Calamity's Daughter

Calamity's Daughter

Jia Ma Empire, eastern edge of the Magic Beast Mountains, Qingshan Town.

The air here was filled year-round with the stench of blood and the curses of mercenaries. Countless mercenaries who made their living hunting magic beasts traded here, and the air carried the pungent smell of medicinal herbs mixed with sweat.

Myriad Medicine Hall was the largest herb shop in Qingshan Town. In a quiet corner of its rear courtyard, a young girl was sorting the herbs in bamboo baskets with her head lowered.

Her name was Little Fairy Doctor, and she was fifteen years old.

The girl wore a plain white dress of ordinary cloth, yet she carried a gentle air. Her long, straight black hair flowed down her back, and her eyes were clear and bright.

Little Fairy Doctor wore no protective gear. She stretched out her pale hand and picked up a handful of Poison Needle Grass.

The edges of Poison Needle Grass leaves were covered in tiny poisonous thorns. If an ordinary herb gatherer touched them, their hands would immediately swell, redden, and fester.

Little Fairy Doctor held the Poison Needle Grass, but not a single wound appeared on her palm. A faint toxin seeped through her pores and into her skin.

Her hands and feet grew warm, and her body felt much more comfortable.

She set down the Poison Needle Grass and put the sorted herbs into wooden drawers without the slightest hint of joy.

This constitution that made consuming poison feel pleasant was like a curse she could never cast off.

Every morning, she had to handle hundreds of pounds of mixed herbs, picking out spoiled stems and leaves before sorting the intact medicinal plants.

Her hands were often covered in dirt and herb juice, yet her plain white dress was always spotless.

She had no parents and could not remember where she had been born. Since childhood, all she had known was wandering.

During the winter when she was six, she fainted from hunger in the wind and snow. An old farmer surnamed Zhang from a remote northern village carried her home on his back.

Old Farmer Zhang was a lonely widower. He cooked the fine grain he normally could not bear to eat into rice porridge and brought it to her.

The old farmer left early and returned late each day to work in the fields, while Little Fairy Doctor stayed home to feed the chickens and sweep the floor.

The first time she drank hot rice porridge, the villagers gathered scraps of old cloth to sew her a new padded coat. That was the time in her life when she felt most like an ordinary person.

Later, the villagers began to notice that something was wrong with her.

While gathering mushrooms in the mountains, she accidentally touched a Poison Miasma Flower. The companions traveling with her came into contact with its pollen and immediately developed fevers and began vomiting.

Yet while standing among the flowers, she instead felt refreshed and invigorated.

The village's old physician took her pulse and discovered that it differed from that of ordinary people.

Whenever she felt depressed or angry, this abnormality became especially obvious.

Once, after losing the old farmer's money, she cried in a corner. Within moments, all the wild grass beneath her feet withered yellow and died, while the chickens and ducks in the yard collapsed without moving.

The villagers began to fear her.

The true tragedy occurred in the early summer when she was seven.

A band of horse bandits charged into the village. Dissatisfied with the small amount of grain the old farmer handed over, their leader kicked him and broke his ribs.

Little Fairy Doctor was pinned in the mud by two horse bandits. Seeing the old farmer who had taken her in coughing up blood, her rage and terror shattered her reason.

She felt a poisonous gas inside her abdomen spreading out of control. A grayish-brown mist burst from her body and spread through the entire village on the wind.

The horse bandits pinning her down did not even have time to scream before their flesh and blood melted away within a few breaths.

Every living thing the mist passed over died.

Little Fairy Doctor fainted within the poisonous fog.

When she woke again, rain was pouring from the sky, and the peaceful village had become a field of ruins.

Blackened skeletons lay scattered across the ground.

Little Fairy Doctor crawled to the threshold where the old farmer usually sat. All that remained there was a pile of gray-white remains with no recognizable features.

It was the most terrible nightmare of her life. She understood that she was not normal at all.

She was a walking source of poison. Anyone who came near her would eventually die.

Little Fairy Doctor left those ruins and walked alone into the deep mountains and forests.

