Say less, and you were less likely to say something wrong, so Lin Chuan didn't go into too much detail. He had already explained the gist.
Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. He didn't speak or move, but the Soul Power gathered at his fingertips dissipated.
He was naturally suspicious and solitary. He hesitated, feeling more wary and distrustful than anything else.
At this point, Lin Chuan didn't need to make lofty speeches about his noble intentions. That would only earn him a reputation for being sanctimonious and two-faced.
So he got straight to the point:
"I'll cure the poison afflicting you and your granddaughter. In exchange, you'll work for me for three years."
"Those three years won't put you in much danger, and I'll keep your granddaughter safe and sound for the rest of her life."
At first glance, the condition seemed hard to accept.
After all, Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo. And given his temperament, he was reluctant to have his freedom constrained; naturally, he felt some resistance.
But though those three years might cost him a little freedom, they were still better than spending the dozen-odd years he had left imprisoned in this dark place.
Then there seemed to be more behind the other man's words.
A promise to keep his granddaughter safe and sound for the rest of her life?
Dugu Bo's expression darkened, but when he saw how calmly the other man faced him, he could only set aside his misgivings for the moment.
By now, Dugu Bo had lost all the coldness and murderous intent he'd shown earlier.
Instead, he fell into deep thought. His emotions didn't roil, and his Soul Power didn't spill out.
Poison was hard to guard against, even for the powerful. That was why he had withdrawn from the world all those years ago; the outside world hadn't heard news of Dugu Bo in a long time.
And yet someone had still threatened his granddaughter.
What if the other man was a ruthless villain? What would happen if his granddaughter came to harm?
Just like several years ago, when his granddaughter had been kidnapped. Fortunately, he had arrived in time when she was in danger.
He killed the mastermind, but that man had been on good terms with the city lord. The villagers' eyes had watched him with barely concealed malice.
Back then, he had poisoned the entire city to wipe out any future trouble and, while he was at it, make an example of them.
But now, he had no choice but to pay closer attention to his granddaughter.
Lin Chuan had seen through his situation. His promise to protect Dugu Bo's granddaughter for the rest of her life really was perfectly reasonable.
Dugu Bo was silent for only a moment, yet he thought through a great many things. At last, he said coolly:
"Fine."
He could sense the threat Lin Chuan posed to him, and with his granddaughter right there, he was the one at a disadvantage.
Falling out would be the most undignified and worst possible choice. So, after the other man had plainly stated his condition and the terms of the deal, he simply agreed.
Even so, Lin Chuan didn't let his guard down. He remained wary.
But outwardly, he still smiled easily and said:
"Aren't you going to invite me in, senior? There are still a few things we need to discuss. And if I happen to stumble upon anything I shouldn't see, I can keep it confidential."
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was Dugu Bo's secret place. Only his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, knew about it; no outsiders did.
If he came right out and said he needed the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dugu Bo would grow even more wary of him.
In the end, both men's wary natures made the deal feel cold and distant, though they remained civil.
Those teasing words made Dugu Bo fall silent again.
He really didn't want the other man coming in. But refusing would make him look guilty, especially with his granddaughter standing right there. It put him in an awkward position.
Still, he knew the other man genuinely wanted to honor their agreement.
He had had many enemies when he was out in the world, but after he broke through to become a Titled Douluo, they had all let the matter drop.
The other man knew about his illness and understood that the poison had seeped into his bones. If he wanted to harm him, he could have simply left earlier and spread the news.
He was already a dying man, with one foot in the grave. What right did he still have to choose?
He had spent more than thirty years trying to cure the poison. His desperate desire to escape that muddy mire had faded, and he no longer carried himself with the lofty pride he'd had in his youth.
"Come with me."
That was how clever people spoke to one another: in silence, yet with composure and precision in every move.
Once their negotiation was over, the two of them finally turned to look at Dugu Yan, still suspended in the air under restraint.
At that moment, she was staring blankly at Lin Chuan.
She couldn't understand how he knew so much, and was astonished that the two men had actually reached an agreement.
Just a moment ago, he'd nearly stabbed her to death.
Now he was promising to keep her safe and sound for the rest of her life.
No matter how she looked at it, the whole thing felt awkward.
But when her gaze met Lin Chuan's, the anger she'd been holding inside deflated like a punctured ball and vanished.
She silently grumbled about how quickly he could change his tune.
This time, Dugu Bo pulled Dugu Yan over without any trouble. Lin Chuan didn't stop him, and the two men exchanged a wordless glance.
Dugu Bo brought Dugu Yan back down to the ground, and the two of them led the way to a cave they clearly knew well.
The cave was about one and a half meters high and two meters wide, wide enough for two people to enter together.
Lin Chuan followed them at an unhurried pace into the cave. The pitch-black passageways twisted and branched, full of traps and false paths meant to confuse people or Soul Beasts.
After walking for a while, they could see a bright glow coming from the exit ahead.
There was another world hidden inside.
The whole area looked as though a meteorite had smashed it open, while the mountain covering the top seemed to have been made by human hands.
The interior had been carefully reshaped. It also looked like a gigantic upside-down bird's nest, with a radius of a hundred meters.
Dense poisonous fog hung around the nest. It was hard to see in the darkness, making it easy to let one's guard down.
The fog was contained within a fixed area, so thick that it obscured all traces of the ground. Here and there lay animal bones, half-rotted away.
Dugu Bo didn't waste time talking. He carried Dugu Yan onward, flying toward the interior of the bird's nest.
Lin Chuan followed close behind, wind gathering beneath his feet as he leaped over the poisonous fog and followed the two of them to the nest's entrance.
Before he could step inside, a wave of extreme heat and cold rushed over him together.
It was like a cool breeze on a summer day. The exhaustion in his body suddenly lifted as soon as he entered.
The energy in the surroundings was wonderfully refreshing, and the Soul Power here was several times denser than outside.
It was good for the growth of plants, and the energy here could also make the body feel relaxed and comfortable.
Blue and red light filled opposite sides of the enclosed space, banishing the oppressive darkness.
At the center of the valley lay a lake, unfathomably deep and stretching more than a hundred meters across.
The strange lake was blue on one half and red on the other. Where the two met in the center, faint white mist rose into the air.
It was mist formed as the biting cold and scorching heat met and evaporated.
Around the lake, wherever the mist could reach, a ring of flowers and plants grew in all sorts of odd shapes and arrangements.
PS:
The book's gone premium. It went premium at over seventy thousand words, a little later than the usual seventy thousand.
Still, there's reason to be hopeful. This is my first time on a paid platform, and I've got another book on Tomato, too.
I was working on two books at once before, but it really took a lot out of me. With other things coming up now and then, I was bound to leave one of them without updates.
So I'm hoping some of you will stick with this book. If there are still people reading, I'll keep writing.
Otherwise, I really ought to catch up on the books on the new-release and member rankings, then try again.