0024 The Poisonous Monkey

Jiang Mingzhe turned his gaze toward the wall. The perimeter walls of these small buildings were built quite high, nearly level with the third floor. While they inevitably blocked some sunlight, they effectively prevented prying eyes. Given the treacherous environment of the Star-Sect, where practicing martial arts in one’s own courtyard would be clearly visible to anyone in the adjacent building, such privacy was a necessity.

A creature as small as a slow loris could naturally never scale such a high wall. Its elevated position seemed to provide the monkey with a sense of security; it lowered its head to stare at the pair for a moment before shifting its attention back to the burnt cake in its paws. It lifted the oily, scorched dough, sniffed it, hesitated for a second, and took a tiny bite. A pained expression immediately contorted the monkey’s face.

A-Zi was stunned with indignation. "Good heavens! Even a beast thinks my cooking is disgusting? You are quite the picky eater, aren't you!"

"Hmm?" A sudden thought occurred to Jiang Mingzhe. When A-Zi mentioned the creature being picky, he recalled a documentary he had once watched about venomous mammals. It had featured the vampire bat, the platypus, the shrew, the solenodon, and the slow loris—the only venomous primate in the world. Despite having "monkey" in its name, this creature was far less agile than typical monkeys, being roughly on par with a koala. Because of its small size and gentle temperament, it was an easy target for predators, so it had evolved toxicity as a defense mechanism.

The slow loris possessed venom glands in its armpits. It would lick these glands and then groom its fur, effectively coating its entire body in poison. This served multiple purposes: it prevented parasites, and when faced with a predator, the creature could curl into a ball, ensuring that anyone who bit it would be poisoned. It would also actively use this venom; its combat style involved raising its arms to expose its armpits, licking the glands, and then biting the opponent. Its saliva contained another type of toxin, and the mixture of the two was highly corrosive. A single bite could be fatal, and even if the substance merely splashed onto human skin, it would rot the flesh down to the bone. It was truly formidable.

However, the creature’s venom was not self-produced; it was acquired by consuming poisonous insects. If raised in captivity, it would quickly become non-venomous and harmless. This perfectly matched what A-Zi had described. Jiang Mingzhe even speculated whether the two toxins in its saliva and glands might be scorpion venom and centipede venom respectively. He racked his brain and recalled that this type of creature preferred tree resins and gums, though he could not remember the specific species of tree. Beyond that, they favored nectar, fruits, insects, small birds, eggs, and small lizards or frogs.

It seemed that after escaping from Ding Chunqiu, this slow loris had likely never left the Star-Sect. The sect occupied a vast area, and the little creature, being nocturnal and moving with slow, silent precision, had probably been hiding in the shadows for quite some time.

Hiding was easy, but finding food was difficult. The Star-Sect lacked the tree gums, honey, and fruits the creature craved. While there were plenty of poisonous insects, they were all owned by the various disciples, carefully hidden or stored. In fact, wild venomous insects were likely rarer here than in any other sect. The monkey must have been starving to the point of desperation, forced to resort to human food—and the burnt cake A-Zi had provided barely qualified as food, so it was no wonder the creature looked so miserable eating it.

Since it was hungry, the problem was easily solved. A plan formed in Jiang Mingzhe’s mind. He asked A-Zi, "Senior Sister, is there any honey in your room?"

A-Zi shook her head. "Of course not. I managed to scrounge up a little last year, but I used it all up on my steamed buns."

Jiang Mingzhe looked at her, thinking that given her appetite, there was no point in asking about fruits or bird eggs. "Do you have any centipedes? Scorpions would work, too."

"Hmm?" A-Zi blinked, reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a large, fire-red centipede. It was a foot long and as thick as two fingers, with golden antennae on its head shimmering with a luster that made it look exceptionally menacing in her small hand. She held the centipede by its midsection; its tail wrapped around her wrist, and its head probed about, yet it showed no intent to bite—evidently a display of the Star-Sect’s poison-control techniques.

Though Jiang Mingzhe was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but step back. "That monkey likes honey, fruit, and venomous insects. Use this centipede to lure it down."

"Ah?" A-Zi had assumed Jiang Mingzhe wanted it for himself. Hearing it was for the monkey, she hesitated. She looked at the centipede in her hand with reluctance and sighed, "This centipede was brought back from the Miao border by Master. I had to beg him for it, and I’ve been raising it for half a year without even daring to use it!"

