After struggling for a few moments, the Datura Snake adapted to the agony of being blinded. It opened its one remaining eye and glared viciously at Xiao Qing and Xiao Feng.
"Looks like one of us is going to die here today! Xiao Feng, can you hold on?"
Looking at the murderous Datura Snake and the poisoned Xiao Feng, Xiao Qing understood that they couldn't escape today. They could only survive by taking down the stinking snake before them.
"Awooo!"
Xiao Feng answered Xiao Qing, brimming with fighting spirit.
Before the words had even left his mouth, the Datura Snake's massive tail swept toward them like an iron whip. Xiao Qing and Xiao Feng scrambled backward, barely dodging the blow.
Under Xiao Feng's control, the Phantom Shadow pounced on the snake's head, attacking its body relentlessly.
Blinded and off target, the Datura Snake relied only on its sense of smell and hearing—and nearly bit the Phantom Shadow to pieces.
Xiao Qing slipped his fingers into the Cloth Bag and pulled out the packets of poison wrapped in oilpaper. The Datura Snake's scales were too hard for him to break through, but the inside of its mouth was a weakness.
That was only useful if he could get the poison into its mouth. He needed to wait for the moment the snake opened wide.
His chance came. The Datura Snake lunged and missed again, then opened its mouth in a furious roar at Xiao Feng.
In that instant, Xiao Qing's slingshot was already drawn taut. Three packets of poison shot out in a triangular formation, flying straight into the enormous mouth before it could close.
A hit!
The moment the poison entered its mouth, the wounded beast went into one last frenzy. Its body swept around like a giant tree, and Xiao Feng, too deeply poisoned to move quickly, had no way to dodge the Datura Snake's attack.
Xiao Qing shoved Xiao Feng out of the way, but the snake's tail caught him in the side. He went flying and slammed into a tree.
His ribs gave a sickening crack. The agony nearly made him pass out.
Gritting his teeth, Xiao Qing forced himself up and pulled out the Prism Ball, aiming it at Xiao Feng. Light surged, and Xiao Feng's form became a streak of light that shot into the ball.
The Prism Ball couldn't cure the poison, but it could keep Xiao Feng clinging to life long enough for Xiao Qing to make an antidote.
Xiao Qing pushed himself upright against the tree trunk. Now he alone had to face the Datura Snake.
The Datura Snake raised its head, its one eye fixed on Xiao Qing.
With Xiao Feng no longer distracting it, all its killing intent focused on the human before it.
The poison needed more time to take effect. Xiao Qing had to stall a little longer. Fortunately, he could use Wind Shadow five times in a short period.
The Phantom Shadow appeared to his left. The Datura Snake, blinded by bloodlust, paid it no mind. Seeing that it didn't move, the snake lunged straight at it.
Xiao Qing seized the opening and sprinted to the right, but the snake's tail anticipated his path. He had to stop abruptly, digging a shallow pit in the rotting leaves beneath his feet.
The instant the Phantom Shadow was bitten apart, Xiao Qing felt his body grow lighter and his speed surge.
That's enough!
The speed boost couldn't stack, but it lasted five minutes. A fifty-percent increase was more than enough for Xiao Qing to keep the Datura Snake at bay until the poison took effect.
Time stretched out between each lunge and dodge.
Xiao Qing began counting: his heartbeats, the intervals between the snake's attacks, the time until the poison should take effect.
The notes said it would take thirty breaths, but at least fifty had passed.
Why hadn't the Datura Snake fallen yet?
Suddenly, the Datura Snake faltered. It began to convulse violently, its body twisting and rolling as it crushed a swath of bushes. Xiao Qing leaped onto a branch and saw that the inside of the snake's mouth was rotting away. The poison had taken effect, but it was corroding the snake rather than paralyzing it.
Even as it struggled in its death throes, the Datura Snake tried to spit one last mouthful of venom at Xiao Qing.
But Xiao Qing had been watching its every move. The instant he saw the Datura Snake twitch, he sprang backward, putting distance between them.
The venom landed on the ground with a sizzling hiss, and the Datura Snake's life reached its end.
Xiao Qing's poison had already eaten away most of its internal organs. The only thing that had kept it attacking was its burning desire to kill him.
With the Datura Snake dead, Xiao Qing sensed a fresh surge of experience points flowing into the Prism Ball.
