Dugu Yan, you don't want yourself and your grandfather to die from poison, do you?

"What's wrong with you?"

Dugu Yan frowned as she watched Ye Qing's face turn visibly pale the moment he heard her name.

What was wrong with this guy?

A moment ago, he had the audacity to demand compensation, but now he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"N-nothing, I'm fine."

Ye Qing snapped back to reality, forcing a smile that looked worse than a cry.

"I'm just... surprised."

Surprised that he had spent the night sleeping next to a ticking time bomb of poison.

Surprised that he had been only one Dugu Bo away from dying without a corpse left behind.

But then, a thought flashed through his mind.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!

Dugu Bo's herb garden, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, contained immortal herbs capable of defying the heavens and changing one's fate.

Right now, they should still be growing perfectly well in Dugu Bo's garden, waiting for the future Tang San to harvest them.

But why?

Why should he, Ye Qing, transmigrate only to end up as an ordinary person with a trash Martial Soul?

Just because he didn't have the protagonist template like Tang San?

No.

The opportunity was right in front of him!

If immortal herbs could defy the heavens and change fate, wouldn't they be just as effective for him?

"Back to the previous topic."

Ye Qing took a deep breath, his gaze turning firm. "I don't intend to ask for compensation anymore."

"?"

Dugu Yan was stunned.

"Last night's incident was partially my fault as well."

Ye Qing sighed, his face full of sincerity. "If my willpower hadn't been so weak, I wouldn't have let you..."

"Shut up!"

Dugu Yan bristled instantly, her emerald eyes practically spitting fire.

What did he mean by "his willpower wasn't strong enough"?

If he claimed his willpower was weak, didn't that imply she had forced him, making her sound like a loose, insatiable woman?

Ye Qing looked at Dugu Yan, his eyes as sincere as if he were possessed by a male lead from a romance drama. "Dugu Yan, you have to take responsibility for me."

"..."

"???"

Dugu Yan suspected there was something wrong with her ears.

An ordinary person.

Was now saying she had to take responsibility for him?

"Are you sick in the head?"

Dugu Yan didn't know whether to be angry or to laugh. "You, an ordinary person, want me to take responsibility for you? Do you even know who I am?"

"I do, Dugu Yan, right?"

Ye Qing began counting on his fingers.

"A genius student at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, possessor of the Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul, and also the precious granddaughter of the Title Douluo, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo."

"!!!"

Dugu Yan's expression shifted.

"How do you know all this?"

Her gaze turned wary.

She definitely hadn't mentioned any of this last night.

Even if she had been drunk, she couldn't have been this detailed.

Had this person been investigating her?

What was his motive?

"That's not important."

Ye Qing waved his hand with a magnanimous air, though his heart was pounding like a drum.

Nonsense, of course he knew.

When he read the novel in his past life, he had practically memorized Dugu Yan's character biography.

"The point is, as a woman, since you did something like this, you should take responsibility for it."

Ye Qing's gaze was outrageously sincere.

Dugu Yan fell silent.

She looked at the black-haired, black-eyed youth before her, trying to find a trace of hypocrisy on his face.

But she found none.

This person was either truly stupid or truly brave.

Regardless of which it was, it was quite absurd.

"Are you not afraid of death?"

Dugu Yan couldn't help but ask.

"I am, how could I not be?"

Ye Qing replied righteously, "But I think my innocence is more important."

His shameless words almost made Dugu Yan laugh in anger.

"Right, there's one more thing."

He shifted the topic, suddenly reaching out his hand, "You need to help me check if I've been poisoned."

Dugu Yan's expression sank instantly.

"Are you suspecting that I poisoned you?"

Her voice carried a hint of dangerous chill.

The Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul excelled at using poison, and she had been suspected by others because of this since she was a child.

But she had never used poison on an innocent person.

That was her bottom line.

However, Ye Qing shook his head.

"I never suspected you."

"I know you only use your poison on enemies."

Dugu Yan was stunned.

Ye Qing looked into her eyes and said, word by word, "I'm asking you to check me mainly because your own body is already poisoned."

To be honest, he felt a bit guilty.

Since Dugu Yan was poisoned, could there actually be poison on her?

"..."

She was stunned for a full three seconds before she scoffed aloud.

"Are you joking?"

"My grandfather is the number one poison expert on the continent, and I am a poison expert who learned from him."

"How could I not know if I'm poisoned or not?"

"If you want to play tricks to fool me, this excuse is a poor one."

Ye Qing did not smile.

"...Are you serious?"

His earnest and serious expression made Dugu Yan's smile slowly fade.

"You can listen to me first."

"The Dugu Family's Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul is indeed powerful; it is one of the top Beast Martial Souls on the continent, granting the Spirit Master unparalleled poisonous abilities."

"But have you ever thought about why no one from the Dugu Family remains except for you and your grandfather?"

Dugu Yan's pupils contracted sharply.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that the Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul carries a deadly poison of its own."

Ye Qing said slowly, "This poison doesn't just attack enemies; it also backlashes against the host."

"The stronger the Spirit Power, the more the toxins accumulate."

"Your hair and your eyes are emerald green; these aren't normal colors, but external characteristics of toxins eroding your body."

"Your grandfather also has green hair and green eyes, right? He can live until now purely because his strength is sufficient to forcibly suppress the toxins."

"But his descendants don't have his powerful Spirit Power, so they will only die from the poison one after another."

"In the end, only you, his granddaughter, are left."

"!!!"

Dugu Yan's expression changed completely.

She wanted to retort.

She wanted to call Ye Qing a liar.

But she couldn't open her mouth.

Because she suddenly thought of her father, her uncle... and those relatives she had never met.

Grandfather never mentioned them.

Every time she asked, Grandfather would fall silent for a long time before changing the subject.

She had always assumed those were painful memories he didn't want to revisit.

But what if... what if what Ye Qing said was true?

"There is one more thing."

Ye Qing looked at her and asked softly, "Whenever it's rainy or overcast, do you feel a stabbing pain in your ribs?"

"!!!"

Dugu Yan jerked her head up.

Her emerald eyes were filled with shock.

"How do you know?!"

She had never told anyone about this symptom, not even her grandfather.

Because the pain was so slight, so faint that she had always assumed it was a lingering injury from cultivation or combat.

But how could Ye Qing...

"Because the toxins in your body have already begun to take effect."

Ye Qing sighed, "Your soul power level isn't high yet, so the toxins are still in the accumulation phase, which is why the symptoms are so mild."

"But once you reach the Soul Emperor level, the toxins will erupt completely."

"By then, even the gods won't be able to save you."

"..."

Dugu Yan's lips trembled slightly.

Her instinct told her this was fear-mongering!

But every word Ye Qing spoke hit precisely on the pain points she had never mentioned to anyone.

"Who exactly are you?"

Dugu Yan's voice was hoarse.

How could this fair-skinned, delicate-looking youth know the secrets of the Dugu Family?

He even knew secrets that she herself didn't know!

Watching Dugu Yan's distraught appearance, Ye Qing silently gave himself a pat on the back.

It was in the bag.

This brilliant display of maneuvering had successfully handed him the initiative.

He flashed a sunny smile, "Just an ordinary person who happens to be a victim of a female hooligan, and who also happens to know the cure for the poison in your body."