Chapter 35
Chapter 35
“Toad Venom? Toad Venom?”
“An ancient ferocious beast? A Ten-Thousand-Year Flesh Fungus?”
Outside the box, Qin Ying was stunned by Wang Chang’s words.
No matter how she looked at it, the ferocious beast described by that loud-mouthed brute in the box matched the common toad she knew perfectly.
However, Wang Chang was crying so desperately that she began to lose her own confidence.
Seeing Han Lie preparing to seek medicine from the wealthy households, Qin Ying figured she should prepare a backup plan.
It was four in the afternoon, so there was still time.
Qin Ying looked up the phone numbers for the local Chinese medicine clinics and hospitals, calling them one by one.
She thought it would take some effort, but the first call went through immediately. Upon inquiry, she learned that the pharmacy had Toad Venom Pills in stock.
Qin Ying was delighted and immediately changed her clothes, getting ready to head out.
Just as she stepped out the door, she ran into Granny Shi.
“Where are you going?” Granny Shi asked. “Come on, let’s go to my place for dinner.”
Qin Ying greeted her and gave an apologetic smile. “I can’t make it today. I need to go out right away to buy something very urgent.”
“What is it?” Granny Shi asked instinctively.
While locking her door, Qin Ying replied, “I’m going to the Chinese medicine pharmacy to buy some Toad Venom.”
“What are you buying that stuff for?” Granny Shi took her phone out of her pocket and asked.
“It’s for an emergency!” Qin Ying brushed it off with a smile. “I’m heading out now!”
She had barely taken half a step when Granny Shi grabbed her.
“Don’t panic!”
“Does a little thing like this really require you to run there yourself?”
Granny Shi looked at Qin Ying with a helpless expression. “I have connections. Wait while I ask around.”
With that, without waiting for Qin Ying to object, she squinted at her phone and began fiddling with it.
She quickly got through to someone.
“Hello, Old Wang? It’s me. Didn’t I hear last time that your son got scammed into opening a toad breeding base?”
Granny Shi held her old-fashioned phone, her voice loud enough for half the street to hear.
Qin Ying had been about to leave, but hearing the word ‘toad,’ she leaned in closer with a look of joy.
Granny Shi gave her a reassuring pat.
“What do you mean I’m poking at your sore spot? You’re the one who said it yourself at the mahjong table!”
“Cut the nonsense. Ask your son if he has any Toad Venom on hand. I need to buy some for an emergency!”
“Aren’t I looking out for your family business here?”
Hearing that there was a deal to be made, Old Wang on the other end of the line stopped complaining.
“Good, good. Get in touch quickly and get back to me within three minutes! And don’t you dare try to fool me. Try selling me fake goods and see what happens!”
After the call, Granny Shi coolly pressed the end button on the screen.
“Wait three minutes!”
Qin Ying said admiringly from the side, “Granny Shi, your connections are as wide as ever!”
Granny Shi gave a modest smile.
Only two minutes passed before the phone rang back.
Granny Shi picked up and spoke a few words to the other party before covering the receiver to ask Qin Ying, “What form of Toad Venom do you want?”
“Pills? Do you want Freeze-dried Powder too?”
Qin Ying thought for a moment. “A bit of both.”
Granny Shi haggled for a bit over the phone.
In the end, Qin Ying transferred 360 yuan via WeChat, and the other party agreed to deliver it to her door.
They must have really valued the business, because in less than ten minutes, the Toad Venom seller arrived on an electric scooter.
Handing over a plastic bag, the honest-looking middle-aged man said before leaving, “This is definitely the real deal, top-quality stuff. If it works well, please keep us in mind!”
Qin Ying agreed with a smile and scanned the contents of the plastic bag.
Inside were small bags of Toad Venom Pills and Freeze-dried Powder.
Perhaps to prove that their goods were genuine, they had even included two extra Dried Toads.
