I Can Devour Spirits

Shang Xiangyu heard this and cursed, ”You old dog, what a clever plan you have!”

While cursing, Shang Xiangyu rummaged through the bottles and jars by the wall, picked up a small blue porcelain bottle slightly smaller than his palm, opened the stopper and sniffed it, then walked over and handed the bottle to Old Man Qin, saying, ”This medicine can cure your stubborn ailment, but the damage to your body is not small either. Use it sparingly. If you manage the dosage well, you, old dog, can still breathe for another ten years.”

Shang Xiangyu kept calling Old Man Qin an old dog, but Old Man Qin didn’t seem angry at all, instead grinning continuously.

Old Man Qin took the porcelain bottle, opened the stopper, sniffed at the nose tip, and immediately showed a blissful expression on his face.

With one sniff, a strong greed surged in his eyes, he plugged the stopper back, suppressed his greed and said, ”I didn’t just come to get medicine. I brought you a Medicine Boy!”

”Medicine Boy?!”

Shang Xiangyu picked up the dead Red Snake on the ground, throwing it out of the stone window opening, turned suddenly at Old Man Qin’s words, and looked at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong’s complexion was dark, and he had a simple and honest appearance.

Shang Xiangyu sized him up thoroughly.

Old Man Qin said, ”Duan Rong, why haven’t you greeted Pharmacist Shang yet?”

Duan Rong clasped his fists respectfully and said, ”I’ve met Master Shang!”

Shang Xiangyu looked at Old Man Qin and casually asked, ”Which one did he recognize?”

Shang Xiangyu had left three herbal plants with Old Man Qin, instructing that recognizing one of them would qualify to send him as a Medicine Boy.

Old Man Qin said, ”He recognized all three.”

Shang Xiangyu’s expression changed slightly, glancing at Duan Rong again.

Old Man Qin said, ”This guy said all the three plants are poisonous herbs.”

Shang Xiangyu chuckled, saying, ”The bottle I just gave you is also poison, but it can cure disease!”

Shang Xiangyu paused for a while, continued saying, ”When curing disease, it’s herbal medicine, when killing, it’s poisonous herb! Plants have no nature, it’s up to humans to wield it!”

Old Man Qin listened to Shang Xiangyu’s words and stood there bewildered.

Shang Xiangyu seeing Old Man Qin like that, sighed in his heart. How could he talk like this to the old man, was it not like playing music to a cow?

”Old Qin, you go ahead. I’ll keep this guy here for now, if he’s useful, I’ll keep him. If not, I’ll send him away.”

”Ah, good.” Old Man Qin nodded. ”Pharmacist Shang, I’ll be going then.”

Old Man Qin turned back and whispered to Duan Rong, ”No problem. If Pharmacist Shang doesn’t keep you, you can come to the Lower Courtyard to find me. I’ll arrange a place for you.”

Old Man Qin said this, patted Duan Rong on the shoulder, and left.

After Old Man Qin left, Shang Xiangyu looked at Duan Rong and asked, ”What? Does your family use poison?”

The three poisonous herbs Shang Xiangyu gave to Old Man Qin were not common poisons in the world, recognizing the three is not unheard of, just exceedingly rare.

And such a person must be well-versed in poison.

Given Duan Rong’s age, the only explanation is family heritage.

Duan Rong replied, ”Reporting to Master Shang, I learned from a Wandering Doctor.”

”Wandering Doctor?”

”That Wandering Doctor got into legal trouble and was imprisoned, nearly beaten to death. When the case was concluded, he was thrown onto the street, with only half a life left. Seeing him pitiful, I carried him home, took care of him, and he recovered greatly after half a year.”

”During those six months, that Wandering Doctor imparted all his knowledge to me. Before leaving, he also left behind a notebook for me.”

Duan Rong made up this lie on the spot, thinking it wasn’t bad. Half-truths are the hardest to uncover.

But Shang Xiangyu heard, coldly snorted, and said, ”Well-made story. But you underestimated the three poisonous herbs I put with Old Man Qin. You think a Wandering Doctor can recognize all three?”

Duan Rong’s face changed, said, ”Jianghu has many extraordinary people...”

Duan Rong said this, suddenly stopped, seeing Shang Xiangyu’s fury, his eyes like knives staring at him.

Duan Rong’s gaze shifted, said, ”Reporting to Master Shang, the notebook, I carry it with me. If Master Shang doesn’t believe, I could let you see it.”

Shang Xiangyu’s eyelid twitched, said, ”Bring it for me to have a look.”

