[After leaving the Southern Barbarian City, on your way to the fourth city, you were met by the royal envoys searching for Huan Du Luolan.]
[You handed her over to them, but Luolan was extremely reluctant. She clung tightly to your clothes, refusing to let go.]
"Uuuu… No! I don't wanna be separated from you! You and Doggy come back to the palace with me, okay? It's really big, it has everything! Let's go back together, okay?"
Like a little koala, Luolan wrapped herself around Kei, bawling uncontrollably. No matter how hard the royal retainers tried to reason with her, she wouldn't listen.
"C'mon, you're the princess of the Southern Kingdom. You'll be queen one day. If people saw you like this, they'd laugh."
"I don't care! I just don't wanna be apart! Then I—I won't go back! I'll go around treating people with you!"
"Princess, please! His Majesty is desperately waiting back at the palace. You must return!"
Three sides—Kei, Luolan, and the royal envoys—argued all at once, no one convincing the other. At last, Kei sighed.
"Alright. Here, take this Same-Tone Cicada. I'll keep one, you keep one. This way we can always talk to each other."
"Look—chirp chirp."
He demonstrated by speaking into one cicada. The other one echoed back his words exactly.
He placed it gently in her hand, then patted her head.
"Be good. Head back. Once I finish traveling the Southern Kingdom, I'll come visit you. We'll see fireworks, eat good food, and explore the town together."
"Promise?"
"No need for pinky swears. My word is my bond."
"Okay. I'll be waiting for you in the palace, Kei-nii. You have to come."
Still gripping the cicada tightly, Luolan reluctantly followed the envoys, turning back every few steps to speak into it:
"Kei-nii, can you hear me? Remember to eat. Don't let Doggy slack off either!"
"Boss, that little girl… I think she's got a crush on you."
"It's just childlike dependence, nothing more. C'mon, let's keep going. I've learned some great new things on this trip."
Kei referred to his research into toxin-point acupuncture and ripple-point acupuncture. With time, maybe he could develop even more techniques.
[Time flashes forward two years. From a wandering healer scorned by all, you became a revered miracle doctor known across the seventy-two demon clans of the Southern Kingdom.]
[In that time, you met countless demons—some kind, some cruel, some who attacked you outright.]
[Through your healing and your battles, you earned your place. Now, the Southern Kingdom has been turned completely on its head by your hands.]
[But upheaval strikes the royal palace. Huan Du Qingtian's demonic power has waned. During his seclusion, he was ambushed. His life and death are unknown.]
[The Five Venoms and Elder Gai have disappeared. Elder Gai claimed illness and stepped down. Outside the palace, the demon clans are stirring.]
[At the border, a mysterious figure with icy blue hair arrives, trying to incite rebellion among the frontier clans.]
[But the first thing he sees upon entering is a clay statue of you—Kei. Oddly, your statue stands on what appears to be a pile of poop.]
"You people hate that human doctor, don't you?"
"Hate? No way! The miracle doctor's our savior. We're grateful, not resentful!"
"Then… why make a statue of him stepping on crap?"
"Crap?" the demon turned and scratched his head. "That's not crap. That's his steed and little brother, Master Ha—a dog."
"A… dog?"
The blue-haired man stared at the yellowish lump. It sure looked like poop.
"It rained a few days ago. It got a little messy. But don't worry—we're fixing it!"
"And the doctor's statue?"
"Oh, that's top-quality! Fireproof, waterproof, poison-resistant. Took us forever to make."
"Then why not use the same stuff for the dog?"
"Heh… we ran out. Spent it all on the doctor. But don't worry, we'll redo Master Ha's statue later."
"…Whatever. Rebellion's set. Full moon night—we storm the palace, topple Huan Du Qingtian!"
"Sounds good! We've been itching to do that!"
Despite his earlier friendliness, the demon's face now twisted with hatred. The harsh life in the borderlands had forged them into fierce warriors.
The blue-haired man turned to leave—then paused at a strange sound: "Help… mmph mmph!"
"What's that?"
"Oh, nothing. Just a dog. No wait, can't insult Master Ha like that. Just some pig-dog beast yelping."
He chuckled.
The stranger moved on. Unbeknownst to him, within a dark cell, the one known as Withered Wood Medicine Immortal cried out:
"Kill me… just kill me already!"
