A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

Author:Judy I. Lin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

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The rain in Ràohé is not like the drizzling, warm showers that Kang experienced on the coast. The rainy season involves downpours, until everything is soaked through.

Frustratingly, his ability to investigate what the chancellor has been up to in this journey has been hampered from the start. Even though he requested that he accompany the chancellor in his carriage for safety along the roads, Chancellor Zhou dismissed him, saying the wŭlín-shī are more than enough protection. Kang was told there are several more stops the chancellor must complete along the way, which means they will travel separately, and the chancellor will take longer than expected to get to Ràohé, where the Blackwater Battalion is stationed.

So, instead, Kang travels to Ràohé as fast as he can on horseback, determined to give himself as much time as possible in the camp before the chancellor’s arrival. Some way of digging into the purpose behind this mission and finding the cracks that may lead him to what he is fishing for. He does not know whether to be comforted or disturbed by the thought of Official Qiu’s revelations that potential allies are watching him, waiting to see what he will do.

At the camp, Kang is greeted by two captains, who welcome him as the new commander. As he settles into his new quarters, he is surprised by a visit from a grinning Ren, a soldier who took him under his wing when Kang was coming up in the Tiānguān Battalion. He’s accompanied by another familiar face: Badu, whom Kang grew up alongside, both of them half-raised by the soldiers of Kǎiláng.

Even though he is tired and sore and chilled by the damp, Kang sees other familiar faces around the campfires and makeshift stables, and something inside him feels like he has returned home.

The next day he is shown around the camp and briefed on the state of the battalion. Everything appears to be in order. Their supply stores are adequate, the armory well maintained.

But it is in the infirmary that Kang pauses, looking down at the occupants of one corner of the tent.

These people do not seem to be soldiers; he can tell from their smooth skin and delicate hands. They have not been weathered by travel or battle. One has his right leg set in a cast. Another is restrained, his face contorted as if in pain, mumbling nonsense to himself. The third lies still, eyes open and staring up at nothing.

With shock, Kang recognizes the second man. It is Shao, the winner of the competition. Once, confident in his magic. Then, hesitant and quiet before the court. Now, lost somewhere inside his mind.

“What happened to them?” he asks.

A medic approaches with a bow. “Commander. These are shénnóng-shī and shénnóng-tú sent by the chancellor to find the seer who resides in Bǎiniǎo Gorge. We accompanied them as they attempted to use their magic, but the few who returned came back like … this.”

So this is where the practitioners of Shénnóng went after they were rounded up by the palace guards.

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