5 The Poison Master (1/2)
The Old lady's place wasn't much, as to be expected from someone who lived in a forest full of poison.
The old poison master lived in a small wooden hut with a small fence around it. There was a patch of poisonous plants to in one corner of the fence which XieRong knew, if someone touched carelessly, would give them a painful death and if they somehow did take the plants unscathed by the poison, then the poison lady would kill them.
That lady loved her plants and poison much more than she has cared for any other human.
XieRong knocked on the door.
”Master, I've brought lunch!”
”Behind you,” a raspy voice said, from behind her.
XieRong felt as if snakes and spiders had crawled all over her back.
She turned to face the Old poison master.
”This disciple greets master,”she said, bowing at the waist.
”Finally made the escape, I see,” Duqi noted, eying XieRong's bag and sister.
”You don't look surprised that mother didn't make it,” XieRong said emotionlessly, handing over the rabbits.
”Because I knew she wouldn't. She refused my help to remove the poison in her, instead she told me to help you.”
”Mother said her condition was untreatable,” XieRong said, wondering why her mother would lie to her in the letter.
”Oh, it was. I can only cure physical sicknesses, child. The sickness of the mind is beyond me. Your mother was betrayed by the two people she held most dear, one betrayed her because of his greed and the other because of her jealousy. She lost all faith in humans, that's why she left to a place they couldn't follow.”
Duqi took the rabbits from XieRong's hand.
”I will tell you this as your master, you could have done nothing to change your mother's mind. She was a stubborn one and I admire her decision to let you find your path in life. Now take your sister to the stream and wash up. I'll cook the rabbits.”
XieRong couldn't understand her mother's decision nor her master's words completely. Maybe she was too young or maybe she didn't know any better. She couldn't understand why her mother would leave her when she loved her mother so much that she would give up everything for her.
'Maybe, someday I'll understand mother,' XieRong thought as she took her clothes and sister to the small stream by the hut.
”Go wash up with Bai Yueliang. I'll wash up after,” XieRong said, handing her sister her clothes as she stood watch.
”Don't take more than ten minutes,” she instructed, as she sat on a rock nearby.
XieRong was itching to get inside with her sister.
She hadn't not noticed her mother's blood crusted on her arms and clothes, the soil from the graveyard beneath her fingers as she had quickly buried back the corpse of the woman she would no longer require. She felt bile rising up her mouth but quickly tampered it down, steeling her heart.
'All the sacrifices mother has made, I will not let them go to waste.'
”Jie, I'm done.”
XieRong looked up at her little sister.
Her sister was a little beauty like mother, with lustrous brown eyes, dark brown hair and plump red lips, and with the white fawn right next to her she looked like a little fairy out of a picture.
”Come, I'll leave you and Bai Yueliang with the old lady. Let her have a look at both your injuries.”
After XieRong returned to the stream, she started to scrub all the grime off of her. She scrubbed as if she were scrubbing her past way with all the grime, as if she were scrubbing away the boy called Fa Chun.
'No more hiding,' she thought as she donned female clothes. She looked at the bandages she used to wrap her nonexistent breasts with just to feel more secure.
'This time, I'll use you to bind my wounds.'