The Healing Rabbit's Poison? Jiang Zhu in Peril

The Healing Rabbit's Poison? Jiang Zhu in Peril (Jiang Zhu searched for a hundred-year Healing Rabbit and was injured by a spirit beast's venom.)

While morning dew still clung to the tips of the medicinal herbs at the Medicine Hall, Jiang Zhu had already finished sorting the day's spiritual herbs with the other disciples. She held the Spirit Beast Illustration Book Elder Jiang Yun, her grandfather, had given her, her fingertip resting on the page for "Healing Rabbit"—the illustration showed a snow-white rabbit, its ear tips dusted with pale pink fur, its paw pads glowing with the faint light unique to healing-type spirit beasts. Beside it was written: "Hundred-year Healing Rabbit, inhabits places rich in medicinal herbs. Its Soul Core contains pure healing energy and may be used to refine 'Soul Condensing Pills.' Gentle by nature, it rarely attacks on its own."

"Junior Sister Jiang Zhu, the medicinal ingredients for today's Soul Condensing Pill in the herb garden are still missing one final component: a Healing Rabbit Soul Core. The elder said you've only just joined the sect, so this is a good chance for you to familiarize yourself with the back mountain while searching for a spirit beast." Zhao Lei, the Medicine Hall's senior disciple, handed her a woven bamboo cage. "Healing Rabbits often appear on Palegrass Slope in the back mountain. Take this with you. If you encounter one that's around a hundred years old, use the Soul Guiding Technique Elder Jiang Yun taught you to lure it into the cage. Remember, don't damage the Soul Core."

Jiang Zhu took the bamboo cage, both excited and nervous. In the three days since joining the sect, she had never gone beyond the Medicine Hall alone, much less ventured into the back mountain to seek a spirit beast. But at the thought of helping the Medicine Hall—and letting the Healing Scepter in her hand come into contact with more healing-type energy, since her grandfather had said that the aura of compatible spirit beasts could nourish a martial soul—she nodded firmly. "Thank you, Senior Brother Zhao. I'll be careful."

With the bamboo cage on her back and the Healing Scepter hidden in her sleeve—afraid of frightening ordinary spirit beasts, she had only condensed a half-solid phantom of it—Jiang Zhu followed the path behind the Medicine Hall toward Palegrass Slope in the back mountain. She had walked this road yesterday while exploring with Ning Rongrong. Low-grade spiritual herbs cultivated by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lined the roadside, and a faint medicinal fragrance hung in the air. Every now and then, she spotted palm-sized gray rabbits scampering past, but none matched the Healing Rabbit in the illustration book.

After walking for roughly half an hour, the slope ahead gradually opened up. Sunlight filtered through the sparse woods, weaving mottled patches of light and shadow across the grass. The moment Jiang Zhu stepped onto the slope, she caught a sweet, fresh scent—not the bitterness of herbs, but a honeydew-like fragrance. Following it, she saw a snow-white rabbit lying amid a patch of dandelions not far away.

"It's a Healing Rabbit!" Jiang Zhu's heart leaped. She quickly hid behind a tree and quietly opened the illustration book to compare—the pink fur on its ear tips, the glow in its paw pads, and the pale pink Soul Power surrounding it all matched the book's description exactly. What delighted her even more was that this Healing Rabbit's Soul Power Fluctuation was stable. It was likely around a hundred years old, precisely what the Medicine Hall needed.

Following the Soul Guiding Technique her grandfather had taught her, she gently gathered a trace of Soul Power and let the tip of the Healing Scepter protrude from her sleeve. The crystal glowed with a soft pink light, resonating with the Soul Power all over the Healing Rabbit. Sure enough, the rabbit raised its head. Its ruby-like eyes looked in Jiang Zhu's direction, showing not the slightest wariness. Instead, it slowly ambled toward her, its steps light, its snowy fur speckled with dandelion fluff. It looked exceptionally docile.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." Jiang Zhu softened her breathing, set the bamboo cage on the ground, opened its door, and continued guiding it with the Scepter's Soul Power. The Healing Rabbit reached the entrance, tilted its head, and rubbed its nose against the bamboo bars as if confirming whether it was safe. Jiang Zhu's heart rose to her throat, afraid it would suddenly run away. Her fingers instinctively increased the Soul Power output—the vine patterns on the Scepter glowed faintly, and the pink mist became a little denser than before.

Just as the Healing Rabbit's front paw was about to step through the cage door, a sudden change occurred!

The formerly docile Healing Rabbit suddenly tensed all over. The pink fur on its ear tips instantly stood on end, and a stern look flashed through its ruby-like eyes. It abruptly sprang backward, kicked off the grass with its front paws, and shot toward Jiang Zhu's wrist like a streak of white light. Black spikes half an inch long sprang from those previously soft-looking claws, coated in transparent mucus that glowed with an eerie sheen beneath the sunlight!

"Ah!" Jiang Zhu had no time to react. The spikes slashed across her wrist, and searing pain instantly shot through her—ten times worse than a needle prick—along with bone-chilling cold that spread up her arm through her meridians. She instinctively flung the Healing Rabbit away. The Scepter's crystal smashed onto the grass, and the pink mist scattered at once.

