Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 1

If this is hell, I am not impressed

Wang Tian Gu opened his eyes.

Is this hell? He thought. With what he did in his lifetime, he would not be surprised if he fell into hell. But what he expected was fire and brimstone and cries of agony.

Instead he got a dark and gloomy cave lit by a handful of torches.

If it is, then I am not impressed.

“Hey, she woke up!”

A middle-aged man wearing dirty clothes stood near him, his eyes had a lecherous glint. Well damn, a man who is attracted to a man more than half a millennium old? That’s some heavy taste!

Wait a minute. Did he say…she?

“W-who are you?” he began to speak. What came out was the voice of girl at the cusp of adolescence. “I-I’m a girl?" He looked down. Thin limbs, modest busts. "What kind of joke is this?!”

The man frowned at the sudden outburst. “You bit simple or sumthin’? Jes’ my luck. Gettin’ the stupid one while the others get the good one. She dun’ even have the goods yet! Look at that board!”

“Where are we?”

“Hah, wouldn’t ya like to know.” He said with a mocking grin. “Yer a Level 5 warrior. Should’ve thunk about it when ya tryna fight our leader! He’s a figgin Level 38 Tamer!! It’s like ya wanna git figged!!”

“What’s a level?” He - well - she asked. That word was very unfamiliar.

She tried to stand up, but her arms were tied behind her back.

“Oh, now I know ya playin’ me! That mean yer weak, git? Yer weak ass shit just git whooped by the leader!” he said. As he began unbuckling his belt.

He then proudly showed his stuff, expecting the girl in front of him to cower in fear.

“Pfft.”

“W-what?!”

“Hahahaha! That’s what you’re proud of? That baby’s little finger? I’ve seen worms bigger than that!!” Wang Tian Gu said with a chuckle. “Go ahead, doubt I’ll feel anything though.”

The man was so embarrassed that his little brother grew limp and he kicked the frail captive in anger. But the old monster did not stop laughing.

A taller man suddenly came walking from the other side of the cave.

“Hey, leader wants to see her,” he said.

“Wait, I’m disciplining her!”

The newcomer narrowed his eyes. “You wanna make the leader wait?”

“G-gah! Fine!!”

While lying on the floor, Wang Tian Gu cursed her bad luck. It seemed that the Soul Reversing Sutra somehow managed to let her pass the boundary, but her soul had transmigrated to the body of a girl. A weak little girl tied up in a cave by some bandits.

Absolutely disgusting. She could just flip a finger and these men and the cave would be disintegrated if she was in her old body.

"My Poison Core!"

She reached inside her mind and felt the familiar presence of her Poison Core.

“It’s still there.” She smiled. But that smile soon turned into a frown. “How can this be?! It’s empty! All those materials I absorbed! None of it is there!”

“Hey, Whaddaya mumblin’ ‘bout? Git up an’ walk! Yer gonna be havin’ dinner with the leader!!” The rough man grabbed her by the arm and threw her at the newcomer.

“Walk,” he said expressionlessly, pushing her forward.

For now, I’ll see where this is going.

She was being forced to walk through the cave. Along the way she could see makeshift cells filled with creatures he had never seen before, lining the long corridor. Dog-like monsters threw themselves at the cell door, blood and saliva dripping from their snouts. Monkey-like creatures huddled to one side on another cell, eyes filled with fear. The smell of feces and wet fur filled her nostril that she had to cough.

“Look at them, filthy beasts. Leader's got weird tastes," he hit one of the cells with his sword, laughing as the beast inside grew angry and shook the door.

Wang Tian Gu pulled off a frightened expression and turned around. “W-what do you want with me? And what are these monsters?!”

“Thought you were mute, girl.” the man said, a grin no less disgusting than the smell of the beasts showing on his face. "The leader's a Tamer, you see. And these are his Tamed Monsters. We use them to attack caravans going to Cairula from the Capital."

"Cairula?" Sounds like a city or a town. I will make note of it.

"You know, you ask a lot of questions for a hostage. We're gonna exchange you for ransom. But before that...we are going to have some...fun."

She could hear the sound of moans and laughters from behind a door. She stopped moving as he put his hands around supple shoulders, imagining what is going to happen.

“So this is what's going to happen. Leader’s gonna have you first, then next’s our turn. If you’re lucky you’re gonna be his girl. If not then you’re gonna be fodder to his favorites snake. You won't even get a chance to scream if that's any better for you. That thing could eat a whole cow!”

"Interesting."

"Huh?"

She took a step back and her former frightened expression suddenly turned chilling. “What kind of snake is it? How big is the diameter? Does it constrict the cow or poison it? Does it spray venom or inject it?”

"W-what the hell is wrong with you?" he was freaked out by the sudden change in the girl.

"I'm curious. After all, this is a new world and I'm excited to see new things! Also, look down."

She kicked his crotch with the tip of her toe, digging deep. As he buckled forward in pain, she jumped, put his head between her thighs, and twisted her body using the momentum.

Crack!

She landed on her knees. She then started wiggling her shoulder around and nimbly shook off the ropes. She did not survive more than a hundred years by not learning how to escape ropes. Thankfully this body was young and slim with supple muscles, it made it easier to escape.

Wang Tian Gu massaged her arms to get blood flowing and took the man’s sword. It was poorly made and had chips on the edges, but it would have to do.

She hid the man’s body under a table and saw a piece of bread with a small scorpion moving around it. She grabbed the scorpion and ate the whole thing. It was crunchy with almost no taste. Once she swallowed it she could feel the Poison Core greedily absorbing the small amount of poison from the scorpion.

“Now, what to do? Do I make my escape now or,” she thought back at the words of the dead bandit. “See a man about a snake?”

The girl felt the Poison Core edging her deeper into the cave. It was still hungry for more venom and poison to fulfil its desire. One measly scorpion is not enough. There is also the leader, which she is curious about. What kind of man did this foolish girl tried to attack?

Suddenly the door opened. A bald man wearing nothing but a short pants came out. When he saw a girl standing near the door he cried out. "Hey you! What are you doi-gargh-!"

He did not even manage to finish the words as a sword had already pierced his throat.

She stared at the bandits sitting around the fire, who were bewildered at the interruption of their good time.

Then she saw a large shadow at the other end of the cave, looming ominously. It made a loud hiss as she closed the door behind her.

“Snake it is then.”