Monster (5)
A great tree cast a patch of shade, and a cluster of old men with sleeves rolled up sat panting and fanning themselves. The brilliant midday sunlight was blocked, and as a breeze rustled through, the scent of damp earth from the rice paddies gently crept in.
"Waaaaah...!"
The Poison Human behaved like someone who had just leaped into the middle of a landscape painting. Her eyes sparkled as if she were seeing the colors of nature for the first time, and she could not stop exclaiming in wonder at the sight of people. To her, it must have been an utterly astonishing and wondrous experience. After all, even I was left speechless by how lovely this rural village was — the first countryside scenery she had ever seen after emerging from underground.
"...It's amazing... Everything is amazing. The way people look is amazing, and this tree is amazing too...!"
Of course, to the villagers who knew nothing of her circumstances, the Poison Human's enthusiastic exclamations apparently came across as though she were treating them as some kind of amusement. An old man seated in the broadest spot on the wooden floor clicked his tongue with clear discomfort, and several other elders stole glances at her even as they played their game of Go.
If things continued this way, her reputation would plummet. I deliberately stroked her head and raised my voice.
"Is it that wondrous to you? Well, since you were unable to leave the underground until now, it stands to reason that the trees and people would all seem wondrous. However, you must not point your finger at the elders like that, nor remark that people are strange to look at. There, now. Let us offer an apology to the elders."
Upon hearing my words, the Poison Human realized she had unconsciously been pointing at the elders. Her face flushed red as she glanced between me, her own finger, and the elders watching her, then bowed her head deeply.
"I-I'm sorry!"
Then the same people who had been scowling at her moments before wore awkward expressions and offered their own apologies, full of remorse.
"Oh my, no, no. Not at all."
"It's all right. If she couldn't go outside, well, such things can happen."
The atmosphere indeed improved. It seemed that what I needed to teach her was not just sexual positions or dietary regimens, but also basic etiquette and common sense. The weather was fine, so we decided to have lunch nearby.
*****
The rural inn near Chengdu was tidy despite its modest size, and the establishment knew how to prepare dishes using reasonably high-grade ingredients. The man who greeted me, introducing himself as the head chef, had apparently once worked at a large inn in Chengdu proper and was now running this place as a pastime after retirement.
"This young lady here has not had proper meals for a very long time. I would ask for dishes that will not upset her system."
"Has she been undergoing closed-door training?"
"Something of the sort."
Ever since our escape from the underground chamber, one of the things I worried about most regarding the Poison Human was food. Apart from the first few years, her internal organs had been digesting poison rather than sustenance. After nearly ten years of consuming nothing but poison, could her internal organs still be functioning properly? Could she even digest food?
From the very first time I procured food for her to this very moment, the Poison Human's eyes sparkled, she drooled, and she awkwardly grasped her chopsticks, trying to stab at her food like a child. Seeing her about to commit another uncouth act, I gently took hold of her hand.
"There, now. Did I not tell you to hold them like this?"
When I helped her grasp the chopsticks in the correct manner, the Poison Human — who had looked ready to lift the bowl and shovel food into her mouth at any moment — widened her eyes, stiffened, and meekly shrank back into a demure posture.
"Th-thank you for the food."
As it turned out, she had no problem eating at all. Despite her entire body being steeped in poison, she merely felt a slight sense of strangeness when eating at first, and her bodily functions quickly returned to normal.
However, becoming a Poison Human had created certain differences from other humans. Whereas an ordinary person who ate food would use the nutrients as energy for moving the body, the Poison Human spent roughly half of her nutrients generating fresh poison within her body. I could not fathom the principle behind it, but it appeared that the process of ingesting poison and then extracting poison from her own body had given rise to something like a venom gland.
"Delicious!"
"Ah, one more bowl over here, please."
"But you specifically asked for food that wouldn't upset her system..."
"I did not ask you to give her little."
"...."
Thanks to this, the Poison Human's food intake was greater than I expected. I could not tell whether it was because she had failed to eat properly for several years, or because her body now housed an additional organ that consumed nutrients and instinctively craved more food to fuel it.
But watching her happily wolf down her food, I could not help a satisfied smile from spreading across my own face.
"There, now. Don't spill it. Eat slowly. No one is going to snatch it away."
