The commotion here disturbed the several maidservants by the bed.
One of them looked up, saw Chai Xiaomi's face, froze for a moment, and then pointed at her nose, crying and cursing: "It's all your fault! It's all because of you that the Young Master insisted on participating in the New Moon Arrow Duel!"
Although the maids had never met Chai Xiaomi face to face, there was portrait after portrait of her in the study.
They had long memorized this woman's appearance in their hearts.
The Young Master had said that once he married the girl in the painting as his primary wife, he would dismiss all of them. He wouldn't want any bed-warming maids, beautiful concubines, or dancing girls anymore.
Even while he was unconscious, he was still mumbling in a daze.
Sometimes calling "Xiaomi," and sometimes "Mi'er."
However, as soon as the maid finished speaking, the finger pointing at Chai Xiaomi abruptly snapped, bending backward.
"Ah—!"
She clutched her hand and screamed repeatedly, while the other maids covered their mouths in shock.
Jiang Zhiyu immediately stepped forward to check her injury.
His head was spinning. There was a fire on one side and an injury on the other; he had to take care of everything. Could it be the dirty things inside Ouyang Rui acting up?
Seeing the angle of the bent finger becoming increasingly exaggerated, about to be broken off completely, Chai Xiaomi hurriedly reacted. She turned around and grabbed Wu Li's hand, quietly interrupting his next, even more terrifying move.
She saw that his gaze had already fallen on the maid's neck.
"Lili."
She squeezed his hand tightly and called out softly.
Wu Li was clearly someone who was extremely good at hiding his true self in front of others. If anyone saw his ruthless side, that person would definitely not survive.
Therefore, in the eyes of Jiang Zhiyu and the others, he was at most described as having a bad temper; they would never associate him with cruel bloodthirstiness.
But at this moment, the murderous intent in his eyes was surging, almost breaking through his skin, leaving it nowhere to hide.
In the original novel, after the protagonist group discovered his terrifying true colors, they regarded him as a world-destroying monster and were determined to eliminate him.
A bit of nervousness surfaced in Chai Xiaomi's heart, afraid that he would show even the slightest sign of turning dark.
Sensing the warm and soft little hand covering the back of his hand, with her fingertips pressing against his palm, gently scratching it one stroke at a time.
Wu Li only felt a subtle itch spreading in his heart, and the surging murderous intent in his eyes suddenly faded.
He subconsciously held that little hand tightly in return, looking down at her, his voice soft and slow:
"You're tickling me."
Those clear heterochromatic eyes shone with pure and innocent light, as if the scene that had just occurred had absolutely nothing to do with him.
Chai Xiaomi frowned slightly, looking at him intently, a complex expression swirling in her eyes.
Then she heard Old Ji suddenly call her from behind: "Little Xiaomi."
She turned her head.
"I have some things I want to discuss with you. Could we speak privately?"
"No."
Before she could speak, the person in front of her beat her to it. Wu Li pulled her into his arms, wrapping one arm steadily around her. His tone was extremely displeased: "What can't a bad old man like you say to her face? You have to pull a little girl aside to speak privately. Do you have any shame?"
The white cat almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. It was so angry that it gave up on magical attacks and prepared to use physical attacks directly, its cat claws about to fly over.
Chai Xiaomi scooped the fat cat into her arms.
She stroked its head a few times, finally smoothing down its bristling fur.
"Lili, you can't speak to an elder like that. He is old and can't take the anger."
The white cat nodded repeatedly on its own, its whiskers twitching: Exactly, exactly, Little Xiaomi is the sensible one.
"I'm going out with Old Ji for a bit. Wait for me here for a moment, okay?"
Chai Xiaomi vaguely felt that what Old Ji wanted to talk to her about alone must be extremely important.
But after following Old Ji a few steps toward the door, she couldn't help but look back.
Seeing the young man's slightly lonely figure standing there, her heart suddenly softened, and she immediately turned back.
She cupped his hand and pressed it against her cheek.
"I'll just be gone for a little while, I'll be right back to keep you company." She blinked her clear black-and-white almond eyes, her soft cheek gently rubbing against his palm.
Wu Li's fingertips curled, but he didn't make a sound.
"How about this," she said, "I'll give you a riddle. By the time you solve it, I'll be done talking."
He raised his eyes to look at her.
Chai Xiaomi tilted her head and thought for a moment, counting on her fingers:
"Kitten, puppy, little hedgehog, chick, duckling, little rabbit, lamb, calf, little fox—"
She paused and winked at him.