The Healing Rabbit did not attack again. It merely stood three steps away, staring at her with its ruby-like eyes. The pink Soul Power all over it had turned pale purple, while the sweet fragrance from before now carried a faint stench of blood. This was no gentle healing-type spirit beast. It was clearly a Pseudo Healing Rabbit concealing deadly poison!

Jiang Zhu clutched her injured wrist. The beads of blood at the wound had already turned black, dripping through her fingers onto the grass. Wherever they fell, the surrounding dandelions instantly withered. Worse still, the cold had spread to her elbow. The Soul Power in her meridians seemed frozen, sluggish and difficult to move, and even the strength to grip the Healing Scepter was slowly leaving her.

"How could this be... The illustration book didn't say Healing Rabbits were poisonous..." Gritting her teeth, Jiang Zhu opened the Spirit Beast Illustration Book and quickly flipped to the page on "Healing Rabbit." Looking more closely, she found a tiny annotation in one corner, written in faded ink: "Healing Rabbits over a hundred years old may mutate after accidentally consuming poisonous grass. Their claws grow poison thorns, and their venom can seal Soul Power. Miasma Clearing Grass is required as an antidote."

Her heart sank—Miasma Clearing Grass was stored in the Medicine Hall warehouse. There was none in the back mountain! Now that even mobilizing her Soul Power was difficult, returning to the Medicine Hall for help was out of the question. She tried to gather the Healing Scepter's Soul Power and launch Healing Mist to save herself, but the Scepter's vine patterns only glowed faintly once before going completely dark. The crystal at its tip turned cold as ice, as though affected by the venom and stripped of its healing ability.

"No... I can't collapse here..." Jiang Zhu braced herself against a nearby tree trunk and slowly stood. She could feel her consciousness gradually blurring and her vision beginning to swim. She could barely make out the Pseudo Healing Rabbit still standing in the distance, seemingly waiting for her to lose the ability to resist. She knew that if it attacked her once more, she definitely would not be able to endure it.

Dragging her heavy footsteps, she headed deeper into the woods—at least behind the trees, she could avoid the Pseudo Healing Rabbit's gaze. But after only two steps, her legs gave out, and she crashed heavily onto the grass. Her wounded wrist struck a stone, and the pain made her vision go black. The Healing Scepter slipped from her sleeve and rolled into a nearby bush. The crystal at its tip flashed with a weak light, as if crying for help.

The black venom continued spreading through her meridians and had already reached her shoulder. The Soul Power throughout her body felt as though it had been drained away, and even breathing became difficult. Leaning against the tree trunk, Jiang Zhu watched the Pseudo Healing Rabbit on the distant slope, fear and regret filling her heart. If only she had paid more attention to the annotation in the illustration book. If only she had not let down her guard. Then she would not have ended up like this.

She remembered her grandfather's warning from yesterday: "Though most spirit beasts in the back mountain are low-level, mutations are inevitable. When facing any spirit beast, always keep three parts vigilance." Thinking back now, his words had become a prophecy. She instinctively reached into her robe, wanting to take out the Distress Whistle her grandfather had given her. But as soon as her fingers touched it, all strength left her hand. The whistle fell onto the grass with a soft "ding," startlingly clear in the silent woods.

Hearing the sound, the Pseudo Healing Rabbit's ears twitched. It took a step toward her, its ruby-like eyes filled with greed. Clearly, it had set its sights on the Soul Power inside Jiang Zhu's body, as well as the Healing Scepter that had lost its luster.

Jiang Zhu closed her eyes as despair slowly flooded her heart. She could feel the venom spreading to her chest, her heartbeat slowing. All she could do was pray weakly, "Someone... save me..."

The wind swept through the woods, making the leaves rustle as if answering her prayer. From the nearby path came a familiar set of footsteps, light and brisk, carrying a faint Sword Attribute Soul Power—it was Lin Che, returning to the West Courtyard after finishing his sword practice. But Jiang Zhu no longer had the strength to call for help. She could only let her consciousness sink into darkness. The last thing she saw was the Healing Scepter's crystal in the bushes, flashing its final faint pink light.

The Pseudo Healing Rabbit on the slope had already come within three steps. Its black spikes sprang out once more as it lunged at her chest—when suddenly, a pale cyan Sword Qi flew from outside the woods, grazing past the Pseudo Healing Rabbit's ear and forcing it violently back!

"Who's there?" Lin Che's voice rang out, edged with vigilance. He had merely been passing by, but the sight of black poisonous blood and withered dandelions on the slope, along with that white rabbit radiating an eerie aura, immediately gave him a bad feeling. He rushed toward the depths of the woods.

When he saw Jiang Zhu leaning against the tree, her face deathly pale, and the black wound on her wrist, his pupils contracted—it was a sign of poisoning, and deadly poison that could seal Soul Power! Without time to think, he gripped the Iron Sword in his hand and charged toward the Pseudo Healing Rabbit. Pale cyan Sword Qi swept out again, this time pointing directly at the Pseudo Healing Rabbit's vital points!