"Kill you? As if! When you poisoned us, did you think of mercy? We lost 128 people—friends, family, children!"
"You'll live—tortured every day for 128 years. Then we'll kill you to honor the dead."
Their eyes held no pity—only fury and vengeance.
"Please, I beg you!"
"Oh right, we should fix up Master Ha's statue. Can't have people mistaking him for poop!"
"Yeah, he saved us! We can't slack off!"
The villagers began draining Withered Wood's blood to feed venomous bugs. The bugs' secretions mixed with clay would soon restore Ha's statue…
[The mysterious man moved on, reaching the Southern Barbarian City. At the gates, the lush green plants took him by surprise.]
[Once inside, he was even more stunned—no poison miasma, and the air was clean and refreshing.]
[Each breath felt like a blessing. He wondered: was it those plants?]
[He found the Barbarian King just as he was preparing to take newborns out for poison baptism.]
"The city's nice and clean now, but don't forget—we live in the Southern Kingdom. Poison is part of life."
"We're going outside. Follow me, and no eating random stuff, got it?"
Despite his name, the Barbarian King was sharp. He believed hardship forged strength.
"Barbarian King, I want to discuss the rebellion."
"I'm not rebelling anymore. Find someone else."
"…What?"
The mysterious man was stunned. The Southern Barbarians were infamous for resisting authority. How had this happened?
"Don't you know? Huan Du Qingtian's dead."
"Rumors. If that old monster were so easy to kill, he'd be dead long ago."
"I did it myself."
He removed his hat, revealing ice-blue hair and blood-red eyes.
"You're… the one who cultivated the Silkworm Toxin-Binding Parasite! Poison's natural enemy… at the cost of hundreds of years of lifespan. Ruthless."
The king narrowed his eyes.
"But even that isn't enough to kill him."
"No. But his powers weaken every cycle. I struck when he was at his weakest—under the guise of the Southern Kingdom's prince."
"An assassination. Fatal strike."
"…Did it work?"
"It should have. But something went wrong. He escaped. Severely wounded, though. No power left. Once we storm the palace and seize the princess, he'll crawl back!"
The prince's gaze burned.
"Princess…"
The king remembered Luolan clinging to Kei. He sighed.
"Why are you only contacting us now? Shouldn't you rally support before a rebellion?"
"Don't ask. Just tell me—are you in or not?"
"…Who else is with you?"
"Frontier clans. Barkfang, Ironhorn, Wildclaw. Still recruiting the rest."
"I'll come watch."
The king said nothing more.
"Fine. Oh, what's with the plants and the giant statue in the square?"
"None of your damn business. Get lost."
The king's demonic aura surged. Muscles bulged. As a Demon King-level figure, he gave the little prince no face.
The prince fumed but left. He needed the king's power.
"Alright, kids! Let's go on an adventure!"
"Yay! Picnic time!"
"I call shotgun!"
"Don't shove!"
"Wow! That's the Human Demon King? So cool! I wanna be a healer too!"
A child riding the king's shoulder stared up at Kei's statue. So strong… and majestic.
[Everywhere the prince went, he saw statues of Kei. Stone, clay, wood—even paintings.]
[In every city, stories of Kei were told. The prince grew more and more frustrated.]
[Outside the palace, the Five Venoms and Elder Gai gathered.]
"You're all just going to watch?" Gai asked.
"What, fight my own son?" said Poison Old Man. "Besides, people have hated Huan Du Qingtian for a long time."
"When he had strength, they obeyed. Now he's weak. Why would anyone follow?"
The others nodded. They wouldn't move against their own blood.
"We follow the royal line," said Poison Lady. "If it were Huan Du Xingzhen or Luolan, we'd support them. But not this outsider."
"I understand," Gai sighed.
A few days later. Full moon night.
The seventy-two clans marched—100,000 strong—gathered at the palace gates.
The Five Venoms, Elder Gai, and royal guards watched from afar.
"OPEN THE GATES!"
With a shout, the massive gates creaked open.
Standing within was… a white husky gnawing on a bone.
"…A dog?"
"It's Ha!"
"…Why are you all staring at me like that? I just snuck a bone from the kitchen. You don't need this kind of formation for that, right?"
Ha blinked… then suddenly froze.
"Awooooo! Boss! We're surrounded!!"
(End of Chapter)
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