Chapter 111: The Poisonous Toad

"Alright, alright, it's getting late, and you still have to work tomorrow. Hurry back and get some rest."

"There's no rush with things at school. How about I stay behind to look after them tonight? You should go back, take a good shower, and get some sleep. Look at you, you've grown so haggard these past few days."

"That wouldn't be appropriate."

"Jiayi, trust me, I can handle it."

"What I mean is, my parents are already feeling unwell and have a hard time sleeping at night. If we add your snoring to the mix, they'll be even more uncomfortable."

"Ah, so that's why." Wu Pangzi nodded, feeling a bit awkward. "That's true, you're right."

"Alright, I'm used to your snoring; I even find it strange when I don't hear it for a while. But my parents are patients now. You should go back quickly; they understand your intentions."

"Alright then, I'll head back first. Oh, right, tomorrow I'll try to invite that old Daoist priest again. My colleagues say he's quite effective, so we could invite him over to take a look. It's just that the old priest is quite busy, so it depends on his schedule."

"Didn't you say you also invited an old physician of Traditional Chinese Medicine?"

"We have to invite them all. Since the hospital hasn't been able to cure them for so long, we should try a few more methods."

"Mhm, I'll listen to you."

Watching her boyfriend walk downstairs, Zheng Jiayi turned around silently and returned to the ward first.

In the ward, her parents were still "groaning." They had been admitted for several days, but the two elderly people's consciousness remained intermittently clear and blurred.

Picking up the thermos to fetch hot water from the far east end of the floor, Zheng Jiayi saw a young girl with a mountaineering backpack standing at the entrance of her parents' ward, checking the room number as she walked back.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Seeing Yin Meng turned her head, looked at Zheng Jiayi, and said, "I'm the person Counselor Wu invited to treat the illness."

Zheng Jiayi said in disbelief, "You're so young?"

"My master is busy, so he sent me to take a look first."

"But my partner just left, shouldn't you all..."

"My master only gave me the ward address. If you don't trust me, I can leave right now."

Although she said she was leaving, her body had already turned sideways, her right leg slightly bent, ready to seize the other person and force them into the ward for treatment at the fastest possible speed.

"Please, come in."

Zheng Jiayi opened the door and invited Seeing Yin Meng into the ward.

Besides the smell of disinfectant, the ward was also permeated with a fishy, rotten odor.

Seeing Yin Meng walked straight to the bedside and observed the condition of the two elderly people.

In truth, she didn't know how to treat illnesses.

She knew how to concoct poisons; this was her talent.

Short-term special training had stimulated her perception of poison, but expecting someone to become a "famous doctor" in such a short time was clearly unrealistic.

However, she had sniffed it out: the two elderly people were indeed poisoned. The hospital calling it food poisoning was actually quite fitting.

Yet, she couldn't distinguish which type of poison it was.

It wasn't a big problem; she would just test them one by one.

Seeing Yin Meng flipped her left hand, and a toad was crouching in her palm.

She had just caught it in the hospital pond; its belly was bulging, full of vitality.

Zheng Jiayi, who was preparing to pour water for Seeing Yin Meng, covered her mouth and let out a gasp.

Seeing Yin Meng muttered incantations to the toad, then reached out and flicked its belly. She pulled out a stick of incense, rubbed the tip with her fingertips, and the outer layer of the incense skin fell off, releasing white smoke.

After inserting the incense into the toad's mouth, Seeing Yin Meng placed the incense-holding toad on the bedside table.

Immediately after, Seeing Yin Meng pulled a stack of differently colored paper slips from her pocket. She first took out a black one, flicked her right hand, and a blade appeared. Without hesitation, she made a cut on Zheng Jiayi's father's arm.

A cut appeared, and fresh blood flowed out.

Seeing Yin Meng used the black paper to soak up the fresh blood, then placed the paper over the incense, letting the incense burn a hole where the black paper was stained with blood.

The toad showed no reaction.

It wasn't corpse poison.

Seeing Yin Meng took out a purple paper. To ensure the blood was fresh, she used the blade to make a new cut on Zheng Jiayi's father's arm again.

