Chapter 5 Poisoned
Xiao Xiao pressed both palms on his belly, he rolled onto the ground, back and forth continuously. After a sigh of relief, he hurriedly stopped his movement. As Xiao Xiao stopped his movement, there was a piercing pain like the tides retreating.
After the crying “boo hoo” Xiao Hei saw Xiao Xiao take a turn for the better, it unexpectedly used its sleek head to brush gently against Xiao Xiao’s thigh.
The even more pale Xiao Xiao could barely lifted his right hand, and softly pet Xiao Hei’s head, indicating that he was okay.
At the same time, Xiao Xiao began to ponder, why would his stomach ache for no reason?
Trying hard to recall, after careful considerations, and inspecting layer upon layer, he was certain that he was poisoned. Moreover it was the python’s poison.The reason was that he drank the dragon turtle’s blood. Because the dragon turtle was bitten by the python, the blood in its body contained the python’s poison.
Although he did not know why Xiao Hei was not poisoned, from the moment he left home and entered the cavern, he had not eaten a single grain. The only thing he ate was the dragon turtle’s blood.
Unexpectedly before the dragon turtle died, it was bitten by the python. thus Xiao Xiao could confirm that the reason he was poisoned is undoubtedly the dragon turtle’s blood he recently drank.
Now he knew the reason, there must be a cure. All living things on Earth counteract each other. Nearby any highly poisonous thing must exist a panacea. Since he was already poisoned, the best detoxification remedy was the python’s snake gull!
Xiao Xiao turned his body, and gazed at the black python floating on the surface of the freezing pool. The frightening python head, its malevolent look. He supposed he could wait a while and then climb on top of the python’s body to obtain the gall bladder. In his heart he was a little apprehensive.
Of course the sooner he get rid of the poison within his body, the sooner he would get better. Taking advantage that the effect of the dragon turtle’s blood has not yet dispelled. Xiao Xiao toughened his face and swam slowly toward the python.
In the cold pool, He felt the water was not as bone-piercing as before, only an ice-cold feeling. The ice cold feeling penetrated his heart.
But after he just swam a while, he immediately realized that he was empty-handed. Could it be that he would have to use his hands to tear open the python’s skin and flesh?
After returning to the sh.o.r.e, he was at the corner of a stone wall. After finding a sharp stone, it looks like this was the sharpest weapon he could find.
Xiao Xiao grasped the sharp point of the stone “weapon” in his hand. Once again he swam in the freezing pool toward the python. It is said that the snake gall is located at the neck and a.n.u.s. Xiao Xiao wish to chiseled open the python’s a.n.u.s straightforwardly, saving time and effort.
He swam to the python’s a.n.u.s. His hands held the sharp side as the stone cut toward the python’s jet black outer layer. He could feel the difficulty of sliding his palm. Layer upon layer the python’s blotched skin made it difficult for him to start. Even after the sharp stone streaked across the python’s skin, there was only a faint mark left behind on the python’s outer skin.
Xiao Xiao refused to believe it. His pair of hands would not let go of the stone, stabbing over ten times in the same position. On top of that, the tremendous strength to float in the water tired him out as he gasped heavily. Obviously he had no more strength to continue.
Thus the area he streaked left behind only an indistinct, faint scratch. Xiao Xiao saw the black glossy shine of the python skin. A feeling of powerlessness filled his thoughts.
Thus when his gaze inadvertently came across the place the dragon turtle bit on the python’s neck, he had a gut feeling of nowhere to go, no way out. There was not a single feeling of happiness.
Both his legs paddled and swam rapidly to the python’s neck where the dragon turtle bit. Both hands clasped the sharp stone and jabbed at the wound, but the stone did not go in.
He slanted his body back, both hands held the stone firmly and repeatedly grind the python skin back and forth. Although it was not sharp, the stone was capable of grinding open the python’s skin. At least he saw a result. In this way cutting open the python’s skin would only be a matter of time. Xiao Xiao was unable to contain his joy.
Cut and Cut! Grind and Grind! He did not know how long he continued. Half of Xiao Xiao’s body was immersed in the cold pool. Fine beads of sweat dripped from above his forehead. His complexion was not pale, but rather moist red.
