Musclebound Necromancer?! Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 29 – Five Poison Soup

Qiao Yu looked up and saw a little girl as cute as a porcelain doll carved from jade standing in front of him.

The little girl wore a patched-up dress, carried a small medicine basket on her back, and her big, blinking eyes were filled with curiosity.

However, Qiao Yu didn't dare to let his guard down. A little girl who could appear in the Ten Thousand Poison Den was definitely not simple.

"Hey little one, are you from the Ten Thousand Poison Den tribe?" Fang Xun couldn't help but ask.

"You're wrong! Our tribe isn't called the Ten Thousand Poison Den!" The little girl waved her delicate little fist.

"Uh... then what's your tribe called?" Fang Xun pressed on.

"You're too ugly, I don't want to tell you!" The little girl turned her head away.

Fang Xun almost choked on his breath. He wasn't exactly as handsome as Pan An, but he wasn't ugly either, was he?

Such a young girl already judging by looks, what would happen when she grows up?

"Hey little one, what's your name, and what's your tribe's name?"

Qiao Yu smiled like a mischievous uncle trying to lure kids, thinking that being judged by looks was just perfect for him.

Sure enough, the little girl's eyes lit up when she saw Qiao Yu, and she happily said, "My name is Xun Dong, you can call me Xiao Dong. Our tribe is not far away, it's called the Ten Thousand Spirits Den. Would you like to visit our tribe?"

Qiao Yu turned to exchange a glance with Yang Xiangdi and said, "Sure, we'd appreciate it if Xiao Dong could take us to your tribe."

"Yay!"

With her ponytail bouncing, Xiao Dong skipped ahead, and Qiao Yu and the others almost couldn't keep up with her pace.

"By the way, Xiao Dong, do your tribe members know poison techniques?" Yang Xiangdi tried to get some information from the little girl.

"Of course not! Our chief would be angry if we casually used poison techniques!" Xiao Dong said.

Fang Xun and the others exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing: their tribe definitely knew poison techniques!

"Xiao Dong, do you know how to cure the Heavenly Silkworm Poison?" Fang Yuan asked the question he was most concerned about.

Xiao Dong stopped and thought for a moment. "Heavenly Silkworm Poison? That's easy to cure. Just put geckos, centipedes, snakes, scorpions, and toads in a pot, add scallions, ginger, garlic, and some yellow wine to remove the smell. Then add MSG, Sichuan pepper, and star anise, stew for three hours, and finally add a little sugar before serving to enhance the flavor. Drink it, and you'll be cured."

Qiao Yu: ...

Are you sure this isn't some kind of soup recipe?

"Xiao Dong, if I'm not mistaken, geckos are lizards, and centipedes are centipedes?" Qiao Yu asked.

"Yes, indeed! People who look good are always smart, you're absolutely right!" Xiao Dong praised.

Using the five poisons to make soup and then drinking it... Qiao Yu suddenly felt that being poisoned to death might not be so hard to accept after all.

"Handsome brother, are you poisoned by the Heavenly Silkworm Poison?"

Before Qiao Yu could answer, Xiao Dong lifted his sleeve.

When she saw the purple hue on Qiao Yu's wrist, a look of seriousness beyond her years appeared on Xiao Dong's young face.

"It really is the Heavenly Silkworm Poison. We need to hurry! The antidote takes three hours to brew, and if we don't hurry, the poison will eat away at your organs."

Xiao Dong's pace noticeably quickened.

The group of six soon approached an ancient cluster of buildings. Most of these structures were built with bluestone slabs, fire-resistant, forming a style of stone walls, stone doors, and stone windows.

Several villagers eyed Qiao Yu's group of outsiders with strange looks.

When they saw Xiao Dong leading the group, they silently averted their gaze.

Xiao Dong stopped, pushed open the door of a bluestone house, and shouted to a middle-aged couple inside.

"Dad! Mom! Look what I brought back!"

The couple turned to look at Qiao Yu and the others with a mix of surprise and uncertainty.

The room's decor was very simple, with just a stove and a square dining table.

"Who might you be?" the middle-aged man asked.

"They're people I met while gathering herbs in the mountains! They're all outsiders, and you should check if there are any five poisons and quickly make a pot of Five Poison Soup; they've all been poisoned by the Heavenly Silkworm Poison."

After saying this, Xiao Dong picked up a kettle from the table and took a big gulp.

"Alright, dear guests, please wait a moment and have a seat." The woman said and then pushed open the back door and went out.

Soon, she returned to the stove with a black basket.

With Xiao Dong's earlier explanation, Qiao Yu and the others naturally guessed what was inside the black basket.

"Xiao Dong's mom, how long does it take to make the Five Poison Soup? Does it really need to stew for three hours?" Qiao Yu asked.

In his poisoned state, his health was dropping too fast to last three hours.

"Well, it does take that long. If you're in a hurry, you can eat the soup with the five poisons once it's cooked, and it'll have the same effect," Xiao Dong's mom replied.

"Brother Yu, do we really have to drink that Five Poison Soup? It sounds so disgusting!" Yang Xiangdi whispered to Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu smiled wryly and said, "What else can we do? Disgusting is better than being poisoned to death, right? In just this short time, my health is already down to half."

Fang Xun and the others looked very uncomfortable, clearly struggling to accept the extremely disgusting Five Poison Soup.

After a while, Xiao Dong's dad brought over a large clay pot.

"Hehe, hahaha, the Five Poison Soup is ready!"

A big pot of Five Poison Soup was placed in front of Qiao Yu and the others, with a bumpy toad floating on top.

"Ugh!"

As the only girl, Fang Yuan couldn't help but cover her mouth and retch.

"What's there to be afraid of? These are all good things; drinking the soup is a wonderful thing!"

After saying this, Xiao Dong's dad scooped up a bowl of soup and drank it in big gulps. Watching his Adam's apple move up and down, Fang Yuan couldn't hold back any longer and ran to the door to vomit.

"Oh dear, tsk tsk, it's just right, not too salty or bland, the taste is excellent! Drink it, drink it while it's hot," Xiao Dong's dad said, smacking his lips in satisfaction.

"Yang Xiangdi, you're the biggest guy here, why don't you go first?" Fang Xun suggested.

"I can't! I'm just chubby, if I go first, I'll be lying on the bathroom floor—not far from death! You go first, Fang Xun!" Yang Xiangdi quickly declined.

"I think you're just making excuses! You're this big and still calling it baby fat?" Long Chang chimed in.

"Mind your own business! I'm not drinking!" Yang Xiangdi retorted.

Seeing Qiao Yu and the others hesitating and not daring to move, Xiao Dong's dad urged them.

"Why aren't you drinking? If you don't drink and the Heavenly Silkworm Poison acts up, you won't survive."

"I'll do it."

Qiao Yu took the lead and scooped a bowl of Five Poison Soup. Among the group, he probably had the least health left.

Looking at the toad and centipede floating in the soup, Qiao Yu couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Dong's dad, do you have any garlic?"