The physician's voice was no longer old but fairly young. Also, he was not hunchbacked any more, and his eyes became much more penetrating than they had been a moment ago. It was as though the body beneath his geriatric exterior had suddenly been replaced by a young one.

Yuwen Zhi, who was supposed to be comatose, abruptly opened his eyes and sat up. After taking a couple of breaths, he pointed in the direction of the doorway and spat, "What a heartless creature! Did you hear what he said? Just now he was threatening me. He said he would have me carried out, hand me over to Yuwen Tong and let him exile me. What did he mean by that? He wants to trade his own father's life for wealth and status? Had I known earlier he would grow into such an unfilial son, I would never have brought him up in the first place!"

While cursing loudly, he bore no resemblance whatsoever to what he had looked like when pretending to be so sick as though he could die at any moment.

The physician calmly watched as Yuwen Zhi swore. It was after Yuwen Zhi finished cursing that the physician said, "Lord Yuwen, currently your son has got ears and eyes everywhere in this residence. Although I've controlled the couple of servants assigned here to wait upon you with Gu worms, the guards out there still have their free will and might overhear your words. If you're exposed, there might not be severe consequences, but if my cover's blown, there would be nobody helping you."

Yuwen Zhi breathed in several gasps before he gradually collected himself and then said through gritted teeth, "I had a hard job to extricate myself from the Court Prison on the pretext of nursing my cold. This undutiful son, instead of trying to figure out a way to help rid me of the accusation, plans to have me carried out of this house. He's such an ungrateful creature. Since father-son bonding means nothing to him, I'll stop treating him as my son and show him no mercy."

"What do you want to do, Lord Yuwen?" the physician asked him.

Looking out of the window with a sinister expression in his eyes, Yuwen Zhi replied, "Let's stick to the plan, put Yuwen Feng under our complete control and use him to get close to Yuwen Tong. If it weren't for Yuwen Tong, the whole country would have been in my son's pocket. Yuwen Tong ruined everything, so I'll take the throne back from him!"

It was at this moment that the physician said, "Just now I've planted a Gu worm in Yuwen Feng's body. It's Manipulation Gu. This kind of Gu worms work in pairs. Each pair consists of a Puppet Gu and a Puppeteer Gu. The Puppeteer Gu is in my hands, and the Puppet Gu is inside Yuwen Feng's body. Over time, the Puppet Gu will slowly worm its way into his head and gradually turn him into my puppet, and then you may have him do whatever you want him to do. He will be totally powerless to resist."

At first Yuwen Zhi was astonished, but then delight registered on his face. "So this kind of Gu worms do exist? They could have him do my bidding with unquestioning obedience? Can you plant one inside Yuwen Tong's body and turn him into my puppet?"

The physician answered, "I can, but we'll have to figure out a way to get close to him first. I have only two pairs of this kind of Gu worms in my possession. It took me many years to raise them. I wouldn't have used them if it weren't for the favor Your Lordship did me."

Yuwen Zhi said, "I appreciate the trouble you've gone to. You showed up in time and has been of great help to me. I promise you'll get whatever you want after my big plan succeeds, as long as it's within my power to give."

The physician said, "Thank you in advance, Your Lordship."

Suddenly, Yuwen Zhi cast a piercing look at him. "You said that the Puppeteer Gu's in your hands, but it's still kind of an inconvenience. Can you let me keep the Puppeteer Gu?"

The physician appeared rather awkward. "It's not that I don't want to give you the Puppeteer Gu, but that I've been nurturing the Puppeteer Gu with my own blood since its larval stage. It's living right inside me, and it won't survive if it leaves my body, so there's no way to get the Puppeteer Gu out unless I'm dead, but if I die, the Puppet Gu will become useless."

Yuwen Zhi's face changed. It surprised him that a Puppeteer Gu could only live inside its master's body and fed on its master's blood. Yuwen Zhi was a selfish man, so he naturally wouldn't stake his own life on this kind of thing. However, given the current circumstances, he must ensure the safety of the Gu master. At least he couldn't let anything happen to the Gu master before he got what he wanted. Otherwise all his efforts would be in vain.

