35. The Poison Within
Chapter thirty-five
The Poison Within
Moni
Lei collapsed against me with his arms locked around my waist.
The force was unexpected and we both tumbled to the ground in a heap. My body cushioned his fall and I could feel the frantic beat of his heart against my chest.
I looked down at him. “Baby!”
With his eyes squeezed shut and his expression twisted in agony, he gasped for air as if each breath was a struggle.
“No. No. Baby, are you okay?” I looked up and yelled. “Help! Somebody help right now!”
Thankfully, someone roared back. “The Master Healer is coming!”
Hurry.
Meanwhile, the crows that had landed near Leo earlier began to creep closer to him.
Their eyes glinted.
Then, one bold crow hopped forward, clicking its talons against the blood-soaked ground. It let out a single sharp caw before plunging its beak into Leo's lifeless body.
I parted my lips.
Next, the others followed, descending on his corpse and tearing into his flesh. Those beaks pierced his chest and ripped his pants away.
Sickening squelches rose in the air.
Feathers flew in a frenzy, some sticking to the gore as the crows wrestled over strips of raw meat.
The only part of Leo untouched was his severed head, lying a few feet away, still staring blankly into the void. It remained pristine amidst the carnage, almost as though the crows refused to touch it.
But his body—they ravaged it.
I looked back at my baby.
These black lines appeared at his temples. They were faint etchings of ink bleeding into paper.
What the fuck is this?
The thin streaks branched outward, crawling across his golden skin like veins of liquid shadow.
They rippled.
“Oh, God.” Panic tightened my throat. “No.”
The lines crept across his high cheekbones, slicing through the curve of his jaw like jagged cracks in porcelain.
The contrast of the deep black against his ashen skin was grotesque.
I reached for his arms, desperate to see if this insanity was isolated to his face.
It wasn’t.
Dark tendrils snaked along his forearms, writhing and pulsating as if alive. The lines branched and twisted, creating nightmarish patterns that spiraled down to his hands.
His fingertips looked like they belonged to a corpse—blackened and motionless.
“Hurry the fuck up!” I traced a finger over one of the marks, to my horror, it felt hot.
“No.” I shivered. “What’s happening!”
The lines weren’t just on the surface, they had to be deeper.
I trembled. “Lei, can you hear me?”
His hands twitched as if he was fighting an invisible enemy.
I glanced back and saw an older man just entering the edge of the arena and rushing our way with four men following and holding a blue gurney.
Finally.
I got closer to Lei and swore I could hear the faintest hiss, like steam escaping from a kettle, coming from the marks.
The sound sent chills racing down my spine.
Is his heart still beating?
I pressed my trembling fingers against his throat just below his jawline, desperate to feel something—anything—that would tell me he was still here with me.
For a terrifying moment, I couldn’t feel anything. Panic flared in my chest, sharp and blinding.
Then, there it was—a faint, unsteady rhythm beneath my fingertips, weak but unmistakably there.
Relief crashed over me.
His pulse wasn’t strong but it was enough to cling to.
Enough to keep the darkness at bay for a few precious seconds.
I closed my eyes, willing my own heart to slow, to match the faint thrum beneath my fingers. “You’re still with me. . .Thank God because. . .I can’t lose you. . .”
The sensation anchored me.
I held onto it like a drowning woman grasping for a buoy, forcing myself to believe that as long as it was there, as long as it beat beneath my touch, he was still fighting.
The longer I held my fingers there, the more I noticed how fragile it felt, like the flicker of a candle caught in a draft.
“Y-you’re not going anywhere,” Tears streamed down my face. “I won’t let you. We’re going to. . .have an amazing life. . .”
My heart thundered as I turned him slightly, trying to see more of him.
The black lines were spreading across his back now, like rivers of ink flowing. They were unnervingly precise, as if painted by some dark artist.
“Lei, please,” I shook him gently. “Open those eyes, baby. Someone is coming to help. Just hold on.”
His eyes didn’t open, his lips remained slack and stained with that black liquid.
