A Face Matters

"Mm."

In the Great Spirit Arena's lounge, the unconscious Dugu Yan finally woke up.

Where am I?

I remember arguing with Grandpa today because he wouldn't support me switching to the assault-type path.

I was in a bad mood, so I went to the Great Spirit Arena to find someone to fight.

Then, I think I ran into some strange masked guy.

And in the end, I think...

"Mm."

The pain in her abdomen snapped Dugu Yan fully awake. She immediately sat up, clearly having forgotten about the injury to her stomach.

So she fell back down again.

"Ah, it hurts!"

Dugu Yan twisted around like a snake, hoping to ease the pain a little.

"You're awake?"

The familiar voice made the writhing Dugu Yan freeze instantly.

Turning around, Dugu Yan saw Yu Yuan sitting across from her. Only then did she realize she was lying on a bench.

"Y-you, what are you going to do?"

Dugu Yan fearfully shrank toward the edge of the bench.

Guys, who could understand this?

She had run into some violent man who greeted her with two punches.

"Hmm? Didn't we agree to have a chat after the fight?"

Yu Yuan did not think much of it. He had held back appropriately. It might have felt painful, but her internal organs had not been injured, so she would recover quickly.

"Are we really just talking?"

"What else would we do?"

"Isn't it... Forget it. It's nothing. What do you want to talk about?"

Thinking of the nonsense she had imagined earlier, even Dugu Yan's rounded toes curled up.

This is too embarrassing. Was I just overthinking everything?

"Though it's only my impression, it seems you've accumulated quite a lot of toxins in your body."

Dugu Yan nearly laughed at that. No, her martial soul was the Jade-Scaled Snake. How could she possibly not have toxins in her body?

Seeing her expression, Yu Yuan realized he had phrased it poorly again, so he could only try explaining once more.

"I'm not talking about the toxins from your martial soul. No, actually, I suppose I am. Forget it. Could you hold out a finger for me?"

In the end, Yu Yuan gave up on relying on his own language skills.

He could not be blamed for it.

He had barely spoken to anyone over the past two years.

The fact that he had not ended up speaking like the Temporal Saint Dragon was already impressive enough, all right?

"A finger? Which one?"

Dugu Yan did not know why he wanted to look at her finger, but he sounded quite serious.

He can't actually have a hand fetish and want me to hold out a finger for him to lick, can he?

"Any one."

Yu Yuan noticed that her thoughts seemed to go off on tangents easily. She had clearly thought of something strange again just now.

"Huh? All right."

With that, she extended the index finger of her right hand toward him.

Looking at her slender finger and its green-stained nail, Yu Yuan silently activated his dragonification and took hold of it.

"Control your breathing. You might feel a little uncomfortable in a moment."

What kind of discomfort? He isn't really a hand fetishist, is he?!

As Yu Yuan mobilized the light-attribute energy within his body, Dugu Yan quickly felt warmth spreading from her fingertip.

Then, she suddenly felt a little lighter.

It was as if shackles that had bound her for a long time had been partially undone.

"What did you..."

Unfortunately, before Dugu Yan could ask—

Stabbing pains surged through her arm, frightening her into quickly pulling her hand away.

"Activate your martial soul, then meditate."

Yu Yuan's voice was steady. Dugu Yan involuntarily began following his instructions.

Ten minutes later.

The stabbing pain finally disappeared.

After dismissing her martial soul, Dugu Yan looked at her hands in confusion.

"Why? Where did that comfortable feeling and the stabbing pain come from?"

She raised her jade-green eyes to Yu Yuan. This man would certainly be able to give her an answer.

"Just as I said before, toxins have accumulated in your body."

Yu Yuan opened his right hand and gathered light-attribute energy in his palm.

"My light-attribute energy just purified some of the toxins, which is why you felt comfortable."

"Then what about the stabbing pain?"

Dugu Yan did not really want to think in that direction.

She was a Jade-Scaled Snake who used poison!

Wouldn't being poisoned herself disgrace her grandfather?

If Yu Yuan knew what she was thinking, he would definitely tell her not to worry.

After all, even Dugu Bo could not solve the problem himself. He certainly would not think she was an embarrassment.

"The toxins in your body come from your martial soul. You normally can't tell, and they only accumulate slowly within you."

Yu Yuan motioned for Dugu Yan to look at her distinctively colored light-purple hair before continuing his explanation.

"When I purified the toxins, the toxins accumulated in your body and your martial soul reacted violently against it. That is where the stabbing pain came from."

Yet after receiving the answer, Dugu Yan was somewhat unwilling to believe it.

If the toxins in her body came from her martial soul, then did that mean Grandpa also...

Thinking of his green hair, could that also be a sign of poisoning?

"M-my grandfather is the Poison Douluo."

"Hmm? So?"

Yu Yuan did not understand why she had suddenly started bringing up her background.

"So I can't possibly believe just your word alone. If you're confident, come with me to see my grandfather!"

Dugu Yan still hoped her grandfather could refute him and tell her that she was not actually poisoned.

"No problem."

Naturally, Yu Yuan had no objections. Rather, the main phase had finally begun.

"Then shall we go now?"

Seeing that he not only did not object but even took the initiative to ask her to lead the way, Dugu Yan became even more certain that he was not fooling her.

After checking and finding that the stabbing pain had completely vanished, she immediately got up and led Yu Yuan toward Dugu Bo's residence.

"It's right ahead. Say, can you take off your mask? You've been wearing it the whole way."

Having led him to the entrance of her home, Dugu Yan looked at the mask on Yu Yuan's face and finally spoke up.

She was afraid that if her grandfather saw her bringing home a masked man, he would attack and poison him to death on the spot.

"Hmm? It's actually quite comfortable to wear, but no problem."

Yu Yuan had made this mask himself as a soul tool, but considering that this was their first meeting, he reached up and removed it.

Then Dugu Yan was stunned.

Though Yu Yuan himself did not feel anything about it, his face was still rather devastating.

The Golden Sacred Dragon's light attribute made the lines of his face exceptionally gentle, while the Temporal Saint Dragon's abilities gave him both the youthful air of a boy and the contours of a mature man.

His slightly narrowed eyes carried a faint sense of authority.

Especially since Yu Yuan wore such a peaceful expression.

It was as though he had no idea how handsome his face was.

"Hmm? Is there a problem?"

Yu Yuan noticed that after he removed his mask, Dugu Yan across from him had blushed. Even her long legs had twisted together.

"N-no, nothing."

Dugu Yan felt that something was wrong with her.

The face of the person before her was far too alluring.

And why do I always feel some inexplicable pressure whenever I look at his face?

She patted her cheeks to clear her head, taking deep breaths to calm her restless body.

Then she turned her head away, forcing herself not to look at him again.

"Um, please follow me. Grandpa should be home. I'll take you to meet him."