Dugu Yan: Damn it, my charm is inferior to flowers? Ye Qing: Nonsense, this is Immortal Grade!

A week is neither long nor short.

But for Ye Qing, these seven days were harder to endure than waiting for a Double Eleven delivery in his original world.

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

If she went back and asked Dugu Bo, only to be hoodwinked by Old Poison into believing she wasn't poisoned, then all his flashy maneuvers would have been for nothing.

He would have lost his body and his troops.

Oh wait, he gained a body but lost his troops—hundreds of millions of little soldiers.

"Little Ye! Order for table three!"

"Coming, coming!"

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

He didn't know who owned this dump of a hotel, but the pay was ridiculously low and the workload was terrifying.

Once he made it big, the first thing he would do was buy this place and make the boss serve him.

Yes, that was decided.

Just as he was thinking this, a familiar figure stormed into the hotel lobby.

Her emerald-green hair cut a blur through the air, and her green eyes scanned the room, locking precisely onto Ye Qing as he carried a tray.

"Open a room."

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

The receptionist was so intimidated by her aura that her hands shook; she quickly processed the paperwork and handed over the key.

Then, under the gaze of everyone present, Dugu Yan strode toward Ye Qing and grabbed him by the collar.

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

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

"Come with me."

"Wait, I still have work!"

"I've asked for leave on your behalf."

"When?"

"Just now."

Dugu Yan turned to the receptionist and said, "Tell the boss, I'm taking this person."

Receptionist: "???"

Guests in the lobby: "???"

Ye Qing: "???"

Wasn't there some ambiguity in that statement?

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

Ye Qing looked at the receptionist's expression—a mix of shock and gossip—and thought his reputation was completely ruined.

Oh wait, it was already gone.

Inside the room.

Ye Qing was tossed onto the bed.

Dugu Yan locked the door behind her, crossed her arms, and leaned against the door panel with a complicated expression.

Seeing her like this, Ye Qing had a rough idea of what was going on.

He was in the clear.

But on the surface, he still feigned a trembling appearance, grabbing the quilt to wrap around himself with only his head poking out.

"W-what do you want to do?"

His voice shook, "Are you trying to violate me?"

"..."

A vein pulsed on Dugu Yan's forehead.

"That's enough."

Her voice was gritted through her teeth, "Stop acting."

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

"Ye! Qing!"

Dugu Yan enunciated his name syllable by syllable, her emerald eyes practically spitting fire.

"Try acting one more time, 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 instantly shifting from a "startled little rabbit" to a "calculating little fox."

The speed of his face-changing was so impressive that even a Sichuan opera artist would call him a master.

"Fine, I'll stop pretending."

He patted the bed beside him, smiling brightly, "Come, come, sit down, let's have a proper chat."

Dugu Yan: "..."

Although she had already guessed that his previous victim act was a facade.

Seeing his face-changing stunt with her own eyes still gave her the urge to summon her Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul to bite him.

Deep breath.

Deep breath.

Can't bite him.

If she bites him, who will cure her poison?

Forcibly suppressing the urge to hit him, Dugu Yan pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat face-to-face with Ye Qing.

"How do you know about my grandfather's herb garden?"

This question had been bothering her for a whole week.

Her grandfather's herb garden was hidden deep within the Sunset Forest, surrounded by poisonous arrays.

How could this kid, a mere ordinary person, know about it so clearly?

He even made her bring him items from it as an additional condition for their bet.

"If I said I saw it in a dream, would you believe me?"

Ye Qing said with a straight face.

Dugu Yan's expression clearly read, "Do I look like a fool to you?"

"Alright, alright."

Ye Qing raised his hands in surrender, his expression turning serious, "Then let me ask you, now that you've surely learned the truth, how did you find out the truth about your poisoning?"

Dugu Yan's expression stiffened.

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

After returning that day, Dugu Yan went straight to Dugu Bo.

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

But under Dugu Yan's persistent questioning, which could even be called a threat, this Title Douluo finally fell silent.

In the end, he admitted it.

The poison of the Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul was a bloodline poison.

Everyone in the Dugu Family, except for Dugu Bo who barely suppressed it with his Title Douluo cultivation, had died from the poison.

Dugu Yan's father, mother, uncle... they all died this way.

And as for her, Dugu Yan, if she cultivated to the Soul Emperor level, the toxins 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 back from her memories to reality.

Dugu Yan looked up, her emerald-green eyes filled with a trace of despair, and a glimmer of hope.

The despair came from the fact that she was poisoned.

The hope was that the person in front of her might know how to cure it.

"Do you really..."

Her voice was a bit hoarse, "Do you really know how to cure the poison?"

"I do."

Ye Qing nodded, then changed the subject, "But before that, the things I asked you to bring, did you bring them?"

"That was the additional condition of our bet."

Dugu Yan: "..."

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

Her life was the most important thing, wasn't it!

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

The jade box was small and warm to the touch, clearly a high-quality item at a glance.

"Here, this is what you wanted. I really don't know why you need this thing."

"!!!"

Ye Qing's eyes lit up instantly.

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

He opened it.

Golden light burst forth.

It was a tulip with a peculiar appearance.

The lower part consisted of finely combed, vine-like roots and leaves that coiled like hanging curtains; they had a supple texture and shimmered with a warm, golden luster.

At the top bloomed a large, full, pure-gold tulip, its petals layered one upon another, their edges shimmering with fine, flowing light.

The stamen was bright, translucent gold, and the fragrance was rich and mellow, carrying an air of magnificent nobility.

A single whiff left one feeling refreshed and invigorated.

It was exactly as described in the original Douluo Continent: an Immortal Grade herb—the Silk Tulip!

Ye Qing's hands were trembling, his gaze fixed on the Silk Tulip with fiery obsession.

This was an immortal herb!

In the original story, it was only after Ning Rongrong consumed this thing that her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda evolved into the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda.

And now, this immortal herb belonged to him!