After taking the blood, she followed the same procedure, letting the incense burn a hole in the paper.

The toad remained emotionally stable.

It wasn't Gu poison.

The next paper Seeing Yin Meng took out was blue. Before making a new incision, she glanced at Zheng Jiayi, who was standing to the side.

Zheng Jiayi was covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide open. She was very afraid and found it inconceivable, but she didn't scream or stop her. When she noticed Seeing Yin Meng's gaze, she even showed encouragement and gratitude.

This was a sensible woman; she didn't understand, but she knew this was medical treatment.

The new cut was made, blood was taken, and when the paper was placed over the incense tip and burned through, the toad began to croak at a high frequency.

It was demon poison.

Having found out what kind of poison it was, there was a corresponding solution. The method she knew was simple and unique: fighting poison with poison.

Seeing Yin Meng asked, "Do you know how to catch toads?"

"Ah? I... I've never caught one, but I can go catch them." Zheng Jiayi said firmly.

"Forget it, I'll go. You hold this toad; if I'm too far away, it might lose control."

"Oh, okay."

Zheng Jiayi stepped forward, discarding her intense inner repulsion as much as possible, and grabbed the toad with both hands.

Seeing Yin Meng came to the ward window, opened it, and jumped out.

Below was the pond; this was faster than taking the stairs.

Watching the window where the person had disappeared, Zheng Jiayi felt like she was dreaming tonight.

Before long, Seeing Yin Meng climbed back in through the window, holding another toad in her hand.

Next, she began feeding poison into the toad's mouth. This was a poison with a paralyzing effect, similar to "Mafeisan" (anesthetic), but with significant side effects that could easily damage a person's brain.

So, she deliberately lowered the dosage.

After both toads were fed the poison, Seeing Yin Meng used the blade to cut a square the size of a fingernail on the upper arms of Zheng Jiayi's father and mother. This was literally digging out a piece of flesh.

"This..." Zheng Jiayi still held back and said nothing.

Someone who could jump down from the fourth floor and climb back up—she didn't think this person was mentally ill.

"Come, give me a hand."

Seeing Yin Meng aimed the mouth of one toad at the wound on Zheng Jiayi's father.

Zheng Jiayi stepped forward to support the toad, letting it continue to suck on the wound.

Seeing Yin Meng aimed the other toad at the wound on Zheng Jiayi's mother.

"Gurgle... gurgle... gurgle..."

At first, the black color continuously spread from the wound to other areas, but soon, the black was rapidly compressed back.

The bellies of the two toads also grew higher and larger, like two angry pufferfish.

When the toads reached their limit, Seeing Yin Meng threw them away. A circle of fish scales appeared around the original wound.

Seeing Yin Meng reached out to grab them and pulled outward, simultaneously pushing Zheng Jiayi away so the toad in her hand also fell off. A circle of fish scales also appeared around her father's wound, and Seeing Yin Meng grabbed them with her other hand.

Then, Seeing Yin Meng lunged forward, like someone at the gym pulling hard on a rowing machine.

"Whoosh... whoosh..."

Two fish-scale threads, each a full two meters long, were pulled out from the wounds of Zheng Jiayi's father and mother by Seeing Yin Meng.

When she reached the end, Seeing Yin Meng acted ruthlessly. Because the ward space was limited, she simply leaned her body forward, tensed her arms, and performed a standing front flip.

"Snap! Snap."

The two fish-scale threads were snapped.

Zheng Jiayi's father and mother sat up on the hospital bed almost simultaneously, their mouths open, and blue mist sprayed out from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses.

Subsequently, the two fell backward and lay back on the hospital bed.

Their breathing became smooth, and in their deep sleep, there was no longer any pain on their faces; instead, they revealed a sense of relief from having finally been liberated.

Seeing Yin Meng took a snakeskin bag from her bag, rolled up the fish threads, and threw them inside.

The two big-bellied toads had deflated by now; not only were they not dead, but they also seemed very excited.

Seeing Yin Meng held them to her nose and sniffed, confirming that the poison she had fed them earlier had neutralized the demon poison, and they were now harmless.

