Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Xilun took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing his chaotic thoughts.

What he needs to do now is to focus on solving the immediate treatment problem.

The coexistence of toxicity and pollution—this is the most challenging situation.

He must first suppress the spread of parasite contamination with the whiteness of the sacred bud of prayer, stabilizing his spiritual core. At the same time, he must use medicine to slow down the rate of viral destruction.

Suppressing both ends simultaneously creates a window of opportunity for treatment.

Five days.

He only has five days.

Moreover, during these five days, he not only had to treat his illness, but also had to be wary of the eyes lurking in the shadows.

Xilun walked back to the guest room and closed the door.

He took out a purifying incense stick from his luggage and lit it.

Wisps of smoke rose, and the air was filled with a bitter yet tranquil herbal fragrance.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.

Practice the Moon Memory Meditation Method.

In his spiritual world, the tender green light of the sacred buds trembled gently in the depths of his consciousness, and the whiteness among the branches and leaves breathed in and out like breathing.

He needs to get the preparations for the first pressure test done today.

A treatment plan has already taken shape in my mind—

The first step is to use medication to suppress the spread of the virus.

The second step is to use the white intention of the holy bud to cleanse the contamination of the parasite.

The third step is to use a poison-on-poison approach to eliminate the first virus during the window period after the contamination is suppressed.

Every step was fraught with danger.

But he had no other choice.

This was not only a matter of Chief Link's life or death—it was also a matter of his own safety in this manor.

If the chieftain dies, Risa's accusations will become irrefutable evidence.

An outsider carrying an elder's token arrived at the manor, and the patient he treated died the very next day.

At that time, no matter what the truth is, he, Xilun, will not be able to escape responsibility.

and so--

Chief Link must live.

At the very least, I can't die at his hands.

Xilun opened his eyes.

The smoke from the purifying incense slowly drifted before him, like a gray-white snake.

He stood up and straightened his clothes.

I pushed open the door and walked into the hallway.

It was already dark outside.

One by one, the gaslights in the manor lit up, outlining the buildings in the twilight.

The training ground in the distance was quiet, with only the rustling of the wind through the oak trees.

Siren walked along the corridor toward the east wing.

He paused as he passed a half-open window.

On the lawn outside the window, a small, thin figure was squatting next to a flower bed.

Susie.

She was squatting in front of a clump of roses, holding something in her hand—it was hard to see clearly, but it looked like a cookie.

She wasn't eating.

Instead, he held the cookie and stared blankly at the flower in front of him.

In the twilight, her profile looked exceptionally thin, like a piece of paper crumpled by the wind.

Xilun looked at it for two seconds, then looked away.

Keep going.

His footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, one after another, unhurried and unhurried.

Darkness was seeping from every corner of the manor.

……

The manor was shrouded in a thin twilight at dusk.

The flames of the gas lamps shone through the glass shades, casting dim, yellowish circles on the corridor floor tiles.

Xilun stood at the end of the corridor in the west wing guest rooms, looking towards the east wing in the distance, his fingers lightly tapping the railing.

He had just come out of the patriarch's bedroom.

The parasite deep within the old man's heart remained stable, like a black rivet driven into his flesh—neither expanding nor contracting, but simply and slowly absorbing his life force.

Virus number one, however, is even more troublesome.

It is different from pollution; it is not a spiritual erosion, but a real biological destruction.

The virus is breaking down the organ membranes of the patriarch, and if it is not contained within three days, the internal organs will begin to rot irreversibly.

Fighting poison with poison is the only way.

But the prerequisite is that he must first know the specific components and characteristics of Virus Number One.

This means he needs to pry something out of people within the Link family.

David knew about the existence of Virus One, but he clearly didn't know the details.

Risa - Xiren doesn't want to contact her for the time being.

The woman was in a highly sensitive state at that moment; any approach would be seen as a threat or a test.

Moreover, if she really was the one who poisoned the poison, asking her directly would only alert her.

Xilun's gaze fell on a door at the end of the corridor.

Daisy's room.

He thought for a moment, then stepped over.

When I got to the door, there was a maid standing on each of the two pillars.

They were wearing dark gray uniform skirts, their hair neatly tied up. When they saw Xilun approaching, they straightened their backs slightly, their eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

Xilun stopped in front of the door and knocked three times.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor.

