Made Dugu Yan Cry, the Enchantress's Hidden Trait

The sword blade pressed tightly against her neck.

Bone-piercing cold spread.

Goosebumps rose across Dugu Yan's skin.

Her green pupils narrowed into slits as she asked in disbelief,

"You weren't poisoned?!"

"How is that possible?!"

Li Zhexian tipped back his head and took a swig of wine.

His Wine Martial Soul had undergone two evolutions and now possessed the ability to detoxify poisons.

"I admit defeat. Kill me or torture me, do as you please."

Dugu Yan held her slender neck stiffly.

"Heh..."

Li Zhexian shook his head with a sneer, raised the Azure Lotus Sword, and flicked his wrist.

With a sharp smack, the flat of the blade struck Dugu Yan's right cheek.

It was no light blow.

Her head was snapped sharply to the right.

"If you weren't Dugu Bo's granddaughter, you would have died the moment you tried to poison me."

He generally did not hit women.

But an enchantress like Dugu Yan, who kept pushing her luck,

needed to be punished.

Yet Dugu Yan had not heard a word Li Zhexian said.

Her seductive green pupils became thin slits, jade-green scales faintly appearing beneath her neck, while two sharp fangs protruded from her red lips.

"I'll kill you!"

Having never suffered such humiliation, Dugu Yan opened her mouth and lunged straight for Li Zhexian's neck.

All three of her Spirit Skills were poison-based, but poison was useless against Li Zhexian.

She could only resort to the most primitive means of attack.

A fishy-sweet gust rushed at him. Seeing Dugu Yan's faintly gleaming fangs, Li Zhexian's eyes flickered.

"Among the brewing methods I dreamed of last night..."

"There seemed to be a basic wine whose main ingredient was snake venom."

The thought flashed through his mind.

Li Zhexian's movements were not slow in the slightest.

Whoosh—!

The Azure Lotus Sword sliced through the air with a howl.

Another smack rang out as it struck Dugu Yan's right cheek with precision.

This blow was truly heavy.

Dugu Yan staggered back several steps.

The cheek that already bore a red mark swelled even more.

"Dugu Yan, if you attack me again, I really won't hold back."

"Li Zhexian!"

"I'll definitely kill you!"

Dugu Yan's tall, slender body trembled as she charged at him once more.

"You attacked first."

The Azure Lotus Sword once again came to rest against Dugu Yan's neck.

The icy gleam of the blade made her calm down a little.

At that moment,

Li Zhexian suddenly seized Dugu Yan by the chin.

He forced her over to the stone table in the courtyard.

Then,

Li Zhexian flipped his palm.

He picked up the teacup on the stone table.

He pressed Dugu Yan's pretty face before the teacup, her red lips against its rim and her fangs braced against its inner wall.

Dugu Yan's breathing abruptly quickened.

Fine jade-scale patterns emerged along her neck, and her two fangs sprayed out fishy-sweet venom.

In an instant,

a shimmering layer pooled at the bottom of the teacup.

Li Zhexian suddenly released his hold.

Dugu Yan stumbled backward and collapsed onto the ground, drained of strength.

Her full chest rose and fell violently. Looking up at Li Zhexian's delighted expression, the corners of her eyes slowly grew wet.

"Li... Li Zhexian..."

The coquettish Dugu Yan had actually been reduced to tears by Li Zhexian.

Li Zhexian put away the snake venom.

Seeing Dugu Yan looking as though she might shatter, he said with little conviction,

"I gave you a chance."

"You were the one who insisted on fighting me."

Dugu Yan shakily rose to her feet and walked out of the courtyard without a word.

But when she reached the courtyard gate,

she stopped, slapped her Hundred Treasures Pouch, and something dropped into her palm.

Without even looking at it, Dugu Yan flung it at Li Zhexian.

Li Zhexian caught it instinctively.

Seeing the familiar wine pot, his brow twitched.

Before he could ask anything, Dugu Yan's cold voice reached him.

"This is from your little sweetheart in Suotuo City."

"She asked me to tell you not to forget the promise you made her."

With that,

she leapt away in a few bounds.

Li Zhexian silently sighed.

He had thoroughly offended Dugu Yan this time.

Opening the wine pot in his hand, Li Zhexian tipped back his head and took a sip.

Mm, it tasted good.

