Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 1215 - 1212_1

"What is Dancing Grass?" Shangguan Xuanyi asked.

He looked at the script in his hands that mentioned Dancing Grass, very sure that it was not found in his encyclopedia of poisons.

"Dancing Grass? Dancing Grass is not poisonous. It is quite rare, and its entire plant serves medicinal purposes. It has effects such as relaxing muscles, reducing phlegm, removing stasis; its taste is slightly bitter and it can also detoxify heat, reduce swelling, remove toxins, and treat illnesses like colds, snake bites, pain and toxic sores. It’s not categorised as a poisonous herb, but it can detoxify!" Xi’er, who was both a physician and poison specialist, knew quite a lot.

"What sort of poison is this! Isn’t it obviously a medicinal herb!" Shangguan Xuanyao retorted upon hearing this.

Didn’t they say they were going up the mountain to search for poisonous substances? Why did they pull out a medicinal herb?

"The Poison Dueling competition measures a person’s toxicology skills. In actuality, being capable of creating poison does not make one truly skilled. Only those who can detoxify any poison in the world can be considered masters of toxicology! Only if one can detoxify a specific poison does it mean they have an understanding of it!

And who said that medicinal herbs that can cure diseases cannot be poisonous? Whether it’s poisonous herbs or medicinal ones, as long as you use them properly, even a non-toxic substance can become poisonous! Of course, a poisonous one can also become non-poisonous," Xi’er explained.

Shangguan Xuanyao nodded after hearing this, "Makes sense!".

"Of course, it does! That’s the reality!" Xi’er declared confidently.

Because she could mix non-poisonous ingredients together to create a new type of toxin.

"Alright! Whether it’s poisonous or not, let’s start looking! Once we’re done, we can go back and sleep!" said Xiao’er.

Xi’er: "...."

Isn’t her sister too laid-back, thinking about going back to sleep? The likelihood of finding these twelve items in one day seemed quite low!

Even this Dancing Grass alone was difficult to find.

Xi’er took the scrolls from everyone else, "Let’s first study what kind of environments these poisons prefer so we know where to look."

Xiao’er really wanted to say that she already knew where in these vast mountains they were lurking! But she couldn’t reveal this information, so it was best to let Xi’er analyze it!

In her mind, Xiao’er had already told the golden python and Bai Tian where to find the poisons, asking them in which corner of these vast mountains they are.

The golden python immediately gave a location.

Xi’er: "Purple hibiscus loves sunshine and needs to grow where there is plenty of light. They’re generally found on mountaintops that get exposure to the sun in the west. Dancing Grass typically grows in..."

Xi’er analyzed each poison one by one.

"Why don’t we split up and search? We’ll go to this side of the mountain, and you guys can go to the other side. How does that sound?" Xi’er finally suggested.

"No need, let’s all search together! They only gave us a day, which means that all these poisonous substances must be on this mountain. Otherwise, who could traverse these vast mountains within a day?!" Xiao’er shook her head.

"Right, let’s search together then, it’s safer that way." Upon further thought, Xi’er agreed with Xiao’er’s point.

"Then let’s go! We’ll head to the mountaintop first to see if we can find purple hibiscus." After saying this, Xiao’er took the lead.

Sure enough, they found the purple hibiscus on the mountaintop and the Dancing Grass halfway up the hill... These two items were the furthest from them.

On their way to the mountaintop, Xiao’er took some detours to places where other poisons were, so Xi’er was pleasantly surprised to discover that they had already found some items!

So by the time they found the purple hibiscus, they had already found six kinds of poisons en route!

The remaining six kinds were spread out in different places. Snakes! Xiao’er decided they would catch last! It was best not to let such terrifying creatures accompany them on the trip!

The group then spent two more hours finding the remaining six items.

Shangguan Xuanyi was the one who caught the snake, but Xiao’er was worried that Shangguan Xuanyi would get bitten by the snake. She secretly released the golden python to stay in Shangguan Xuanyi’s sleeve. The two poisonous snakes, which had been flicking their tongues at them, were frightened into a quivering state as soon as Shangguan Xuanyi moved. They obediently coiled up, looking pitifully at Shangguan Xuanyi.

Shangguan Xuanyi opened a cloth bag and the two snakes obediently crawled into it on their own!

Xi’er: "!!!!!!!"

Shangguan Xuanyao: It seems not only humans fear my imperial brother, but snakes do too!

These two snakes truly deserve the title of young heroes! They know what’s good for them!

Shangguan Xuanyi handed the cloth bag with the snakes to Zhao Yong.

"Who would have thought brother-in-law is such an incredible person! Even snakes are afraid when they see him!" Xi’er, who studied poisons, naturally wasn’t afraid of snakes, and she could even catch them herself. But when she caught snakes, she would occasionally get bitten. She’s never once made a snake obediently crawl into a cloth bag!

The previously admiring Shangguan Xuanyao was immediately unhappy upon hearing this!

What was with this tone and look of admiration? Was it just because his brother’s cold appearance scared even the snake? Shangguan Xuanyao looked at Xi’er’s star-filled eyes, feeling extremely annoyed!

This won’t do, after this Poison Dueling competition, he must have his sixth imperial brother teach him how to scare snakes!

After the group finished collecting all the poisons, they had only spent four hours in total. By this time, people were everywhere on the mountain searching for poisons.

Because the old man with a fairy-like bone structure had said to submit the poisons on the platform at Zodiac Time (9-11 am) the next day, they all snuck down the mountain and went back to the rented courtyard to rest.

They only just returned to the courtyard when it was just past noon.

Xiao’er went to her room to feed her child, while Zhao Yong and Fang Shun went to a restaurant to procure a feast for everybody.

Unbeknownst to them, the moment they left, someone was searching for them in the mountains.

"Strange, that person just now clearly said they saw them here, how come they disappeared so quickly!" A man dressed in blue clothes said.

"Could they have already found all the poisons and descended the mountain?"

"Impossible! They must have gone even further to look! Let’s separate and search!"

The man in blue also felt this was the most likely explanation, so they both extended their search into the distance again.

However, they searched from day to night and then until daybreak again without finding a trace of anyone!

...

The next morning, Xiao’er and her team secretly returned to the mountain. Many people were still unable to find all three poisons.

Those who encountered Xiao’er’s group would boldly ask if they had seen any specific poison, as they had been searching for half an hour longer than the others.

For the more common ones that were easy to find, Xiao’er would inform them.

As for the rare and seldom seen ones, Xiao’er sometimes would say, "I haven’t seen it."

And other times she would say, "What does that thing look like? I’ve never heard of it!"