Hi there readers!  This is Beijing, back with another chapter!  If you read my other book, Soar, then you can skip over this Author's Note because this basically says the same thing.  But for those of you who don't I need to send out this very aimportant message to you all.  For the next two weeks, I am going to be on a trip so I will not be able to post chapters during that time.  This is because hotel wifi sucks and I don't know if I will have time to write.  I am so sorry!!!!😣  I will be sure to update this book as soon as I can when I return.  But anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter!
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Yun's POV
Soft.  As my consciousness starts to return to me I can feel something soft underneath me.  I can also feel something cool and moist on my forehead.  I hear muffled voices and the slight clanging of heavy objects in the background.  I slowly start to open my eyes.  Blinding white light floods my vision at first but as my eyes adjust, I find myself staring at a thatched roof ceiling.  I let out a slight groan as I sit up.  My entire body is aching and my head is pounding.
"Oh, it seems that your awake" an unfamiliar female voice says.  I turn my head to the side to find a girl, maybe 16, walking towards me.  She has a wooden bowl and spoon in her hands.  "Here, eat this" she hands me a bowl containing a gold-ish liquid, brown mushrooms, and squash in it.
"Where-" I start before she cuts me off
"In my living room" she answers curtly, "I will get them" she stands up to leave.  "Hopefully they didn't make a mess of my house" she grumbles under her breath before taking her leave

After the sliding door closes, I take a look around the room.  The room is pretty small, it only contains the futon that I am sitting on, a wooden counter and a few wooden chests.  On top of the counter is a mortar and pestle, a few glass containers of herbs and spices, a nutmeg, a pitcher of water, and a small knife.  I start to eat the warm soup when the wooden door slams open, almost being kicked off the rack.
"Yun!" Yona shouts and runs over to me quickly
"Looks like the kid is alright" Zeno says with his usual smile on his face
"Can you not break my door please" the mysterious girl says in an annoyed tone.  Kija sends a glare towards her before walking over to me with the rest of the group
"I am glad you are alright" Kija sighs with relief before saying in a hushed whisper, "That girl didn't poison you or anything right?"
"What?" I ask in a confused tone

"Huan-chan sure did a good job of fixing you up" Yona says as she presses her hand to my forehead, to which I blush a bit
"W-What a pain" I stutter out before removing Yona's hand, "I was perfectly fine"
Huan lets out a small snort before walking across the room to grab a basket.
"Have something to say?" Kija hisses
"None of your concern" Huan snaps slightly, "I'm going to the market, don't destroy my house please"
"I'll go too" I finish my soup and wobble to stand on my feet. I let out a hiss of pain when I try to use my right arm to push myself up
"Yun!" Yona shouts
"Don't push yourself too hard" Hak says in a warning tone
"I'm fine" I roll my eyes
"I hate to agree with these beasts" Huan interjects, "But you should stay put, I was able to flush most of the poison out of your system and the antidote should be working now. But walking around might be too much for your still recovering system"
"I just need to drink some of that berry serum and I will be fine" I walk over to my satchel that was put in the corner of the room
"Here" I turn around and Huan throws me a small, glass jar with magenta pills in it
"What was that for?" I ask in annoyance as I juggle the small jar
"If you insist on coming then take one of those, it will work faster"
"There is no way that he is going out in his condition" Kija protests
"I'll go instead" Yona volunteers herself
"Yona dear, it would be more efficient if I go instead" Jae-ha says. And so starts the trend of everyone volunteering themselves
"Ugh!" Huan lets out an annoyed groan, "Peach-haired kid, are you coming or not?"
"Huan-" Yona starts but gets cut off
"No, all of you will be too suspicious in the village.  Outsiders aren't exactly welcome here" Huan loosely ties a thick, dark purple cloak around her neck. A slight rattling of bottles was heard as she walked out the door. "Don't destroy my house" was her final statement before making her way to the front door.
"Oi!  Wait for me!" I pop one of the magenta pills into my mouth before corking it, stuffing the jar into my bag, and rush to catch up with Huan.

~Time Skip~

After a 10 minute walk up a semi-steep incline, we make it to a small village.  There was a dirt path that went straight through the village with stone, wood, and clay huts on the sides.  There weren't many people but the compact space made it seem much more crowded than it actually was.  There were a few vendors in front of the huts, most of them selling vegetables, fruit, and rice while a select few sold wooden bowls and plates.
"Stick close to me" Huan says, breaking my thoughts.  "If you get swept up in the crowd you'll be sure to end up in a back ally or get arrested"
"Arrested?  For what?"
"Didn't I say.  The folks around here don't like outsiders.  Anyone they don't recognize will be sent straight to Chung Lao.  He's kind of like one of your tribe generals if your wondering, just he acts a bit more like a gang leader." Huan leads me over to a small vendor selling herbs and other produce.  Huan purchases a bottle of dried rosemary, a jar of honey, and some carrots while I buy apples, potatoes, assorted herbs, and half a sack of rice.

