Chapter 18

The writings of Bai Ze were vigorously unraveled in Fei  Ling’s mind. The poison of snakes, insects, and birds, all were different. He did not have poison in his mouth.

At the end, there was the section on the forbidden poison, “Gondoku.”

The typical form of forbidden poison is “Kodoku”. This involves capturing a hundred types of poisonous insects in a jar and letting them cannibalize each other. The remaining insect is then used to make poison. Those who break this taboo are sentenced to death by strangulation.

However, there was a more severe form of “poison” — the “human poison” — which could be committed by humans.

“…You broke the taboo of ‘Jindoku’, didn’t you?”

“Heh, as expected. You know about this poison too.”

According to Bai Ze’s writings: “Jindoku” involves consuming a thousand types of poison, such as those from snakes, scorpions, lizards, spiders, mushrooms, and plants. One repeats the process of detoxifying to the limit of death. A person becomes “poison” itself.

“You’re right. I carry ‘Jindoku’ within me. From a single drop of blood to my saliva, it is a venom as lethal as that of a scorpion or a snake. If I allow it to take its course, within ten seconds, I would be coughing up blood and writhing, experiencing hell for three days and nights before dying…”

Through the watery membrane, the voice of Zhen gradually faded, until it could no longer be heard. Her ears had been affected by the poison. Her other senses also began to dull. Yet, her sense of pain was not numbed, and it tore through her body. Fei  Ling continued standing purely out of determination. The clan of medicine would never kneel to such a mere poison master.

Within the muddled consciousness, only the rhythmic beating of her heart could be clearly heard.

Thud—thud—again, thud.

This was poison made solely to kill. Yet the most terrifying poison, Fei  Ling knew from experience, was not one that kills.

It was something else.

(Eat this poison)

Her heart pulsed again, stronger and heavier.

Was the poison beginning to affect her heart? No, it was the opposite. The “thing” inside her body was now drinking the poison.

Fei  Ling’s skin now emanated the fragrance of her own unique scent.

With a gust of wind, the haze in her vision cleared. Her hearing returned. Freed from restraints, her arms and legs began to move again.

The poison patterns on her skin dissolved and disappeared.

Zhen, who had been observing the whole scene, narrowed his eyes.

“You… the poison doesn’t work on you?”

“I told you, I eat all poisons.”

Fei  Ling licked her lips, as if proving she had swallowed the poison, and glared back at Zhen.

The peacock hairpin swayed, producing a delicate, clear sound. The peacock, long celebrated as a divine messenger due to its ability to consume even poisonous snakes, symbolized this.

She had tasted the poison from the mercury bee’s venom herself, testing whether it was poison or not. Even after that, she didn’t take any antidotes and continued preparing for the banquet.

She had overcome all poisons. The forbidden poison too.

After their silent standoff, Zhen, unable to hold it back any longer, smirked.

“…You’re irresistible.”

He smiled, a mocking grin, and yet his eyes sparkled maliciously.

“It seems like you’re trying to hide something with that pretty smile, but I can see it. Deep in your eyes, there’s a constant flame burning. It’s wrath, resentment, despair—and thirst for revenge.”

Zhen lowered his voice and whispered.

“You have someone you want to kill, don’t you?”

At his words, Fei  Ling’s eyes suddenly blazed. In the midst of the flames, a figure appeared—the man wearing the imperial crown. Fei  Ling would never forgive him. Never. The flames danced green in her eyes.

“Would you like me to kill him for you?”

Zhen chuckled, cruelly, yet sweetly.

“…You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”

“I stopped that. With a sword, or by choking you, or by crushing your skull, I could easily kill you. But that’s boring.”

Her throat tightened. The killing intent was different from when he had aimed at her or when she had been poisoned. It was a fear she couldn’t describe, as if she had encountered an unknown poison. She tried to speak, but only a gust of wind passed through her throat.

“I’ll drag out the ‘poison-eating poison’ that lies deep within you.”

A spring wind rustled the bamboo, making a noise.

The clouds drifted, and the clear moonlight shone over the bamboo grove. Zhen’s graceful silhouette emerged, his decadent smile like a妖魄 (charming ghostly presence), and his words had a chilling aura.

“We’ll meet again. Ah, of course, as a doctor and a feng Fei  master.”

With a final, overly familiar remark, he dissolved into the dusk. Like before, there was no sound of his footsteps, only the fading presence.

The tension broke, and Fei  Ling collapsed to the ground. She suddenly realized she hadn’t been breathing properly and took a deep breath.

(Only revenge…)

Even if she were scorned, rejected, or cursed.

To continue standing.

(It is my sole reason.)

But that was…

(You can’t kill me.)

No matter how strong the poison.

No matter how sharp the sword.

(If you could kill me—it would only be through ‘medicine.’)

Therefore, she had to sever this body’s ‘poison’. Without extinguishing the flame, just the poison.

Poison and medicine are two sides of the same coin.

But because of that, they could never merge. That was supposed to be the case. But now, the poison and medicine that should never have met had encountered each other.

A star fell from the dark sky.

A comet blinked green, leaving marks on the moon, and was swallowed by the evening’s edge. It was but a moment. Whether it was an omen of good or ill, no one could predict it.

Only Fei  Ling looked up at the sky and thought.

(Yes, that’s right. The night Father was executed, the stars fell too.)

It was a night so cold that it felt like autumn had just begun. Whether the stars mourned the Emperor’s death was uncertain, but certainly, on that night, countless stars shed tears.

Amid the endless falling stars, she saw something.

If spoken of, it would be treason. But who would believe it? Even Fei  Ling herself wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it.

Still, on that night, the Qilin died.