Dugu Yan: Damn It, Is My Charm Inferior to a Flower? Ye Qing: Obviously, This Is an Immortal Grade!

A week wasn't especially long, but it wasn't short, either.

But for Ye Qing, those seven days were even harder to endure than waiting for a Double Eleven delivery back in his old world.

Every day, while carrying plates and wiping tables, he wondered if that girl, Dugu Yan, would stand him up.

What if she went back and asked Dugu Bo, and Old Poison talked his way around it, convincing her she wasn't poisoned? Then all his sneaky maneuvering would have been for nothing.

He'd lost his body and his troops.

No, wait. He'd gained a body, but lost his troops—over a hundred million little soldiers.

"Xiao Ye! The dishes for table three!"

"Coming, coming!"

Ye Qing wiped his hands and continued his miserable career as a waiter.

He had no idea who owned this lousy hotel, but the pay was ridiculously low and the work was terrifyingly heavy.

Once he made it big, the first thing he'd do was buy this dump, then make the owner wait on him.

Yep, that settled it.

Just then, a familiar figure came rushing into the hotel lobby.

Her emerald-green hair swept through the air in a blur. Her green eyes scanned the room, then zeroed in on Ye Qing, who was carrying plates.

"Give me a room."

Dugu Yan slapped a Gold Soul Coin down on the front desk, her voice cold enough to freeze.

The receptionist was so intimidated by her that her hand trembled. She hurriedly finished the paperwork and handed over the key.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone in the lobby, Dugu Yan strode over to Ye Qing and grabbed him by the collar.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?"

The plate in Ye Qing's hands nearly went flying.

"Come with me."

"Wait, I still have work!"

"I got you leave."

"When?"

"Now."

Dugu Yan turned to the receptionist. "Tell the owner I'm taking this guy."

Receptionist: "???"

Hotel guests: "???"

Ye Qing: "???"

Didn't that sound a little ambiguous?

Before he could figure it out, Dugu Yan was already dragging him up the stairs like a dead dog.

Ye Qing saw the receptionist staring at him in shock and with a hint of gossip. He thought his reputation was ruined for good.

No, wait. It was already gone.

In the room.

Ye Qing was tossed onto the bed.

Dugu Yan locked the door behind her, then leaned against it with her arms crossed, her expression complicated.

Seeing her like that, Ye Qing had a pretty good idea what was going on.

It was in the bag.

But he still pretended to tremble with fear. He grabbed the quilt and wrapped himself up, leaving only his head exposed.

"W-what do you want?"

His voice quavered. "Are you going to assault me?"

"..."

A tick mark appeared on Dugu Yan's forehead.

"That's enough."

Her voice was gritted through her teeth. "Quit pretending."

"What am I pretending? I'm just..."

"Ye! Qing!"

Dugu Yan said his name one syllable at a time, her emerald-green eyes practically spitting fire.

"Try acting again. I dare you."

"..."

Ye Qing fell silent for a second.

Then he threw off the quilt and sat cross-legged on the bed. His expression switched in an instant from "startled little white rabbit" to "cunning little fox."

He changed faces so fast that even a Sichuan opera performer would have called him a master.

"All right, I'll stop pretending."

He patted the bed beside him and smiled brightly. "Come on, sit. Let's have a good chat."

Dugu Yan: "..."

She had already guessed that he'd been faking that whole helpless-victim act.

But seeing his face-changing trick with her own eyes still made her want to summon her Jade Phosphorous Serpent and have it bite him.

Deep breaths.

Deep breaths.

She couldn't bite him.

If she did, who would cure her poison?

Suppressing the urge to hit him, Dugu Yan dragged a chair over to the bed and sat facing Ye Qing.

"How did you know about my grandfather's Medicine Garden?"

That question had been bothering her for a whole week.

Her grandfather's Medicine Garden was hidden deep in Sunset Forest, surrounded by poisonous formations.

How could this ordinary guy know so much about it?

He'd even asked her to bring something back from it as an extra condition of their bet.

"What if I told you I dreamed about it? Would you believe me?"

Ye Qing looked perfectly serious.

Dugu Yan's expression clearly said, Do you think I'm an idiot?

"All right, all right."

Ye Qing raised his hands in surrender, his expression turning serious. "Then let me ask you this. You must know the truth now, right? How did you get your grandfather to tell you that you were poisoned?"

Dugu Yan's expression stiffened.

She didn't answer, but Ye Qing read the truth in her eyes.

After she returned that day, Dugu Yan went straight to Dugu Bo.

At first, Dugu Bo tried to brush her off, saying things like, "Grandpa's in perfect health," and "Don't let your imagination run wild."

But when Dugu Yan kept pressing him, even going so far as to threaten him, the Titled Douluo finally fell silent.

In the end, he admitted it.

The poison of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul was a bloodline poison.

Everyone in the Dugu Family had died from the poison except Dugu Bo, who could barely suppress it with his Titled Douluo cultivation.

Dugu Yan's father, mother, uncle... They had all died that way.

And if Dugu Yan cultivated to the Soul Emperor level, the poison in her body would erupt completely.

By then, even her grandfather wouldn't be able to save her.

"So, do you believe me now?"

Ye Qing's voice pulled her out of her memories and back to reality.

Dugu Yan looked up. Her emerald-green eyes held a trace of despair, and a trace of hope.

She despaired at the fact that she was carrying a deadly poison.

She hoped that the person in front of her knew how to cure it.

"You really..."

Her voice was a little hoarse. "You really know how to cure the poison?"

"I do."

Ye Qing nodded, then abruptly changed the subject. "But before that, what I asked you to bring—did you bring it?"

"That was an extra condition of our bet, after all."

Dugu Yan: "..."

How could this guy be so good at changing the subject at a time like this?

Her life was the most important thing here!

She gritted her teeth and took a jade box from the small pouch at her waist.

The box wasn't large. Its surface was smooth and warm to the touch, clearly made of fine jade.

"Here. This is what you wanted. I really don't know what you want this thing for."

"!!!"

Ye Qing's eyes lit up instantly.

He reached out with both hands, like a child about to unwrap a birthday present, and solemnly took the jade box.

He opened it.

A golden light burst forth.

Inside was a strangely shaped tulip.

Its lower half consisted of densely combed, vine-like roots and leaves entwined like hanging curtains. They felt supple and gleamed with a warm, golden luster.

At the top bloomed a large, plump, pure-golden tulip, its petals layered one over another and their edges glimmering with tiny flecks of light.

Its stamens were bright golden, its fragrance rich and mellow, exuding an air of opulent splendor.

Its scent cleared the mind and refreshed the spirit.

It was exactly as described in the original Douluo Continent story: an Immortal Grade treasure, the Aromatic Silk Beauty!

Ye Qing's hands trembled as he gazed at the Aromatic Silk Beauty, his eyes burning with fascination.

This was an Immortal Herb!

In the original story, Ning Rongrong had eaten this very thing, and her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda had evolved into the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda.

And now, this Immortal Herb belonged to him!