She walked to the window and threw them down. Accompanied by two "plop" sounds, they returned to the pond.

"Thank you, you've worked hard." Zheng Jiayi bowed to Seeing Yin Meng.

Seeing Yin Meng waved her hand, picked up her water bottle, twisted off the cap, and took a sip of brown sugar water.

Zheng Jiayi asked, "Are my mom and dad cured now?"

Seeing Yin Meng shook her head: "This treats the symptoms but not the root cause. They can be well for two months, but after two months, the toxins will accumulate again, and they will fall ill again, and it will be even harder to remove."

If she hadn't come, according to the current situation, the two elderly people would have continued in this state for half a month before their physical condition rapidly deteriorated.

"Then what should we do?"

"I know they fell ill after returning to their hometown to visit graves. How long were they there?"

"They stayed in their hometown for a total of two nights."

"Did they stay in your own old house?"

"The old house hasn't been lived in for a long time. If we were to stay there, it would need cleaning, which isn't convenient. My parents stayed at my uncle's house."

"Did they eat and live there too?"

"Mhm, yes."

"If you want to completely cure your parents' illness, take me back to your hometown and let's go check your uncle's house. Is that okay?"

"Yes, when is it convenient for you?"

After witnessing such a magical treatment effect, Zheng Jiayi trusted Seeing Yin Meng very much.

"The sooner the better, I have quite a lot of things to do."

"Then tomorrow morning, I'll call my partner. It will take at least until the morning for him to get leave and come here to take over caring for my parents. Then we'll go to the train station together at noon."

"Okay."

"Thank you." Zheng Jiayi bowed to Seeing Yin Meng again.

Zheng Jiayi began to clean the ward with nimble hands and feet.

Seeing Yin Meng stood to the side, and as if she had suddenly thought of something, she asked, "Do you like small animals?"

"I do. Sometimes when I encounter poor stray animals on the road, I bring them home, bathe them, and give them medicine. After getting them cleaned up, I hand them over to neighbors or friends to adopt. Mainly, I already have three at home, so I can't keep any more."

"Then do you usually go to orphanages?"

"Mengmeng, do you like hiking? I see the things in your backpack, they are so rich."

"Just asking."

"Oh, right, how should I address you?"

"My name is Seeing Yin Meng."

"Daoist Priest Seeing Yin Meng."

Seeing Yin Meng was stunned for a moment. Why "Daoist Priest"? This didn't match the ID card she was given when she set off.

"My master is an old physician of Traditional Chinese Medicine."

"Ah?" Zheng Jiayi was very surprised. "Aren't you the disciple of a Daoist priest?"

"No."

"I thought those methods just now were... so it turns out Traditional Chinese Medicine is also this powerful."

"What's this about a Daoist priest?"

"My partner and I discussed it; we wanted to invite a Daoist priest to perform a ritual, so I mistakenly thought the master you mentioned was that very effective old Daoist priest. Sorry, I misunderstood you."

"It's fine."

Seeing Yin Meng lowered her head and took another sip of brown sugar water.

In other words, if she hadn't come tonight, Wu Pangzi would have brought an old Daoist priest over in a while. If that old Daoist priest really had skills, he should have been able to discover the clues of the demon poison and naturally would have thought about finding the root cause to solve it thoroughly.

Then he would have returned to his hometown with Zheng Jiayi.

After that, something might have gone wrong, involving Wu Pangzi, and then Wu Pangzi would have involved her and the others.

Before taking action, Brother Xiaoyuan specifically requested that all of them use this way of thinking to carry out their respective line of reasoning. Seeing Yin Meng was doing exactly that now.

According to common sense, from inviting the old Daoist priest, the old Daoist priest going to Min'an Town, investigating, something going wrong, and then involving Wu Pangzi—every link in this process was quite time-consuming. To finish it, it would take at least a month or more.

In this way, it barely matched the birthday date of Xue Liangliang's father. Seeing Yin Meng took a notebook and pen from her bag and recorded her thoughts.

This was the homework Brother Xiaoyuan left behind, which had to be handed in.

