Chapter 215: Soulrot Toxin
While he was still reeling from the shocking discovery, the drone insect shot towards the juxtaposed bodies like a bullet, the odd urge in its mind growing more and more powerful.
A second later, the insect landed on Mu Ran's feet where his blanket hadn't been able to cover him fully.
A second creature was sitting there, humming to itself. The drone landing beside it didn't seem to alarm this creature. With a start, Han Xuhan realized that this creature was actually a mosquito, and as he compared its characteristics with his own body, he guessed that the drone he was possessing right now too was a mosquito.
But why did an arthropod like this have such a clear, humanlike vision? And why did it perceive two people lying still below it, inside the blanket?
As the secrets revealed in these memory sequences expanded in scale, Han Xuhan's confusion grew explosively.
The drone mosquito shook its head and leaned downward, its mouth reaching the surface of Mu Ran's skin. Han Xuhan couldn't see any sucker protruding from his current body, but he felt an odd sensation around the oral orifice.
The sensation spread deeper into his body, reaching his stomach. And then...
QUUUUAAACK!
The sound the drone emitted was faint, but the outcome of the sound was unforgettable for Xuhan, because his entire body fell into a seizure as a pile of gooey substance crawled out of his mouth, dropping on Mu Ran's skin.
The drone was vomiting!
With a close inspection, he realized that this tiny drop of grey fluid was immediately beginning to seep into Mu Ran's skin.
QUUUAACK! QUUUAAACK!
As the vomit-inducing seizures repeated themselves, Han Xuhan's mind fell into disarray.
He knew what type of mosquito he was possessing indirectly right now.
This was a mutated disaster from the Mosquito Apocalypse Era!
Almost sixty years ago, the remnant mosquitoes of the apocalypse had been hunted down and exterminated by the coalition of innumerable sects all over the planet.
Historical records spoke of dozens of types of mutated mosquitoes that had once terrorized the human civilization for almost a decade.
The one which he was possessing right now was one of the most common species of that era-- the Soulrot Scourge!
The fluid it had just vomited out on Mu Ran's skin was the mutation that made it so dangerous. This liquid contained a poison that directly attacked the soul, corroding it slowly until the victim lost his sanity, turning into a rabid creature that would attack every living being it saw.
And that wasn't the end of the horror. If enough poison managed to seep into the body of the victim, then his soul would experience a complete breakdown, and the Soulrot mosquitos nearby would begin to suck out these broken units of his soul by reabsorbing the fluid. This was their sustenance.
This process allowed a small number of mosquitoes to gain sentience through the absorption of the soul-shards!
It is needless to say how terrifying this mutation was.
Shock after shock after shock seemed to have numbed Xuhan's brain.
He could only watch as the poisonous fluid was slowly absorbed into Mu Ran's skin. His current vision could still see the two superimposed silhouettes shuddering inside Mu Ran's body.
Suddenly, one of the silhouettes jerked violently, and Mu Ran's body jumped up with a muffled scream.
"Ghhhhh! Soul toxin! How dare you!"
Flailing his limbs wildly, the young Mu Ran stood up on the bed, looking around furiously.
"Old hag, just because I avoid you, it doesn't mean this prince is afraid of you! You want to play dirty? You can't imagine the price you must pay! I'LL FUCKING OBLITERATE YOUR SOUL!"
The loud howl in the night went unanswered. Mu Ran massaged the area of his foot where the Soulrot Mosquito had 'bitten' him. But the mosquito had long flown off his body, buzzing around a corner of the room cautiously.
Through its eyes, Han Xuhan watched Mu Ran calm down as the violently shivering silhouette inside him became somewhat stable.
"That bitch should understand that I'll know she's behind this...it might not be her. But who else..."
Mumbling inaudibly, Mu Ran examined the poisoned area and contemplated the situation.
A long time passed in silence. Han Xuhan, or more accurately, the mosquito he was possessing, slowly gained enough courage to fly closer and closer, spinning in circles around its target.
As it came within a couple feets near him, he heard Mu Ran mumbling to himself.
"No! We need to establish a rule. Even if you suffer attacks targeting our souls, you cannot just come out howling like that!"
"That hag clearly knows something about us. She used this toxin attack to test us! Stop overreacting. She wouldn't see anything more than what we allow her to see."
"But if she manages to guess your identity-"
"Without solid proof, what can she accuse us of? Not even the Celestials can separate us unless we wish to. It's not as if she's the first to notice me! And she's too weak right now to do anything about it!"
"How long will she stay weak? Someone like her must have connections.."
"She'd have used them ages ago if she could. By the time she recovers, she won't be able to reach us."
"But I don't want to join any sect!"
"I do! We have to! There's no other choice! When she recovers, she won't spare us! Not to mention, the abomination inside the Holy Land of Laws is still growing! Only a sect can provide us with enough resources and backing to deal with all of our problems!"
"If she knows our plan to leave, she'll try to stop us."
"Don't forget which sect we have chosen. She can not even touch us! We are under that old fart's protection."
"...So do we just let this slide? Ignore the toxin?"
"The toxin harms your human soul, not me. I'll suppress it within a week. Just bear with the pain."
"So long?!"
"Don't complain to me! I wasn't the one who poisoned you. When you're this weak, so defenseless, you have to grit your teeth and bear some injustice! Do you think I wanted to reveal my family's Destiny Robbing Scripture to humans after so many millennia of secrecy? Some sacrifices have to be made for the greater goo-"
The whispers suddenly came to a stop.
SPLAAT!
Han Xuhan didn't know what happened, but the familiar clapping sound was enough to guess.
The mosquito had been discovered and killed, despite the cover of the darkness.
The foreign stream of data flooding his mind disappeared, returning Xuhan's consciousness back inside his own body.
The tentacle over his head slackened, returning to its owner.
Lady Caizhi returned his imperious stare.
"So my martial brother has a second personality, or something like a soul inside his body. Big deal!"
It took an impressive amount of effort to keep his voice calm and disinterested. Even Lady Caizhi looked impressed, her mouth opening and closing like a fish struggling to breathe outside water.
"For a second, you nearly convinced me that Mu Ran has already revealed this secret to you. Your composure is enviable, youngling."
Han Xuhan shrugged noncommittally, neither confirming nor denying her suspicion.
"But on second thought, I think you just don't realize the full gravity of what you've witnessed. It is understandable, given your age and lack of experience. I'll help you comprehend the most crucial one, though. It should bring some change to that attitude."
Lady Caizhi smiled gently, sending chills down his spine.
"Soulrot toxin doesn't take a week to suppress, especially if a powerful soul can assist the afflicted soul. It can be eliminated within an hour."