Xiao Hei seeing Xiao Xiao continuously busy, waited at the sh.o.r.e swiveling incessantly. From time to time it would raise its head to look in the pool at Xiao Xiao and the corpse of the jet black python.
Seeing that Xiao Xiao has not come to sh.o.r.e, it finally could not remain still and swam near to the slit python’s body.Using the small hard spot of its black nose, it smell to the east and smelled to the west.
As it swam to Xiao Xiao’s side, suddenly a green drizzly round object just happen to tumble out of the cut on the python’s skin. With one sniff, Xiao Hei became intoxicated by the fragrance. It stretched out its tongue, wanting to stuff it in its mouth. Because the round ball was somewhat big, it was stuck in Xiao Hei’s mouth.
Xiao Hei swayed his mouth, stubbornly wishing to swallow it into its stomach, so much so that it was wedge in the middle causing Xiao Xiao to cough. Xiao Xiao hearing Xiao Hei’s cough sound, naturally payed attention to Xiao Hei’s movements.
Seeing a bulge in Xiao Hei’s mouth, he did not know what it just ate. Fearing Xiao Hei would choke, he began thinking of a way to prevent Xiao Hei from swallowing. But Xiao Hei swayed its head, unexpectedly swallowing it in.
Seeing Xiao Hei unaffected, Xiao Xiao did not overthink, and continued his unfinished “task”.
The heavens are not responsible for human intentions. After comprehending in the cold pit, Xiao Xiao knew that he had to continue striving for another night and could not stop to rest. Of course, he finally found the dark purple long round python gall which looked like a gemstone.
To remove the poison from his body, Xiao Xiao endured the fishy smell, pinching his nose and swallowed it. There was a slight chill as it entered his mouth. It was soft like a syrup flowing down his throat into his stomach.
After finishing the python gall, he was very much free from anxiety. However as Xiao Xiao was about to heave a sigh of relief, his whole entire body seemed to have broken in structure. A strong feeling of exhaustion filled his thoughts.
Xiao Xiao really wanted to lie down on the cold pool immediately and fall asleep in this way. But when the side of his eyes saw Xiao Hei floating in the pool, he did not know what happened, and unexpectedly floated on the water with his slight consciousness. Originally he wanted to sleep, but his mental state immediately intensified.
He extended his arm to hold up the unconscious Xiao Hei. He hurriedly swam out of the water. Once he reached the sh.o.r.e, Xiao Xiao reached forward and stretched out Xiao Hei’s nose, and felt Xiao Hei’s stable breaths, not a sign of abnormality.
He was relieved of his worries.
But the unconscious Xiao Hei did cause Xiao Xiao to be puzzled with doubt. It did not look like Xiao Hei was poisoned, but it was indeed unconscious. He thought and thought but could not come up with an explanation. Since he did not know the cause, he might as well let it go. Anyways Xiao Hei was fine at the moment. Only when Xiao Hei wake up would he carefully go to explore.
Xiao Xiao found a clean corner by the stone wall while holding Xiao Hei. He thought and thought and finally let out a deep breath of air. He relaxed his mind, and thought of Grandfather. If Grandfather returns home and finds the letter he left behind, but could not find its person, certainly Grandfather could search the whole world for him.
Now that he and Xiao Hei had fallen into the cavern into the cold pit, perhaps even if Grandfather wanted to find him, it would not be possible. An unbidden feeling of sorrow sprung from the bottom of his heart. From now on, he could never see Grandfather again! He would never have the chance to wait for his father’s return!
But on a second thought, this was exactly what he wanted. He did not want to involve the Xiao clan, and did not want to burden Grandfather anymore.
Xiao Xiao thought, and thought. A strong antic.i.p.ation of exhaustion came, and exhausted him. Finally he fell asleep, letting his imagination run wild in bewilderment……
When Xiao Xiao woke up again, a clear gleam came within the cold pool. The cold had woken him up. Although the dragon turtle’s blood is demonic blood, it prevented Xiao Xiao from freezing to death for one day and two nights, so it was already considered as a miraculous effect.
Shivering from the cold, he wanted to get up and drink two mouthfuls of the dragon turtle’s blood to resist the cold air coming from the freezing waters. Both palms supported himself up from the ground. When he lifted his legs, he realized Xiao Hei clinging to his legs was significantly bigger than before.