"If it's destined in fate that we break up, there's no need to pretend to hold me back. If love is eternal and immortal, how could we break up~"

The sad gathering that originally belonged to three old classmates turned into a singles' carnival for four people because of Tan Wenbin's participation.

The gathering place was also changed from a melancholy small tavern to a noisy karaoke room at Tan Wenbin's request.

Fan Shulin sat blankly on the sofa chair, watching his two old classmates and Tan Wenbin singing to their hearts' content. Anyone who didn't know would have thought he was the one getting a divorce today.

At this moment, the pager on Hu Yiwei's waist rang. He put down the microphone: "I'm going to the front desk to return a call."

Tan Wenbin put his arm around his shoulder: "Together, I'll go ask for some more beer."

The two left the private room and came to the front desk, where Hu Yiwei started making the call.

After Tan Wenbin ordered beer, in order to stay and listen, he also ordered a pack of cigarettes.

He tore open the packaging, tapped it, pulled out two, and handed one to Hu Yiwei. Hu Yiwei nodded and smiled, taking it. After biting it in his mouth, Tan Wenbin took out a lighter and lit it for him.

"Thanks, buddy..."

At this moment, the call connected. As soon as the woman's voice came from the other end, Hu Yiwei's entire complexion changed.

Tan Wenbin silently lit one for himself.

After passing through the rebellious and restless adolescence, he had long since stopped smoking, but now he had to create a reasonable scene to listen to someone else's phone call.

"You speak."

"It's fine, I'm listening."

"Heh, you don't have the heart to say it now? Where were you before?"

"Don't worry, I won't be sad. I'm singing and celebrating being single again with my friends. Let me tell you, Zeng Miaomiao, even without you, I can live very well!"

Tan Wenbin exhaled a smoke ring. To be honest, he could empathize with Hu Yiwei quite well. The two went from university campus to wedding dress, only to be inexplicably told by his wife that she wanted a divorce and to return to her hometown.

Suddenly, Hu Yiwei froze.

Subsequently, tears flowed out, and he shouted excitedly into the microphone:

"Zeng Miaomiao, you have no heart, you have no heart..."

The phone on the other end hung up. Hu Yiwei put the receiver back, turned around, leaned his back against the front desk tiles, and slowly sat on the ground.

Tan Wenbin asked: "Hu Ge, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Miaomiao said she had a blind date in her hometown and is getting married next month.

You tell me, why, why, why would she treat me like this? Why is she so cruel!"

Tan Wenbin asked: "That marriage partner, did they know each other before?"

"No, they just met on a blind date today."

"You believe her just because she said so?"

"Ah?"

"Hu Ge, think about it yourself, this is nonsense."

"You mean they actually hooked up a long time ago? But when we divorced, I asked her, and she swore to me that she had no affair, no cheating."

"Hu Ge, what I mean is, you have to ask about this matter in person. Go to her hometown and get things clear. Maybe she has some unspeakable difficulties, what do you think?"

"Go to her hometown and ask her?" Hu Yiwei's eyes were full of confusion. "But I tried to hold her back a long time ago, but it was useless."

"Hu Ge, your marriage can end, but it can't be muddled. You have to get an explanation for yourself. Go ask her, and also ask the person she is about to remarry.

At least, when you're in a bad mood and want to drink alone in the future, you'll have a topic to bring up."

"Binbin... I don't dare to face her again, I feel so bad."

"It's okay, if you don't dare to go alone, then I'll go with you!"

With the encouragement of others, Hu Yiwei's eyes gradually became firm: "Okay, next month, at her wedding, I want to ask clearly."

Next month?

If I accompany you and only go next month, then maybe Brother Yuanzi and the others will have already finished the work and returned.

"Hu Ge, you have to pull yourself together. Listen to me, let's go tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, think about it, there's still a month left. Day after day, how painful and depressed you'll be. Will you have the heart to work and live?

It's better to cut the Gordian knot, go early, ask early, and get everything said early. Life can also turn the page earlier."

Hu Yiwei nodded vigorously:

"Right, you're right. I'll go to the unit to ask for leave tomorrow morning, and I'll go find her in the afternoon. Brother, you..."

"I'll go to school to ask for leave in the morning, meet up with you at noon, and we'll set off together in the afternoon!"

