Cooperation

"The first path: cooperate with me. I can clear you of the false charge of plotting against His Majesty, and I can also resolve the nightmare that has plagued you for years."

"The second path..." Lin Jin's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a chilling menace. "Come back to the Imperial Palace with me and stand trial as an accomplice in treason. By then, you may be able to cling to life with the cultivation of a Titled Douluo, but your granddaughter, Dugu Yan... will surely pay the price for everything you have done."

Upon hearing Lin Jin's words, a wave of humiliation rose within Dugu Bo.

Who was he?

A dignified Titled Douluo, being threatened by a youngster.

"Boy, do you really think this old man would not dare kill you?" Dugu Bo's voice was like a frigid wind from the Nine Underworlds, filled with rage and humiliation suppressed to their very limits.

The Jade Light he had restrained around himself surged again, blazing even more fiercely than before.

The dignity of a Titled Douluo could not be trampled upon like this!

"Grandfather!" Dugu Yan sensed her grandfather's nearly uncontrollable fury and went pale with fright.

Yang Wudi's expression also hardened. The Soul Breaking Spear instantly appeared in his hand, its black spearhead aimed directly at Dugu Bo as he shouted, "Dugu Bo, think carefully about the consequences!"

"Of course you dare, Dugu Senior." Lin Jin's voice remained exceptionally calm. He even took two steps forward with Dugu Yan and said, "When a Titled Douluo flies into a rage, corpses can litter a hundred miles. You certainly have the power to kill me, even to kill most of the people here."

His gaze seemed to pierce through the wildly swirling poisonous mist and stare directly into Dugu Bo's green eyes, burning with fury.

"But what happens after you kill me and take your granddaughter away?" Lin Jin asked softly, his tone carrying a chilling calm. "Can you kill every person who knows? Will the Heaven Dou Empire let this go? Perhaps you can take Miss Yan Yan and flee far away, living as fugitives. But..."

His tone shifted, and his voice struck Dugu Bo's heart like a heavy hammer:

"Can you take her with you, evade the pursuit of the entire Empire, and search for a way to resolve the severe poison within your bodies at the same time?"

"Can you watch helplessly as she spends the prime of her life fleeing with you, only to be consumed bit by bit by the backlash of your own Martial Soul's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, dying painfully in your arms?!"

"Shut up!" Dugu Bo let out a beastlike roar. The scene Lin Jin described was like the most terrifying nightmare, striking at the deepest fear in his heart.

"How did you learn of my condition?!"

Lin Jin looked Dugu Bo straight in the eye. "On rainy days, whenever it reaches midnight, do the crown of your head and the soles of your feet feel as though they are being pierced by needles, while your entire body convulses?"

"At midnight, do your ribs become unbearably numb and itchy, especially during the night, with the pain lasting more than two hours?"

"And this poison cultivation of yours has long since eroded your bloodline and been passed down to your granddaughter. Recently, has she also begun showing similar mild symptoms?"

"Think of your granddaughter. She does not have your strength. Can you bear to see a white-haired man send off a black-haired one?"

A mouthful of dark red blood suddenly sprayed from Dugu Bo's mouth. He staggered, and the Jade Light and poisonous mist around him receded like a tide as his face instantly turned ashen.

That mouthful of blood seemed to have spat out all his persistence and pride.

"Grandfather!" Dugu Yan cried out in alarm, filled with worry.

Dugu Bo waved a hand, signaling to Dugu Yan that he was fine.

He raised his head and looked at Lin Jin. His gaze was incomparably complicated, filled with anger and unwillingness, but when he thought of his granddaughter, it all ultimately turned into compromise.

He could choose to kill Lin Jin, but just as the other man had said, what would happen afterward? Would he watch Dugu Yan die in agony?

"You... win!" Dugu Bo said hoarsely. "What do you want me to do?"

This was no longer a challenge, but a question asked after admitting defeat.

Lin Jin knew the time was right. He could not press too hard. He released Dugu Yan's hand and even signaled for A Tu and the surrounding Taxi Soldiers to put away their weapons and step back, displaying sufficient goodwill.

"Dugu Senior, I will say this once more. I came here for cooperation, not to make enemies." Lin Jin's tone softened, carrying a hint of sincerity. "So what I seek is not your submission, but a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Lin Jin then laid out his plan.

"First, you must return to the Imperial Palace with me. Not to stand trial, but as a specially invited Advisor, assisting Clan Head Yang in curing the poison His Majesty Xue Ye has suffered. That will clear your name."

"That way, you can clear your name before the Heaven Dou Crown Prince and the other nobles instead of pleading guilty, and your granddaughter can continue to remain at the academy."

"After everything is done, we will return here, and I will detoxify you, grandfather and granddaughter."

Lin Jin was not in a hurry, but Yang Wudi was. They were about to see the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—how could he not be anxious?

His heart itched with impatience as he hurriedly said, "General, shouldn't we go inside and take a look first? What if we guessed wrong?"

Lin Jin immediately reassured Yang Wudi. "Senior Yang, do not forget that we came out this time under His Majesty's decree. We have already been out for two hours. Once you really see what you have dreamed of, will you still be able to walk away?"

"So, haste makes waste. The urgent matter is to return and remove the poison from His Majesty. After that, you will have plenty of time to study it."

"Ah, true enough. Then I'll endure a little longer." Hearing Lin Jin's words, Yang Wudi could only suppress his restless heart.

"The place where this old man lives is full of poisonous herbs and poisonous flowers, along with a pool of poisonous water that is half ice and half fire. What is there to see?" Dugu Bo understood now. It turned out the two men coveted not only his strength as a Titled Douluo, but also his Poison Realm. Yet he was thoroughly puzzled.

"Hmph. Some people sit atop a treasure mountain without knowing it. Though you are a poison Titled Douluo, your understanding of pharmacology is utterly crude." Yang Wudi curled his lip disdainfully.

"You are merely a Soul Douluo! Do you really think this old man cannot defeat you?" Dugu Bo naturally heard the contempt in Yang Wudi's voice.

"Enough. Back to the palace."

Lin Jin's voice carried unquestionable resolve, instantly suppressing the tension rising once more between Yang Wudi and Dugu Bo.

Yang Wudi snorted unhappily and put away the Soul Breaking Spear, but his eyes could not help drifting toward the depths of the Poison Array, filled with longing.

Dugu Bo merely shot Yang Wudi a cold glare and ultimately said nothing more.

The atmosphere on the return journey was even more stifling than before.

Dugu Bo remained silent, radiating an oppressive air that warned strangers to stay away.

Dugu Yan stayed by her grandfather's side, her thoughts equally heavy. From time to time, she secretly glanced back at the calm-faced Lin Jin, her expression difficult to read.

Yang Wudi, meanwhile, kept looking back every few steps, unable to forget the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that had been so close yet slipped through his fingers.

He kept muttering under his breath, "Ice and fire of the same origin, a natural Poison Array... it has to be that place... what a pity, what a pity..."

By the time Lin Jin's group escorted Dugu Bo, who was "cooperating with the investigation," back to the Imperial Palace, night had already deepened. Yet the palace remained brilliantly lit.