"I was asking you about the snow—ah! My hand! Why is it turning black? Ah! It itches so much!" Kevin Zhuo dropped the box in his hand, staring at his own hand in horror.
"I told you already, the urine of that Antler Serpent is poisonous." Grace shook her head and said.
"Huh? Brother, it's really poisonous! What do we do?" Cindy Zhu looked at her brother's hand, which seemed about to rot, and grew scared too.
It was Cindy Zhu's idea to snatch the Snow Ginseng from Grace. If something happened to her brother because of it, she'd be in serious trouble too.
"What else can you do? Hurry up and take him to a doctor! If you're too slow, his hand will be useless!" Grace helpfully reminded them.
"Quick! Quick! Go find a doctor!" The two of them dashed off in a panic.
Grace's lips curled into a mischievous smile.
It wasn't a deadly poison, but it was enough to give Kevin Zhuo a real headache!
His hand would itch like crazy for three days!
And there was no antidote...
She figured the Zhuo siblings would be too busy to bother her for the next few days, and that put her in a great mood.
Grace had been craving Antler Serpent meat all day, and now that it was dinnertime, she ordered a whole spread of delicious food, ready to indulge herself.
Evan Xiao caught a whiff of the food and came out from the inner room. He swam over to Grace's feet, then hopped right up onto the stool next to her.
He'd been annoyed by Grace all day and had skipped lunch, so now he was starving too.
He wanted to eat.
After a few bites, Grace noticed the Antler Serpent beside her, staring at her with big, hungry eyes.
He looked hungry too.
Grace turned and instructed, "Hope, go tell Tenner and the others to bring something for my Antler Serpent to eat."
"Bring something for it to eat? What does it even eat?" Hope asked, puzzled.
"Tenner and the others know!"
Spirit Practitioners know all about the habits of these spirit beasts.
"Oh!" Hope bounced out of the room.
Soon, Tenner came in carrying two cloth bags. "Miss Grace, the food is here!"
Grace nodded and opened the bags to take a look.
One bag was full of frogs.
The other had a few mice.
Out of love for her new spirit pet, Grace personally picked up a medium-sized mouse by the tail and put it in front of Evan Xiao. "Here! Not too big, not too small. Just right for you! Open wide!"
Evan Xiao stared at the furry, squeaking mouse in front of him, then at Grace's expectant look. He felt an urge to strangle her.
Where were his hands?
No, he had to transform!
"Eat!" Grace shook the mouse in her hand.
Evan Xiao suddenly leapt onto the table and started devouring the dishes.
Grace held the mouse, dumbfounded. "This Antler Serpent actually eats regular food?"
"Yeah! That's so weird!" Tenner was also stunned.
"And he only picks the tastiest dishes!" Claire was speechless too.
"Plus, look at his eyes—it's like he's judging us..." Hope craned her neck, staring curiously at Evan Xiao.
......
The four of them just watched as the Antler Serpent polished off every last dish on the table.
By the time Grace snapped out of it and wanted to eat, there was nothing left.
No choice but to cook again.
Grace realized she'd raised a total foodie... He could really eat...
......
After dinner, Grace called Hope, Claire, and Tenner in and told them she planned to leave the manor tomorrow.
"Miss Grace, what are you going to do?" Hope asked, puzzled.