Xiao Xiao heard these kind stories regarding overnight drastic change from his Grandfather’s conversation with other people. As for Xiao Hei this was absolutely a good thing, but why would Xiao Hei be unconscious at this moment.
He carefully moved Xiao Hei to the side, and once again walked toward the dragon turtle. However at this moment golden blood was no longer flowing out from the dragon turtle’s wound. Rather the wounded area had already pulled back into the turtle sh.e.l.l. The dragon turtle’s sh.e.l.l was incomparably hard. His stone would not be able to cut it open.
Xiao Xiao’s entire body trembled with cold. He endured the coldness as he searched the one and only pa.s.sageway. He believed this pa.s.sageway ought to be where the python had emerged.
He followed the faint light, wishing to find an exit as quickly as possible, and to leave this terrible place sooner.
Following straight through the pa.s.sageway and reaching inside a s.p.a.cious lair, Xiao Xiao surmised that this place must be where the python normally rests. Exactly after he set foot inside, he felt an extremely cold air that was isolated inside this lair. When he did not feel cold anymore, he could even faintly feel a trace of warmth in the air.
Xiao Xiao looked over, and quickly found inside the lair, the surrounding pile of rock formed a wall, which was up to his height. Due to his curiosity, he carefully walked forward one step at a time.
As he walked closer to the stone wall, the surrounding temperature became warmer. When he was a few steps away from the stone walls, he finally saw that within the walls, there was a fruit tree he had never seen before.
The fruit tree wasn’t tall, and was much shorter than the stone wall. The tree trunk was lush and green like an emerald. Above the tree trunk grew leaves, snow-white like jade. And on the peak, grew bear a fruit that glittered blood red like a ruby.
Although the fruit was only as big as a thumb, it seemed especially dazzling on the lush green trunk and snow white leaves. Although Xiao Xiao did not know if it was a fruit, once he saw this fruit, he had an intense desire to consume this fruit.
Xiao Xiao jumped on top of the rocks, both eyes staring dyingly at the fruit. Even if he extremely wanted to eat this fruit, to his surprise he saw that beneath the fruit tree was a slow flow of laving raging in flames. Once again he observed the fruit tree like it was nothing ordinary. It was absolutely nothing ordinary.
And within this python lair, it can be a.s.sumed that the python must had been the guardian protecting this strange mysterious fruit. Xiao Xiao thought it over, and did not immediately pluck the fruit. He naturally thought to himself.
He had stumbled upon something he heard from grandfather, “The treasure of Heaven are like fruits that cannot be picked nor used. It should not be used for its strange effect, or else it might turn into the most deadliest poison in the world.”
Thus although Xiao Xiao really wanted to swallow the red treasured fruit, he had to restrain himself and cool down. At this moment if he was not careful, his biggest chance may turn into misfortune.
Xiao Xiao pondered for a good while, not knowing what was right. He was aware of that right now, he would have been starved to death already. Either way he would have been dead. He might as well take a gamble, with at least a small chance to live.
Xiao Xiao extended his right hand to pluck the white jade colored leaf. Right when Xiao Xiao’s finger touched the snow white leaf, a cold qi one hundred times colder than the freezing pool pa.s.sed instantly through his palm and into his body.
Instantly a layer of thin ice formed above his arm. Xiao Xiao’s complexion changed suddenly, and felt the snow leaf’s potency. Without time to think, from the bottom of his heart, he took a plunge and used his left hand to grab the ruby fruit on the peak of the tree.
In a moment, the raging flames burned his body. His left arm unexpectedly blazed with red flame. And so when Xiao Xiao immediately smelled the scent of roast meat, he knew it was the scent of his roasted arm.
Enduring this inhumane pain and torment, he had a strong unwillingness to resign. He was unwilling to die in silence. He thought about seeing his grandfather’s kind and benevolent smile once again; and for his father who searched the world for a cure, he had not seen his father in two years already; and for Xiao Hei, and the rest of the people in the Xiao family courtyard…….
Goodbye, Grandfather, Father, Xiao family…..
At Xiao Xiao’s last moment of conscious, he exhausted his strength to pull together and destroy both the snow white leaf and the fruit.