The nights in the mountains were exceptionally cold, and she found an abandoned bear cave.

Every day, she wandered through the forest in search of food.

She shut herself away in the deep mountains, avoiding all contact with people. When hunger became unbearable, she ate wild fruit.

Whenever she encountered venomous snakes or poisonous insects, she would approach and let them bite her. Once their venom entered her body, the poisonous creatures would quickly stiffen and die.

Watching poisonous creatures suddenly die after biting her filled her with bitterness.

Later, she found several tattered medical books in the cave, their writing blurred and illegible.

She could only use the moonlight to make out the drawings of herbs, then search the mountains for plants that matched them.

Countless attempts made her suffer greatly. Sometimes she accidentally ate the wrong herb, and her stomach would ache for an entire night.

She began studying the properties of medicinal herbs day and night, reading through every medical text she could find.

There was no record in those books of a special constitution like hers.

If medical books could not cure her, then she would make the antidote herself.

She began with the most basic medical principles, making a living by gathering herbs and treating minor illnesses for others in exchange for dry rations.

Half a year ago, she left the deep mountains and arrived in Qingshan Town.

She set up a simple shed on the outskirts of town, where she cleaned wounds so deep that bone was visible on herb-gathering mercenaries and applied the herbs she had prepared herself.

Her herbs were highly effective at relieving pain. When poor townsfolk could not afford treatment, she never charged them.

She instructed the townsfolk to change their dressings on time and watch their diets. Many of them had benefited from her kindness.

She healed many badly injured mercenaries and townsfolk, and the people of Qingshan Town began respectfully calling her Little Fairy Doctor.

Her gentleness spread among the mercenaries.

But in a place like this, becoming famous often meant trouble.

A beautiful fifteen-year-old girl on her own faced countless dangers. Whenever mercenaries came to have their wounds treated, their eyes would always wander over her body.

To protect herself, Little Fairy Doctor mixed mild neurotoxins into the wound medicine she prepared.

As long as anyone dared act improperly, a flick of her fingers would send powder flying and leave them limp and paralyzed.

With this poison technique, she barely managed to gain a foothold in Qingshan Town.

The owner of Myriad Medicine Hall saw the value in her reputation and took the initiative to offer her a place to stay in the rear courtyard and a position seeing patients at the shop.

Little Fairy Doctor had no choice but to stay temporarily at Myriad Medicine Hall.

But that did not mean her situation had become safe.

A few days ago, Mu Li had come to Myriad Medicine Hall to buy medicine. He blocked Little Fairy Doctor's path and said several filthy things to her.

Little Fairy Doctor ignored him and lowered her head to go around him, but Mu Li refused to let the matter rest.

He had his men loiter outside Myriad Medicine Hall every day, frightening away many ordinary townsfolk who wanted to come buy medicine.

Shopkeeper Yao had spoken with Little Fairy Doctor several times because of this. He saw it as an opportunity to control her.

"Little Fairy Doctor, how did the inventory check on this batch of herbs go?"

A middle-aged man with two short mustaches walked into the rear courtyard. He was Shopkeeper Yao, the man in charge of Myriad Medicine Hall.

Shopkeeper Yao looked at the girl with improper thoughts in his heart.

Little Fairy Doctor pulled up a piece of coarse cloth beside her and covered the baskets of precious herbs. She turned around and put some distance between herself and Shopkeeper Yao.

"Shopkeeper, all of today's herbs have been counted and sorted into their respective drawers."

The girl's voice was gentle, but her attitude did not yield.

"Good, as long as they've been counted."

With his hands behind his back, Shopkeeper Yao took two steps toward Little Fairy Doctor and reached for her wrist.

"Because of you, Myriad Medicine Hall's profits have doubled this month. How should I reward you?"

Little Fairy Doctor stepped back and turned aside to avoid him. Her fingers gripped a thin bamboo tube hidden in her sleeve, filled with the paralyzing poisonous smoke she had refined.

Shopkeeper Yao grabbed only empty air, and his mood immediately soured.

