"Huh?" I wasn't sure how much he understood about the situation, or how he was interpreting the scene I had just witnessed. Yet, seeing him suddenly appear in the ward made me feel a pang of guilt. He had driven all the way to Wangcheng to find my elder sister so I could be discharged, and I should have visited him the moment I got to the hospital yesterday, but I had completely forgotten about him.

"I'm fine, just a mild concussion and some minor scrapes," he said with a smile, seemingly noticing my embarrassment. "I don't know who that person was just now, but I do know your sister was indeed afflicted with Gǔ poison; she told me herself. She went to Wangcheng precisely to find that Miao woman who cast it."

"Did you find her?"

Wang Jue shook his head. "The Miao woman's brother passed away, and she returned to her hometown for the funeral."

I buried my head in my hands dejectedly, wondering why fate kept dealing us such a bad hand. "Did my sister tell you how she was poisoned?"

Wang Jue nodded and walked over to the sofa, settling down. "I know you learned she went to Wangcheng from her colleague. You'd been hospitalized for over two months, and she hadn't visited you once. Then, suddenly, she became unreachable. I was afraid she had given up on you, so I started asking around for news of her. I have a friend who works at a newspaper; I asked him to inquire about her whereabouts through your sister's colleague. The colleague said your sister hadn't been herself during that period—she often spaced out, sometimes remaining lost for half a day, unresponsive no matter who called her name. Sometimes, when she finally snapped out of it, she would just say someone had been talking to her. Then, one day, she came back from a psychiatric hospital and was suddenly normal again. Both her eyes and her speech lacked that previous muddled quality, and her thinking was incredibly sharp. She told her colleague that she had been poisoned with Gǔ and needed to return to Wangcheng immediately to find the Miao woman who cast it and have it undone."

"Hearing all that, my professional instinct as a psychiatrist told me your sister shouldn't have traveled to Wangcheng alone. If she had another episode while en route, she could have easily gotten into danger while unconscious. So, I requested leave from the hospital and drove to Wangcheng to follow your sister. Her colleague mentioned she might have gone to Wuzhuang, looking for a Miao woman with the surname Hua. Once I reached Wangcheng, I started tracing Wuzhuang. Fortunately, the place wasn't hard to find. Upon arrival, I quickly gathered the whereabouts of the Miao woman surnamed Hua and your sister. The Miao woman had already left for the funeral, and your sister was sitting alone outside the Miao woman's home, staring blankly. I managed to get her to take a Ritalin tablet, and she gradually regained lucidity after a while."

Listening to the story of his and my sister's ordeal made my shame for neglecting to visit him yesterday deepen. I didn't know how to properly compensate to make my belated 'thank you' sound sincere. Never mind; a great debt requires no words; I would keep it in my heart.

"Later, your sister told me a great deal. She contracted the Gǔ poison after your accident. At the time, she was working on a feature series about the living customs of the Miao people. Her editor provided a lead, directing her to Wuzhuang to interview the Miao woman. Initially, the Miao woman was very friendly; they chatted pleasantly about topics like marriage, and the Miao woman even showed off the silver ornaments she wore when she was married. Midway through, the photographer and the Miao woman's other friends gradually left the room. When only your sister and the Miao woman remained, the Miao woman brought out a specially crafted cup, poured a small amount of a peculiar drink into it, and offered it to your sister, saying it was specially prepared for her. After your sister drank it, she lost all memory."