"Then..." Jiang Mingzhe, seeing that the centipede was indeed extraordinary, was about to suggest she find another, when he heard a sharp, urgent "squeak."

They looked in the direction of the sound and saw the slow loris had shifted from a sitting to a standing position. It tossed the burnt cake aside and pointed at the centipede in A-Zi's hand, its eyes filled with longing.

A-Zi became flustered. "No, no, no! You definitely won't like this. This centipede’s venom is of the Fire element, and you are a monkey—you must be of the Wood element. If Fire burns Wood, you'll be finished! You'll be burned to death!" She likely knew the monkey couldn't understand her, so she gestured wildly, trying to act out the concepts of fire, wood, burning, and dying.

"Fire element? Are there toxins corresponding to Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth as well?" Jiang Mingzhe asked quickly. A flash of inspiration hit him when A-Zi mentioned the Fire-element venom.

"Of course! Generally speaking, snakes are Fire-elemental, and their venom strikes the heart. Scorpions are Metal-elemental, and their venom harms the lungs. Centipedes are Wood-elemental, and their venom damages the liver and gallbladder. Spiders are Earth-elemental, and their venom affects the spleen and stomach. Toads are Water-elemental, and their venom attacks the kidneys." A-Zi rolled her eyes as she recited this, much like someone reciting a textbook.

Jiang Mingzhe was certain she was just reciting. The way she listed the organs—heart, lungs, liver, gallbladder, spleen, stomach, and kidneys—using five different terms for "damage," was not A-Zi's usual way of speaking.

"But it's not always absolute. For example, this 'Fire Dragon' centipede: after it bites someone, the wound turns red, swollen, and painfully hot. The victim suffers from high, persistent fever and parched lips, and finally, the blood stops flowing, leading to heart failure. That is the nature of Fire-elemental venom. Since Wood feeds Fire, it is exceptionally violent."

Jiang Mingzhe understood the gist of it. The Star-Sect’s method of categorizing toxins appeared to be based first on biological classification, then on specific species, and finally by combining physical characteristics with the physiological reactions after exposure, all folded into the traditional Five Elements theory. For instance, A-Zi’s red centipede was a "Wood" creature, but its red color was "Fire," which perfectly fit the "Wood feeds Fire" principle. As for the symptoms A-Zi described, Jiang Mingzhe found them a bit forced; after all, most venomous bites caused redness, swelling, and a burning sensation. Still, there was perhaps some logic to it, though he was neither a master of poisons nor a chemist, and couldn't fully grasp the mysteries yet.

However, having confirmed the existence of "Fire venom," Jiang Mingzhe was even more certain of his hypothesis. "Senior Sister, was this centipede brought back by Master along with this monkey?"

"Eh?" A-Zi was surprised. "How did you know?"

Jiang Mingzhe smiled. "It's not hard to guess. Everything in the world has its nature. This monkey lives in the Miao border, where the climate is warm and humid. How could it endure the dry, cold weather here? I suspect Master feeds it Fire-elemental toxins to sustain it, and this centipede is likely the 'monkey feed' he brought back specifically for it."

A-Zi was stunned for a long while after hearing this. She nodded slowly and said, "You clever ginger, you're right. Master brought back over a hundred of these centipedes. I asked him for one several times, but he refused to part with them. Later, when the monkey ran away, he gave this one to me. So that means..." She looked at the giant centipede in her hand and then at the little monkey on the wall, her face crinkling in distress. "This really is his food?"

Jiang Mingzhe had intended to have A-Zi swap it for an ordinary centipede, but since the creature’s health was at stake, he changed his mind. He took the opportunity to persuade her: "Senior Sister, be decisive. Look at how anxious it is—squeaking and jumping around. If you attract Master's attention, you won't be able to get it to catch bugs for you. Besides, if Master finds the monkey, do you think he won't just take your centipede to feed it?"

"He will!" A-Zi’s little face scrunched up as if she were about to cry. That was absolutely something the Star-Sect Old Immortal would do.

Knowing she would lose both the monkey and the centipede, A-Zi wasn't stupid enough to choose the wrong path. She held her hand high and waved it. "Venom-monkey, come down! I'll give you the centipede."

"Squeak?" The monkey's already large eyes widened further, staring intently at the wildly wiggling centipede.