I Promise to Keep Her Safe for a Lifetime

Saying less meant making fewer mistakes, so Lin Chuan did not go into too much detail, though he had already covered the gist of it.

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. He remained silent and motionless, but the soul power attack gathering at his fingertips dissipated.

He was suspicious by nature and a loner by habit; his heart was filled with hesitation, and even more so with vigilance and disbelief.

Lin Chuan knew better than to spout grand, righteous platitudes at this moment, as that would only earn him the label of a hypocrite who said one thing and meant another.

Thus, he cut straight to the point:

"I will cure the poison for you and your granddaughter. The price is that you serve me for three years."

"These three years will not put you in any great danger, and I guarantee your granddaughter will be safe and sound for the rest of her life."

At first glance, this condition seemed difficult to accept.

After all, Dugu Bo was a Title Douluo, and given his personality, he was naturally resistant to having his freedom constrained.

However, while those three years might involve a loss of some freedom, it was still better than spending the remaining dozen years of his life trapped in this gloomy place.

Furthermore, there seemed to be a hidden meaning in the other party's words.

A promise to keep his granddaughter safe and sound for a lifetime?

Dugu Bo's expression was grim, but seeing the other party's calm demeanor, he had to temporarily set aside the strange feeling in his heart.

By now, the coldness and killing intent that had previously surrounded Dugu Bo had completely vanished.

Instead, he fell into deep contemplation, his emotions stilled and his soul power no longer leaking out.

Being poisoned was something one could not stop when facing someone powerful, which was why he had lived in seclusion all these years; the outside world had not heard news of Dugu Bo for a long time.

Yet, incidents threatening his granddaughter still occurred.

If the other party were a heinous villain, what would happen to his granddaughter if she encountered misfortune?

Just like years ago, when his granddaughter was kidnapped, he had arrived just in time to save her from danger.

He had killed the culprit, but because the man had good relations with the city lord, the villagers had looked at him with ill intent.

Back then, he had unleashed poison and slaughtered the entire city to prevent future trouble and serve as a warning.

But now, he had to be even more vigilant about his granddaughter's safety.

Lin Chuan saw through his situation, and the promise to protect his granddaughter for a lifetime was indeed a compelling offer.

Dugu Bo only hesitated for a moment, weighing many things in his mind, before finally saying calmly:

"Very well."

He could sense the danger Lin Chuan posed, and with his granddaughter by his side, he had always been the one at a disadvantage.

A falling out was the most undignified and worst possible outcome, so after the other party revealed his illness and offered a straightforward condition, he simply agreed.

Even so, Lin Chuan did not let his guard down and remained vigilant.

Yet, on the surface, he smiled easily:

"Senior, won't you invite me in for a seat? There are still some matters to discuss. If I happen to stumble upon anything... indescribable, I can keep a secret."

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was Dugu Bo's secret sanctuary, known only to his granddaughter Dugu Yan; outsiders were unaware of it.

If he had asked for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well directly, Dugu Bo's vigilance would have only increased.

In the end, their suspicious natures made this transaction cold and distant, yet it remained amicable.

These teasing words made Dugu Bo fall silent once more.

In truth, he really did not want the other party to enter, but refusing without cause would only make him look guilty, especially with his granddaughter standing right there, which made him feel quite awkward.

However, he also understood that the other party truly intended to fulfill this agreement.

He had many enemies in the past, but they had all backed off once he broke through to become a Title Douluo.

The other party knew of his illness and understood that the poison had seeped into his bone marrow; if he had wanted to harm him, he could have chosen to leave earlier and spread the news.

He was already a dying man, with one foot in the grave—what right did he have to be picky?

He had been trying to cure this poison for over thirty years; the drive to escape this quagmire had faded, and his spirit was no longer as arrogant and lofty as it once was.

"Follow me."

Communication between smart people is often this silent, yet it highlights a sense of calm and perfection in every aspect.

With the negotiations concluded, the two turned their gaze toward Dugu Yan, who was still suspended in mid-air.

At this moment, she was staring blankly at Lin Chuan.

She could not understand how he knew so much, and she was stunned that the two had actually reached such a cooperation.

A moment ago, the man had nearly killed her.

The next moment, he claimed he would keep her safe for a lifetime.

No matter how she looked at it, it felt awkward and bizarre.

But when she met Lin Chuan's gaze, the anger that had been building up inside her dissipated like a deflated balloon.

She silently grumbled about how quickly he could change his face.

Dugu Bo dragged Dugu Yan away with ease this time, and Lin Chuan did not stop them, the two sharing a silent look.

Dugu Bo brought Dugu Yan back down to the ground, and the two of them navigated the familiar path to the front of a cave.

The cave was one and a half meters high and two meters wide, large enough for two people to enter side by side.

Lin Chuan followed them at a leisurely pace into the cave, where the pitch-black tunnels were intricate and complex, filled with many traps and paths designed to confuse people or spirit beasts.

After walking for a while, a distinct light could be seen at the exit ahead.

There was a world within this place.

The entire area looked as if it had been formed by a meteorite impact, with the mountain cap overhead being man-made.

The interior had been meticulously renovated, resembling a massive, inverted bird's nest with a radius of a hundred meters.

The area around the nest was permeated with thick, toxic mist, which was difficult to spot in the darkness, lulling people into a false sense of security.

Those toxic mists were confined to a fixed range, so dense that the ground was obscured, with no shortage of half-rotted animal bones scattered within.

Dugu Bo wasted no words, continuing to lead Dugu Yan as they soared toward the interior of the nest-like area.

Lin Chuan followed closely behind, wind gathering beneath his feet as he leaped over the toxic mist to join them at the entrance of the nest.

Before they had even stepped inside, a sensation of extreme heat and extreme cold washed over them simultaneously.

It felt like a cool breeze in the middle of summer; the fatigue that had previously weighed down their bodies suddenly vanished, replaced by a sense of lightness.

The atmosphere here was excellent, and the concentration of spirit power in the surroundings was several times higher than in the outside world.

It was conducive to the growth of vegetation, and the energy here made the body feel relaxed and pleasant.

The enclosed environment was dominated by soaring blue and red light on either side, preventing the darkness from feeling oppressive.

At the center of the valley lay a pool of water, bottomless and spanning over a hundred meters.

Half of this strange lake was occupied by blue, and the other half by red, with a faint white mist rising from the point where they converged.

That was the steam created by the collision of the biting cold and the scorching heat.

Around the lake, wherever the mist could reach, grew a circle of miscellaneous, complex-looking flowers and grasses.

PS:

The book is now on the paywall. Reaching this stage at over seventy thousand words is a bit slower than the usual pace.

However, I still have expectations, as this is my first time on a paid platform, and I have another book on Tomato.

I was writing two at once before, but it was truly draining, and occasionally, due to other matters, I would inevitably have to pause one.

Therefore, I still hope there will be people following this book; as long as there are readers, I will continue to write.

Otherwise, I should really go and study the books on the new release and member charts to work harder.