“Who exactly are you? Where are you taking me?”
Unable to break free, Shiliang could only shout at the top of her lungs—though truthfully, she didn’t need to ask. This road led straight to the Pharmacist Clan’s poison den. This man in black was from the den, and he was taking her there!
But why bring her there at all?
“Are you taking me there to raise poison in me? Who are you? Let go of me!”
“You wretched old man, let go of me, do you hear me? Someone, help! Help me!”
…
No matter how much Shiliang shouted and screamed, the man in black said nothing at all, only walking faster and faster.
Eventually, Shiliang’s voice grew hoarse from screaming, and she finally, obediently, fell silent.
At last, just before sunset, they reached the poison den. In the dim, fading light, the den looked more sinister and terrifying than ever, like some ancient castle inhabited by bloodsucking demons—even the sheer, jagged cliffside seemed to bare its fangs and claws.
The guards stationed at the entrance dropped to their knees the instant they saw the man in black, not even daring to breathe too loudly. Seeing this, Shiliang sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, a horrifying thought flashing through her mind—one she didn’t even dare think through fully.
She had come here once before, with Jun Beiyue. The guards outside this cave showed no deference to anyone, regardless of rank—and yet they were kneeling before this man in black without hesitation!
There was no question—this man in black was their master. The old man of the poison den!
Just then, the man in black slowly turned his head to look at Shiliang. He had dragged her along for a full day and night, and only now did he finally speak—with a laugh, an eerie, unsettling laugh that made every pore on Shiliang’s body stand on end.
“Heh heh heh, little girl, don’t be afraid. Come with grandfather, and grandfather will give you something delicious to eat.”
“I don’t want it!”
Shiliang thrashed violently, desperately trying to wrench free of those old hands, but no matter how hard she fought, using every last ounce of strength she had, she couldn’t break loose.
The old man of the poison den paid her struggling no mind whatsoever, grinning in that eerie, unsettling way as he dragged her easily deeper into the cave, clicking his tongue in admiration all the while. “My, my, little girl, your skin’s so soft and tender. This old man could just take a bite out of you…”
As he spoke, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Before Shiliang even had time to register what had happened, she found herself standing in a stone chamber, the old man of the poison den’s sharp, gleaming eyes right in front of her.
“Ah…”
Terror stripped every ounce of composure from Shiliang. She stumbled backward in a panic and, off balance, fell flat onto her back.
In an instant, a shadow flickered, and the old man’s cold, sinister eyes loomed close once more, the darkness around them so thick that his entire body seemed to melt into it—only his eyes remained visible.
Then, abruptly, his mouth opened, revealing a row of bone-white teeth like a skull’s grin. “Little girl, grandfather’s hungry. Let grandfather take a bite, won’t you?”
“Get away! Get away! Ahh… help, someone help, please, help!”
Shiliang was frightened half out of her mind, flailing wildly with her hands without a thought for anything else—but she struck nothing at all. The old man of the poison den had vanished in an instant!
The room was pitch black, with only Shiliang left inside. On an ordinary day, she wouldn’t have been this terrified—but this was the poison den, and the one who’d seized her was this old man of the poison den, someone she’d never met, never known a thing about!
The greatest master of poison and poison-cultivation under heaven!
There was no way Shiliang could stay calm. She was so terrified she nearly wet herself, her legs trembling in tandem, not daring to move an inch, terrified of accidentally brushing against something in the darkness she shouldn’t touch.
Suddenly, from deep within the darkness, the old man’s voice drifted out, tinged with curiosity. “Little girl, are you scared?”
Shiliang couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from at all, had no idea how to defend herself.
“Little girl, your constitution really is quite special. You’re not from the lone island, and yet you possess a body that can be cultivated into one immune to all poisons. Little girl, did you take your medicine today?”
“What exactly do you want from me? What kind of coward hides in the shadows playing tricks like this!” Shiliang forced up her courage and shouted furiously.
“Ooh, so fierce! That’s more like it. Little girl, do you know—to truly cultivate a body immune to all poisons, it’s not enough to just have the right constitution. You also need a truly vicious heart.”
As the old man spoke, he let out a soft, eerie chuckle, chilling enough to raise gooseflesh on anyone’s skin. “Once the poison-body is fully cultivated, we’ll dig out that vicious heart, soak it in poison water until it swells up nice and plump, and then take a bite, one bite at a time. Ah, the flavor of it…”
Shiliang couldn’t take any more of this. She clapped her hands over her ears and screamed. “Ah—stop it, I don’t want to hear it, stop!”
And, to her scream, the old man of the poison den actually did stop talking. The vast stone chamber fell silent once more.
It took a long while before Shiliang’s screaming finally quieted, though she still didn’t dare take her hands off her ears, her sanity teetering right on the edge of collapse—the terror so extreme that breaking down might almost have been a relief, and yet she couldn’t quite manage it.
Hands still clamped over her ears, she shook her head desperately—until, suddenly, she froze. Slowly, she turned her head to look toward her right shoulder, and the moment she did, every ounce of terror she’d been holding back rushed straight to her throat, choking her so completely that she couldn’t even scream, her very soul nearly leaping from her body in fright.
There, in the darkness, a pale bluish, skeletal old hand rested on her shoulder—and the old man of the poison den crouched right beside her.
“No…”
At last, Shiliang screamed, a sound so heart-wrenching it seemed to shake the very heavens. “No… please let me go, I’m begging you, please let me go! I’m begging you! Waah…”
“Little girl, what’s wrong with you? Grandfather isn’t a bad person. Grandfather only wants to know—did you take your medicine today?” The old man’s terrifying tone suddenly turned gentle, kindly even—but Shiliang had long since been frightened out of her wits, no longer capable of recognizing gentleness for what it was.
“No, I haven’t taken it. The medicine’s with Physician Gu, I haven’t taken it!”
“Will you take it, then? I have plenty of medicine here!”
“No… I don’t want it, I don’t want it! Please, spare me, please, I’ll do anything you want, just spare me!”
“If you don’t take your medicine, grandfather won’t be happy. Now what shall we do?”
“I’ll take it, I’ll take it right now!”
At these words, a flicker of disdain crossed the old man’s eyes. Only then did he stand up, sighing reproachfully. “Luocha, it’s already dark out—why haven’t the lamps been lit? Look, you’ve frightened our guest half to death.”
“Yes, Master. This disciple was so happy to see you, I completely forgot.” The head disciple Luocha hurried forward at once with a lantern, laughing cheerfully. “Master, what brings you out of seclusion?”
“This master is hungry, that’s why.” As the old man spoke, he made an unmistakable sound of swallowing, which sent Shiliang—who had only just barely begun to calm down—into another full-body shiver of gooseflesh.
In the dim glow of the lantern light, she finally got a clear look at the old man of the poison den—entirely dressed in black, his features utterly indiscernible. But at least he no longer seemed like some ghostly apparition; at least she now knew he was, in fact, human.
“Give her the medicine, then bring her in to keep me company,” the old man said with idle ease, examining the drops of blood dripping into a porcelain bowl of water. Then, suddenly, his expression turned serious. “Doesn’t look like this can be cultivated overnight, though. Luocha, bring the poison staff.”
At those words, Luocha couldn’t help but shudder, while a terrified Shiliang had absolutely no idea what horror awaited her.