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--- Chapter 203 ---
After hitching a ride for a while and listening to the driver's small talk with the people inside, Han Yuan learned some information about the situation around.
He is in the North-Western Region of the Dou Qi Continent, specifically on the border of the Jia Ma Empire and the Chu Yun Empire. This region is 'naturally' divided by the Tager Desert and a long, winding, snake-like mountain range.
According to the driver, they are a few miles away from the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and their destination is a small town called Blue Wind Town.
Han Yuan listened to all this while making a plan. He saw the arrow was still pointing at the Magical Beast Mountain Range, which means his target was there.
It's hard to believe a five-year-old girl lives in such a dangerous place, but it is what it is.
When the carriage made a turn, Han Yuan casually jumped off and landed on a tree's branch. He thanked the driver in his heart before rushing to the mountain.
Han Yuan's spiritual power constantly scanned the area, providing refined details of everything within a 300-meter radius. Swaying trees' leaves and grass, even small insects and magical beasts, could not hide from his senses.
Eventually, he arrived at the wooden hut in a narrow valley surrounded by poisonous plants. He scanned the plants and discovered that they are called "Seven Obscuring Heart Plants," capable of making a barrier of poisons.
If ordinary people or magical beasts even caught a whiff of this plant, they would have a seizure immediately before succumbing to death gradually.
Han Yuan didn't know what to say. This place is basically protected, and only a person like Xiao Yixian, who possessed the Woeful Poison Body, could live here.
In the story, Xiao Yixian's background is 'actually' never explained. When Xiao Yan traveled outside of Wutan City, he accidentally encountered her in Qingshan Town. They ended up joining the same mercenary team for an expedition mission, which led to a brief conflict at a location known for the legacy of a poison master.
After that incident, they became friends but did not see each other for a while. There are no further developments in their relationship at that point.
When they met again, Xiao Yixian's cultivation had improved significantly, and he even fought Xiao Yan in a war before settling the misunderstanding between them. Unfortunately, they never end up together, although the book suggests otherwise indirectly.
After all, Xiao Yixian is one of the female deuteragonists. Her importance in the early and middle stages of Xiao Yan's life is unmistakably high, as she saved his life countless times in the story.
Han Yuan covered his body with thin spiritual power and walked past the poison barrier. He stood before the hut's door and knocked on it gently a few times.
"Who is there?" A cute voice questioned him.
As the door opened, a head full of silver-white hair poked out, revealing a cute yet pinkish face. Greyish-silver eyes locked on Han Yuan, full of haze and wariness.
Han Yuan saw this porcelain doll-like little girl and couldn't help but ask back, "Are you Xiao Yixian?"
"Mm, that's my name... But who are you?" Xiao Yixian, the naive little girl, stared at the boy around her age with confusion.
'Mom said never trust a stranger, but I haven't seen anyone for so long, and Mom hasn't come back for days...'
'It's boring.'
Han Yuan sighed in relief, "Good."
"My name is Han Yuan, and I'm here to help you."
"Hmm, what do you mean? Am I in any sort of trouble?" Xiao Yixian tilted her head.
"Yes." Han Yuan replied bluntly. When Han Yuan tried to use his spiritual power to observe Xiao Yixian, he found that his ability vanished upon making contact with her body.
'Huh?'
Han Yuan remained silent as he calmly took hold of Xiao Yixian's hands, using his spiritual power to assess her physical condition. As expected, the Woeful Poison Body had awakened slightly. Otherwise, Xiao Yixian wouldn't look like this.
"Hey!" Xiao Yixian pulled her arm away.
Han Yuan raised his arms in defeat, "Sorry for my rudeness."
Now with that earlier discovery, Han Yuan stopped playing around and used the Eyes of Truth.
...
[Name: Xiao Yixian]
[Age: 5 years old]
[Race: Human]
[Talent: Doctor of Disaster (Innate)]
[Physique: Woeful Poison Body (Partially Awakened)]
[Physical Strength: Ordinary Person]
[Soul Force: Ordinary Person]
[Cultivation: None]
[Description: Xiao Yixian is an unfortunate girl who possesses the Woeful Poison Body, which she accidentally awakened after eating a poisonous flower she found in the forest. This partial awakening caused her Woeful Poison Body to erupt, killing everyone in her small village, including her mother. Before her death, her mother had instructed her to hide in the forest and in a hut until she reached adulthood.]
[At the moment, Xiao Yixian was in the stage of denial. She has forgotten that she had killed her whole village and only family members, thinking her mother just left for a few days, but the truth is.]
["Mom will come back home soon... Right?"]
...
[Doctor of Disaster]
[You're a genius with an extreme affinity for medicine and poison, born to bring both disaster and blessings to the world. Poison and medicine are two sides of the same coin; it's up to you to decide their usefulness!]
[Exclusive Skill - Midas's Touch: any medicine and poison you touch will have its efficiency increased by 1% to 100%. There is also a 0.00001% chance of evolving them]
...
[Woeful Poison Body (Exclusive)]
[The Woeful Poison Body, or Calamity Poison Body, is a strange and rare constitution that kills anything it touches. To survive, the owner of the Woeful Poison body must continuously consume poison, which increases in concentration within their bodies. Once the poison reaches a critical level, it can erupt, destroying all living things within a thousand-kilometer radius. That's just how horrifying it was.
The more poison a person with a Woeful Poison Body consumes, the stronger they become. And the progress of their cultivation is so fast that geniuses pale in comparison. In ancient times, someone with this special constitution reached an 'extremely' high cultivation and ruled over regions in the Dou Qi Continent for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the Woeful Poison Body is very tough, if not borderline impossible, to control, thus making it more of a disaster than a blessing.]
...
'Heavy! Too heavy!'
Han Yuan was very speechless at the truth his eyes revealed. In fact, he doesn't know what to say about Xiao Yixian's tragic story.
How unfortunate one could be!
Just because she ate a random flower, everyone she knew literally died miserably.
Yet, in the end, she didn't know and hoped her mother would come back home soon.
Han Yuan was in a dilemma. He could have told this five-year-old girl the truth and possibly made her depressed for life. The guilt, even for the standard of a cultivated world, would still be too much.
At first, Han Yuan compared Dugu Bo with Xiao Yixian. Their situation is very similar in a way; their very source of strength cursed their lives.
But unlike Dugu Bo, who had come to terms with his condition and even solved it with Han Yuan's timely help, Xiao Yixian's life just started for the worse!
Then, Han Yuan suddenly recognized how hypocritical he had been. He had shown kindness to others, yet he had treated people despicably, as he had with Xiao Wu. Although Xiao Wu was over 100,000 years old, she still retained a childlike innocence.
Yes, he treated Xiao Wu better gradually, but does it change him as a person?
For what? For his revenge!
He manipulated others, whether it was for his own good or theirs, for his revenge!
He would do anything for his goal!
And what now? He saw a pitiful little girl, and his nature magically changed.
Laughable!
How laughable!!!
PA!
Han Yuan suddenly slapped himself and used his other palm to cover his eyes. "No, I can't stay like this..."
"I need to change."
'No, you have changed, you just didn't realize it...' A whisper seemed to appear from the depths of Han Yuan's soul, calming him. It was not a voice he recognized.
However, like a fleeting wind, it passes and is forgotten instantly.
But that was enough to steer Han Yuan's mind onto the right path.
Han Yuan lifted his hand off and sighed deeply. He stared at Xiao Yixian, his client for this world, and said, "Xiao Yixian, do you want to know the truth?"
"Truthfully..."