I snapped my view to Leo’s head and glared. “You better not have taken him from me.”
His eyes were still open, staring blankly into the void.
The scene should have been triumphant—a moment of victory, of justice.
Lei had done it.
We had done it.
This was supposed to be our happy ending.
Lei and I should’ve been walking away together, hand in hand, victorious against the nightmare that had haunted him for so long.
We should’ve been celebrating.
But as I cradled Lei’s trembling body in my arms, the truth hit me like a dagger to the chest.
This wasn’t victory.
This wasn’t triumph.
Lei was slipping away from me, his golden skin now pale and lifeless marred by the black lines that writhed like malevolent serpents beneath his flesh.
“No.” My voice trembled. “This can’t be happening.”
It has to be the poison.
I glanced back at Leo’s dead body.
Did you outmaneuver us again? Did you decide that no matter what Lei would die tonight?
A terrifying sob clawed its way up my throat, but I bit it back.
I couldn’t fall apart now—not when Lei needed me. But those thoughts wouldn’t leave me. They gnawed at my mind like a rabid animal.
What if this is Leo’s true final move? What if, even in death, Leo had found a way to destroy us?
“Stay with me.” I rocked Lei, hoping that would help. “Please, baby. Stay with me.”
His breathing hitched and his body spasmed, his back arching slightly.
No. No. No.
Panic swelled in my chest.
The older man got to my side. “Good evening, Mountain Mistress, we will need to—”
“H-help him!” I shivered. “Is he dying? He can’t die!”
“Lei will be fine,” He gave me a sad smile. “Mountain Mistress, calm down.”
“B-black lines are everywhere—”
“Yes. Lei redirected the poison to his skin, keeping it on the surface. He must have not been able to expel it all when he was in the tree.”
“He’s going to be okay?”
“Yes.” The man lowered to his knees as two other men came over to us. “My assistants would like to take the Mountain Master.”
“You can help him?”
“Oh yes. But more because Lei helped himself.” He let out a long breath. “I’m so proud of him.”
The men took Lei from my arms and that should have calmed me but I was more terrified, not happy that Lei would be away from me.
“I’m Master Wu.” The older man held out his hand.
I shook it quickly. “A-and he will be fine?”
“Yes.”
Dressed in a sky-blue robe and holding a heavy dark blue bag, Master Wu had his hair in a topknot and a deep scar curved from his brow to his cheek, leading to the smooth stretch of skin where his eye should have been.
His remaining eye, a sharp hazel orb locked onto me with an unsettling calm. “I’m the Head Healer.”
“Nice to meet you.”
He winked his good eye at me. “One day, I’ll be in the room when you deliver our next little Mountain Master or Mistress.”
“Uh. . .”
“By the way, my secretary has been trying to schedule a proper OBGYN appointment with you, so that we can discuss birth control and a plan—”
“Can you just focus on saving Lei right now?” I may have raised my voice a little higher than necessary.
He winked that good eye again. “Of course, Mountain Mistress.”
“I’ll uh. . .schedule that appointment later.”
“Perfect.” He set the dark blue bag down. “Anyway, our Mountain Master did most of the work for me. It's called the Black Vein ritual, an ancient technique from our ancestors used when one faces a deadly toxin.”
Two of the men now had Lei on the gurney, the two other men held.
Master Wu leaned over and rummaged through his bag. “It's a treacherous method, one that could kill him if done incorrectly. But Lei was always a quick study, always in tune with the ancient arts. We can thank his quick thinking for keeping the worst of the poison at bay."
“So. . .he’ll really be fine?”
“He will and the black lines will fade once we treat him with the antidote.”
“His pulse is weak.”
“I’m sure it is.” Master Wu pulled out strange instruments and bottles filled with multicolored liquids.
A woman appeared with turquoise bandages in her hands and grabbed the bottles from him. “I’ll begin treating the Mountain Master’s wounds.”
