A Way to Remove the Poison

After a long while.

Dugu Bo suddenly slapped the table, making a dull thud.

"Hahahaha!"

He burst into laughter, his voice carrying a touch of desolation and a touch of relief.

"Well, well, Ye Guchen!"

Dugu Bo picked up his teacup and drained it in one gulp.

"Go on. Since you've already seen through it, you must have a way to solve it, too?"

Without realizing it, his tone had softened considerably.

He no longer looked down on a junior as a Titled Douluo might. Instead, he sounded more like two peers... old friends.

Ye Guchen didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned his gaze to Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan watched Ye Guchen with a mixture of hope and fear.

A moment later, Ye Guchen finally looked at Dugu Bo, his expression regretful.

"I'm sorry. Your poison has already penetrated to the marrow, and even I can't do anything about it. However..."

Before he could finish, Dugu Yan began to sob beside them. Her voice choked with tears as she said,

"Then we can go find that senior! He'll definitely know what to do."

Dugu Bo remained calm. He knew his own condition and had never held out hope. All these years, he had only been striving to find a way to remove the poison from his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.

He raised a hand to wipe away Dugu Yan's tears, then motioned for Ye Guchen to continue.

"However, Miss Dugu Yan's poisoning isn't severe. There is a way to remove the poison from her."

At that, Dugu Bo visibly relaxed.

"What way?"

Dugu Bo blurted out the question, his voice brimming with barely restrained urgency.

He could disregard his own well-being, but Dugu Yan was the only person he had left in this world to care about.

Ye Guchen didn't answer immediately. He stood and went inside, returning a moment later with a jade box, which he set on the stone table and opened.

Inside lay ten pills, jade green from end to end and giving off a faint, sweet fragrance.

Dugu Bo reached out and picked up one of the pills. He inspected it carefully, then held it beneath his nose and sniffed. Finding nothing unusual about it, he noticed that even the poison in his body hadn't stirred in the slightest.

The hope that had just risen in him was doused once more.

Of course, Ye Guchen had caught every one of Dugu Bo's subtle expressions.

"Senior Dugu, surely you don't think a few pills alone can fix the flaw in your family's Martial Soul?"

At that, Dugu Bo's hope rekindled. He understood at once that Ye Guchen was about to name his price.

"You brat, you gave me a scare! Go on, what do you need me to do? If it's within my power, I won't refuse."

Ye Guchen stood and refilled Dugu Bo's teacup.

"Then I'll be frank. This junior does have a favor to ask."

"Just say it!"

Ye Guchen stopped beating around the bush and stated his intention outright.

"I want to trade the method for removing your granddaughter's poison for ten years of peace for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion."

Dugu Bo was bewildered. The teacup in his hand gently settled back onto the table.

"What do you mean?"

"I want you to serve as a guest elder of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion for ten years!"

Ye Guchen had settled on ten years only after careful consideration. First, at his rate of growth, he would reach the pinnacle of this continent in less than ten years. Second, ten years would be enough to bring Dugu Bo into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

After all, no matter how strong he became, he was still just one person. Building a complete force required fighters at every level.

At that, Dugu Bo breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid the brat would make some outrageous demand. In his eyes, Ye Guchen's request was practically a steal.

Dugu Bo prepared to accept at once.

"No problem!"

"Hahaha, now that's the spirit!" Ye Guchen raised his cup and clinked it against Dugu Bo's.

"Then I'll be frank. These pills aren't anything special, and they only have one effect: they can strip away small amounts of poison attached to the flesh and blood."

Ye Guchen paused before continuing.

"My method is this: since the backlash from the poison is unavoidable, why not learn from real venomous snakes and store the poison in a venom sac?"

Dugu Bo's mind raced. If I can store the poison after stripping it away, I can indeed prevent myself from being poisoned. He immediately realized the method was feasible.

"But humans don't have venom sacs. How do you intend to store the poison?"

Ye Guchen set down his teacup and smiled faintly.

"Soul Bones!"

"Soul Bones?"

"That's right. After stripping the poison from the flesh and blood, guide it into a Soul Bone and store it there. If it's a poison-type Soul Bone, you can even release it through a Soul Skill!"