But it was still just short of qualifying for the Clear Spring Wine Gourd.

"Hmm?"

Li Zhexian smacked his lips.

"Why does Zhuqing's wine always carry a floral fragrance?"

A streak of sword light swept through the yard.

It cleared away the clutter in the courtyard.

Li Zhexian eagerly began trying to brew wine.

"Good thing I got plenty of brewing ingredients from Qinghe!"

"Now I can try brewing some wine!"

Li Zhexian rubbed his hands excitedly.

The wine he was brewing this time was called—Snake Saliva Rice Soul.

Since it was one of the more basic wines among the many brewing recipes, the process was simple.

He only needed to soak carefully selected Spirit Rice, steam it until gelatinized, then ferment it with snake venom.

Its effect was to neutralize all snake poisons under heaven.

"My wine can already detoxify poison."

"If I fuse it with Snake Saliva Rice Soul, a single cup of wine will dispel all poisons."

Li Zhexian followed the steps and brewed the wine.

Evening arrived quickly.

After completing the earlier steps, Li Zhexian stared at the thick rice slurry before him and carefully poured in the Jade Scale Snake Poison.

Drip—

Drip—

The snow-white rice slurry turned jade-green.

A faintly intoxicating sweetness filled the air as well.

But before Li Zhexian could rejoice,

Sizzle—!

Sizzle—!

The jade-green mash turned pitch-black in the blink of an eye.

The sweetness became a fishy stench.

"..."

Li Zhexian's expression darkened.

He had expected brewing wine to be difficult.

But the problem was that he had no snake venom left.

Looking at the empty teacup, Li Zhexian sighed wearily.

"Should I get some more from Dugu Yan?"

Thinking of Dugu Yan's tearful face when she left,

Li Zhexian rubbed his brow in frustration.

"If not, I'll have to find another way."

Meanwhile,

Dugu Manor.

Bang—!

Dugu Yan slammed the courtyard gate shut.

She startled Dugu Bo, who was cultivating in the flower garden.

"Yanyan, what happened?"

Dugu Yan kept her face turned aside, her purple hair concealing her right cheek.

She hurried through the flower garden and went straight to her room on the second floor.

"Nothing, Grandfather. I'm going to cultivate."

Dugu Bo's dark green brows furrowed.

His instincts told him

that something must have happened.

But it was not appropriate for him to ask directly.

"I should keep a closer eye on Yanyan's movements these days."

On the second floor.

Behind snake-patterned bed curtains.

Dugu Yan sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, cultivating.

Green veins emerged beneath her fair, tender skin, slowly climbing from the artery in her neck toward her cheek.

They faintly formed a jade-green snake-shaped pattern.

"Hmph!"

After an unknown amount of time.

Dugu Yan suddenly let out a muffled groan, her graceful body bending as she curled up on the bed.

A pained moan escaped her throat.

But upon closer sensing, one could vaguely detect a trace of hidden pleasure within that pain.

Dugu Yan suddenly threw back her head.

A slightly hoarse gasp escaped her lips.

After a long while,

she sat at the table, drenched in sweat, poured herself a cup of water, and sipped it mouthful by mouthful.

This happened every day.

The Jade Scale Snake Martial Soul was inherently highly venomous and could release poison when attacking.

But during cultivation, the poison would gradually erode the body as well.

The process was agonizing.

Yet from awakening her Martial Soul at the age of six until now, fourteen years had passed.

Within those fourteen years of pain, Dugu Yan had found a trace of morbid pleasure.

Her slender hand stroked her right cheek.

She could still feel the burning pain.

It was like an electric current streaking through her heart.

"Li Zhexian!"

"You deserve to die!"

Thinking of that White-robed Youth gripping her jaw and forcing her to spit out venom,

Dugu Yan trembled all over with humiliation.

Yet beneath that humiliation...

Lurked a forbidden pleasure she refused to acknowledge.

Like tearing open a scab she had become addicted to picking at.

Dugu Yan drank water, her red lips pressed to the rim of the cup.

Her face gradually flushed, and her two fangs suddenly bared as she sprayed venom into the cup.

But...

She felt nothing.

Humiliation and pleasure churned turbulently in Dugu Yan's eyes.

She suddenly exerted force.

With a bang, the teacup exploded.

"Li Zhexian!"

"Just you wait!"