Traitor Of Humanity

With his status built off of his personal ability, most of his regular customers are usually from the bigger family clans in Haradur City. Rarely would a random n.o.body request anything of him. Such people should just go to those run-of-the-mill amateur doctors for their problems. And, buy herbs? Why would a little kid need to buy herbs?

Seth had toured around nearly the entire marketplace, and yet he still could not find all the ingredients that he wanted. By the time he had heard of the reputation of this clinic where he saw one of his victims enter, Alexandar Amnon, who was unable to find his moneybag, had already left the place in utter depression.

"This place is a clinic, and not an herb vendor, but considering its reputation as the best clinic in the city, it should have a good stockpile of herbs, right?"

That was what he thought, but seeing the skepticism on old doctor"s face, he immediately said, "Don"t worry, old man. I have the money! A rich fellow was kind enough to fork it out.".

If the depressed Alexandar Amnon heard what Seth had just said, then he would surely go mad.

Seeing the fancy moneybag being jingled in the little boy"s hand, old doctor Liao concluded that this little boy is probably from one of the 3 great families of the city. He wondered, "Isn"t this little boy afraid of being robbed, carrying that much money on his little person.", but his professionalism would prevent him from committing such an act himself, at least for such a small sum. Even if a bag of that size were filled with silver coins, he could easily earn that much in a number of days.

"What herbs are you looking for, exactly?" Old doctor Liao curiously asked. He is not an herb vendor, but he is open-minded, and he does not hate children. Therefore, he would not waste a chance to make a profit.

After Seth explained which herbs he required, old doctor Liao frowned.

"Some of these herbs are rather dangerous. …You are not going to eat them, are you?"

Old doctor Liao normally wouldn"t care what his customers do with the things they purchase from him, but if a young scion of one of the city"s great families were to die right after visiting his clinic, his reputation may suffer. That would not be something he wouldn"t be able to deal with, but it would still an unpleasant annoyance.

Seth"s eyes widen in surprise. "Do you think I"m a child?"

Old doctor Liao nodded. Literally looking down at Seth, he thought, "Is that not obvious?".

Seth ignored him.

"Also, old man, let me borrow your laboratory to do a little mixing."

Even if Seth manages to get all the ingredients, he would need to use the proper equipment to concoct the poison. What laboratory would be better than the laboratory of the best clinic in the city? This was another reason why he approached old doctor Liao.

"No way. How can I let a child mess up my lab? And call me doctor, not old man." Old doctor Liao immediately refused. Many of the equipment used for concocting medicines are fragile things. If he lets a child touch them, he might as well kiss them good-bye.

"Hm? You said YOU are going to mix them?" Old doctor Liao was shocked. What a joke. Where in the countryside have people ever seen a child that looks around 11-years-old capable of mixing medicines? That is, unless the child was born into a family with a medical background.

"Yup." Seth nodded.

"…What a waste of good herbs. What are you going to make, kid?" Old doctor Liao asked. As long as he could make a profit, what should he care if the ingredients are wasted? But because of the boy"s interesting selection of herbs, he felt a little curious.

"What "waste"? I"m going to make a perfectly good… poison."

Considering that he will be using the old man"s lab, he would not be able to prevent leaving traces of the poison"s creation… or rather, the stench released during the concocting is just too powerful. Unless the room is airtight, he would not be able to stop it from getting out.

"A Poison?" Old doctor Liao became speechless. Is this another joke? Why would a little boy want to create poison?

Seth racked his brain for an excuse. "Um… A poison maker pa.s.sed by town the other day. He said that if I could make this poison, then he will accept me as his apprentice."

"…Is that so." Old doctor Liao did not question the boy any further. What the kid said was not exactly unbelievable. Instead, old doctor Liao thought, "This child probably got tricked." .

"True poisons cannot be made with only herbs. Ingredients of other varieties are also required." Old doctor Liao lectured with a tone filled with wisdom.

Seth nodded.

