Chapter 128: Mere Deadly Poison, Why Can't We Eat It?
Plague Island South, 'Survivors' Home'.
As one of the gathering places for survivors on the entire island, this place was essentially a series of man-made caves dug into relatively high ground.
Despite this, the turbid air still carried the scent of spreading poison.
Compared to the outside of Plague Island, the situation here was slightly better, but only slightly.
Inside the cave.
Dozens of figures curled up on tattered cloths that barely passed as beds.
Most were physically disabled or weak. Some had skin covered in pustules, some had twisted joints, and some seemed to have amputated their own legs due to poison erosion—traces of poison spreading could still be seen on the stumps.
"Good... good... cough, cough..."
Deep in the cave, on a relatively dry stone platform, an old man coughed weakly as he spoke.
"Someone came to take you out... that's good..."
He was clearly extremely weak, his body covered in purple toxic spots, breathing with difficulty.
But his cloudy eyes shone with relief.
"The poison hasn't gone deep in you yet. Although there is no antidote for Plague Island's poison, at least... cough... you still have many years to live."
"We originally planned to ask Mr. Issho to take you away after we died—since there's a chance now, you should go quickly."
He said.
"But—Grandpa Milas, everyone..."
Kori's voice was low.
The joy of learning Hitsujii's purpose earlier was washed away by guilt and reluctance.
She looked at everyone in the 'Survivors' Home'.
Including the leader Milas, almost everyone else was a slave thrown here by Celestial Dragons or nobles of World Government affiliated nations.
When she arrived on this island, these people accepted and helped her; otherwise, she would have died somewhere on the island long ago.
"Don't overthink it, Kori."
Milas grinned. "Since Mr. Issho started helping us, our lives have been much better than survivors in previous years. At least we won't die painfully from eating poisonous food when starving... cough..."
"Besides, our bodies have been hollowed out by poison. Leaving is meaningless."
He stated the fact.
Even though that fact was their death.
"Go reunite with your family."
Milas's voice carried a hint of envy.
"But..."
Kori clearly wanted to say more.
But just then...
"Get lost quickly, little girl!"
The man with the amputated leg glared at her. "With you gone, I can get more supplies—why are you saying unnecessary things when you have such a chance?"
"Yeah—if you dare say nonsense about staying, I'll kill you today!"
The cave became noisy instantly.
"This is truly..."
Seeing this, Issho standing at the cave entrance gripped his cane sword tightly.
"How shameful for this old man!"
His voice carried undisguised anger and sorrow.
Parting between life and death is always moving.
"Mr. Issho."
But compared to him, Hitsujii seemed calm.
"I am somewhat curious—why did you become the Guard Captain of the Addi Kingdom's army?"
"And... with your strength, it shouldn't be hard to take them away from here, right?"
He asked.
Hearing this, Issho fell silent for a moment.
Then, he said, "This old man once lost his freedom due to gambling debts."
"The royal family of the Addi Kingdom redeemed this old man through the World Government—this is a debt of gratitude."
"To repay this debt, this old man accepted the World Government's request and became the Guard Captain of the Addi Kingdom's army, ordered to guard this place for two years."
As he spoke, he gritted his teeth.
Clearly—when choosing to repay the debt, he never expected to face such a 'mission'.
Otherwise, he would never have accepted this duty.
Of course, with his character, even if the Addi royal family had done him a favor, he would never have ignored the tragedy on this island originally.
"This old man considered taking them out and settling them down first, then returning to the Addi Kingdom to turn himself in—even if imprisoned again and losing freedom, the debt would be repaid."
Issho looked at the survivors in the cave.
"But they refused."
"Plague Island's poison is extremely potent, almost incurable—when this old man arrived over a year ago, the poison had already entered their organs. So they didn't want to trouble this old man, nor their families."
"They only hoped this old man could bring them some supplies every month."
He said deeply, his voice full of guilt.
From the survivors' request, it wasn't hard to hear that no one wanted to die.
But they had no choice.
Knowing they didn't have much time left, risking offending the World Government and bringing danger to their families to escape—they didn't make that choice.
Speaking, Issho looked at Kori.
"In less than a month, this old man will have fulfilled the agreement."
