Chapter 160: Soul-Devouring Linked Fate Gu

"Your Majesty, please allow me to examine your pulse."

Cang Wanhe's complexion filled Yun Che with a terrible premonition, but he didn't dare to jump to conclusions. He stepped forward, approached Cang Wanhe, placed two fingers of his right hand on his pulse, and then closed his eyes.

Lan Xueruo immediately held her breath. Cang Wanhe remained silent, his somewhat cloudy eyes quietly observing the man his daughter had chosen. However, he had no expectation that Yun Che could help with his condition. Though Yun Che might possess exceptional medical skills, he was simply too young. Medical expertise, in his view, was not merely learned; it required years of accumulation and refinement.

Yun Che's pulse examination didn't last long. After about ten breaths, he spoke softly, "Your Majesty, I will now use my profound energy to scan your internal organs. Please do not resist."

"Very well, proceed as you wish. As I said, you are someone Yue'er brought, and I trust you completely," Cang Wanhe nodded.

Yun Che then released a small amount of profound energy, letting it flow through Cang Wanhe's internal organs. This too didn't last long. He soon withdrew his profound energy, opened his eyes, and his expression became complex.

"How is it?" Lan Xueruo quickly asked. Although Yun Che's examination time totaled less than a minute, to anyone, a "disease" that even Gu Qiuhong was helpless against seemed unlikely to be discerned by a seventeen-year-old in such a short period. Yet, a girl whose heart is given often harbors a blind trust in her man, and Princess Cang Yue, Lan Xueruo, was no exception to this youthful sentiment.

Yun Che remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, do you have a not-so-long scar on your chest? If so, was it left approximately three years ago?"

Cang Wanhe thought for a moment, then nodded, surprise evident in his eyes. "That's right, there is indeed a scar on my chest, about an inch long, and it was indeed left three years ago... How could you know about this scar on my body?"

Seeing Cang Wanhe nod, Yun Che's expression instantly turned grim.

Yun Che's expression immediately made Lan Xueruo uneasy. She asked nervously, "Junior Brother Yun, what exactly is my imperial father's condition? Did you discover something?"

"Huu..." Yun Che exhaled a long breath, his face heavy as he stated, "Your Majesty's condition is indeed not an illness, nor is it poisoning. However, it is also not, as Gu Qiuhong claimed, damage to your vital meridians... Instead, you have been afflicted by a Gu!"

"Ah? A Gu?" Lan Xueruo's lips parted in astonishment, her face filled with surprise.

"Oh? Why do you make such a judgment?" Cang Wanhe, however, remained calm. Clearly, he didn't believe Yun Che's words, not because he distrusted Yun Che personally, but because he placed more faith in Gu Qiuhong. For the past three years, his health had been maintained by Gu Qiuhong's treatments. Moreover, one was the renowned Divine Doctor of Cangfeng, while the other was merely a seventeen-year-old boy. No one would choose to believe a boy's words over questioning a divine doctor with a century-long reputation.

Yun Che frowned and explained, "This Gu is called the 'Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu.' It is implanted into the human body as a Gu seed and grows by consuming the host's heart blood. Once mature, it resides near the heart meridian, feeding on the host's profound energy. This Gu is very small, yet it requires an immense amount of profound energy to grow; nearly half of the host's profound energy is devoured by it. The reason Your Majesty has been so weak and rapidly aging these past few years is precisely because half of your profound energy has been consumed by this 'Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu.'"

Cang Wanhe's expression remained calm, though a hint of doubt appeared. "If what you say is true, and such a potent Gu was planted in my body, it's impossible for Gu Qiuhong, whose medical skills are unparalleled, not to have discovered it. It might be understandable if he missed it once, but over these three years, Gu Qiuhong has treated me dozens of times. He surely wouldn't have failed to notice it every single time. Yun Che, could there be some mistake?"

"No!" Yun Che shook his head without hesitation. "Absolutely not. I know Your Majesty must be skeptical, so please grant me an opportunity to prove it... Allow me to cut open the scar on your chest, and I will reveal the Gu before your eyes."

Cang Wanhe immediately furrowed his brow. How could his esteemed imperial body be simply cut open by a mere youth? Before he could speak, Lan Xueruo interjected, "Imperial Father, I believe Junior Brother Yun's words, and I trust his character even more. He would never do anything to harm you. Your condition has shown no improvement, and even Master Gu has been unable to help. Even if Junior Brother Yun cannot bring a turnaround, at least there will be no harm."

Cutting a wound on the Emperor's body was, of course, no small matter. Yet, Lan Xueruo unhesitatingly persuaded Cang Wanhe, partly hoping for a turning point, and even more so, due to her deep trust in Yun Che. The moment she spoke, Cang Wanhe swallowed the words he had been about to utter and slowly nodded. "Very well then... If this incision turns out to be for nothing, you need not be anxious or blame yourself."

Yun Che nodded and said no more. He pulled open Cang Wanhe's robes, revealing a scar about an inch long on his chest, precisely where his heart was. Although it was old and had faded significantly, it was still clearly visible.

Yun Che extended his finger, profound energy surging to its tip. Just as he was about to make an incision on Cang Wanhe's chest, his movement paused slightly. In that instant, he felt a profound energy aura firmly locking onto him. This aura was extremely well-concealed, difficult for ordinary people to detect, but Yun Che's perception was incredibly keen. He could also sense that this profound energy aura possessed an incredibly terrifying foundation and strength, at least at the Sky Profound Realm!

