You Are Poisoned

Wang Xian was quick-witted and agile, stepping forward in one stride to catch her.

Dugu Yan's body felt as soft as a bundle of cotton as she leaned into his arms, her breathing rapid and erratic, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her forehead.

"Yanzi!" Ye Lingling cried out, her face turning pale in an instant. She rushed to their side and reached out to support Dugu Yan's arm, her fingers trembling.

"Don't panic." Wang Xian steadied himself, scooped Dugu Yan up horizontally, and gently laid her onto the nearby sofa.

Her brows were tightly furrowed, her lips were turning purple, and her dark green eyes were half-open, her pupils unfocused as she had already lost consciousness.

"Lingling, come over and heal her." Wang Xian stepped aside to make room.

Ye Lingling nodded, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down.

She spread out her right hand, and a pink begonia flower slowly bloomed from her palm.

The begonia was the size of a washbasin, its petals layered and overlapping, with a pink radiance swirling at the heart of the flower, emitting a soft and warm aura.

Two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet, slowly rotating around her body.

Nine-Heart Begonia.

Ye Lingling channeled her soul power, and a white light poured out from the petals, cascading over Dugu Yan like moonlight.

The light was gentle and dense, covering her body like a thin, translucent veil, spreading from her chest to her limbs, and from her limbs to the top of her head.

Dugu Yan's tightly furrowed brows gradually smoothed out under this light, her pale complexion regained its rosy hue at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the purple tint on her lips slowly faded away.

Her breathing became steady and long, as if she had drifted into a quiet sleep.

Wang Xian stood to the side, watching Ye Lingling's focused profile and the Nine-Heart Begonia emitting its soft glow, silently marveling in his heart.

The number one healing Martial Soul on the Douluo Continent, truly well-deserved.

He had seen the state Dugu Yan was in just moments ago; for a normal healing Soul Master, that level of unconsciousness would have taken at least half a day to treat.

Yet Ye Lingling had pulled her back in just a few breaths, and it looked completely effortless.

After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Dugu Yan's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"I..." Her voice was somewhat hoarse, and she looked at the ceiling with a dazed expression, as if she hadn't yet realized what had happened.

"Yanzi, you fainted just now." Ye Lingling crouched by the sofa, holding Dugu Yan's hands in hers, her eyes slightly red, her voice tinged with lingering fear. "You scared me to death."

Dugu Yan was stunned for a moment, then slowly sat up, looking down at her own hands before raising a hand to touch her eyes.

Her eyes had returned to a light green, but they were still deeper than usual, as if veiled by a thin layer of mist.

Dugu Yan looked at Wang Xian in a daze, raising a hand to touch her face. "What happened to me just now? I suddenly felt intense pain all over, and then I stumbled and passed out."

Wang Xian looked into her eyes; that originally clear light green was now significantly deeper, as if stained by something.

He had already formed a judgment in his heart: this was a sign that the poisoning had deepened.

The opportunity had arrived.

"You have been poisoned." Wang Xian didn't beat around the bush and said it directly.

"Poisoned?" Dugu Yan was taken aback, then immediately frowned. "How is that possible? I possess the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul!"

Her tone carried clear disbelief.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent was a poison-attribute Martial Soul, and the Dugu Family's skill with poisons was renowned across the Douluo Continent.

As an expert in using poison, how could she be poisoned without even knowing it herself?

Wang Xian didn't rush to refute her, simply nodding slightly. "You might not believe it, but your current symptoms are indeed no different from being poisoned."

He looked into Dugu Yan's eyes and asked, "Have you ever paid attention to your own eyes?"

"My eyes?" Dugu Yan blinked, subconsciously raising a hand to touch the corner of her eye.

"Exactly. Green eyes." Wang Xian's tone was calm and certain. "This is an eye color that simply doesn't exist on the Douluo Continent. In all your years, have you ever seen anyone else with green eyes?"

Dugu Yan opened her mouth, thought for a moment, and spoke a name: "My grandfather."

After saying those two words, her voice dropped.

Aside from her grandfather, she couldn't think of a single other person whose eye color matched her own.

"That explains a lot." Wang Xian said, "You said earlier that the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul couldn't be poisoned, but I suspect that it is precisely because your Martial Soul is the Jade Phosphorous Serpent that you have been poisoned."

He paused, looking into Dugu Yan's eyes. "This would also explain why both you and your grandfather have green eyes."

Dugu Yan was stunned, and Ye Lingling was stunned as well.

To anyone on the continent, this conjecture would sound extremely bold.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul poisoning itself, and because of the Martial Soul itself.

This sounded impossible; the Jade Phosphorous Serpent wasn't the only poison-attribute Martial Soul on the continent. If every owner of a poison Martial Soul were poisoned because of it, then all poison-using Soul Masters would have died out long ago.

"My grandfather couldn't possibly not know he was poisoned, he is..." Dugu Yan's words were cut off by Wang Xian before she could finish.

"Don't be so categorical just yet." Wang Xian looked at her, the corners of his mouth curling up into a faint smile. "Yanzi, do you trust me?"

Dugu Yan looked at his smiling face, gazing into his calm and certain eyes, and her heart skipped a beat for no reason.

Her face flushed slightly, and she nodded.

"That's good then."

Wang Xian stood up from the sofa and flexed his fingers. "My Evergreen Blue Silver Grass possesses the ability to ingest and decompose toxins."

"If you are willing, I can attempt to ingest the toxins within your body."

"At that time, you can feel the changes within yourself to judge whether I am spouting nonsense. How about it?"

Dugu Yan looked at him, silent for two seconds, before ultimately choosing to trust Wang Xian.

Having spent such a long time with Wang Xian, she knew he was not a person who spoke without purpose.

If he dared to say such a thing, he must have his own certainty.

"What do I need to do?" she asked.

"Just reach out your hand and don't resist," Wang Xian smiled, spreading his right hand as a pale green light surged from his palm.

The Evergreen Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm, the dark purple patterns on its leaves flickering in and out of sight under the light.

With a thought from Wang Xian, a tiny vine branched off from the Blue Silver Grass, as thin as a strand of hair; if one didn't look closely, it was almost impossible to see.

The vine gently coiled around Dugu Yan's wrist like a docile little snake.

Wang Xian controlled the tip of the vine to lightly prick the inside of Dugu Yan's wrist.

She frowned slightly, feeling a faint stinging sensation, as if she had been bitten by a mosquito.

The tip of the vine pierced into her vein.

Wang Xian closed his eyes and began to activate the Poison Ingestion trait.