"If you hadn't arrived—this old man planned to take Kori away after fulfilling the agreement. After she finds her family..."
He gently stroked the sword in his hand.
"This old man... would end everything personally."
Hearing this, Hitsujii understood.
He looked at the people in the cave—his ability told him everyone here wouldn't live past this month.
He knew although Issho was blind, his powerful Observation Haki made his senses sharper than normal people.
The future Admiral must also see that the survivors' time was running out.
"I remember in the original story, Issho indeed served as a Guard Captain for a kingdom, which then perished, with the royal family dead. Issho was imprisoned as the main culprit of the kingdom's destruction."
"He wasn't released until the World Military Draft four years later, promoted to Admiral."
Hitsujii pondered, connecting the dots.
Clearly, the kingdom Issho served in the original story was the 'Addi Kingdom'.
And the reason for that kingdom's destruction... was right before him.
This blind swordsman chose revenge for the people suffering on Plague Island.
Thinking of this, Hitsujii found it somewhat absurd.
The King of Addi Kingdom was truly a genius—assigning someone like Issho to guard this island, eventually causing his own kingdom's demise.
"Your eyes too..."
"Being unable to see is truly a blessing. The filth of this world is unbearable to watch; this old man prefers not to see it."
Issho said calmly.
"Understood."
Hitsujii smiled. "However, Mr. Issho... closing your eyes doesn't make things disappear."
He stood up, patting his clothes.
"If you ask me... rather than not looking at it, why not... change it."
With that, he turned and walked into the cave.
"Everyone, put down those little trinkets in your hands—bread isn't filling."
"I caught quite a bit of game today, just enough to share with everyone."
He pointed to the massive beast corpses he dragged outside the cave.
"..." (xN)
The survivors were speechless. Only Kori whispered hoarsely to Hitsujii, "Lord Hitsujii, I wanted to tell you earlier... the beasts in the 'Miasma Forest' are highly toxic and inedible."
"Not so!"
Before she finished, Hitsujii answered righteously.
"Ashamed to say—I have done some research on poisons."
"Mere deadly poison... harmless."
Kori: "?"
Before she could react.
Hitsujii waved his hand gently.
A small mound suddenly rose where the massive monster corpses lay, pushing them directly in front of the cave.
Before Kori could exclaim, she saw Hitsujii appear beside the corpses.
He reached out and patted the corpses gently.
Next...
VMMM!
Something seemed to flow from his hand—a dark purple liquid.
But the moment the liquid appeared from Hitsujii's hand, it changed constantly.
It gradually became clear and transparent, finally reaching an incredible clarity.
Next, it dripped onto the corpses.
"Hm!?"
Issho seemed to sense something and stood up. "This is..."
Not just him.
Kori and the other survivors saw the changes in the corpses.
The colorful toxic blood flowing on the surface and the purple toxic flesh seeping from the scales changed rapidly.
The blood remained colorful but took on a beautiful hue.
The toxic flesh became radiant, looking incredibly delicious.
At the same time...
"So... so fragrant!"
An indescribable fragrance filled the cave instantly.
It wasn't the scent of any spice or flower, but something sweeter.
Everyone felt that just smelling it, the pain and weakness brought by the poison in their bodies seemed to lessen.
Gulp... Growl...
Swallowing sounds and stomach growls rose one after another.
As mentioned before.
Although Issho helped them, he was a gambler in the past and had little savings.
So the supplies he brought were never very good.
Just then...
They saw Hitsujii raise his hand elegantly.
"Everyone, I came to take Kori away."
"But ashamed to say, I serve as the 'Doctor' and 'Legion Commander' within the organization... I cannot ignore your condition. Besides, I have my own pursuits on this island."
"So please, dine first—after eating and drinking your fill, I will detoxify and heal everyone one by one."
Everyone: "..."
Doctor and Legion Commander?
These two professions didn't seem related at all.
And...
"You said... Detoxify? Heal?"
A quick-witted survivor asked with a trembling voice, catching the key point.
Everyone reacted, looking at Hitsujii incredulously.
Including Kori, who looked at this mysterious powerhouse she met for the first time with anticipation.
Then, they saw Hitsujii nod confidently again.
"I told you."
"Mere incurable deadly poison—just a small problem."
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