Chapter 93: Baleful Yin Force (II)

After lunch, since Lin Zheyu still had an appointment at the Chen residence later that afternoon, he made his way over. However, the old man still wasn't home. After waiting for more than half an hour, Lin Zheyu finally saw the old man strolling back from afar, carrying a wooden bucket in one hand and a fishing rod in the other.

Chen Peijun looked at him in surprise and said, "Didn't we agree on the afternoon? What are you doing here so early, kid?"

"I have something to do later, so I came early," replied Lin Zheyu.

He took the wooden bucket from Chen Peijun's right hand and followed the old man into the courtyard. The old man had done well today; the bucket held eight sizable fish, each weighing over seven or eight jin.

"Is it urgent? If not, wait until I've eaten," asked Chen Peijun with a sidelong glance.

"It's not urgent. I can lend you a hand," said Lin Zheyu with a smile.

The invitation to the Chen residence wasn't until the You hour, so there was still plenty of time.

"Alright. It's been a long time since anyone's eaten at my place. I'll roast a few more so you can taste this old man's grilled fish," said the elder with a cheerful laugh.

He fetched a kitchen knife and used the flat of the blade to stun the fish. Killing the fish, removing the scales, and gutting them were all done in one smooth sequence. Martial artists had hearty appetites, so the old man slaughtered all eight fish in one go.

He marinated the fish with salt, ginger, scallions, and wine for an hour, then wrapped them in pork caul fat. Fresh pork, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms were finely minced into a filling, stuffed into the fish bellies, and roasted over charcoal.

Before long, the fragrance of grilled fish filled the air. Even though Lin Zheyu had eaten not long ago, he couldn't help but lick his lips.

The freshly grilled fish tasted incredible. The flesh was rich and tender, with a hint of charcoal aroma in every bite. It was no worse than what the best tavern chefs could make.

"Your cooking is amazing, Senior!" exclaimed Lin Zheyu.

"I've been roasting fish for over a decade. The skill just comes with time," replied the old man with a smile.

After finishing the meal, the old man asked, "Alright, tell me. What problem are you dealing with?"

"It's like this, Senior. I recently acquired some poisons, but I can't identify them. I was hoping you could take a look."

Lin Zheyu took out various poisonous powders, pills, and several jade bottles from his pack.

"These look like they came from robbing and killing someone, don't they?" said the old man with a sidelong glance.

"I found them on the road," replied Lin Zheyu, lying shamelessly without blinking.

Chen Peijun rolled his eyes but didn't press the matter. He began examining the powders and pills.

"This one is purple begonia, a sedative. Inhaling even a trace causes confusion and unconsciousness. It's not very effective on martial artists, easy to detect, and acts slowly.

"This is Soul-Scattering Powder, a deadly poison. Once afflicted, the victim's breathing becomes rapid, and within seven steps, blood flows from all seven orifices. By that time, death is inevitable. Even Blood Qi Realm cultivators can't survive if they inhale too much. This is Golden Lotus Incense, used as bait to lure Red Lotus Spiders...

"Who did you rob, brat? These are all premium-grade items. These poisons aren't easy to come by. Most of them originate from the Zhao Family; you need serious connections to get your hands on them," said Chen Peijun curiously.

"

Ahem

... I killed a Zhao Family member," said Lin Zheyu.

"Not bad! You acted faster than I expected!" replied Chen Peijun.

His face showed genuine surprise, as this was beyond what he had expected. Truth be told, he hadn't placed much hope in Lin Zheyu. Over the years, he had hired many assassins, but none had succeeded. This boy, before him, though gifted, likely couldn't do it either, or so he had thought.

When he had decided to teach Lin Zheyu, Doctor Wu and Liang Song had only been part of the reason. The main reason was that after listening to the boy read to him for so long, he had taken a liking to him. Yet in just a few days, this kid had given him quite the surprise.

"Of course. I promised you, Senior. I'll give it my all." Lin Zheyu patted his chest confidently as he spoke, his face calm and his breath steady.

