At this point, Mo Chongyuan looked out the window.
"It's not even midnight yet. Usually at this time, I'm not even awake. Could it be that you helped me?"
Mo Jiuye looked at He Zhiran: "Fifth brother, it was Zhiran who administered acupuncture to suppress the toxins in your body."
Following Mo Jiuye's lead, He Zhiran asked, "Fifth brother, has the duration of your attacks been getting longer and longer?"
Mo Chongyuan nodded: "Yes, at first, I would recover in less than an hour, but now it takes at least three hours, sometimes even longer."
"That makes sense. This kind of toxin is very special - it will spread throughout your body over time, getting closer and closer to your heart. The closer it gets, the longer the attacks will last.
Eventually, when the toxins erode your heart, whether day or night, you will be in a constant state of madness."
Although Mo Chongyuan didn't know what state he was in during his attacks, judging from the protruding veins and bloodthirsty eyes when he regained consciousness, it must have been terrifying.
"If that's the case, I'll have to take my own life, lest I hurt innocent people."
He Zhiran knew that Mo Chongyuan didn't want to bring harm to others when he lost control.
"Fifth brother, don't worry. Things aren't that serious. Tomorrow, my husband and I will go into town to buy medicinal ingredients to detoxify you."
Mo Chongyuan had never thought there could be an antidote to his poison.
"Lil'...lil' sister...you're saying you can detoxify me?"
When he was lucid, he had consulted with several imperial doctors about his condition.
Most couldn't detect any poison in his system. Only one somewhat competent doctor was able to confirm he had been poisoned, but didn't know what kind of poison it was, let alone how to treat it.
Because of this, Mo Chongyuan had felt hopeless for a long time, resigned to living out the rest of his miserable life this way.
He Zhiran flashed a confident smile. "Fifth brother, don't worry. I will definitely be able to cure your poison."
Not only that, He Zhiran hoped to formulate the antidote quickly - she wanted to eliminate Mo Chongyuan's poison before the next sunset, so fifth brother wouldn't have to suffer another attack.
Just as Mo Chongyuan was about to say something more, Mo Chuhan came running over, worried about the situation.
Mo Chongyuan was vigilant by nature. As soon as he heard footsteps approaching from afar, he assumed a defensive stance.
He strode to the door, coincidentally bumping into Mo Chuhan head-on.
Mo Jiuye quickly stepped forward to introduce them. "Fifth brother, this is eighth brother, Mo Chuhan."
Hearing it was his own brother, Mo Chongyuan immediately relaxed his clenched fists.
Mo Chuhan didn't know fifth brother had lost his memory. He was very curious why little brother still needed introductions when they were family.
Mo Jiuye quickly explained the situation to Mo Chuhan.
"Eighth brother, fifth brother suffered a head injury that resulted in amnesia. He doesn't remember anything from six years ago."
"What did you say? Fifth brother has amnesia?" Mo Chuhan was clearly very shocked by the news.
Facing his inability to recognize relatives, Mo Chongyuan felt somewhat ashamed.
"Eighth brother, was it? I'm afraid I don't remember anything from the past." This was his way of greeting them.
Mo Chuhan stepped forward and pulled Mo Chongyuan into an embrace.
"Fifth brother, no matter if you remember the past or not, it doesn't change the fact that we came from the same mother's womb."
After briefly explaining Mo Chongyuan's condition to Mo Chuhan, Mo Jiuye asked:
"Eighth brother, did you get the family settled in alright?"
Mo Chuhan nodded. "I settled everyone in, but no one wants to rest. They're all waiting for news about fifth brother."
Mo Jiuye looked at Mo Chongyuan and cautiously asked,
"Fifth brother, do you want to come with us to see Mother now? And fifth sister-in-law - when she heard news of your death, she nearly cried herself blind."
When little brother mentioned this "fifth sister-in-law," Mo Chongyuan felt a strange twinge in his heart.
Although he didn't remember having a wife, this peculiar feeling couldn't have been fake.
"Alright, I'll go back with you."
Pushing open the door, a gust of icy wind blew in from outside. Amidst the whirling wind, they could vaguely make out the faint howl of some creature that sounded vaguely canine.
The sound wasn't very loud - at first listen it resembled a dog's bark, but not clearly so.
Mo Jiuye scanned their surroundings but didn't notice anything amiss.
Glancing at Mo Chongyuan, he saw his expression had softened considerably.
"This little guy is back."
As he spoke, Mo Chongyuan had already broken away from Mo Jiuye and Mo Chuhan, striding towards the back of the house.
Exchanging glances, the others hurried after him.
After walking about fifty meters out, Mo Chongyuan halted his steps.
They could see him bent over, cradling a furry bundle in his arms.
In the moonlight, they could make out the bundle's white rear.
He Zhiran's eyes lit up instantly. "Fifth brother, is that an Iron-Eating Beast?"
Mo Chongyuan turned to face them, tenderly cradling the bundle.
"Does lil' sister recognize this creature?"
He Zhiran nodded emphatically. "I recognize it! I saw it in a picture book before."
She simply couldn't resist such an adorable creature.
Zhiran hurriedly walked over to Mo Chongyuan.
"Fifth brother, may I hold it?"
The little bundle was clearly still a cub, no bigger than four or five months old.
At this age, it wasn't very large at all. Curled up into a round furball in Mo Chongyuan's arms, it made He Zhiran's heart melt.
Glancing between the tiny He Zhiran and the cub, Mo Chongyuan asked uncertainly:
"Isn't lil' sister afraid?"
He Zhiran shook her head vigorously. "Not afraid, not afraid at all!"
Seeing this, Mo Chongyuan carefully transferred the bundle into He Zhiran's arms, reminding her:
"This little guy is timid. Be gentle with him, lil' sister."
Whether due to He Zhiran's special cat-whisperer talent or what, the moment the bundle was placed in her arms, after nuzzling around for a bit, it fell fast asleep...
Even Mo Chongyuan, who often interacted with the critter, couldn't help but sigh in wonder.
"Looks like this little guy quite likes lil' sister."
Standing to the side, Mo Jiuye gave a sniff. In his heart he thought: Who wouldn't like gentle, capable, beautiful Zhiran?
Once ensuring the cub wasn't causing He Zhiran any trouble, the group headed towards where the rest of the Mo family was resting.
Along the way, curious Mo Jiuye asked: "Fifth brother, is this Iron-Eating Beast your pet?"
Mo Chongyuan didn't deny it.
"I suppose you could say so! A few years ago, I rescued a mated pair of Iron-Eating Beasts on the mountain. At the time, they had been mauled by tigers. I brought them back here to recover.
Once their injuries had healed, I released them back into the mountains. I didn't expect the beasts to still have a sense of gratitude - every time I have an attack after sunset, they would come keep watch outside my house.
If anyone neared, they would let out a ghostly wail to frighten the intruders away. Over time, the villagers were convinced this place was haunted by spirits and wouldn't dare come close anymore.
Precisely because no one dared approach this place, I chose to settle here long-term."
Off-topic: Got inspired by Hua Hua and Ya Ya's videos lately and decided to go with "Tuantuan" [ie furball, fuzzy lump] for this novel's pet.
