Xu Jinxin teased her.
“You’re not afraid?” Nina flicked her hand, and a little snake flew out of her pouch.
Su Xian let out a startled cry.
She immediately shielded Duoduo and Yingniang behind her.
“Mother, don’t be afraid!”
“It’s Nina’s gu worm.” Duoduo tugged at Su Xian’s hand.
Xu Jinxin had only been momentarily stunned when she first saw it.
She had merely heard that the women of Miaojiang were skilled in using gu.
Once, when she had traveled to Miaojiang, a tour guide had told her that if a woman there invited you to drink water or visit her home, you had to be careful.
In Miaojiang, you should never casually drink water handed to you by someone else.
Nor should you recklessly provoke the people there.
Because who knew when they might place a gu worm inside your body?
For handsome men, they would use love gu, making the men fall in love with them and stay in southern Xinjiang to marry and have children.
For those who bullied them, they would use all kinds of gu.
Some gu were simply poisonous and would cause their victims to die when the poison took effect.
Others could eat away at a person’s brain, eventually turning them into a walking corpse.
The most frightening kind was used to control people and force them to carry out their commands.
And once someone had been infected with a gu, unless the person who had placed it removed it, the gu would remain attached to its host for the rest of their life.
A trace of worry flashed through Xu Jinxin’s eyes.
She looked at Duoduo. “That’s her gu. Is yours the bug from earlier?”
Duoduo stepped out from behind Su Xian and nodded.
“Yes, Aunt Xu. This is Little Gold!”
“It’s very cute!”
Without revealing her concern, Xu Jinxin drew Duoduo toward her and studied the bug in the child’s palm.
“Miss Nina, what’s the difference between your gu and the Princess’s?”
Seeing that Xu Jinxin did not recoil from her gu like everyone else, Nina developed a favorable impression of her.
“Mine is a Bonded-Heart Gu. It was raised on my blood from the time it was born.”
“The Princess’s gu only recognized its master today.”
“As far as sharing a connection of the heart goes, the Princess’s gu certainly can’t compare.”
Nina had no intention of explaining anything more.
The women who raised gu generally told outsiders very little about them.
That was because the gu were closely connected to their owners.
If someone managed to kill one of their gu, the owner would easily suffer a backlash.
They might even lose their life.
Xu Jinxin understood that Nina had certainly not told her the whole truth.
“I’ve heard that your gu come in all sorts of varieties?”
“Spiders, venomous scorpions, poisonous toads?”
With each creature Xu Jinxin named, the expression on Su Xian’s face changed.
“Why are they all poisonous creatures? Wouldn’t it be better to raise so many cute animals instead?” Xu Jinxin asked what Su Xian had been wondering herself.
Nina was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Cute creatures have no means of attacking.”
“They would lose in a gu battle!”
“Aunt Xu, they hold gu-fighting competitions every year where Nina comes from.”
“The winners can receive a great deal of money.”
“And after winning, they can go to a mountain and choose an even more powerful gu!” Duoduo excitedly explained on Nina’s behalf.
Xu Jinxin understood.
So it all came down to winning and losing.
That made sense to her now.
“Then is the Princess’s little bug poisonous too?”
Nina nodded. “Of course there is. It’s just small right now, so its poison isn’t very potent yet.”
The moment Su Xian heard this, she grabbed Duoduo’s hand tightly.
“Duoduo, give the insect back to Miss Nina!”
“If you want a pet, Mother can have someone buy you a cat or a dog. Wouldn’t that be better?”
Nina shook her head.
“It’s too late!”
“Once a gu insect acknowledges its master, it won’t leave them unless it dies!”
“And if it dies, its master will suffer severe injuries at best—and may lose their life at worst!”
Su Xian’s hands began to tremble.
“Duoduo, you…”
“No! We’re going to find The Prince!”
“It’s still early. We’ll think of a way to get rid of this…”
As Su Xian spoke, she pulled Duoduo toward the door.
Duoduo hurriedly tugged her back.
“Mother! Mother! Listen to me first!”
“Su Xian, hear Duoduo out,” Xu Jinxin also said, helping Duoduo hold Su Xian back.
Unable to move with the two of them pulling at her, Su Xian simply stopped.
“Fine! I’ll listen!”
Duoduo blinked.
She could tell that her mother was angry!
“Mother, I checked my own pulse. I’m perfectly healthy. I haven’t been poisoned.”
“And besides, Mother, Little Gold isn’t the first poisonous creature I’ve raised.”
“Master Zhang also gave me a golden toad.”
“It’s poisonous too!”
Su Xian’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
Duoduo had already been raising poisonous creatures for so long—how had she known nothing about it?
Seeing Su Xian sway unsteadily, Duoduo hurried to hold on to her.
“Mother, you don’t need to worry. I know what I’m doing!”
“I promise you, I’ll be careful. I won’t put myself in danger!”
Seeing how anxious Duoduo was, and the panic and self-reproach on Su Xian’s face, Xu Jinxin patted Su Xian on the arm.
“If I had Duoduo’s abilities, I’d want to play with them too.”
“Besides, Duoduo is very sensible. Don’t worry over nothing!”
“The Prince agreed to it. Surely he knows how serious this is?”
“Duoduo, your mother is only worried about you. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Remember what Nina said. You must protect your Little Gold properly, understand?”
Xu Jinxin ruffled Duoduo’s hair.
Little Gold, which had been curled up in Duoduo’s palm, suddenly raised its head.
Nina’s eyes lit up.
“Huh? Little Gold actually reacted?”
Nina’s words left Xu Jinxin and Su Xian completely bewildered.
Nina rolled her eyes thoughtfully.
“Princess, let me attack you with my gu insect. Just pretend to be frightened.”
“No!” Before Duoduo could answer, Su Xian was the first to object.
She pulled Duoduo behind her.
“I absolutely will not allow you to hurt Duoduo!”
Duoduo helplessly shook her head at Nina.
With a regretful look, Nina withdrew her hand and went to sit off to the side to eat some pastries.
She wasn’t stupid.
It was obvious that the Princess was extremely wary of her.
All the pastries in Duoduo’s room were made with mung beans.
They tasted quite good too.
Nina ate them with great relish.
Su Xian felt that she should still tell The Prince about this.
What kind of girl played with insects?
If word got out, Duoduo’s reputation would be ruined!
When that happened, never mind finding a husband to marry into the family—even if she wanted to marry her off, there probably wouldn’t be anyone brave enough to take her.
Seeing the look on Su Xian’s face, Xu Jinxin leaned close and whispered a few words in her ear.
Su Xian turned to look at Xu Jinxin in surprise.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask The Prince yourself when you get back,” Xu Jinxin explained.
“Come on. Yingniang and I should be heading back now. Walk me out.”
With that, Xu Jinxin looped her arm through Su Xian’s without waiting for a response, took Yingniang by the hand, and said goodbye to Duoduo.
“Duoduo, Aunt Xu is heading back with Yingniang now.”
Duoduo was reluctant to see them go.
“Then, Aunt Xu, bring Sister over to play often!”
Xu Jinxin nodded and led Su Xian and Yingniang away.
Only after their figures had disappeared from view did Duoduo turn back to look at Nina.
“Come on.”
