Turn the Tables: I'll Poison Them Too!

Someone in the kitchen served Ning Rongrong a bowl of pork rib soup.

Qin Yun stepped forward as well.

"Give me a bowl too!" he said.

When Dai Mubai and Tang San heard him ask for soup, they couldn't help glancing his way.

Qin Yun didn't turn his head, but his senses were keen.

He noticed that the two of them were secretly watching him.

Was there something wrong with the soup?

Qin Yun looked down into his bowl.

The broth was clear, with a thin sheen of oil on the surface. A few small ribs lay at the bottom, the meat simmered until it was tender enough to fall off the bone. The aroma was mouthwatering.

He ran a fingertip halfway around the rim of the bowl, sending a thread of Soul Power into the soup.

Pork ribs, ginger slices, scallion segments, salt, a few peppercorns—nothing unusual.

But he detected a toxin mixed into the broth at the bottom.

It was a biological toxin.

Its basic elements were carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.

A poison like that couldn't affect Qin Yun.

He could simply call on the power of the Periodic Table of Elements to break it down.

It would be reduced to basic amino acids.

Not only would his body suffer no harm, it would gain some extra nourishment.

Judging by Dai Mubai's and Tang San's strange behavior, they had most likely added the poison.

Qin Yun hadn't expected Tang San to poison the food in the cafeteria just to get at him.

Wasn't he afraid someone else might drink it?

Qin Yun came up with a plan at once.

If you want to play this game, I'll play along.

In a flash, Qin Yun added a fluorine-based poison of his own to the pork rib soup.

Once that was done, he carried his bowl back to the table as though nothing had happened and sat across from Ning Rongrong.

Just then, the cafeteria curtain began to lift as more people arrived.

Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun came in one after another.

Ma Hongjun craned his neck to look toward the stove. "Pork rib soup today?"

"Give me two bowls to start!"

Zhao Wuji, Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and the others arrived soon after. They collected their meals and sat down.

"I took the Grandmaster's advice and improved some of your meals," Flender said. "When you're done eating, everyone gather at the training ground."

"Yes, Headmaster!"

Qin Yun picked up his spoon and took a sip of soup.

It really was well made. Delicious, even!

In the corner, Tang San and Dai Mubai watched Qin Yun drink.

They exchanged a glance. It worked.

Tang San also saw Flender and Yu Xiaogang drink the soup.

He took a prepared water flask from his sleeve, stood, and walked over to Yu Xiaogang.

It contained the antidote he had mixed.

"Teacher, I brought you some water. Have a little with your soup."

Yu Xiaogang looked up at him and nodded.

"All right. Leave it there."

As Tang San passed Dai Mubai on his way back, Dai Mubai stood up too.

Holding a cup of water, he walked toward Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing sat near the wall. She had already drunk more than half her soup.

She looked up at the sound of footsteps and found Dai Mubai holding out a cup to her.

"Drink some water," Dai Mubai said.

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at the cup, then at his face. She didn't take it.

She turned her head away. "No, thanks."

Dai Mubai kept the cup extended.

He pushed it a little closer, his voice dropping.

"I know I wronged you before. But you have to drink this."

"If you don't, I'll stand here until you do!"

Zhu Zhuqing studied the weight in his gaze, then reached out and took the cup.

"Drink it now!"

Zhu Zhuqing had no idea what Dai Mubai was up to, but she took two sips anyway.

"Satisfied?"

Dai Mubai nodded and returned to his seat.

Everything in their plan that needed doing was now done.

The soup was poisoned, and everyone had drunk it.

But the antidote had also been delivered to the people they intended to protect.

Now they only needed to wait about half an hour.

Then the poison would begin to show its effects in Qin Yun.

They would have the upper hand.

At the very least, they could trade one antidote for another and save Xiao Wu.

"Mubai, I'm going back to look after Xiao Wu," Tang San said.

He had taken fewer than two steps when a dull thud sounded behind him.

A chair scraped across the floor as it toppled.

Then came Flender's startled cry. "Xiaogang! Are you all right?"

Tang San spun around.

Yu Xiaogang had fallen from his stool and lay on his side on the floor.

His face was ashen, his lips faintly purple. Short, rapid breaths rasped from his throat.

His fingers clenched the fabric over his chest.

Blue veins stood out on the back of his hand beneath his pale skin.

What was going on? How could Teacher be poisoned?

I gave him the antidote!

Before Tang San could think it through, bowls and cups began clattering all around the cafeteria.

Ning Rongrong suddenly felt her fingertips go numb. Her spoon slipped from her hand.

Zhu Zhuqing's reaction was more pronounced.

She had finished eating and was about to leave when her knees abruptly weakened. She swayed and had to brace herself against the table before sitting back down.

Oscar slumped against the back of his chair, his face pale.

Ma Hongjun was no better. Clutching his stomach, he slid off his stool and crouched on the floor, breathing heavily.

The sight of them shook Flender.

He realized his own knees felt weak too.

His Soul Power was the highest of anyone in the cafeteria, so it slowed the poison's effects.

The moment Ning Rongrong dropped her bowl, Qin Yun made a show of reacting too.

He set down his chopsticks, frowned, and pressed a hand to his stomach. Then he folded his hands before his knees, posing as though he were using his power to expel the poison.

Throughout the entire cafeteria, only Tang San and Dai Mubai looked unaffected.

Ning Rongrong leaned against her chair and took several labored breaths.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself upright and fixed Tang San with a stare across the table.

"Tang San, did you poison us?"

Tang San went pale.

"It wasn't me! Why would I poison everyone?"

"It was you, wasn't it?"

Ning Rongrong raised her voice.

"You resent everyone at the academy because of what happened to Xiao Wu, don't you? How else are you the only one who isn't poisoned?"

Ma Hongjun voiced his agreement as soon as she said it.

Qin Yun silently gave Ning Rongrong a thumbs-up. You took the words right out of my mouth.

Flender turned his gaze on Tang San.

"Tang San, how do you explain this?"

"Headmaster, it really wasn't me!" Tang San said.

Flender looked at Dai Mubai beside him. "Mubai, you tell me."

Dai Mubai was baffled too.

Hadn't Tang San given these people the antidote?

What was he trying to do?