A match made in heaven

"Tell me, girl. Was that deliberate, or an accident...?"

Xiao Yan: "..."

What was she waiting for? Hurry up while she was still warm... ahem!

Xiao Yan hurriedly scooped Xiao Yi Xian up in a bridal carry, laid her on the bed nearby, and took an antidote out of her Storage Ring for her to swallow.

Don't ask why she had an antidote. The answer was that she had been worried something like this might happen.

Poison and drugs didn't distinguish friend from foe. Without an antidote, accidentally hurting an ally through improper handling would hardly be ideal.

In fact, most people who concocted "poisons" or "sedatives" also prepared "antidotes."

Most of the time, those substances were meant to threaten enemies or help their users escape a tight spot.

Keh keh keh, you've been hit by my Unique Secret Poison! Obey me if you want to live... ahem.

Really, Xiao Yan was just taking a shortcut with a little "out-like-a-light" concoction, which worked quite well against Dou Zhe and the like.

When she was outnumbered, this was much more convenient than fighting-efficient and hassle-free.

But against stronger opponents who used Dou Qi Body Protection, these substances wouldn't do much.

At that point, Dou Techniques would be more practical.

Every craft had its specialists. If she really wanted to kill enemies with poison, she would have to look to Xiao Yi Xian once her Woeful Poison Body awakened.

After giving Xiao Yi Xian the antidote, Xiao Yan sat nearby and waited for it to take effect.

After all, although she was a Dou Shi, she wasn't strong enough to run "as fast as a bolt of lightning" without anyone seeing her.

It wasn't as though she couldn't simply sling Xiao Yi Xian over her shoulder and run into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, but being spotted by the people of Qingshan Town would create all sorts of complications.

Changing Xiao Yi Xian's clothes and covering her face wouldn't help much either, and carrying her like that would jostle her around.

So she would wait until Xiao Yi Xian woke up before considering how to "escape Qingshan Town."

After all, this place was fairly secluded, and everyone here should belong to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.

Mr. Yao, the man in charge, and his guards were all sleeping soundly. Probably no one would come by anytime soon, so getting away was certainly possible.

Still, hitting an ally with her AOE this time had been a serious blunder. She needed to reflect on that...

Xiao Yi Xian hadn't inhaled much of the sedative and soon stirred awake.

Perhaps because her mind was still muddled and her vision hadn't fully cleared, she instinctively flicked her hand when she saw someone sitting beside the bed.

A cloud of white powder flew straight at Xiao Yan's face.

"You're awa-"

Xiao Yan was a Dou Shi, after all, and her reflexes were quick. She immediately held her breath and swept the powder aside with a slap.

"Uh... my lady..." Only then did Xiao Yi Xian recognize who was beside her, and she spoke rather awkwardly.

"Hahahahaha-hic!" Apothecary howled with laughter inside Xiao Yan's mind.

"Girl... you two are really something! Hahahaha..."

"..."

Ignoring Apothecary, Xiao Yan gave Xiao Yi Xian a gentle smile. "It's fine."

Seeing Xiao Yi Xian staring nervously out the window, Xiao Yan added, "Don't worry. I've already dealt with the people outside."

"What... happened to them?" Xiao Yi Xian asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Relax, they're all alive. I used a specially made sedative, so they won't be waking up anytime... uh..."

The next second, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian looked at each other, and a trace of awkwardness quietly crept in.

Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help raising a hand to her forehead. Just before she lost consciousness, she had nearly suspected that Mr. Yao had drugged her with something wicked in mind.

As it turned out...

Never mind. As long as things had turned out well.

"Wait..." Xiao Yi Xian suddenly sat up and took a small jade bottle from inside her clothes. "My lady, give me your hand."

"???"

Xiao Yan was puzzled, but she didn't refuse and held out her left hand.

Xiao Yi Xian took Xiao Yan's hand, tipped a drop of pale red liquid out of the jade bottle, and gently rubbed it onto the back of her hand.

"What's this?"

Xiao Yan drew her left hand back and held it beneath her nose for a sniff.

As a Second-Rank Alchemist, she could roughly identify its ingredients with a single sniff. "Uh..."

"An antidote." Xiao Yi Xian put away the jade bottle. "I've prepared some slow-acting poison in this room. Inhaling it is bad for you."

"But applying the antidote I made will render you immune to it."

Xiao Yi Xian smiled. "You might not need it, my lady, but it never hurts to be careful."

Only then did Xiao Yan belatedly realize that a faint fragrance lingered in the room.

However, the beast flame inside her was so powerful that it dealt with that tiny trace of poison as soon as she inhaled it. She didn't have to do anything herself.

Thus, Xiao Yan had subconsciously ignored the fragrance-was there anything wrong with a pretty girl's room smelling nice? Not at all.

Of course, that didn't mean Xiao Yi Xian's poison was ineffective-this "poison gas" could still have some effect on a Dou Zhe.

Someone who stayed here long enough might even experience a "qualitative change."

-What do you call a genius? This is a freaking genius!

If Xiao Yan hadn't possessed a fairly powerful fused beast flame that dealt with the toxin "in passing," even she might have fallen victim without realizing it.

And Xiao Yi Xian's Woeful Poison Body hadn't even fully awakened yet!

That meant Xiao Yi Xian was a born "poison genius." Even without the Woeful Poison Body, her future accomplishments in the "art of poison" would be impressive.

Woeful Poison Body plus "poison-making mastery"-that build was completely maxed out.

"I didn't expect you to poison even your own room..." Xiao Yan said with a chuckle.

Xiao Yi Xian brushed back the dark hair at her forehead and said helplessly, "My lady, I don't have a choice. I'm not strong enough, so I can only protect myself with these unorthodox tricks."

"Stop calling me 'my lady.' It feels weird. I'm not even as old as you." Xiao Yan waved a hand.

She was referring to age.

"My name is Xiao Yan. Call me whatever you like. If you decide to become my disciple, call me Teacher-we can skip the initiation ceremony. We young people don't go in for that stuff."

Apothecary, who had once demanded that Xiao Yan kowtow to become a disciple: "???"

Xiao Yan paused and looked at Xiao Yi Xian with concern. "Let's get out of here before discussing anything else-can you walk now?"

"I imagine you don't want to stay in Qingshan Town any longer, either?"

As for things like "family," Xiao Yan didn't ask at all.

After all, if the Myriad Medicine Pavilion could keep Xiao Yi Xian so firmly "under its thumb," she presumably had no family. Xiao Yan could deduce that much.

The answers to some questions were never going to be pleasant, so it was better simply not to ask.

"Yes." Xiao Yi Xian nodded, got up, opened a nearby cabinet, and took out a small bag.

Xiao Yan was amused at the sight-her "luggage" was already packed.

"Change your clothes, and we'll..."

"There's no need for all that trouble." Xiao Yi Xian shook her head, took a short bamboo flute from inside her clothes, and brought it to her lips, blowing softly.

A rather unusual sound wave swiftly spread from the flute.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Yan couldn't help asking curiously.

"Calling my companion to pick us up." Raising the bamboo flute in her hand, Xiao Yi Xian smiled playfully. "A first-rank blue eagle."

Xiao Yan: "..."

So... she had a "private plane"?