Duan Rong went out, rummaged through the bundle at the stone cave entrance, pulling out a notebook.

Shen Ping’s three notebooks were organized according to his depth of poison studies, from shallow to deep, and Duan Rong brought the final one, which detailed Shen Ping’s journey to the pinnacle of Poison Dao.

Duan Rong carried this notebook because the last few pages of it contained content he had never been able to fully comprehend.

Duan Rong held the notebook with both hands, bowed before Shang Xiangyu.

Shang Xiangyu still had an ugly expression, reached out for the notebook, opened it, saw the chaotic writing on the yellowed title page: The Poison Dao has not been passed or taught for ages.

Shang Xiangyu’s expression changed, body shivered, the original contempt in his eyes vanished.

His demeanor became solemn, flipping open the notebook, reading it page by page...

Shang Xiangyu, the more he read, the more alarmed he became! He fell into a state of flow, a self-forgetful trance!

When he suddenly snapped back, half a stick of incense time had passed.

He looked at Duan Rong, his expression had calmed down.

This notebook sufficiently proved Duan Rong was not lying, it seemed he was overly suspicious!

Shang Xiangyu looked at the notebook in his hand, said, ”This Wandering Doctor was indeed a remarkable Jianghu hermit. With lofty ambitions! The Poison Dao has not been passed or taught for ages! Damn it, even I wouldn’t dare say such bold words!”

Shang Xiangyu said, ”Duan, this notebook, leave it with me for a few days; I’d like to study it carefully. Is it okay?”

Shang Xiangyu spoke in a negotiating tone.

Duan Rong said, ”This notebook in my hands would be like a pearl cast into the darkness. Only Master Shang can fulfill the aspiration of the gentleman who passed this Dao to me.”

Duan Rong’s words weren’t entirely for show. The last few pages of Shen Ping’s notebook were indeed difficult to understand, likely requiring a lifetime of effort to decipher them. But Duan Rong’s ambition wasn’t in the Poison Dao.

Shang Xiangyu’s eyes moved slightly, asked, ”May I know the gentleman’s name?”

Duan Rong’s heart skipped, thought it over, decided it wasn’t necessary to hide, said, ”Shen Ping!”

Shang Xiangyu, originally seated at the desk, sprung up straight away upon hearing the name, eyes in shock. ”Shen Ping?!”

When Shang Xiangyu rose, he knocked off the lid of the large stone pot on the desk.

At this point, no longer did white mist emanate from the large stone pot, though the lid fell on the ground, the previous foul, spicy peculiar odor was gone, replaced by an intoxicating aroma.

Duan Rong’s nose twitched.

Shang Xiangyu shouted, ”Don’t sniff! The fragrance is poisoned!”

Duan Rong was momentarily confused, just about to hold his breath, suddenly felt his sight go dark, the next instant lost consciousness, collapsing with a thud onto the ground.

Shang Xiangyu replaced the lid on the large stone pot, looked at the unconscious Duan Rong on the ground, gaze flickering.

Duan Rong only inhaled faintly from afar, the stone window was open, air flowing, the poison had been diluted nearly to faint. Should have no harm to life; after several hours of coma, he would awaken.

Shang Xiangyu considered the notebook in hand, recalled Duan Rong’s tale of the Wandering Doctor.

Honestly, regarding Shen Ping, forget being a Wandering Doctor, even if he had become a Monk, Shang Xiangyu wouldn’t be surprised!

Many past events surfaced in Shang Xiangyu’s mind, he murmured with a melancholic gaze, ”Life’s coincidences are truly wondrous! In this mountain, stumbled upon the successor of an old friend...”

Shang Xiangyu and Shen Ping were both obsessed with the Poison Dao.

The two met during their youth.

However, Shang Xiangyu hailed from a noble family, with a deep family background, progressing as Registered Disciple, Outer Disciple, Inner Sect Disciple, cultivating within Taiyi Sect.

But Shen Ping roamed the Jianghu aimlessly.

Shang Xiangyu knew clearly Shen Ping’s talent in the Poison Dao!

Yet, as the Opera Troupe saying goes: What matters is not lacking skill, but lacking vision.

Some things you simply have never seen. No matter your talent, you can’t exhibit it!

Shen Ping was unaware that many poisons simply wouldn’t appear in the world.

This is the sect’s secret!

Inside the sect’s Jiezhi Space within the Divine Demon Ruins, not only are there Divine Demon Medicine, there are also Divine Demon Poison!

And such secrets are only accessible to Inner Sect Disciples.

”Brother Shen, your Poison Dao, after all, is merely a dreamlike bubble...”