"You should never act alone again. Make sure you're accompanied by some guards wherever you go. You have to stay safe. If anything happens to you, all of us will be doomed. You won't be able to get what you want if my big plan fails."

The Gu master disguised as a physician replied, "Presently this courtyard house is surrounded by guards whose sole duty is to prevent you from escaping. The couple of servants in here are the only ones at our command. For the moment these useless servants are also the only ones we could rely on to protect us."

Yuwen Zhi, who appeared somewhat embarrassed at these words, inquired, "How long will it take for the worm to control Yuwen Feng thoroughly?"

"Two days. Yuwen Feng will be reduced to a complete puppet of ours in two days," responded the Gu master.

Yuwen Zhi clenched his teeth. "I see. Let's wait for another two days."

...

When Yuwen Feng had left Yuwen Zhi's courtyard house with a forbidding face, he subconsciously shook his arm which the physician had bumped against a moment ago. Back in the room he hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary, but after walking out of the room, he had felt as though someone had stuck his arm with a needle. A few moments later his arm had felt fairly itchy, numb and uncomfortable, and now it was even a little limp, so he had to shake it to ease the discomfort.

But in his eyes this was just a trivial matter and it didn't bother him. What concerned him was Yuwen Zhi's condition.

Back at the time when he had first brought Yuwen Zhi back to this residence, the latter's cold had indeed been quite severe, but with the medicine prescribed by the physician and the constant care provided by the servants, his cold symptoms had been alleviated considerably and should have been able to get out of his sickbed to walk a couple of days after that. Him lying in bed for so long was totally needless.

No. Actually his father's symptoms seemed to be exacerbating as he stayed abed. Naturally, Yuwen Feng was fully aware of what was really going on. His father was unwilling to go back to the Court Prison or be sent into exile, so he had been faking his illness. However, his cousin was no fool and would undoubtedly send a court physician here to examine his father sooner or later, given how long his father had been lying in bed at home, and when that happened, his father's little game would inevitably be exposed. His cousin had warned his father several times, but the latter, who was quite an intransigent man, had refused to budge an inch and stubbornly got involved in a spate of troubled situations which he totally could have stayed out of, despite the fact that his deeds would very likely lead to deaths of all his family as well as his own. He was so selfish that he didn't care about other people's lives at all.

Having been made the Marquess Huaiwen (AKA the Marquess of Moderation) and appointed as the Minister of Rites, he did wield enormous power within the imperial court, and nobody dared discomfit him. Even his cousin had never picked on him. He was now indeed one of the most powerful courtiers. He was fully aware of what kind of person Yuwen Tong was. By delegating such power to him knowing that he had a troublesome family situation, Yuwen Tong had made it very clear that he had no intention to hold him responsible for his father's doings. Yuwen Feng was not an ungrateful man. He knew very well what Yuwen Tong meant, and he knew just as well that Yuwen Tong needed him to stake out his position. He must tackle this issue in an entirely impartial fashion.

By sentencing his father to exile, Yuwen Tong had actually spared his father's life. If he refused to see reason and do what he was supposed to do, all the glory of the Yuwen family would have nothing to do with him or the other members of his family. Yuwen Feng didn't want to be consigned to mediocrity for the rest of his life. He had his own aspirations and discernment. The fortunes of the Yuwen family had clearly taken a turn. Why shouldn't he seize this opportunity? Why should he give it up?

As a result, by making those remarks a moment ago, he had actually been putting out feelers and also trying to send his father a message, telling him that it was no good pretending to be ill, that if he refused to cooperatively receive treatment, he would only end up being carried to the place he was to be exiled to, and there was a very high probability that he would die halfway there due to lack of intensive care.

And that flicker of his father's eyelids had unmistakably confirmed Yuwen Feng's suspicion that his father had been pretending.

With a flash of anger surging inside him, Yuwen Feng, who had walked far away from the front gates, suddenly came to a halt, spun around to look at the courtyard house and then started to backtrack, striding along.

...

"This is bad, Master. His Lordship is coming back."

A servant controlled by Gu worms hurried into Yuwen Zhi's room to report, his face etched with anxiety.

Yuwen Zhi was also startled and hastened to lie back onto his bed. The servant, along with the Gu master, helped Yuwen Zhi adjust the bedding, trying their best to make it look the same as it had been a while ago.

