At Last, the Snake Saliva Rice Soul Was Brewed, Dugu Yan's Poison Cured

Dugu Yan remained silent for a long while before finally turning around.

She looked at Li Zhixian, her eyes filled with mingled hope and caution.

"Y-you can really cure the Jade Scale Snake Poison?"

The Wine Spirit inherently possessed the power to detoxify. If it were fused with the Snake Saliva Rice Soul, which could cure all snake venom...

No matter how stubborn the Jade Scale Snake Poison was, it could surely be neutralized.

Li Zhixian was certain of it as he met her gaze.

"I can."

Dugu Yan's delicate body trembled slightly, and a mist of tears instantly clouded her emerald eyes.

But she truly did not want to show Li Zhixian her vulnerable side, so she forcibly held back her tears.

Dugu Bo asked impatiently:

"Kid, what preparations do you need for the detoxification?!"

"My garden has every kind of poisonous herb and spiritual plant. Whatever you need, this old man can find it for you!"

Li Zhixian said:

"I need Sister Dugu."

The misunderstanding had been cleared up.

Dugu Yan was also older than him.

So he simply switched to a relatively intimate form of address.

As the saying went, ride freely across the world and fear no sorrow; sister has built an inn in Jiangnan.

Dugu Yan blinked her beautiful eyes.

Dugu Bo was stunned at first, then his pale eyes narrowed.

If anyone else had said that...

He would have slapped them flat without hesitation.

Knowing that his words had caused a misunderstanding between grandfather and granddaughter, Li Zhixian explained:

"I mean, I need Sister Dugu's snake venom."

Dugu Yan let out a sigh of relief, though for some reason, she also felt a little disappointed.

Dugu Bo's expression relaxed as he smiled.

"Why use Yanyan's venom?"

"Use mine. My venom is far more potent."

Li Zhixian glanced at Dugu Bo's gloomy old face and decisively said:

"Too much is as bad as too little. Sister Dugu's venom is just right."

"Also... Elder Dugu, please wait outside the courtyard."

Hearing Li Zhixian's last sentence,

Dugu Yan's bewitchingly pretty face flushed crimson.

Dugu Bo recalled the scene he had stumbled upon earlier. His old face darkened as he swept his sleeve and drifted out of the courtyard.

"Sister Dugu..."

Li Zhixian held a teacup out before Dugu Yan.

"Um..."

"Elder Dugu is still outside, so you should spray the venom yourself."

Dugu Yan shot Li Zhixian a scorching glare.

"I-I know!"

Dugu Yan took the teacup and turned her back to Li Zhixian.

A few breaths later,

she wiped her red lips.

"Here."

Seeing Li Zhixian holding her snake venom, Dugu Yan suddenly broke into a smile.

"Thank you, Li Zhixian."

"Whether the Jade Scale Snake Poison can be cured or not, I'll remember you."

With that,

she quickly walked out of the courtyard.

Li Zhixian smiled knowingly.

He knew Dugu Yan was deliberately avoiding the matter, unwilling to pry into the secret of how he cured poison.

"Next..."

"It's time to brew the Snake Saliva Rice Soul."

With the experience of the previous two attempts,

Li Zhixian was even more at ease this time.

After skillfully completing the preparations before adding the venom,

he stared at the rice mash before him and carefully tilted the teacup.

The jade-green snake venom fell into the rice mash like a ribbon of jade.

The moment the snowy white rice mash took on the faintest hint of green,

Li Zhixian immediately stopped.

The rice mash instantly churned as if boiling.

Emerald-colored bubbles rose with a gurgle.

Whenever one burst, it released a mist with a fishy sweetness.

Li Zhixian's eyes lit up, and his nostrils twitched.

This sweetness...

It was like apricot blossom brew, yet threaded with a chill like a snake's tongue, drilling straight into his brain.

If he had to describe it...

Saliva welled up in Li Zhixian's mouth as he smacked his lips and muttered:

"It's like sweet medicated oil!"

"It smells strangely intoxicating!"

