Chapter 789 - 302: A Letter for the Eastern Alliance (Part 2)

Director Wu reached out to take the herb, and only then did Xu Xingguang say with a smile, "Director Wu, this is a highly toxic herb. If you are not immune to all poisons, I suggest you wear gloves before touching it."

Upon hearing it was a poisonous herb, Director Wu’s expression changed slightly.

He gave Manager Du a look, and Manager Du quickly went to a cabinet by the wall, retrieved a pair of gloves and a gas mask, and handed them to Director Wu.

Fully equipped, Director Wu finally took the herb.

"Manager Du, you can leave now."

After Manager Du left, Director Wu then invited Xu Xingguang and Ying Ziyao to his office.

His office area was nestled among numerous heaven-reaching medicine shelves, a square space of only seven or eight square meters. The office had no desk, only a tea table.

On the tea table, the water had just boiled, and Xu Xingguang caught the aroma of Black Eagle Tea.

Seeing her gaze fixed on the tea table, Director Wu, pretending to be mysterious, said, "Do you know what kind of tea this is? If you can guess, I invite you to have a cup."

Xu Xingguang inwardly scoffed at his childishness before saying, "It’s premium Black Eagle Tea. My teacher has some too, but she cherishes it greatly and only brings it out on special occasions."

Seeing that Xu Xingguang truly recognized the tea and understood the secrets of Elder Tan Nan, Director Wu confirmed that Xu Xingguang was indeed Elder Tan Nan’s student.

He suddenly said, "Black Eagle Tea is rare, and this premium Black Eagle Tea is even scarcer. I only have this small tin. A while ago, an old friend visited me and generously gifted it."

Hearing this, Xu Xingguang’s gaze sharpened slightly.

A while ago, an old friend honored a visit and generously gifted it.

Xu Xingguang understood Director Wu’s implication. He was hinting that after Elder Tan Nan returned to Medicine King City, she specifically visited him and gave him her most treasured premium Black Eagle Tea.

She likely anticipated Xu Xingguang would bring the Black Widow to Director Wu for evaluation.

She used a tin of premium Black Eagle Tea and years of friendship to ask Director Wu not to make things difficult for Xu Xingguang.

The rising steam misted Xu Xingguang’s eyes. She blinked, smiled slightly at Director Wu, and remarked, "To give away something so precious, it seems that your old friend holds a deep friendship with you. That person must be a good individual."

"Indeed, very good." Director Wu laughed heartily upon realizing Xu Xingguang had understood his hint.

He said, "I’ve heard that Doctor Xu is skilled in the art of tea-making. I wonder if this old man might have the chance to taste Doctor Xu’s tea art?"

Had her teacher even told him that?

"Then I shall dare to show my humble skills." Xu Xingguang sat behind the tea table, skillfully followed the steps of brewing Black Eagle Tea, placing the boiled tea leaves into ice water, and delicately washed and shook the cups three times in the icy liquid with tongs.

Her movements were fluid and natural, without any pretentious femininity. She was poised and graceful, exhibiting the air of a heroine.

Director Wu and Ying Ziyao were somewhat entranced by her performance.

"Director Wu, please." Xu Xingguang handed the first cup of tea to Director Wu.

The second cup was given to Ying Ziyao.

Ying Ziyao, who usually drank more medicinal tea than regular tea, knew even after a sip that this tea was exceptional and far superior to other teas.

Director Wu took a sip and couldn’t bring himself to set the cup down.

He unknowingly finished the first cup and, setting the cup down, remarked with emotion, "I used to say this tea was just so-so, but it turns out I was like a hillbilly unfit to appreciate fine fare."

Just this tea brewing process, he could never learn in a lifetime and had no patience for it.

"Refill my cup!" Director Wu’s boisterous nature treated tea-tasting like drinking alcohol.

Xu Xingguang smiled and filled his cup for a second round.

She didn’t think Director Wu to be someone crude who didn’t understand good tea.

Xu Xingguang hadn’t specifically studied tea arts, and the method of brewing Black Eagle Tea was taught to her by Divine Hidden Crane.

Though a novice in the art of tea, she felt tea, no matter how embellished or marketed, was just water ingested.

Some seek elegance, others are naturally unrestrained; knowing it’s good tea, drinking it wholly, and praising it with ’good tea’ is tea art.

After finishing the tea, Director Wu put on gloves and took a careful look at the Poisonous Widow’s rating.

Its rating wasn’t based on life-saving effects, but lethal effectiveness.

Director Wu, pointing at the cabbage-like herb with a few scattered black leaves and a crystal-clear fruit in the middle, hesitantly asked, "Can a drop of juice from this small fruit really kill a 200-pound... creature?"

Director Wu felt it unethical to measure toxicity against humans, so he substituted with creatures.

"Yes."

Nodding, Director Wu fiddled with the black leaves and asked, "Can these leaves, ground into powder and burned, kill over ten people with just one leaf?"

"Yes."

Director Wu was skeptical, "I need to take it to the testing base for verification. Doctor Xu, please go back and await our notification."

"Alright."

Xu Xingguang stood up gracefully, and as she got up, Ying Ziyao followed suit.

As she was about to leave, Director Wu suddenly stopped her and asked, "What is this herb called?"

"Poisonous Widow."

Director Wu is well-read, and he is familiar with any known Chinese medicine books in the Divine Martial Realm.

But he had truly never heard of a medicinal herb like the Poisonous Widow.

