Shy

When Dugu Yan said this, her expression was somewhat desolate. Having read the original novel, Oscar could guess part of the reason.

In the original novel, Dugu Yan was supposed to appear three years later, a few months after Tang San and the others enrolled at Shrek. The description of Dugu Yan was that her body carried deadly poison; aside from Yu Tianheng, anyone else who touched her might be poisoned.

Even after Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng confirmed their relationship, there seemed to have been no deeper contact between them, perhaps because Dugu Yan's body carried deadly poison.

It had to be said that the Jade Scale Snake Poison was indeed overbearing.

But Oscar naturally could not just give a casual reply and leave it at that. After all, being able to meet Dugu Yan here was an opportunity Heaven had given him. Whether he could seize it depended on Oscar himself.

Oscar withdrew his hand, glanced at Dugu Yan, whose expression had grown a bit more desolate, and slowly said, "Is it because of the poison in your body?"

Hearing Oscar's words, Dugu Yan suddenly raised her head and met his gaze. Dugu Yan was certain this was absolutely the first time she had met Oscar, but how could he possibly know about the poison in her body? "You... how did you know?"

Seeing Dugu Yan's strong reaction, Oscar explained, "Don't worry. Besides being a Soul Master, I'm also something of an apothecary. I had already made some guesses the moment I first saw you. When I got close to you just now, I also smelled a faint fishy scent on you, which was why I came to that conclusion."

After hearing Oscar's explanation, Dugu Yan pushed off the ground with her bare jade feet and instantly retreated two steps. She wrapped her arms around herself and simply stared at Oscar, her expression changing slightly.

Seeing Dugu Yan's expression, Oscar was somewhat at a loss, because he knew very well what her expression and actions just now represented.

Such movements and expressions were usually how girls acted after showing weakness before someone they liked, afraid that the other person would despise them.

But he and Dugu Yan had only just met. Could it be that Dugu Yan had fallen for him at first sight?

Although Oscar knew that he possessed a face like carved jade, striking looks, refined bearing, and the grace of a jade tree in the wind...

That should not have been enough to make Dugu Yan directly fall for him, right? No, that was not right. She probably had a favorable impression of him, and then he had directly pointed out her flaw, which was why Dugu Yan had...

And in truth, that was indeed the case. Coupled with Oscar saying just now that he had smelled the fishy scent on her, Dugu Yan, who had been prepared to get to know Oscar properly, suddenly became a little hesitant.

After all, Oscar truly was the best-looking member of the opposite sex she had ever seen, and his strength was not bad either. Moreover, he did not know her well, and Grandpa had also said that she should get to know more people her own age. That was why she had such thoughts.

But now that her secret had been directly exposed, Dugu Yan became somewhat afraid. She was not afraid that Oscar would do anything to her. Leaving aside the fact that Oscar did not look like a bad person, Grandpa was secretly protecting her as well.

What she feared was that Oscar would despise her...

However, Oscar was only stunned for a moment before slowly saying, "You don't need to be like this. Although I sympathize with what you've gone through, I want to tell you that there are some things we cannot change. Our bodies were given to us by our parents, so there is no need for you to feel inferior because of this."

Hearing Oscar's words, Dugu Yan raised her head in surprise and looked at him. She found that, despite knowing her secret, Oscar's eyes held neither disgust nor fear.

"Y-you really mean that?"

Oscar smiled faintly. "Of course. Besides, you're such a beautiful girl. Why care about such a minor flaw? And the more you care about it, the more others can use it against you. Then it becomes your weakness."

"If we don't treat it as a flaw, then we're still perfect, aren't we?"

As he spoke, seemingly to empathize with Dugu Yan, Oscar "foolishly" summoned his martial soul.

"Look, my martial soul is only a food system sausage, yet I possess the strength to slay a thousand-year Purple Poison Viper with a single sword strike. Why is that? Because I don't regard the flaws I already have as shortcomings. Instead, they are what motivate me to push myself forward."

"Actually, in a sense, perhaps we are the same kind of people. You probably inherited your parents' deadly poison from birth, while I inherited my parents' martial souls. Since we can't change what we are born with, why not change what comes after?"

"Other people's opinions are certainly important, but what matters most is your own heart."

Dugu Yan simply looked at Oscar, listening to his words as she began to think.

Although she was shocked that Oscar was merely a Food System Soul Master yet possessed the strength to kill a Purple Poison Viper, what mattered most was Oscar's final sentence: what mattered most was her own heart.

What others thought was unimportant. What mattered was how she herself thought.

"Thank you." After a long while, Dugu Yan bowed to Oscar. "You're the first person besides Grandpa to say these things to me. Before, I always thought they were merely words Grandpa used to comfort me. How could anyone possibly be willing to be friends with me? Now, I think I should believe it."

Oscar smiled faintly. "Dugu Yan, you need to have confidence. Although we've only just met, perhaps we can become friends."

As he spoke, Oscar extended his right hand again.

Dugu Yan also smiled at his words. "Mm, but I still can't..."

Before Dugu Yan could finish speaking, Oscar took the initiative and grasped her right hand.

Dugu Yan froze for a moment, then hurriedly pulled free from Oscar's grasp and lowered her head.

Her face instantly turned somewhat crimson. "Y-you're not afraid of being poisoned?"

Oscar smiled faintly. "It's actually not as serious as you imagine. Your poison is indeed powerful, but if someone's Soul Power is higher than yours and they have decent poison resistance, then simply shaking hands won't cause any problems."

As he spoke, Oscar even stretched out his right hand for Dugu Yan to see.

Dugu Yan glanced at Oscar's hand and found that there was indeed nothing wrong with it. Then she could not help raising her head to look at Oscar's face, only to find that it held nothing but a warm smile.

Seeing Dugu Yan meet his gaze, Oscar continued, "My Second Spirit Ring came from a soul beast with strong poison resistance, so my own poison resistance has also improved. On top of that, my strength is above yours, so naturally there won't be any problem."

But upon hearing this, Dugu Yan quickly lowered her head, her face turning even redder.

This seemed to be the first time she had touched a member of the opposite sex other than her family. Why did her heart feel like it was beating so fast? "All right, we can talk slowly. We just roasted some meat, so let's have some together. Once my teacher returns, we'll take you to find your Grandpa." Looking at Dugu Yan, who had actually become shy, Oscar said with a smile.

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