I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 47 - 46: Wild Pomegranate (Part 2)

The hope was shattered, and Cui Tianxiao cried out in despair, "Qingtian——!"

Almost scared to death by his own voice that had turned dull and greasy, Cui Tianxiao reached out to feel the pig-like thick lips. He finally couldn’t control himself and let out a scream more miserable than he had ever had in his life.

"Aahhhhh——!"

Birds and beasts in the forest fluttered up in a large bunch.

Right, he still had the universal antidote configured by a Healing Master!

Cui Tianxiao pulled out a bunch of antidotes, drinking three bottles indiscriminately, but regrettably, the high-grade medicine that should have worked immediately had no effect at all.

"What do I do, what do I do? Qingtian, am I, am I a monster now?"

The two of them had grown up together since childhood. Ye Qingting was very familiar with Cui Tianxiao’s obsession with appearances, so he really didn’t dare to answer truthfully, fearing Cui Tianxiao might bash his head in front of him.

"It’s... it’s okay."

"Look me in the eyes and say that!"

Ye Qingting’s gaze faltered: ...

His grip was not weak at all, and his Primordial Spirit and spiritual power hadn’t diminished in the slightest, indicating that the poison did not have any lethal effect beyond affecting his appearance.

Since it wasn’t fatal, Ye Qingting wasn’t as worried, but his gaze remained on the somewhat normal mid-section of Cui Tianxiao’s face, daring not to go further.

He couldn’t look; otherwise, he would burst into laughter, and they couldn’t remain friends.

Though Ye Qingting said nothing, Cui Tianxiao had already received the answer he wanted from his gaze—he was hideously ugly.

Cui Tianxiao collapsed to the ground and, like a blind man, groped towards Li Xing and, upon encountering a pair of skinny legs, held them tight, refusing to let go as if holding onto his last lifeline.

"Help! Help me, help me!"

Li Xing sighed, "I told you there was something wrong with that fruit, but you wouldn’t listen. Regretting now, aren’t you?"

"Flower—ah no, Sister Hua! Grandma Hua! I was wrong, I really know I was wrong! Since you can see that the wild pomegranate is poisonous, you must have a way to detoxify it. Save me, I’ll pay whatever it takes!"

Although Li Xing wanted to make the deal, seeing Cui Tianxiao kneeling before her, she decided not to scam him.

"No antidote."

Like a thunderclap, Li Xing’s words accelerated Cui Tianxiao’s journey from fear to doom.

"You mean... I have to live like this forever?"

Rather ugly than dead! Without a moment’s hesitation, Cui Tianxiao turned his head and yelled at Ye Qingting, "Kill me, kill me, kill me!"

"Can you calm down and let someone finish talking?" Li Xing shook the utterly irrational Cui Tianxiao vigorously and shouted loudly:

"There’s no antidote because there’s no need for one. At most, it will last half an hour, understand?"

"...You mean, in half an hour, I can return to my normal appearance?"

"Yes."

Finally at peace, after the waves of joy and sorrow, Cui Tianxiao felt all weak and feeble, buried his head on his knees, and his shoulders trembled slightly as though he’d been ravaged.

Li Xing let him calm down by himself, walked over to pick up the wild pomegranates scattered on the ground. After some picking, she chose two and handed one to Ye Qingting, who waved his hand repeatedly, not wanting to turn into Ah Xiao.

"This one’s fine, it’s edible."

After saying that, Li Xing peeled off the pomegranate skin and took the first bite. The fruit was ripe, fragrant, and sweet—very delicious.

Seeing Li Xing eat it, there was nothing for Ye Qingting to fear, but he was puzzled, since Cui Tianxiao’s identification method was correct, how did he end up poisoned?

"Xiao Hua, the method Ah Xiao mentioned was taught in our reserve military school textbooks. It’s the experience countless predecessors exchanged their lives and blood for. Logically, it shouldn’t be wrong, so how..."

"The method of testing wild pomegranate is indeed not wrong, but you forgot it grows in the forest, not an isolated entity. Whether the fruit can be eaten involves other factors besides the pomegranate tree itself."

Cui Tianxiao was listening intently too, wanting to know why he was caught.

Picking up a poisonous wild pomegranate, Li Xing slowly rotated the fruit and pointed to a barely visible tiny hole on its skin, explaining:

"There’s a low-level Star Beast called the Tiger Stripe Moth that feeds on fruit juice. Due to its small size and small appetite, wild fruit eaten by it hardly shows any noticeable change outwardly."

"The Tiger Stripe Moth’s needle-like mouthparts contain a biological enzyme that is a strong allergen. If a person or Star Beast eats wild fruit contaminated with its saliva, the enzyme entering the body will rapidly cause an allergic reaction leading to edema."

"Because the Tiger Stripe Moth is small in size, the biological enzyme content is very low, so the allergic reaction won’t last long, at most half an hour before being metabolized."

Allergy, not poisoning, so taking more antidotes is useless.

Ye Qingting, after hearing Li Xing’s explanation, suddenly realized and admired her greatly, "Indeed, read thousands of books, travel thousands of miles, you can’t do without either. But how do you know so much at such a young age?"

"I’ve spent nearly half of my life in the forest. Though I haven’t read thousands of books, I surely have traveled thousands of miles."

Ye Qingting laughed heartily, cleaned his hands, and reached out to Li Xing, "Can we meet again? My name is Ye Qingting, Qingtian of ’Qingyun Zhishang Jiuxiao Ting’."

Li Xing was inherently cautious, wary of people as a norm. If others guarded against her, she doubled her guard, but if someone genuinely opened up to her, she was willing to give them full regard.

Grasping Ye Qingting’s fair, bony hand and shaking it, Li Xing said, "I’m Li Xing, the Star of Dawn."

"I, I am Cui Tianxiao... Tianxiao of ’Yingtian Daxiao’..." Cui Tianxiao covered his face, murmuring into the conversation.

He felt so uneducated compared to those two, even his name lacked culture, so angry!

He had just instructed Li Xing, ending up a living example, swollen into a pighead—the clown was himself, how vivid and interesting!

Damn, he’s never eating pomegranates again in his life.

Li Xing stored the poisonous wild pomegranates into the Spiritual Pendant, seeing so many still on the tree, simply climbed up and picked them all.

Ye Qingting wondered, asking her, "Ah Xing, what are you picking so many poisonous pomegranates for?"

"Making medicine!" Li Xing’s eyes were sparkling and she answered excitedly, "I’ve already thought of the medicine’s name, it’s called Ruhua Pill! Anyone who goes against me, I’ll reward them a Ruhua Pill, let them taste the beauty of being ’as beautiful as a flower’, hahaha!"

Ye Qingting asked in surprise, "Are you a Healing Master?"

"I self-studied the Healing Master courses, let’s say I’m a hobbyist."

There’s always been a big gap in the demand for Healing Masters. Many Elemental Spirits who aren’t Wood Element Spirits, if they possess pharmaceutical talent, can also apply to become hobbyist Healing Masters.

Though they lack Healing Power and purification power, the medicines they produce are quite popular among the people. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"No wonder." Ye Qingting could now confirm that the stew they ate last night definitely mixed in some sedative and sleep-inducing herbs.

Half an hour later, just as Li Xing said, Cui Tianxiao’s appearance returned to normal, except his eyes were reddened, and nobody dared to ask if he had cried.