Huo Yao opened her box and brushed her fingers over the bottles. Then her habitually expressionless face became grave.

  Wuyu was a neurological poison. Although it was not domineering in nature, it could eventually damage all the nerves of the person from the roots.

  The poison usually did not get triggered without major injuries. However, it would attack the person like a creeper when he suffered from any neurological injury and slowly attacked all nerves in his body. In the end, the afflicted person would eventually become completely disabled.

  The poisoned person would present symptomatic intervals of hysteria and there would be dark patches around his temples. In the middle and later stages, the person would lose body mass swiftly, and inconspicuous red patches would start to appear.

  Wuyu was a neurological poison because it tucked itself away in the patient’s nerves and was impossible to detect through blood tests.

  Huo Yao was surprised that her fourth older brother had gotten poisoned by Wuyu. Based on his current condition, the poison had spread to its middle stage. If the poison was not controlled soon, the consequences were unimaginable.

  Currently, she only had the medicine that could control its spread, but didn’t have anything to neutralize Wuyu. The antidote was complicated to produce, and another challenge she faced was the lack of equipment.

  Huo Yao pressed her forehead. Then she picked a bottle of medicine, which could temporarily help control the poison’s effects, and left her room.

  Meanwhile downstairs.

  Her father was about to go up but halted in his steps when Huo Yao came down. He looked at her and asked her. “Yaoyao, still up?”


  “Mhm,” replied Huo Yao. She glanced around the living room. “Has Brother Xiang gone up to his room?”


  Her father nodded and said, “He said he was exhausted from staying on the plane for over ten hours, so he went to bed.”


  Huo Yao nodded. “Then you have an early night too, Dad.”


  Saying so, she turned to go upstairs.

  She had spent less than a minute coming down and going back up.

  He gazed at his daughter from behind. Huo Jinyan touched his chin sadly. First, his second son came home to get in his way, and now his fourth son. Was it too much to ask to have some quality time with his wife and daughter?

  **

  The next morning.

  Huo Yao caught sight of Huo Xiang sitting in the living room when she reached the stairs. She paused before turning back to her room. Before long, she came back out again with the medicine which she had found for Huo Xiang last night.

  After reaching the ground floor, Huo Yao went over and greeted Huo Xiang sweetly. “Brother Xiang, morning.”


  “Morning, Yao,” said Huo Xiang as he nodded slightly.

  Huo Xiang did seem slightly better after having some rest, but the darkening at his temples remained. Huo Yao stopped scrutinizing him. It seemed she was spot on with her diagnosis last night.

  Huo Yao paused before handing the porcelain bottle to him. She said, “This is for you.”


  Huo Xiang’s eyes landed on the porcelain bottle in surprise. He reached his hand out and asked her. “What is it?”


  Before Huo Yao replied, their father came walking out of the bathroom and said unsurprisingly, “The invigorator.”


  Huo Xiang, “.……”


  Huo Yao, “.……”


  “Your little sister gave each of us a bottle as a gift when she first returned home. I feel a lot stronger now, after I’ve taken these.”


  Huo Jinyan threw a punch in mid-air as he spoke. In the end, he accidentally overturned a piece of wooden ornament, and it fell onto the ground. He blushed awkwardly.

  Huo Yao twitched her lips and averted her eyes. She could not bear looking at her father.