“To prepare the medicine, I need some ingredients… Fortunately, they can all be gathered from this forest. May I go out to collect them first?”
The autumn forest awaited. Although watched closely by the villagers, Lan Xin, the assistant, was also permitted to help with the collection and preparation.
“Lan Xin, first, please fill this basket with spider lily bulbs.”
It wasn’t just Lan Xin who frowned in bewilderment.
“Spider lilies? Aren’t those poisonous?”
As Sugichan voiced his concern, the others exchanged uneasy glances, murmuring in suspicion. They seemed to think I might be feigning the creation of medicine to administer poison instead. Fei Ling let out a deep, exasperated sigh.
“Spider lilies can be rendered non-toxic. Think about it—what would I gain by poisoning a patient? Besides, if I were planning something sinister, wouldn’t I do it in secret?”
“I suppose that’s true, but still…”
“If you’re still doubtful, I’ll have Lan Xin taste-test it first.”
That should settle any complaints—or so I thought.
“Hey, someone help! The maid’s about to collapse!”
Lan Xin, of all things, was foaming at the mouth and nearly fainting.
“…Spider lilies aren’t even eaten by moles! That’s why they’re planted in graveyards…”
“I’ll cook them deliciously, I promise.”
“…Fine, fine, I’ll eat them.”
Whether resolved or not, Lan Xin sniffled as she set off to harvest the spider lilies.
“Now, shall we head to the fields?”
“The fields? There’s nothing left there.”
“No, there are excellent ingredients waiting.”
With a bright smile, I led Sugichan and the others to the fields.
The rice paddies, buried in quartz sand and lined in terraces down the valley, looked like fractured mirrors. In the barren soil, only fiery sparrows gathered. The wary sparrows scattered into the sky as we approached. Once in the field, I inverted some baskets, set them on the sandy ground with supporting sticks, and tied strings to them.
“There, that should do it.”
“What’s that?”
“A trap. Now, everyone, please grab a string and hide.”
Holding the strings, we concealed ourselves in the bushes.
Once we disappeared, the sparrows, reassured, returned. Fiery sparrows feed mainly on minerals, particularly crystals, and often inhabit caves rich in quartz veins. Watching them dart about in caves makes them resemble bats more than sparrows.
When they gathered, we pulled the strings to drop the baskets. Trapped, the sparrows flapped desperately, but it was too late. Repeating this process, we quickly captured over a hundred fiery sparrows.
“You’re not seriously planning to eat those, are you?”
“They’re no different from pheasants.”
Though they provided little edible meat and their gizzards contained toxins, they were still usable.
Next up was mushrooms. The forest was rich with various fungi—matsutake, shimeji, and nameko. But the one needed for the medicine was something else.
(It should be growing near birch roots…)
I searched for white birch trees, their pale trunks standing out against the autumn foliage. Squatting beside one, I swept aside fallen leaves and found the mushroom I sought. Its bright red cap speckled with white was unmistakable, even to those unfamiliar with fungi.
“Isn’t that a fly agaric? Why do you keep choosing poisonous things? There are plenty of tastier, safer mushrooms.”
“It’s not a poison—it can sometimes be poisonous, that’s all.”
Human perception is curious; medicine thought to be poisonous often loses its effectiveness. At this stage, hiding the toxicity was futile anyway. Besides, the medicine wasn’t for them but for the patients.
(In that case, it’s better to be upfront about the poison.)
“Poison itself can become a remedy.”
“Hmm… The logic of doctors is beyond us. As long as the medicine works, fine. If not, well… you’ll pay the price. What else do you need?”
“Wild carrots, green onions, and garlic.”
“Those are in storage. Shall we fetch them?”
Once the last few crops were gathered, Lan Xin returned, staggering under a heavy basket.
With all the necessary ingredients brought to the kitchen, the preparation began.
First was detoxifying the spider lilies. Grated, soaked in water seven times, then dried. The clear autumn weather would have them dry by evening.
Next came butchering the fiery sparrows and boiling them.
Now for the poisonous mushrooms…
(It’s best to keep Lan Xin away from this part.)
“Lan Xin, we’ll need more firewood, so please chop some outside.”
“Understood, firewood it is.”
I sent Lan Xin outside because boiling the fly agaric could release toxic fumes into the steam. While I could neutralize the toxins, Lan Xin might faint. Worse, improper exposure could leave lasting effects.
(Reporting the use of such dangerous toxins is out of the question.)
I repeatedly boiled and rinsed the fly agaric in fresh water. Once detoxified, I stir-fried the mushrooms in a large pot, adding wild carrots and green onions.
In another pot, I roasted medicinal herbs: pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and chili—aromatic ingredients one after another. After adding grated garlic, I combined the two pots.
