Chapter 4: The Antidote Succeeds

“Fortunately, I did not fail you. It’s a success. This antidote was extremely difficult to prepare—I failed several times along the way,” Fang Xian nodded, speaking with fatigue.

“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Fang,” Ye Hongxiu could see his exhaustion and immediately clasped her hands in respect.

“Let me eat something and rest for two hours. Wake me before dawn. Also, send someone to set a large iron cauldron in the square, facing east, and boil some water before daybreak,” Fang Xian’s face was pale from the mental strain of concocting the antidote.

“Hurry, bring food for Mr. Fang. Erniu, prepare a room for him in the clinic so he can rest after eating. Mr. Fang, thank you for everything.” Ye Hongxiu stayed by his side throughout, seeing his fatigue, and finally spoke softly.

It was already midnight, only about three hours from dawn. Fang Xian quickly ate—dried meat, hot soup, and wine—then collapsed into sleep, exhausted.

“Mr. Fang, it’s almost dawn, please wake up.” When Erniu roused Fang Xian, there was just half an hour left before sunrise.

“Is the hot water ready?” Fang Xian asked as he washed.

“All prepared,” Erniu replied respectfully.

“No rush, there’s still some time.” Fang Xian washed slowly, checked his system panel, and found his famed points had reached 105.

“Congratulations, Host, you have gained a large number of famed points. The system’s exchange shop is now open. You may redeem any item within,” came the system’s prompt.

“Exchange shop? So famed points are for redeeming items.” Fang Xian looked at the panel, indeed finding a shop now available, stocked with items such as Detox Pills, Minor Hundred-Poison Pills, Major Hundred-Poison Pills, and the Foundation Formula.

However, the Poison Sutra cost 500 points, Detox Pills were 10 points each, Minor Hundred-Poison Pills were 100 points, Major Hundred-Poison Pills were 500, and the Foundation Formula was 100 points.

“The Foundation Formula—absorbing medicinal power through herbal steam to strengthen the body. That’s genuinely useful. Since I’ve come to this world, I must find a way to train in martial arts; this formula will help me greatly.

Moreover, it can be used to aid the old chieftain’s detoxification, working even better alongside the true Hundred-Poison Pill.” After examining the descriptions, Fang Xian immediately chose the Foundation Formula.

After redeeming it, his information read: System Host Fang Xian, styled Mingda, skilled in poison arts, holding Hundred-Poison Pill (1), Minor Hundred-Poison Pill (3), Detox Pill (7), Foundation Formula, and 5 famed points.

Then Fang Xian realized the system included a storage grid with ten slots, capable of holding ten types of items, with similar items grouped together, and he could retrieve them at will.

“Let’s go to the medicine storehouse.” Fang Xian saw that the ingredients for the Foundation Formula were all quite common. He took Erniu to pick them out and soon had him add them to the boiling water.

“Mr. Fang, is there anything else to prepare?” Not long after, Ye Hongxiu and Zhou Boxiong arrived, excitement in their eyes.

“No, nothing else is needed. Before sunrise, have the old chieftain enter the cauldron and prepare. At the moment the sun rises, let him take the antidote and use his internal energy to refine it, driving the toxins from his body.” Fang Xian nodded.

“Very well, I’ll fetch my father.” When Ye Qingyun arrived, the square was already crowded with soldiers, villagers, and all the doctors and apprentices from the clinic, including several doctors summoned the day before.

“Old chieftain, place this antidote in your mouth and enter the cauldron. Remove your upper garments, that’s all.” As the first light appeared in the east, Fang Xian instructed Ye Qingyun.

“Thank you, Mr. Fang.” Ye Qingyun respectfully received the antidote—the true Hundred-Poison Pill—and leaped into the cauldron. Steam quickly shrouded his face.

“Erniu, add more firewood to the cauldron, make the fire stronger, bring the water to a boil,” Fang Xian ordered.

“Ah, won’t this cook the old chieftain?” Erniu hesitated.

“Listen to Mr. Fang. The old chieftain is a master of the realm—he won’t be so easily cooked!” Ye Hongxiu, both amused and exasperated, glared at Erniu.

---

“Yes, yes, the old chieftain is a master, he can’t be boiled. I’ll just keep the fire going.” Erniu grinned and hurried to add more wood, making the fire blaze and the medicinal water in the iron cauldron bubble fiercely.

“Old chieftain, take the medicine!” Soon, the horizon brightened and the sun leapt up. Fang Xian called out.

Ye Qingyun swallowed the pill, immediately using his internal energy to catalyze the antidote. The medicinal power was swiftly absorbed by his body, strengthening his poison-ravaged frame and helping him resist the invasion of toxins.

As the antidote dissolved, its power spread, neutralizing the lethal poisons within him. Ye Qingyun felt a surge of hope and shut his eyes, focusing all his energy, absorbing more medicinal power from the cauldron, fighting the toxins together.

