[Little Witch]: "Hey, Sister 'My Son Is Not A Bastard,' what do you mean by that? You make it sound as if you aren't human."
[Fragrant Fox]: "Exactly. And your nickname is really strange. Why did you choose that name? Is your son some kind of mixed-blood Soul Beast, and that's why someone called him a bastard?"
[Little Witch]: "Whoa, Sister Fox, you might be onto something! Could it be that you really aren't human, but a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who took human form and had a child with a human?"
The teasing in the group sent Ah Yin into a panic.
Her phantom consciousness, formed from Blue Silver Grass, nearly dissipated in that instant.
She had never imagined that these human girls could be so perceptive. From just one sentence and a nickname, they had almost guessed everything about her.
Ah Yin nervously curled her leaves inward and didn't dare say another word in the group. She hurriedly cut off her connection to the Chat Group.
In the East Palace, Qin Feng looked at the nickname "My Son Is Not A Bastard" on the light screen, a strange smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Ah Yin, now you're starting to lament how complicated human emotions are."
He chuckled to himself.
"That good husband of yours, Tang Hao, deliberately lured the Spirit Hall into hunting you down back then, forcing you to sacrifice yourself. In the end, he planted you in a dark cave where the sun never shone, and even raised your son, Tang San, to be a hypocrite."
"If you knew all that, would you still think the feelings you shared back then were so sincere?"
Qin Feng quietly plotted in his mind.
After some time, when he went to Sunset Forest and stripped the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well of every Immortal Herb, he would dig up Ah Yin's true body while he was at it.
Then, in front of everyone in the group, he would expose Tang Hao's shameless deeds one by one. He wondered how the father and son would look when that happened.
Just as Qin Feng was planning for the future, the sound of light footsteps suddenly came from outside the East Palace's side courtyard.
A guard from the Heaven Dou Imperial Family hurried to the courtyard gate and bowed.
"Your Highness, Young Master Qin Feng. A woman outside who calls herself Dugu Yan says she has important business and wishes to see Young Master Qin Feng."
The guard spoke with great respect.
At the name, Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow and gave Qin Feng a knowing look.
"Well, isn't she Dugu Bo's precious granddaughter?"
"Why would she suddenly come looking for you? Could it be that you revealed her identity in the group, made her heart flutter, and now she's come knocking?"
Qin Feng shook his head helplessly.
"Don't be ridiculous. She's probably here because of the Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison in her body."
"Let her in."
"Your Highness, there's something I'd like to discuss with her in private."
Qin Feng gave the guard his instructions.
Before long, the courtyard gate opened.
Dugu Yan walked in slowly, dressed in a fitted outfit that accentuated her graceful figure.
She had taken particular care with her appearance today. Her usually unruly short purple hair lay neatly in place, and her delicate face, for once, showed less of its usual haughtiness and more unease and nervousness.
Especially when Dugu Yan saw Qin Feng's strikingly handsome face, her heartbeat skipped a beat.
At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Qin Feng had swept through Shrek's entire group with his Ice Phoenix Martial Soul alone, sending Dai Mubai flying. His peerless bearing had left an indelible mark on Dugu Yan's heart.
Now that she knew Qin Feng was the all-knowing group owner who had even revealed her fate, she wasn't sure how to begin.
"Dugu Yan greets Young Master Qin Feng."
"I never imagined you were the group owner."
She gave a stiff bow, both hands gripping the hem of her clothes as she stood there nervously.
She had arranged to meet the group owner through a private message. She never expected it to be Qin Feng!
Seeing her like this, Qin Feng found it somewhat amusing, but kept his expression composed.
"Have a seat."
"Miss Dugu, what brings you here today?"
Qin Feng gestured to the empty seat beside him and asked warmly.
Dugu Yan sat down uneasily and took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage.
"Young Master Qin, I came today because there are some things I'd like to ask you to confirm."
"What you said in the group about the Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison... was it true?"
"Are my grandfather and I really both deeply poisoned?"
As she asked, her beautiful eyes fixed on Qin Feng, filled with anxiety and hope.
Qin Feng picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and replied calmly.
"Since you've come all this way, Miss Dugu, you must already know the answer. Why ask me again?"
"The Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison in your body has already seeped into your bones."
"If I'm not mistaken, whenever it rains, you feel a dull ache beneath your ribs, right?"
"And whenever you circulate your Soul Power late at night, you feel a stabbing pain at the Baihui acupoint on the crown of your head. This has been going on for at least three years."
At Qin Feng's words, Dugu Yan was struck as if by lightning.
She sprang to her feet, her beautiful eyes wide with shock.
She had never told anyone about these symptoms. Even her grandfather, Dugu Bo, didn't know the details.
Yet this young man, who was several years younger than her, had seen through all her secrets at a glance.
In that moment, Dugu Yan no longer had the slightest doubt about what Qin Feng had said in the group.
"Young Master Qin, please save me—and save my grandfather, too!"
Dugu Yan hurried over to Qin Feng, bending her knees as if she meant to kneel.
Qin Feng swept out a hand. A gentle yet overwhelmingly powerful surge of golden Soul Power instantly lifted Dugu Yan, keeping her from kneeling no matter how hard she tried.
"There's no need for such a grand gesture."
Qin Feng looked at her calmly.
"Your grandfather, Dugu Bo, may be known as Poison Douluo, but he's spent his entire life fighting the Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison. Even his own son died young because he couldn't withstand the toxin."
"This poison is an inherited bloodline toxin that comes with your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul. Completely eradicating it is nearly impossible."
At that, Dugu Yan's eyes turned red, and despair filled them.
"E-even you can't do anything?"
Seeing her dejected expression, Qin Feng smiled faintly.
"When did I say there was nothing I could do?"
"Eradicating it may be difficult, but draining the poison from your bodies and giving it an outlet isn't hard."
"However, the time isn't right yet."
"Go back and tell your grandfather to watch out for someone named Tang San."
"That Tang San knows the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in Sunset Forest. He'll take advantage of your grandfather humbling himself to ask for guidance, claim he can cure the poison, and then seize your Dugu Family's medicinal garden, sweeping every Immortal Herb inside. He'll even use those herbs to train the people from Shrek."
When Dugu Yan heard Tang San's name, intense disgust flashed in her eyes.
Was he the one who had boasted at the entrance to Heaven Dou Royal Academy that he could cure her Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison, only for her grandfather to kick him flying?