Flower Stealing Master

Proteins denature when they encounter heavy metal ions, and this denaturation is irreversible. Proteins are biologically active substances; once denatured, they can no longer perform their original functions. Since various functions in the human body are primarily governed by proteins, every reaction in any part of the body is related to proteins. Therefore, heavy metal ions can cause poisoning.

However, once heavy metal ions bind to proteins, they cannot bind to other proteins because the reaction is irreversible. Therefore, in cases of heavy metal poisoning, substances containing a large amount of protein, such as milk, can bind to the heavy metal ions, minimizing their binding to functional proteins in the body.

Although the Heavenly Devil Flower seems to have little to do with heavy metals, while most plant toxins affect the nervous system, many also affect proteins.

Song Qingshu knew that the probability of successfully using milk to counteract the poison of the Heavenly Devil Flower was very slim, but he was always willing to try, even with the slightest chance. After all, he wasn’t living for himself anymore. He had so many loving confidantes and so many subordinates who relied on him. The heavy responsibility ignited a strong will to live within him.

Hearing the other person mention that her husband had poisoned him, Qi Fang couldn’t help but bite her lip. She had previously had a huge argument with Wan Gui about this. Kind-hearted as she was, she couldn’t accept her husband’s despicable act of harming others, and she had secretly prayed for Song Qingshu’s escape.

Although she didn’t know the other person, Song Qingshu’s reputation had been so prominent over the years, and he was a frequently mentioned figure in the women’s circles of Lin’an City. She knew a thing or two about him. Judging from various sources, Song Qingshu seemed to be a good person, even a hero. Naturally, she didn’t want such a person to suffer any misfortune, and she also wanted her husband to have less bloodshed and evil on his hands.

Furthermore, the other person was a friend of Di Yun. If it were any other way, Qi Fang might have agreed without even batting an eye. But this was something so private and shameful; she hadn’t even given it to her husband, how could she give it to another man?

“No, absolutely not!” Qi Fang shook her head violently. “I…I can think of other ways to help you, but this…this…”

Song Qingshu knew that Qi Fang was a very traditional woman at heart; the concept of traditional womanly virtues was ingrained in her very bones. Getting her to give him her expressed milk was simply impossible.

“Fine, for Zhiruo and the others, I have no choice but to be shameless.”

Song Qingshu gritted his teeth, then suddenly cried out, “Ah, the poison has acted up again!” He collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably, his face contorted in extreme pain.

“You…what’s wrong with you?” Qi Fang was startled, calling out to him several times, but he didn’t respond at all.

“Don’t scare me.” Qi Fang panicked, pacing anxiously around him, but helpless. “Tell me quickly, how can I help you now?”

She was always kind-hearted. Even when Di Yun killed a butterfly in front of her, she was heartbroken for a long time; how much more so when a living person was right in front of her.

Just as she was getting anxious, her gaze suddenly fell on the wooden bowl beside her. Qi Fang couldn’t help but recall Song Qingshu’s earlier words.

“Could this really be an antidote?” Qi Fang’s face flushed red, and she hesitated for a moment, but ultimately her kindness prevailed. “A life is at stake; I can’t worry about anything else.”

Qi Fang knelt down and helped Song Qingshu up, letting his head rest on her lap. Then, she picked up the wooden bowl, took a deep breath, and, her face still flushed, brought it to his lips.

Song Qingshu felt a still-warm, nectar-like liquid flow into his mouth. He was immediately filled with emotion. Qi Fang was truly kind to the core, but unfortunately, she had married a heartless husband. Fate was fickle, and destiny played a cruel trick.

Before he knew it, he had finished the entire bowl. Song Qingshu felt a lingering fragrance on his lips and teeth, and the faint scent of her b0dy still lingered in his nostrils.

Even with his thick skin, he felt a pang of guilt and could only feign a groan, pretending to wake up.

Song Qingshu’s plan worked. Seeing this, Qi Fang quickly laid him back down, then abruptly stood three feet away, anxiously asking, “Are you… feeling better?”

Slowly opening his eyes, Song Qingshu instinctively replied, “Much better… Huh?”

He hadn’t held out much hope that the milk could cure the poison; he was just offering a casual reassurance. After all, she had made such a sacrifice, and if it had no effect, she would likely feel even worse.

However, before he could speak, Song Qingshu suddenly felt a surge of joy as he noticed a faint sign that his long-stagnant internal energy was beginning to circulate again. Forgetting to answer, he immediately began to circulate his energy to test the situation.

Qi Fang, seeing this, didn’t think much of it, knowing he was at a crucial moment, and didn’t disturb him. However, she suddenly noticed a drop of brea$t milk remaining on Song Qingshu’s lips, glistening translucent in the candlelight. Her face flushed instantly.

“I was so bold! How could I have done something like this today…”

While Qi Fang was struggling with her dilemma, Song Qingshu couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. He had just successfully circulated his internal energy through a full cycle, something absolutely unimaginable before.

“Could human brea$t milk really have such miraculous effects?” Song Qingshu had no time to ponder the mystery at this moment. He hurriedly circulated his internal energy, trying to expel the Heavenly Devil Flower poison from his body. His biggest problem before had been the inability to circulate his internal energy normally, preventing him from expelling the deadly poison. Now that the most crucial problem was solved, how could he not be overjoyed?

Actually, this was a lucky accident. He was poisoned by the Heavenly Devil Flower, the most prominent symptom of which is initial paralysis, similar to the symptoms of aconitine poisoning. In his previous life, advanced medicine had led to the discovery that a large dose of atropine was needed to counteract aconitine poisoning. Atropine, however, is also highly toxic; an overdose can be fatal.

In the terminology of martial arts novels, this is called “fighting poison with poison.” In modern medical terms, aconitine dilates blood vessels, rapidly lowering blood pressure, while simultaneously inhibiting the central nervous system and respiratory center. Atropine, on the other hand, relieves smooth muscle spasms, improves microcirculation, inhibits glandular secretion, relieves the vagus nerve’s inhibition of the heart, increasing heart rate; dilates pupils, increasing intraocular pressure; and excites the respiratory center. These two highly toxic substances produce opposite effects, thus mutually neutralizing each other.

The Rhino Horn Earth Dragon Circulation Pill that Xiao Longnu had given Song Qingshu came from the body of a mythical beast from the Western Regions. This beast had a particular fondness for the highly poisonous plant belladonna, which is rich in atropine.

Unfortunately, the purity of the atropine in the Rhino Horn Earth Dragon Circulation Pill was inferior to that extracted using modern industry; it wasn’t enough to neutralize the poison of the Heavenly Devil Flower, only temporarily saving Song Qingshu’s life.

As for the antidote for aconitine poisoning, besides atropine, modern medicine has proven that milk can also be effective!

If milk works, then human brea$t milk can certainly do it too. Moreover, this was Qi Fang’s first child, and her brea$t milk contained a large amount of growth factors and immunoglobulins, which would greatly benefit detoxification. Therefore, by a twist of fate, Song Qingshu had now regained his internal energy circulation.

However, what he didn’t know was that the toxicity of the Heavenly Devil Flower was far greater than that of aconitine. Aconitine requires a large amount of atropine to neutralize it; how could a mere bowl of milk be enough?

Related