“All those in front, move to the sides. Soon the old chieftain will expel the deadly poison—anyone touched will die, clear the way!” Fang Xian called out, directing people away from the front of the cauldron.

“Is it really that dangerous? We’re so far away, could we really be poisoned?” someone doubted.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Trust Mr. Fang. Who else could help the old chieftain? Only Mr. Fang.”

“Exactly. Mr. Fang is our savior, and surely a guest of honor in the future. Believe him.”

“Yes, perhaps the young chieftain will marry Mr. Fang, making him family!”

Everyone discussed, but all cleared the space as Fang Xian instructed, those still dubious were pulled away—Ye Hongxiu’s gaze brooked no resistance.

“Gurgle, gurgle…” Time passed, only the bubbling of the cauldron’s water was heard, steam enveloping Ye Qingyun until he was barely visible.

Yet the strongmen of the village sensed his aura growing ever more powerful. Zhou Boxiong, his son, Ye Hongxiu, and others couldn’t help but smile.

“Gurgle, gurgle…”

The medicinal water continued to boil, Erniu kept adding firewood, and Fang Xian didn’t stop him. Erniu focused solely on his task, a simple-minded fellow.

“My heavens, the water in that cauldron is boiling furiously—can the old chieftain withstand it?” An hour passed, but Ye Qingyun remained soaking in the cauldron, unmoving, prompting murmurs from the crowd.

“The old chieftain is a master who can fly and vanish—how could a little boiling water harm him?” someone retorted.

“But he’s poisoned—could his body still handle it? Should we talk to the young chieftain?”

“Look, the young chieftain and others aren’t worried—they’re smiling. The old chieftain must be fine. Don’t fret.”

“Does Mr. Fang’s antidote really work? This is the Five Venoms Sect’s poison—the deadliest in the world.”

“The old chieftain is detoxifying as we speak. Results will soon follow. I trust Mr. Fang’s medicine—if he wasn’t confident, would he have drunk the Deadly Wine himself?”

“Exactly, the Five Venoms Sect Master may be formidable, but the world is vast, and geniuses abound. Mr. Fang is one such. If he cures the old chieftain and marries the young chieftain, he’d be a legend.”

Another hour passed. Suddenly, Ye Qingyun’s aura in the cauldron surged violently. Fang Xian shouted at the crowd drawing closer, “Everyone, step back! Move away from the old chieftain!”

“Step back, listen to Mr. Fang!” Ye Hongxiu, though unaware of the reason, trusted Fang Xian deeply and immediately commanded the crowd, who retreated, clearing dozens of meters of space.

“Erniu, move away!” Fang Xian saw Erniu still adding wood and called out.

---

“Puh…”

But before Erniu could retreat, Ye Qingyun let out a burst, spraying a cloud of black blood onto the ground before the square, instantly corroding the bricks into dark, pitted hollows.

Erniu, though behind Ye Qingyun, inhaled the poisonous air and collapsed—he was poisoned.

“Quick, pull Erniu over!” Fang Xian shouted to Ye Hongxiu.

She wielded a long horsewhip and, in a flash, wrapped it around Erniu’s ankle, dragging him to her side.

Fang Xian immediately handed her a Minor Hundred-Poison Pill. Recognizing it as Fang Xian’s antidote from yesterday, she shoved it into Erniu’s mouth and struck his chest. He gulped it down.

“What a fierce poison! Everyone, move further back—didn’t you see even Erniu was poisoned?” Zhou Boxiong called for the crowd to retreat further.

“Puh…”

“Puh…”

Ye Qingyun sprayed three clouds of poisonous mist, then coughed up fresh blood. His aura suddenly surged, and he laughed heartily, “My poison is cured!”

The ground before the square was riddled with corrosive pits. Amid shock, the villagers heard the chieftain’s vigorous laughter and rejoiced.

“Congratulations, old chieftain, on your recovery!” The crowd saluted.

“This is thanks to Mr. Fang. Hongxiu bows in gratitude.” Ye Hongxiu, overjoyed, clasped her hands to Fang Xian.

“Thank you, Mr. Fang,” Zhou Boxiong and his son saluted, as did the crowd.

“No need for thanks. I merely did what I could, nothing much,” Fang Xian replied, returning their salutations, finally able to relax.

“Did you hear? That sounds like the old chieftain’s voice,” people throughout the village murmured.

“Yes, it’s him, saying his poison is cured!”

“We must thank Elder Liu later—it must have been he who cured the chieftain,” some uninformed villagers said.

“You’re mistaken—the one who cured the chieftain wasn’t Elder Liu, but a Mr. Fang. Listen, isn’t everyone in the square thanking Mr. Fang?”

“That’s right. Who is this Mr. Fang? Perhaps he’s the doctor the young chieftain went down the mountain to fetch?”

“I heard Erniu mention Mr. Fang was brought up the mountain two days ago and locked in the prison, but he knows medicine, so he volunteered to help. He even drank the Deadly Wine given by the young chieftain and cured himself first—only then did she allow him to treat the old chieftain.”