Dugu Yan's Probe

With our bellies full and spirits high, we headed home to sleep.

Feng Xiaotian had already left early, as he was not part of the Blazing Fire Academy team.

The remaining six of us strolled lazily down the road.

"Captain Murong Ci, your ice attribute is incredibly strong! When Dugu Yan's poison hit, I felt like I was going to die, but then you broke right through it!"

It was Huo Ling'er who spoke; she had been continuously ringing her bells, exhausting her soul power, and she had indeed nearly fainted when the poisonous mist enveloped her.

"It's mostly because when an ice attribute is cultivated to its peak, it becomes immune to all poisons."

Murong Ci shook his head, offering a sheepish explanation.

Immediately after, he felt a cold gaze sweep over him.

It was Dugu Yan.

[Stay or go, the choice is yours.]

Murong Ci nodded and patted Huo Wushuang, who was carrying his brother Yun Hai.

"Brother Wushuang, you take Huo Wu and the others back. I have some business to attend to."

Huo Wu bristled the moment she heard this.

"Who are you going to see!"

Murong Ci: "..."

As expected, a woman's intuition...

"Just going out for a bit."

Murong Ci blinked innocently. Huo Wu sighed, clutching her forehead, and signaled for the other six to leave.

Murong Ci walked toward a deep, secluded alley.

Dugu Yan hesitated for a second, but followed him anyway.

The alley was silent and deep, with moonlight filtering down to create only scattered, dappled spots of light.

Murong Ci walked to the depths of the alley and stopped, snapping his fingers.

A flame appeared in his palm, illuminating the surroundings.

"What do you want, following me?"

"You... guessed it?"

"Obviously. Your poison nearly wiped out my team. I can still sense that."

Dugu Yan didn't speak, only clenching her fists; the sound of her knuckles cracking could be heard in the quiet alley.

"Hmm? What do you want to say?"

Murong Ci felt a faint sense of confusion.

Did she want to kill him? That seemed unlikely, and she couldn't win anyway; Dugu Yan wasn't stupid enough for that.

"Your ice—why could it break my poison?"

Dugu Yan gritted her teeth. She had been confident in her poison, but this blow had been too much for her.

"Ice is that which freezes all things. The peak of ice can solidify the very heavens and earth, let alone your poison."

"Your poison? Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

Murong Ci extended his thumb, meeting Dugu Yan's unblinking gaze, and slowly turned it downward.

Dugu Yan gritted her teeth.

"I don't believe it!"

In a flash, she was upon him!

Dugu Yan spat a needle from her mouth, shooting it toward Murong Ci.

"Holy crap!"

Murong Ci couldn't react in time; he closed his eyes, waiting for the needle to strike.

[Useless.]

"Murong Ci" suddenly snapped his eyes open, his two fingers pressed together, catching the tiny silver needle.

The system receded, leaving behind a bewildered Murong Ci.

[You are far too weak right now. Your reaction time is pathetic. Sigh, rotten wood cannot be carved.]

"You caught it?!"

Before Murong Ci could rage at the system, he heard Dugu Yan's exclamation.

"Of course. Reaction time is also a part of one's strength."

He said this with a guilty conscience.

"But seriously, why did you come looking for me? Just to ask why your poison didn't work? Or are you here to play with poison?"

Yongzhen does not use poison, or rather, he disdains the use of poison.

Murong Ci swallowed hard.

"Besides, I don't know how to use poison. Don't tell me... you want me to help you detoxify?"

He did not say this without reason, as he had instantly recalled that those who possess the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul suffer from poison flare-ups on rainy days.

This leads to full-body paralysis and joint pain.

"Yes... not just me, but my grandfather as well. The last time I saw him poisoned, it was unbearable. Every time the poison flares up, it shortens his lifespan. Can your ice... save him?"

The beautiful woman was on the verge of tears, her heavy chest heaving violently.

The system let out a scoff for no apparent reason.

