A Harmonious Morning, the Planning Begins!

"You... I..."

Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, but she did not know what to say.

She vaguely remembered last night's madness, that indescribable feeling, and how she had clung to him like an octopus...

But why did she always feel that Bai Lu had used all the words she should have said?

The young girl wore a complicated expression.

"Last night, I..."

"Last night, you were refining the Ten-Thousand Year Whale Rubber and nearly lost control."

Bai Lu spoke lightly. "I helped guide the energy out for you, and while I was at it... we took a bath. That was all."

"Are you sure it was only a bath?"

Zhu Zhuqing asked, fighting back a blush.

"Of course. You were drenched in sweat. How could you sleep without washing up?"

Bai Lu looked completely innocent. "Don't worry, I washed you with my eyes closed. I didn't see anything."

"..."

She would be a fool to believe him.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Pull the blanket over me a little."

Bai Lu chuckled, pulled the young girl back into his arms, and said with a smile,

"Try out your left hand."

"My left hand..."

Zhu Zhuqing froze, then lowered her head to look at her left hand.

It had already returned to its normal size, and its skin was fair and delicate.

Other than the joints being slightly more pronounced, it looked no different from her right hand.

But with a thought—

"Buzz!"

Dark Gold light instantly burst from her left hand. Her entire palm rapidly swelled, becoming much larger in perfect proportion.

With another thought, Dark Gold fur grew across her left hand, transforming it into a massive, thick, powerful bear paw.

Most astonishingly, the paw seemed faintly inclined to extend toward her left arm and assimilate with it.

"This is..."

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened.

"Other than being able to grow, an External Soul Bone will gradually fuse with the body as it develops."

Bai Lu reached out, took hold of the young girl's bear paw, and after stroking and sensing it, said,

"The palm bone is connected to the left arm bone, and their compatibility is rather high. It's normal for them to gradually fuse."

"Then if they fuse perfectly in the future... won't it become impossible to remove?"

Zhu Zhuqing could not help feeling worried.

"Don't worry. It isn't so easy for an External Soul Bone to fuse perfectly with the main body.

If it really gets close to a perfect fusion, I'll help you sever the connection from within."

Bai Lu gave her a reassuring look and explained,

"This is the second evolution of the Great Strength Diamond Palm."

"Other than the normal increase in your left hand's power, the Great Pressure Soul Skill has improved again."

"After activating the Soul Skill, the overall strength boost to your left hand will rise to 1.5 times, and both the range and suppressive force of Great Pressure have increased."

"If my plan is correct, it will undergo another transformation before long."

"That's wonderful!"

Zhu Zhuqing felt the terrifying power contained in her left hand, her eyes filled with delight.

This was far too great an improvement!

In a normal battle, who would imagine that the power unleashed by her full-force left-handed punch could exceed the strength of her right hand by more than five times?

"Next, it's time to handle serious business."

Bai Lu squeezed the young girl's chest, drawing her attention back, and said,

"It's time to begin planning for the Immortal Herbs."

"How are we supposed to plan it?"

Zhu Zhuqing paused, asking with a conflicted expression,

"Do we... really have to make a move against Dugu Yan and kidnap her?"

Though she had already made up her mind, she still felt somewhat guilty whenever she thought about it.

"No! It hasn't come to that yet!"

Bai Lu gently shook his head and said quietly,

"Using Dugu Yan as part of the plan is meant to give us a chance to steal the Immortal Herbs."

"But if there is another opportunity, that would naturally be better."

"Besides... do we necessarily have to kidnap the little girl just to use her in our plan?"

Zhu Zhuqing asked blankly, "You mean... we won't kidnap her?"

"I don't think I ever said we were going to kidnap her."

Bai Lu gave the young girl a strange look. "Do you really want to make a move against her that badly?"

"Uh... no!"

Zhu Zhuqing decisively shook her head.

Bai Lu asked, "What thief with a functioning brain would kidnap the target's child just to lure the target away before stealing something?"

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "No one!"

"Exactly." Bai Lu stated firmly, "We'll definitely scout things out first, figure out the situation, then make a plan and wait for the right opportunity."

"Oh, alright..."

As Zhu Zhuqing sighed in relief, she somehow felt a little... disappointed?

Her expression was like that of a little kitten who wanted to do something bad, only to be caught and stopped by her owner, leaving her feeling a little wronged.

"Hehe~"

Bai Lu glanced at her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

Sure enough, this little kitten had a restless streak deep in her bones.

Over the following days, Zhu Zhuqing consolidated her cultivation while secretly observing Dugu Bo's everyday habits with Bai Lu.

When he left the Ice Fire Two-Eyed Eye, where he went, what he did, and how long it took him to return after leaving...

With the prepared party watching an unprepared one, and Bai Lu helping conceal their aura, Dugu Bo was completely unaware that a little kitten was spying on him!

Time slowly passed, and ten days vanished in an instant!

On this day, Zhu Zhuqing happened to hear an important piece of information—

Three days later, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would hold its annual Royal Celebration within the Imperial Palace.

Every notable and influential figure would enter the palace that day to attend the celebration.

As a High Priest of the imperial family, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo would, barring unforeseen circumstances, also need to attend.

"This may be our best opportunity in the coming months!"

Bai Lu said seriously.

If they did not act at this time, the next best opportunity might be four or five months later, when Tang San and the others arrived at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"What should we do? Sneak in directly after he leaves for the event?"

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were thoughtful.

Based on their observations over the previous days, Dugu Bo usually did not return directly to the Ice Fire Two-Eyed Eye after leaving it.

After all, the Ice Fire Two-Eyed Eye was merely an herb garden to Dugu Bo, not his home.

He could not stay there all the time.

After leaving the herb garden and finishing his business, Dugu Bo would usually first visit his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Then he would return to his own residence to rest and handle matters from the outside world.

Only if he had no matters to handle, or had already seen Dugu Yan, would he return early to the Ice Fire Two-Eyed Eye.

"If Dugu Bo attends the celebration, there's a very high chance he'll stay at his residence in Heaven Dou City that day."

"From the start of the celebration until he returns to the Ice Fire Two-Eyed Eye the next day, there should be roughly... twenty hours."

As Bai Lu calculated the time, light bloomed in his eyes.

"With that much time, it should be more than enough for us to act."

"Are you sure?"

Zhu Zhuqing raised a timely question, helping fill in any gaps. "What if there isn't enough time, or if Dugu Bo returns early? What should we do then?"

"There is nothing in life that can be one hundred percent certain."

Bai Lu said freely, "Sometimes, all we can do is make every possible preparation, then stake everything on one desperate gamble!"

"Of course... the prerequisite is making several backup preparations."

Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously, "What preparations?"

Bai Lu smiled mysteriously. "Don't forget, we still have the White Tiger Avatar!"