Playing The Victims [BL]

Chapter Fourteen | First World

[ 14 ]

"The proper name is Xythumane, but it is more commonly known as the wealthy-man's poison." Old Tengfei revealed, his expression grave as he set the small vial down, the same one that he had spent a fair amount of time analysing. With no success, until ShuNing brought a list of the poisons that ZhangFeng had written down.

It took little to no time for the experienced blind-man to pinpoint the exact one, but he appeared far from happy at its discovery. ShuNing had immaturely thought that now that they knew the name of the poison, it was as simple as retrieving the antidote— but that was far from the truth.

"Xythumane derives from a particular plant which only comes into bloom every thirty years, and even then it's not guaranteed, as the conditions must be perfect. It is worth its weight in gold within Xe, and White-Jade in the other lands. So when one pops up, bloodbath tends to follow."

ShuNing sat with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He had practically skipped all the way to XeTown earlier that morning, his heart filled with excitement, only for it to be quashed with anxiety.

"For a plant?"

"Mm. Just like most plants, this flower can be used for various other things." Tengfei stood and sauntered over to one of many stacks of books taking up the floor-space of the makeshift doctor's office. He ran his fingertips across a few and selected a certain tattered-looking one.

When he returned, Tengfei meticulously opened it up, and with a creak of the stitching that bound it together, presented ShuNing with a page that contained ink that was gradually becoming fainter. On the top of the page was an illustration of an attractive-looking plant.

From what ShuNing knew about flowers in general, which was very little, this one held some resemblance to a rose. Each petal appeared soft and delicate to touch. The real difference was in the centre, long yellow stems sprouted with a certain coloured powder. Though it resembled pollen, knowing that this plant was unassumingly poisonous he wouldn't take his chances.

"Xythur flowers are deliberately enticing, they emit pure energy which acts like a beacon to cultivators, which is why they will always be found without fault. The faint blue and pink petals can be ground and turned into magic pills which can cure chronic illnesses, but the high-ranking cultivators tend to want it for its purification abilities. The pure energy can react with your bodies' receptors and increase your chances of advancement."

"Which part makes the Xythumane?"

Tengfei shook his head, "Xythumane isn't made solely by this plant, Xythumane is the name given to the compound. The main element is the powder which is excreted on the stems, which in itself can render a perfectly healthy man paralysed within minutes if ingested. But when this powder is added to a secondary poison it can, in liquid form, become a slow-acting, lethal creation."

ShuNing rubbed his forehead, "So we need to identify this second poison now?" He asked dejectedly.

"That's not necessary, I have already identified it. The reason why my progress was slow was because I was caught unawares that this was a combination of two poisons. To be truthful, if I had known it was a mixture then I would have been able to identify it immediately, as many poisons are standalone and cannot be altered." Tengfei explained, sounding a little frustrated at himself.

"Is the second poison as rare as the..Xythur flower?"

"Not at all, quite the opposite actually. It's a commonly found plant within these lands but many overlook it as its not effective enough on its own." Tengfei only had flick a few pages of the same book to reveal another page.