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Chapter 481: The Potion Jar Boy

Earlier in the day, officials from the Imperial Supervisory Bureau arrived to inspect the area. Although the poison specialists were dead, traces of their poison still lingered, hidden in every corner. There was no telling which patch of land might turn deadly with a single step.

After all, the poison specialists on the ridge weren\'t all unified. Each had set up their own protective measures in front of their homes. Preliminary inspections revealed that the lingering poison would take centuries to dissipate. It might be best to use a large-scale method to reshape the entire mountain into a new peak.

However, this grand plan had yet to be carried out. Instead, numerous notices were posted at the mountain\'s entrance, warning that the Myriad Poison Mountain was on the verge of collapse and advising people to stay away.

In truth, these notices were rather redundant, as no living creature had dared to venture near this area for years.

Swoosh—

After a long silence, a shadowy figure suddenly darted by, gliding through the area stained with blood from the previous night before coming to a halt on a tree branch.

The figure resembled a beast, crouching on all fours, its entire body shrouded in a dark, greenish-black hue. Its eyes gleamed as they cautiously scanned the surroundings.

Yet, upon closer inspection, its features were unmistakably human! The dark greenish-black hue that covered its body was actually a strange pattern, sprawling across its skin.

"Heh—" A deep, ragged breath escaped his mouth, indistinguishable from the sound of a wild beast.

In the next instant, he pushed off with all four limbs and sprang forward.

Swoosh—

His figure instantly appeared in the dilapidated courtyard, darting through the darkness with such speed that his movements were nearly impossible to follow—swift as lightning.

But the moment he landed in the courtyard, a burst of white light suddenly flared beneath his feet. Whoosh—

As the light swirled, a cage instantly enclosed him.

The beast-like figure sprang up, attempting to break through the white light. However, as his body soared, he discovered the light did not obstruct him; he passed through it effortlessly.

Yet, after crossing the barrier, he found himself landing back in the same courtyard.

It was an illusion.

"Heh—ah—" A deep growl rumbled from his throat as he spun around, attempting to escape in another direction, only to be forced back by a flash of sword light slashing toward him!

Swish—

A figure in white robes descended gracefully, like an immortal from the heavens, forcing the shadowy figure back with a single stroke of her sword.

It was Jiang Yuebai.

With her left hand forming a seal, the sword light twisted and instantly transformed into a pool of lightning, crackling with golden dragons and silver thunderbolts!

The shadowy figure could no longer dodge and was struck by a golden dragon, his body instantly stiffening before collapsing to the ground.

Jiang Yuebai flicked her hand once more, and countless bolts of lightning twisted into several ropes, crackling as they coiled around the shadowy figure, binding him tightly.

"Ahhhhhhhhh—" The shadowy figure howled, but the more he struggled, the stronger the backlash from the lightning ropes grew, paralyzing his entire body until he could no longer move.

Only then did Jiang Yuebai approach, using the light from the lightning to see the figure\'s face clearly.

He appeared young, likely even younger than her, around fifteen or sixteen years old. Dark green patterns covered his body, resembling living creatures that swelled with each of his breaths, as if every pulse inflicted immense pain.

His eyes were bloodshot, full of chaos and rage.

After a moment\'s thought, she raised her hand and cast a Mind-Pacifying Incantation. A soft white light flickered, spreading across the youth\'s body and seeping into his skin, gradually easing the tension in his expression.

The Mind-Pacifying Incantation was a technique used to clear the mind and bring a calming effect. It was proving quite effective at this moment.

Jiang Yuebai immediately questioned, "Who are you?"

...

Yesterday, when Jiang Yuebai first spotted the shadowy figure, she lost track of him. However, she later took some time to reflect on the encounter.

Why would he come to such a dangerous place?

The massacre caused by Qiongqi likely left no survivors, and no one else would dare approach Black Pine Ridge. So, did he come here seeking something? Could it be that there was something here that he wanted?

The Myriad Poison Mountain was vast, making it unrealistic to track down that person. However, since he had visited Black Pine Ridge once, there was a chance he might come back.

Having investigated the case this far, this seemed to be the last clue. So, in hopes of testing her luck, she set up large enchanted formations, ready to wait for lightning to strike twice.

If this shadowy figure returned, Jiang Yuebai was determined not to let him escape again.

And tonight, he did.

It could be said that her luck was quite good.

Hearing Jiang Yuebai\'s question, the boy, his emotions gradually stabilizing, finally replied in a clumsy accent, "I... I am a Potion Jar."

"Potion Jar?" Jiang Yuebai was puzzled.

The boy then slowly began to share his story with Jiang Yuebai.

It turned out that among the poison specialists of Black Pine Ridge, there was one who stood out as the strongest and most sinister, a man surnamed Song. The others referred to him as Master Song.

Master Song never used wild beasts to test his poisons; he used only humans. Beneath his courtyard, he had hollowed out a basement where he imprisoned countless children, forcing them to serve as his "potion jars" for his poison experiments.

These children grew up in this cruel environment. Even if they survived, they would gradually transform into beast-like beings, possessing extraordinary physiques but stripped of their humanity.

As they grew older, like this boy, Master Song would send them to the Myriad Poison Mountain to gather medicinal herbs and capture venomous and poisonous creatures. Each of them had a strange poison planted in their bodies, forcing them to take an antidote daily. Missing even a single dose would cause them to go berserk and die a violent death. Thus, none dared to run away; they were compelled to return within the allotted time, handing over the spirit plants and poisonous creatures in exchange for that day’s antidote.

If they returned empty-handed, they would be beaten. If they failed for several consecutive days, Master Song would withhold the antidote as a brutal warning, forcing them to go berserk and die in front of everyone.

The boy Jiang Yuebai had captured was one of those Potion Jar Kids. That day, he had spent too long in the Myriad Poison Mountain without harvesting anything. And so, he didn\'t dare to return.

Just as he was on the brink of death from the poison within the mountain, he stumbled upon a strange herb that could alleviate the agony of the poison\'s onset. After consuming the herb, he managed to hold on a while longer, giving him enough strength to survive and return to Black Pine Ridge by nightfall.

But upon his return, he was met with the sight of the ridge drenched in rivers of blood. It was at that moment that Jiang Yuebai had found him the previous night.

He thought Jiang Yuebai was the one responsible for what had happened, which was why he fled in madness. After entering the Myriad Poison Mountain, he found more of that strange herb, which allowed him to survive until now.

But without the antidote, he could never truly escape his fate. So, he returned to see if Master Song was dead and whether he could find the antidote.

"I see..."

If everything he said was true, then he was indeed a pitiable soul.

However, Jiang Yuebai did not loosen his restraints. Instead, she instructed him to get up and search for the antidote. The boy stood up, kicked open the courtyard door, and pressed a hidden mechanism, revealing an underground chamber.

The chamber was empty, with only patches of dried blood staining the floor. No one could say how many innocent lives had been lost here.

"No..." The boy let out a sigh of relief. "They all left... They didn’t die. It must be Master Song; he took them all away!"

"Didn\'t die?" Jiang Yuebai\'s mind raced as she processed his words.

Traces of the massacre at Black Pine Ridge were everywhere. It was entirely possible that a few poison specialists were not among the dead. However, if the children from the underground chamber were among the bodies, they would be easy to identify.

So, he could confirm that these Potion Jar Kids were not dead.

But where had they gone?

As Jiang Yuebai breathed in the air of the chamber, a scent struck her with familiarity.

This scent... Where have I smelled it before? She wondered.