The Zhen Family's herb yard stank of wet grass, crushed stalks, and rotting leaves. It lay beyond the storage hall, fenced off with woven bamboo. Few servants entered after dusk—the herbalist had warned of venomous insects and wild animals creeping in after rain.
That made it perfect for Ah Yue.
He crouched low behind a stone basin, moonlight dim above. In his left hand, he held a small wooden cage, prepared with dried crickets. Beside it, a broken gourd bottle, stolen from the old apothecary shelf.
Tonight's goal was clear: Toad Bile, the second poison of the Five Poison Palm.
---
The manual's notes were scrawled and half-dissolved, but one line was clear:
> "Toad bile opens the heart meridian, but causes spiritual instability. Most practitioners lose control—some scream for hours. Others forget who they are."
Madness.
Ah Yue knew the risks. But the Drawback System had made him bold.
The scorpion venom had given him toxin-resistant veins. The pain had taught him to endure.
He was ready for the next step.
---
He placed the crickets down and waited.
The bushes rustled. A lump with warty skin and bulging yellow eyes hopped forward slowly, drawn by the chirping. It was thick, black-green, and heavy-bellied—a swamp toad, known for the potency of its bile.
Ah Yue struck quickly, using a broom-handle with a net.
The toad thrashed in the cage, hissing. Foam oozed from its skin.
He used a reed straw to carefully extract a few drops of the yellow-green liquid into the gourd.
Even with a cloth mask tied around his face, the smell was foul enough to sting the eyes.
---
He hesitated only once.
Then drank.
Just three drops.
The effect was near-instant.
The world twisted sideways. Shapes bent. Colors bled together. The moon began to melt into the ground. The walls whispered.
His breath caught. His hands trembled violently. His mind split into two.
One part screamed, clawing at the darkness.
The other endured.
> [Drawback Detected: Neurotoxic Hallucination]
Reversing…
Drawback Reversed → Effect Gained: "Calm Mind Under Chaos"
Mental resistance +50%. Immune to illusion-type attacks. Clarity in battle enhanced.
Ah Yue's shaking slowed.
His eyes cleared.
And then—silence.
A storm had passed, leaving his thoughts sharp as glass.
---
He leaned back against the cold stone basin, drenched in sweat. The gourd slipped from his fingers.
His breathing slowed.
Another faint green mark had appeared on his palm—just beneath the scorpion imprint, a toad silhouette emerged, then faded into the skin.
Two poisons completed.
He could feel the Five Poison Palm strengthening—his Qi circulation now subtly pulsing beneath his skin, the palm warmer than before, more responsive, more alive.
---
From the other side of the fence, a voice whispered:
"...What are you doing out here?"
Ah Yue turned sharply.
A girl—Cui Lian, the quiet herb-room maid—stood half-hidden behind a willow tree. Her face pale. She had seen something.
"I was... looking for herbs," Ah Yue said quietly.
She stared at the broken gourd, the twitching toad.
"...You drank that?"
Ah Yue didn't answer.
She turned and disappeared into the shadows.
---
Back in the sleeping quarters, Ah Yue laid down on his straw mat.
He didn't sleep.
Cui Lian had seen him. That could be a problem.
But for now, he focused inward.
His Qi had changed. His mind had sharpened. His palm arts felt more fluid, more toxic.
---
There were three poisons left.
The next would be snake venom—but not just any snake. The manual demanded the venom of a green-fanged forest serpent, said to cause intense muscle spasms and nerve damage. Most cultivators avoided it because the pain lasted for days. But Ah Yue smiled faintly in the dark.
> Let it twist my body.
Let it tear my nerves apart.
So long as it brings strength, I welcome it.
Tomorrow, he would visit the outer orchard wall. That's where snakes gathered under the banyan roots.