"Senior... you... what is this?"
Looking at the green-haired figure who had suddenly blocked his path, Chen Ming did not know what to say for a moment.
The newcomer had green hair and carried a faintly fishy-sweet smell, but this person was not Dugu Yan. He was Dugu Yan's grandfather, Dugu Bo.
But why had Dugu Bo appeared at this time? He had not even met Dugu Yan yet. Why had he skipped straight past a stage?
Chen Ming's mind raced as he continuously considered and analyzed every possibility. Dugu Bo, meanwhile, looked him over from head to toe, then silently stepped forward, placed a hand on Chen Ming's shoulder, and injected Soul Power into his body.
Under Chen Ming's puzzled gaze, Dugu Bo's expression stiffened slightly.
"You brat, you've got decent talent." Dugu Bo gave a somewhat self-mocking laugh.
He had been nearly driven mad by the backlash lately. How could something like a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast undergoing Transformation possibly be so easy to find?
"Senior Poison Douluo, did you need something from this junior?"
"I merely heard there was a rather unusual youngster here," Dugu Bo replied casually.
About half a year ago, Dugu Bo had felt that he was in excellent condition. Even the backlash from his poison seemed to have become slightly more manageable, and he had thought he could finally attempt a breakthrough again, advancing from Rank 91 to Rank 92.
But he had not only failed to break through—he had also triggered an extremely severe backlash. The virulent poison had invaded his heart and nearly claimed his life outright. Although he had barely suppressed it using the environment of that treasured place and avoided poisoning himself to death on the spot, the backlash had become increasingly rapid and severe.
That failed attempt had stolen roughly another ten years from what little lifespan he had left, while causing his condition to deteriorate even further.
Because of this, Dugu Bo, believing his days were numbered, had no choice but to find a way to pave the road for Dugu Yan, his only granddaughter in this world.
Originally, he had wanted to find a way to spare Dugu Yan the suffering of poison backlash that he himself endured. That was why he had always kept her by his side and had not pressed her too hard in cultivation.
But now, left with no other choice, Dugu Bo had to entrust Dugu Yan to Heaven Dou Royal Academy for her studies, while he himself began searching like a madman for any possible solution to his problem.
Although he had merely overheard a few students whispering among themselves, and did not believe a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast that had undergone Transformation would dare infiltrate Heaven Dou Royal Academy so boldly—
For Dugu Bo, whose mind had become somewhat unhinged and unstable, he could not afford to let go of any straw that might save his life.
Seeing that Chen Ming was merely an ordinary human and not a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast in Transformation, Dugu Bo was disappointed, but also deeply self-mocking. He felt that he had gone so mad he was about to lose all reason.
"How did you recognize me as Poison Douluo?" Dugu Bo casually waved a hand, intending to brush Chen Ming off with a few words before leaving.
After all, he was the one who had grabbed someone and probed them without warning. Even with Dugu Bo's eccentric temperament, he had to at least save some face and deal with the matter first.
"There are traces of medicinal residue beneath your fingernails, Senior, while your cuffs carry the scorched smell left behind after refining medicine. Your clothes are green, and faint dark stains can be seen around the edges. They were likely left behind accidentally while preparing medicine. You must surely be an expert in medicine and poison."
"At the corners of your robes, there are embroidered green snake patterns. Although green venomous snakes are not uncommon, the snake pattern on your robe is rather bright, with a faint jade-like emerald sheen."
"Combined with its dense scales, sharp head, and numerous other traits, it should depict the Jade Phosphor Snake, one of the Jade Phosphor Five Poisons."
"An expert in medicine and poison, with the Jade Phosphor Snake as your emblem. There can only be one such person in this world."
Chen Ming meticulously described the various features on Dugu Bo's body. Dugu Bo lowered his head slightly and found that there really were faint dark marks around his cuffs and collar, likely left there inadvertently.
This youngster truly has sharp eyes, Dugu Bo silently nodded, only to hear Chen Ming continue.