"Yeah, that"s why I got these." He brought out another bag and opened it. Inside were various things, or parts of things, some of which are still alive and very menacing-looking. There are claws and fangs, bugs in a jar, a rodent squirming, and a bottle of something that looks like syrup. These were all things that Seth had gotten while roaming the marketplace. Some of the ingredients, he could not find, and thus had to acquire suitable replacements.

"…Can I see the recipe?" Old doctor Liao"s curiosity spiked. Seeing these ingredients, what the little boy was saying started to sound a bit more realistic.

"I don"t have it written down, but I memorized it. As for the effect… I wasn"t told." To play it safe, Seth decide not to mention that he was creating something that could castrate a man. That way, after it happens, the matter would not so easily be linked back to him.

Old doctor Liao considered for a moment. He really was curious to find out whether this is all a joke, or if what the little boy is saying is for real. "Fine. But I"ll be helping you. I don"t want you breaking my equipment after all."

…

"All I want to do is to help my mother... Why are things so difficult?" Seth sighed.

In the end, he would end up leaving quite some clues behind. If old doctor Liao were to help in the concoction, he could memorize the ingredients and concoction process and remake the poison later. Then, he would be able to find out what exactly the poison does by testing it on a lab rat or something. If Seth"s father were to contact old doctor Liao after he gets poisoned, and if old doctor Liao rats him out, then wouldn"t he be in for some trouble? Hopefully, this old doctor isn"t a loud-mouth.

When Seth stepped into old doctor Liao"s laboratory, he caught a whiff of the smells within, and noticed something unexpected. Amidst the smell of medicines, there was a certain other type of scent mixed in. This one was not as apparent, but to an experienced old hand, it was obvious enough to catch.

"So, this old man is not just a simple doctor." Seth snickered, but said nothing.

Putting on some gloves, he and old doctor Liao began the operation.

During the poison making process, old doctor Liao was surprised many times by the young Seth. Firstly, by how the little boy handled the ingredients. Seth had cleanly separated and extracted the necessary bits from the ingredients, the venom from the fangs and claws, the organs from the bugs, and the blood from the rodent. His handiwork was not the least bit sloppy, and had the precision and speed of a true master. There was no hesitation in the boy"s movements.

It was the same with the herbs. The grinding of one herb, and the extraction of the dew of another. Each herb was handled so professionally that old doctor Liao could not critique the boy.

In the end, although he said he was not going to allow it, old doctor Liao had Seth handle the equipment in the lab himself, with the old doctor himself standing ready to interfere if anything seem like it would break or be misused. He wanted to see the extent of this little boy"s capabilities.

With all the ingredients in beakers, what came next was the concocting. A fire was started, beakers started boiling, some ingredients were purified, others reacted with each other, the solution was filtrated, and in the end, only a small vial"s worth of product remained.

Throughout the process, the fumes released caused the two people in the lab to cough and choke. For some unknown reason, at a certain point before the end of the concoction, old doctor Liao felt his withered old b.a.l.l.s shrinking even further. It was a temporary, but a very vivid, feeling.

When everything was finished, old man Liao looked at Seth with a gaze of admiration.

"Did that pa.s.sing poison maker teach you to master these fundamentals? Good workmanship! If you weren"t already being eyed by a fellow… Cough! I might even want you as an apprentice myself."

It seemed like old doctor Liao was about to say something before he coughed, but had cut himself off before he could do so.

Seth snickered. He had an idea what the old man prevented himself from saying, but didn"t expose him.

"Doctor, keep this a secret between us, okay? I don"t want my parents finding out that I"m playing with poison."

"Hahaha, don"t worry, little friend." Although old man Liao recognized Seth"s talent, he still considered the latter a little boy, so to him, it was no wonder that Seth would not want his parents finding out about his playing with something as dangerous as poison. But honestly, if his parents were to find out about his talent as a poison maker, they would probably be very happy.

"If you ever want to learn a thing or two about medicine, you"re welcome here anytime."

Old doctor Liao had the feeling, that befriending this boy could produce some unexpected benefits in the future.