Poisoning

Li Shiming entered the garden. He did not see Escort Chief Wang, but he knew perfectly well that Escort Chief Wang was watching him.

He arrived at the Artificial Hill designated for their meeting. The sky had grown somewhat dim, and the plants around them were shadowy and indistinct.

"Escort Chief Wang, I brought the medicine!" he said, setting down the food box.

"You truly keep your word, Young Master!" Escort Chief Wang stepped out from behind the Artificial Hill and said with a smile.

His complexion was even paler than it had been during the day. It seemed his injuries were more severe than Li Shiming had imagined.

Li Shiming opened the food box, revealing a large bowl of medicine inside.

Escort Chief Wang took a deep sniff, satisfaction appearing on his face.

He was an old hand in the martial world. A single sniff was enough for him to judge whether the medicine was right.

He had chosen Li Shiming precisely because, though Li Shiming was intelligent, he was like a blank sheet of paper. A young master who knew nothing but studying was unlikely to resist after being threatened.

Given Li Shiming's social circle, and the fact that the prefect's residence had only the prefect and his son as masters, it was even less likely that he had ever Come into Contact With anything unsavory. In Escort Chief Wang's view, Li Shiming would probably have trouble even finding poison.

It would not be difficult for Li Shiming to buy other things, but as the prefect's son, who would dare sell him poison? If something went wrong, it would be a huge Trouble.

Besides, in Escort Chief Wang's experience, no poison could escape his nose. He had received special training in this regard.

Without the ability to identify poisons, how could one escort goods out in the world? He would have long since been drugged unconscious.

In Fact, there was nothing wrong with this bowl of medicine. It had been brewed entirely according to Escort Chief Wang's prescription, and all the ingredients used were of the finest quality.

Li Shiming took the medicine bowl from the food box and offered it before Escort Chief Wang.

"Escort Chief Wang, I have done what you asked. When will the poison in my body be cured?" he asked in a low voice.

Escort Chief Wang was very pleased with Li Shiming's attitude. This regard for his own life was exactly what he wanted.

"Brew this medicine twice more tomorrow, and tomorrow night I will give you the antidote!" Escort Chief Wang said with a faint smile as he reached out and accepted the bowl.

"I hope Escort Chief Wang will keep his word!" Li Shiming said, his expression grim.

After saying that, he picked up the food box and turned to leave, seemingly angered that he had not been cured of the poison.

In truth, he feared that once Escort Chief Wang's poison took effect, he might still have enough strength to kill him on the spot to vent his fury. So he hurriedly slipped away.

Just as he had handed the bowl to Escort Chief Wang, he Took Out the Abrin from the Server Room Space and put every last bit of it into the bowl.

Because the Abrin had been sent directly into the bowl, it had not immediately mixed with the medicine. Even if it had any scent, Escort Chief Wang would not notice it.

Not to Mention that the amount of Abrin was not much compared with the bowl of medicine, and it had no odor at all. Even if it had been placed directly into the medicine, there was a high chance Escort Chief Wang would have failed to detect it.

The so-called ability to identify poisons came from frequently handling all known poisons and becoming familiar with their distinctive scents, thereby gaining the ability to recognize them.

But Abrin had never appeared in this world before. The ability to identify poisons could not detect such a deadly toxin.

Li Shiming quickened his pace and swiftly moved away from Escort Chief Wang.

Escort Chief Wang had long since run out of patience. He lifted the bowl and poured its contents into his stomach in one gulp.

His injuries were far from light. He had previously been relying on temporary medicine to hold himself together, all while waiting for this secret healing medicine.

As the medicine entered his body, Escort Chief Wang felt a familiar warmth rise within him. This was the secret healing medicine taking effect.

But immediately afterward, he felt it becoming difficult to breathe. His entire body began trembling uncontrollably, and his temperature rapidly rose.

"The medicine is poisoned!" Escort Chief Wang wanted to speak, but the words lodged in his throat and could not come out.

His already injured body quickly reacted under the effects of Abrin at twenty times the lethal dose for an ordinary person.

Intense abdominal pain and muscle spasms left him unable even to move.

Escort Chief Wang thought of Li Shiming's refined face. He could not imagine that an old hand like himself had been poisoned into collapse by a Xiucai, a young master—and while he had been on guard against it.

Overwhelming shame and unwillingness made him try to regain control of his body.

Inner Energy churned wildly within him, attempting to expel the poison. Yet he did not even know what the toxin was, much less how to deal with it.

When drinking that bowl of medicine just now, he had mobilized his internal organs to strengthen absorption so the Medicinal Power would take effect faster. By now, it was already too late to expel the poison.

Unable to breathe, his face turned purple.

Li Shiming stood behind a tree twenty meters away. In the darkness, his enhanced five senses allowed him to see Escort Chief Wang's condition clearly by moonlight.

When Escort Chief Wang collapsed from the poison, he did not go over to inspect him. He merely waited quietly.

According to the information, the Abrin Li Shiming had compounded himself was a substance that was very easily absorbed by the body. Once consumed, unless one was in a hospital with the extremely advanced medical standards of his Previous Life, and knew precisely what poison had been administered, there was no saving them.

At the very end, Escort Chief Wang still could not understand why Li Shiming had been so unyielding that he was actually willing to seek Mutual Destruction with him.

He had personally watched Li Shiming swallow the Three Days Soul Severing Pill. Just as he had said, apart from its exclusive antidote, no famed physician could neutralize the Three Days Soul Severing Pill in time.

With bewilderment and unwillingness, he stopped breathing.

Li Shiming still did not move. He stood behind the tree and watched Escort Chief Wang.

Only after confirming that Escort Chief Wang's chest had not risen or fallen in the slightest for a full ten minutes did he confirm Escort Chief Wang's death.

He carefully approached Escort Chief Wang's corpse. Throughout the process, he remained sufficiently vigilant; when dealing with an old hand like this, he did not dare relax in the slightest.

Li Shiming looked at Escort Chief Wang's corpse. That grotesquely contorted deathly visage made him feel like vomiting.

In his Previous Life, he had been an ordinary person. In this life, he was a scholar. He had never Come into Contact With a corpse in either life. The fact that he had not vomited already was quite good.

After all, he had killed Escort Chief Wang himself. For his first killing, he was fairly calm.

He found a branch nearby and used it to search through Escort Chief Wang's body.

Aside from a sword and some loose silver, Escort Chief Wang carried nothing else.

Li Shiming knew very well that the cultivator would not have sought Trouble with Escort Chief Wang for no reason.

Moreover, he had carried out a massacre at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, killing seven escorts from the Mighty Escort Agency.

From the Case Files, he had learned that crimes committed by cultivators were exceedingly rare. There had been no record of such a case in Nanling Prefecture for several decades.

The authorities also suspected that Escort Chief Wang possessed something the cultivator wanted, which was why he had brought such a fatal calamity upon himself.

Li Shiming had wanted to kill Escort Chief Wang not only because he feared that Escort Chief Wang, driven mad, would harm those in the residence, but also because he was interested in what the cultivator wanted.

Now Escort Chief Wang was dead, yet the item had not been found. This left him somewhat disappointed.