After getting the address from the tavern owner, Yang Yu found a remote adobe house and knocked on the door. A young man in his early twenties opened the door for them.
The young man's name was Qingshi. He had short, neat hair and honest, wide eyebrows that lay flat on his ordinary face. He was wearing a loose beige robe commonly worn by desert residents, which looked clean and tidy.
After asking Yang Yu and his friends why they came and learning that they got the news from the tavern owner, Qingshi let Yang Yu and his friends into the house.
Although the house is small, it has everything. The adobe house is located in a remote area, but it has all kinds of daily necessities, including dried meat hanging on the wall and baked naan next to the stove.
The most eye-catching thing in the room was a spacious bed, on which lay a thin middle-aged man listlessly. He looked haggard, with his black hair half dyed white by old age, and his long beard, which had been combed for a long time, becoming a slightly curly goatee.
Looking closely, the middle-aged man's exposed right calf turned purple-blue, extending upward along the outside of the thigh.
With the help of the system, Yang Yu had a clear view of the condition of this middle-aged man.
His name is Jiaosha, and he is at level twelve. His attributes are extremely ordinary. Except for endurance, none of them is over fifty. There is indeed a poisoning icon on his status bar.
The poison symbol was not ordinary. At a glance, it looked a bit like an eight-legged facehugger.
By clicking on the poison icon, Yang Yu can see the effects of the toxin.
This toxin causes the victim to lose blood very slowly, but it can drastically weaken the victim's attributes, causing him to enter a weakened state. It will also cause paralysis every once in a while, making it impossible for the victim to move or use skills, which is quite tricky.
Qingshi was not at all happy about the arrival of Yang Yu and his friends. The tavern owner had introduced many people here, but a week had passed and his father's condition had not improved at all.
Qingshi once looked for a desert doctor passing by, but even the experienced desert doctor said that he had never seen this kind of poison and was helpless against it.
There was little hope of removing the poison from his father's body.
If they could find out what kind of creature bit his father and catch it, it would be possible to combine the toxin with herbs and minerals and continuously mix them to create a special anti-venom serum.
However, when Qingshi's father came back, he did not see clearly what had bitten him. He could only roughly judge that it was a golden poisonous snake.
Looking at Jiaosha's wound, the shape of the wound indeed looked like it was left by a creature with fangs.
After obtaining Qingshi's consent and verifying that ordinary antidotes were useless, Yang Yu decided to hunt down the dangerous venomous snake without much hesitation.
"Let me confirm again. As long as we can catch that dangerous venomous snake, you do have a way to make an effective antidote, right?"
Qingshi nodded affirmatively, “I got a special formula from the desert doctor. As long as I can successfully catch the venomous snake that bit my father, I can use the knowledge I learned from him to make a special antidote.
Because we don't know the toxicity of that biological toxin. After killing it, the toxin in its body is likely to be ineffective. So, try to bring it back alive."
After saying this, Qingshi looked at Yang Yu motionlessly. In the past, when he made this request, people who came to visit him would look embarrassed.
Even the desert guide who was most familiar with the desert was not sure what kind of creature it was, and he was bitten like this. The risk of trying to capture that thing alive was too great.
After thinking about it, the people who come to visit will give up and no longer stick to the injured desert guide, but go looking for someone who can truly help them get out of the desert.
Yang Yu's young face came into view. This time, Qingshi also thought that Yang Yu would just walk away like those people in the past.
Unexpectedly, Yang Yu did not flinch at all, and said with a smile:
"I accept this commission. If we can successfully bring back the venomous snake that hurt your father, don't forget to lead us across the desert."
Frowning slightly, Qingshi shook his head and said, "You are really a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. The dangers of the desert are far beyond your imagination. You can't bring that thing back with just a few words. Who knows, you might even get yourself killed."
"Maybe it's as you said, but now you can't find anyone else willing to go to the desert to look for poisonous snakes except us."
It is undeniable that now Yang Yu is the only one willing to take the risk and go to the desert after hearing about his family's affairs.
"I have something I want to inquire about. Please answer me truthfully. This concerns your father's life." After receiving the tacit consent, Yang Yu seized the opportunity to collect intelligence. "We hope to know the route your father took when he returned, the location and time of the incident, as well as the details. If we go there again, we should find something."
Hearing Yang Yu's questions, Qingshi fell silent. He didn't know how to answer these questions. His father had never told him the details of his injury.
Just as Qingshi was hesitating, Jiaosha, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes. With his swollen eyelids, he tried to sit up from the bed, but his weak body could not support him at all. Halfway through, his body was like a kite with a broken string, and he couldn't stop leaning backwards.
Seeing this, Qingshi hurried over, grabbed Jiaosha's shoulders, and gently put him back on the bed, allowing him to have a good rest.
Jiaosha raised his bony hand and pushed Qingshi's hand away.
"I know my own body well, and while I can still speak, there are things I must tell you.
If my condition continues to deteriorate, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to speak next.”
Halfway through his words, Jiaosha looked at Qingshi with an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry, Qingshi. I didn't tell you the details of my injury because I was afraid you would go deep into the desert for me."
"Father."
"Now I understand that if I don't speak out those things, and my condition continues to deteriorate and becomes irreversible, you will be as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and try all kinds of treatments, but in the end you will get the same result.
Now is an opportunity, maybe we can change this outcome.
This group of people who come to you may be more reliable than you think.
I have been doing this for almost 30 years and have met all kinds of people who want to cross the desert. You can tell what a person is like from his eyes. "
After hearing what his father said, Qingshi finally made up his mind to believe Yang Yu and the others. He supported his father and sat him up.
Jiaosha panted hard, then calmed down as if nothing had happened, trying to put a kind smile on his tired face.
"The rest is all yours. I will now tell you everything I discovered in the desert."
(End of this chapter)