THE POTENTIAL ENEMIES

"What's going on?!"

Zhu Su and his men just returned in a disheveled state. He got bewildered since finding a sudden quarrel between his wife and his daughters. Meanwhile, the daughters soon complained to Zhu Su. "Fu Wang! Hu Wang Fei puts these disgusting toads in the palace and forbids us to kill them! We are scared!"

His daughter's whining made Zhu Su turn his head towards Hu Nayin. "Do you really do this, Nayin?"

Hu Nayin bowed respectfully. "Yes, Your Highness. These toads are a powerful repellent against Gu Shu."

"Really?"

"The poisonous animal being used in Gu Shu is an animal becoming the winner of a bunch of poisonous animals pitted against one another. So it depends on which animal becomes the winner at the moment. As for this time, the Gu they use is a spider. So I use toads to repel Gu Shu because toads can eat spiders. Actually, centipedes are also the predator of spiders, but centipedes are much more disgusting and poisonous, that's why I use toads which are less disgusting as the repellent."

"It's still disgusting!" A princess frowned.

Zhu Su noticed something strange from Hu Nayin's sentence. "What do you mean by the Gu being used this time?"

"The Gu being used in every process may be different, depending on which animal wins at the moment. The one used to jinx our family is a large spider."

"How do you know that it is the giant spider which is being used as a Gu to jinx our family?"

"Eh..." Hu Nayin was immediately aware that she had slipped off her words.

"Do you go outside the palace to come to the podium?! Have I told you that you must stay here? How dare you keep going anyway?!"

"P... please forgive me, Your Highness... I was forced to disobey your orders... But at least I know that we get a formidable enemy. Every Miao person knows that Master Yun is a powerful Daoist Priestess. If she declares that someone will stay alive, even though every physician is certain that he will die, he will definitely stay alive. And vice versa. Even the local officials respect her, and fear her as well. I don't know why she is willing to help the Kaifeng rioters, but one is clear; we are facing a very dangerous enemy. We must try our best not to be her victims. Especially, victims of Gu! Those who are killed by Gu Shu will become servants of Demon Gu!"

Hu Nayin was so serious of her words. Her cheeks reddened, her eyebrows were furrowed eagerly and her eyes emanated sincerity.

That woman was eager to help him, to the extent she disobeyed his orders and risked her life by going to the enemy's place.

Zhu Su sighed. "That order is actually for the safety of you as well as our child, Nayin. But well... speak honestly I'm very glad that you help me." He turned to his daughters and the court ladies. "I know toads are disgusting, but this is urgent. It won't last long anyway. Until this is over, if you are scared by the toads then you can avoid this area."

The princesses shouted, trying to refuse, "Fu Wang!..."

"Don't worry. The eunuchs will make sure that the toads won't approach you."

Zhu Su's assurance made his two daughters fall silent. But they still scowled, dissatisfied.

He looked back at Hu Nayin. "So, what kind of ways do you know to unjinx Gu Shu?"

"Yes, Your Highness. The Gu Shu..."

"Well, we'll continue inside."

Zhu Su took Hu Nayin by the arm. He was about to take the Wang Fei to a warm room protected from rainstorms so that it was comfortable for the pregnant Hu Nayin to discuss important matters. Apparently, Nayin has deep knowledge about Gu Shu, while this disaster is closely related to Gu Shu. It seems that I can't exclude her. May Heaven protect her and our baby, for the sake of our beloved country.

Watching from behind, the princesses and court ladies sputtered.

***

"Fu Wang is so in favor of Hu Wang Fei! I don't like it!" A princess grumbled angrily.

Another princess, whose skirt was once entered by a toad, chimed in. "She doesn't deserve to be appointed as Wang Fei. She should only be a concubine! Her manner is far from dignity!"

"Exactly. Although Mu Fei has died, she can't become Wang Fei, she is only a barbarian woman! It is a big shame of Zhou Fan Wang Guo!"

A senior court lady said, "I heard that Miao women are free and open. They are not like us who are graceful and feminine, they are wild and dangerous, they can freely hunt and work in the fields together with men - and their legs are unbound!"

Another senior court lady added, "The most terrible thing about Miao women is that they are very open to sexual relations. They can have sex before getting married!"

"What?! My Heaven... we were supposed to examine her! It's too late to do it now!"

"Just now Lan, that new kid, said that Hu Wang Fei threw many live centipedes as they caught up His Highness."

"Live centipedes?! Yuck!" The princesses frowned in disgust.

"Even the court ladies are afraid of centipedes, but Hu Wang Fei instead took care of them and threw them as if it is a normal thing to do?!"

"By the way, Hu Wang Fei has a bizarre ability like a witch, she can recognize medicinal herbs and detect patient's illness just by holding them!"

"I heard that Miao women are famous as terrible witches? Especially in their ability to attract the man they desire. Every man becoming their targets will definitely fall to their traps!"

"Huh?! Can't it be... Hu Wang Fei has made His Highness infatuated with her?!"

"She is the most famous expert shaman in Yunnan as well as throughout the Miao ethnic community... Wait! So by then, Hu Wang Fei is the Queen of All Wizards and Witches!"

"She is indeed very dangerous! We must keep an eye on her!"

The princesses and senior court ladies kept gossiping excitedly. They did not realize that, on the roof of a pavilion near them, a girl was listening intently to their conversation. Wearing a tight veil so that only her eyes could be seen, the girl was grinning happily.

Yu Mu Li La found something she was looking for all this time. She jumped onto another higher roof and left this place. And quickly heading to Rumilie's residence.