Chapter 1: This Thing Can Be Eaten?

"Cough, cough, cough..."

On an antique rosewood bed, a sickly youth suddenly coughed violently.

It seemed as if he wouldn't stop until he coughed out his lungs.

The youth's lips were purple, his face pale—clearly a sign that he didn't have long to live.

Yet his violent coughing sent the young woman beside him into a frenzy of joy.

The young woman was in her thirties, no longer in her prime but still retaining her charm. At this moment, her tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed slightly as she quickly grabbed the sickly youth's hand.

"Yuan'er, you're finally awake. You scared your mother to death! Ah! Go quickly and call the family head back. Yuan'er is awake. The top priority is to cure him. We'll settle accounts with the Wan family later!"

The servant, hearing the young woman's orders, hurried off.

The youth, however, ignored all of this, focusing solely on his coughing.

Suddenly, with a "wah," he spat out a large mouthful of black blood. The black blood quickly corroded a large hole in the bed mat—it was clearly highly toxic.

After spitting out the blood, the youth seemed to feel much lighter.

He looked at the anxious young woman, a feeling both unfamiliar and familiar surging in his heart.

He tried to think who this woman was, but only felt a splitting headache.

"Yuan'er, what's wrong? Has the heartbreak grass poison flared up again? Quickly bring the top-grade antidote pill for the young master to take!" the young woman asked with concern.

Another servant took the order and left.

Taking this opportunity, the youth sorted through the jumbled memories in his mind and finally remembered who this woman was.

This woman was none other than his own mother, Ren Hongling, and he—or rather, the original owner of this body—was named Ye Yuan.

The Ye family into which Ye Yuan was born was one of the top alchemy families in the Qin Kingdom. The family head, Ye Hang, Ye Yuan's father, was a low-grade grand alchemist, a figure of great importance in the Qin Kingdom.

Unfortunately, Ye Hang was a tiger father with a dog son, producing a worthless son named Ye Yuan who spent his days causing trouble and harassing virtuous women, not even managing to become an alchemy apprentice—a complete disgrace.

But Ye Hang didn't care about any of that. He had never had any expectations for his son, letting him do as he pleased, and was extremely protective. Whatever trouble Ye Yuan caused outside, Ye Hang would clean up afterward.

However, every father hopes his son will amount to something. Later, Ye Hang spent a great deal to squeeze Ye Yuan into the Alchemy Martial Academy, hoping he would learn something. Who knew that this kid would get into a rivalry over a girl at school and, overestimating his abilities, compete in detoxification, only to poison himself to death!

Thinking of this, Ye Yuan sighed slightly. The original owner of this body was quite something—managing to kill himself playing around. That took a lot of courage and intelligence!

"Oh well, oh well. Who would have thought that I, Qingyunzi, a proud inheritor of the Alchemy Emperor, would one day be reborn into a good-for-nothing? But since heaven favors me and lets me be reborn, I must avenge my father and myself, and personally slay that treacherous, ambitious traitor!"

With this thought, Ye Yuan's gaze turned sharp, filled with murderous intent.

Ren Hongling noticed Ye Yuan's look and thought he was still brooding over the harm caused by that Wan family kid. She quickly consoled him, "Son, a gentleman's revenge is never too late. The Ye family will settle this score. But for now, the most important thing is to recover your health. We'll talk about other matters later."

Seeing Ren Hongling's overflowing maternal love, Ye Yuan was moved.

He had inherited this body, and naturally, he inherited its emotions. No matter how much of a scoundrel Ye Yuan was outside, he still had deep feelings for his loving parents.

"Mother, I'm sorry for worrying you."

Ren Hongling was stunned by her son's words. This kid was always causing trouble outside, and she had worn her heart out without ever hearing a soft word from him. What was wrong with him today?

Could it be that Yuan'er had seen the light after this incident?

After a brief daze, Ren Hongling was overjoyed, tears in her eyes as she said, "As long as you're okay."

Just then, with a "bang," the door was kicked open.

"You little brat, you didn't die? You worried your old man to death!"

A roar came, making Ye Yuan's eardrums ache. Though the words were harsh, anyone could hear the joy and concern in them. Needless to say, it was Ye Hang, the Ye family head, who had arrived.

Ye Hang looked somewhat rugged, making it hard to associate him with the noble identity of an alchemist; he seemed more like a rough country fellow.

Hearing her husband's words, Ren Hongling turned and gave him a reproachful look: "Yuan'er just escaped death. Can't you say something nice?"

Ye Hang didn't mind. He glanced at the black blood on the floor and immediately relaxed, chuckling, "It seems my son is blessed with great fortune—even this can't kill him, hahaha. Come, quickly take this antidote pill to neutralize the remaining toxins in your body, and you should be fine."

Ye Hang casually pulled out a pill and tried to shove it into Ye Yuan's mouth.

Ye Yuan was startled and quickly retreated into the bed.

"This thing can be eaten?" Ye Yuan exclaimed.

Ye Hang's tiger eyes widened, and he roared, "You little bastard, has the poison fried your brain? Have you forgotten who your father is?"

Ren Hongling also thought something was wrong with Ye Yuan and quickly said, "Yuan'er, your father is a grand alchemist. Even the emperor treats him with respect. Besides, he's your father—would he harm you?"

Ye Yuan curled his lips, noncommittal.

Of course, he knew this pill was an antidote; it was just of poor quality. In his previous life, Qingyunzi's father was the Alchemy Emperor, and he had eaten pills like candy since childhood. How could he not recognize the most common antidote pill?

Swallowing this thing could suppress the toxins in his body, but the effect was truly mediocre—it couldn't completely eliminate the residual poison.

These toxins were undetectable by ordinary alchemists and wouldn't greatly affect Ye Yuan's future life, but they would lurk in his body, becoming a constant burden and even hindering his future martial arts progress.

The heartbreak grass poison was nothing in Ye Yuan's eyes, nor even in Ye Hang's. But when Ye Yuan was brought back, he was deeply poisoned, barely breathing, and couldn't even swallow the antidote pill. That's why Ye Hang was at a loss and ready to go fight to the death.

Before his death, Qingyunzi had also reached the level of Alchemy Emperor. He was perfectly clear on these pharmacological principles, and his insight was naturally beyond that of a grand alchemist like Ye Hang.

Seeing his son's expression, Ye Hang felt deeply provoked.

"You little brat, you dare question your father's alchemy skills!"

Ye Yuan looked innocently at the grayish pill in his father's hand, then at his furious gaze, and said, "The Crimson Abyss Herb is two parts too much, and the Green Snake Gall is one part too little. It should be due to improper operation during pill formation. The biggest failure is adding alum to the antidote pill, which not only doesn't help the medicinal properties but actually destroys the pill's structure. I say, Dad, since refining third-tier pills is a stretch for you, why not set the standard a bit lower?"

The expression on Ye Hang's face was a sight to behold. First anger, then surprise, and finally utter shock.

He was the one who refined this pill, so naturally, he knew its strengths and weaknesses. Ye Yuan's analysis was as if he had seen it with his own eyes, and even if he had, he might not have analyzed it so accurately.

Was this kid really his son?

Ye Hang couldn't help but doubt, scrutinizing him carefully before confirming that it was indeed his son.

"Stop staring. I'm really your son, no doubt about it." Seeing Ye Hang's gaze, Ye Yuan felt a bit guilty and quickly defended himself.

"Hey, you little brat, were you playing possum all along? No, if you were really playing possum, how could you not have been able to cure the heartbreak grass poison?" Ye Hang was utterly baffled.

Ye Yuan rolled his eyes, snatched the antidote pill from Ye Hang's hand, and swallowed it.