The Tale of A Villainess ✔️

Ch 51: Second Meeting, Medicinal Valley

Quote of the Day:

"Life must be understood backward. But it must be lived forward." – Søren Kierkegaard

**

Second Meeting: Next Day

Scholar Li starts off the conversation, "After further experiments and research, there is no doubt that the mushroom poison is similar to that of the poisonous needles. Amatoxin-containing mushrooms. I have compared both the needle and the mushroom's symptoms based on a small dosage on myself."

"Yourself?" I say, "Is that alright?"

I-Is that why he is walking like a crab today?

He smiles and flips his hair, "A small dosage, I can treat. I realized that the poison is unlikely to be detected in serum more than 36–48 hours after ingestion. As expected, following the initial symptoms is the recovery stage, but all would follow with symptoms like absence of strength and appetite. This indicates liver failure; but of course, I didn't go that far. Did you see the symptoms in the Emperor, Tenth Prince?"

Rong Yi nods, "Yes. The Emperor thought his symptoms were getting better until he began to lose appetite and strength recently. His skin turned yellow as well."

Scholar Li runs his chin and continues, "I see.. the severity of the poison seems to correlate with the amount of toxin ingested on a body weight basis. Perhaps the person behind the scenes have been feeding the Emperor small doses of the poison day by day."

I gasp and experience an epiphany, "Scholar Li, do you know the difference in toxin content in a mushroom?"

I have heard of but have no clue what Amatoxin is, quite frankly. The most I can do is take notes about what Scholar Li is saying.

But there is one thing I inquire:

If there is a difference in the toxin content in the mushroom, then the mushroom itself can be harvested for various usages.

Scholar Li replies with a nod, "Oh, yes. The highest concentration is found in the ring whereas the bulb has the lowest toxin content. The toxin content is higher in mature mushrooms than in young specimens. Why?"

Sir Xu raises his brows as his eyes wanders toward me, "Zi Yan, you are one step ahead again. Let me guess what you were going to say: The ring and the bulb of the mushrooms will be used depending on their toxin content. The needles, the highly toxic ring. The Emperor's poison, the low toxin bulb."

I scratch my head and laugh, "Sir, you always finish my sentences."

Now that I realize it, I've never met someone who thinks so much like me.

General Li indulges in a deep thought, "There were an abundance of needles. That means there must be a lab somewhere in which the mushrooms are being refined."

Sir Xu remarks, "Correct. Our focus now will be on discovering a potential location where the lab will take place."

For the next few days, that's what we did. We searched the least obvious places. We attended over ten places with the potential of a secret lab. After our eleventh destination, we decide to think things through again.

"We have checked almost all of the least expected areas. Why do we see absolutely no progress at all?"

Sir Xu frowns, "Perchance.. we have to check the obvious places. After all, if you want to hide a treasure, put it in plain sight. Then no one will see it."

Scholar Li's brows furrow, "Sir Xu, what do you mean by that?"

"Well, Scholar Li, if you want to hide a leaf, wouldn't it be best if you hide it in a forest?"

Something pops up within Rong Yi's head, "If that's so.. then our best bet is the medicinal valley, where hundreds of thousands of herbs are harvested annually."

Scholar Li clears his throat, "I thought it'd be too obvious at first so I forfeited the idea of checking it out. I agree. We shall see. We may also encounter a familiar face there."

After several hours worth of a carriage ride, the terrain begins to become greener. The hills widen, with chains of mountains connecting to each other. Bushes of herbs and plants fill the area, crowding the space.

Soon, we approach the herb farm and log cabin, where cottage-style landscapes and gardens embellish the surroundings. Getting off our horse carriages, we arrive near the log cabin.

A young lady exits the cabin, with her left hand carrying a basket of herbs. "Brother Li!" She drops her basket and runs towards us. She embraces Scholar Li first, then her eyes rest at Xu Kai.

The scene becomes awkward. I watch as she sheepishly stares at Xu Kai.

W-Why is her eye twitching like that?

"Co-Commander Xu.. You're back again," she whispers softly as twirls her dress around.

Sir Xu stoically replies, "Yes. We are back on a mission."

Scholar Li introduces the little lady, "For those who don't know, this is my little sister, Wan'er. She is a disciple of the Master Herbalist here. Wan'er, this is General Li, the Tenth Prince Rong Yi, and Miss Yuan Zi Yan. We are all on a critical mission at the moment. Is the Master Herbalist here?"

She shakes her head, proceeding to inform us about how the herbalist is out of the city. She is now in charge..

I gulp down.

Is it wrong that the first thing I notice about her is..

*Cough*

BIG MELONS!

*Cough*

I glance down at myself.

No comparison.