Thinking that Xu Xingguang came from the Mortal World, he assumed that this herb’s seeds came from there. "Is there an antidote for the Poisonous Widow’s toxin?"

Xu Xingguang shook his head, "As of now, we haven’t found any."

Director Wu frowned and said, "Then it’s purely a toxic herb."

Knowing what Director Wu was concerned about, Xu Xingguang said thoughtfully, "The Poisonous Widow thrives on toxins as its nutrients, the more poisonous the soil, the better they grow; the No. 18 Medicine Field is a perfect haven tailored for it. Though it is a purely toxic herb, there are many situations in life that require toxic herbs, and it has its irreplaceable value."

"Moreover, the Poisonous Widow has a strong ability to absorb toxins, and in no more than four years, the toxins in the No. 18 Medicine Field will be completely cleared, allowing for the planting of other medicinal herbs."

"Additionally, the Poisonous Widow is extremely picky about its environment, and finding a suitable field for planting it in the future is uncertain. So, the batch produced in the No. 18 Medicine Field will become a limited edition."

"Such a medicinal herb must have irreplaceable value. Don’t you think so, Director Wu?"

Director Wu looked at her thoughtfully.

After a moment, he said, "You go back and wait for my notification."

"Alright."

Xu Xingguang left with Ying Ziyao.

Ying Ziyao remained silent all the way.

Only after leaving the Medicine Hall did he whisper to Xu Xingguang, "I’ve been in the medical field for many years, and based on my experience, for any toxic herb, there is an antidote that can neutralize its toxins."

Confidently, Ying Ziyao said, "The Poisonous Widow does have an antidote, right?"

He was very clear about Xu Xingguang’s style; she wasn’t someone careless enough to hand over a highly toxic herb without an antidote to the Central Yu Alliance’s medical field.

If she handed out a toxic herb, there had to be a detoxification method she knew of.

Xu Xingguang frankly admitted, "Yes."

"Then why keep it a secret?" Ying Ziyao couldn’t quite figure it out for the moment.

"Because I don’t trust the Central Yu Alliance, nor the Divine Martial Realm." The Poisonous Widow, as a herb, is full of treasures.

On the Poisonous Widow, there are black leaves, crystalline fruits, and, rarely, some Poisonous Widows may grow some white, translucent, ice-sealed-looking leaves.

The black leaves and fruits are both highly toxic substances.

However, the rare white translucent leaves on the Poisonous Widow are its most valuable part; these leaves can not only detoxify the Poisonous Widow’s toxin but can also neutralize the toxins of all toxic herbs in the world.

Xu Xingguang reincarnated for the third time, born as a male in a Cultivation World where pharmacists are revered.

There, she was an Advanced Pharmacist on the Medicine Farmer Star, and was recognized as the kingpin of medicinal herbs, managing the world’s largest medicinal herb library. Only she could cultivate those extinct herbs.

In that world, the Poisonous Widow was considered an advanced herb, and those that could produce the white translucent leaves weren’t known as Poisonous Widow, but as ’White Goddess’.

The Poisonous Widow is a highly toxic herb, whereas the White Goddess is a priceless detoxification king.

In front of the White Goddess, all toxic herbs are mere minions.

Xu Xingguang planted more than thirty thousand Poisonous Widows in the No. 18 Medicine Field, but only obtained six White Goddesses.

She told Director Wu that six plants out of the thirty thousand couldn’t survive; in reality, those six plants were alive, but she would not let them out.

Upon hearing Xu Xingguang say she did not trust the Central Yu Alliance and the Divine Martial Realm, Ying Ziyao thought of something, breaking out in a cold sweat. "Are you worried that after the Central Yu Alliance gets hold of the Poisonous Widow, they will use this toxin to harm our Mortal World people?"

"Are you keeping the antidote as a backup plan?"

Xu Xingguang looked approvingly at Ying Ziyao, "Uncle Ying is indeed smart."

Ying Ziyao gritted his teeth and cursed, "Those beasts could indeed do such a thing."

"It’s not just about that."

Xu Xingguang told Ying Ziyao: "The antidote that can neutralize the Poisonous Widow’s toxin can also neutralize the toxins of all toxic herbs. In the mutation virus developed by Zhang Zhiyi and the others, besides those artificial chemical agents we temporarily cannot decipher, there are also many toxic herb elements."

"This thing can neutralize the herbal toxin elements in the mutation virus." This is also her main reason for planting the Poisonous Widow in the No. 18 Medicine Field.

Ying Ziyao listened calmly, growing more and more impressed with Xu Xingguang.

She always sees further than others.

With business done, and it being midday, Ying Ziyao asked Xu Xingguang, "The matter is done, where are we going now?"

"Accompany me to the stationery store to buy some things."

"Stationery store?" Ying Ziyao, looking puzzled, accompanied Xu Xingguang to a stationery store, watching her purchase a few sheets of letter paper and some common plain white envelopes.

But she did not buy stamps.

In this day and age, everyone uses Intelligent Brain Terminals to communicate; writing letters has instead become a quaint pastime. Ying Ziyao thought Xu Xingguang was going to write a love letter to Huo Wen’an, but he didn’t ask further.

Back at the hotel, Xu Xingguang picked up a pen to write a letter, which she sealed in a white envelope with a star-shaped seal made of ink.

Early the next morning, she sent that letter to the international courier station and had it mailed out.

By that evening, that international mail had reached the Eastern Alliance.