They had just finished when Yuwen Feng strode inside.

"Your Lordship," chorused the servant and the physician, paying their respects to him.

"Leave us," instructed Yuwen Feng.

The servant was somewhat scared. The physician gave his arm a pull and with that the two of them walked out of the room together.

Yuwen Feng stepped to Yuwen Zhi's bedside. After he cast an appraising glance at the bedding and Yuwen Zhi's clothes, a cold look flashed across his eyes and he began, "Father, I know you've woken up. Since you're unwilling to open your eyes, I won't make you, but Father, if you keep acting like this, you'll only end up getting yourself in deeper trouble. You're sentenced to exile, not death. There's still room for maneuver. As long as you nurse yourself back to health, we will have another chance. I'll send some men to secretly follow you along the journey to protect you, and they will stay in South Xinjiang keeping you safe during your stay in that place. You're a Yuwen, His Majesty's uncle. Although you did something wrong, as long as His Majesty doesn't want you dead, nobody would dare hurt a hair on your head. You'll find your life quite comfortable in South Xinjiang. That place is far from the capital city, and if I pull some strings, you won't have to labor in a mine or graze animals like the other exiles do, and neither will you ever find yourself short of food. You'll be covertly installed in a residence there, and there will be servants, too. You may end your days in comfort, and you might even be allowed to return to the capital city after His Majesty cools off. In that case, you'll live here as His Majesty's uncle, and nobody would dare trifle with you. I promise I'll do everything within my power to get you back here.

Isn't this a pretty good way of handling it, Father? South Xinjiang is not really that horrible. On the contrary, you'll be able to do whatever you want. As long as you don't step out of line, everybody would be turning a blind eye to it and wouldn't tattle on you to His Majesty. It's best for you, for me, for my little brother and for His Majesty. It's best for everybody, isn't it? I don't understand what it is that you're dissatisfied with. Why are you trying so hard to stay in this troubled city, stooping so low as to fake an illness? What good could it possibly do to lie in bed all day, not being able to do anything? Tell me, Father, why are you doing this?"

Yuwen Zhi in bed was clearly infuriated, his chest heaving violently. Eventually, he failed to restrain himself, opened his eyes which were red with rage, glared at Yuwen Feng and railed, "You arrogant, unfilial son! How dare you!"

Yuwen Feng was totally unsurprised to see him open his eyes.

Yuwen Zhi propped himself up, pointed at Yuwen Feng and spat, "If you really care about me, you should be seeking to have me stay in this city, rather than sending me to South Xinjiang to suffer! I'll be able to do whatever I want there? I'll be under constant watch and won't be able to do anything I want! I don't care whether there will be servants waiting upon me or not. I've been waited on all my life! You're seriously expecting me to see that as a favor I should be deeply grateful for?! Ridiculous!"

"Father, why are you making it so difficult for you to see reason? You really have no knowledge of the severity of the crimes you committed? My cousin tolerated your doings again and again, and do you know why? Because he made a promise to my uncle. If it weren't for that promise, he would never have put up with your behavior for so long, given how many times you provoked him. Why couldn't you come back to your senses? Why are you so insistent on working against my cousin? Exactly what is it that you want, Father?"

Yuwen Feng looked at Yuwen Zhi in disappointment. He chose to open his heart to Yuwen Zhi because he wanted Yuwen Zhi to understand that South Xinjiang was not a slough of misery, that as long as he still drew breath, there would always be a chance to have things take a turn for the better. Why couldn't his father listen to reason?

"You want to know what I want? I'll tell you. Had Yuwen Tong not ruined my plans over and over again, I would have been the one sitting on the throne! Yuwen Tong is utterly unworthy of it!" erupted Yuwen Zhi, angrily pointing a finger in the direction of the imperial palace. "Who does Yuwen Tong think he is?! Why did he have to take away from me all the positions that were rightfully mine?! He and I are both surnamed Yuwen, but your grandfather was partial to him, and now even providence is partial to him as well! Why?!"

Yuwen Feng gaped at Yuwen Zhi in shock. "Father? You..."

'What makes you think you could've been the one sitting on the throne?' he wondered.