"Huan" The lady working at the stand says to Huan, "Who is this young lad?" She asks as we pay for the food
"A distant relative visiting from the Northern side of the country" Huan answers
"You need to get out a bit more dear" the woman tells her, "You'll never find a decent husband if you stay locked up in that cottage of yours"
Huan just rolls her eyes, "I already told you Chen obaa-san, I don't plan on getting married anytime soon, I only turned 16 2 weeks ago"
"I was engaged at the age of 15, you better get cracking!" She jokes, "Anyway, Lifen wanted me to tell you that she needs your help at the clinic"
Huan lets out a small sigh, "Again?  The season just started a week ago, this must be the 2nd wave already" a hint of sadness was in her tone
"We can't do much about it, that's just the way things are around here.  It's been that way for the past 10 years"
"I guess....  Well thank you Chen obaa-san" Huan waves to the woman as we walk away, "Yun-san, we are making a slight detour"
"What a pain" I roll my eyes as we walk to a hut made of wooden planks.  This hut was slightly larger than the others and didn't have a vendor in front of it, instead just a cloth functioning as a door.

We walk into the hut and I involuntary gasp at the sight.  A thin cloth was set on the hard ground and beds of hay were being used as make-shift futon mats.  At least 20 people were lying on the ground, all of them with a layer of cold sweat and had slightly irregular breathing.
"Don't be so surprised, this is the normal for clinics, right?" Huan says in her usual cold tone.  But something different was added in the mix, an underlying tone, sorrow.
"What is going on?" I ask as I look at all the people, men, women, children, and elderly alike, all laying on the ground
"Snakes" Huan curtly answers just as a woman that appeared to be middle-aged ran up to Huan
"Huan, good your here" the older woman said.  Her hair was pulled back in a bun, streaks of grey stood out brightly against her charcoal colored hair.
"What are the details Lifen Obaa-san?" Huan asks
"The usual for this season, various cobra bites, a few vipers.  All of them have been treated with the anti-venom but their fevers won't go down.  Some also are starting to get rashes and swollen hands"
"Did you treat for the fevers as well?" Huan asks as she reaches into her cloak and pulls out a bottle of cloudy white liquid.  When Lifen shakes her head she hands the bottle to her and instructs her to give this to all the patients.  "As for the swelling it is a common symptom for snake bites, just continue to flush the venom out.  I don't know about the rashes though"
"The hay" I interject.
"What?" Huan looks at me with a confused look
"Really?" I grumble slightly, "It's the hay.  The hay hasn't been washed properly and you shouldn't be putting sick people on top of hay infested with tics anyway" I roll my eyes, "treat them with this" I hand Lifen a container of my oatmeal paste, "apply it to the area with the rash and let it sit, scrape it off after it dries, then follow up with this aloe mixture" I hand her a small vile of aloe
"Oh thank you..."
"Yun"
"Thank you Yun-san and Huan-chan.  I'll send the rice to your cottage as usual" Lifen says
"Thank you Lifen obaa-san" Huan waves as we exit the hut.

We start our walk back down the slope, walking in silence.  After about 5 minutes, I break the silence.
"Huan"
"What?"
"Why were there so many people with snake bites?"
Huan lets out a small sigh, "Snake bites are rather common in this area." She answers.  I am about to ask another question but she seems to know what it was, "Chung Lao normally gets imports of snakes from Xing and from the tribes if they find that they become a problem.  Snakes are kind of worshiped around here, that old tale of the Yin descendent living here or something." Huan lets out a slight chuckle before moving on, "But Chung only keeps the snakes that he deems worthy of living in his 'castle' and if they don't make the cut, they are released into the village and the area around the village."
"Why don't they just leave?"
"Are you kidding?  You saw how dense that forest is, I was surprised you beasts made it here" Huan scoffs, "We haven't had outsiders since...." She trails off, deciding to change the subject, "Anyway, snakes are all over the place around here.  And this time of year they are especially abundant, it being mating season and all"
"Huan, you seem to know a lot about snakes...."
"Hmm....  Well my mom taught me a lot about them.  When I was younger that cottage that I live in used to be the clinic before the village was set up.  She died 6 years ago, and I never knew my father"
"The same as me I guess" I empathize, "I never knew my parents, I had to fend for myself for most of my life until I met the priest Ik-soo and he took me in"
"I guess we're both in the same boat then" she sends me a slight smile

"Get back here White Snake!"
"I'm not a sna- hot!"
We turn towards the cottage, Hak was chasing Kija around while Kija held his weird dragon hand that appeared to be burned.  Yona was chasing Hak and telling him to calm down while Zeno skipped happily behind them, saying "yay!  Tag!".  The four of them were leaving a trail of destruction behind them while Shin-ah just picked up the knocked over pots and tables.  Jae-ha stood in the doorway, watching everything happen, being of no help or harm.
"Idiots!" Huan shouts as she stomps over to pick up the mess and scold Kija, Hak, Yona, and Zeno for wrecking her house.
"Ugh, what a pain" I grumble before going to help Shin-ah clean up.