Yanyan, Time to Take Your Medicine

Lin Hai held it in for a long time before finally bringing out his trump card, his face solemn. "It causes premature aging!"

At the same time, he swiftly took a warm jade bottle from his ring and tossed it over.

"Don't believe me? Try staying up a few more nights and you'll find out..."

Dugu Yan caught the jade bottle in one hand and haughtily tossed her head.

"You expect me to try it just because you told me to? Where would my dignity be then?"

She turned and headed inside. "I'm going back to my room! You two grown men can figure out your own lodging!"

Watching his granddaughter hurry back to her room, Dugu Bo sighed helplessly and said to Lin Hai, "Sigh, now I'm suddenly not sure whether introducing Yanyan to you was a wise choice. That girl is far too easy to fool."

Lin Hai found it amusing and teased, "With a Titled Douluo grandfather like you watching over her, how would I dare bully her?"

Dugu Bo snorted proudly, stroked his beard, and turned toward the house as well.

Lin Hai called after him, "Hey! Old Monster! You're staying inside while leaving me, your guest, out here in the wilderness?"

Without looking back, Dugu Bo replied in a teasing voice, "Could such a trivial matter really stump a Little Monster like you?"

Watching his back, Lin Hai suddenly raised his voice. "Then for my sake, can you let go of your grudge with Yue Guan? Consider it the second thing you do for me!"

Dugu Bo's steps paused almost imperceptibly.

The Little Monster really is connected to Spirit Hall!

He did not turn around and continued walking. His voice drifted back. "We'll talk after the next fight!"

The meaning could not have been clearer.

Reconciliation was possible, but Dugu Bo had to first defeat that Chrysanthemum Guan fair and square! Before then, this brat had better not secretly give him any pills to improve his strength.

Lin Hai shook his head with a helpless laugh. "Seriously... so concerned with saving face."

Fine. Dugu Bo had softened his stance. He could send Chrysanthemum Douluo a message later. Once the two had one final battle, the matter would be settled.

For now, he should deal with his lodging first.

This truly was not difficult for Lin Hai. The Floating and Sinking Pearls gleamed.

"Cosmic Spirit Control!"

With a thought, the earth churned, and a mud house rose from the ground.

Lin Hai raised a hand and gestured. Water from the distant ice pond flew over in a clear stream, instantly sweeping over the mud house and freezing into shape—

A crystal-clear Ice House appeared before him.

Having just finished telling the story of The Return of the Condor Heroes, Lin Hai himself was feeling stirred up. He could not help wanting to experience the Cold Jade Bed for himself.

He walked into the Ice House. Cold mist filled the interior. An ice bed, ice table, and ice chairs were all present, simple and chilling.

Still, it felt as though something was missing...

With another thought from Lin Hai, a streak of black light flashed forth. It was the Heaven Tying Chain.

He raised his hand and firmly secured both ends of the chain to the ice walls on either side.

"Mm, now this feels right." He nodded in satisfaction.

The night passed quietly without incident.

In the morning, Lin Hai woke up.

He figured it would be safer to personally watch Dugu Yan finish absorbing that pill before leaving.

Just think of how Ning Rongrong had gotten so excited over her Martial Soul Evolution that she kissed Tang San... She had even been able to kiss that face carrying half of Tang Hao's temperament.

There was no reason he and Dugu Yan should get no benefits at all, was there?

He could leave after receiving his benefits. A few more hours would not make a difference.

Lin Hai put away the Heaven Tying Chain, washed his face using scattered water elements, then walked out of the Ice House. Imitating the tone of a melon vendor calling out to collect his melons, he shouted toward Dugu Yan's house, "Yanyan! Yanyan... time to take your medicine!"

The moment his words fell, Dugu Yan pushed open the door and came out with a faintly teasing smile on her face. "Hmph! Unlike you, you lazy bum! Grandpa and I got up ages ago, and breakfast is almost ready!"

Lin Hai choked for a moment, then immediately turned the tables and put on an aggrieved expression. "You didn't include me when you slept, and you didn't call me for food either? You have no loyalty at all!"

Dugu Yan rolled her eyes. "I was just about to call you when I heard you howling like a ghost outside!"

At that moment, Dugu Bo's voice rang out. "Enough, enough. Are you two done bickering? Come eat!"

Lin Hai leaned toward the dining table, sniffed, and asked curiously, "What delicious food did you prepare? Don't tell me you stewed that Nine-Sectioned Jade of yours?"

Dugu Bo nearly choked on his own saliva. "Cough, cough! You brat... how did you know I had a Nine-Sectioned Jade?"

He stared at Lin Hai suspiciously.

Lin Hai did not answer. He merely sniffed the air twice more as though the answer lay in his nose. This excuse worked every time.

Dugu Bo could not be bothered to argue with this slippery brat. With a hint of pride, he said, "I was lucky this morning. The moment I went out, I encountered a thousand-year Nether Tiger. It's fresh enough."

Lin Hai's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "Is the blood still there?"

"The blood?"

Dugu Bo's brows instantly furrowed, and his gaze sharpened.

It was no wonder he was sensitive about it. There were generally only two kinds of people who cared especially about Spirit Beast Blood.

The first were fallen Soul Masters who cultivated evil arts. The second were... restaurant owners.

Lin Hai was someone he had chosen as a potential husband for his granddaughter. If the boy had truly embarked on the path of depravity, he would be doomed beyond redemption.

Feeling Old Poison's scrutinizing gaze, Lin Hai's thoughts raced.

Given their current relationship, and with Dugu Yan at the crucial moment of her Martial Soul Evolution, there was no harm in revealing some information.

Besides, Dugu Yan was now at rank twenty-nine in Soul Power. After absorbing the pill, she would inevitably need to obtain a new spirit ring.

Thus, he laid out everything about the Spirit Ring Pill he had developed to the grandfather and granddaughter.

At the end, he solemnly warned them, "This matter has far-reaching implications and is no trivial matter. You must keep it secret."

As for the Martial Spirit Pill, Lin Hai chose to withhold it.

That pill was tied to even deeper matters and concerned his longer-term plans.

It was not that he did not trust the two before him. It was simply that some things could often leak out inadvertently.

At that moment, the grandfather and granddaughter had no time to care about Lin Hai's inner considerations. The words "Spirit Ring Pill" and their implications had already shaken them to their core, and their eyes were full of turbulent shock.

How could something like this exist in the world...?

Dugu Yan even felt a strange surge of relief—fortunately, she had not yet reached rank thirty!

Lin Hai seemed to see through their thoughts and smiled faintly. With a thought, four pale-blue spirit rings quietly emerged beneath his feet, their light flowing as they silently declared their extraordinariness.

"There are many strange things in this world to begin with." Lin Hai's voice carried the calm detachment of one who had seen through worldly affairs.

Dugu Yan's mouth fell open again in disbelief.

Dugu Bo, however, had a different thought.

There may be plenty of strange things, but someone like you, pulling them out one after another, is probably one of a kind.

"Enough, Old Monster." Lin Hai withdrew his spirit rings and said seriously, "We can discuss this later. Is the blood still there? This Spirit Beast won't be easy to find."

The Nether Tiger possessed a powerful bloodline but was exceedingly rare. Skilled at concealing itself, it was extremely difficult to capture and kill.

A powerful race often also meant a difficult legacy.