“Excellent.” Master Wu’s gaze dropped to Lei’s body. “My focus will be the poison since it is still spreading quickly. Thank God that I know what it is and was prepared.”
“What is it?”
“Shadow Venom. It’s a rare and deadly poison.”
Damn you, Leo.
“You get it from a flower that grows only in the darkest valleys of Mount Linghun.” Master Wu returned to looking through his bag. “Legend says it was discovered by a monk seeking enlightenment. Instead, he found death, his body contorted in agony beneath the flower’s bloom. You see. The venom attacks the body slowly, shutting down organs one by one.”
My stomach churned.
“However. . .I’ve watched Leo fight for a very long time.” Master Wu pulled out a long vial of black liquid. “And I knew to bring several different types of antidote with me just in case.”
I blinked. “You knew Leo would cheat?”
“More like I knew he wouldn’t play fair.” Master Wu gave me a tired smile and held up the vial, swirling the dark liquid inside. “This is what we need.”
The other healers moved back, giving Master Wu space.
The men holding Lei on the gurney came closer to him.
One of the women handed me an empty plastic bottle. “Here you go, Mountain Mistress.”
I took it. “What is this for?”
“Later.” Master Wu uncorked the vial of the antidote. A sharp scent hit me immediately; earthy, metallic, and vaguely sweet. He turned to Lei. “I’ll need your urine. You can put it in that bottle later and make sure your servants bring it to me.”
“Why would you need my urine?”
“To give to Lei.”
I tensed. “Excuse me?”
“I know it sounds strange but I like to use urine for one of my trusty concoctions that invigorate the life force—”
“But. . .like are you going to wash Lei in it or. . .”
“He’s going to drink it.”
“I’m not doing that.” I handed the empty bottle back to the woman. “Let’s focus on giving Lei the antidote.”
“You are quite the Mountain Mistress.” Smiling, Master Wu carefully lifted Lei’s head.
The woman came over and gently parted Lei’s mouth.
Then, Master Wu began to pour in the antidote.
The dark liquid hovered above Lei’s lips, thick and viscous, resembling oil that had been pulled straight from the depths of the earth.
Nervously, I whispered. “And. . .what’s in that?”
“You think there’s urine in this?”
“Well. . .I’m a bit worried about that.”
He chuckled. “No urine, Mountain Mistress.”
I sighed. “Thank God.”
Master Wu tilted the vial carefully, letting the first drop fall onto Lei’s slightly parted lips.
I watched in horrified fascination as it clung to his skin, unmoving for a split second, before sliding into his mouth.
My stomach churned.
The sight of that substance entering him felt wrong, almost unholy, like I was witnessing the beginning of something I wasn’t meant to see.
“Is this safe?” I whispered, unable to stop the words from tumbling out.
Master Wu didn’t even look at me. “Completely. This is a blend of many herbs along with dried human placenta, medicinal breast milk, and umbilical cord. Each ingredient is carefully preserved for its regenerative properties.”
Say what now? Placenta and breast milk?
Another drop fell, then another, until the liquid began to pool in Lei’s mouth. His throat didn’t move, and panic clawed at my chest.
“He’s not swallowing it.” The woman beside Master Wu began to massage Lei’s throat in firm, circular motions. “This will help.”
I held my breath as her touch coaxed a response from him.
Lei’s throat convulsed slightly, the liquid moving downward in slow, agonizing gulps.
Each time his body accepted it, my chest eased—just barely.
Behind me, a soft voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. “Sis.”
I turned to see Jo standing nearby, flanked by my three Ladies-in-Waiting and Hu. They all wore grim expressions.
Far off, I spotted the rest coming our way—Dima and Chen, Duck scowling at a limping Banks. Marcelo pushed forward with his hand on a knot at the side of his head. They all were beaten and battered, but at least there was no more fighting.
Jo pointed to Leo’s headless body. “Dude is dead.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t look that way.
Jo extended her hand toward me, holding a green gummy. “Here. Take this.”
I didn’t even argue with her.
