Opening Their Hearts

In Xiao Se's understanding, there were three ways to help the Little Fairy Doctor resolve her Calamity Poison Body.

The first was the Poison Pill Method obtained by Yao Lao.

The second was the soul bones of Soul Land. By storing the poison within a soul bone, one could avoid the outbreak of the Calamity Poison Body. However, this was not a long-term solution either, because there was a limit to how much poison a soul bone could contain. Once the poison within her body surpassed the Dou Zong level, the soul bone would likely lose its effect—unless it was the kind of External Soul Bone capable of evolving.

The third was the Poison Poison Fruit from the pirate world. In a sense, the Poison Poison Fruit could completely solve the problem of the Calamity Poison Body. Moreover, the Dou Qi Continent had no Sea-Prism Stone factor that could restrain Devil Fruits, so there was no need to worry about others exploiting such a weakness. Yet the odds of obtaining it were the slimmest, as Xiao Se had yet to exchange for anything related to the pirate world.

Of the three, the second was the easiest to acquire, because items from Soul Land had been frequent visitors among his dozen or so exchanges.

Sometimes, Xiao Se wondered whether the person who created this System, like him, also had a grudge against those three scumbags—Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and Dai Mubai.

Qing Jiao: That's right. I do have a grudge against them. I won't rest until I've tortured Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Yu Xiaogang into shitting themselves.

Sitting on a flat stone slab and quietly watching the Little Fairy Doctor, Xiao Se felt as if he were sitting on needles. A faint sense of guilt rose in his heart. Back then, in order to form a bond with the Little Fairy Doctor, he had chosen to give her the Seven-Colored Poison Classic. Yet now, because of this damned butterfly effect, the Calamity Poison Body had awakened four years early. He did not know whether that had been right or wrong.

With a soft sigh, Xiao Se slowly sank into thought. After a long while, the seven-colored radiance on the Little Fairy Doctor's cheeks gradually faded. Xiao Se murmured softly, "Is she about to wake up?"

Not long after, inside the tent, the Little Fairy Doctor's tightly shut beautiful eyes finally opened slowly. Her jade-like hand moved slightly as she sat up and covered her lovely face. A helpless smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she choked out, "Damn it, I couldn't control it again." Since her back was turned to Xiao Se, she had not noticed that he was beside her.

Hearing the soft, choked sounds from the Little Fairy Doctor, Xiao Se felt a little troubled. He slowly rose to his feet, extended his fair hand, and gently stroked her head.

Feeling the tenderness on her head, the Little Fairy Doctor's entire body stiffened. Only after a moment did she relax again. Wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes, she turned to look at Xiao Se with reddened eyes. "Why are you awake so early?"

"The sun's already high in the sky. Look, I've finished building the wooden house, and I've laid out the quilts inside. You won't have to sleep in a tent anymore." Xiao Se smiled gently and pointed toward the wooden house in the distance.

Upon hearing this, the Little Fairy Doctor's beautiful eyes widened slightly. She looked at the simple little wooden house, then at Xiao Se. Lowering her head, a lonely expression surfaced on her pretty face. After a moment, she finally said, "You saw it all."

"Yeah. The Calamity Poison Body." Xiao Se gave a bitter smile.

"You... didn't touch me, did you?" Suppressing the panic in her heart, the Little Fairy Doctor seemed to recall something and asked urgently.

"It's true that you're very beautiful, but I'm not even thirteen yet. How could I possibly do something so beastly? At the very least, I'd have to wait another two or three years." Xiao Se grinned mischievously.

"Go die." Hearing Xiao Se's teasing, a flush immediately spread across the Little Fairy Doctor's pretty face. She raised her small fist and lightly punched his chest several times before continuing, "Stop being so improper and answer me. Did you touch me or not?"

"I didn't. For certain reasons, I currently know more about the Calamity Poison Body than you do." Xiao Se shook his head, catching one of the small fists she swung at him as he smiled.

After Xiao Se's little joke, the Little Fairy Doctor felt much better. A tear rolled down her delicate cheek as she lowered her head and asked hesitantly, "Then... aren't you afraid of me?"

Fixing his gaze on the Little Fairy Doctor's evasive eyes, Xiao Se released her small fist. A warm, faint smile rested on his lips as he gently pulled her into his embrace.

The sudden warmth of the embrace made the Little Fairy Doctor's delicate body tense abruptly. Her heart fell into chaos, and she stood there blankly, allowing Xiao Se to hold her, utterly at a loss.

Words carrying warm breath sounded softly beside the Little Fairy Doctor's ear. "In my eyes, no power is inherently evil. The key lies in whether the one wielding it can remain true to their heart and preserve the most basic moral bottom line. As long as your conscience is clear, what does it matter if you become a Poison Master?"

Hearing this, the Little Fairy Doctor suddenly snapped out of her daze. Her tears paused, and a resolute light immediately appeared in her beautiful eyes.

"Thank you, Xiao Se." Slowly closing her eyes, the Little Fairy Doctor spread her arms and embraced Xiao Se. Her delicate face nestled against his chest. Everything was understood without words.

After a long while, the two released each other from their embrace, yet neither showed any embarrassment. They simply exchanged gentle smiles. With Xiao Se supporting her, the Little Fairy Doctor walked into the wooden house.

"How is it? Not bad, right? It may be a little simple, but it's far more comfortable than living in a tent." Inside the living room, Xiao Se pointed around the room with a somewhat proud smile.

"It really is quite nice. It even has a living room." Looking at Xiao Se's face filled with a gentle smile, warmth surged through the Little Fairy Doctor's heart. Her rosy lips parted slightly, and in a voice only she could hear, she murmured, "Thank you, Xiao Se. Perhaps you will be my only friend. No matter what I become in the future, even if I turn into the infamous Poison Woman, before you, I will still only be the Little Fairy Doctor of Green Mountain Town."

The moment her words fell, familiar warm breath reached the Little Fairy Doctor's ear. "Only friends? We could clearly go a step further."

"Ah..." Xiao Se's sudden approach made the Little Fairy Doctor jump like a startled cat, every hair on her body standing on end. She shoved Xiao Se away, her pretty face flushed an alluring red, then fled in a panic into one of the smaller rooms. With a bang, she shut the door.

Watching the Little Fairy Doctor's flustered figure vanish, Xiao Se smiled. He slowly walked to the door, gave it a light pat, and said with a playful grin, "Little Fairy Doctor, I'll leave lunch to you. I'm going to gather some medicinal herbs for alchemy. Oh, right—actually, the Calamity Poison Body isn't as terrifying as you think. There are still ways to cure it."

With that, Xiao Se turned and left the wooden house.

Once Xiao Se's footsteps had faded into the distance, the Little Fairy Doctor opened the door with a crimson face. Though she was touched that Xiao Se trusted her enough to let her prepare lunch, the words, "We could clearly go a step further," kept replaying in her mind. She immediately stamped her foot in embarrassed anger, then jogged outside.

Not long after, Xiao Se returned from gathering herbs, and the Little Fairy Doctor had finished preparing the food.

"Wow, I could smell that from far away. Hehe, little lady, serve this master a bowl first." Xiao Se strode over to the small pot, plopped down onto a stone slab, and put on the air of a spoiled young master.

Seeing Xiao Se's ridiculously arrogant act, the Little Fairy Doctor could not help bursting into laughter. Taking out a jade bowl, she ladled out Rice Soup and handed it to Xiao Se, laughing as she scolded, "Eat up... just be careful you don't get poisoned to death..."