Chapter 9: Bargain and Gambits
325 Words
The night howled outside, wind rattling the latticed windows as candlelight clawed at the shadows.
Su Mingli studied Xiao Jingxuan, calculating risks. The azure blood mystery was a labyrinth—one misstep could trap them both.
“You said symptoms began three years ago.” Her voice cut through the storm’s roar. “What preceded the change?”
Xiao Jingxuan’s gaze turned inward. “After a battle wound, my flesh knitted faster. Strength heightened. Senses sharpened beyond human limits.”
Her nails bit into her palms. Genetic enhancement parameters—exactly like my abandoned project. Had her research bled through spacetime itself?
“Since the blood changed,” she pressed, “have others... hunted you?”
He closed the distance with predator’s grace. “What do you imply?”
Her theory crystallized—this wasn’t mutation. Someone engineered him.
Before she could speak, his breath warmed her cheek. “You scrutinize this prince’s body with... remarkable fervor.”
She stepped back, clinical mask intact. “A physician’s duty.”
His laugh held winter’s edge. “No physician dared demand my blood before.”
“Then heed the first.” She met his gaze unflinching. “I require samples. Full examination. Details of that fateful injury.”
Silence stretched before he inclined his head. “Granted—with a condition.”
“Name it.”
“You stay.” His finger traced the desk’s edge, carving invisible chains. “Until we unearth every secret.”
Her spine stiffened. The trap was set—but she needed access.
“Agreed.”
Xiao Jingxuan produced a sealed letter. “Begin here.”
The broken wax seal revealed four damning characters: Gilded Bronze Figures—Discovered in Chang’an.
Her breath hitched. The legendary medical artifact wasn’t myth.
And somehow—somehow—it connected to the azure poison in his veins.
Wind screamed through eaves as candle flames dipped low.
The game unfolding was far deadlier than she’d imagined.
- Writer