"Shopkeeper, please don't joke around. I take Myriad Medicine Hall's pay, so naturally I should do my duty." Little Fairy Doctor's tone remained calm.

Shopkeeper Yao gave a soft laugh and spoke plainly.

"You are a smart girl. You should understand what I want. In Qingshan Town, a little poison powder for self-defense won't stop serious trouble."

"Mu Li, the young leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, just sent someone with an invitation. He is inviting you to enter the Magic Beast Mountains with his team tomorrow to gather herbs."

At the mention of Mu Li's name, Little Fairy Doctor's fingers tightened around the bamboo tube.

Mu Li was Qingshan Town's local tyrant. He was ruthless, and once he set his sights on prey, he would stop at nothing.

This so-called invitation to gather herbs was clearly a trap. Once she entered the Magic Beast Mountains, her life and death would be entirely in his hands.

"I have to see patients at Myriad Medicine Hall tomorrow. I cannot go." Little Fairy Doctor refused.

Shopkeeper Yao felt that the girl did not know her place.

"This is not up to you. If I step in and turn down Mu Li's invitation for you, Myriad Medicine Hall will offend the Wolf Head Mercenary Group for nothing."

Shopkeeper Yao laid out his terms.

"Unless you are willing to sign a ten-year contract and formally become an inner hall steward of Myriad Medicine Hall. Also, starting tonight, you will move into the main room in the front courtyard."

"As long as you listen to me, I naturally have ways to deal with Mu Li."

His calculations were clear. He wanted both to possess the girl and bind her to him with a contract.

Little Fairy Doctor understood the meaning behind his words and felt sick.

"I appreciate the shopkeeper's kindness, but I will not sign a ten-year contract, and moving to the front courtyard is even more impossible."

"If Young Leader Mu Li wants to cause trouble, I will bear it myself. I absolutely will not drag Myriad Medicine Hall into it."

Shopkeeper Yao felt humiliated.

"Do you really think those folk remedies of yours can stop Mu Li's men? How naive!"

"Since you do not know what is good for you, go explain yourself to Mu Li tomorrow morning. Myriad Medicine Hall will not offend a local power for an outsider."

After throwing down those words, Shopkeeper Yao walked out. The wooden door to the rear courtyard slammed shut behind him.

The courtyard returned to silence, while the medicine furnace in the corner gave off faint heat.

Little Fairy Doctor walked over to the furnace and crouched down. She picked up a wooden stick and stirred the charcoal beneath it.

She knew that once she left Myriad Medicine Hall tomorrow, Mu Li would not let her go.

With the few poisons she had now, she could at most bring down several ordinary mercenaries.

Mu Li was already a Dou Practitioner. Ordinary poisons would have little effect on him. Did she have to unleash the strange poison within her body again?

Remembering the village from years ago, Little Fairy Doctor bit down hard on her lower lip. Only after tasting blood did she loosen her teeth.

She could not use that power. She did not want to repeat the tragedy from years ago in Qingshan Town.

Even if those mercenaries deserved to die, there were still many ordinary people in town. Even if Mu Li captured and tortured her to death, she would not become a monster who killed everyone again.

Little Fairy Doctor hugged her knees and buried her head in the crook of her arms, her shoulders trembling faintly.

At fifteen, children from great families were still enjoying the protection of their elders.

Yet she could only sit in the cold rear courtyard of this medicine shop, counting down the days of her life.

How she wished an elder could step forward, even if only to stand in front of her. But that was destined to remain nothing more than a fantasy.

A poisonous body that brought misfortune did not deserve anyone's protection.

The night wind blew down several withered leaves. Little Fairy Doctor rose to her feet and returned to her cramped woodshed.

She ground dried Numbing-Tongue Herb into powder, mixed it with the paralyzing poison liquid she had refined, then filled bamboo tubes with the poison powder and sewed them into the inner side of her sleeves. She also selected several sharp poisoned needles and hid them at her waist.

Tomorrow, she could only fight with everything she had. Even if she died, she would make Mu Li pay the price.