"Mister. The food here is so delicious."
"Uhahahahahaha!"
The head chef behind me let out a booming laugh. He seemed quite pleased that his cooking was being praised.
*******
The road from Sichuan to Shaanxi was long. I could not simply spend the whole journey sightseeing and idling about. The Poison Human was still unskilled in controlling her poison, and when her emotions ran high, she would sometimes spray poison in all directions or use it without even realizing.
Moreover, there was much she needed to learn. And so, when the sun set, we studied and trained.
"Mister. Do I really have to learn to read and write? I don't need to know stuff like that."
"If I happened to go on a distant business trip and you fell ill or a great trouble befell the household, would you not need to write a letter?"
"...Well, yes, but still."
First, she learned her letters. She had neglected her studies for ten years, yet perhaps Tang Clan blood would always be Tang Clan blood. Contradicting her dislike of studying, she absorbed the material the moment it was taught, which suggested that innate intelligence was, after all, largely a matter of birth.
"I've finished today's work."
"All right, then, read this aloud once. How do you read this?"
"Hak-i-si-seup-ji bul-yeok-yeol-ho. To learn and to practice from time to time, is that not a joy?"
"You are doing splendidly. Then let us end today's literary studies here. Now, let us move on to poison training."
"Yes."
At the words "poison training," the Poison Human shut her book and scurried before me — tot-tot-tot. She stood before me with rapid little steps, assumed her stance, and regulated her breathing. As I sensed her energy grow calm, her complexion faintly tinged with purple before returning to its normal state.
"Like that — you must repeat the process of drawing the poison inward and containing it, rather than releasing it beyond your skin."
Poison training was a discipline of tempering the body so that one could control poison under any circumstances. At present, whenever the Poison Human's emotions ran high or she grew excited, she would frequently emit poison through her skin without meaning to, nearly causing disasters.
In fact, even at the Tang Clan estate, she had merely swung her hand to threaten them, but when the warriors rushed at her, she herself had become frightened and scattered a poisonous mist in all directions. Power one could not control was dangerous. How wretched and lamentable it was to possess immense strength yet be unable to wield it properly, leading only to ruin.
"Mister... h-how are we going to train this time?"
"Until now, it has been nothing more than enduring with your own strength alone. But starting today, I am going to interfere — very slowly. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I-interfere?"
Since I possessed the technique to forcibly expel poison from within, there was no one else but me who could do this. Yet the Poison Human seemed even more frightened by the word "interfere" and the implication of my close proximity. Her body trembled, and her face, which had returned to its normal complexion, began to take on a purple tinge once more. Without any agitation, I spoke in a gentle tone.
"Do not be too afraid. Would I ever do anything dangerous? I know that you worry for me and hold me dear, so I will make no unreasonable demands."
"Th-then wh-what kind of interference will it be? M-mister?"
It was a face that seemed oddly expectant, yet fearful at the same time. I lightly ran my fingers over her head in a caress.
"Hng...!"
The Poison Human started in surprise and let out a strange, adorable sound. Her body gave a jolting shudder, and even the hair on her head seemed to stand on end. Goosebumps were visibly prickling across the surface of her skin. I gently stroked her arm and spoke.
"I will begin with a light touch like this, a gentle caress. You must keep your eyes tightly shut, endure it, and control your emotions. Do you understand?"
Of course, in the beginning I would only touch her legs, only touch her arms. But little by little, I intended to raise the stages. What started at the legs would eventually climb to the thighs, and at last I would find myself kneading her buttocks and drawing her nipples into my mouth.
What was first done clothed would, for the sake of deeper resonance and more rigorous conditioning, be done naked. And one day, even as she reached her peak, she would still keep a tight grip on her control over the poison.
Killing two birds with one stone.
One action, two gains.
The Poison Human could cultivate her poison-control ability to its very limit, while I, for my part, could slowly tame the Poison Human's body. It was, one could say, a training method that was good for everyone.
"Mister... I-I'm ready."
The shy voice calling me "mister." And the dried-up little body, which I could never know might suddenly spray poison and kill me. Imagining the day I would transform her into a lascivious and voluptuous form was simply unbearable.
"Hoo..."
I expelled my excitement in a sigh as I touched her ankle.
"Hng...!"
The bashful moan excited me even further.