"Good brother!" Hu Yiwei excitedly held Tan Wenbin's hand, tears and snot flowing down again. "The two of us haven't spent all these years in vain, really!"

"True brothers, don't say these things."

Tan Wenbin pulled a roll of paper from the front desk and handed it to this true brother whom he had known for less than three hours:

"Here, Hu Ge, wipe it off."

"I'm going to the restroom to wash my face."

After Hu Yiwei left, Tan Wenbin looked at the front desk waiter: "Can you give me a piece of paper? And borrow a pen, thanks."

Tan Wenbin wrote on the paper: A month?

Obviously, Hu Yiwei hadn't let go of this relationship and marriage at all, so after learning that his ex-wife was going to remarry at light speed, he would definitely go to the scene to ask clearly in the end.

If it weren't for his appearance, given Hu Yiwei's personality, he would probably have waited until the wedding day to go.

In other words, he had advanced this process by a month.

And then, Hu Yiwei had an accident?

After that, Fan Shulin contacted him and asked him for help?

It doesn't necessarily have to be him. Runsheng, Ayou, and others who go to the hospital for surgery every few days—couldn't they also be contacted?

"Sigh, my Brother Xiaoyuan is worthy of being my Brother Xiaoyuan. Using this way of thinking to push, there's a feeling of having already taken a big advantage."

At noon, Seeing Yin Meng and Zheng Jiayi boarded the train to Huangshan, while Tan Wenbin sat in the car Hu Yiwei had borrowed.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng had already arrived under a memorial archway, which read: Min'an Town.

The town was full of Hui-style architectural styles, with stone bridges and lakes, pavilions and long corridors, and was surrounded by green mountains and farmland. Every step was a scene, and everywhere was interesting.

This was truly a good place for sketching.

Xue Liangliang had said that his hometown was beautiful, and it was indeed so.

In fact, when he learned the place name "Huangshan Min'an Town" in Wu Pangzi's office, Li Zhuiyuan thought of Xue Liangliang.

Last time he and Luo Gong held a meeting, in the midst of his busy schedule, Luo Gong squeezed out half a day to go home and take a look, only to encounter the matter of Jingjing being possessed. After solving the matter, the two of them rushed to Huangshan by car to attend the meeting.

He remembered that Xue Liangliang said at the time that it was close to home, and he could go back to his hometown to take a look after the meeting.

When he confirmed through a phone call that Xue Liangliang's hometown was indeed "Min'an Town," Li Zhuiyuan didn't ask specifically anymore. Later, he didn't page Xue Liangliang again to ask for his specific home address.

He knew Brother Liangliang was very smart and might have been suspicious at the time. If he asked one more time, he was afraid he would immediately realize that something had happened in his hometown.

Brother Liangliang was a very clear-headed person. He wouldn't choose to force himself back at this time to add to the chaos, so he didn't need him to worry from so far away. He would handle the matter well himself.

There was only one main street in the town, with some small shops on the street, and the rest of the residential houses were in the alleys on both sides of the main street, living in separate households.

Li Zhuiyuan found a small shop, bought two drinks here, and then asked the auntie in the small shop where Xue Liangliang's home was.

In this day and age, university students were still precious. After reporting the university and his name, the auntie enthusiastically led Li Zhuiyuan and the other two into an alley and arrived in front of a house door.

The house door was wide open. The auntie shouted into the house in dialect, meaning that her Liangliang's friend had come to visit.

Xue Liangliang's parents walked out. The vicissitudes of life could be seen on their faces, but their bodies were still very strong. When Li Zhuiyuan finished his self-introduction, the two elderly people said in unison:

"You must be Xiaoyuan."

Obviously, Xue Liangliang had mentioned him to his family, and more than once.

The bit of estrangement and politeness that might have existed originally vanished at this moment. Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng were enthusiastically welcomed into the house, and the two elderly people began to cook.

The old house should have just been renovated in the past two years.

There was nothing special about the furnishings in the house, which were similar to ordinary families, but in some details, one could see that although they lived very simply, they were not embarrassed at all.

