Role Reversal

Dugu Yan lowered her head and glanced at the torn hem of her skirt. A sly light flashed in her eyes.

A smug smile curved Dugu Yan's lips as she raised her head and looked at Tang San. "I told you, if you could defeat me, I'd give you a surprise."

"What surprise?" Tang San wondered.

Dugu Yan lifted her chin smugly, planted her hands on her hips, and looked utterly determined. "The surprise is, you helped me drive Yu Tianheng away and defeated me too, so now I'm going to be your girlfriend."

"And," Dugu Yan added, stepping forward and pointing at the torn hem of her skirt, "you just tore my skirt to pieces. For that, you have to take responsibility for me."

Tang San's lips twitched. This happiness came too suddenly. Just last night, I was racking my brains over how to win Dugu Yan over, and now she's delivered herself right to my door.

Now that's a real surprise!

Tang San looked down at the torn hem of her skirt, then looked up at Dugu Yan's face, which had "you can't escape" written all over it. He understood at once.

Dugu Yan had obviously proposed the match on purpose. Her aim was naturally not just Soul Fighting; she had intended to lose to him and then go with the flow and propose becoming his girlfriend.

I'm screwed. The hunter has become the prey; our roles have been reversed!

Tang San took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He couldn't let the surprise go to his head, and he couldn't let her lead him around by the nose.

A girl with Dugu Yan's personality had been spoiled since childhood. She got whatever she wanted, and no one had ever refused her.

If he agreed without hesitation now, Dugu Yan would soon grow bored and lose interest.

That was how people were: what they couldn't get was what they wanted most, while they didn't treasure what came too easily.

He had to keep Dugu Yan dangling and couldn't let her have him in the palm of her hand.

Tang San fell silent for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Dugu Yan, his tone troubled. "Sister Yan, but I'm only eleven. We can't do that, can we?"

Dugu Yan nodded, her tone casual, light, and unconcerned. "It's fine. I can wait a few years for you. I'm not in a hurry anyway. We can slowly build our feelings for each other. Once you've grown up, we can officially get together."

Tang San shook his head and continued, "Sister Yan, I'm actually eight. I made up the part about being eleven."

Dugu Yan began to get angry. Her eyebrows shot up, and a cold light flashed in her eyes as she glared fiercely at Tang San and pointed at his body, which was noticeably taller than an eight-year-old's. "You... you look eight? You're saying this is what an eight-year-old looks like? Who are you trying to fool?"

Tang San hurriedly waved both hands, his tone urgent. "I really am eight, a genuine eight-year-old."

Dugu Yan looked utterly unconvinced. She calmed her anger and said with complete disdain, "Fine, fine, fine. If you say you're eight, then you're eight. Happy now? I'll just wait a few more years for you. What other excuse do you have?"

Seeing that Dugu Yan was getting worked up, Tang San continued, feigning seriousness. "There really is one more thing."

Tang San moved closer to Dugu Yan and said in a low voice, "Look, my Martial Soul is very sensitive to toxins. When I touched you with my Blue Silver Grass just now, I sensed that you were heavily poisoned. If you don't get rid of the poison in your body, I can't possibly accept you."

Those words left Dugu Yan standing rooted to the spot. Her face flushed red with anger, her hands clenched into fists, and her body trembled slightly, like a volcano about to erupt.

"Tang San, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!" Dugu Yan's voice rose several notches. "I, Dugu Yan, think highly enough of you to be your girlfriend, yet you keep making up lies to fool me! Saying you're eight was one thing, but now you're being even more ridiculous! You probably don't know this, but my grandfather is Poison Douluo, the person who knows the most about poisons in the world! Even he has never said I was poisoned! Yet you... you say I'm heavily poisoned. Where would poison in my body have come from? You don't even draft your lies before you tell them!"

The more Dugu Yan spoke, the angrier she became. She pointed at Tang San, her finger trembling. Her eyes reddened slightly, though whether from anger or hurt, it was hard to tell.

Tang San felt utterly innocent at that moment, and a hint of anxiety appeared on his face. "I really didn't lie to you. My Martial Soul really is very sensitive to toxins. The poison in your body didn't come from outside. It's your own Jade Phosphorus Snake poison, which has been eating away at your body for a long time. Your grandfather probably didn't tell you because he didn't want you to worry. But it's the truth. If you don't believe me, you can go ask him."

Dugu Yan's lips trembled slightly, and a trace of panic flashed in her eyes.

"Fine, I'll go back and ask my grandfather right now. If you lied to me, I'll have my grandfather poison you to death. Hmph!"

Dugu Yan's voice trembled slightly, though whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.

With that, Dugu Yan turned and strode toward the courtyard gate. Her fitted purple outfit traced a sharp arc in the sunlight, and her high heels clattered rapidly against the flagstones.

Dugu Yan's figure soon disappeared beyond the courtyard gate, and the courtyard fell quiet.

Ye Lingling watched the direction in which Dugu Yan had disappeared, then turned to Tang San. "Yan Yan seems really angry."

"I know," Tang San said.

"Is what you said true? Is Yan Yan really poisoned?" A trace of worry flashed in Ye Lingling's eyes.

Tang San nodded. "It's true. Owners of the Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul all suffer a backlash from its venom once they reach a certain age. Her poison has been building up for many years. If it isn't dealt with in time, it'll be even more troublesome later."

Ye Lingling frowned slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "How do you know?"

Tang San looked at Ye Lingling and fell silent for a moment, making up a reasonable explanation in his head.

"My Blue Silver Grass is very sensitive to vitality. Toxins eat away at vitality, and I could sense the vitality in her body slowly draining away. It's nothing profound, just a characteristic of my Martial Soul."

Ye Lingling nodded and asked no further questions.

Tang San was panicking badly at that moment. An image involuntarily appeared in his mind: Poison Douluo Dugu Bo descended from the sky and struck down with one palm, turning him into a paper cutout before he could even scream.

Tang San couldn't help shuddering and forced himself to calm down.

Although Dugu Bo had a strange temper, he had repeatedly asked Ye Renxin to treat his son in the past, and the two were on fairly good terms in private. Surely, for Old Master Ye's sake, he wouldn't act so impulsively?

He had to find someone to back him up.

Tang San hurriedly turned to Ye Lingling. "Sister Lingling, where is Senior Ye? I still haven't paid him a visit since I arrived. Take me to see Senior Ye."

Ye Lingling nodded. "Grandpa is in the East Garden. I'll take you there."

With that, Ye Lingling led the way, Tang San following behind her as they headed toward the East Garden.

Meanwhile, Dugu Manor stood in the western district of Heaven Dou City. Dugu Yan jogged all the way there and soon rushed through its gates.

The weather was clear that day, and Dugu Bo was drinking tea in the rear garden.

Dugu Bo wore a dark green robe. His hair and beard were streaked with gray, his face was lean, and his eyes were emerald green, just like Dugu Yan's. A sharp, forbidding air about his brow kept people from approaching him.

Hearing rapid footsteps, Dugu Bo turned to see Dugu Yan running toward him. He chuckled. "Yan Yan, didn't you go to see that girl Lingling? Why are you back already?"

Before he had finished speaking, Dugu Yan threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Her voice was petulant and aggrieved. "Grandpa, you have to stand up for me."