Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 11

Illumca's Impending Doom

After arranging for the materials from the snake to be dismantled, she took the fangs and sold the rest of it through the guild.

It was already night time by the time Connie came back from her eventful stroll. Bertus had been replaced by middle aged man with a halberd.

“Evening, Milady! Did you have a good day?”

“You could say that, where’s Bertus?”

“Ah, the old man’s sleeping. It’s been hard on him these past few days. He’s been doing the odd jobs because we are lacking people. I’m helping him out too, of course.”

“I see, what’s your name again?”

“It’s Nick, Milady. I was under your father’s command during my day.”

“Good. Good,” she said with a smile. “Well, good night, Nick.”

She then entered the mansion where a familiar maid with two pigtails bowed respectfully.

“Welcome back, Milady. Would you like to have dinner?”

“No. That’s fine. I’m not hungry.”

She was only half-lying. Once a person embarked on the path of Cultivation, he or she will begin to not need food as they can gather nourishment from the air. They can still feel hunger, however, but most Cultivators who have passed the Shedding Mortality Stage became accustomed to the feeling and forget it altogether. Wang Tian Gu was a different case as he was a lover of food and ate simply for enjoyment.

“Oh, that reminds me. Prepare some soup with finely chopped chicken and ginger for tomorrow for the guest.”

“Yes, milady.”

Before returning to her room, Connie stopped in front Illumca’s room and heard a loud snore.

“Good night, Illumca,” she mouthed.

Connie then walked to her room and locked it behind her, opening the window to let the night wind in.

She then took out a handful of mulberry leaves she managed to procure on the way home and fed it to Yao-er. It gobbled them down hungrily as she watched, thinking that it had been so long since she saw the little guy and how cute it was trying to eat leaves bigger than its body.

After finishing all the leaves, it rolled over a few times happily.

“No time to sleep, Yao-er. Help me make some silk. The white one is fine.”

Yao-er looked at her resentfully for making it do work after dinner, but did it anyway. It spun lustrous white coloured silk, a lower grade than the Golden Silk because it had not enough energy to create the highest grade yet.

After making enough silk for tomorrow, Connie sat down on her bed and assumed the lotus position with both hands forming the Dhyana Mudra, as taught by Master Mountain Bamboo.

She then closed her eyes and went inside her own mind.

It was a vast world of pure black and the only source of light there was a large orb the size of an island. Inside the orb a pitiful lake of purple liquid sloshed this way and that.

“My Poison Core. How pitiful you’ve become.”

The orb was surrounded by four smaller orbs, one of which had lit up a gold color. A thread of energy connected it to the large orb.

“Sui Lihua…Huo Nanfeng…and that absolute bastard is here also?” Though she had half expected this, to have her Contracted Beasts follow her to a new world gave hier a sense of warmth. After all, their souls are tied to her. “Just you wait, my friends. You will all wake up soon.”

After affirming her condition, she returned her consciousness outside.

It was unfortunate, however, that she missed a very thin thread coming out of her Poison Core leading to nowhere.

When she opened her eyes. It was already dusk.

She inhaled the morning air and exhaled contentedly.

“I still lack both cultivation level and ingredients for my signature poisons. So all I can do is mix a simpler type. Not enough to be the backbone of my skill.”

Thousand Poison Claw. Connie’s primary skill is as the name suggests. It is the conglomeration of a thousand type of poison. The more potent its ingredients, the more powerful the skill becomes. Even to the end of her first life she only managed to collect a bit more than half that amount into his Poison Core.

“Right now, my Thousand Poison Claw is not even worth mentioning. It is only good when concentrated. Even then it is too weak compared to my previous condition.”

“And for that, I need to gather more materials to analyse. More ingredients, more knowledge! It’s a whole new world out there. And I am a willing explorer,” Connie laughed in genuine happiness. Her echoing laughter sent bluebirds scrambling away in fear.

