"My poison was an accident!" he said.
Tonight, snow began to drift down again; outside the window, a few cold plum branches sprouted flower buds. The tender red was quickly concealed by the fluttering snowflakes.
Within the curtained bed, Youyou nestled tightly in the man’s arms to escape the cold. Ancient mythological stories slowly flowed from his lips, which opened and closed rhythmically.
"Have you heard of the Sun Zhuzhao and the Dark Moon Youying?"
Gu Youyou shook her head, "The Dark Moon Youying must be the Youying Pearl, right? I don’t know about the Sun Zhuzhao. Zhuzhao... could it be related to Zhuzhao Country?"
Jin Zijin hummed in acknowledgment and then added, "The Sun Zhuzhao and Dark Moon Youying are Sacred Beasts formed after the chaos of creation, representing the duality of Yin and Yang. From their duality came the Four Symbols, shaping the essence of heaven and earth. The Zhuzhao Pearl and the Youying Pearl are the inner cores of these two Sacred Beasts.
"After the Sacred Beasts disappeared into the river of time, these two inner cores were passed down. Through endless transformations, the Dark Moon Youying ended up in the hands of the Dao Family, contested over by Tianzong and Xuanzong for years, while the Sun Zhuzhao Pearl has always been with the Imperial Family of Zhuzhao Country, a sacred treasure of the royal lineage. However... over twenty years ago, the Zhuzhao Pearl also went missing."
Gu Youyou felt a slight shock in her heart as she gazed into his eyes.
From what he was implying, the fiery poison needed the Youying Pearl for a cure, so did her own body’s cold poison require that missing Zhuzhao Pearl?
Jin Zijin gave a wry smile and said, "I happen to know the whereabouts of that Zhuzhao Pearl, and it is indeed the key to the flame poison that I have accidentally contracted."
"Where?" asked Gu Youyou urgently, her grip tightening.
Jin Zijin grasped her hand and placed it over his heart, saying, "Here."
Here? Gu Youyou stared at her own hand, incredulous, and with a twisted smile she asked, "You’re not saying you ate the Zhuzhao Pearl, right? And that’s why you contracted the flame poison?"
He gave a bitter smile and nodded lightly, "Yes, I ate it."
"You..." Gu Youyou was at a loss for words; the missing sacred object of Zhuzhao Country had been ingested by him.
Gu Youyou had never seen the pearl, and she didn’t know if it could be digested. If it couldn’t be digested, one would assume it would have already been excreted. He had been poisoned for several years, and had been eating for just as many.
But since Jin Zijin had brought up the topic, it was certainly not going to be that simple.
"Stop beating around the bush and tell me what really happened," she said.
She had been counting on using the Zhuzhao Pearl to cure the poison. If he had digested it, she might as well go back to the shed and slowly cultivate her herbs.
Jin Zijin explained, "When exactly the pearl was ingested, I do not know, but it was likely shortly after I was born. Swallowing the Zhuzhao Pearl doesn’t cause flame poison, but if it comes into contact with the Flame Pond Fire Lotus..."
He paused, his eyes turning cold, "The year I came to Beijing with Ajing, under the patronage of Marquess Dao, we also entered the palace. The Flame Pool was there, and it was after that my poisoning occurred—I realized then that the Zhuzhao Pearl was inside me."
Gu Youyou gave a slight start: "Then you started looking for the Youying Pearl and ended up in Lotus Village?"
"Do you know who made you swallow the Zhuzhao Pearl?"
Gu Youyou was extremely surprised. What was Jin Zijin’s true identity, for his mother to be able to obtain a sacred item from Zhuzhao Country?
How could his mother let him eat random things like that, truly.
"Back then, I was just a suckling babe, unable to protect the Zhuzhao Pearl properly. The safest place for the pearl was inside my stomach—my mother must have thought as much," Jin Zijin clarified for her.