Ye Qing handed the Earth Dragon Golden Melon to Dugu Yan.
"The Earth Dragon Golden Melon, a supreme treasure of the earth attribute among Immortal Grade herbs."
"The reason Yanzi's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul is backfiring on her is that its toxins lack anything to counterbalance them."
"Snake venom is yin in nature, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent is a purely poison-type Martial Soul. There's no other power to neutralize it."
"If we can introduce powerful earth elements to balance and suppress the poison attribute, we might be able to solve the toxin backlash at its root."
He paused, then added, "Of course, this is just a solution I've worked out in theory. I can't guarantee it'll succeed."
He was telling the truth.
More precisely, it was a solution mentioned in the various Douluo Continent fanfictions he'd read in his previous life.
In quite a few fanfics, Dugu Yan had been given an Earth Dragon Golden Melon, which evolved her Martial Soul.
That was how they solved the toxin backlash.
He was offering it now with the same willingness to try.
After all, theory was one thing. Nobody had ever seen it done in practice.
Dugu Yan looked at the Earth Dragon Golden Melon in Ye Qing's hand, light rippling through her jade-green eyes.
She still remembered what had happened not long ago.
When Ye Qing had brought out the Lovesick Heartbreak Red,
the Immortal Grade flower hailed as the "king of flowers" had required a drop of one's heart's blood and true love to make it bloom.
She'd eagerly spat out her heart's blood and tried, but the flower hadn't opened.
It hadn't acknowledged her feelings for Ye Qing.
She'd been a little disappointed at the time.
But she understood. They'd only been together for about a week.
Their feelings were passionate, but they hadn't yet reached the point of being etched into their bones, of pledging their lives to each other.
It was only natural that the Lovesick Heartbreak Red hadn't bloomed.
At the time, Ye Qing had said, "Love will come with time."
She'd called him shameless to his face, but she'd kept those words in her heart for a long time.
And now,
he'd brought out another Immortal Herb for her.
No tests, no conditions.
He'd simply taken it out as if it were nothing.
"Yanzi?"
Ye Qing saw her staring blankly.
He waved the Earth Dragon Golden Melon in front of her, a mischievous grin back on his face.
"Don't tell me you're so moved by my touching gesture that you can't speak."
"Want me to get you a handkerchief so you can wipe away your tears?"
"..."
Dugu Yan came back to herself.
She rolled her eyes at him and snatched the Earth Dragon Golden Melon from his hand.
"Moved by what? Don't make me laugh!"
Her voice had returned to its usual haughty, coy tone.
But the faint blush on the tips of her ears gave away how she really felt.
"I was just wondering what we'd do if it failed."
"Wouldn't that waste one of your Immortal Grade herbs?"
"If it fails, it fails. We'll just call it a health supplement."
Ye Qing shrugged, looking unconcerned.
"The Earth Dragon Golden Melon is closely connected to dragons, so it's good for your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul anyway."
"Besides..."
He grinned. "Immortal Herbs are for our own people to eat. There's no one more important than you, Yanzi. I don't mind, so why should you?"
"Hmph. You pulled it out of this old man's Medicine Garden. Of course you don't mind."
Dugu Bo glared at Ye Qing in annoyance.
Then he urged her, "Yanzi, since this brat's already said so, go ahead and eat it."
All he wanted now was to solve the toxin problem inside Yanyan as soon as possible.
It had been the greatest worry of his life for decades.
He trusted that Ye Qing wouldn't harm Yanyan.
The brat might be a rogue with his words, but he was more thoughtful than anyone.
If he said it would help, then it would.
"I know."
Seeing that both Ye Qing and Dugu Bo were urging her, Dugu Yan stopped refusing.
She took a deep breath and put the Earth Dragon Golden Melon into her mouth.
The melon flesh melted as soon as it touched her tongue.
A warm current slid down her throat and into her stomach.
Golden light burst forth!
Rich earth elements surged out of her body, forming a massive, ocher pillar of light that shot into the sky!
The entire Medicine Garden of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well trembled faintly.
Dewdrops on the leaves of the rare herbs shook loose, pattering down under the force of the elemental surge.
Within the pillar of light, Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul appeared of its own accord.
The emerald-green serpent coiled through the air and hissed, its body gleaming with a sinister green poison light.
The transformation began.
Earth elements poured furiously into the serpent's phantom.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent's body began changing at a visible pace.
Its head grew more ferocious, and a small bump rose on its forehead.
Its body thickened, and every scale began to swell.
The scales gradually shifted from pure jade green to dark green, their edges glinting with dark gold.
Most astonishing of all,
the beginnings of four sharp claws emerged beneath its body!
"This is the sign of a Martial Soul evolving from a serpent into a flood dragon!"
