Chapter 8: Seeking Death

In the alchemy room of Ye Hang's residence east of the city, Lü'er stared wide-eyed at the pitch-black pill in Ye Yuan's hand, clicking her tongue in wonder.

"Wow, young master, when did you become so formidable?"

Ye Yuan smiled and pinched Lü'er's delicate pink nose, saying teasingly, "When has your young master ever not been formidable?"

He meant it as a joke, but Lü'er seriously pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Hmm, in the past, others always spoke ill of you, but for some reason, I always felt you were good. It's just that now you're even more formidable. By the way, what is this pill for?"

In the day since his rebirth, Lü'er had become the person closest to Ye Yuan, so there was nothing to hide. "It's poison, a very potent kind."

Lü'er seemed startled, exclaiming, "Ah? Why did you refine poison, young master?"

Ye Yuan laughed. "Naturally, for someone to eat."

Lü'er thought again and said seriously, "I understand. Young master must have refined this poison for the bad guys."

Ye Yuan chuckled. "Let's go. The bad guy should be arriving soon. We'll wait for him in the side room."

No sooner had they entered the living room than a servant reported that a man with a bloodied face was seeking an audience at the mansion gate. Ye Yuan ordered the man brought in.

Soon, the servant led in Liu An, who looked a terrible sight, into the side room.

As soon as Liu An saw Ye Yuan, he rushed over, hugged Ye Yuan's leg, and wailed, "Young Master Ye, I beg you, be merciful and save me. We have no past grievances or recent enmity—why must you drive me to death?"

Ye Yuan looked at him with disdain, kicked him far away, and sat down, saying, "No past grievances or recent enmity? Do you really take me for a fool? No matter how many Heart-Protecting Pills our Ye family has, we wouldn't feed them to a dog. You can either confess honestly and get the antidote, or wait for the poison to kill you. The choice is yours."

Kicked away by Ye Yuan, Liu An showed no sign of resistance. He crawled back, but this time dared not hug his leg again. Ye Yuan was only at the first level of Qi Sea Realm; even if he used all his true essence, he couldn't cause Liu An any real harm.

As for whether Liu An would resort to desperate measures, Ye Yuan wasn't worried, because Liu An's true essence was scattered and he couldn't concentrate it.

"Young Master Ye, I really don't know what you mean! I only came to the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion for treatment. Even if I offended you, it's not a capital offense! I'm just a nobody. Please, Young Master Ye, let me go like a fart." Liu An wailed shamelessly.

Ye Yuan said nothing, just stared at Liu An's terrifying face, making Liu An's heart pound with fear.

Liu An still clung to a last shred of hope, thinking Ye Yuan was just playing a prank out of his usual arrogance. He abandoned all dignity, hoping to coax Ye Yuan into giving him the antidote. His identity couldn't be exposed; if discovered, he would be hunted down by all beast hunters.

But after being stared at by Ye Yuan for so long, Liu An's heart gradually sank.

Ye Yuan looked at Liu An and suddenly smiled, a smile that sent chills down Liu An's spine.

"Y-Young Master Ye."

"Heh, it's fine if you don't talk. I have plenty of time, but you don't. Right now, don't you feel like your internal organs are burning, as if your whole body is about to ignite? This is just the beginning. In a little while, your skin won't be able to take it and will crack inch by inch. Eventually, you'll go 'bang' and explode like a watermelon."

As he spoke, Ye Yuan made an exploding gesture, and Liu An's whole body trembled, as if he had exploded along with the gesture.

At this point, Liu An had no more illusions. Ye Yuan must have seen through something.

Thinking this, Liu An's mind suddenly calmed—a instinct honed from years as a beast hunter. But he was cunning and treacherous, and a scheme quickly formed in his mind.

Given the situation, he knew he couldn't continue as before. He decided to confess everything. Once he tricked Ye Yuan into giving him the antidote, he would kill both Ye Yuan and the girl, then flee far away.

Liu An was decisive. Once he made up his mind, he didn't delay. But he naturally wouldn't reveal his thoughts; instead, he maintained his groveling, shameless demeanor to lull Ye Yuan.

Liu An kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Young Master Ye, I was wrong. I truly know I was wrong. Your eyes are sharp; nothing escapes you. I'm willing to tell you everything, just spare my life."

Ye Yuan seemed satisfied with Liu An's performance and smiled. "That depends on whether the information you provide is valuable. If it is, I naturally won't make things difficult for a small fry like you."

Liu An was overjoyed, thinking, 'This kid is indeed pampered. A little honey and he falls for it.' Without hesitation, he spilled everything.

Things were much as Ye Yuan had expected. The burly man had first visited several medicine shops. Occasionally, a physician recognized the Seven Fiend Cloud Serpent poison, but none could treat it.

