"So Yanyan passed out because you two shocked her?"
Ye Lingling stood in front of Yu Tianheng and Fang Xuan. Behind her, Dugu Yan was still unconscious.
She had just woken up and found Fang Xuan missing. After getting dressed, she had gone downstairs to look for him, only to happen upon this scene.
After the two explained what had happened, she understood everything.
"I only gave a rough guess. I didn't expect her to react so strongly. If I'd known, I wouldn't have said anything."
Fang Xuan sighed. He was at a loss, and there was nothing he could do but fret.
There were many ways to deal with the Jade Scale Snake Poison, but he couldn't just blurt them out.
Even if the other party believed him, there was no guarantee they wouldn't become suspicious.
After all, why would you be researching Jade Scale Snake Poison if you didn't have some ulterior motive?
"Before anything else, are we sure Yanyan is really poisoned?"
Ye Lingling stepped forward and pressed him for an answer. She had never heard of a Soul Master who used poison being poisoned by their own poison, let alone without realizing it.
"We can't be certain yet. It's just a suspicion, but judging by her own reaction, it's probably true."
"But don't worry, Lingling. If it's poison, there must be a way to cure it, right?"
Seeing how anxious Ye Lingling looked, Fang Xuan hurried to reassure her.
Just then, a light suddenly flared in his hand.
"Oh, damn! I forgot today's the seventh day."
A random plant every seven days—that was one of his Martial Soul's traits.
And today just happened to be the seventh day. Last time, he'd gotten a Hypno-shroom. What would he get this time? He was curious.
Ever since awakening this Martial Soul, it had felt like opening a blind box.
A plant blind box, every seven days.
When the light faded, a small green plant appeared in his palm.
"Hm? Aloe again?"
Fang Xuan looked at the familiar plant in his hand and felt speechless.
He'd gotten a duplicate. It was the very plant that had granted him the healing effect of his current fifth Soul Skill: Life Aloe (Aloe Physician).
Ye Lingling looked at the small plant, its leaves like green droplets, with undisguised curiosity.
It was the first time she had seen Fang Xuan's Martial Soul take effect. Before this, she had only heard him talk about it.
"Fang Xuan? What is this...? It has such a rich aura of life."
As a healing-type Soul Master, Ye Lingling was more sensitive to the aura of life than most people.
The Aloe Physician in Fang Xuan's hand was itself a healing plant, and the life force it contained was deeply alluring to her.
"This is called Life Aloe. It contains a great deal of life essence, and it's the source of my fifth Soul Skill."
"Since it's a duplicate, it's no use to me. You can have it."
Duplicate plants were of little use to Fang Xuan. Ye Lingling seemed to like this one, so he decided to give it to her.
He pressed the Life Aloe into Ye Lingling's hand and warned her, "This thing only lasts seven days. After that, it disappears on its own. It's nothing special, really. The calming tea I gave you earlier had some in it, just diluted."
The tea's supposed ability to refresh the mind and calm the nerves was simply the result of a slight replenishment of life energy.
After all, every living thing needed life energy.
Even a tiny amount could have an unexpected effect.
With Fang Xuan having all but forced the Life Aloe into her hand, Ye Lingling felt a warmth in her heart.
But she soon glanced at Dugu Yan beside them and asked, "Can we feed this to Yanyan?"
Her Nine Star Begonia couldn't cure Dugu Yan's poison. She had already tried.
If, as Fang Xuan said, the poison had been in Dugu Yan's body for a long time, then the fact that Ye Lingling had healed her so many times without removing it meant that the Nine Star Begonia couldn't eliminate it.
What Ye Lingling didn't know was that the poison was part of Dugu Yan herself. Removing it would be the same as removing Dugu Yan. Though the Nine Star Begonia was said to be capable of complete healing, this situation was effectively a bug in its power.
Healing Dugu Yan would mean killing her, which rendered the Nine Star Begonia's healing ability useless.
"You can, but it probably won't do much. Still, you can try. It won't hurt her."
Fang Xuan's fifth Soul Skill had the same effect as this plant. It hadn't worked before, so what difference would eating this one make?
But Ye Lingling wanted to try, and he didn't want to stop her. The only issue was that the stuff was gooey and a little... well, suggestive to handle.
Ye Lingling took the Life Aloe and carefully broke off a piece of its translucent flesh.
It really was slippery and sticky. It dissolved with a gentle rub of her fingertips, like a small piece of flowing jade in her hand.
She walked over to Dugu Yan and gently fed the aloe flesh into her mouth.
The aloe melted as soon as it entered her mouth. A warm breath of life spread between Dugu Yan's lips and teeth, and her pale face visibly took on a little color.
But that was all.
Dugu Yan still didn't wake. Yu Tianheng stood nearby, unsure what to do.
"Don't worry. There'll be another way."
"When she wakes up, make sure to soothe her. Don't let her heart give out before the poison even gets the chance to hurt her."
Physical illness was easy to treat. Heartache was hard to heal.
If something really happened to Dugu Yan, Fang Xuan would never be able to wash his hands of it.
"Lingling, try to talk her around too. You just saw what my Martial Soul can do. Maybe one day it'll produce a plant that can cure her poison."
For someone in despair, hope was the best medicine.
Fang Xuan couldn't say for sure that such a plant existed, but what if it did?
And if all else failed, he could always copy what Tang San had done. Tang San had several methods for helping Dugu Bo deal with the Jade Scale Snake Poison.
The most direct method was to use two Immortal Herbs born in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, using their medicinal properties to neutralize the damage the poison had caused to the body.
But the dosage had to be carefully controlled. Otherwise, it would dispel all of the other person's poison-based cultivation and leave them crippled.
The risk was too high. He wasn't an expert in this field, so he didn't dare try it lightly.
That left the second method: transferring the poison into a bone.
The poison inside the body would be transferred to a Soul Bone and sealed away.
No matter how overbearing the Jade Scale Snake Poison was, it couldn't possibly corrode a Soul Bone. The problem was that Soul Bones were rare. Where could he find a suitable one for Dugu Yan?
Dugu Bo had one, but Fang Xuan couldn't exactly have him dig out his own bone like that idiot Tang Hao.
The poison might be cured, but the person would be crippled. It would be a terrible bargain.
Fang Xuan wanted to help, but not make things worse. Even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice. As he racked his brain for a solution, Dugu Yan woke up.
"Yanyan, you're finally awake! You scared me half to death, you know?"
The moment Ye Lingling saw Dugu Yan wake, she rushed over and hugged her.
Dugu Yan was her only friend. If anything happened to her, Ye Lingling wouldn't know what to do.
At that moment, Dugu Yan looked serene. She gently patted Ye Lingling, who was holding her, then fixed a blazing gaze on Fang Xuan.
"Do you know how to cure it?"