Ye Qing's eyes lit up, unmistakable excitement in his voice.
"Senior Dugu Bo, we'll have to wait and watch patiently."
"Tch. She's my granddaughter. I don't need you to tell me that."
Dugu Bo sounded impatient, but his gaze stayed fixed on his granddaughter.
His old jade-green eyes were full of tension and expectation.
An hour passed.
Dugu Yan's Martial Soul evolution finally came to an end.
The pillar of light slowly drew back, revealing her figure.
The aura around her had clearly grown stronger.
Her Soul Power had now reached level 40.
A faint golden glow seemed to flow across her skin, mingling with her original jade-green Soul Power.
Behind her,
a completely new Martial Soul coiled and hissed.
A single horn rose from its head.
Two claws grew from its belly.
Its dark-green body was edged in gold.
It had both a serpent's agility and a flood dragon's majesty.
It could no longer be called a serpent. It was a flood dragon: the Jade Phosphorus Flood Dragon Martial Soul!
Dugu Yan slowly opened her eyes.
A faint, earthy golden gleam now shone in her jade-green eyes.
The light wasn't dazzling, but it carried a steady, solid strength.
She raised her right hand, and the Jade Phosphorus Flood Dragon Martial Soul coiled around her palm, hissing.
Her body radiated both the yin chill of poison and the weight of earth.
"Yanyan, let me check whether the toxins are still affecting your body!"
Dugu Bo stepped in front of her in one stride.
A moment later.
After examining her,
Dugu Bo confirmed that the toxins in Dugu Yan's body no longer posed a threat.
Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorus Flood Dragon Martial Soul now possessed both earth and poison attributes.
The weight of the earth element balanced the violence of the poison element.
The poison element's sharpness, in turn, gave the earth element stronger corrosive power.
The two attributes had reached a perfect balance within the flood dragon's body, complementing each other.
Dugu Bo's hands began to tremble.
With excitement.
"Hahahaha!!!"
"Heaven hasn't forsaken my Dugu Family!!!"
He threw his head back and laughed.
His laughter echoed through the valley of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
He laughed with wild abandon.
Until tears glistened in the corners of his eyes.
So many years had passed.
Ever since his son's generation,
the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison had been an inescapable curse on the Dugu Family.
He'd watched his son die from the poison, helpless to do anything.
Then he'd watched his granddaughter, knowing the toxins would eventually take her life too.
He'd already prepared himself to bury his child and grandchild, and even to let his family line die out.
Now, that curse had finally been broken for good!
And his granddaughter, Dugu Bo's, had gained an even stronger evolved Martial Soul.
Two pieces of good news at once!
Old Poison felt he'd never been happier in his life.
"Brat."
Dugu Bo's laughter faded, and he turned to Ye Qing.
His jade-green eyes held a solemnity they'd never shown before.
"I've never truly been grateful to anyone in my life. You're the first."
"Senior..."
Ye Qing started to say something.
Dugu Bo raised a hand and cut him off.
"Don't give me any of that 'we're family, no need to thank me' nonsense. I don't want to hear it."
"I'll remember what you've done for me."
His voice was firm as a blade.
"If anyone dares lay a hand on you, Ye Qing, they'll be making an enemy of me, Dugu Bo."
"No matter who they are, I'll make them learn what it means to wish they were dead."
A Titled Douluo's promise.
Few people across the entire Douluo Continent could offer one with that kind of weight.
Ye Qing fell silent for a moment, then bowed deeply.
He neither refused nor offered empty courtesies.
Because he knew,
for a man like Dugu Bo, owing someone a favor was worse than killing them.
Letting him remember the debt was the greatest respect he could show.
Night fell.
The waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well reflected the stars scattered across the sky.
Faint, chaotic light shimmered on the rippling water, bathing the whole valley in a dreamlike silver glow.
Ye Qing was meditating inside the Bamboo House.
Suddenly, the door swung open.
There was no knock.
Dugu Yan simply walked straight in.
She had clearly just taken a bath.
Her long, emerald-green hair was still damp with misty moisture, hanging loose over her shoulders.
She wore nothing but a thin silk nightdress.
Moonlight spilled in from behind her, tracing the slender, graceful curves of the young woman.
"Yanzi? It's so late—"
Ye Qing had just opened his eyes and looked toward her.
Before he could finish speaking,
Dugu Yan had already thrown herself into his arms.
Her soft, warm body pressed tight against him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck.
All kinds of emotions surged in her emerald-green eyes—gratitude, shyness, affection, and desire.
"Ye Qing, thank you."
"For helping Grandpa detoxify, and helping my Martial Soul evolve..."
"Ever since we met, you've always been helping me. Always."
"I haven't even had a chance to thank you properly."
"That's all?"
