Chapter 43
While living in Huangshan, I was aware that there were three types of venomous snakes in the area. Although there were likely more, the three I was most familiar with were the ones whose characteristics and habitats I could remember. When I mentioned this to Mang-ryang during my fifth reincarnation, he said:
“Those would be the Black-headed Snake, Green Snake, and the Fatty Snake. If that’s the case, you should catch mostly Black-headed Snakes.”
“Why is that?”
“Green Snakes are almost non-venomous water snakes, and while Fatty Snakes do have a strong venom, its toxicity is limited, making it unsuitable for dissolution.”
Mang-ryang and I were discussing the creation of neurotoxin at the time. We were planning to poison a well to control a village overrun with fanatics. For that purpose, I learned from him how to manufacture the neurotoxin.
Mang-ryang added:
“The venom of the Black-headed Snake is both highly toxic and a neurotoxin. If mixed with putrefactive toxin (焰毒) in a closed environment, it will form an extremely potent neurotoxin. If you can dissolve it in water over the course of a day, it will result in a soluble neurotoxin.”
“Putrefactive toxin? What’s that?”
“Venom isn’t limited to just neurotoxins; there are many types. There exist very minute organisms invisible to the human eye called bacteria that possess properties distinct from animal venom. Among bacteria, there’s a type that despises the air we breathe, known as putrefactive toxin. It has such potent toxicity that it easily surpasses ordinary animal venoms.”