The roughly processed Dried Toads were shriveled and parched, looking as if they had died with their eyes wide open to the sky.
The sight was exceptionally gruesome.
Having obtained what she came for, Qin Ying didn’t linger. She sincerely thanked Granny Shi.
Granny Shi waved her off, telling her to hurry along. She then returned to her gossip, having already agreed to a marathon mahjong session that would last through the night.
From the moment Qin Ying stepped out her door to the moment she secured the Toad Venom, less than twenty minutes had passed.
Granny Shi was truly an unsung hero.
Carrying the Toad Venom, Qin Ying approached the box.
The scene inside had changed again.
After leaving Yunwu County City, the perspective had shifted to a high-altitude bird’s-eye view. The desolate land, ravaged by a long drought, was riddled with deep cracks. The afternoon sun pierced through the clouds, pouring down at a nearly vertical angle, coating the entire landscape in a layer of shimmering gold.
A sprawling, city-like fortified settlement sat amidst the wasteland.
“Is this a fortress?”
Qin Ying leaned over the edge of the box.
The Great Xia was remarkably similar to the Han Dynasty of her own history. Commoners lived in houses with a central hall and two inner rooms, equipped with kitchens and built from yellow earth and thatch, though bricks and tiles were also used. The slightly wealthier families expanded their residences into three-entry courtyards shaped like a sun character.
These homes featured wells in the front, latrines in the back, corridors on both sides, and small watchtowers.
Local magnates, however, lived in clustered settlements known as fortified manors. These featured high walls, square corner towers topped with watchtowers and archery turrets, and were stocked with ample food, water, private militias, and weapons. No matter how chaotic the outside world became, these wealthy clans could remain safe within their fortresses until their food supplies were exhausted.
Qin Ying was fascinated by this new architectural structure. She wanted to see more-the interior decorations, the daily lives of the people, their food, their habits… she wanted to see everything!
Qin Ying widened her eyes, trying to zoom in on the image. She tried several angles and even fiddled with the box itself, but she couldn’t get what she wanted. Her perspective remained suspended high in the clouds.
Finally, she sighed at the sprawling complex inside the box.
Just as she was feeling discouraged, the image suddenly zoomed in rapidly on a single point. In the blink of an eye, Qin Ying could see the top of Han Lie’s head again.
“Did it add a zoom function?” she muttered to herself.
Qin Ying originally intended to tell Han Lie that she had found the Toad Venom. But on second thought, if the medicine was wrong, wouldn’t she be risking a life? She decided to hold back for now and observe Han Lie’s attempt to request the medicine.
She heard a voice from the box ask, “Squad Leader Han, what is the meaning of this visit?”
Looking closely, several people were standing atop the walls of the Duan Family Fortress. There were young and old alike; though their facial details were blurry, it was clear their complexions were fair and healthy. They were a world apart from the starving refugees Qin Ying had seen in Yunwu County City.
Scions of a great clan…
Qin Ying let out a scoffing laugh. The contrast was jarring.
Her sudden laughter caused Han Lie, standing before the Duan Family Fortress, to startle for a moment. Was the Supreme Deity watching him again?
Seeing that he was about to bow, Qin Ying said, “Just act like I’m not here. Be natural. Don’t act strangely.”
If possible, Qin Ying preferred to observe the most natural way of life for the people in the World in the Box.
Hearing this, Han Lie immediately composed himself and looked up at the people and their militia on the walls of the Duan Family Fortress.
“I mean no harm! I have simply heard that the Duan family raises Ear Rats, and I have come to request one to save a life!”
As soon as Han Lie finished speaking, he heard Qin Ying laugh again.
“Good tactics.”
Chief Clerk Li wasn’t certain the Duan family had an Ear Rat; Han Lie only claimed they did to test them.
Sure enough, a suspicious voice drifted down from the other side: “Who told you that?”
They really do have one!
Qin Ying propped her cheek on her hand and smiled as she heard Han Lie let out a long sigh of relief.