Chapter 0052 - The Hard Road ahead

They tried the entire night, searching through books and methods to stall the poison. There was nothing for a while, then while searching through a stack of books on poisonous snakes, they finally saw something promising.

"Ancient Cobra King, they have a similar effect on their bite victims." Master Jiang was sweating, he was tired and the people closest to him were in serious danger, for someone to use the Ancient Cobra King meant that someone big was involved. "No random thug would have access to such a creature and it would have to be living. This bite wound shows it wasn't a stab or slash from a bladed weapon."

"Well, what can we do about the Cobra King's Venom?" Zhan asked Old Man Jiang.

"Ancient.... 'Ancient Cobra King' venom is a completely different matter. I am afraid that without the living snake, we will not get an antidote using alchemy. The only magic that can heal it would be a greater healing spells, the top healers in the Capital can only cast intermediate healing spells and even then." The desperation on the Old Master's face, he was about to throw his hands up when he remembered one of his old friends, he was "I have a solution, but I don't think Ooran will last until then if we leave things as they are. We have to stop or delay the poison but we can only do that by stopping his blood and vitality. That means he's going to be in a state of near death. Zhan you'll have to come with me."

"Can you bleed him and give him my blood?" Zhan tried to help.

"That would only be a temporary fix but could help. You'll be weakened and this journey won't be short. We'd have to make it to the Vertistar Tower in Lunara, my old partner..." Old Man Jiang felt awkward but he was already on his way out of the door. It was a visit he wasn't ready for. The need for help was apparent and no other route existed.

"Whatever it takes, how long will it take to get there?" Zao Zhan was already trying to gather his things to be ready.

Looking at Zao Zhan, Old Man Jiang spoke up, "Five Days. However, will he last that long?" Old man Jiang fondled at his beard and checked Ooran once more, "That will depend on whether or not you run out of blood." Pulling out a magic device, he handed one end of it to Zhan and placed the other on Ooran's chest.

"Once I start to bleed him, your blood will be the source of his vitality. You will feel the drain. It won't be comfortable and you could die if you run out. I will be feeding you herbs to keep the blood loss down but the effects will only last for about a week. If we're unable to make it to the Tower, we will lose you both. Are you clear about what is to come?" Old Man Jiang could not stop what he was doing and looked at Zao Zhan with sincerity before he nodded, and slit the the artery under Ooran's Bicep.

"Ah!" Zhan let out a bellow and then quieted himself, now was not the time.

"Lei, help move your Father into the cart, Zhan and I are leaving right now. The less people we have, the Faster I can travel so, please, wish us luck." Slapping the reins on the Cart, the contraption moved at a very fast speed. Zhan's Firewolf followed by its side.

"Mother!?" Lei looked at Calistown and started to cry, "Brother and Father.." Crying uncontrollably, she collapsed to her knees on the floor. "M...Mo..mmmMaammaa ahhh ahhh"

Holding Lei tightly, Zao Calistown knelt down and wiped the tears from her daughters face, "Come, let us go pray for their safe return."

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Sitting inside the cart, Zao Zhan couldn't feel the bumps on the road after a while. He just concentrated on keeping his Father alive and emptying the expelled blood from the basin as they covered the landscape. Zhan had never worried about his Father like this before, when he was injured last time, it had been Wu Hai that saved his life. It fell on his shoulders to be responsible for the the family while Ooran was incapacitated. "Father, don't die on me, You don't even know, Rachael is pregnant.. you better Live. My Child will need a Grandfather."

Crushing the herbs in the measurements that Old Man Jiang had directed, Zhan made his use of his free hand to mix the medicines. He watched diligently to make sure his Father still breathing, paying close attention to see the slightest change. He would never forgive himself if he lost his vigilance. Choking down the noxious mixture, he could feel this body producing a lot of blood. His heart pounded and he had a headache that was steadily on the rise.

The medicine thundered in his head, making it hard to think. "Father, Don't die." Zhan kept repeating to himself. This effort's didn't go unnoticed and he was working himself up into a panic.

"Don't be such a child, keep your mind calm and focus or all this will be for nothing." Old Man Jiang's voice rang out again and Zhan snapped out of it. "You must not wither and die on me either, your Brother would never complain." It was a lie, Wu Hai would have complained the entire time but Master Jiang wanted Zhan to perk up and soldier through the struggle. There was no value in wallowing, he had to overcome the hardships life threw at him or die trying.

"Thank you." Refocusing his efforts, the tears stopped and his nerves steeled. Zhan's body was sore and his head was ringing uncontrollably but he had to persist.

Every moment was taxing, he could not afford accidents. The trip was going to be a hard journey, the nights were also going to be problematic but Zhan was use to long training. If it meant saving his Father, a week of traveling without sleep was worth it no matter the danger.

The first night of travel, it rained, the ground was dry and hard packed. Water shed into small creeks by the roadsides and thunder filled the air. Sparks of Lightning were visible in the distance and the humidity was leaving everything wet.

The deluge of water made travel difficult on a few hills. Each time they would come to an impasse, Master Jiang would build a small bridge over the obstacles. There was no time to waste and abhorrent weather or not, they had to continue onward.

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