After a momentary surprise, Yun Che quickly composed himself. It was only natural for an Emperor to be guarded by peerless masters. However, he had no intention of harming the Emperor, so he felt no apprehension. He gently made an incision on Cang Wanhe's chest, reopening the inch-long scar. Drops of blood quickly emerged. Yun Che's other hand swiftly pressed slightly above the wound, carefully infusing Phoenix flame energy. Instantly, he located the hiding place of the "Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu."

Gu worms naturally feared fire, and the Phoenix flame was the king of all flames. The startled "Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu" immediately fled in the opposite direction from the Phoenix flame, and Yun Che slowly guided it toward the incision.

"It's coming out," Yun Che said softly, opening his eyes.

As soon as he spoke, the wound on Cang Wanhe's chest suddenly twitched abnormally. Then, a slender, half-inch-long Gu worm, golden yellow all over, emerged halfway from the incision, struggling violently.

"Ah!!!"

Lan Xueruo shrieked in fright, her face drained of color. Even Cang Wanhe, as the Emperor, was filled with horror, his entire body frozen stiff...

"Don't move!!" Yun Che roared, stopping any potential movements from Lan Xueruo, Cang Wanhe, and the hidden individual. He swiftly raised his left hand and used the Phoenix flame to quickly force the golden Gu worm back into Cang Wanhe's bloodstream. Then, he released profound energy to seal Cang Wanhe's wound, stopping the blood flow.

"I... I actually have something like that inside my body!" Cang Wanhe appeared to have calmed down, but the stiffness in his body indicated he was still deeply shaken.

"Junior Brother Yun... why didn't you remove that... that Gu, and instead let it return into Imperial Father's body? It was... it was clearly already drawn out by you." Lan Xueruo's face was pale. Girls naturally harbored a fear of such strange insects, especially one that resided within Cang Wanhe's body.

Yun Che shook his head and said, "It's not that I didn't want to remove it; it's that I simply couldn't. If it were any other Gu, no matter how terrifying, once located, a way could be found to draw it out or destroy it directly. But this particular Gu... it's called the 'Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu' because not only does it consume a vast amount of the host's profound energy, but after it grows from a Gu seed by drinking the host's heart blood, it uses the host's life force as its own, sharing life with the host. In other words, this Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu inside Your Majesty shares one life with you! If Your Majesty dies, it will die. Conversely, if it dies, Your Majesty will also die!"

"Ah!!" Lan Xueruo's beautiful eyes widened, her gaze trembling intensely.

"Wh-what? Such a malevolent creature exists in this world!" Cang Wanhe's face was also filled with dismay.

Yun Che continued, "And it needs to consume Your Majesty's profound energy to survive. Once it leaves your body, it will immediately perish. Furthermore, it can only have one host in its lifetime; even if it were immediately transferred to another host's body after leaving yours, it would be futile. Therefore, this Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu cannot be removed from Your Majesty's body. Instead, it must be carefully 'nourished,' forcing you to helplessly allow it to constantly consume your profound energy. You must never let it die."

Yun Che paused, then spoke with a heavy voice, "Senior Sister Xueruo, Your Majesty, what I am about to say will be rather harsh... Gu worms generally do not live very long. To my knowledge, the Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu has a lifespan of five years. It has already been in Your Majesty's body for over three years. In another two years, this Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu will die, which means... Your Majesty's lifespan has, at most, only two years remaining."

"How could this be... How could this be..." Lan Xueruo covered her mouth, already sobbing uncontrollably.

Cang Wanhe gasped for breath. The Gu hidden within his body and Yun Che's words had undoubtedly thrown his mind into complete turmoil, even filling him with terror. He spoke in a low voice, "Who... who would dare to inflict such a malevolent Gu worm upon me! I will find him... and tear him to a thousand pieces!!"

Yun Che looked at Cang Wanhe and said, "If Your Majesty wishes to know who planted the Gu, you can actually find out immediately."

Cang Wanhe's body trembled. He quickly asked, "Yun Che, do you know who planted the Gu?"

"I do not know, but Your Majesty certainly does," Yun Che calmly stated. "This 'Soul-Devouring Life-Sharing Gu' can only be implanted as a Gu seed into a person's body and must be steeped in the host's heart blood to grow. A person's heart blood is located in the chest area, near the heart. Therefore, to implant this Gu into someone's body, an incision must be made in the chest area, and the Gu seed directly inserted through that wound. Gu seeds ingested through food or water will not grow, nor will those implanted through blood in other parts of the body. Your Majesty merely needs to recall who made that scar on your chest three years ago, and you will know who planted the Gu."

As Yun Che uttered these words, Cang Wanhe and Lan Xueruo both froze.

"No... impossible! It couldn't be Master Gu who planted the Gu. Master Gu has diligently treated Imperial Father for years, and his relationship with our imperial family has always been very good... It couldn't be him! He has no reason to harm my Imperial Father at all." Lan Xueruo's face was filled with horror... She knew that the person who made the incision on her imperial father's chest three years ago was none other than Gu Qiuhong, the Medical Saint. On that occasion, Cang Wanhe had contracted a severe cold, and Gu Qiuhong claimed the cold was too severe, necessitating the release of some "cold blood" from the heart.