Chapter 544: It was there from the start
Although she lost consciousness, Han Yunxi’s senses were still clear enough to hear Long Feiye’s frantic voice as he caught her falling form. But she was unable to answer him. She felt herself being attacked by a flood of water but unable to escape. There was nothing but water coming at her from all sides. She knew it was poison pond water, so had something gone wrong with it?
Suddenly, a giant wave crashed over her consciousness, leaving her completely senseless. What felt like months of piled-up exhaustion suddenly exploded and sent her into a deep sleep. By the time she finally opened her eyes, there was no more water, but her mind had entered into the detox system dimension again. She saw before her the poison pond as well as its plants growing in wild profusion. Han Yunxi sensed a strange scent in the air and walked closer for a better look. Only then did she realize that much of the plants in the pond had reach maturation. If she didn’t harvest them now, they’d start rotting away.
This poison pond was a foreign entity from the outside world, so it wasn’t completely integrated into her detox system. The detox system could create antidotes to its plants by analyzing their individual components, but was unable to harvest the plants directly or store them away. She had to do that by hand at regular intervals. But because Han Yunxi had been so busy, she’d neglected to look after her plants. Thus, the detox system rendered her unconscious to force her inside. This was the first time the system had shown her such a temper!
Han Yunxi smiled helplessly. Although it was the detox system who’d brought her inside, she still wasn’t sure how to expand its space or use any additional functions. All she could do was slowly figure it out with time. She could only hope the system wouldn’t render her unconscious at a critical juncture. Suppose she fainted one day while an enemy was in hot pursuit? That would really be a miserable ending.
After harvesting the mature plants and cleaning things up a bit, Han Yunxi discovered that she’d cultivated ten completely new poison plants. There were less than ten plants for each unique strain, of which four already had antidotes formulated and ready to go. The remaining six were still under study by the detox system. These quantities paled to the detox system’s other stores, but these were new, never before seen poisons! Nobody but Han Yunxi would ever be able to cure them. Han Yunxi chuckled deviously at the thought. She felt like she’d gained a big advantage. She wouldn’t touch these particular poisons easily because she’d reserve them for use against experts like Jun Yixie.
She had long stopped considering the man a threat. If Jun Yixie didn’t behave himself, she didn’t mind giving him a taste of more poisons in her store. Of course, she was more interested in the expert behind the poison mists that had attacked Fishery Island. If she ever ran into that expert one day, she might not be able to beat him in terms of technical skill. But she definitely wouldn’t lose in a match of pure poisons.
Han Yunxi placed the various poison plants away in her mental storehouse before moving on to inspect the three toxic teardrops she’d recently absorbed into her space. They were all made from various combinations of Beauty’s Blood, Corpse Blood (made from the Ten-Thousand Year Blood Jade), Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons and Perplexing Butterfly Illusion. The detox system couldn’t break down the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion alone, so it couldn’t absorb that poison into this space. But it could analyze the Beauty’s Blood, Corpse Blood, and Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons fine, so poison teardrops containing those ingredients were perfectly assimilated here. The detox system’s storage space was quite temperamental as well. Aside from a few necessary tools like gauze, needles, and various poisons and antidotes, nothing else would go in that space. That was why she had to carry the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion on her at all times. It would be even more impossible for her to store away some random treasures or money.
After walking out of her storeroom, Han Yunxi glanced towards the dark space in her system. She wondered whether the space here would expand again if she took in some Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons too. Didn’t it upgrade last time because of the poison pond water? Logically speaking, there was no relation between her modern detox system and these ancient poisons, but reality proved that Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons had increased her territory here.
“Strange…” she murmured to herself. But she wasn’t in the mood to look into it when she had no idea where to start. She closed her eyes and prepared to leave, only to find herself stuck!
What’s going on?
Han Yunxi was frightened. The last time she’d lost control, it was because she had absorbed the entire poison pond and exhausted her mental facilities—as well as because the detox system was upgrading. But nothing had changed this time! Don’t tell me the detox system’s crashed.
Suddenly, there was a violent tremor beneath her feet. Before she knew it, a three-inch fissure appeared in the flat ground. Han Yunxi happened to be standing on this very crack, so she quickly jumped out of the way. She discovered that the rift was unfathomably deep and perfectly split the detox system space in two. One half consisted of her original detox system’s storeroom, while the other held the poison pond and the endless black space. While Han Yunxi was still gaping at the change, the three toxic teardrops suddenly lined up like soldiers to float out of the storeroom. They passed across the rift to hover over the poison pond while emitting faint traces of light.
Han Yunxi looked left and right before finally settling to stare at the crack by her feet, her heart pounding. Could it be that the extra space didn’t come from my detox system at all, but existed here beforehand? What if it belongs to the original eldest young Miss of the Han Clan?
When she first transmigrated to this world, she’d woken up in the marriage sedan chair and inherited the original owner’s memories. The eldest daughter of the Han Clan hadn’t died, so where had her soul gone? Did the two separate spaces come about because our souls merged? And because the spaces came from different dimensions, the detox system wasn’t able to automatically harvest the plants from the poison pond? That’s why I have to pick them all by hand?