Murong Ci stared at her chest, his eyes glazing over.

"Fine, I can help you, but not your grandfather. His strength is too immense; I cannot cure him completely at my current level, but I can provide some relief."

Murong Ci stroked his chin, striking a thoughtful pose.

"I didn't expect a little enchantress like you to be so concerned about your grandfather!"

"I am no little enchantress!"

Dugu Yan turned her face away, trembling all over, and ignored him.

"Alright, alright, enough talk. In short, I promise you that I will help you suppress the toxins, but you at least need to give me a way to reach you. I don't see you around normally."

Dugu Yan was stunned upon hearing this and turned her head to look at Murong Ci.

She wiped away her tears.

"Then in three days, I'll wait for you at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Outsiders will be joining our academy then, and since my grandfather is a guest elder there, I can introduce you to the dean and the elders."

"Hey, hey, I never said I wanted to betray Blazing Fire!"

"Oh! Remember that! If you don't remember, I'll hit you!"

She was acting coy after getting her way.

Murong Ci sighed helplessly, turned around, and walked out.

On the other side, Dugu Yan returned home, her steps slightly lighter than usual.

Dugu Bo was still on his bed, cultivating.

"What's the matter, Yan Yan? Why so happy?"

Dugu Bo smiled warmly; he had always been exceptionally good to his granddaughter.

"Grandfather, let me tell you, something big is going to happen in three days!"

"First of all, remember how we were defeated by a team when we went to Suotuo City a few days ago? Teacher Qin has recruited them to join the Royal Academy!"

Dugu Bo was visibly stunned. If a team could defeat his granddaughter and make her so genuinely impressed, perhaps he should pay them some attention.

"So, by your account, this team is indeed very strong. Perhaps Grandfather should get to know them?"

Dugu Yan shook her head violently.

"No, no, Grandfather, that is only a great benefit to the academy. But for you and me, the other thing is a massive benefit!"

If a team that could defeat his granddaughter and earn her respect was already beyond Dugu Bo's expectations, then this "massive benefit" was something he could not even begin to imagine.

"I met someone! A very strong person! His ice can alleviate our toxins!"

"What!"

Even Dugu Bo was shocked to the core. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul attacks by releasing toxins, and cultivating the poison itself causes immense harm to one's own body.

Ever since Dugu Bo awakened his Martial Soul, the toxins within him would flare up every rainy day.

Each time was more intense than the last.

He had persisted until now, but the pain had become unbearable.

And now, his granddaughter was telling him that someone could alleviate these symptoms?!

It was like sending charcoal in the snow!

However...

In Dugu Bo's experience, how could this poison be so easily treated?

Dugu Bo's smile faded.

"Alleviate? Yan Yan, it's not like your grandfather hasn't had others look at it. The medical officers from Martial Soul Hall have seen it, and the healing Spirit Masters patronized by the Heaven Dou royal family have seen it too. They all shook their heads. You say a young man can alleviate it? How old is he?"

"Twelve or thirteen."

Dugu Bo snorted, sat up from the bed, and casually threw on a robe.

"What is his name?"

"Murong Ci."

I am getting old, and for the sake of alleviating my own toxins, it is far less effective than having the other party help my granddaughter.

Dugu Bo had already made up his mind; if it were true, he would capture him to help Dugu Yan.

When Murong Ci returned to the dormitory, it was pitch black inside. After turning on the lights as usual, he saw Huo Wu staring at him intently.

He was truly startled.

"What are you doing, ouch~"

"You scared me to death."

Huo Wu ignored him, leaned in close, and sniffed his body.

"A woman's scent, very familiar. It's Dugu Yan's. Speak, what were you two doing?"

Damn it, the poison on that needle still carried the faint fragrance from Dugu Yan's body.

Huo Wu had smelled it.

"That... we didn't do anything, it's just that there is an appointment in three days..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

"A date?! Murong Ci, you've grown bold, haven't you!"

Lights out, wailing...