"Your pupils are a somewhat murky dark green. Though your hair is dark green, its color fades from dark to light, and the ends are faintly white. You carry a fishy-sweet odor, there is a faint darkness between your brows, and your lips are grayish-white and bloodless."
"If an ordinary person displayed such symptoms, it would surely indicate poison entering the body and invading the marrow, a condition beyond the reach of medicine. Even walking would be difficult."
"Yet you walk freely, Senior, and your aura is normal. You do not seem like someone whose poison has invaded the marrow beyond cure. I imagine only the legendary Poison Douluo, whose poison arts have reached a miraculous realm, could turn such extraordinary symptoms into his own characteristics."
"???!!!!"
Dugu Bo sharply sucked in a breath and staggered back several steps. Like a madman, he grabbed a lock of his hair and stared at its genuinely dark-to-light coloring, as well as the faint whiteness at its tips.
Thinking of Chen Ming's description, Dugu Bo's heart churned like a raging sea.
"Could it be... could even a mere child see that I'm poisoned now? No, that can't be possible, can it?!"
Before Chen Ming could continue bluffing, Dugu Bo immediately surged with Soul Power, wrapped Chen Ming up, and carried him away.
Watching from afar as Chen Ming exchanged only a few words with Dugu Bo before being swept away, the "royal" shadow guard hidden nearby—the one Xue Qinghe had dispatched to "protect" Chen Ming—let out a shrill cry.
"We're doomed, doomed, doomed! If that old monster Dugu Bo kills him, won't His... His Highness the Crown Prince take it out on me? Th-this, this, this... I need to hurry back and report this!"
The panicked shadow guard hurriedly left Heaven Dou Royal Academy and ran toward Heaven Dou City. Meanwhile, Dugu Bo had already brought Chen Ming into a forest outside Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Looking at Chen Ming, Dugu Bo's brows carried a trace of murderous intent and a deeply concealed unease.
"Brat, what did you just say was wrong with me?"
"I said that Senior Poison Douluo's poison arts had reached a miraculous realm..."
"I mean, why did you say I'm poisoned? How did you see that I'm poisoned? Why did you say I'm beyond the reach of medicine?" Dugu Bo's voice cracked slightly, and the fear in his words was impossible to suppress.
"Senior, I am merely observant and have a good memory. Let me give you a few examples. Please see whether they are correct."
"There are many signs of poisoning, and many can be seen directly on the face. Take a look in a mirror, Senior. Are your pupils dark green? Are they somewhat more unfocused than a normal person's? Are the whites of your eyes slightly cloudy..."
"Pluck out one of your hairs and examine it. The roots are dark green, while the tips are somewhat white. If my guess is correct, burning your hair with flame should produce an odor different from that of normal hair..."
"Stick out your tongue and look at your tongue coating... Or, if that does not work, spit into a cup first. See whether it is dark and viscous. Catch a small insect and put it inside to see whether it can survive..."
"You may not be able to notice it yourself, but breathe into a cup. Even your breath carries a fishy smell."
"You may not have noticed either, but aren't there abnormalities in your bowel movements and urination? If I'm right, your urine is as dark as tea, while your stool is as black as lacquer?"
"Feel both sides beneath your ribs. Are they slightly numb? Press down on both sides and take a deep breath. Does it feel like needles stabbing you... If you run your hands upward from both sides of your ribs, does it become difficult to breathe?"
"The higher a Spirit Master's Soul Power Level, the more prolonged their breath should be. Yet your breathing is rapid and shallow, Senior. The flush in your face after using Soul Power is not something a high-level Spirit Master should normally exhibit."
Chen Ming listed several of Dugu Bo's all-too-obvious symptoms of poisoning as easily as if he were reciting familiar facts.
To put it another way, even in Chen Ming's previous life, anyone who had received a normal nine-year compulsory education could have seen from Dugu Bo's appearance and physical symptoms that he was poisoned, even if they did not know exactly what poison he had taken.
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