NOVEL NEXT Chapter 151
Chapter 151: Fabre in the Four Heavenly Houses
“Fire and Ice 2”
The Artisan quickly pressed down on my poisoned points to slow the poison’s progression and immediately began the antidote.
I was indeed poisoned, but the silver lining was that one of the Tang Clan’s top masters, the Artisan, was by my side.
‘What a comforting thought.’
With the best poison expert of the Central Plains as my physician, I found some solace.
“Don’t worry too much, I’ll attempt to detoxify you first.”
Feeling a bit reassured by the Artisan’s trustworthy words, I noticed Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol staring at the water jar, prompting them to ask the Artisan.
“Father, we both touched Wol-yeong, so why is it only So-ryong who got poisoned? It’s strange. If the three of us all touched it, shouldn’t we all be poisoned?”
“That’s right. Elder, we both touched Wol-yeong too… So why only Long? Could it be that only males get poisoned by this venom?”
In this situation, the most suspicious venom was, without a doubt, from Wol-yeong, who had recently been added to the mix.
Though we hadn’t discussed it, it was an unspoken agreement among us all.
Such events had never occurred before he joined us, and since I was exhaling blue flames like that fire-breathing creature, it was only natural that he’d be suspected.
Yet, as Wei So-ryong and Older Sister Seol mentioned, I was not the only one who had touched him, which left Seol and Hua Eun puzzled.
Older Sister Seol even questioned if it was venom that only affected males.
However, upon closer examination, the only commonality in our encounters was that we all touched him, but the timing was different.
The most recent touch was solely mine.
Older Sister Seol and Hua Eun had only touched him immediately after arriving on the boat. Those two occasions—seeing him for the first time back at the swamp and once more on the ship—were the only times they had come into contact with him.
Amphibian skin is sensitive, so I had been cautioned against handling it too much. As far as I knew, neither had touched Wol-yeong since then, and I was the only one who had.
Even my recent inspection of his hind legs was likewise exclusive to me.
So, I could trace the cause of my poisoning.
‘How could I make such a rookie mistake… Am I too excited because it’s been a while since I’ve encountered an amphibian?’
Realizing the cause, the first feeling that flooded my mind was sheer idiocy.
After all, if I had recognized he was an amphibian’s tadpole, I should have been much more cautious.
Some poisonous frogs and toads do not produce their venom directly; instead, they consume creatures like spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and ants to store their toxins and later utilize them as their own.
Since they cannot produce their venom, should I say that they recycle the venoms of others?
Because of this, when raised with food devoid of toxins in a controlled environment, they can be managed easily, but should they receive anything collected from nature, they immediately become toxic, so one must be careful about their feed or raising conditions.
‘But would eating fire allow one to produce poison?’
I didn’t realize until too late that, while I wasn’t feeding raw food, I was actually feeding fire, but still, one would expect someone who handles poisons should be cautious—yet here I was, making such a blunder…
Especially after having witnessed so many exceptional scenarios among spiritual creatures.
‘The path of spicy Fabre, the expert on poisonous matters in the Martial World, is not an easy one.’
Feeling fortunate that I was the only one poisoned, I calmed the flames spewing from my nose and mouth and began to explain what I had deduced to Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol.
The Artisan was too focused to respond to their questions anyway.
“Cough. Cough…
Venomous creatures, like the ones in the region around the mountains, do not produce their own toxins; instead, they gather poisons from others and use them as their own. In light of that, it’s certain that that creature here creates venom from eating fire.
So, before it consumed fire, it did not have toxins, which is why I seem to be the only one poisoned, since I was the last one to touch it.
The poison it produced from the initial fire I fed it likely started circulating just when its hind legs were developing.”
It seemed my encounters with it at the swamp or soon after arriving on the ship didn’t trigger any issues—presumably because it hadn’t eaten fire prior to that.
I theorized that the poison it began producing started flowing after I fed it fire for the first time, which is why I ended up getting poisoned.
At this conjecture, both Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol’s eyes went wide with shock.
“Consuming fire to produce toxins? That’s astonishing!”
“So, it creates toxins by consuming fire?”
Then came a groan from the Artisan attending to me.
“Ugh. What on earth…”
There was a feeling something wasn’t right, and suddenly anxiety surged within me, prompted by the Artisan’s groans.
What could possibly be wrong now?
My heart raced in response to the anxiety bubbling up within.
Suddenly, a warm liquid began flowing from my nose.
-Drip. Drip. Plop. Plop…
Nosebleed! It came rushing down all at once, apparently triggered by the flames I had expelled, causing some injury within.
Yet my nosebleed was a minor issue, because as soon as it spilled onto the floor…
-A tremendous fire burst up!
As soon as the thick blood hit the ground, flames erupted.
“What the—!”
The Artisan, startled from his concentrated state, quickly started fanning out the fire with his sleeve, yet the floor underneath me was scorched black.
Though more concerned about the ugly burn mark on the new ship floor, I couldn’t even register that worry, as the real shock was my blood igniting.
‘What kind of poison turns human blood into gasoline!?!’
Surprised, my eyes widened as I watched my blood blaze, prompting Hua Eun to urgently question the Artisan.
“Father! What about the detoxification? How is the antidote coming along?”
As my blood caught fire, a sense of urgency was clearly overwhelming Hua Eun.
The Artisan finally shook his head and replied, “I may not be able to help you, but I’ve never dealt with such a venom before… I cannot separate it from your body. Though I attempted, it was impossible.”
