Chu'he questioned, "Why not? This is my father, your father-in-law. Don’t you want to save him?"
"Of course I do." He softened his tone slightly at the sight of Chu'he’s reddened eyes but remained firm. "Miaojiang’s method of using poison to counteract poison requires precise alignment between the toxin and the ailment. A single misstep could be fatal. Father is already weak—how could he withstand the intensity of venomous spiders and scorpions? This isn’t treatment; it’s hastening death!"
The unconscious man’s throat moved as he swallowed.
Chu'he covered her face with her hands, sobbing. "But… but how can I just watch my father lie in bed for the rest of his life?"
"No, I won’t accept it!" She lowered her hands, her eyes red but resolute. "I know my father—he’s proud and strong-willed. To lie there senseless, unable to care for himself, would be worse than death. If he could wake up right now and speak, he’d choose to take the gamble!"
Ninth hesitated for a long moment. "Then… then I’ll try the poison-counteracting method."
A black spider appeared in his hand, its body fuzzy, with large, round eyes that darted about. It looked soft and adorable, hardly like something venomous.
Doctor Wu, seeing a Miaojiang spider for the first time, squinted through his presbyopia and leaned in for a closer look.
Suddenly, the creature bared its fangs, its demeanor instantly turning sinister and terrifying.
Doctor Wu shuddered and stumbled back. "Th-this thing must be highly poisonous!"
Ninth said, "A single bite can cause either full-body decay or complete dissolution of flesh and bone."
Sweat beaded on the forehead of the man on the bed.
Doctor Wu gasped, "That’s lethal!"
"If it weren’t, it wouldn’t count as poison-counteracting." Chu'he tugged Ninth closer. "Hurry, Ninth! My father must be impatient already!"
Ninth reluctantly nodded. "Fine."
Just as he extended his hand, the man on the bed suddenly opened his eyes and barked, "Get that thing away from me!"
Chu'he rushed forward. "Father, you’re awake!"
Chu Sheng’s expression was grim.
Chu'he pressed, "Father, you’ve been unconscious for so long—there must be aftereffects. We should still treat you to be safe. Ninth—"
Chu Sheng sat bolt upright, his voice booming. "Your father is perfectly fine!"
Chu'he smirked. "What a relief. Doctor Wu made it sound so dire—I thought you might never wake up."
Doctor Wu awkwardly stroked his beard. "It’s good Master Chu is awake, very good. I have other patients to attend to, so I’ll take my leave."
The elderly man, hunched and carrying his medical case, moved with surprising speed—proof that age hadn’t dulled his vigor.
Chu Sheng found the eerie young man unbearable. He turned away and snapped, "Get out! I don’t want to see you!"
Ninth blinked but didn’t move.
Chu'he looked up. "Ninth, wait for me outside. I need to talk to my father."
Ninth obediently bowed his head. "Alright."
He left the room but glanced back once before sitting on the steps, stroking the spider’s fur and pursing his lips.
"Chu'he seems to care a lot about that old man."
"But the old man doesn’t like me."
"Big Eyes, what if he makes Chu'he abandon me?"
The spider tilted its head—such a complex question had no answer.
A servant sweeping the courtyard couldn’t help but steal glances, whether due to Ninth’s unusual appearance or his status as the young mistress’s companion.
Ninth lifted his gaze slightly.
The servant’s grip on the broom faltered, and he quickly turned away, pretending he’d seen nothing.
Ninth lowered his eyes again, plucking a tuft of fur from the spider. It jumped in pain but couldn’t escape his grasp.
"No one here likes me."
Inside the room, the standoff between father and daughter continued.
"You could marry any outstanding man—why settle for that sinister outsider?"
"Ninth is good to me. If not for him, I’d have died on the road. I love him, and I only want to marry him."
Chu Sheng fumed. "If you owe him, I’ll repay him with money!"
"I’m marrying him because I love him, not out of obligation."
"What do you even see in him?"
Chu'he answered without hesitation, "He’s handsome."
"Ghostly pale and strange—that’s handsome to you?"
"I like him exactly as he is. Even if he were a ghost, I’d still love him."
Chu Sheng’s face flushed with anger. "Fine! If you love him, I won’t stop you—but you can’t marry him. His unorthodox ways make him unfit for anything more than a kept lover. Whether you marry out or take a husband, it must be someone from a reputable family!"
His tone softened slightly. "Didn’t you bring Fang Songhe as a guest? A man like him—noble lineage, renowned since youth, righteous and principled—that’s the kind of husband you deserve!"
"Ninth and I are already married."
Chu Sheng froze.
"Our witness was none other than Fang Songhe, the famed and righteous hero of noble birth."
Chu Sheng was speechless.
Chu'he added, "Not only that—Ninth is sworn brothers with Fang Songhe. Father, if you keep insulting him, the great hero might hold a grudge against our family."
Chu Sheng’s face cycled between pale and green. "Without parental approval or a matchmaker’s word—"
"Even with those, what difference would it make? Song Chunming married someone else, so I did too. Fair, isn’t it?"
"What? That brat Song Chunming!" Chu Sheng nearly exploded in rage, ready to storm out and confront him—but then realization struck. "I see. You’re only with that Miaojiang man to spite Song Chunming—"
"No." Chu'he cut him off, pulling a hairpin from her bun and pressing it to her neck. A red dot welled up.
Chu Sheng panicked, snatching the pin away. "You’d threaten suicide for a man?!"
His pampered daughter, who feared even the slightest pain, was now risking her life for some rogue!
But Chu'he remained calm. "It doesn’t hurt. No matter how I’m injured, I heal almost instantly."
True to her word, the mark on her neck vanished before their eyes.
Chu Sheng stared in disbelief, examining her unblemished skin.
"Father, I have an extra life—but it comes at a cost."
As if sensing something, Chu Sheng looked toward the window.
Outside, the white-haired youth peeked in, his oversized spider companion (now missing patches of fur) perched on his head.
Caught, he ducked back down, pressing against the wall like a guilty thief, clutching his long hair to keep it from spilling over.
But as the wind blew, a tuft of white hair stubbornly stuck out again, swaying in the breeze—just as eye-catching as ever.
Chu Sheng had sharp eyes, but in that brief moment, he truly noticed a small wound on the young man’s neck as well.
"So," Chu'he murmured, her voice light but choked with emotion, her eyes misty, "Father, I’ll never meet someone as good as him again."
"I’ve always felt that even if I gave him everything I could offer, it still wouldn’t be enough."
"I love him—how could I ever bear to let him suffer even the slightest grievance?"
The Chu family was the wealthiest in the land, and after years in business, Chu Sheng knew all too well that everything in this world could be measured in gold.
Yet what even a thousand pieces of gold couldn’t buy… was a sincere heart.
He opened his mouth several times, but in the end, no more harsh words came out.
Outside the window, a gentle breeze rustled.
The young man, his face flushed, plucked the tiny spider from his head. In his excitement, his hands clenched too tightly, and the poor creature’s large eyes bulged as if it were about to be squashed into pulp.
"Did you hear that?"
"Big Eyes."
"Chu'he said she loves me!"
