Silver needles alone could not completely seal the Gu worm. To eradicate it entirely would require more effort, but Nan Shiying had no mind for such matters at the moment.
The Gu worm wouldn't affect his mind for some time, anyway.
As for the future… she would deal with it once she figured out who this unfortunate soul was who had been infected!
Having witnessed a grand spectacle for free and possibly disrupting Nan Chaoyun's plans, Nan Shiying's gloomy mood had eased somewhat. She continued walking towards the courtyard.
Passing through the corridors of the courtyard, the scene grew increasingly desolate. Just as she was about to reach the courtyard where the original owner had lived for over a decade, a slender figure appeared before her eyes.
"Xiao… Xiao Man!"
Nan Shiying's heart gave a sudden jolt.
The small, thin figure standing at the courtyard entrance heard the hesitant call from behind and quickly turned to look back. Her sallow, emaciated face was filled with panic and vigilance. Her body, lacking flesh, seemed so frail that a gust of wind could blow her over.
Looking at this face, Nan Shiying had the illusion of not knowing where she was.
However—
She concealed the surging emotions in her eyes and walked towards her.
"Fifth… Fifth Miss?"
A timid voice laced with disbelieving hesitation. Nan Shiying walked silently to her side and nodded, "It's me, Xiao Man."
"It really is you, Fifth Miss! You're finally back, Fifth Miss! My, my grandmother… Fifth Miss, please, please save my grandmother, I beg you."
Upon hearing Nan Shiying's affirmative answer, Xiao Man suddenly knelt before Nan Shiying, repeatedly and heavily kowtowing. Her forehead struck the uneven lime-ground, and the sharp, small stones tore at her skin. Bright red blood mixed with dirt, making her already withered and darkened face even more unsightly and pitiable.
Nan Shiying squatted down and held her shoulders.
"What happened to Nanny Wang?" she asked, looking at the child before her, a vortex turning within her dark pupils.
Xiao Man lowered her head, not daring to meet Nan Shiying's eyes. "My, my grandmother…" She couldn't utter a complete sentence, only sobbing and weeping uncontrollably.
"Fifth Miss, you… you just come in with me and you'll see."
Nan Shiying looked at her calmly. For a moment, she truly wanted to turn and leave, but in the end, she stayed.
"Alright, I understand!"
Nan Shiying said no more.
Xiao Man lowered her head and led Nan Shiying into the house.
The moment the door opened, a gust of wind brushed past her ears. Nan Shiying stepped into the room, and a smell of mold and decay, mixed with a foul odor, wafted towards her.
Passing through the outer room, a person lay on the bed in the inner room.
Hearing the movement behind her, the person turned around. The familiar face struck Nan Shiying's heart like a sharp needle.
"Nan, Nanny Wang!"
This face had appeared in her dreams countless times.
She remembered every wrinkle, every scar on her face, as if etched into her mind, an indelible memory.
"Mis, Miss!"
An excited voice with a trembling sob. The person on the bed strained to lift their arms, trying several times but still unable to get up.
"This old servant, this old servant…"
Her face was full of self-reproach and apology. Her gaze towards Nan Shiying was earnest and caring. That nurturing, doting, and kindly face stirred a tempest in Nan Shiying's heart.
She couldn't control herself and walked forward, reaching the bedside.
She knelt before her.
"Nanny!"
Mist clouded her eyes, and the memories of decades in Da Yuan and over ten years in Linyuan intertwined once more.
The original owner's reliance on Nanny Wang gave Nan Shiying a sense of safety, like a young bird returning to its nest.
She held her hand.
"Miss, why have you returned? Hurry, leave this man-eating den! You don't need to worry about this old servant. This old servant… this old servant doesn't have many days left.
"The only thing this old servant cannot rest assured about is my grandchild. Miss, this old servant has never asked anything of you in my life. Before I die, I only wish you to take Xiao Man away.
"She cannot stay here."
Nanny Wang's earnest pleas echoed in Nan Shiying's ears. She turned and glanced at the child with tear-filled eyes.
"Alright, Nanny, I will definitely take good care of Xiao Man!"
She said softly.
"This old servant thanks Miss for her great kindness. Miss…"
Her hand tightly grasped Nan Shiying's hands. The next moment, it seemed as if a cold wind howled in her ears.
Nan Shiying lowered her head, the wind brushing against the hair at her temples.
She turned and looked at the club in Xiao Man's hand.
In truth, Nan Shiying wished with all her heart that everything she saw before her was real—that Nanny Wang was not dead, and that Xiao Man had not entered the Shadow Guard.
But illusions were just illusions, and false appearances could never become reality.
She didn't know when she had been tricked, but she knew one thing clearly: Nanny Wang had died long ago!
Missing the target, Nanny Wang let out a sharp roar.
A puff of white smoke sprayed from Nanny Wang's mouth.
Nan Shiying snapped Nanny Wang's wrist, slapped the edge of the bed with her palm, and quickly retreated backward.
"You…"
The person on the bed clearly did not expect Nan Shiying to be so ruthless. Failing to incapacitate her with the smoke, she gritted her teeth, got up, and took out a hidden weapon from her mouth, shooting it towards Nan Shiying.
The needles flew towards Nan Shiying like scattered petals from a celestial maiden.
At the same time, the person grabbed the child and ran towards the door.
They hadn't killed her.
Clearly, the person who had set this trap did not want her dead.
Nan Shiying did not pursue. Instead, she pinched a ball of tracking poison and hurled it at the person from a distance.
Nan Shiying walked around the house and the courtyard, finally discovering the scorched corpses of some animals in a corner of the house and outside the courtyard gate.
This smell?
Pickled?
Or was something else needed as a catalyst besides this?
For example,芙蓉豆腐羹 (Furong Tofu Soup)?
She picked up the scorched animal corpses and, following the scent, pursued the two.
…
The daytime guards at the Nan Mansion were exceptionally strict. Unable to sneak out of the mansion, they found a random courtyard to hide in.
"So unlucky!"
The small voice was no longer the slender Xiao Man in Nan Shiying's eyes, but a dwarf with a large head and a small body. And the Nanny Wang in Nan Shiying's eyes was a voluptuous middle-aged woman.
The little dwarf cursed in annoyance.
He had thought this task would be easy, but instead, they had run into a tough opponent.
That Nan Shiying had some skill, to be able to quickly break free from the illusion.
She was simply not human.
If they hadn't already heard about how important Nanny Wang was to her, they would have thought that the other party didn't care about Nanny Wang's life or death at all.
The middle-aged woman's face was ashen, and her unnaturally hanging wrist throbbed with pain. She couldn't help but glare at the man. "Stop complaining. Hide well, and we'll sneak out when it's dark. As for the remaining payment, heh, they'll pay whether they want to or not!"
The man revealed a sinister smile. "That's right, if they don't pay, we'll take it out on her!"