Suddenly, Han Yunxi understood everything. She had come from the future with a mind-powered system that was outfitted with its own storage space for poisons. Although her space was expandable, it was impossible to do it on her own without further development from the R&D team. But if the eldest daughter of the Han Clan was born with a poison storage space of her own, then Han Yunxi might have activated it accidentally when she came into this body. A detox system and a poison storage space might be two different entities, but the two existences didn’t clash. In her body, they found a beautiful balance to co-exist together.
As expected of the Han Clan’s eldest daughter. For a child with a father from the Poison Sect, she was blessed with such a fortune.
If not for the appearance of the fissure to split her space in half, Han Yunxi might never have guessed her theory. Even now, the crack didn’t signify a division between the two spaces so much as the formal unsealing of the original poison storage space. The detox system had limitations when it came to its functions. It could only absorb poisons it recognized and didn’t accept accounts of poisons it only had in written records. But what about the other space? Could it hold all possible poisons in the world, or does it have its limits, too?
Han Yunxi shut her eyes and tested out her theory. Soon enough, the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion that she’d hidden in her sleeve in the real world was summoned into this one! In the past, she’d never been able to take it into her detox system at all! But now it was floating above the poison pond with the three toxic teardrops. Han Yunxi tried again, this time with one of the ordinary poisons in her medical pouch. But the item went to her detox system instead of the new poison storage space. A complex look settled into her eyes. Han Yunxi tried various other tests before determining that only items related to the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion—Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons, Beauty’s Blood, and even those poison orchids from the Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds—could be absorbed into the poison storage space. Every other poison, both common and rare, couldn’t come in!
Her heart trembled. This poison storage space must have some inseparable connection with Perplexing Butterfly Illusion. Just how many secrets is that poison hiding?!
What did it mean, ‘those who own the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion owns the world?’ What was her relation to the poison as Poison Sect man’s daughter? Don’t tell me I was born for the purpose of Perplexing Butterfly Illusion…
Soon enough, Han Yunxi started getting a headache from all her thoughts. She quickly lost consciousness again. The full unsealing of the poison storage space had sapped much of Han Yunxi’s energy. A long time had passed by the time she woke up. The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was Long Feiye’s familiar face. He was mysophobic, but his chin was actually covered in stubble. Rather than make him look sloppy, it added an air of maturity to his features.
All I did was sleep for a spell, but why does it feel like ages since I’ve seen him? Han Yunxi looked at him dazedly before reaching out to touch his stubble. It was a little prickly and hurt her fingers.
“Long Feiye, you grew a beard…” she muttered.
Long Feiye gave a start before regaining his senses with a shout. “Summon Gu Beiyue and third elder inside!” This damned woman, she’d been unconscious for half a month! He’d done nothing but guard her bedside the whole time, so of course he’d grow a beard!
After Han Yunxi had fainted, he had waited a day in Medicine City before judging the situation bad enough to rush back to Pill Fiend Pharmacy for Gu Beiyue’s help. At the same time, he sent men to invite over Third Elder Shen from Medical City. Neither doctors had time to react from their post by the door before Lil Thing dashed in and jumped on the bed, cheeping endlessly.
“Scram!” Long Feiye swept Lil Thing away with his hand, causing the little creature to look at him with an aggrieved expression while bearing its fangs. Of course, it didn’t really dare to bite him, but it silently vowed to kidnap Mama Yunxi and run away if the big bad guy ever argued with Mama Yunxi again!
Gu Beiyue and Third Elder Shen quickly arrived, the former walking at a much brisker pace. Although he was full of anxiety, he still stopped short of the bed. “Has esteemed wangfei finally woke up? What great tidings!”
“Hurry, let this doctor take her pulse!” Third Elder Shen said hastily.
“Even Third Elder Shen came. I…what happened?” Han Yunxi asked diffidently.
“You were unconscious for half a month,” Long Feiye said unhappily, his brows furrowed. “It was just like the last two times, we couldn’t figure out what was wrong with you.”
Han Yunxi dared not ask any more questions, but obediently stuck out her wrist. Third Elder Shen examined her pulse for a long time while constantly stroking his beard. “This…it really is as Doctor Gu says. Judging from the pulse, Qin Wangfei is only weary at heart.”
He and Gu Beiyue had been constantly studying Qin Wangfei’s condition over the past few days, but couldn’t pinpoint a clear diagnosis. Now Third Elder Shen gave way for Gu Beiyue to take his turn with the pulse.
“Has esteemed wangfei been experiencing any taxing worries recently?” Gu Beiyue’s low, magnetic voice was very pleasant to the ears.
Naturally, matters related to the detox system were an extremely exhausting affair. Han Yunxi nodded and said, “Medicine City’s affairs were rather vexing for a few days, so they really weighed me down.”
“It must have been very taxing, yes?” Gu Beiyue asked next.
It was true, Medicine City had been a tiresome affair, but it didn’t weary her heart. But faced with two doctors and the ever-astute Long Feiye, Han Yunxi had no choice but to exaggerate.
“It was very tiring. At night, I’d have nonstop dreams and always felt that I didn’t sleep enough.”
At those words, Gu Beiyue’s eyes twinkled briefly with laughter as if he knew she was lying…
TLer’s Note: Please make sure to check today’s chapter announcement post for an important poll!