C20 A Real Viper Beauty!

Xiao Ge was on the verge of speaking when his face subtly shifted. "Huh?"

"It's too late now." A wistful look flickered in Scorpion's eyes. "I warned you to release me, but you wouldn't. If you die, don't hold it against me. I never intended to kill you."

At last, Xiao Ge released Scorpion's crystalline feet, gazing at her with an odd mixture of surprise, excitement, and sheer incredulity.

"So that's why they call you Scorpion." It took a full thirty seconds before Xiao Ge broke the silence, his eyes now filled with compassion. "As supple as a serpent, as venomous as a scorpion—you truly are a femme fatale."

Having regained her footing, Scorpion didn't press her attack. To her, Xiao Ge was as good as dead. Yet, his final words made her face twitch, and she couldn't resist asking, "What do you know?"

"May I ask how old you are?" Xiao Ge's gaze remained tinged with sympathy.

"Twenty," Scorpion replied after a brief pause, figuring there was no harm in indulging a dying man's curiosity.

"Already turned twenty?" he probed further.

"Not yet. I'll be twenty in December," she responded more promptly this time.

"Not quite twenty," Xiao Ge murmured, sighing lightly. His look of pity deepened, and his voice softened to a gentle whisper. "You've endured so much. I can hardly fathom how you've survived these twenty years."

Scorpion's face shifted once more, her tone losing its chill and gaining an edge of urgency. "What do you know?"

"You shouldn't blame yourself. None of it is your fault," Xiao Ge assured her softly.

"What are you talking about?" Scorpion's composure slipped. "Why... why aren't you dead?"

"Your mother died because of you, your kin died because of you. Everyone who tried to care for you is gone from this world, as are all those you cared for. You're left to suffer alone, too scared to show kindness or accept it. You confine yourself to this basement because you fear stepping outside, knowing anyone who comes near might die. You keep the temperature below freezing here because you dread sweating—your sweat alone is lethal." Xiao Ge's words were deliberate, his eyes still brimming with compassion.

After a brief pause, Xiao Ge continued, "You've despised yourself and even loathed everything around you. You've contemplated death, but you ultimately found the strength to carry on. Yet, deep down, you've always been consumed by guilt. I need to tell you, though, none of this is your fault. You were born this way. If there's any fault, it lies with fate itself. You're nothing but an innocent, unfortunate girl."

"You, you, you..." Scorpion's complexion turned deathly pale, and though she stuttered a few times, no words followed. Her eyes brimmed with incredulity.

"Don't be afraid. I understand your anguish and your solitude. Believe me, you won't have to feel alone anymore." Xiao Ge stepped forward and tenderly grasped Scorpion's delicate hand.

"Who are you, really?" Scorpion's voice was ethereal, almost dreamlike. "Could you be... a divine being?"

"I'm no deity," Xiao Ge replied, shaking his head. "I'm simply someone who's intimately familiar with your condition."

"Then, are you a miraculous healer?" Scorpion inquired softly.

Again, Xiao Ge shook his head. "No, I'm not a healer. I am the Poison King, a master of the toxic arts."

"The master of the toxic arts?" Scorpion repeated under her breath, a spark of hope flickering in her eyes. "Can you cure my poison, then?"

Before Xiao Ge could respond, Scorpion pressed on eagerly, "You must be able to! Right? You're unharmed, so you must have taken an antidote. Anyone else would have succumbed to the poison by now!"

Xiao Ge shook his head once more. "I can't administer an antidote to you. And my well-being isn't due to any antidote; I'm naturally impervious to all poisons."

"But aren't you the Poison King? Why can't you cure me? Just name your price, whatever conditions you have—I'll meet them!" Scorpion's desperation was palpable, but understandably so. The nightmare that had tormented her for two decades seemed on the verge of being lifted. How could she contain her excitement?

"I'm not lacking the skill to detoxify," Xiao Ge patiently clarified, "but I can't detoxify you. You see, your very being is intertwined with the poison. To detoxify you would mean to eradicate your essence, and that would kill you."

Scorpion's complexion was ashen as she collapsed onto the ground, devoid of strength. It took her a moment before she whispered to herself, "Can you tell me what I am? Am I even human anymore?"

"You are undoubtedly human," Xiao Ge reassured her, "but you're a person with poison coursing through you. You're not like those who were artificially made poisonous later in life. You were born with an Innate Poison Body. While in your mother's womb, she was afflicted by a potent toxin, and before you were even born, you became a poisonous person. You have your own consciousness, your own thoughts. Aside from the poison in your body, you're no different from anyone else. So yes, you are still human." Xiao Ge let out a sigh as he finished.

After a pause, he went on, "The reason I asked if you had turned twenty was that I've discovered the poison has been in your system for two decades. As an infant, you had no control over the poison within you. A mere touch could be lethal to others. Now, you're learning to manage it, but clearly, it's still a challenge. When faced with an attack, your body instinctively defends itself, releasing the toxin. The poison has become an integral part of you—your sweat, your blood—it's all laced with deadly venom."

"So, you're saying I'm doomed to live like this forever?" Scorpion's voice was barely above a whisper, the weight of her reality evident in her tone.

"Not at all," Xiao Ge said, shaking his head. "Like I said, you won't have to be alone. Not everyone fears your poison—I certainly don't."

Scorpion's gaze snapped up, a spark of hope flickering in her eyes. She studied Xiao Ge intently for a long moment before speaking. "Are you truly immune to all poisons?"

"Absolutely," Xiao Ge replied confidently.

"I don't believe you," Scorpion said, her voice tinged with skepticism. "Prove it to me."

"Well, that's simple. Give me some poison to ingest, and you'll see," Xiao Ge suggested nonchalantly.

"No, I want you to kiss me," Scorpion countered firmly. "My saliva is toxic too. If you have the courage to kiss me, then I'll believe that you really are immune to all poisons." Her eyes locked onto Xiao Ge's, her resolve unwavering.