged roar came from inside one of the imperial city’s temples.
The next instant, the sky above the Jade Dragon City was covered with ominous grey clouds.
It was so bright outside that no one expected the weather to change so suddenly.
The folks hastened their pace while the elderly looked up at the sky and commented, “Looks like it’s about to rain.”
Peddlers began closing up their stalls. Those with umbrellas opened them up. Women dashed out of their homes to put the laundry away to prevent their clothes from being drenched by the rain.
In the royal palace, emperor He Qian hurried out of his imperial hall, his expression shifting as he stared at the temple in the distance.
“Where is Minister Yu?”
He Qian asked and someone answered, “Minister Yu has gone to the Dragon Temple to investigate the incident.”
Right after this response, someone came over, riding the wind to deliver a report, “Your Highness, something’s happened.”
Shortly after, Minister Yu could be seen with an ominous expression as he led a group of soldiers to the sixth princess, He Yu’s quarters.
They were stopped at the door by Lu Bin.
At the sight of Lu Bin, in spite of his hostile demeanor, Minister Yu remained courteous. “General Lu, why are you here?”
Lu Bin clearly wasn’t fond of this Minister Yu guy either. “Oh, I didn’t know I had to report to you where I’m going, Minister Yu?”
“Haha, very funny, General Lu.” Minister Yu craned his neck to take a look inside the hall but Lu Bin took a step forward, blocking his sight. “Minister Yu, aren’t you supposed to be in the midst of managing our nation’s military affairs? Why are you here in the back palace? Do you have that much time that you’re able to go on a frolick?”
His words weren’t pleasant and were laced with heavy provocation. Minister Yu didn’t mind it though. As he was about to speak, the dark cloud above suddenly began to disperse as rays of sunlight reappeared. This baffled him slightly.
“I’m just leading the troops around for a patrol, nothing much.” Then, Minister Yu noticed He Qing in the yard and saluted. “I see that Seventh Princess is here as well.”
“Greetings, Minister Yu!” He Qing was behaving rather appropriately this time.
She would only be straightforward and unreserved to those she was familiar with, but to outsiders, He Qing could be very ladylike if she wanted to.
“Where is the sixth princess?” Minister Yu asked.
Just then, a voice called from inside, “Who’s talking out there?”
It was He Yu’s voice.
Soon, a somewhat pale-faced He Yu emerged. Upon seeing the crowd outside, she smiled faintly at them and asked, “What bring Minister Yu and your army here?”
Minister Yu’s eyes scanned He Yu carefully but found nothing out of the ordinary so he responded, “It’s nothing. I’m only here on orders to patrol the palace grounds. Sorry to have disturbed you, princesses.”
Having said that, he led the soldiers away to report the situation to Emperor He Qian.
He Yu didn’t seem at all startled by this scene. But what did surprise her was how comfortable she felt right now as if the mountain on her shoulders had finally been lifted.
Although she still looked frail, there was renewed vigor in her gaze and her eyes didn’t seem to be shrouded by despair like before. They were now bright and translucent, just like a normal young girl’s.
Right after Minister Yu left, He Qing hurried over to ask about her condition. Lu Bin studied her appearance and was thrilled when he noticed the change in He Yu.
His delight came from realizing how He Yu’s condition was much better than before. Prior to this, He Yu had to rely on the nine water floating cloud pill to stay out of bed but her energy remained at lower levels, being constantly dispirited.
But now, though she still looked somewhat pale, some color was at least restored to her face and more importantly, she seemed much more vibrant than before.