Jian Wushuan exhaled loudly. He slowly opened his eyes, smirking. A pair of delicate hands appeared from behind, hugging him intimately.
"You seem happy, Wushuan. Tell me," Su Lianhua whispered in his ears.
Jian Wushuan held her hands and turned his head toward her. He looked at her lips and kissed them passionately.
"It works, Lianhua," he said when their lips parted. "The trap I laid for Han Zhaofeng. It worked. It has attached itself to a new, stronger host. There's no one more powerful than that wench in ICEB except that damn Han Zhaofeng. ICEB is now under my control. Ha ha ha ha…"
Su Lianhua smiled seductively. "Congratulations, Shengzun." She licked his ear and blew into it, "Now, let's celebrate."
------------------------------
Chen Zhaoyun and Shen Qingyu managed to carry Xuan Tian back into the house and settled him on an empty bed.
"Everyone, please leave," Lin Qian's voice left no room for negotiations.
Ling Yu refused. "Lin Jie, I think I better stay. We all saw that I can calm him down."
Lin Qian hesitated a little before nodding, then added, "Jing Xue, please stay too."
Jing Xue, now in his regular wolf-dog size, nodded and took his place beside Lin Qian.
Ling Yu brought a chair beside the bed. "Lin Jie, please." She then took her place behind her.
She didn't check Xuan Tian's pulse as Ling Yu had expected; instead, she hovered her hand above his heart.
Ling Yu was curious as to why, but she refrained from asking, afraid of disturbing Lin Qian's concentration. So, she waited.
Lin Qian quickly found Xuan Tian's Heart Core and examined it.
Her hovering hand suddenly trembled. Lin Qian was shaking. "This… this… this… What's going on?!"
Jing Xue lifted his paw and touched Lin Qian's leg. "Doctor, what did you find?"
"Black Worm. In General's Heart Core."
"WHAT?!"
"What's a Black Worm?" Ling Yu asked.
Lin Qian ignored her and continued her examination.
"We need to subdue him and bring him back to Celestial Realm. Now, doctor! Before he's awake! When he is, it's too late! I can't defeat him!"
"I don't think… Yes, I'm right. I'm sure of it."
"What are you sure about? And what are you waiting for, doctor?! Now!!"
"Jing Xue, don't panic. He's okay. He's not under control."
Ling Yu was confused. Lin Jie is talking to the dog?
"What do you mean, doctor?"
Before Lin Qian could answer, Xuan Tian groaned and his hand moved to his head.
Everyone's attention snapped to Xuan Tian.
Ling Yu even grabbed his other hand, "Iron Wall! Are you okay?"
Xuan Tian kept groaning and tried to open his eyes, but found it was too bright. He instantly covered his eyes with his free hand.
"Too bright." He complained in raspy voice.
Ling Yu let go of his hand and jumped to close the window, while Jing Xue just flicked his paw and all the windows closed by themselves.
Ling Yu froze, then knocked her head, realizing she could've done the same. She turned back to Xuan Tian and said, "It's not too bright anymore, is it?"
Xuan Tian got up to a sitting position, helped by Lin Qian who kept her eyes on him, searching for any indication that he's been corrupted by Black Worm. When she found none, she exhaled a little. But the mystery that was Black Worm inside his Heart Core hasn't been resolved yet.
Xuan Tian opened his eyes by a slit, "What happened?"
"What? You tell me what happened! You don't remember?" Ling Yu approach and sat on the edge of the bed.
"I… the last thing…" He widened his eyes. "Black Worm!" He looked straight at Lin Qian, "It jumped toward me!"
Lin Qian nodded, "And it is now in you, General. In your Heart Core."
"What?" Xuan Tian was visibly shocked. And it scared Ling Yu a little bit. Xuan Tian she knew was never unsure and definitely never shocked silly like this.
"What… What is a Black Worm? Why are you all so scared by it?"
Xuan Tian and Lin Qian looked at each other. They came to a tacit understanding.
Lin Qian sighed, "Ling Yu. I think it's best if you leave us." She held a hand stopping Ling Yu from speaking further. "I know you're curious, but we can't tell you… yet. There are things happening now that we don't understand. Let us discuss it first, and then decide what we're going to do about it."
Ling Yu was pouting. She knew if she left now, she would be missing something big. And she also understood why they asked her to leave. It was to protect her. But this feeling of being cast aside… didn't sit well with her.
She got up without saying anything else and headed to the door. She opened the door, turned to look at Xuan Tian with pouty lips, left the room and didn't forget to close the door.
Xuan Tian followed her exit the room feeling guilty. He remembered he heard her voice amidst the chaos he was in. And it confirmed his thought that Ling Yu was no ordinary human girl.
She saved me yet again. This becomes a habit I do not want to have.
"General," Lin Qian started.
Xuan Tian looked at her, "Go ahead, doctor. Tell me what you've found."
"The Black Worm is definitely in your Heart Core. Not only that, it somehow brought the seal along with you. And now, it is in your Heart…"
"What?! My Heart Core's been sealed?"
"No." Lin Qian shook her head.
"But you just said…"
"I haven't finished."
Lin Qian sighed. "Both the Black Worm and the seal had moved to your Heart Core. That part is true. But – and this is where it stumped me – the seal doesn't seal your Heart Core the way it sealed Captain Bai's."
"Bear with me, General. I also trying to understand it. I've never seen anything like this."
"As I said, it doesn't seal the same. In fact, it only sealed part of your Heart Core, as if it's not strong enough to seal it entirely."
"Now, the matter of the Black Worm. It… I… I really don't know how to explain it so I'll just say it."
"The Black Worm is now awake, but cannot corrupt because there are two things, I believe are actively stopping it from corrupting you."
Lin Qian paused.
Two pair of eyes were looking at her, focused, waiting for her to continue.
She took a deep breath, "Those two things are – again, this is purely my guess, since I don't understand completely – they are the Tianwei Barrier and a very small… pearly… core."
She exhaled. She was relieved she finally could say everything out.