Xiao Qing slid down from the tree, but the pain in his ribs made him collapse to his knees upon landing.
Forcing himself to his feet, he staggered over to the snake's carcass and split open its head with a dagger, extracting the venom sac. It was one of the ingredients for the antidote.
Then he turned and hurried deeper into the forest, where a stream ran. He needed to clean his wounds. He needed to think.
The stream water was ice-cold.
Xiao Qing submerged his face in the water, forcing himself to stay alert. Then he took out his notes and flipped to the page about the Datura Snake.
"Datura Snake Poison can be cured within twelve shichen. Three ingredients are required: first, the snake's venom sac, roasted dry and ground into powder; second, a Moon Shadow Mushroom, ground together with the venom sac powder; third..."
The remaining ingredients were all common. Xiao Qing had some in his Cloth Bag, and he knew where to gather the rest.
Only the Moon Shadow Mushroom was a problem. It wasn't in the Cloth Bag, and Xiao Qing had never even seen one despite spending so long in Star Dou Forest.
Fortunately, the notes described the Moon Shadow Mushroom's appearance and growing habits. Otherwise, Xiao Qing would have been completely at a loss.
"Moon Shadow Mushrooms grow in dark, damp pits. Their caps are translucent blue-white, and their gills glow faintly in the dark. When mature, they release a distinctive scent to attract Soul Beasts, which spread their spores."
"When harvesting, leave a third of the roots behind; do not pick them all. The roots of the Moon Shadow Mushroom contain a potent poison, and taking too many will weaken the antidote's effectiveness."
Following the notes' description, Xiao Qing searched along the stream for places where pits might lie.
On the first day, he searched every hollow along the lower reaches of the stream.
He encountered three Venom-Fang Leopards and had to detour; he ran into a patch of Man-Eating Vines and had to burn two pieces of clothing to escape.
Finding nothing downstream, Xiao Qing immediately doubled back and searched upstream.
Beneath a cliff, Xiao Qing found a pit. Excited, he slid down, only to find ordinary Fluorescent Mushrooms.
As Xiao Qing climbed back up, disappointed, the weather turned against him and rain began to fall.
He couldn't find shelter in time and was drenched for half an hour. He fell ill and came down with a fever.
Fortunately, Xiao Qing had brought medicine with him. He swallowed some with water from his flask.
At dawn on the second day, the skies cleared and Xiao Qing's fever broke. The constant travel and sudden fever had left him very weak.
Chewing bitter Refreshing Grass, Xiao Qing searched around the pit for another hollow.
Fluorescent Mushrooms and Moon Shadow Mushrooms had similar growing habits. If he could find Fluorescent Mushrooms here, he was bound to find Moon Shadow Mushrooms nearby!
At noon, while eating dried meat, Xiao Qing suddenly caught a strange scent. It reminded him of the mint-flavored sparkling water he'd drunk in his previous life.
Could it be a Moon Shadow Mushroom?
Xiao Qing forgot about his meal and followed the scent to a huge pit hidden behind weeds nearly two meters tall.
Parting the weeds, Xiao Qing saw the pit.
It was three zhang deep, with shallow water collected at the bottom. On the shaded side of the pit wall, a patch of light flickered.
Moon Shadow Mushrooms! Not just one, but a small cluster—six or seven caps nestled together.
Xiao Qing's heart raced. He had finally found them! With Moon Shadow Mushrooms, he could make the antidote.
He uncoiled a rope, secured it to a Hemlock, and tied the other end around his waist before slowly lowering himself down.
With the canopy overhead blocking the light, the bottom of the pit was dim.
Fortunately, Xiao Qing had brought a torch. Guided by its glow, he stepped carefully over the damp soil and walked toward the Moon Shadow Mushrooms.
Just as he was carefully cutting the mushroom stems, making sure to leave a third behind, the torchlight caught something at the edge of his vision on the other side of the pit.
It was a cluster of plants. Seven leaves fanned out, each marked with emerald-green phosphorescent spots. At the center of the foliage stood a flower stalk, topped with a still-closed bud.
The Green Phosphorus Seven-Leaf Flower.
Xiao Qing harvested three Moon Shadow Mushrooms, wrapped them in oilpaper, and tucked them into the Cloth Bag. Then he waded through the shallow water at the bottom of the pit and approached the strange flower.
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