"Very good. Keep working hard from now on. Important items on Zhao Family members are often marked. You did deal with that, right?" asked Chen Peijun.

"Yes, I handled it," replied Lin Zheyu.

"Good. When dealing with the Zhao Family, you must always be extremely cautious. Otherwise, they might trace you and retaliate," said Chen Peijun while continuing to examine the remaining poisons and pills.

There were many poisons, and quite a few were deadly. Three of them were potent enough to kill even Blood Qi Realm cultivators. Once poisoned, the toxin would spread with the flow of blood qi; the more fiercely one fought, the faster they would die. It was fortunate that Lin Zheyu had been cautious from the start. Otherwise, even after killing that old man, a single careless move could have left him fatally poisoned.

"Thank you, Senior. There's one more bottle of poison powder here. Please take a look at this, too."

Lin Zheyu put away the labeled poisons and pills, then took out a jade bottle containing what he believed was Yin poison. Chen Peijun accepted the bottle, uncorked it, and sniffed gently. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Corpse poison! This is a rare substance. Even in thousand-year-old tombs, there's only a slim chance of finding it. Where did you get corpse poison?" asked Chen Peijun seriously.

"Corpse poison? Isn't this Yin poison?" asked Lin Zheyu in surprise, as he had assumed it was Yin poison.

Corpse poison and Yin poison[1] were two entirely different substances. While corpse poison was also highly toxic and considered a top-grade poison, it was still a tier below Yin poison.

"If that were really Yin poison, you'd already be dead out there," said Chen Peijun with a shake of his head.

"I found this in Beast Roar Mountain. A living corpse appeared there, and I collected it from the area where it showed up," Lin Zheyu explained.

"A living corpse... I didn't expect one to appear again. Whenever chaos rises, monsters and abominations follow. With the rebel army rising and the people suffering, even these living corpses are emerging to wreak havoc," said Chen Peijun with a sigh.

In all his life, he had never seen a living corpse himself, and he had only heard the older generations in his family speak of them.

"Senior, if this is corpse poison, then what exactly is Yin poison? Have you ever seen it?" asked Lin Zheyu curiously.

"No, I haven't. When I was a child, I heard the elders in the village mention that Yin poison is actually a type of energy. It is similar to the blood qi energy of Blood Qi Realm martial artists and is the energy found within a living corpse.

"More precisely, it is called the Baleful Yin force. Because it carries extreme toxicity, people refer to it as Yin poison. This energy is extremely strange and possesses vitality. Once inside the body, it acts almost as if it has a will of its own, actively corroding the host. And this corpse poison is a byproduct formed after the body is eroded by the Baleful Yin force. That's all I know. The ancestral records mention nothing beyond this," said Chen Peijun.

"Thank you for the explanation, Senior."

Lin Zheyu expressed his thanks and put away the bottle containing the corpse poison.

Corpse poison was documented in the Toxicology Codex, including its uses. It served as the primary ingredient for several deadly poisons. One such poison was called Corpse Insect Pill, similar to the Three-Corpse Brain Parasite Pill from his previous life, and was used to control subordinates. The poison would flare up periodically, causing excruciating cardiac pain and an unbearable sensation as though thousands of insects were gnawing at the flesh.

The pill Xing Penghai once took out was probably something similar to the Corpse Insect Pill,

thought Lin Zheyu.

But such methods of control had their flaws. Once the type of poison was identified, finding a way to detoxify it could break the hold. For instance, to completely neutralize the Corpse Insect Pill, one would need a plant called Azure Ghostgrass. Combined with several other herbs and refined into antidote pills, taking them continuously for 7 days would fully purge the poison. However, both corpse poison and Azure Ghostgrass were exceedingly difficult to find.

"Besides these, do you have any other questions?" asked Chen Peijun after taking a sip of tea.

"Yes, I do."

Lin Zheyu pulled out the Toxicology Codex, inside which was a sheet of paper listing all the questions he had encountered over the past few days.

1. I’m not sure why but in the previous chapter, the author said that Corpse poison is the term the Zhao Family used to refer to the Yin poison found on living corpses. However, now they’re two different things. ☜