Those Who Are Helped Must Also Be Worthy of Help

At the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, inside a simple wooden house, a husband and wife lay flat on a bed, their breaths faint as threads. Their life force had nearly dissipated, and only their slight breathing proved they were still alive.

Dugu Bo led Flender into the wooden house. By now, he completely believed this young man.

The moment he entered, Flender's attention was not drawn to the middle-aged couple who had been tortured to the brink of death by the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, but to a peculiar fluctuation of Soul Power.

It was precisely that special Soul Power which had restrained the poison within the couple's bodies.

More accurately, it had strengthened their fundamental Soul Power, allowing it to contend with the poison and win them a sliver of life.

A thoughtful gleam flashed through Flender's eyes. If he was not mistaken, this should be...

"This is Xin'er, Dugu Xin, my son. Beside him is Xiao Rui, Tuoba Rui. It is because of the bloodline flowing through our family that they have become neither human nor ghost."

Dugu Bo spoke, his tone filled with profound sorrow, though there was somewhat less lamentation than before.

Flender shifted his gaze. Dugu Xin's hair was the same lush emerald green as Dugu Bo's, the manifestation of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison entering the body.

Perhaps because the pain inherited through generations had been resolved, Dugu Bo had become much more talkative.

"When I was young, the first gift my father gave me was an hourglass. He told me that I had to raise my cultivation to the rank of Title Douluo before all the sand ran out. Otherwise, I would die."

"At the time, I did not understand what death was. It was only a few years later, when my father died before my eyes and I could no longer hear his voice, that I learned this was death."

"Later, I cultivated with everything I had. I did not want to disappoint my father, and I did not want to die."

"During one trial, I met her, Xin'er's mother. She was merely a commoner and could not even cultivate Soul Power, yet I still fell in love with her."

"We married, had a child, and Xin'er was born... I thought my happiness was about to begin. Then she died."

"She died during the time she spent with me. Every contact caused poison to enter her body, until she was beyond saving. Xin'er had only just been born when she was gone."

"At the time, I held Xin'er and knelt before her grave. All I dared promise her was that I would make sure Xin'er lived."

"But in the end..."

Dugu Bo laughed once, bitter beyond measure.

"If I had not met you, kid, I would not have been able to change anything. I was powerless."

Flender shook his head. In this life, he had effectively grown up an orphan. His parents had died when he was young, and only because a passing Spirit Master had kindly helped awaken his Martial Soul and set him on the path of a Spirit Master did he become who he was today.

Family, love, emotions... Even his experiences from his previous life had become somewhat hazy. Flender did not truly understand them.

But after spending so long with Zhao and the others, and after raising Qin Ming, Flender understood what it meant to have people who mattered.

He could not accept losing any one of them. Putting himself in Dugu Bo's shoes, he could somewhat understand how he felt now.

"You flatter me, Senior. I believe you have already done everything you could. Otherwise, the two of them would never have survived until today."

As he spoke, Flender pointed toward that unusual fluctuation of Soul Power.

It was a jade-like flute, slowly releasing gentle, melodious waves of Soul Power that entered Dugu Xin and Tuoba Rui's bodies, allowing them to survive.

Soul Tool: Dragon Spring Jade Flute. It was one of the gifts Dugu Bo had received from the Wild God's inheritance.

Flender clearly remembered that, in this timeline, it was this flute that had prevented Dugu Xin and Tuoba Rui from dying.

Otherwise, they would have already passed away before Dugu Bo broke through to Title Douluo.

"Although you are temperamental, violent, despicable, self-willed, and reckless, Senior... I have to admit that you truly care about your family."

"If it were not for that, then no matter how much you said, I would not have come to help you."

"If you want someone else's help, you must first prove that you are worthy of receiving it. Senior, you have successfully proven that you are."

Although Flender was helping Dugu Bo because he knew the information involved and the enormous benefits within it, Dugu Bo himself was indeed worth helping.

Dugu Bo froze for a moment, then looked at Flender and shook his head with a laugh.

"I never expected a junior like you to comfort and lecture me."

Flender smiled and said no more. "Senior, let's give them the medicine first."

"Mm."

The turmoil in his heart had been soothed, but Dugu Bo still could not believe that the problem which had plagued him for years had truly been solved, which was why he had hesitated.

But now, Dugu Bo was certain that this young man before him thought highly of him, the Poison Douluo.

That was enough.

He stepped forward and gently lifted Dugu Xin. Dugu Bo treated him as tenderly as though he were a fragile porcelain treasure, then carefully poured the Full Restore into his son's mouth.

A healing radiance lit up. Under the perception of Soul Power, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison that had seeped deep into Dugu Xin's flesh and blood truly began to dissipate at astonishing speed, like shadows meeting light.

In the blink of an eye, Dugu Xin's weak breathing steadied. Even his dark green hair returned to its original color, a sky-blue shade.

After an entire bottle of Full Restore had been administered, not only was the poison removed, but Dugu Xin's gaunt body visibly filled out. He did not suddenly develop explosive muscles; he simply looked like a normal person again.

Dugu Bo could only watch as Dugu Xin returned to normal and regained his health. Though his Soul Power gradually weakened, tears once more fell from his eyes.

"Xin'er, Xin'er..."

As he called his son's name again and again, Dugu Bo broke down in tears.

Perhaps hearing the sound, Dugu Xin slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his weeping father.

"Father?"

Dugu Xin froze, thinking he was dreaming. He had never seen his father cry, much less while calling his name.

"I'm here." Dugu Bo answered, pulling his son into his embrace. "Xin'er, you're all right now. That's wonderful."

Dugu Xin opened his mouth, but at that moment, he could not say a single word. Father... what happened?

Flender silently stood to one side, taking in the entire scene, then quietly sighed to himself.

Pokémon black technology... truly terrifying.

Once things had settled down, Dugu Xin fed the Full Restore to Tuoba Rui. The husband and wife both woke up and learned the full story.

After learning that Flender was their lifesaver, they immediately thanked him from the bottom of their hearts.

Flender waved his hand and said earnestly.

"If you want to thank someone, thank your father. He was the one who had me come save you."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Xin felt a complicated mix of emotions. Before, he had always believed that his father looked down on him, which was why he had been so strict.

Now he finally understood that his father's strictness was only because he did not want him to die.

What followed was an emotional family reunion. Flender did not wish to intrude, so he quietly took his leave.

He wandered through the valley, looking at the strange flowers scattered everywhere. With great interest, Flender identified them one by one, drawing upon the knowledge in his mind and putting theory into practice.

Until a plump little worm entered Flender's sight.

"This is... a Snow Silkworm?"

Rubbing his chin, information about the little creature surfaced in Flender's mind. A thousand-year Snow Silkworm was an exceptional treasure, but it was medicinal in nature and could not produce a Spirit Ring.

Wait!

Flender suddenly froze as new memories abruptly surfaced in his mind, memories from that Griffin Spirit Ring.

What appeared in those memories was also a plump silkworm, except it emitted a chill and an inexplicable spiritual fluctuation.

That was...

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm!?