(Bringing these medicinal herbs was a good decision.)
Even in a resource-rich forest, gathering so many herbs would have been challenging.
“I’m back, all done.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
(Just a little more water, and then simmering is all that’s left.)
I decided to check on the spider lilies and left Lan Xin to tend the pot. Just as I reached the front door, I remembered something I’d forgotten to tell her: to avoid increasing the heat.
When Fei Ling returned to the kitchen, Lan Xin stood there, her tense back hunched. She pulled something out from her sleeve and moved to drop it into the pot.
A whiff of poison reached her.
Fei Ling rushed over and grabbed Lan Xin’s arm from behind.
“What are you doing?”
Falling to the dirt floor was a piece of fly agaric that hadn’t been detoxified. Even one of these mixed in would turn the medicine into poison. Lan Xin glared at Fei Ling with a frozen, emotionless expression. The silence lasted only a moment.
“…I’m so sorry!”
Her stiff expression softened, and she forced a clumsy smile as if to cover up her actions.
“There was just one left over. I thought it had already been detoxified.”
“You almost killed the patients.”
Fei Ling did not raise her voice, but her calm tone carried sharp reproach. Lan Xin’s eyebrows drooped, and she hurriedly made excuses.
“It’s true! I didn’t realize it was still poisonous!”
“That’s not the issue.”
Fei Ling shook her head slowly.
“If you want to kill me, don’t stoop to dragging others into it. Stab me or push me off a cliff—but don’t make others do your dirty work.”
Lan Xin gasped and her eyes widened.
“Surprised I noticed?”
Fei Ling had sensed Lan Xin’s hostility from the moment they met. She had simply known too much about poisons. No matter how friendly someone pretends to be, the smallest traces of malice show up in their gaze. Fei Ling had even suspected she might be a spy sent by the Empress, but later learned that wasn’t the case.
“You resent me.”
If she were merely following someone’s orders, she wouldn’t glare at Fei Ling with such dark intent. This murderous intent was her own poison.
Lan Xin forced a stiff smile again and spoke in a pathetic voice.
“No, no, of course not. You’re imagining things! Please don’t be mean to me!”
“Then why did you poison the tea that time?”
Lan Xin fell silent.
The tea Lan Xin had prepared during a break had been poisoned. She had mixed in something unfamiliar to mask the poison, making it difficult to notice right away, but the numbness set in later. Fortunately, Fei Ling had been able to detoxify it quickly. It was a poison she had never encountered before.
(A foreign poison, perhaps?)
Lan Xin must have been bewildered when Fei Ling remained unaffected despite being poisoned. Yet she had kept her composure, smiling innocently throughout. That required no small amount of nerve.
“If you hate me enough to poison me, there must be a reason. I don’t mind that. What I cannot allow is harming others with poison.”
If the patients died from poison, Sugi and the others would blame and try to kill Fei Ling. Lan Xin had aimed for that outcome.
Lan Xin began trembling, her voice quivering.
“I-I didn’t mean to…”
The pot began to boil.
“…The medicine will be ready soon.”
Recalling the urgency of the patients’ condition, Fei Ling softened her tone.
“Lan Xin, please inform Sugi and the others to gather all the patients in Wangqi. Even if they’re asleep, have them carried here.”
She spoke to Lan Xin as she always did, treating her as a court lady.
“…Understood.”
Lan Xin left the kitchen hurriedly, almost fleeing.
Once alone, Fei Ling leaned against the earthen wall, her tension finally releasing with a heavy sigh.
Even when she had been poisoned, she had remained composed. Yet deep in her chest, she had felt a thorn—a sense of loneliness. Yes, it had been loneliness. She had hoped that the occasional malice she felt from Lan Xin was just a misunderstanding. Fei Ling was startled to realize she had started to feel an attachment to her.
It was because of this attachment that she hadn’t expected Lan Xin’s hatred to be so deep that she would resort to such reckless poisonings.
What’s more, Lan Xin had intended to taste the poison herself first. She was willing to poison herself and kill the patients—all for the sake of killing Fei Ling.
(Did she really want to kill me that badly? …What a murky poison.)
The same applied to the farmers. Those who once cheerfully tended their fields—how had they come to commit murder? She had only glimpsed the abyss beneath their actions briefly, but there had been elderly men and young women among them. Imagining the depth of their hatred was enough to make her shudder.
Fei Ling opened her trembling hand and slapped her own cheek sharply.
(No! Don’t let yourself be paralyzed by poison. Focus only on the medicine right now.)
She shook off her distracting thoughts.
There would be time to grieve the betrayal and ponder the weight of murder after the detoxification was complete. Preparing medicine was not a task that could be done with a wavering heart.