"Let me take a sip first!"

At last, there was new wine again.

Li Zhixian eagerly took a sip of the undiluted Snake Saliva Rice Soul.

"Mm!"

His eyes abruptly widened.

The instant it entered his mouth, he first tasted the sweet fragrance of fermented grain, followed by an indescribable spiciness, with a faint sourness rising in the aftertaste.

It felt as though countless tiny snake tongues were stirring about in his mouth.

"Interesting, interesting!"

"What a Snake Saliva Rice Soul!"

After happily taking a few more sips,

Li Zhixian fused the Snake Saliva Rice Soul into the Wine Spirit.

When the emerald wine was poured into the Clear Spring Wine Gourd,

a serpent-like wisp of white mist spread out from its mouth.

In an instant,

the courtyard was filled with an intoxicatingly rich wine fragrance.

A bird happened to fly overhead. Catching a whiff of the wine, it plummeted straight down.

A few breaths later, it shook its head and unsteadily rose to its feet.

Every feather had turned pure white, like new.

Then it vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.

Outside the courtyard,

Dugu Bo, who had been pacing back and forth, suddenly looked up.

"Hmm?!"

"What a rich wine fragrance!"

"It even contains pure energy!"

Dugu Yan sniffed, and a flush immediately spread across her pretty face. Green veins beneath her skin emerged uncontrollably.

"It smells so good."

"M-my Jade Scale Snake Poison seems to be reacting."

Dugu Bo was so excited that his aged body could not help but tremble.

"Good, good!"

"What a Li Zhixian!"

"There is hope for curing the Jade Scale Snake Poison!"

"There is hope for curing the Jade Scale Snake Poison!"

The world only saw the might of his poison miasma spreading a thousand miles with a flick of his fingers.

But who knew the bitterness in his heart?

His father, wife, and son had all died from the backlash of the Jade Scale Snake Poison.

And today, there was finally hope of removing the curse of the Jade Scale Snake Emperor, the fangs that had devoured his loved ones.

Another tiny jade-green snake had appeared, coiled around the body of the Clear Spring Wine Gourd.

"Fine wine, fine wine!"

Li Zhixian let out a wine burp and happily patted the gourd.

The wine, once mysterious and richly fragrant, now carried an extra touch of stimulating flavor.

It was utterly addictive.

Li Zhixian dearly wanted to get drunk.

But there was still important business to attend to.

He poured a cup of immortal brew from the Clear Spring Wine Gourd.

"Elder Dugu, Sister Dugu, please come in."

Creak—!

The courtyard gate opened.

Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan hurried inside.

Seeing the wine before Li Zhixian, wreathed in snake-shaped mist, Dugu Bo was so nervous that he kept rubbing his hands together as he said:

"This is..."

"That's right."

Li Zhixian smiled and nodded, bringing the wine before Dugu Yan.

"Sister Dugu, drink it, and the Jade Scale Snake Poison will be cured."

Dugu Yan instinctively raised her hand.

The next moment, she drew it back.

Her eyes trembled as she looked at the smiling white-robed youth before her.

She had wanted every moment of her life to escape the torment of the snake poison.

Yet now, she hesitated.

Because...

This favor was far too great.

She did not know how she could repay it in the future.

Dugu Bo naturally understood this. He said solemnly:

"I'll presume upon our familiarity and call you Zhixian."

"By lifting the curse of my Dugu Family, you have granted us a favor equal to giving us new life."

"If you ever have need of me, I, Dugu Bo, will not refuse."

Li Zhixian smiled.

"You overstate it, Elder Dugu."

"Sister Dugu, drink quickly."

"After making you spray so much venom, it's finally borne fruit."

The touching atmosphere from moments ago instantly shattered into pieces.

Dugu Yan's pretty face flushed red. She burst out laughing, rolled her eyes at Li Zhixian, took the fragrant wine, and tipped her head back to drain it in one gulp.

"Mm..."

The wine slid down her throat.

Dugu Yan's eyes suddenly widened.