A moment later, the door opened from the inside.

Daisy stood in the doorway.

She changed into a light-colored silk nightgown, her long hair draped over her shoulders, and her face, devoid of the dignified makeup she wore during the day, revealed a hint of weariness.

She was clearly taken aback when she saw the person standing outside the door.

"Silon?"

"Sorry to bother you," Siren said, her tone flat and direct. "I want to ask you something."

Daisy's gaze swept across Xiren's face, then glanced at the maids on either side.

The maids lowered their heads, pretending not to notice anything.

She paused for two seconds, then nodded slightly.

"it is good."

Xilun stepped into the room.

Daisy's room was much simpler than he had imagined—ivory walls, a large bed covered with light blue embroidered sheets, and a small lamp with a frosted lampshade on the bedside table.

On the low table by the window, there was a row of exquisite candy boxes and several plush toys, and two small boxes of finely packaged pastries were piled on the corner of the table.

Those things were clearly not prepared for Daisy herself.

The door was not closed.

The door was half-open, and the maids waited quietly outside the corridor—this was the custom.

Xilun did not sit down, but stood in the center of the room, looked around, and then looked away.

Daisy stood opposite him, her hands unconsciously twisting the cuffs of her nightgown, as if she hadn't quite come to her senses about being knocked on the door in the middle of the night.

"You say it," she said softly.

Xilun pondered for a moment.

He didn't start by asking about parasites or poisoning—those were too direct and too sensitive.

"Your father's illness has worsened," he stated a fact first.

Daisy's fingers tightened slightly.

"...I know, David told me."

Her voice was soft, but steady.

"During my follow-up examination today, we discovered that someone injected your father with something called Virus Number One," Siren said, looking into her eyes. "It's accelerating the destruction of his bodily functions."

Daisy's breathing visibly paused for a beat.

Her face appeared even paler under the light.

"Number One..."

How much do you know about this virus?

Daisy slowly shook her head.

"Not much," she said, her voice slightly hoarse. "I only know that some dangerous things are sealed in the family's secret vault, but I've never come into contact with them."

She paused, then added, "This virus... is rarely mentioned within the family. Ordinary family members have no idea it exists, and have never even heard of it."

Xilun nodded.

This is consistent with his prediction.

Virus Number One—something that can be numbered and sealed in a classified warehouse usually means two things: extreme danger and that only a very few people can access it.

"And what do you think," Siren said calmly, as if discussing something trivial, "is anyone in your family who could have been exposed to this virus?"

Daisy remained silent for a few seconds.

She lowered her head, and unconsciously began to snap the fingers of her right hand one by one.

“Several elders can do it,” she said. “The vault is under their control; they can open it with an elder’s decree and key… Elder Karaf, Elder Hern, and…”

Her voice paused.

Xiren paused for a moment, then asked, "Where is your mother?"

Daisy suddenly looked up.

She looked at Xilen, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes—not anger, but more like a kind of expected helplessness.

"You suspect my mother?"

"It's not a suspicion," Xilen shook his head, his tone flat. "I'm just asking."

Daisy lowered her gaze and remained silent for a long time.

Faint footsteps of a maid could be heard from outside the corridor; she was probably changing her stance.

"My mother... should be able to get it."

Daisy's voice lowered.

"She is the clan chief's wife. Although she does not have the formal title of elder, she has always kept the secondary key to the treasury. This is a family tradition."

She looked up at Xilun, her eyes filled with earnestness.

"But...she's always had a very good relationship with her father. At least as far as I can remember, she's never done anything to hurt him. I don't think she...would do that."

Xilun did not respond.

He noticed that Daisy used the word "should".

It's not "absolutely not," it's not "impossible"—it's "should."

There was a hint of uncertainty hidden in that word, one that she herself might not have even noticed.

Xilun did not press further.

He changed direction.

"Where's David?"

"Um?"

"Can David get his hands on Virus Number One?"

Daisy thought for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly.

"He's the eldest son, and he's currently in charge of the family's actual affairs... that should be fine, right?"

When she said this, her tone was completely unguarded, even somewhat matter-of-fact—as if she had never considered that her brother would be involved in this matter.

Xilun silently noted down this information.