Xue Liangliang didn't have such a great obsession with money, but that was also based on solving basic living needs. He definitely sent money to his parents every month, but his parents still lived in a familiar lifestyle, which made them feel at ease.

The food was very rich, especially the stinky mandarin fish, which had a very full taste.

After the meal, the four sat in the courtyard well to chat.

Li Zhuiyuan was not in a hurry to search everywhere for information. Everyone had their own line to be responsible for, and digging his own line as well as possible first was the most important thing.

Next month was the fiftieth birthday of Xue Liangliang's father, and he planned to hold a big one. When talking about this matter, the two elderly people were very happy.

At dusk, Xue Liangliang's father took Li Zhuiyuan to the long corridor in the town. It was by the river, and every day at this time, people gathered here to play chess and drink tea, and occasionally someone would tell storytelling.

Li Zhuiyuan had a feeling that he was here for tourism.

At dinner, Li Zhuiyuan talked about the birthday celebration again and asked about some local customs.

When sleeping at night, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng lived in the room Xue Liangliang used when he was at home.

The old house was mainly wooden, and the sound insulation was not very good. Li Zhuiyuan's hearing was exceptionally sharp, so he heard the conversation of the two elderly people on the bed in the next room "clearly."

They talked about him, mainly praising the child for being good-looking and smart, which was a start.

Then they focused on the topic of when Xue Liangliang could get married and when they could hold their grandson, which should be the focus of the old couple's daily night talk.

Just as this old topic was gradually coming to an end, Xue Liangliang's mother suddenly said:

"I don't know when that expedition team will be able to return. They are all young children, how can they be so bold to go to that village."

Xue Liangliang's father seemed to be very disgusted with this topic and said:

"Don't talk about this, go to sleep."

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes: Expedition team?

"Brother Runsheng, shall we go out for a walk?"

Li Zhuiyuan knew Runsheng wasn't asleep because he didn't snore.

"Okay."

The two deliberately left the house quietly, came to the alley, and walked from the alley to the main street.

At this time, the shops on the street were all closed, and there were no pedestrians. As the two walked, they came under the memorial archway when they entered the town.

"Logically speaking, if everything goes well for them, they should have arrived here by now. Brother Runsheng, what time is it now?"

Runsheng picked up his watch and took a look, saying: "11:48."

"Let's wait a little longer, wait until midnight to go back to sleep."

Tan Wenbin sat in the car and asked: "We're here, Hu Ge, look at the memorial archway in front, Min'an Town."

Hu Yiwei also let out a long sigh of relief: "Finally here, my waist."

Tan Wenbin looked at the time in the car: "We've been driving for so long, it's already 11:49."

"If it weren't for a flat tire halfway, we could have arrived earlier."

"Then where are we staying tonight? Find a residential house to stay?"

"No, I want to go directly to her house."

Tan Wenbin nodded and said nothing.

The car continued to drive forward, passing through the deserted memorial archway.

Seeing Yin Meng and Zheng Jiayi sat on an ox cart. The person driving the cart was an old grandfather. The cart was loaded with chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and the two of them sat on top of these things.

The old grandfather said: "Next time, girls shouldn't travel so late, it's not safe."

"Understood, Grandpa." Zheng Jiayi responded with a smile.

"Okay, we're here. Your house is in the front alley, right? I live at the end of the town, so I'll drop you off here."

Zheng Jiayi took out her wallet, preparing to give money.

"What money? Although we don't have the same surname, if we really talk about it, I'm also your grandfather's generation. If I take money, people will talk." After the old grandfather finished speaking, he drove the ox cart and continued forward.

Seeing Yin Meng looked up at the memorial archway above: Min'an Town.

Zheng Jiayi said: "Let's go, I'll take you to my uncle's house."

"Your uncle and the others should be asleep, right?"

"That's for sure, people in the countryside sleep early. Let me see what time it is... ah, it's already 11:50."

Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng waited under the memorial archway until midnight, but didn't wait for anyone.

"Let's go, go back to sleep."

"Okay."

When turning around to walk back, a gust of wind blew, blowing the treetops in front, and three leaves fell.

(End of chapter)