0038 The White and Green Twin Demons

A-Zi grew impatient the moment she saw Jiang Mingzhe shielding the princess.

Mindful that Jiang Mingzhe had not been exactly polite to the princess earlier, A-Zi suppressed her irritation as best she could, though her words still lacked warmth. "What are you doing? Don't tell me you actually want to go off and become some high-ranking official with her?"

Jiang Mingzhe burst into laughter. "The ruler of Qingtang still relies on the Song Dynasty to confer his own titles; if I wanted to be an official, wouldn't I just go to the Song? Besides, didn't Senior Sister say that we, the White and Green Duo of Demons, roam freely across the thirty thousand miles of the Kunlun Mountains? Why would we bother with some damn official post!"

A-Zi was instantly overjoyed, yet she did not forget to correct him. "It’s the Green and White Duo of Demons!"

She glanced down at her purple robes, thinking: *My name is A-Zi, which is why I love wearing purple. But now that our "White and Green" act has debuted, I should really switch to white. Unless we call ourselves the Purple and Green Duo... but snakes aren't purple. Scorpions, on the other hand, can be purple. Maybe I should be the Great Purple Scorpion Spirit, and make Ginger here the Great Green Snake Spirit...*

If Jiang Mingzhe knew what was going on in her head, he would surely have collapsed in disbelief: people always said a young girl’s heart was like poetry, but A-Zi’s mind was entirely occupied with becoming a legendary monster.

At that moment, Jiang Mingzhe pulled A-Zi a dozen paces away and whispered, "Senior Sister, does this method of toxin assimilation really require a living person?"

A-Zi nodded, her expression turning serious. "That's right. Our sect’s method is actually quite simple: you let the venomous creature bite someone, draw out the toxic blood, smear it onto your palms, and channel your internal energy to absorb it. This way, even if the toxin is fierce, you won't turn into a hideous monster."

Jiang Mingzhe struggled to recall his chemistry knowledge, thinking: *So, in this process, the human body effectively acts as a reaction vessel. By using the blood to pre-metabolize and dilute the biological toxin, what one absorbs is not the raw glandular secretion, but a more complex mixture processed by the body—a product of something akin to blood dialysis or chromatographic separation.*

*Furthermore, this prevents the toxin from entering one's own bloodstream directly, making the absorption method relatively safer.*

*Still, even a reaction vessel shouldn't be discarded after a single use.*

He couldn't help but ask, "Senior Sister, after drawing out the toxic blood, wouldn't it work to just administer an antidote in time?"

A-Zi looked at him with an odd expression. "Of course it would! Didn't I tell you before? The area beside the quarters for the uninitiated disciples, the one with the high walls—that’s where the 'toxin-hosts' live. If we killed a person every time we practiced toxin assimilation, where would we find enough people?"

Jiang Mingzhe raised an eyebrow; he was certain A-Zi had never mentioned this. It seemed there was still much about the Star-Sect he didn't understand.

"Though, the ones we can save are only those poisoned by common toxins," A-Zi added.

"Take Master, for example; he always requires a life for every assimilation," she said, citing Ding Chunqiu as an example, her eyes flickering with a hint of envy. "Because the creatures Master uses are extremely rare and exotic. Once bitten by such formidable pests, even if you could save the person, the cost is too high—it’s easier to just go catch another living person."

Jiang Mingzhe nodded, thinking that the Six-Winged Iron Centipede must certainly be one of those exotic species.

After a moment of thought, he asked, "Since you only need the toxic blood, why not use livestock?"

A-Zi rolled her eyes. "Do you think no one has thought of that? But sometimes animal blood is completely useless, and sometimes the toxins react so quickly within their bodies that there isn't even time to channel the energy into one's meridians. Or the properties of the toxin change entirely. In short, it doesn't work. Otherwise, the Star-Sect Sea has plenty of cattle and sheep; why would we insist on using living people?"

*In that case,* Jiang Mingzhe thought, *it must be that the protein profiles and immune systems of animal plasma differ from those of humans, preventing the formation of effective or mild complexes. If so, even with humans...*

A thought dawned on him. He spoke slowly, "Senior Sister, if I’m not mistaken, the results of toxin assimilation vary from person to person, don't they?"

"Oh!" A-Zi, who had been growing impatient, suddenly perked up. "How did you know? It's true! For instance, if I use Zhang San's blood to assimilate, the effect might not even be half as good as using Li Si's. And if someone else uses Zhang San, it might work much better than using Li Si. Master says this is called 'fated affinity.' You have to find someone who shares an affinity with you for the best results."

With that, she glanced at the Princess of Qingtang and her maid, Sangzhu, licking her lips. "I wonder if these two have an affinity with you."

Jiang Mingzhe’s eyes lit up; he had found his answer: blood types!

People of this era didn't understand blood types, but according to A-Zi, this so-called "fated affinity" was most likely a match in blood type.

He smiled. "They likely have no affinity with me, but I know one person who definitely has enough!"

Unexpectedly, A-Zi turned pale upon hearing this. She pointed at her own nose in shock. "Are you talking about me? You, you, you—you want to use me for toxin assimilation? If it were any other creature, that might be fine, but the Six-Winged Iron Centipede would surely poison me to death!"

Thinking that she might die helping Jiang Mingzhe, A-Zi’s eyes welled up with tears, though a strange, tragic thrill rose in her heart.

But the thought frightened her, and she shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, I don't want to die! If they don't have the affinity, I’ll go catch more people for you. We’ll find someone suitable eventually."

Jiang Mingzhe was left both amused and exasperated by the girl. He couldn't help but reach out and flick her smooth forehead. "What are you rambling about? Who wants to use you? Never mind that you aren't suitable, even if you were the only one in the world who was, how could I bear it?"

"Ouch!"

A-Zi covered her forehead, feeling both ashamed and angry. She was about to erupt, but upon hearing his final words, her anger vanished into thin air.

She blinked, a blush spreading across her cheeks. Still feeling a bit defiant, she glanced at him sideways. "How do you know I'm not suitable? I think I might be the most suitable of all!"

"Even if you were, I couldn't bear to do it!" Jiang Mingzhe said casually, then grinned. "Besides, the person with the most perfect affinity is actually myself!"

"Yourself? You’re the one doing the assimilation. You’re going to use your own blood? I don't understand at all!"

A-Zi looked completely bewildered, but Jiang Mingzhe was clear-headed. He asked, "The Six-Winged Iron Centipede's toxin is fierce, but I have internal energy. If I channel my energy to force out the toxic blood immediately after being bitten, can I ensure my safety?"

"You want to use your own blood and then perform the assimilation on yourself?" A-Zi understood what he meant, but she looked even more confused.

Jiang Mingzhe nodded. "Senior Sister, think about it: in this world, who could have a deeper affinity with me than I do? Therefore, I am my own best candidate. If I use my own blood, the results will surely be better than with anyone else."

He did not want to abandon his toxic arts, but he was even less willing to kill an innocent person just to refine his power.

Thus, after consulting with A-Zi for quite a while and combining it with his rudimentary chemical knowledge, he had finally arrived at a solution that sounded rather bizarre.

"Uh..." A-Zi’s large eyes blinked rapidly. She thought, *Yes, Ginger makes a point. Who else could have a deeper affinity with him than he does?*

"Hmm!" A-Zi lowered her head, fully engrossed in contemplating the feasibility of Jiang Mingzhe's plan.

It was rare to see such a focused expression on A-Zi’s face, and Jiang Mingzhe couldn't help but look forward to the answer she would provide.