After provoking the holy maiden of Miao territory, she was infected with a love curse.

A dignified and solemn old man sat in the center of the hall, his long robe with intricate patterns trailing on the ground, and his ebony cane resting horizontally on his lap.

With a flowing white beard, the old man closed his eyes to rest, seemingly lost in thought.

"High Priest, I've found the medicinal herbs you requested. Now, I can finally go see A-Che!"

Despite the man's simple clothes, his muscular build, and his unremarkable appearance, which could only be described as barely decent, he was still quite handsome.

But he was no ordinary person; he was the young leader of a bandit stronghold.

This bandit stronghold was not run by Han Chinese, but by Miao people who had long been separated from the local community.

This is why the high priest was willing to make contact with them.

Goods from the mountains are valuable and can fetch a good price, but finding buyers is difficult.

There's a rule in the village that anyone who leaves the Silver Moon River is no longer considered a Miao person from the village. Therefore, whenever they want to resell goods, they can only pretend to be hunters from the mountains on the way.

They resold the goods to the merchants who transported them.

Eager to get rid of it.

The vendors were particularly good at bargaining, which meant that even when they bartered, they couldn't get anything of value.

At this point, cooperating with established seedling growers is a safe and reliable option.

They would organize the goods and sell them to the Miao people, who would then transport them out via the canal controlled by the Miao. The goods would not pass through other people's hands and could be sold for a good price in Lingshui City, so that they could use them to buy daily necessities.

A mutually beneficial thing for both sides.

The Shu Miao are now under the rule of the Miao King. The High Priest has some disagreements with the Shu Miao people for going against the wishes of their ancestors, but he also knows that the Miao King's relationship with the court is tense and he cannot do without the support of the Shu Miao.

Then they stopped making noise.

Do not mention the mature Miao people in front of the Miao King.

Hearing Lü Panshan's booming voice, which sounded like a broken gong, the high priest slowly opened his eyes. He took a breath and then said, "I have not been concerned about the Holy Maiden's arrival."

He stood up, leaning on his ebony cane.

The high priest's eyes were expressionless as he turned to look at the medicinal herbs brought by the bandits who had accompanied Lü Panshan.

Upon hearing the high priest's words, Lü Panshan's mind began to stir.

Sang Che is now completely blind and has lost his mobility. He needs to be served even when eating and sleeping, and he stays in the village all the time.

Where else can we go?

As he was thinking, Lü Panshan turned to his men and said, "Just leave the medicinal herbs here. Bring the rest of the things on the ship over here as well."

Several shirtless boatmen bowed their heads.

"Yes, young master."

He led his people away triumphantly.

The high priest put down the medicinal herbs. He had mentioned to Lü Panshan many times that the Holy Maiden had a predestined marriage, a red thread that would bury her bones.

But this guy just wouldn't believe it, and kept pestering the Holy Maiden again and again. No matter how he tried to persuade her, Lü Panshan would just let it go in one ear and out the other, completely ignoring it.

The high priest could only shake his head helplessly.

If the Holy Maiden were to lose her temper, all the poisonous insects of Phoenix Cry Mountain would probably devour Lü Panshan, leaving not even a trace.

He can speak to the Miao King because of his family's power, but that doesn't mean the Holy Maiden has to cater to him. How could someone like him possibly covet the Holy Maiden, who has pure bloodline of Chi You?

The high priest took the medicinal herbs and carefully examined them to see if there was anything wrong with them, or if they had lost their medicinal properties.

These were also specially ordered by the Miao King to be prepared for the Holy Maiden. Lü Panshan really knows how to "borrow flowers to present to Buddha".

He wanted to see what would happen to Lü Panshan if he offended the Holy Maiden.

Even if the Miao King had spoken up for Lü Panshan at that time, the Holy Maiden probably wouldn't have let go of tormenting him.

...

Walking on the bluestone slabs of the village, I looked into the distance and saw the blue tiles stretching as far as the eye could see, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys.

Lü Panshan was in a very good mood.

The boatman followed behind him, carrying the box, and was covered in sweat from exhaustion.

Everyone in the village knew Lü Panshan and his background, so no one went up to greet him.

"Why is he here again?"

The two of them leaned against the window, watching Lü Panshan's impressive display of power, as if he wanted the whole village to know that he had come to see Sang Che.

"They really are persistent, aren't they? Are they really that determined to leave an impression on the Holy Maiden?"

"Would it be his turn? If he knew that the Holy Maiden's other half was destined to be infected with a love potion, he would probably be scared out of his wits."

"How could you possibly be parading around here like this?"

That's true.

The reason why Gu is Gu is that the person who casts Gu can completely control everything about the person who is Gu, including their body and mind.

The same applies to love potions.

Once infected with the love potion, one will fall irrevocably in love with the one who cast the potion, against their own will, and be willing to go through fire and water for the other person, giving their whole heart and soul.

Even if it drains my life force, I'd be willing to do it.

Those who are infected with the love potion often meet a tragic end. Most of these people are unfaithful in relationships, fickle, and their deaths are often met with applause.

...

The blood-red Gu worm lay quietly in the small box, its breath rising and falling.

This is a "love potion" that Sang Che had already prepared.

She gently traced the outline of the red worm's body with her fingertips, but her mind continued to imagine Yin Huaixi's face.

I witnessed my eyes gradually deteriorate from clear vision to partial blindness, and then to complete blindness.

Sang Che endured a great deal of suffering.

She became sensitive and suspicious, and would overthink even the slightest thing.

Having spent these past few days together, how could Sang Che not sense Yin Huaixi's constant urge to run away?

She neither exposed the issue nor made any threats.

If Yin Huaixi is truly determined to leave her side, Sang Che will indeed implant the love potion into her body.

Let Yin Huaixi belong to her completely.

Skilled in using Gu techniques to control Gu worms.

For ordinary Miao women, this would be as difficult as climbing to the sky, but for Sang Che, it was just a matter of moving his fingers.

"Ache, someone is calling you."

"Shall we go down and take a look?"

Having been here for several days, Yin Huaixi had already adapted to her new identity; she was safe as long as she stayed by Sang Che's side.

Regardless of what kind of strange insects or snakes, or what kind of strange people, Yin Huaixi approached Sang Che's vicinity.

Everything will disappear completely.

Fortunately, Yin Huaixi stayed with Sang Che. Anyway, the female lead hadn't turned evil yet; she just gave Yin Huaixi a morbid illusion for a moment.

Most of the time, Sang Che and I can get along well.

Yin Huaixi was wearing an ordinary dark red dress. She twisted her hair with her fingers, leaned against the door, called out Sang Che's name twice, and then knocked on the wooden door with her knuckles.

It makes a "bang bang" sound.

Only then did he walk in.

Sang Che remained calm and hid the love potion in her sleeve. She then pretended to be bewildered, groping on the table with her hands as she stumbled to her feet.

"Who called me?"

Seeing Sang Che like this, Yin Huaixi's heart softened, and she was about to step forward to help him up.

Just as her fingers touched Sang Che's wrist, the sound of footsteps echoed outside the door. Lü Panshan walked briskly, his forehead wrapped in a turban, silver ornaments swaying.

"Ah Che!"

The shout was followed by a choked sob that the rest of the words could not be uttered.

Lu Panshan watched in disbelief as a Han Chinese woman reached out and grabbed Sang Che's wrist. He staggered backward and bumped into the boatman who had come with him.

The box in the boatman's hands fell to the ground with a thud.