Chapter 257 - 256: Yin-Yang Eye

Yang Xun said no more and quickly strode into Zhao Linglong’s room.

A pungent medicinal smell permeated the room. Zhao Linglong lay on the bed, her face as pale as paper and her lips faintly purple. Her breathing was rapid yet shallow.

Yang Xun sat down by her bed and placed three fingers on her wrist. A wisp of True Qi probed her meridians, and his pupils contracted slightly.

The Yin Sha Qi in Zhao Linglong’s body was slowly receding. It didn’t seem to be the cause of her current state.

He examined her again, more carefully this time, then his brow furrowed sharply.

’Zhao Linglong isn’t suffering a backlash from the Yin Sha Qi... She’s been poisoned!’

"Is the medicine she took still around?"

Yang Xun’s head snapped up.

Zhao Hongshan immediately had someone bring over the leftover dregs from the medicine.

Yang Xun lowered his head to smell the dregs, then took a pinch between his fingers to examine it closely.

He then turned to the so-called "famous doctor" they had called in. His voice was calm but held an icy edge. "This medicine is poisoned!"

The old doctor’s face paled. "Impossible! I’ve been a physician for decades. How could I..."

"Your prescription itself isn’t the problem. It’s indeed a mix of restorative herbs."

Yang Xun cut him off, his gaze sharp as a blade. "But there’s aconite in these dregs—unprocessed, raw aconite. That’s not something that should be in your prescription at all."

The old doctor’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. He stumbled back two steps, as if his spine had been ripped out.

Zhao Hongshan’s expression darkened completely. He whirled on the old doctor. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"I... I truly don’t know..."

"Enough. This isn’t the time to be assigning blame."

Yang Xun had already taken out his Silver Needles, precisely inserting them into several of Zhao Linglong’s key acupoints.

Wisps of pure True Qi seeped into her body through the Silver Needles. The energy began to envelop the spreading alkaloid toxins, forcing them bit by bit toward the surface of her skin.

This type of toxin damages the liver and kidneys. Fortunately, she hadn’t ingested a large dose. Her life was saved, but her body had sustained damage and would need time to recover properly.

A moment later, Zhao Linglong coughed sharply and slowly opened her eyes. Though still weak, her amber-colored eyes had regained their focus.

Seeing Yang Xun sitting by her bed, her lips curved slightly, revealing the faintest hint of a smile.

"You... you’re back?"

"You’re okay now."

Yang Xun soothed her gently, then turned to Zhao Hongshan.

"Mr. Zhao, could you all step outside for a moment? I’d like to speak with the patient alone."

"Of course!"

Zhao Hongshan readily agreed.

Seeing his daughter awake, he was so overcome with emotion that he nearly burst into tears. At this point, he would have agreed to anything Yang Xun said.

Once they were the only two left in the room, Yang Xun sat in the chair by the bed and asked gently, "You mentioned you’ve been having nightmares. What are they about?"

Zhao Linglong nodded, her voice still laced with lingering fear. "I see someone standing by my bed."

She pointed toward the foot of the bed. "He just stands right there, wearing black clothes. I can’t see his face clearly, but he’s always staring at me."

"Have you seen this figure often?"

Zhao Linglong fell silent for a few seconds before her voice dropped. "I started seeing him frequently after I came back from that ancestral hall."

"At first, it was only in my dreams. But then, gradually, I started seeing him when I was awake, too."

She looked up, her gaze filled with uncertainty. "Dr. Yang, do you think there’s something wrong with my mind?"

"No."

Yang Xun shook his head, his tone firm. "There’s nothing wrong with your body, and nothing wrong with your mind. You can just... see things that ordinary people can’t."

Zhao Linglong stared at him, stunned. "What do you mean?"

"You didn’t go to the ancestral hall alone, did you?" Yang Xun asked in return. "Who else was with you? Are any of them showing symptoms?"

"We went to sketch. It started raining, so we took shelter in the ancestral hall. A few of my classmates were with me, but none of them got sick."

"That explains it," Yang Xun explained. "Because you can see things others can’t, the experience frightened you. That shock allowed the Yin Sha Qi to latch onto you, which is why you became so severely ill."

At his words, Zhao Linglong’s breathing quickened. A complex emotion flickered in her amber eyes. "Are you saying... I have the Yin-Yang Eye?"

"From the looks of it, that’s highly likely."

Yang Xun nodded. "Your constitution is unique. Your sensitivity to Yin Sha Qi is far greater than an ordinary person’s. That’s why one trip to the ancestral hall was enough to make you so gravely ill."

Zhao Linglong lowered her gaze, remaining silent for a moment before speaking. "I... I have seen strange things before, quite often actually."

"When I was a child staying at my grandmother’s house in the countryside, I’d often wake up in the middle of the night and see someone pacing in the yard. But my parents always said there was no one there."

"As I got older, I just assumed it was my overactive imagination, so I didn’t pay it much mind."

Yang Xun hummed in acknowledgment. "That’s a classic trait of the Yin-Yang Eye—seeing what ordinary people cannot."

"But you don’t need to be too worried. These things can be frightening, but as long as you keep a clear head, they can’t truly harm you."

Zhao Linglong looked up at him, her eyes filled with an indescribable trust. "Then... that figure... is it following me because of my constitution?"

Yang Xun nodded. "You brought Yin Sha Qi back with you from the ancestral hall. The vengeful spirits there likely sensed that you were different, and that’s why they’ve been following you."

"Once the Yin Sha Qi is cleared from your body, they should stop bothering you."

Zhao Linglong seemed to let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing slightly. "That’s a relief."

She paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Dr. Yang, can you... stay with me tonight? I’m really scared."

Yang Xun looked at her pleading eyes and said with a helpless sigh, "I’m a man; it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to stay with you while you sleep. How about this: I’ll sit here with you until you fall asleep, and then I’ll leave. Okay?"

"Okay."

Zhao Linglong nodded, then snuggled back under the covers, reassured, and closed her eyes.

Her breathing gradually became steady and deep.

Yang Xun sat by the bed, watching her sleep peacefully for a moment before quietly leaving the room.

"Mr. Zhao, the poison was in the medicinal broth. Have you found out who did it?"

He got straight to the point the moment he stepped out the door.

Zhao Hongshan had been out for a while; he must have already sent people to investigate.

"I had people search the kitchen, but the servant who brewed the medicine is gone."

Zhao Hongshan’s face was flushed with anger. He couldn’t believe someone would actually try to poison his precious daughter.

Yang Xun frowned slightly. ’Who on earth would want to kill Zhao Linglong?’

’She’s just a sick girl. Whose way could she possibly be in?’

’Those five skeletons in the ancestral hall... Zhao Linglong was there. Could she have discovered something?’

The thought flashed through Yang Xun’s mind. He decided he would ask Zhao Linglong about it when she woke up.