(The plot went off the rails, shifting from a primitive setting to a martial arts world. Mainly, I just didn't want to disappoint everyone. There aren't many fanfics like this, after all, and if I did a poor job, I'd let everyone down. Sorry. I originally planned to change the setting in this chapter, but ended up revising the previous two instead, changing energy manipulation to kung fu. Energy manipulation still exists, though-just think of it as the kind you see in urban miracle-doctor stories, only not quite so ridiculous.)
"Chen Yu, can you teach me that move of yours?" Kohaku asked as they walked.
"Which one?" Chen Yu asked, looking at her.
He knew plenty of things: throwing needles, swordsmanship, spear techniques, close combat. Which one did Kohaku mean?
"The one you just did." Kohaku recalled how Chen Yu had thrown the bottle out and caught the water. She clearly couldn't do that, mainly because she had never done anything like it while hunting.
"That one? It doesn't suit you. But I have a set of techniques that would. Want to learn?" Chen Yu thought it over. That throwing technique would be better taught to Kirisame.
As for Kohaku, being an assassin suited her better.
Still, after spending so long down there, he felt a little dizzy.
Once he returned, he had Miwa and Reiko brew some medicine for him, then gulped it down.
Afterward, he carefully checked how his body felt. The lake had still affected him a little. It looked like he could only recover gradually.
Now that Senku had this lake water, he should be able to produce that wonder drug more quickly.
As for Chen Yu, he went for a stroll...
After all, he had nothing to do now. He left gathering the necessary medicinal herbs to Miwa and Reiko. With Miwa accompanying her, Reiko was unlikely to run into any danger.
Meanwhile, Kohaku practiced her horse stance day after day. Thanks to the foundation she had built through hunting practice as a child, her stance quickly became stable. If a fight broke out later, her combat ability would be a level higher.
As for old Kaseki, sometimes he enthusiastically forged weapons for Chen Yu, and sometimes he helped Senku make tools.
Kinro seemed close to mastering the Return Horse Spear, but his stance wasn't very stable, making him prone to falling. As for Ginro... best not to mention him. His combat ability was pathetic.
Still, the guy had a decent sense of danger. Whenever his life was threatened, he would act. Otherwise, that scene with Ginro that Chen Yu had watched in his previous life wouldn't have struck such a chord with him.
"Kohaku... the chief is... a statue..."
He recalled that scene. Though it seemed like a perfectly ordinary sentence, hadn't it helped Kohaku and Ginro escape danger?
Even though Ibara had overheard their plan afterward, that information had still played a significant role in the end.
Seriously, has it been so long that I'm starting to forget the plot?
As he walked, Chen Yu spotted a little yellow flower.
"What's this?" Chen Yu examined it closely. There seemed to be something strange about its scent...
"Gelsemium?" Chen Yu's eyes widened, and he quickly applied needles to himself. Better safe than sorry. Better safe than sorry.
Chen Yu looked at the little flower. There were quite a few more beside it, along with plenty of weeds.
He glanced around. This spot was fairly close to Ishigami Village, but it seemed no one dared come here.
Could this stuff be made into a laxative? Wouldn't that be too harsh? Chen Yu wondered.
Gelsemium, also known as heartbreak grass, could severely irritate the intestines, causing diarrhea, followed by severe dehydration, shock, and death.
Why is something this poisonous growing here?
Should I give Ibara a little?
Could I make it into a laxative?
But this stuff is poisonous.
Forget it. I'll take it with me.
Then Chen Yu began carefully digging around it.
He was genuinely afraid of this stuff.
He removed the whole plant intact, carefully clamped it between two sticks, and brought it back to the base.
The others watched Chen Yu return carrying two sticks with a flower held between them.
"Chen Yu? What are you doing?" Curious, Gen approached to take a look at Chen Yu's unusual getup.
"Aren't you scared?" Chen Yu asked, moving the sticks away from Gen.
"Why would I be scared?" ⊙ω⊙?
"This stuff is called gelsemium." (一_一)
"Gelsemium? What's that?" ⊙ω⊙?
"You can also call it heartbreak grass." (一_一)
"Heartbreak grass?" ⊙ω⊙?
"Uh, it's poisonous." (;一_一)
"Poisonous?" ━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━
Upon hearing that, Gen immediately backed away several steps.
He stared fearfully at the flower Chen Yu held up between the sticks.
"Chen Yu, put it down! That flower is poisonous!" Kohaku shouted. She immediately ran over, kicked the sticks out of his hands, then pulled him several meters away from the flower.
"What are you doing? Of course I know it's poisonous, but I have a use for it," Chen Yu said, patting Kohaku's hand.
Then he walked over and picked it up between two forked branches.
"But..." Kohaku still wanted to tell him how dangerous it was.
After all, she had once gone out to play with a few friends when she was little. When their parents found them, flowers like this had been growing not far away.
She had immediately been dragged away and scolded.
Then her father had told her the plant was poisonous. At first, it made people go to the bathroom frequently. Later, they would become very thirsty, then weak. If they were lucky, they would survive. If not, they would die.
Ever since then, she had paid special attention to these flowers so she could avoid touching them.
"This stuff is useful to me." Chen Yu looked at the flower, then walked off to one side.
He began processing it.
Once he had finished, he left it out to dry in the sun. With weather like this, he had to make the most of it.
Come to think of it, haven't I been away for quite a while? A few days, at least.
I wonder how things are going with Tsukasa.
Tsukasa looked at the people beside him. They held stone spears and gazed at him with admiration.
Finally, when he raised the lion's heart, everyone burst into cheers.
Watching all this, Tsukasa thought of Chen Yu, who had gone down the mountain several days ago. Something felt off. Did gathering herbs really take this long?
He put it aside. This was the fourth time he had been named a warrior. Yes, it felt quite rewarding.
Later, when Senku and Chrome came outside, they saw a processed medicinal plant sitting on a large rock at the far end of the area. They had no idea what it was.
Once they learned it was poisonous, they looked at Chen Yu with even greater exasperation.
This is our work area, and you're using it to dry herbs? Poisonous ones, at that?
Their stares left Chen Yu at a loss. He simply moved it somewhere else, then made a sign and carved a danger symbol into it with a knife.
After that, Chen Yu began gathering more herbs of this sort. He also picked out some of the herbs Miwa and Reiko had found and started grinding them.
His efforts paid off. The next day, Chen Yu produced a packet of finished Paralysis Powder.
He went straight to Senku and sprinkled it over him.
Senku coughed terribly, then discovered he had lost all sensation throughout his body. Next, he grew drowsy and slept straight through until evening.
Only after Chen Yu pulled him up and asked about his physical condition did he realize he had been used as a test subject.
Furious, he confronted Chen Yu, only to see him wave it off dismissively.
"How many needles have I stuck in you already? How much medicine have you drunk? It's no big deal."
Seeing Chen Yu's unconcerned expression, Senku wanted to teach him a proper lesson. Instead, Chen Yu smacked him on the head and knocked him out.
The next day, Senku still wanted revenge, but Kohaku and Chrome held him back. Helpless, he could only give up.
Sooner or later, he would revive all of humanity and restore society's laws and order. Then he would make Chen Yu suffer.
Still, to appease Senku's anger, Chen Yu reluctantly worked for him for a day.
Before you continue