NOVGO.NET Chapter 411 - Chapter 411: Chapter 404: Finding the Antidote
Chapter 411: Chapter 404: Finding the Antidote
She had drawn all the poisonous blood into one place, and had released it. After the blood had been released, Chengcheng’s complexion clearly improved dramatically, but he remained unconscious.
Tang Yuxin picked up the bowl, and the few drops of poisonous blood inside gave off a pungent odor.
“Yuxin, how is Chengcheng?”
Tang Zhinian asked cautiously, fearful of once again hearing that his grandson might not make it, or could end up vegetative. No matter what, they could not accept either outcome.
“I will find a way to save him,” Tang Yuxin put down the bowl, then covered Chengcheng with a blanket. She then stepped outside, looking visibly drained.
That night, she did not sleep, but instead leafed through the limited number of medical books left to her by Chen Zhong. It was only on the following day that she found the children who had been with Chengcheng at the time of the snake bite; she wanted to know exactly what kind of snake it had been.
The children were young and could not provide a clear description, but they did mention a snake that glowed and shimmered, with a reddish hue.
Returning home, Tang Yuxin used Chengcheng’s crayons to draw a snake on a piece of paper, asking the children to identify the species. She sketched several different snakes, each drawing met with shaking heads until, finally, the children nodded in recognition at one of her renderings.
At this, Tang Yuxin’s expression turned even more grave.
She drew more of Chengcheng’s poisonous blood before spending the next few days combing the mountainside. She was looking for herbs and the specific snake, but luck was not in her favor. Day after day, she came up empty-handed, and time was running out for Chengcheng.
She pulled out her mobile phone and dialed a number. Despite being the first number stored in her phone, she had never actually dialed it before. This was the first time, and it was out of desperation.
However, when she called, she was informed that the phone was off.
Not to be deterred, she tried again after a short while, but found that the phone was still off. She remembered Gu Ning mentioning that his phone was always on, 24 hours a day, unless he was on a mission.
Once more, she ventured into the mountains to gather herbs, then ground them all into a paste.
“Every other day, use this herbal powder to boil water for Chengcheng’s baths, making sure to wash his arm several times,” she pointed to the large bag of medicine she had prepared, “This is enough for three months. Also, crush half of the detoxification pills to apply to his wounds, and feed the other half to him. Administer nutritional injections if his condition worsens, and don’t forget the medicated baths.”
Tang Zhinian and Ren Li nodded incessantly, committing Tang Yuxin’s every word to memory. Their son’s life was at stake and they could not afford to overlook a single detail.
“Yuxin, what about you?” Tang Zhinian asked Tang Yuxin, who was busy packing, seeing that she had no intention of abandoning her brother. What was she planning? Where was she going?
“I am going to find the antidote.”
Once Tang Yuxin had packed the necessary items into her backpack and hung her medical kit around her waist, she was ready to set off.
“Where is the antidote?”
Tang Zhinian had watched Tang Yuxin gather herbs in the mountain over the past few days, believing that she was preparing the antidote. Could it be that she was not?
“It’s not far away, I just need to find it. Dad, please take good care of Aunt and Chengcheng.”
After shouldering her backpack, Tang Yuxin stole one last glance at Little Fatty. Little Fatty’s hand had been pierced numerous times to draw blood. She could not go on like this, for even though the blood drawn out was toxic, continuing in this manner would eventually drain all of Little Fatty’s blood.
The only solution now was to find the antidote.
The antidote was nothing else but the gallbladder of that particular snake. The snake was mentioned in the Chen Family’s medical books, but under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be found in their area as the climate wasn’t suitable for its survival.
However, the snake could thrive in subtropical regions, meaning, to counter the snake venom, one had to obtain its gallbladder to prepare the antidote. This was indeed miraculous—what one species engendered, another could counteract. The effects of this snake venom could easily be neutralized or, conversely, result in death.
The snake venom in Little Fatty’s system could not be eliminated just by cleaning his blood, as this type of venom attacked the neurological system instead. To thoroughly expel the toxins from his body, she had to travel to the border region herself.
She did not share her plans because she knew Tang Zhinian would never allow her to undertake such a journey. The border was a place of instability, fraught with unknown dangers. She wanted to call Gu Ning, to alert him to be cautious of the recent appearance of this snake. The most frightening aspect of this snake was not its venom but its contagion potential.
The snake venom was transmissible, same as the meat, which contained a much higher concentration of toxins than the venom on its fangs. The consequences would be unthinkable if someone were to eat this snake or use it to brew alcohol.
However, since she couldn’t reach Gu Ning, she didn’t know who else to notify. It seemed that she couldn’t actually tell anyone, as the only person in this world she could fully trust was Gu Ning. But right now, she didn’t have much time to spare. She had to find the antidote to save her brother first.
With her luggage in tow, she took a taxi to the airport. After changing planes twice, she finally arrived in the border region.
This was the border, and she was not free to enter and exit at will. The place she needed to go was located within a forest at the border. Pretending to be a vacationer and sightseer, she capitalized on a particularly windy moment to scatter the herbal powders. The strong gust had momentarily flustered the guards stationed there, enabling her to slip into the forest undetected.
This forest was unspoiled and undeveloped, so she knew not what lay within, only that it contained the very thing she was seeking.
She took off her backpack, pulled out a small medical bag, and hooked it onto her waist. She also hung one on her back. From another container, she poured out a liquid that looked like water and applied it to her exposed skin—her face, hands, and neck.
This was an insect repellent, and the coating on her face would keep any bugs at bay.
Although she had no experience of surviving in such an environment, she had grown up in the mountains of Li Tang Village. From the age of five, she had accompanied Chen Zhong to forage for medicinal herbs in the mountains. Already familiar with the unknown dangers of the wilderness, she was not entirely unprepared.