Yuwen Feng always knew that his father was self-important, but it'd never crossed his mind that his father would have such an unrealistic idea!

Yuwen Feng felt that his father was being absurd. "Father, you really think that prince in the cold palace that you used to support stood a chance of ascending the throne? The one who had no strong family background, no learning and no ability whatsoever? Have you any idea how many eyes were watching you in this country? Have you any idea how many eyes were watching you in this city? You think those people would let you do that? You think they'd really let a puppet prince accede to the throne? Even if the puppet prince was enthroned – and that's a big if – you really think you could control him and have him abdicate in favor of you? You can't be that naive, Father."

SLAP! Yuwen Zhi slapped Yuwen Feng hard across the face and bellowed, "SHUT UP!"

After being slapped, Yuwen Feng took in a large gulp of air before turning around to look at his father. "You've got to wake up, Father. This country belongs to the Yuwen family now. As long as my cousin remains the emperor, we'll have inexhaustible wealth and endless glory. Why do you have to be so obsessed with something illusory? Your stay in South Xinjiang will be temporary. Sooner or later you'll return to the capital city, and when you do, you'll still be my cousin's uncle. No one will be above you in terms of status."

"I am not impressed!" enunciated Yuwen Zhi, cold anger in every syllable.

The look in Yuwen Feng's eyes gradually became flinty and disappointed. "Father, are you really so anxious to die?"

"GET OUT!" ranted Yuwen Zhi.

Yuwen Feng lowered his eyes to conceal the disappointment in them. "Father, there's still some time before your sentence of exile would be carried out. I hope you'll come around. When the time comes, if you still refuse to change your mind, then even I won't be able to save you."

Yuwen Zhi grabbed a porcelain vase from the table beside him and hurled it at Yuwen Feng.

The vase hit him with a smash.

Yuwen Feng was wounded, his hand gashed on a piece of the vase that bounced off the ground.

Yuwen Feng looked at the wound on his hand from which blood was flowing, his heart growing cold, hardening. When he raised his head and shifted his gaze to Yuwen Zhi again, his eyes had gone completely icy. "I cannot let you destroy our family, Father. I have a wife and concubines and children. I cannot let them die with you."

After saying this, Yuwen Feng left the room, ignoring Yuwen Zhi who was cursing him furiously. He walked through the front gates of the courtyard house without a glance at the physician standing in the doorway or the servant tremulously kneeling on the ground, and then instructed the guards on duty in the gateway, "Keep close watch on everybody in this house, including that physician. Nobody leaves here without my permission."

"Yes, Your Lordship," chorused the guards.

Naturally, the guards had heard the loud arguments from inside.

Yuwen Feng had walked a long distance with a flinty face when he felt a sudden stab of pain in the chest, and then he had a dizzy spell and staggered.

The servant behind him hastened to catch him. "Your Lordship!"

Yuwen Feng held his hand. When the dizziness ebbed away, he shook his head and said, "I'm okay. Help me back to my room. Don't breathe a word of this to anybody."

"Yes, Your Lordship."

...

In Yuwen Zhi's room.

The Gu master walked inside and, seeing the mess in the room, ordered the servant, "Clean it up."

"Ye–Yes," answered the servant, still trembling. Then he called the other servants in, cleared the ground and then hurriedly left.

Looking at Yuwen Zhi who was still consumed with indignation, the Gu master consoled him, "There's no need for you to be so angry, Lord Yuwen. Now that Yuwen Feng has come to know you've been pretending, you don't have to mistreat yourself so much as to lie in bed all day any longer. You may just eat and drink whatever pleases you and get energized. We have a lot of work ahead of us. In addition, thanks to the sudden surge of anger and abrupt mood swings of Yuwen Feng's, the Gu worm inside him is probably wriggling faster. It will reach his brain and control him for us in less than two days, and when it does, you'll be able to do whatever you want. After this argument, you should have seen him for who he really is, and I suppose you won't feel guilty about what you're going to do to him any more."Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Yuwen Zhi looked at him for a while before he grinned sinisterly, "You're right. An undutiful son like him is undeserving of my affection. I shall have him repay me for giving him life and raising him by serving as my stepping stone to the throne."