Chapter 308 Heartbreak Grass
After listening to Zhou Sihai, he pondered for a moment and then looked at her: "You said that the poisoned person's body did not decompose for more than 20 years, and that there were purple spots on his lips and arms, and a red line on each fingernail?"
Kong Wange nodded: "That's right. What's even stranger is that I've checked a lot of information and haven't seen any records of related poisoning symptoms, but judging from her physical characteristics, I'm sure she's been poisoned."
After thinking for a while, Zhou Sihai suddenly said, "You guys wait here."
After saying that, he hurriedly got up and ran out, leaving Kong Wange and Zhou Qiao looking at each other in bewilderment.
Kong Wange watched the old man's figure quickly disappear into the night: "Qiaoqiao, what's wrong with your grandfather...?"
"Sister Kong, he must have gone to check medical books. There's a secret room in his room that's full of books about using and making poisons. Even the Imperial Academy's library might not have as many as my grandfather's. Don't worry, with my grandfather involved, it'll definitely work!" Zhou Qiao's tone was a little proud.
Kong Wange nodded: "I know. If even your grandfather didn't know about this poison, then probably no one else could tell."
A moment later, Zhou Sihai ran in again with a small, yellowed booklet that was almost entirely covered in tattered pages, saying excitedly, "Ha, I found it! I remember seeing it before."
Kong Wange looked at the old man, her heart suddenly tightening: "You know what kind of poison it is?"
Zhou Sihai sat down again, snorted, and spread the booklet in front of Kong Wange: "Read it yourself."
Kong Wange and Zhou Qiao looked at the book together.
Zhou Qiao exclaimed "Ah!" and then cried, "Grandpa, what is this? We can't understand the words on it!"
Kong Wange was also a little embarrassed. There were indeed some words on it, but they looked like scribbles and were no different from a foreign language to her.
The old man rolled his eyes at the two of them and said, "Idiot!"
He then picked up the book and explained to them, “This is written in the Kucha language. This book records an ancient poison that is basically the same as the one you just described to me. The name of this ancient poison is called ‘One Line Red,’ and it is extremely strange.”
“Those who are poisoned by this poison will initially show no signs. It will only become apparent after forty-nine days. By then, the poison has already invaded the heart and meridians, and there is no cure. When the poison takes effect, the person will suffer extreme pain, and no one can survive a single day.”
"As for the characteristics of the poison, they will gradually appear through the surface seven days after the person dies. In addition to the appearance of purple spots on the lips and body, the most obvious feature is that a red line will appear on the fingernails, which is also the origin of the name of this poison."
"However, based on your description, it seems that in addition to these characteristics, the bodies of those who have been poisoned can also remain intact for a long time without decaying, which is quite strange."
As Kong Wange listened to Zhou Sihai say these things, she couldn't help but feel a chill.
The words "the person will suffer extreme pain when the poison takes effect" hit her temples like a sledgehammer, making her head buzz.
Is it because of this extreme pain that everyone thought the mother died in childbirth, and no one knew that she was poisoned at the time of delivery?
If your mother gave birth to you while she was suffering from the poison, what kind of torment would she have endured?
For ordinary people, production is difficult enough, let alone being poisoned...
Kong Wange felt a little short of breath, but forced herself to ask, "Is this poison difficult to cure?"
"Anyway, I can't cure it." Zhou Sihai didn't notice Kong Wange's abnormality. He was completely absorbed in the strange poison and talked at length. "I have read thousands of books on poisons. I have only seen records of this poison in this book. As for the antidote, I have never heard of it. However, although there is no antidote, this book does record the formula for this poison."
Kong Wange's voice tightened as she asked, "What's the recipe?"
“Red Lady Insect, Raw Gamboge, Arisaema, Toad Venom…” Zhou Sihai said them one by one, and couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement: “As expected of an ancient poison, the combination of these toxins is truly exquisite. Even if I followed the formula to develop the poison, I might not be able to succeed. The person who developed this poison is even more capable than me… Oh, and there’s also the Hundred-Year Heartbreak Grass. This hundred-year-old poisonous grass is not easy to find. I’m afraid only my Hundred Herbs Hall can have it in the world.”
As he spoke, he suddenly realized something and looked up at Kong Wange with a puzzled expression: "Little girl, you said the person who was poisoned was your friend. Who did you offend that would dare to do such a vicious thing?"
Kong Wange's face turned a little pale, and she pursed her lips and said in a low voice, "I don't know, I'm still investigating."
Seeing this, Zhou Qiao felt extremely distressed and stepped forward to put her arm around Kong Wange's shoulder: "Sister Kong, don't be sad. Now that we know what kind of poison it is, as long as we work hard, we can definitely find the culprit who poisoned us, and then we will punish him properly!"
Kong Wange hummed in agreement, then suddenly a thought struck her and she said, "Uncle Zhou, you just said that one of the ingredients in that poison formula is 'heartbreak grass,' and that ingredient can only be obtained from Baicaotang?"
"Although the heartbreak grass is not a rare thing, a hundred-year-old heartbreak grass is indeed rare. In my early years, I traveled all over the country and tried to collect this high-age herb, but it was really too difficult. I searched for several years and only found a fifty-year-old heartbreak grass. Later, I entered the Imperial Academy to take charge of the Hundred Herbs Hall. It was then that I discovered that the heartbreak grass collected in the Hundred Herbs Hall was actually a hundred years old. If it weren't for the fact that it is a century-old academy, it would still have some merit."
Kong Wange's heart stirred slightly, and she grabbed Zhou Sihai's wrist: "Uncle Zhou, do you still have the Heartbreak Grass from Baicaotang?"
Zhou Sihai realized what was going on immediately: "Little girl, you mean the 'One Line Red' in your friend's drink was made from the 'Heartbreak Grass' from Baicaotang?"
Kong Wange nodded: "We can't rule out that possibility. After all, the Heartbreak Grass is a poisonous herb. The teachers and students of the Imperial Academy study traditional Chinese medicine. Except for a few special cases, they would not use a hundred-year-old Heartbreak Grass. If someone took the Heartbreak Grass from the Hundred Herbs Hall, then even if that person is not the one who poisoned it, there is still a big problem. Maybe we can find some clues from him."
Zhou Sihai pondered for a moment and said, "Ghost girl, what you said makes sense, but the Imperial Academy has a history of hundreds of years, while I have only been at the Hundred Herbs Hall for a little over ten years. I really don't know how many centuries-old Heartbreak Grasses the Hundred Herbs Hall has, or who took them."
Zhou Qiao interjected, "Grandpa, how could you not know? Every time someone comes to Baicaotang to pick up medicine, they have to fill out a form and keep a record. We can just go to the archives and check the records to find out."
On Thursday, Zhou Qiao glared at him with displeasure: "Qiao'er, let me tell you, you can't do whatever you want. There are rules in the hospital. Not just anyone can enter the archives of Baicaotang unless they have the dean's order."
Kong Wange pleaded, "Uncle Zhou, I don't need the credits, I just want you to do me this favor. I promise I won't look through any irrelevant files, I'll just take a quick look at the records of taking the Heartbreak Grass. Once I find it, I'll come out immediately and won't reveal a single thing to anyone. I absolutely won't implicate you."
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