That morning, Connie spent the first hour of her day pondering the bacon, egg, and toast in front of her. They were food she had never seen or tasted before, but they were delicious, and a half-boiled egg was a welcome oddity. She was not a fan of the fruit called Grapefruit, though.

After breakfast she sent a maid with the silk she produced to the old tailor and greeted Sen who was stopped by Bertus in front of the gate. The little girl was red-eyed but very much eager to see her patron.

“Good morning, Sen. I see you remembered our arrangement.”

“Yeah! See? They’re so fresh they still have dews on the leaves!”

Connie picked a flower from the basket and gave it a whiff. “Indeed they have. And as promised, a gold coin for you.”

“Thank you!”

“By the way, do you have time today?”

Sen smiled as she posed with both arms on her hips. “Ehe! As long as you give more coins!”

“Excellent. So then, I want you to bring me around to an apothecary this afternoon.”

“Apo – uh?” she tried to speak the words but stumbled on her first try.

“Somewhere I can buy herbs and medicines.”

“Oh. I know a place. Uncle Hans told me where to buy medicines for my mom.”

“Is your mom sick?”

Sen suddenly looked a bit down. “She’s getting better.”

“Sorry. I don’t mean to get you down,” she patted the little girl’s head. “Give her something to drink while I prepare, Bertus.”

“As you wish, milady. Come, dear. I’ll bring you around to the kitchen. I think I still have the Honeywater I had for breakfast.”

After giving her a last pat on the head, Connie went towards the guest room to check on her ward with some soup she had the maids made last night.

“Illumca, it’s me.”

The door was unlocked and she entered, placing the bowl of soup by the bed. Connie lapped the air with her tongue and frowned when she realized that the unpleasant odor of the room had become slightly stronger.

“How is your condition today?” she asked.

Illumca was wearing the bed cover like a cloak while sitting by the table. She was looking steadier after her first aid.

“I’m…feeling less pain.”

“…have some soup,” she said, bringing a spoonful of it to her mouth.

The ailing woman sipped the soup meekly and said. “It’s good.”

Connie raised an eyebrow. “Are you fine with beef?”

“Yeah. It’s fine...”

“I see. Finish the soup and I’ll do a check on your body before heading out.”

Illumca silently finished the soup, being slowly fed by Connie. This little act of kindness filled her with an awkward feeling.

"Aren't you...going to ask me?"

"About what?"

"About...what happened to me?"

"You will tell me when you are ready," she answered. "For now, we need to get your strength up."

That brief conversation they had had seemingly exhausted her energy as she almost collapsed to the bed after. Connie inspected her body meticulously and let the poor woman continue sleeping. Bringing the tray out after finishing what she needed to do.

She called to a nearby maid and shoved the tray with the empty bowl onto her.

“Wash these with very hot water and lye soap, separate from the mansion’s and keep these separate from the other cutleries. Do not let anyone else use it except for the guest. Is this understood?”

“Y-yes, milady!”

“For lunch give her the same type of soup, but mix some finely chopped potatoes in it. Leave it by her door and only come back after she’s finished. Now, repeat my order.”

After confirming the maid’s name and repeated her order for two more times she released the maid and returned to her room.

This time, Connie chose a pastel dress and decided to try wearing undergarments as she was supposed to. She found them too breezy and lacy for her liking but gritted her teeth and put them on. Whether she likes it or not, she’s a female now.

This trip to the apothecary was something she had planned ever since she arrived in this world. But now it had become crucial. She needed to quickly gather more types of ingredients now that Illumca’s condition had worsened. She could not even taste that she was eating chicken.

Whatever the poison was, it seemed to have been roused by the reactivation of her liver and started to batter her senses. Whoever made the poison must have been a true master.

And there is no way that Wang Tian Gu will be defeated by this unknown master!

I’m the frigging Heavenly Poison King, dammit! I'll save her life even if it's the last thing I do!