Dugu Bo wasn't stupid. He'd simply been trapped in the inertia of his own assumptions. Now that someone had pointed him in the right direction, he understood immediately. This was a completely viable way to remove the poison!

Dugu Bo sprang to his feet and clasped Ye Guchen's hands, his voice trembling slightly.

"Thank you!"

At once, Dugu Yan understood. The method would work!

"So, as long as we can strip the poison from Grandpa's body and transfer it into a Soul Bone, he can be cured, too!?"

Ye Guchen confirmed her reasoning.

"In theory, it's possible. But the poison in your grandfather has already penetrated to the marrow. Removing it will be difficult!"

Dugu Yan still refused to give up.

"Difficult? So there's still a chance?"

Seeing how excited his granddaughter was, Dugu Bo's heart ached. The thought of not being able to watch her grow up filled him with sorrow.

He placed a hand on Dugu Yan's shoulder and spoke gently. "Yanyan, I know my own poison. Don't push yourself. The fact that Guchen could give us this method is already an enormous kindness."

"But..."

Dugu Yan tried to say more, but Dugu Bo raised a hand to stop her.

Now that he'd laid the groundwork, Ye Guchen decided it was time to pursue his next goal—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Well, it's not that there's no way!"

Ye Guchen softly interrupted the touching scene between grandfather and granddaughter.

Dugu Bo turned sharply, fixing Ye Guchen with a piercing stare. A glint flashed in his emerald snake eyes.

"What other way is there?"

Ye Guchen picked up his teacup and took an unhurried sip, as if weighing his words.

"When my teacher and I traveled across the continent, I once saw a book of Immortal Herb illustrations that belonged to him. It described an Immortal Herb that could strip poison from the marrow."

Dugu Yan jumped to her feet, gripping Ye Guchen's arm with a trembling hand.

"What Immortal Herb? We'll find it, no matter what!"

Though he knew success was assured, Ye Guchen still had to be cautious. He pretended to regret the news and shook his head.

"That Immortal Herb was only recorded in books passed down through the ages. Even my teacher, who traveled across the continent for years, was never fortunate enough to see it..."

Dugu Yan still refused to give up. Her voice carried a hint of pleading as she pressed him.

"Could you draw a picture of the Immortal Herb for me? The Dugu Manor could try looking for it."

Dugu Bo looked at Dugu Yan with a complicated expression. He wanted to comfort his granddaughter.

"Forget it. Let her try. If I don't let her, she'll probably regret it for the rest of her life!"

At this point, the plan was all but a success. Ye Guchen asked Zhu Zhuqing to fetch the brush and ink.

At the same time, the body of Dou II headed to the Sea God Pavilion's library and found a book about Immortal Herbs. The book didn't record every Immortal Herb, but Dugu Bo knew nothing about them. Ye Guchen only needed to draw one that grew in Dugu Bo's medicinal garden!

Looking at the grandfather and granddaughter, both wearing troubled expressions, Ye Guchen quickly spoke up to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry too much. I happen to be collecting all sorts of rare herbs, and since Lord Dugu is now a guest elder of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he's one of our own. If I hear anything, I'll notify you at once!"

His voice was sincere, and he deliberately slowed down over the words "one of our own."

Dugu Bo looked deeply at Ye Guchen. A complicated emotion flickered in his emerald snake eyes.

How many years had it been?

Since becoming a Titled Douluo, countless people had flocked to him, while just as many had avoided him.

When others said the words "one of our own," they meant respect, flattery, or fear.

But this young man spoke so casually, as if he were simply commenting on the weather.

Dugu Bo fell silent for a moment, then reached out and patted Ye Guchen on the shoulder, neither gently nor roughly.

"Good. A fine thing to be, one of our own."

He said no more words of thanks, but the wariness in his eyes eased a little more.

Ye Guchen smiled faintly and said nothing. He picked up the brush from the table, loaded it with ink, and slowly began sketching on the spread-out rice paper.

Dugu Yan watched his hand tensely, afraid she might miss even the smallest detail.