Born in calamity, doomed to calamity

Rather than rashly disturbing the old village chief again, Chen Cang strolled over to the little house diagonally opposite.

When he reached the door, his hearing, far sharper than an ordinary person's, already picked up the quiet conversation inside.

"Mother, why do they call me names every time I go outside and say we're jinxes? I can't win an argument with them."

"Be good, Xian'er. They're just children playing around with you."

"But Uncle Wang and the others say it too."

The room fell silent for a moment before the woman replied, "It's all right. Once I've saved enough money, I'll take you away. Everything will get better."

"Really?"

"Really."

Only after the conversation inside had wound down did Chen Cang raise his hand and knock gently a few times.

After a brief rustling, a woman with a sallow complexion and gentle features opened the door.

"Um, may I ask... who you are?"

Seeing the young man at her door, the woman looked puzzled. After a moment's hesitation, she still addressed him respectfully.

Chen Cang's appearance was actually rather unimpressive at the moment; he was filthy from head to toe.

But while appearances could be disguised, a person's bearing was much harder to change.

The woman could sense that this seemingly bedraggled young man belonged to a different social stratum from the villagers.

Besides, there was a small horse behind him.

"Please forgive the intrusion. I've come from Stone Desert City, on the other side of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and I'm trying to reach Wutan City. But I don't know which direction to go, so I took the liberty of knocking to ask."

As he answered, Chen Cang glanced into the room from the corner of his eye.

The furnishings inside were extremely simple, everything visible at a glance. Without even searching, he spotted the girl sitting on the bed with her knees hugged to her chest.

She looked only four or five years old, small and thin, with skin much fairer than the woman's and exceptionally delicate features.

Meeting Chen Cang's gaze, the girl showed no timidity. Instead, her lively eyes held a hint of curiosity.

"I see. Wutan City isn't very far from here. Head southeast. On horseback, it should take at most one... two days."

An ordinary horse could make it in a day, but after looking at the little horse behind Chen Cang, the woman prudently added another.

"Southeast? I'll remember that." Chen Cang nodded slightly, turned his palm over, and produced a handful of gold coins, offering them as payment.

This gesture only confirmed the woman's suspicions.

This young man was no ordinary person.

"You mustn't, young sir. Wutan City is the largest city around here. Anyone you asked could tell you the way. That hardly deserves such a generous gift." The woman waved her hands repeatedly.

In fact, Chen Cang had done it deliberately.

At her words, he smoothly put the coins away and adopted an embarrassed expression. His apparent ignorance of worldly ways quietly closed much of the distance between them.

"In any case, thank you for the directions." At that, Chen Cang glanced at the girl inside and said hesitantly, "I'm an Alchemist, and something seems amiss with your daughter's condition. Would you like me to take a look? Don't worry, I won't ask for payment. Consider it my thanks for showing me the way."

First offering a generous gift, then naturally proposing an examination after being refused-it all seemed perfectly reasonable.

Sure enough, the woman suspected nothing. His words only made her more anxious.

"May I ask, Master, is Xian'er ill?"

"I'm not sure. I'll need to examine her closely."

An Alchemist offering help for free was something out of a dream for an ordinary person, an overwhelming and unexpected honor.

But for her daughter's sake, the woman had no time to think too much.

"Ah, yes, of course. Please come in, young sir. Whatever the outcome, my daughter and I will be endlessly grateful. Xian'er, hurry and pay your respects to the master."

"There's no need for all that. I'll just take a look."

Stopping the girl as she was about to climb off the bed, Chen Cang stepped forward, pulled over a stool, and sat down. "Give me your hand."

The girl first looked at her mother, only holding out her little hand after seeing her nod.

Chen Cang made a show of examining her carefully, his expression visibly growing grave.

A few minutes later, Chen Cang finished his diagnosis and seemed utterly lost in thought.

"So I wasn't mistaken. It really is that terrifying constitution!"

His muttering reached the woman's ears, making her face turn deathly pale.

Chen Cang's reaction, together with the strange incidents in the village, seemed to tell her that something truly was wrong with the girl.

And it was very serious!

"Master..."

"Sorry, I was distracted. Let's speak outside."

Leading the woman to a corner outside the house, Chen Cang pretended not to notice the girl secretly following them. "Forgive my bluntness, but your daughter is in great danger right now. If you can, take her away. Find somewhere uninhabited, and don't let anyone come into contact with her. Even you must keep your distance, or your life will be in danger!"

"If my diagnosis is correct, she has the legendary woeful poison body. This constitution is extremely terrifying. It can grant its bearer incomparably powerful strength, but it is also extraordinarily dangerous-to her, and equally to everyone around her."

"When I entered the village, I noticed that many chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep had died of poisoning. I was puzzled before, but now I understand. These are all effects of the woeful poison body. It also means that hers is on the verge of erupting."

"And once her poison body erupts, this place will become a realm of death. No one will escape calamity. Do you understand how serious this is now?"

After a series of confirmations, as well as reading the mother and daughter's memories, Chen Cang could be certain.

This girl was Xiao Yi Xian, who had left such a vivid mark on the original course of events.

She was also the future, renowned Heavenly Poison Woman!

But Xiao Yi Xian was still very young now. Her woeful poison body had not even erupted for the first time.

If Chen Cang did not intervene, he believed it would not be long before Xiao Yi Xian's poison body erupted, and everyone in the village would die a terrible death.

Including her mother!

And that experience would become a wound Xiao Yi Xian would struggle to heal for the rest of her life.

Thus, whether for the hundred-odd lives in the village or for Xiao Yi Xian's great future potential, Chen Cang could hardly stand on the ramparts and watch.

That was precisely why he had gone to such lengths to stage this little performance.

Of course, for the time being, Chen Cang absolutely dared not keep them by his side. Once the woeful poison body erupted, who knew how powerful it would be?

So staging this performance and telling them how serious the situation was would suffice.

As for anything more...

Sorry, this humble consort simply cannot do it.

He believed that as Xiao Yi Xian grew older, she would understand just how much Chen Cang's warning today had saved her from losing.

A debt of gratitude was worthless in some people's eyes, yet worth more than anything in others'.

Chen Cang had already made himself very clear. The revelation was so devastating that the woman felt as though she were dreaming. Even when he asked his question, she merely nodded numbly.

Alas, one could only say that hemp ropes always snapped at their thinnest point, and misfortune always singled out those with bitter lives.

"The choice is yours. After her poison body has erupted once, you can bring her to Wutan City to find me. The woeful poison body may be terrifying, but it isn't entirely without a solution."

Without saying anything more, Chen Cang quietly left a bag of gold coins, swung onto his horse, and departed.

The woeful poison body-born in calamity, doomed to calamity!

The current Xiao Yi Xian did not understand any of this. Only once her poison body erupted and she truly experienced it herself would she grow up rapidly.

"Oh, right. My name is Chen Cang!"