After eating and drinking their fill, they headed home to sleep.
Feng Xiaotian had already left early because he wasn't with Blazing Fire.
The other six strolled along the road at a leisurely pace.
"Captain Murong, your Ice attribute is so powerful! When Dugu Yan's poison came at us, I thought I was about to die, but then you broke through it!"
The speaker was Huo Ling'er. She had been ringing her bells continuously, consuming a huge amount of Soul Power. When the poisonous fog engulfed her, she really had nearly fainted.
"It's mainly because when you cultivate the Ice attribute to its utmost, you become immune to all poisons."
Murong Ci shook his head and gave an awkward explanation.
Just then, he felt a cold gaze sweep over him.
It was Dugu Yan's.
[The choice to stay or leave is yours.]
Murong Ci nodded and patted Huo Wushuang, who was supporting Yun Hai.
"Brother Wushuang, take Huo Wu and the others back. I have something to take care of."
Huo Wu instantly bristled at his words.
"Who are you going to meet?"
Murong Ci: "..."
As expected, a woman's sixth sense...
"I'm just going out for a bit."
Murong Ci blinked innocently. Huo Wu sighed and rubbed her forehead, then motioned for the others to leave.
Murong Ci headed into a dark, secluded alley.
Dugu Yan hesitated for a second, then followed him.
The alley was silent and shadowy. Moonlight filtered down, speckling the ground.
Murong Ci walked deeper in and stopped, then snapped his fingers.
A flame appeared in his palm, lighting up the area around them.
"What did you follow me here for?"
"You... guessed?"
"Obviously. Your poison nearly wiped out my team. I could feel it."
Dugu Yan said nothing, only clenching her fists. In the deep, quiet alley, the crackle of her bones could be heard.
"Hmm? What do you want to say?"
Murong Ci sounded mildly puzzled again.
Did she want to kill him? No way. Besides, she couldn't beat him. Dugu Yan couldn't be stupid enough to try.
"Why can your ice break through my poison?"
Dugu Yan gritted her teeth. She had always been confident in her poison, but this time the blow had been too much for her.
"Ice freezes all things. At its utmost, it can congeal heaven and earth, let alone your poison."
"Your poison? Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Murong Ci raised his thumb. Under Dugu Yan's unblinking gaze, he slowly turned it downward.
Dugu Yan gritted her teeth.
"I don't believe it!"
In the blink of an eye, she was upon him!
Dugu Yan spat out a needle, firing it at Murong Ci.
"Holy crap!"
Murong Ci couldn't react in time. He shut his eyes and waited for the needle to hit.
[Useless.]
"Murong Ci" snapped his eyes open, bringing two fingers together to catch the tiny silver needle.
The system faded away, leaving behind a dazed Murong Ci.
[You're way too weak right now. Your reaction speed is terrible. Sigh, rotten wood can't be carved.]
"You caught it?!"
Murong Ci hadn't even had time to curse out the system when he heard Dugu Yan exclaim in shock.
"Of course. Reaction speed is part of strength, too."
He sounded a little unsure of himself.
"But seriously, why did you come looking for me? Just to ask why your poison didn't work, or to challenge me to a poison contest?"
[Yongzhen has no poison—or rather, he disdains using poison.]
Murong Ci swallowed.
"And I don't know anything about poison. Could it be... you want me to cure yours?"
He wasn't just guessing. In that instant, he'd remembered that people with the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul could be poisoned on rainy days.
It could leave the whole body numb and make the joints ache.
"Yes... It's not just me. My grandfather too. The last time I saw him poisoned, he was in such unbearable pain. Each bout of poisoning shortens his life. Your ice... can it save him...?"
The beautiful girl looked on the verge of tears, her full chest heaving violently.
The system let out a derisive chuckle for no apparent reason.
Murong Ci stared at her chest, transfixed.
"Fine, I can help you. But your grandfather's a different matter. He's too powerful; I can't cure him completely right now. I can at least ease his symptoms."
Murong Ci rubbed his chin, putting on a thoughtful look.
"I didn't expect you, little temptress, to care so much about your grandfather!"
"I'm not a little temptress!"
Dugu Yan turned her face away, trembling all over. She ignored him.
"All right, enough about that. I promise I'll help suppress the poison, but you'll have to give me a way to reach you. I don't usually get to see you."
Dugu Yan froze at his words, then turned to look at Murong Ci.
She wiped away a tear.
"Then meet me at Heaven Dou Royal Academy in three days. Some outsiders will be joining our academy then. My grandfather is a guest there, so I can introduce you to the dean and elders."
"Hey, hey, I never said I was going to betray Blazing Fire!"
"Oh! Remember! If you forget, I'll hit you!"
He'd gotten what he wanted and was still acting coy.
Murong Ci sighed helplessly and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan returned home, walking a little more briskly than usual.
Dugu Bo was still cultivating on his bed.
"What's got you so happy, Yan Yan?"
Dugu Bo beamed. He had always treated his granddaughter exceptionally well.
"Grandpa, I have big news for you! Something's happening in the next three days!"
"First, you know how we went to Suotuo City a few days ago and got beaten by a team? Teacher Qin recruited them to join the academy!"
Dugu Bo was clearly taken aback. A team that could defeat his granddaughter and leave her so thoroughly impressed was worth paying attention to.
"From what you're saying, that team must be very strong. Maybe I should get to know them?"
Dugu Yan shook her head vigorously.
"No, Grandpa, that would just be a big benefit for the academy. But there's something else that would be a huge benefit to both of us!"
A team capable of defeating his granddaughter and winning her admiration had already been beyond Dugu Bo's expectations.
But he couldn't imagine what this enormous benefit could be.
"I met someone! Someone really strong! His ice can ease our poison!"
"What!"
Even Dugu Bo was greatly shocked. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul attacked by releasing poison, but cultivating poison also caused great harm to the user's body.
Ever since Dugu Bo awakened his Martial Soul, the poison in his body had flared up whenever the weather turned rainy.
Each bout was worse than the last.
And by now, the pain had become unbearable.
Now his granddaughter was saying that someone could ease his symptoms?!
It was like a gift of charcoal in a snowstorm!
But...
As far as Dugu Bo knew, the poison couldn't possibly be that easy to cure.
Dugu Bo's smile faded.
"Ease them? Yan Yan, we've had people look at your grandfather's poison before. The Spirit Hall's physician examined me, as did the healing Soul Masters serving the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. They all shook their heads. You're saying a young man can ease it? How old is he?"
"Twelve or thirteen."
Dugu Bo snorted, sat up, and casually threw on an outer robe.
"What's his name?"
"Murong Ci."
He was old now. As far as easing his own poison went, that was nowhere near as important as getting the boy to help his granddaughter.
Dugu Bo had already made up his mind. If it was true, he'd capture him and make him help Yan Yan.
When Murong Ci returned to the dormitory, it was pitch-black inside. He turned on the light as usual and saw Huo Wu staring intently at him.
It gave him quite a scare.
"What are you doing—ow!"
"You nearly scared me to death."
Huo Wu ignored him, moved close, and sniffed him.
"A woman's scent. Familiar, too. It's Dugu Yan's. Tell me, what were you two doing?"
Damn, the poison on that needle had carried Dugu Yan's faint fragrance, too.
Huo Wu had smelled it.
"Well... we didn't do anything. I just have an appointment in three days..."
He hadn't even finished speaking.
"A date?! Murong Ci, you've gotten bold, haven't you!"
The lights went out. A wail rang out...