"Tell me, who is the best looking among them?"
Wu Li still had a boyish nature. Hearing that it was a riddle to solve, his competitive spirit was aroused. He frowned slightly and began to think seriously.
"Take your time thinking, I'll be right back."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards the door.
When she reached the door, she looked back again.
The young man still had his head down, staring at his fingertips with downcast eyelashes, as if he were pondering a highly complex problem.
She subconsciously pursed her lips and smiled.
Seeing this, Old Ji shook his head helplessly and sighed.
Young people, after all, are too easily entangled by love and romance, and some even let it go to their heads.
The courtyards in the Ouyang Mansion were deep and the scenery was pleasant.
The white cat chose a pavilion in the middle of the lake and leisurely leaped onto a stone stool.
With its cat claws forming a seal, it specially set up a barrier to prevent the outside world from hearing the sounds inside.
Chai Xiaomi watched its series of actions suspiciously. What was so secretive?
She saw it finish its work and sit upright like an extremely well-behaved cat before speaking: "Little Xiaomi, I have a particularly important matter to ask you, and I implore you to tell me the truth."
"Mhm, ask away."
"Since you and Wu Li are husband and wife, have you met his parents?"
Chai Xiaomi's eyelids twitched.
She thought to herself that this was bad. Old Ji had indeed noticed something. In the original story, it was the first to discover Wu Li's dark side that ran contrary to justice, and it persuaded Jiang Zhiyu to stay away from him. Even to destroy him.
She froze for a moment, then immediately smiled: "Old Ji, what kind of question is that? An ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her parents-in-law sooner or later, let alone a beautiful one like me. Naturally, I've met them. They are all in the tribe. Could it be that you want to meet them too?"
But the fleeting evasion in the girl's eyes could not deceive the deeply experienced elder.
"Oh?" The white cat's pupils shifted slightly, filled with profound meaning.
It was just such a coincidence that they both had the surname Wu and looked so similar.
It could have originally brushed these off with the word "coincidence."
There weren't many surnames in the Miao tribe to begin with, so sharing a surname wasn't unusual. And the Wu Gu tribe had intermarried internally for years, so similar appearances also made sense.
But the evil aura and murderous intent bursting from that young man had been detected by it time and time again.
That aura was exactly the same as what it felt back then when it forcefully broke the Gu and suffered a backlash.
"Little Xiaomi, I know you are a kind-hearted and good girl." The white cat's aged voice was tinged with the traces of time, and when it reached her, it was like turning a page of an old book.
"Today, I will tell you a story from the past."
"The Wu Gu tribe once had a Holy Maiden who was injured while traveling and was rescued by our Lord. She fell deeply in love with our Lord at first sight. Our Lord was kind-hearted and just treated her as an ordinary woman, wanting to send her back. But the woman refused, and in the end, she actually planted a Love Gu in him."
"The power of the Gu parasite, bound by the Holy Maiden's blood, was extraordinary. Our Lord was deeply ensnared, unable to free himself."
"Later, when I realized things were taking a dark turn, I cast a spell to forcefully break the curse. But the backlash of the malevolent energy and the Gu poison was too fierce. It completely destroyed my physical body, leaving behind only my spiritual core and vital essence. Fortunately, my master summoned a white cat whose astrological destiny matched my own. He transferred my core and essence into the cat's body, which is the only reason this old man has managed to survive to this day."
"After the love Gu was forcefully broken, our Lord was consumed by fury. He used a magical artifact to banish and seal that woman in the dungeon."
"Because I exposed her lies, she hated me to the bone. Day and night, she would scream from the dungeon, swearing to skin me alive and rip out my tendons. She was the one who committed such filthy deeds, yet she shifted the blame onto others."
A trace of lingering anger seemed to remain on the white cat's face.
Chai Xiaomi froze, her pupils shrinking sharply.
She did not speak for a long time.
So that was the truth...
The curse Wu Li had borne since childhood, the hatred he had been nurtured on, were all born from his mother's one-sided delusion.
Her love had turned into a toxic obsession, so much so that even in death, she refused to mention or admit that she had planted the love Gu with her own hands.
She made everyone believe she was the victim of betrayal.
She would rather convince herself that he was a heartless, unfaithful man than believe the truth—that he had never loved her.
And so, hatred became her only pillar of support.
She planted this hatred deep into her child's flesh and blood, much like planting a curse that could never be broken.