Ye Qing laughed, reaching up to rub her damp hair. In a deliberately teasing tone, he said, "Don't you know that to show your gratitude, you have to bare your breasts?"
He'd only meant to tease her.
But unexpectedly, Dugu Yan suddenly lifted her head and kissed him.
Her breathing grew ragged, her fingers gripped his collar tightly, and she practically clung to him.
One strap of her nightdress slipped off her shoulder, revealing its round curve, gleaming white in the moonlight.
Ye Qing's breathing quickly turned unsteady, too.
His arms tightened of their own accord, holding her close.
The temperature rose.
Their reason was being eroded by a more primal impulse.
Then Ye Qing abruptly stopped.
His body stiffened, as if he were using every ounce of willpower to restrain himself.
"Yanzi."
His voice was low, still rough with lingering desire.
But his tone had regained its clarity.
"We can't do this here."
Dugu Yan paused.
She lifted her head,
confusion filling her emerald-green eyes.
And a trace of hurt at being rejected.
"Why?"
Her voice trembled slightly as her fingers clenched the front of his shirt.
"Don't you like me anymore? Are you tired of me?"
"How could I ever get tired of you?"
Ye Qing gave a wry smile.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Your grandpa's a Titled Douluo. What could he not hear from here?"
"!"
Dugu Yan's body went rigid.
It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her from head to toe. She froze solid.
She turned her head, stiff as a board,
and looked through the bamboo window toward Dugu Bo's Bamboo House.
The blush on her face swiftly changed from "passion" to "horror."
"Grandpa... he wouldn't be that much of a pervert, would he?"
Dugu Yan's voice was as tiny as a mosquito's, and she clearly didn't sound very sure.
"What do you think?"
Ye Qing countered.
Dugu Yan fell silent.
She thought of Ye Qing's beastly stamina.
Then she thought of the sounds she couldn't control when he had his way with her.
Then she pictured all of that alongside the fact that "Grandpa was listening nearby."
Dugu Yan's face turned red enough to boil an egg.
The mental image was so mortifying she didn't even dare think about it!
Just imagining the look Grandpa would give her the next day made her want to dig a hole and bury herself in it on the spot.
"But..."
"We haven't... in so long..."
Her voice was muffled against Ye Qing's chest, tinged with reluctance.
Her fingers absently traced circles on his shirt.
"Ah..."
Ye Qing took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
To be honest, he was having a hard time, too.
He had a beauty in his arms, wearing nothing but a thin nightdress.
Her body still carried the faint fragrance of her bath as she pressed softly against him.
What normal man could withstand that?
But he had to!
To avoid humiliating himself in front of that old geezer, he had to hold out.
Suddenly,
inspiration struck him!
The corner of his mouth curled into a wicked smile.
"Yanzi, once you get your fourth Soul Ring, let's go back to Heaven Dou City."
"Huh?"
Dugu Yan stared at him in surprise.
"Anyway, we've pretty much taken care of everything here."
"Senior already knows how to force the poison out. There's nothing more we can do here, and if we stay any longer, we'll just have nothing to do."
Ye Qing laid out his reasoning with a perfectly straight face.
He looked so serious, you'd think he was discussing some important tactical matter.
"But Heaven Dou City is different."
"Think about it,"
he whispered close to her ear.
"There won't be any old geezer keeping an eye on us there."
Dugu Yan froze for a moment.
Then her eyes lit up.
Heaven Dou City.
No Grandpa!
Just her and Ye Qing!
Wouldn't that mean they could do whatever they wanted?
Whenever they wanted?
However they—
Stop.
She couldn't think about it anymore!
"I'll do whatever you say."
Dugu Yan lowered her head and rested against his chest, her voice so soft it was completely unlike her usual proud self.
The contrast made it twice as devastating.
"Ah!!!"
Another wave of heat flared in Ye Qing's heart.
His gaze unconsciously fell on her red lips.
Then another idea struck him.
He leaned close to her ear again and whispered something in a very low voice.
"We could do this and that..."
Dugu Yan's face went from pink to deep red in an instant.
She stared at him in shock. "The mouth is for eating and talking!"
Ye Qing grinned.
His smile was so sleazy it made you want to hit him.
"Who said so?"
"Yanzi, I'm feeling pretty worked up right now."
As he spoke, his hand had already reached the top of Dugu Yan's head, gently pressing down.
Dugu Yan: "..."
Red-faced, she punched him.
But the punch was so soft it wouldn't have hurt a mosquito.
It was practically a yes.
Outside the Bamboo House, moonlight flowed like water.
The pool reflected the stars, its faint light rippling.
Inside the Bamboo House, a young man lay staring up at the ceiling, a triumphant smile on his lips.
He thought, That old geezer, the Titled Douluo, probably can't hear us, right?
Well... hopefully.