I don't get a say in this, do I?

Part 6

Ningjing POV

We arrived in a small cottage on the outskirts of the village, the interior was simple, with a kang bed, and a clay kitchen counter along with some wooden boxes probably containing the kitchen ware and maybe some food. On the kang bed, there lay a man, to whom the child dragged me to, 'What's up with this boy, why is he so strong?'

I was aware that he was desperate, but how could he, a boy no older than nine, simply drag me here and there like a rag doll? 'I really need to get my priorities straight.' I knelt down next to the old man, and started inspecting him as I asked questions to the boy, "What and when did you eat last?"
"It was around two hours ago, I ate some congee, because I had a tummy ache in the morning, and uncle ate some fish he caught from the river."
'Probably food poisoning then.' "What did the fish look like?"

"It was an ordinary rainbow trout." 'Well probably not.'
"Is your uncle a fisherman?" If it wasn't food poisoning, then he must have been poisoned by something else.
The boy nodded his head, making me look for bite marks on the poor man. The boy wasn't exaggerating when he said he looked green, but he also looked pale and in pain. I first checked on the man's feet and ankles, suspecting the culprit to be a snake, and surely enough, there were two red dots surrounded by blue veins, right under his calf.

"Are there any snakes around this area? Venomous ones, to be exact?" The boy's face lit up with realisation to my words. "There are dragon snakes, living around the river."

'Bǎo, what exactly are dragon snakes, and does this look like one of their doings?' It wouldn't exactly be a good idea to try to cure something you know nothing of. [Well, host, dragon snakes are snakes, whose scales are sharper and tougher than that of ordinary snakes, and they have tiny, wing shaped limbs on their backs, which are useless.
As for whether or not it looks like a dragon snake bite, it looks similar, but the bite of a dragon snake makes black or purple veins surround the bite, instead of blue. Also, it's extremely venomous, so it's a miracle that the man is still breathing.]

'That's weird.' I stayed silent, and furrowed my brows. 'There's something going on here.' Still, I kept up my act, and quickly asked the boy about where I could find the needed herbs to heal his uncle. I wouldn't risk the life of another person, just because something didn't sit right with me. He told me that if I go south from the village, I would at some point come across a cliff where all kinds of herbs grow, and told me to gather and make a balsam with the bluebells that grow there, honey, tea leaves and dandelions.

'Bǎo, aren't bluebells poisonous?' The only reason why I knew this is because my teacher once told the class about how she seriously fell sick after consuming the half of a blossom.
[They are, but the dandelions in this world have even more healing properties than in that of your world, and the bluebells also have some properties that nullify some of that of a dragon snake poison. The tea leaves are for easing the pain, and the honey is there, so that the skin can better heal itself.]

Accepting the answer, I grabbed myself a horse from the stables and rode over to the cliff as fast as I could. Upon arriving there after around 50 minutes, I began searching for the bluebells, which didn't take long, because the periwinkle flowers shone the brightest. I gathered two bouquets of them (ten for each). In the meantime, I consulted with Bǎo about this strange feeling I've been having around the village.

[You're right, host. I hadn't noticed it before you pointed it out, but there's a heavy air around there, not to mention the snake bite from before. It all could be an illusion.] hearing this, it made me even more nervous, and I decided to run away in a three days time.

'It was also weird that they were so persistent in having me around. Too persistent, too friendly. For them, I'm just a random stray, why would they even warm up to me as quickly as they did? Even if they are good people, in this world where ghosts and demons roam around freely, you'd have to be extra careful with strangers, unless you want to die..."
The extravagant clothing, the good food from around the world, everyone being happy and healthy... too healthy for this day and age... that weird snake bite... 'Bǎo. Are there any snakes around this area, whose bite causes blue veins to pop out around it?"

[... No, host] I was shaking.
'Hahaha... little Bǎo, I fear that we might have fucked a couple of shingles... hahahaha-'
I had officially lost it, laughing hysterically at my misery, 'Ofc, the VERY first town we get to just HAD to be a goddamn ghost town. Fuck my luck.'
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.
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I was now on my way back to the town, having decided on running away in three days, after gathering some supplies and money. Besides, if everything in that village is an illusion, then who's to say that this very horse is actually a horse? I'll have to escape on foot.

'Bǎo, two days. I ask you to find me a civilisation of humans in the next two days, can you do that for me?'
[Of course, host! Oh, and I also recommend that you start meditating.] Right, the basic requirement for cultivation, a stable core. Best way to achieve that, meditation. But- 'Bǎo, wouldn't they feel it if I started meditating?'
[They would, if you were a cultivator, but right now, you're just a novice at this, so they won't.]
'That's good to know. Bǎo, can you then show me the state of my core in my stats?'
[I will, once you start meditating. You first have to 'unlock' that stat, if you will.]
'Thank you.' At this point, I had somewhat calmed down my nerves and made it to the village.

Once there, I quickly got to work, the boy providing me with the rest of the ingredients 'I'm such an idiot, it was suspicious from the start. Why else would he go around, looking for help from others, waste his precious time and endanger his uncle, if he already knew what to do, down to the location of the bluebells. Now that I think about it, he directly ran to me.'

I finished the balsam and applied it on the uncle's leg and bandaged it. I could clearly feel the kid's gaze boring into my head from behind. As to not seem tense or terrified, I decided to initiate a conversation.

"Come to think of it, during the rush, I completely forgot to ask you your name, please excuse my ignorance."
I gave the boy a soft and warm smile, as soft and warm as I could fake. The boy perked up at this, "Ah, no need to apologise, I'm sorry for troubling you in the first place. My name is Yu Bai, what's your name?"

"My name is Zhang Ningjing. Nice to meet you, Yu Bai." I pat his head gently,
'He looks like white lotus Luo Binghe, fuck."