Method of Detoxification

A long moment passed.

Dugu Bo slammed his hand against the table with a dull thud.

"Hahaha!"

He suddenly burst into laughter, a sound tinged with desolation and a touch of relief.

"Good lad, a truly good Ye Guchen!"

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

"Speak. Since you've already seen through it, you must have a solution, right?"

His tone had unconsciously softened significantly.

It was no longer the condescending gaze of a Title Douluo looking down at a junior, but more like that of two peers... old friends.

Ye Guchen did not answer immediately, instead casting his gaze toward Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan looked back at Ye Guchen with a mixture of anticipation and fear.

After a moment, Ye Guchen looked at Dugu Bo, his expression filled with regret.

"I am sorry. Your poison has already seeped into your bone marrow; I have no way to cure it. However..."

Before he could finish, a sob came from Dugu Yan, who said through her tears, "Then we can go find that senior! He must have a way."

Dugu Bo remained calm upon hearing this. He knew his own condition well and had long since abandoned hope; his efforts over the years had only been to find a way to detoxify his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.

He reached out to wipe away Dugu Yan's tears and gestured for Ye Guchen to continue.

"However, Miss Dugu Yan's poisoning is not deep. There is a way to cure her."

Hearing this, Dugu Bo visibly relaxed.

"What method?"

Dugu Bo blurted out the question, his voice filled with irrepressible urgency.

He could care less about his own fate, but Dugu Yan was his only concern in this world.

Ye Guchen did not rush to answer. He stood up, walked into the house, and returned a moment later with a jade box, which he placed on the stone table and opened.

Inside the box lay ten pills, deep green in color, emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance.

Dugu Bo picked up a pill, examined it closely, and sniffed it, only to find nothing extraordinary. Even the toxins within his own body showed no reaction.

The hope he had just raised was extinguished once more.

Of course, Ye Guchen caught every one of Dugu Bo's micro-expressions.

"Senior Dugu, you don't think these few pills alone could resolve the flaws in your family's martial soul, do you?"

Hearing this, Dugu Bo's hope was reignited, and he immediately understood that Ye Guchen was about to set his conditions.

"You brat, you gave me quite a scare! Speak, what do you need my help with? If it is within my power, I will not refuse."

Ye Guchen stood up and refilled Dugu Bo's cup with tea.

"Then I shall speak plainly. This junior does indeed have a request."

"Speak freely!"

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

"I want to trade the cure for your granddaughter for ten years of peace for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion."

Dugu Bo was bewildered, his teacup hovering before settling back onto the table.

"What do you mean?"

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

Ten years was a duration Ye Guchen had carefully considered. Firstly, at his current rate of growth, he would reach the pinnacle of this continent within a decade. Secondly, ten years was enough time to fully integrate Dugu Bo into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

After all, no matter how strong he was, he was still just one person. To build a complete organization, power at every level was indispensable.

Dugu Bo breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried the boy would make some outrageous demand. In his eyes, Ye Guchen's request was surprisingly modest.

Dugu Bo prepared to agree immediately.

"No problem!"

"Hahaha, straightforward!" Ye Guchen raised his cup and clinked it against Dugu Bo's.

"Then I will be blunt. These pills are not particularly special; they have only one function: to strip away the small amounts of toxins attached to the flesh and blood."

Ye Guchen paused before continuing.

"My method is this: since the backlash of the poison is inevitable, why not learn from a real venomous snake and use a poison sac to store the toxins?"

Dugu Bo's mind raced. If the stripped toxins could be stored, it would indeed prevent self-poisoning. He realized the method was feasible.

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

Ye Guchen set down his teacup and smiled faintly.

"Spirit bone!"

"Spirit bone?"

"That's right. Once the toxins are stripped from the flesh and blood, they can be guided and injected into a spirit bone for storage. If it's a poison-attribute spirit bone, you could even release them through spirit skills!"

Dugu Bo was no fool; he had merely been trapped in a cycle of logical inertia. Now that someone had provided a slight nudge, he understood instantly. This was a completely viable method for detoxification!

Dugu Bo stood up in excitement, gripping Ye Guchen's hands, his voice trembling slightly.

"Many thanks!"

Seeing this, Dugu Yan understood immediately: this method was feasible!

"In other words, as long as we can strip the toxins from Grandfather's body and inject them into a spirit bone, Grandfather can be cured!?"

Hearing this, Ye Guchen confirmed her thoughts.

"Theoretically, yes. However, your grandfather's toxins have already seeped into his bone marrow. Removing them will be difficult!"

But Dugu Yan refused to give up.

"Difficult? That means there's still a chance?"

Seeing his granddaughter so agitated, Dugu Bo felt a pang of heartache. The thought of not being able to watch her grow up was unbearable.

He placed a hand on Dugu Yan's shoulder, his tone gentle. "Yanyan, I know my own condition. Don't force it. That Guchen kid providing this method is already a tremendous favor."

"But..."

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

Seeing that the groundwork had been laid, Ye Guchen decided to plot his next objective—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Actually, it's not impossible!"

Ye Guchen whispered, interrupting the emotional scene between the grandfather and granddaughter.

Dugu Bo turned his head sharply, his gaze fixed on Ye Guchen like a torch, a flash of brilliance flickering within his emerald snake-like pupils.

"What other way do you have?"

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

"When I was traveling the continent with my teacher, I once saw a catalog of immortal herbs in his collection. It recorded a type of immortal herb capable of extracting toxins from the bone marrow."

Hearing this, Dugu Yan stood up excitedly, her trembling hands grabbing Ye Guchen's arm.

"What immortal herb? We will definitely find it!"

Though he knew he had them hooked, the closer he got to his goal, the more cautious he had to be. Ye Guchen feigned regret and shook his head.

"This herb was only recorded in ancient texts. Even my teacher, who has traveled the continent for many years, has never had the fortune to see one..."

But Dugu Yan remained persistent, continuing to press him with a tone of pleading.

"Then can you draw what that herb looks like for me? Dugu Manor can search for it."

Dugu Bo looked at Dugu Yan with a complex expression; he wanted to comfort his granddaughter.

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

With matters having reached this point, success was essentially declared. Ye Guchen asked Zhu Zhuqing to fetch brush and ink.

At the same time, his Dou II body simultaneously headed to the Sea God Pavilion library to find a book recording immortal herbs. Although the records were incomplete, Dugu Bo didn't understand immortal herbs anyway; he just needed to draw one that already existed in his own medicinal garden!

Watching the complex expressions on the grandfather and granddaughter, Ye Guchen hurried to ease the atmosphere.

"Don't worry too much. I happen to be collecting various rare herbs as well. Since His Excellency Dugu is now a guest elder of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, we are practically family. As soon as there is any news, I will notify you immediately!"

His tone was sincere, and he deliberately slowed his speech on the words "practically family."

Dugu Bo heard this and looked deeply at Ye Guchen, a flash of complex emotion crossing his emerald snake-like pupils.

How many years had it been?

Ever since he became a Title Douluo, how many people had flocked to him, and how many had avoided him like the plague?

When others said "family," it was either out of awe, sycophancy, or fear.

Yet, this youth before him spoke with a tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather.

Dugu Bo was silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and patted Ye Guchen's shoulder with a firm, measured strength.

"Good. A very good 'family'."

He didn't say any more words of thanks, but the wariness in his eyes had faded a little more.

Ye Guchen smiled slightly and said no more. He picked up the brush from the table, dipped it into the ink, and began to slowly sketch on the spread-out rice paper.

Dugu Yan stared at his hand nervously, terrified of missing a single detail.