I speculated it might be a type of Blood-Burning Poison (화혈독), but it turned out to be completely different.
Blood-Burning Poison was notorious throughout the Tang Clan, known for causing one’s blood to ignite in a burning agony when afflicted.
Yet, contrary to the Artisan’s assertion, Wol-yeong’s poison didn’t just feel like it was burning; it WAS burning.
The Artisan’s declaration of treatment failure painted dread on Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol’s faces.
“Wh-what…”
“You mean you can’t cure him!?”
To expel the poison using internal energy was an intricate process. Having learned the basics of Venomous Power, I understood the importance of what the Artisan was telling us.
The procedure for detoxifying venom involves channeling one’s energy to isolate the poison and force it to one side of the body in order to inflict a wound and expel it with the blood.
However, since this was a type of poison he had never encountered, distinguishing it was incredibly difficult.
“W-what can we do then?”
“S-so, our So-ryong is going to die?!”
Believing I might die, Older Sister Seol’s eyes glimmered with tears.
Yet luckily, the Artisan shook his head.
‘Oh, thank goodness! It doesn’t seem to be lethal!’
“Fortunately, the poison itself doesn’t stop breathing or blood flow, so you won’t die from this…”
Despite carefully considering that some potent neurotoxins or blood toxins could indeed be lethal, the relief was short-lived when the Artisan suddenly trailed off.
‘Why are you trailing off? You’re making me anxious!’
In the blink of an eye, my fleeting joy transformed into anger directed toward the Artisan’s vague remarks.
Again, blood poured from my nose, and fire burst forth.
-Flame went whoosh!
The Artisan quickly patted out the fire while attempting to calm me, explaining, “P-please calm down, son-in-law. After examining this poison, I’ve concluded that while it doesn’t cause death directly, it has an extremely volatile nature. Using internal energy, vigorous movements, or strong emotions may cause it to burst… and explode…”
“Explode?!”
“Explode!?”
The Artisan’s mention of “explode” left Older Sister Seol and Hua Eun tilting their heads in confusion.
The answer felt completely unexpected, and at that instant, a chilling thought crossed my mind.
‘Oh no, it can’t be! You’re saying if I get too emotional or use my internal energy, I could explode? No way! Even if I’m spewing flames and bleeding fire, there’s no way it could lead to an explosion…’
Surely, there must be a different reason behind what he said. But when I looked at the Artisan, my questioning gaze drew him to shut his eyes tight.
‘Damn it!’
*
-Creak. Creak.
The sound of wood creaking echoed within the cabin.
Wol-yeong’s poison demanded utmost stability, so I lay on the hammock secured by Yo-hwa, trying to maintain a state of calm.
Currently, we were passing through the area after meeting the princess, heading further upstream.
Soon enough, we would reach Sichuan, where I could bring my grandfather for treatment, so I was resolved to hang on.
Though it might not be necessary, I had a last resort ready.
What could that be?
It was none other than the method of O-Dok Shin Gong.
“So-ryong, just accept it; it’s dangerous otherwise. I said I was no longer important.”
“Yeah, Long. Just do as Hua Eun says.”
As Hua Eun and Older Sister Seol told me, I had a straightforward option: simply accept Wol-yeong’s venom into my own O-Dok Shin Gong.
If the creature happened to be an inferior toad, I’d become an overpowered character; if it turned out to be a frog, I might be okay as well.
The risk was considerable, but should I successfully incorporate Wol-yeong’s poison into my O-Dok Shin Gong, my poisoning would be handled in an instant.
The poison acquired through O-Dok Shin Gong yields immense resistance, making it the simplest way to escape the predicament.
‘But the spirit of Spicy Fabre won’t allow that.’
The Ten Great Venoms and the Ten Poisons are what fuel the existence of Spicy Fabre in the Martial World.
How could I possibly bend to such a trivial threat?
‘To abandon O-Dok and the Ten Poisons? That’s simply unthinkable!’
A man, no matter how much he deliberates over O-Dok and the Ten Poisons, should not be perplexed by whether he’d become overpowered or underpowered!
So, smiling at their suggestions, I responded, “A man has resolved his thoughts; how could I bend to such minor threats? We’ll be arriving in Sichuan soon, where my grandfather can treat me, so don’t worry too much, both of you. There won’t be any problems along the way, right?”
With the journey almost at hand, I reassured them there wouldn’t be any complications.
“Long, if you’re being stubborn and something goes wrong, just know I’m going to have a serious talk with you!”
“So-ryong, I’m going to scold you too!”
They must have been genuinely worried to say things like that.
As I chuckled towards them from the hammock, it suddenly jolted.
-Creeeak!
The boat lurched unexpectedly!
Just as Older Sister Seol, already on edge because of me, angrily shouted, “I told you to steer carefully! What’s going on!?”
Right then, a panicked oarsman shouted from outside.
“Hold on tight, everyone! I-I think there’s been a heavy downpour upstream, and debris is coming down the river!”
“What did you say!?”
“What!?”
The Zhang River is exceedingly long, and given how massive the Central Plains are, it isn’t unheard of for heavy rains in one area to cause flooding downstream even while another is dry.
But why is it happening right now!?
In disbelief, I yelled in my mind.
‘No, stop it! Please!’
The heavens were clearly jealous of my O-Dok and Ten Poisons!