In a world of dark haze Jinhai's consciousness floated without a destination. It continued to do that for who knows how long, until a prickling smell hit him even his soul shaken as he immediately awoke with a start.
"Gaahhh....
"Jinhai, you're finally awake!"
As soon as he awoke he felt a hand on his shoulder preventing him from falling over from suddenly getting up.
"Uhhh..... where is....."rambled Jinhai for a second, but after his brain completely cleared he turned his head to see Nie, the only peer he considered to be mature and open enough to talk to. Consequently, because Nie was the one and only son of the village physician , he was far ahead the other kids his age and only Jinhai could somewhat keep up with him.
"Hah...hahh....Nie....water..." said Jinhai as a burrowing thirst destroyed him, and Nie obliged as he handed him a cup of water which Jinhai dawned immediately. The slight metallic and earthy taste of the water didn't even register , and the only thing that remained was the orgasmic feeling of refreshment.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa......
...........
After getting his bearings Jinhai finally decided to ask Nie what was happening, and was shocked to know that he had been out for more than two days.
"Two days....you're not joking with me, right?" asked Jinhai in an amused tone , but the serious face of Nie made him lower his head "So it's true then. After I was bit by this Blue Fang snake, I almost died....
"Correct." interrupted Nie as he handed Jinhai a cup of hot tea " You were very lucky that you survived. Even a bull may die if he was bit by such a snake, let alone a man. Still, it's not over yet...."
Hearing those words Jinhai's eyes narrowed and he moved his gaze towards the place the snake bit him. The wound's weren't bleeding anymore , but he also couldn't feel much pain from it either. Surprisingly he even felt energized even though he hadn't eaten a proper meal in two days.
" It's strange right....even though you should be bedridden, you are full of energy at the moment" said Nie as he observed Jinhai's actions, and before he could answer Nie brought a book from a small bookshelf not far away. He then opened it to a page of a strange drawing of a human with numerous points and lines on his body and pointed at the drawings arm.
"Jinhai, this one here is a rough diagram of the Qi points and Meridians of the human body. Some of them are Yang in nature and some are Yin in nature , but all these Meridians form the pathway for the Vital Qi to flow through. The Blue Fang snake bit you directly where one of the main Yang Qi Meridians passes through , and a huge amount of Yin Qi was transferred in it."
"And....." said Jinhai as he focused on the drawing in front of him. It reminded him of the acupuncture points in his world, but he couldn't determine if they corresponded with each other.
"And fortunately because of that, the Yin poison didn't cause much damage. Though, because of the sudden increase of Yin Qi your body had tapped into it's reserves of Yang Qi to balance it and so you may experience a heightened sense of power, heightened mood, and uhh....some irregular libido....
"What... did you say.....
"Uhhh...... just don't overexert yourself and don't worry about your medical expenses. Father will make a good penny when he sells the body of the snake to those alchemist. I'll also make sure you get some coins from it."
Jinhai understood that something was stopping Nie from talking about the situation from the look on his face so didn't press on. "Fine....I see that you are somewhat unwilling to talk for long, but I'll need more of an explanation ."
Nie didn't answer and just nodded his head. With that Jinhai finally left , though with unsteady steps and a sore arm, and he finally arrived home where he was pampered for the next week.
..........
After the talk of Jinhai being bitten by the Blue Fang snake spread through the village and to the next, the villagers became panicked drawing water from their wells. It was said that the Blue Fang snake had gotten into the well by traveling through some of the underground rivers that fueled the wells in this area, but it wasn't confirmed. Still, even with the big commotion the villagers went back to doing what they always did , and Jinhai also went back to doing his menial labor in the village; taking care of the pigs, tending to the land and so on, but he had something to show for the pain he had suffered.
In a dying tree just at the outer edge of the village, on a hidden spot beneath the roots of the tree Jinhai dug up a small wooden box wrapped in a piece of cloth. He slowly unwrapped it and opened the box to reveal a small porcelain bottle. As he saw it Jinhai's eyes narrowed and he smiled, not because he found something funny, but because of the value of the thing in front of him. Inside the small porcelain bottle was the blood core of the Blue Fang snake that he had killed and Nie had secretly harvested.
Such core was not common and was mostly found in beast that were about to enter the 1st realm of cultivation, but it would appear in a small percentage in weaker animals of Yin nature like the Blue Fang snake. It was definitely a lot smaller than a 1st realm one , but it was still a dense source of Yang Qi.
"My precious...." muttered Jinhai as he imagined it's value.