Instead, I grabbed the gummy and tossed it into my mouth. The sweet, sour taste burst on my tongue, and I chewed quickly, focusing on the small comfort it offered. “Thanks.”
Jo looked at Lei. “Is he going to be okay?”
Master Wu answered for me. “He’ll be just fine.”
“Cool.” Jo let out a long breath. “I like him.”
I turned to her.
She lifted her view to me. “You’ve turned into one badass bitch, sis.”
My voice went heavy with exhaustion. “I’m trying.”
Hu stepped forward and cleared his throat. “We’ll need to get Lei and Moni to the Palace. Chen and Duck will take the bodies and handle anything else.”
I checked Chanel’s desecrated body further from us. “Can Chen give the Killer Crows Chanel’s body?”
Hu shook his head. “Lei must do it.”
“She’s already so decomposed. What if I did it?”
Before Hu could speak, Lei’s body jerked violently, his back arching off the gurney. His arms flailed weakly, the movements wild and uncontrolled, and a guttural broken sound tore from his throat.
“Lei!” I reached out for him.
Fast, Master Wu blocked my hands. “Let it happen. This is his body fighting back.”
Fighting back?
It looked more like his body was tearing itself apart. His legs kicked against the gurney and the black lines on his skin began to pulse, their edges glowing faintly as though they were alive.
It was a terrifying sight—those dark veins writhing like serpents under his skin.
Then, his body calmed.
Master Wu moved his hands. “Now, you can touch him.”
I went over and clutched Lei’s hand, squeezing tightly. “I’m here, baby. I’m here. Just hold on.”
His head snapped to my direction and his lips trembled as the last of the liquid disappeared down his throat.
“You have the antidote.” I swallowed. “You’re going to be just fine.”
Then, with a final shudder, his body went still.
Too still.
“Good.” Master Wu nodded. “The antidote is beginning to take effect, and even more. . .I’m sure he heard you.”
As if on cue, the black lines on Lei’s skin began to retreat. It was subtle at first, the inky tendrils shrinking back ever so slightly, but soon they were fading faster, pulling away from his temples, his jaw, his chest.
The glow dimmed, replaced by the golden hue of his skin returning.
I watched in awe, my hands still clutching his. “Yes. . .it’s working.”
Master Wu gave his assistant the empty vial. “The venom is being neutralized. His body will expel the remaining traces naturally.”
Lei’s breathing grew steadier, his chest rising and falling in a soothing rhythm.
The tension in my shoulders eased but the fear didn’t leave me completely.
Not yet.
I looked at Master Wu. “How long until he’s fully recovered?”
“Do not worry. But, he will go in and out of consciousness for several days.”
“What?”
“His body will need to completely rid itself of the poison.”
I shivered.
“After five to six days he will wake up,” Master Wu replied. “Just understand that he’ll need rest for another week after that. His body has endured a great deal and if you give me that urine. . .he’ll be even better.”
“Fine but Lei better wake up and be healthy.”
“Urine will do it.”
Jo scrunched her face up in disgust. “Whoa.”
The assistant handed me the bottle.
I took it and brushed away stray damp strands on Lei’s forehead. His skin was warm now, no longer feverishly hot. The worst was over, but the sight of him lying there, so still and fragile, made my heart ache.
Master Wu gestured to the gurney. “We’ll take him back to the Palace. He needs proper care.”
“Okay.” I glanced off to see Four Aces wrap blankets around Chanel’s body.
Chen and Dima watched along with several crows who landed nearby.
Other Four Aces came over to get Leo’s head. They wrapped it in blue silk and placed it in a leathered box.
Hu frowned. “I’m glad the crows didn’t eat that up.”
“Why?”
“Lei will need to show Leo’s head to Kashmere the new leader of the Killer Crows.” Hu let out a long breath. “She’ll need a clear confirmation that her brother and sister was avenged.”
“Maybe, the crows knew that.”
Master Wu and his assistants took Lei away on the gurney and we followed.
All I could think about was what would happen next?
Was everything over with?
Could we finally have our happy ending?