Chapter 5: Viper Hex

Words : 1870 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

The old man nodded and forced himself to sit up a little straighter. Jason Yare asked, "Have you had any raw meat or animal blood lately?" "I have," the old man replied immediately. "A week ago, I went to the military camp and had raw beef with the soldiers." "After that, you felt a crawling itch now and then, especially on the soles of your feet, the center of your palms, and the middle of your chest, didn't you?" "That's right." The old man frowned. "I thought it was mosquito bites. I lit a bunch of mosquito coils, but it didn't help." "You've also been really drowsy-barely alert most of the day-and when you sleep, it's all sex dreams, right?" Color crept up the old man's weathered face. He still nodded. "More or less, yes. Ahem." Jason let out a long sigh. The picture had come together. "Well? What's wrong with my grandfather?" Miss Juggins pressed when he fell silent. Jason drew a silver needle from his kit. "At first, I thought he was poisoned. I was wrong." "It's a hex, not a poison. And not just any hex…" "What is it?" Caleb urged. Jason turned, a quick smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "The Viper Hex, one of the ten notorious hexes." "Snakes are lustful by nature, which makes them ideal for crafting this wicked hex. A perfect specimen is hard to make. They often compensate by using a virgin girl." "They take her menstrual blood, sweat, brain matter, and corpse oil, feed the mix to a half-finished hex snake, kill it, then sun-dry and grind it. That becomes the hex." Miss Juggins went pale. The method was brutal enough to make her stomach turn. Caleb swallowed, about to speak. Jason flicked his wrist, and the silver needle jabbed into Caleb's throat. Caught off guard, Caleb crumpled to the floor and convulsed. Everyone froze, blindsided by the sudden strike. Jason remained cool. "You have corpse oil on you. Faint, but I can smell it." The legacy of King Balam's Medical Manuscript had not only flooded him with knowledge; it had also sharpened his body and senses. The four pillars of diagnosis-looking, listening and smelling, asking, and taking the pulse-came to him as naturally as breathing. When he first saw Caleb, a rancid, fishy taint had reached his nose. Once he confirmed the old man was afflicted by the Viper Hex, the smell made sense. Corpse oil. The two sisters stared, fear mirrored in their eyes. The old man's face hardened. "Caleb Shirvinton, you had a good life. Why throw it away to be a dog for the Vemhex Society?" Vemhex Society. Jason filed the name away. Hearing that, Caleb's spasms worsened. He clawed toward the door, desperate to escape, but his strength failed him. He flopped uselessly on the floor. "Tie him up. Send him to the military camp." The two bodyguards who had been standing by rushed in, bound him, and hauled him out. The old man's breathing grew heavier; he didn't look so good. "Young man, how long do I have?" "Conservatively, you'll live to a hundred." "Hmm?" He blinked, startled, and pointed at himself. "In this state, I can live?" "If it were a perfect Viper Hex, it would be tricky," Jason said. "Yours is not. This is manageable." King Balam's Medical Manuscript stretched in his mind like a boundless sea. Once he named the illness, the cure rose up with it. "Get a basin of chicken blood-ideally from a bird at least a year old," he said. Miss Juggins pulled the younger girl along, and they hurried out to get it. Before long, Miss Juggins returned with a basin reeking of iron. The girl behind her had fresh peck marks on her thighs. The welts spoiled the look of her legs. "Freshly slaughtered," Miss Juggins said, a little out of breath. Just then, pain twisted the old man's face. His hands and feet trembled. "Doc, the itch is back…" Jason frowned and opened his needle kit. He chose a silver needle longer than four inches. "This will hurt. Bear with it." "Can it hurt more than a bullet? Do what you must." Jason took the old man's right hand and drove the needle into the center of the palm. The old man's pupils flared. Cold sweat ran down his brow. He drew a sharp breath. Jason selected a second needle of the same length and pierced the other palm. "Ah…" The old man cried out. Both women flinched. He had fought his way through battlefields and taken bullets without a groan. Two needles had dragged a shout from him. The pain must have been savage. Jason chose a third long needle and aimed for the middle of the chest. The long silver needle slid in at an angle along his sternum. When it vanished to the hilt, the old man's face went plum-dark. He grunted and slumped, fainting from the pain. "Bring a bowl of Dragonbane Brew. The older the better." Jason's voice stayed steady. He took a dagger from his kit, crouched, and lifted both feet. He drew a cut across each sole. Bright red blood welled and ran. He clasped both ankles and lowered the feet into the basin of chicken blood. The surface began to bubble as if it were boiling. Jason let out a small sigh of relief. The younger girl watched, horrified, while Miss Juggins kept her composure and pulled her along to find the Dragonbane Brew. By the time they returned, the basin of blood was about to overflow. "Doc, will my grandpa be all right after bleeding like this?" the younger girl asked, voice tight. "He will," Jason said. "A few steamed buns will make up for it." Miss Juggins handed him a bowl. "Will ten-year Dragonbane Brew do?" Jason took a sip and grimaced. "Barely." He pried the old man's mouth open and poured it all in. At that moment, the basin began to churn violently. The blood bubbles burst and sprayed crimson droplets across the floor. Jason grinned. "It worked." The level of the chicken blood dropped before their eyes. In a few blinks, the blood was gone. In its place lay a writhing carpet of worms, smeared with clotted blood and squirming in the bottom of the basin. Their bellies were swollen tight. They had clearly gorged on the entire bowl. Both women gagged and clapped hands over their mouths. Calm as ever, Jason lifted the old man's feet out and set them to the side. He took the basin into the courtyard and set it out in the sun. The instant sunlight touched the hex worms, a staccato crackle rose from the basin. Pop, pop, pop. When he came back, the old man stirred and woke with a faint groan. His face had gone a shade paler, and he looked worn out. "Grandpa!" The two women rushed over to check on him. The old man nodded and managed a smile. He turned to Jason. "I feel much better." "I'll write you a prescription. Take it for a week, and you'll be fully recovered." The old man smiled. "I, Ian Juggins, always repay a debt. Tell me your name, so I can thank you properly for saving my life." "My name is Jason Yare. There's no need for repayment. Consider it me returning a favor to Miss Juggins," Jason said. The Soul-Consolidating Pill had cured the damage he'd done to himself by overusing talismans. I'm just returning the favor. He had barely finished when Miss Juggins' eyes flew wide. "You're Jason Yare?!"

Chapter 5: Viper Hex

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