Although Qian Miao was nothing in Ye Yuan's eyes, he was a top figure in all of Qin Country. That he could identify and treat the Seven Fiend Cloud Serpent poison didn't mean others could. Fortunately, those physicians couldn't cure it, or the burly man would have already died from the poison.

Left with no choice, the burly man had first gone to Drunken Star Tower. Coincidentally, the tower's owner, Wan Donghai, happened to be there and saw the man.

The physician on duty at Drunken Star Tower had reached a similar conclusion to Qian Miao, but Wan Donghai sensed something amiss and stopped him, advising the man to seek help elsewhere.

In Qin Country, aside from Drunken Star Tower, there was only the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion. Where else could the burly man try his luck? Wan Donghai could see something was wrong, but like Ye Hang, he had no solution for the poison.

Your enemy knows you best. Wan Donghai was certain Ye Hang couldn't cure the poison either, so he sent Liu An to blend in with the patients and stir up trouble, ruining the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion's reputation. If things got out of hand, he hoped to incite the beast hunters to smash the place.

That way, even if the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion wasn't destroyed, its reputation would be severely damaged, leaving it unable to compete with Drunken Star Tower.

Liu An had just returned to the capital and was still injured. He was clever, making him perfect for the job.

Everything had gone according to Wan Donghai's plan, until Ye Yuan unexpectedly appeared and cured the poison, leaving Liu An unable to act.

"Heh, it really is Wan Donghai. A fine scheme to divert trouble." Ye Yuan sneered.

Wan Donghai had always been his father's archrival. Both were grand alchemists with significant positions in the capital. But unlike Ye Hang, Wan Donghai was cunning and unscrupulous.

Ye Yuan was no stranger to Wan Donghai. Although his predecessor wasn't qualified to be Wan Donghai's opponent, Wan Donghai's son, Wan Yuan, was his predecessor's archrival at the Danwu Academy.

Of course, 'archrival' meant Wan Yuan unilaterally bullied Ye Yuan, who couldn't fight back. Though Wan Yuan was also a wastrel, he excelled in both martial arts and alchemy. He had reached the sixth level of Qi Sea Realm and become an alchemy apprentice.

Even at the Danwu Academy, which produced many talents, Wan Yuan was an outstanding genius, highly praised. In comparison, Ye Yuan wasn't even fit to hold his shoes.

In fact, from his predecessor's memories, Ye Yuan deduced that the poisoning was likely Wan Yuan's doing.

Good, very good! Old grudges unresolved, new ones added. The Wan family, father and son—our feud is set. Ye Yuan sneered inwardly.

"Y-Young Master Ye, I've said everything I should and shouldn't have said. What about..." Liu An said weakly.

He had even revealed that he was a mole in Drunken Star Tower, all to gain Ye Yuan's trust and obtain the antidote.

Ye Yuan nodded in satisfaction, took out the poison he had just refined, and tossed it to Liu An. "Not bad. You've performed well. This antidote is your reward."

Liu An caught the 'antidote,' overjoyed, and swallowed it without a second thought. He immediately sat down to circulate his energy and dissolve the medicine.

Sure enough, as the medicine entered his stomach and dissolved, his previously stagnant true essence began to flow. He suddenly opened his eyes, shot out like a leopard, turned his palm into a claw, and aimed for Ye Yuan's throat.

"Ah! Young master!" Lü'er screamed and instinctively jumped in front of Ye Yuan.

This claw was fierce, carrying the aura honed from years of life-and-death struggles. Against a rookie like Ye Yuan, it couldn't possibly miss.

But the claw stopped three inches from Lü'er's throat. Then Liu An collapsed to the ground, convulsing, his face twisted in agony.

Ye Yuan pulled Lü'er aside from behind and looked at Liu An with pity, sneering, "Heaven's punishment can be avoided, but self-inflicted disaster cannot. If you hadn't harbored malicious thoughts, the Inch Heart Severing poison wouldn't have acted so quickly. But since you had evil intentions, you'll have to suffer a bit more."

"Wh-why..." Liu An forced out the words between convulsions.

Ye Yuan smiled faintly. "You thought the Heart-Protecting Pill I gave you at the Medicine Fragrance Pavilion was poison, but it really was a Heart-Protecting Pill. Only, that pill was purified several times, so its effects were several times stronger. Your symptoms—bleeding from seven orifices and depleted true essence—were just side effects, nothing serious. Once the medicine wears off, you'll be fine, and might even improve. But the pill you just ate is the real poison, Inch Heart Severing, and extremely potent. Whoever takes it will suffer three hours of excruciating pain each day, growing worse each time, until death."

Ye Yuan's words reached Liu An's ears clearly, which seemed to make him convulse even more violently.