Eat the Medicine Right First

Morning at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was far quieter than in Heaven Dou City.

Cold mist flowed close to the ground on one side, while heat rolled up from the spring on the other. The two utterly opposing currents met in the Valley without swallowing each other, leaving the edges of the grass crystalline.

Tang San crouched beside the Medicine Garden, barely blinking.

He had seen many poisonous plants and read the illustrated guide his teacher had given him, but the herbs before him went far beyond ordinary medicine. Some had petals that looked carved from gold and jade. Firelight ran through the veins of others. Still others bloomed quietly in cracks between stones, seemingly delicate, yet enough to jolt the mind of anyone who drew near.

Dugu Bo stood to one side, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Little Monster, look all you want, but keep your hands to yourself," he said coldly. "Pick the wrong plant here, and it'll kill you faster than my poison."

Bai Jin lay on a warm slab of bluestone, his blindfold crooked and half a piece of dry rations still in his hand. "Old Poison, this vegetable garden of yours isn't bad. Your safety warnings are a bit fierce, though. Ruins the appetite."

Dugu Bo turned. "Can you shut up?"

"Difficult." Bai Jin considered it seriously. "I have too many good qualities. My mouth is just one of them."

Ning Rongrong had been feeling tense beneath the opposing currents of ice and fire, but she couldn't help laughing. She quickly pressed her lips together afterward. Dugu Bo really did look as if he wanted to bury Bai Jin in the Medicine Garden.

Tang San ignored their bickering. He extended his Blue Silver Grass and gently circled