“Fei Yuan, I need you to stay calm and get something for me,” Rushuang says right after tasting the tea.

Everyone freezes then starts talking all at once; she tunes them out and licks her lips, studying the aftertaste – no bitterness, if anything the tea had been a little too sweet; must be fast-acting, her mouth is already becoming numb–

“I’ll need charcoal,” she says, “and a lot of water,” and sticks her fingers down her throat.