Chapter 681: Chapter 678: Falling into the Trap Chapter 681: Chapter 678: Falling into the Trap They arrived at the harbor at just after four in the morning, where a fleet of cars was already waiting at Tsim Sha Tsui. Huo Sining and the others were escorted back to the hotel.

As soon as she entered her room, Huo Sining threw herself onto the bed and quickly fell asleep. The dangerous gamble had brought her not only thrills but also exhaustion.

The others were too excited to sleep, especially Su Qingqing and Bai Yishan, who still felt like everything that had happened the night before was a dream.

In stark contrast to the Song Family’s easy victory, the misfortune of the Ye family and the Xiang Brothers could aptly be described with a few words: miseries never come singly.

As soon as he returned to the Ye family’s residence, Ye Rongbin reported everything that had happened on the high seas to Ye Han, who looked extremely displeased. Although he did not curse out loud, his words were full of reproach for Ye Rongbin’s inadequacy and propensity for causing trouble.

Knowing his father’s temper, Ye Rongbin didn’t dare to retort even a single word. But a surge of anger was building up inside him. After enduring his father’s lectures for half an hour, he finally returned to his room.

After a sleep, at just past seven in the morning, while still in the midst of slumber, Ye Rongbin vaguely felt an intolerable itching on his arm. Instinctively, he reached to scratch it, and as he did so, a rash of red bumps appeared on his arm.

The more he scratched, the worse it got, and soon his entire body felt uncomfortable. By the time Ye Rongbin couldn’t bear the itch and climbed out of bed, it wasn’t just his arms that were affected. His chest, back, legs, and even his face were covered with large and small pustules.

“What’s going on?!”

Ye Rongbin, looking at the frightful face in the mirror covered with dark red bumps, not just on his face but all over his body, shivered uncontrollably and widened his eyes in horror.

Just like Ye Rongbin, the Xiang Brothers awoke from sleep due to itching and were startled to see the rash covering their bodies. They immediately summoned the family doctor.

The Xiang family’s doctor, who practiced traditional Chinese medicine and had been treating Xiang Jinsheng, furrowed his brow at the sight of the horrifying dark bumps on the brothers’ bodies.

He had been practicing medicine for over thirty years and had never seen such a strange illness. He prescribed a medicine for the two brothers to take, but it had no effect; the itching persevered, and the more they scratched, the itchier they got, creating a vicious cycle of scratching and itching.

“Someone, tie up the young masters’ hands.”

After thinking it over, the doctor found a nanny and fetched two ropes to tie the brothers’ hands behind their backs to prevent them from scratching the bumps.

Now the Xiang Brothers itched intolerably all over and, unable to reach the rash, became frantic. Had it not been for their respect for the doctor as an elder, they would have burst into curses.

“What’s going on here?”

Xiang Jinsheng was woken up early by the nanny and was shocked when he saw the sorry state of his brothers in the living room.

“What happened to them? How could they both have developed a body full of bumps at the same time?”

When the doctor heard the word “simultaneously,” he was taken aback and asked anxiously, “Where did the young masters go last night?”

Xiang Jinsheng, being a perceptive man, immediately understood the crux of the matter when he heard the doctor’s question and quickly contacted the Ye family. Soon enough, someone from the Ye family confirmed that Ye Rongbin was suffering from the same symptoms.

Xiang Jinsheng’s face darkened. The Song family had won the bet, but to do something so venomous–it was as if they were belittling the Xiang family for not having anyone to stand up for them.

“This is intolerable! Does the Song family really think I, Xiang Jinsheng, am an easy target to be manipulated at will?!” Xiang Jinsheng slammed his hand on the table, furious beyond measure.

The doctor, seeing Xiang Jinsheng turning to make a phone call to deal with the Song family, quickly shouted,
“Mister Xiang, please wait! This matter is probably not that simple, I don’t think it’s the Song family’s doing!”

Xiang Jinsheng was puzzled and turned his head, filled with confusion, “They just went to the Song family’s boat last night, and after sleeping, they woke up like this. If it wasn’t the Song family, then who was it?”

Looking at the symptoms of the Xiang Brothers, and thinking of their ruthless methods, the doctor felt a tingling scalp:
“Mister Xiang, the young masters’ symptoms are not just a common rash, but… but…”
At this point, the doctor stammered, finding it difficult to speak, as even he found the idea absurd.

“What is it? Speak up!” Xiang Jinsheng became impatient.

“Although I’ve never seen it personally, I have read about this condition in a book. The symptoms described in the book are very similar to those of the young masters–sudden onset, with an unknown cause.”

The doctor took a deep breath, finally mustering up the courage to say, “They have most likely been poisoned with gu.”

“Gu poison?!”

Ye Han’s face was full of shock. Seeing his son struggling to endure, with a pained and ferocious expression, his mood also darkened.

“What exactly is going on here? How could they, seemingly out of nowhere, provoke a Miaojiang sorcerer? Those people always lurk in the shadows, elusive as dragons; why would they suddenly come out and poison the three of them?”

Early in the morning, the Ye family had called in several senior experts to diagnose their son, but none could identify the cause. The bumps were still emerging on the skin; the original dark red bumps burst one by one, oozing dark, foul-smelling pus, which was extremely revolting.

It was then that A Zheng suddenly thought of something and hurriedly brought some information to Ye Han’s hands:
“Master, please look at this information. This is what the young master had his people look up. This woman with the surname Huo is from Bashu, which is the territory of the Miao People. Could it be that this woman is a descendant of Miaojiang, and that the young masters were poisoned with gu by this woman named Huo or her accomplice?”

After hearing this, Ye Han’s face changed dramatically. He quickly started flipping through the information in his hands, and after reviewing it, his expression grew even graver.

These men had lived on the edge of a knife and naturally had more insight than ordinary people.

The information on Huo Sining appeared simple, yet it was rife with problems.

An eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, without father or mother, without power or status, without any background, had managed to accumulate such wealth in just a short year. There was definitely something amiss here.

Fish farming, gambling on stones, treasure appraisal, and even gambling–without someone teaching her, how could a rural girl come into contact with these things? Behind her, there must be a mysterious force supporting her, and perhaps the people behind her are from Miaojiang.

The Miao Ethnicity in China has always been very mysterious, not only can the Miao People cast gu, but they can also manipulate corpses.

Their gu poisoning methods are ever-evolving; many people are ensnared without even realizing it.

The Miao People are known for their intense and unyielding nature. Once you’ve crossed them, they never forget a grudge and will not stop until their goal is achieved.