"Don't move!" Master Zhang hurriedly warned Duoduo, because frogs are mostly interested in moving objects.
Hearing Master Zhang's words, Duoduo stared at it, not daring to move.
The golden frog stared intently at Duoduo, also motionless.
The person and the frog just looked at each other like this, as if frozen in place.
Master Zhang was a little anxious; this was the first time the frog had acted like this.
Worried that the frog might hurt Duoduo, he picked up a piece of medicinal herb from the side and gently poked the golden frog to provoke it.
The golden frog tilted its head, and then, with a strong leap, it bounded in Duoduo's direction.
Duoduo instinctively reached out both hands to catch it.
"Don't!"
Master Zhang was startled. By the time he reacted, he hastily reached out to pull Duoduo back.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
The golden frog landed on Duoduo's right palm and even rolled over.
Seeing everything unfold before him, Master Zhang opened his mouth wide, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor.
He rubbed his eyes vigorously, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Duoduo looked at the golden frog in her palm, liking it very much.
"Can I pet you?" Duoduo reached out her hand toward the golden frog.
The golden frog lay flat in Duoduo's palm, motionless.
Duoduo gently stroked its back. It was cool and slippery, just like a fish.
Duoduo tilted her head and pointed at the pills in the box.
"Take a look, which pill do you like to eat?" She placed the golden frog by the edge of the box.
With a swish, the golden frog hopped back into the box.
Seeing the golden frog return to the box, Master Zhang let out a long sigh of relief.
Duoduo stared nervously at the golden frog, but it remained completely still.
Duoduo sighed.
"I thought it could understand my words!"
Master Zhang smiled.
"All living things have spirits, but if you want it to understand you, you must spend a long time with it."
Duoduo tilted her head. "Master, do you mean I should raise one like this too?"
Master Zhang stroked his beard. "I like making poisons, which is why I raise these little treasures."
"You, Princess, are inclined to save people, so there is no need to raise these things."
Disappointment appeared on Duoduo's face. "Master, it didn't eat a single one. Did I do a bad job?"
Master Zhang stroked his beard and thought for a moment.
"If it doesn't eat them, it means their toxicity isn't strong."
"However, we can find some other animals to test them on."
"You," Master Zhang pointed at Lüdou, "go to the kitchen and see if there are any live chickens. Bring one over."
Duoduo hurriedly waved her hands.
"Don't get a chicken! They cost a lot of silver!"
"Master, I remember there is an ant nest in the garden. I'll go try it on them first."
As Duoduo spoke, she reached into the box to grab a pill.
Unexpectedly, the golden frog that had been squatting in the box moved.
It shot out its tongue and swiftly swallowed all the pills into its stomach.
"Ah?" Duoduo watched, dumbfounded.
She looked in disbelief at Master Zhang beside her, who also had his eyes wide open.
"It... it ate them all?" Duoduo pointed at the golden frog and asked the master.
Master Zhang looked at the empty box, equally baffled.
"It actually didn't leave a single one?"
Master Zhang poured out a few more pills from a bottle on the side.
He had seen Duoduo make these pills with his own eyes.
But how toxic were they? He truly didn't know.
The golden frog actually ate them all? Did that mean the efficacy of these poisons was extremely strong?
Master Zhang suddenly felt an urge to test them himself.
Holding a pill, Master Zhang looked at the antidote on the side. "This is the antidote?"
Duoduo nodded. Seeing Master Zhang's expression, she quickly snatched all the poison pills out of his hand.
"Lüdou, go to the kitchen and bring a chicken or a rabbit over!"
Duoduo instructed Lüdou rapidly, and Lüdou hurriedly ran outside.
Master Zhang looked somewhat regretfully at the pills in Duoduo's hand.
"Don't you have the antidote? I just wanted to test the efficacy of your poison, I'm not trying to trick you out of your sugar pills!"
Master Zhang's words sounded like a flimsy cover-up.
Duoduo put her hands behind her back and gave a hmph.
"No matter what kind, absolutely not!"
"What if my antidote doesn't work? Do you want to starve all those precious little things in your room?"
At the mention of his beloved pets, Master Zhang finally extinguished the thought of testing the poison on himself.
Holding the pills she made, Duoduo sat a little further away from Master Zhang.
She was terrified that if she didn't keep a close eye on them, Master Zhang would snatch them up and eat them.
Lüdou soon ran back carrying a chicken.
Master Zhang took the chicken, and Duoduo personally pinched a pill and stuffed it down the chicken's throat.
Seeing the chicken swallow it, Master Zhang let go of the bird.
Gaining its freedom, the chicken flapped its wings, trying to fly out the window.
Unexpectedly, halfway there, it suddenly plummeted from mid-air.
Its eyes rolled back, its body went stiff, and black blood trickled from its beak. It was already a goner.
"This poisonous?" Master Zhang stroked his beard, feeling a lingering fear.
Duoduo hurriedly poured out an antidote pill, stuffed it down the chicken's throat, and fed it some water.
The chicken rolled its eyes and seemed to come back to life.
It flapped its wings and stood up, but stumbled and fell back to the ground.
In just a moment, it stood up again and even strutted forward a few steps proudly.
Master Zhang grabbed it, and the chicken struggled so vigorously that he almost couldn't hold on to it.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!" Master Zhang checked the chicken's condition and nodded in satisfaction.
"Princess, you have graduated!" Master Zhang stroked his beard, his face full of pride.
Duoduo looked at Master Zhang in astonishment, her face full of disbelief.
"Master, really? I've graduated?"
Master Zhang nodded affirmatively. "Yes! You've graduated! You did even better than I did back in the day!"
"Right, I'll go lock this chicken up first." The master carried the chicken and walked out.
Praised, Duoduo was so excited that her little face flushed red.
This was her very first time making pills!
The master said she had graduated!
Duoduo happily ran to the table to pet the golden frog.
"Master said I've graduated!"
The golden frog leaped toward Duoduo's palm, but Duoduo's hand touched nothing.
Duoduo opened her palm.
Huh, where did the golden frog go?
Duoduo thought she had seen it wrong just now. She looked into the box, but the box was completely empty; there was nothing inside.
Duoduo hurriedly squatted down and searched under the table.
Nothing there either!
Master Zhang locked the chicken up separately.
Because this chicken had taken poison today, if it were rashly sent back and someone ate its meat and got poisoned, it would be troublesome.
When Master Zhang finished this and returned to the room, he saw Duoduo and Lüdou squatting on the ground, searching for something.
"Princess, what are you looking for?"
Duoduo looked up, her face full of dismay.
"Master, that golden frog has disappeared!"
