The sound of footsteps slowly neared outside the courtyard's entrance. It halted for a brief moment before entering. As the person moved passed the dead bodies, blood-caked the edge of an embroidered pair of shoes and the rims of a light blue robe. The figure carried a wooden medicine box and had his nose covered with a veil to block the stench of death. It was the doctor's adopted son, Ah Luo.

Hongyue wrinkled her nose. Was the doctor that afraid of coming back? She gazed at the person coming near her; this was only a mere clueless pawn. It looks like a small trick would do. This was fine as well.

Hongyue ran out to greet him cheerfully, her eyes bright and innocent.

"An older brother? What are you doing here?" She called happily.

Ah Luo didn't answer her, he really didn't care to. Ah Luo kept his head down the whole time, avoiding her gaze. In truth, if his father didn't want to come to this cursed yard, why would he? It's just that the general gave a task to his father, and it got pushed on to him. Ah Luo wrinkled his nose as the bloodied girl ran towards him. He indifferently pushed her off and grabbed her hand. He then reached into his father's medicine box and took out a small knife and porcelain bowl. Hongyue widened her eyes when she saw the gleaming blade.

"No!"

Ah Luo didn't expect the eldest miss to react so forcefully, but he needed to finish his job. His eyes flared with annoyance and reached back for her hand. However, each time he grabbed her hand, she would push him away.

He frowned. This miss was just an idiot, yet she was kicking up such a big fuss. He didn't have the time to play with her.

Frustrated, he finally reached into the medicine box his father lent him and randomly picked out a small blue porcelain jar. He held it in his hand like it was something valuable and spun it. Hongyue eyed it curiously, her nose picking up on a weird odor that came from the jar. Noticing Hongyue being interested in it, he sneered.

"If you stay still, then I'll give you this to play with."

Hongyue looked dumbly at him, then back at the jar. Slowly she nodded her head. Seeing her agree, Ah Luo jeered and grabbed her hand, and handed the jar over. Holding her other wrist, he laid the bowl under her hand and poured in a bit of water. The youngster then carefully cut a thin line on her skin and watched as the red blood slowly dripped into the bowl. After he got the amount he wanted, he took out another tiny porcelain bottle and tapped a bit of whitish powder into the bowl. Ah Luo took out a wooden stick to mix it together. His brows furrowed as he watched the mixture clumped up, turning to a shade of dirty gray. His eyes swelled in fright. Although he didn't know much about medicine, he at least knew the powder detected poisoning. But having this much of a reaction meant her body was profoundly poisoned. Or maybe her body was poisonous itself.

D-didn't that mean she was a dead person? What was the difference between her and the dead?

He heard a faint mumbling, and he nearly dropped his bowl in terror. Ah Luo turned his head around and found Hongyue staring at one of the dead bodies intensely.

"Y-you...what are you looking at?" He questioned, his voice shaking.

Hongyue frowned at his question but slowly showed a sweet smile.

"I was just talking to the older sister over there," She answered cheerfully.

Ah Luo nearly wanted to urinate in his pants. What the hell was she talking about? That was a dead body. People can't-

Ah Luo gasped and stared at her in terror, he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He didn't dare stay for another minute. Ah Luo picked up the bowl with trembling hands, nearly tripped over the medicine box before gathering everything in his arms, and darted out. Ah Luo didn't dare look back, he felt as an omen of death was near him.

Hongyue watched him run; her lips bent up in a bewitching arc.

Her fingers tapped restlessly on the surface of the jar in her hands. That fool really took after his father, being such a coward. Just a little scare, and he was already flying out. He hadn't even treated her shoulder wound.

She clicked her tongue before she opened the jar and gently took a sniff. Her pupils shrunk as she recognized the smell. While it was slightly different from the one in her world, she could recognize that smell anywhere.

Bone eroding poison.

She didn't think she would find it here, what a surprise. Hongyue took another sniff.

There was something else mixed in. Hongyue frowned. She didn't know whatever it was by scent.

Hongyue pondered for a bit.

Consuming poison wouldn't harm her at this point. After the full moon, she recuperated enough to suppress the two stored poisons within her body with her power. Since she didn't know what it was, she might as well just consume it; maybe her blood could feel out the different elements. If not, it wouldn't harm her if she didn't permit the poison to mix.

With that in mind, she tipped back her head and allowed the dark pill to enter through her lips.

in_awe

Please don't think she's stupid for consuming the poison. She has her own reasons and it'll come up useful in the future. Thank you for reading!