He drew a line in his mind—those who could come into contact with Virus Number One included at least several elders, Risa, and David.

The scope is not large, but each one is sensitive enough.

He was silent for a long time.

The only sound in the room was the occasional soft crackling of the light bulb wick.

Daisy stood there, quietly waiting for his next question.

Xilun suddenly changed the subject.

"Your sister," he said.

"Susie?"

"Yes." Xiren's gaze fell on the candy boxes and plush toys on the low table. "I've met her a few times in the past two days, and I think her personality is very...unusual."

He didn't use words like "strange" or "abnormal".

Daisy's expression changed.

It wasn't defensiveness, but a soft, complex expression tinged with heartache.

She walked to the low table and reached out to touch the ears of the largest teddy bear.

"Susie wasn't like this before."

She said softly.

"She was very lively and cheerful when she was little. Although she was not the family's biological daughter, her father always raised her as his own daughter."

A gentle, nostalgic tone crept into Daisy's voice.

"There are probably two reasons why she's become the way she is now."

Xilun listened quietly.

"The first reason... is her mother."

Daisy sat down on the edge of the bed, placing her hands on her knees.

"Susie's biological mother used to be our family's maid. That aunt was very skilled, especially in making pastries and all kinds of snacks—Susie's love for sweets developed from that time."

She paused for a moment.

"Unfortunately, that aunt later fell ill. It wasn't anything serious, and at first, no one paid much attention, thinking it was just a common cold. But after a while, it suddenly got worse."

Daisy's tone became very flat, so flat that it sounded somewhat unnatural.

"They couldn't save him; he passed away very quickly."

Xilun narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Died of illness?"

"Yes." Daisy nodded. "Susie was very young at the time, but she always remembered it."

After her mother passed away, she refused to speak or eat for a long time—except for pastries. It seemed that only food that tasted similar to her mother's could calm her down.

Xilun thought for a moment.

A maid accidentally died of illness.

In the estate of a viscount family.

It sounds reasonable, but Xiren has been in the North for too long and has developed an instinct—any seemingly reasonable death is worth thinking about a little more.

He didn't press further, but waited for Daisy to give her second reason.

"The second reason..."

Daisy's voice lowered even further.

"About four years ago."

Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her skirt.

"Susie suddenly fell seriously ill, very suddenly, without any prior warning."

"Seriously ill?"

"Well... the family doctor said it seemed like we had accidentally contracted some kind of virus."

Xilun's pupils contracted slightly.

--Virus.

This word, like a fine needle, precisely pierced the center of his attention.

"What virus?"

"I don't know." Daisy shook her head. "The situation was very urgent at the time, and everyone was busy saving lives. No one was careful to trace the source of the infection. Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and the patient quickly stabilized."

She paused, her voice growing softer and softer.

"But after she was rescued... Susie changed."

"It's changed?"

"Hmm." Daisy pursed her lips. "She's become listless. She doesn't talk much and doesn't interact with other people."

She used to love chasing butterflies in the garden, learning to bake pastries from the cook, and pestering me to tell her stories… but after that, she was like a completely different person.

Daisy looked at the toys and pastry boxes on the table, her eyes slightly reddening.

"I'm afraid she'll be lonely, so I often take her out to play. All those candies, pastries, plush toys... are things I prepare for her. As long as she's even a little bit happy, I feel that's enough."

There was an undisguised heartache in her voice.

Xilun glanced at her.

You can feel that Daisy truly cherishes this sister who is not related to her by blood.

The sheer number of plush toys, the variety of pastry boxes, the worn-smooth edges of toys on the low table—these details don't lie.

But what Siren cared about was something else entirely.

four years ago.

A mysterious viral infection.

After being infected, her personality changed drastically—she became silent, socially withdrawn, and emotionally unresponsive.

This perfectly matches what he had been talking about with Susie these past two days.

The girl who kept asking him, "When are you leaving?"

That girl who remained unmoved in the face of her father's serious illness.

That small, thin figure squatting in front of the flowerbed in the twilight, staring blankly at the flowers while holding a cookie.

If it were just a regular viral infection, it shouldn't have left such profound long-term effects.

unless--

That's not an ordinary virus.

unless--

That "accidental infection" was not an accident at all.

Xilun kept these thoughts to himself and didn't voice them.