Snow Lin then smeared Evan's blood across Sharon Lin's back, while Selena Yale pressed her palm to Sharon's back, channeling Stellar Power steadily into her body. Both women's foreheads glistened with sweat.
Maybe it was nerves and worry, but time seemed to crawl by. The child-gu wriggled painfully slowly, taking half an incense stick's time just to reach Sharon's shoulder.
"Evan, where exactly are we supposed to drive this child-gu? Are you telling me we have to force it out through her mouth?" Selena shouted, losing her composure entirely.
Evan cursed inwardly at her stupidity, then replied, "Drive it into her arm—push it all the way to her wrist, then cut the skin there and the child-gu will come out on its own."
With clear instructions, the two women carefully guided the child-gu toward Sharon's wrist. Once it reached her arm, Sharon's life would be saved, and the worst-case scenario would be avoided.
Evan quietly dressed himself and sat at the table, waiting in silence as time dragged on. When gu-marks finally appeared on Sharon's wrist, Selena used sword-qi at her fingertip to slice it open.
Stellar Power kept pouring in, and a white, silkworm-like insect flowed out of Sharon's wrist along with her blood.
Sharon had already fainted from the agony. When Selena and Snow saw the white insect, they were both shocked and horrified.
Snow instinctively raised her hand to kill the white worm, but just then Evan called out, "Did you force the insect out yet? Whatever you do, don't kill it!"
Hearing Evan, Snow lowered her hand and asked, "Why not kill this thing? It's tormented Sharon for so long—why let it live?"
"Go find a dog and let the child-gu enter its body. That way, the enemy won't suspect anything. If the child-gu dies, the mother-gu will die too. We need to play along and use this to wipe out the dark organization's people in one strike," Evan instructed.
Selena instantly understood Evan's plan and said, "Snow, do exactly as Evan says. Maybe we really can hit them where it hurts this time."
After Snow left the room, Evan took out a pill he'd gotten from a secret chamber and said, "Give her this. The pain from the child-gu is brutal—she managed to hold on for so long before fainting, which is already impressive."
Selena helped Sharon take the pill, then draped a robe over her. She said, "Evan, take this worm away. Sharon's covered in blood—she needs a bath. But why haven't the gu-marks faded yet?"
"That'll take time. The important thing is, we've saved her life. Some things can't be rushed," Evan replied, picking up the white worm.
Evan recognized the white worm—it was the same gu system used on Lucas Young back at Crescent Moon Sect. The mother-gu he'd seen then was bigger than this child-gu. Now, the child-gu was moving sluggishly; if it wasn't put into fresh blood soon, it might die.
"Selena, I'm heading out. I need to transplant the child-gu into a living host right away, or our whole plan falls apart," Evan said, and left immediately.
Selena took Sharon to the bath to clean her up. Soon after, Evan ran into Snow dragging a large dog. "Go help your sect master. Leave this to me!" he said.
The big dog had already been knocked out by Snow. Evan drew the Frostbane Sword and cut its thigh, splattering himself with blood. He dropped the child-gu into the wound, and it instantly disappeared inside.
Evan quickly bandaged the dog, found an empty room, stripped off his bloody clothes, and used his Watershift technique to bathe. After changing into clean garments, he came back out.
Selena had finished cleaning Sharon's wounds, but the gu-marks stubbornly remained. Seeing the big dog outside, she asked, "Evan, is everything taken care of?"
"All done. I even managed to shower—pretty efficient, huh? Make sure you take good care of that dog and don't let it die. It's not easy for the dark organization to cultivate both child- and mother-gu. I bet Sharon is the only one in Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion infected. Stay alert: if anyone comes looking for her, you'll know they're about to make a move. What to do next—you all know that already," Evan said.
Evan finished speaking.
"Evan, thank you. If not for you, Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion might not have survived this disaster. The dark organization is terrifying—they managed to plant gu without anyone noticing," Selena said.
"Why thank me? I'm your man—your sect is my sect. It's getting late. Let Snow Lin take over as Pavilion Master. After what happened, Sharon wouldn't want the position right now anyway," Evan replied.
"You're leaving?" Selena asked.
"That's right. I've been here long enough—if the dark organization moves against you while I'm gone, it could be dangerous," Evan said.
"Let me see you off, then! I hope you come back soon!" Selena said.