"Rest assured, Young Master Qin. I absolutely won't let that scumbag get his way!"
"I'll go back right now and find my grandfather. I'll tell him everything!"
Dugu Yan gritted her teeth, looking at Qin Feng with gratitude.
"Young Master Qin saved my life, and I have no way to repay you. As long as my grandfather can be saved, I'll do anything you ask of me from now on, even if it costs me my life."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Qin Feng with a slight blush, then hurriedly turned away as if afraid he might see through her thoughts.
Qin Feng merely shrugged without comment.
Outside Heaven Dou City, a quiet courtyard sat nestled in a valley.
Green mist spread through the valley, and the surrounding vegetation had taken on an eerie purple hue under its corrosive influence.
"Boom!"
A muffled sound echoed through the valley.
Poison Douluo Dugu Bo stood before a massive medicinal cauldron, his expression dark.
He had just given Shrek's bunch a thorough thrashing at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Though it had let him vent his anger, he couldn't shake his irritation when he thought of what that boy named Tang San had said before leaving.
"A little brat who hasn't even grown a hair on his chin dares to boast that he can cure this old man's Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison?"
Dugu Bo snorted and paced irritably through the medicinal garden.
Just then, Dugu Yan came rushing in from outside.
"Grandpa! Something terrible has happened!"
There was an uncommon urgency in Dugu Yan's voice.
When Dugu Bo saw his beloved granddaughter return, his dark expression instantly softened, and he smiled fondly.
"Yanzi, what's happened? What's got you in such a state? Did that brat Yu Tianheng bully you? Tell Grandpa, and I'll skin him alive!"
Dugu Yan ran up to Dugu Bo, panting, and grabbed his arm.
"It wasn't Tian Heng! Grandpa, we're being targeted. Someone wants to steal our treasures—and take our lives!"
At that, Dugu Bo's gaze immediately darkened.
As a Titled Douluo, there truly weren't many people in Heaven Dou City who dared to say they wanted him dead.
"Hmph, who would dare something so brazen? Yanzi, who told you this?"
Dugu Yan hurriedly recounted everything she had seen in the Chat Group, as well as every detail of her visit to the East Palace to see Qin Feng that day.
"Grandpa, that Young Master Qin Feng saw the symptoms of the poison in my body at a glance. He even described exactly when I usually feel pain and where it hurts!"
"He also said that Tang San from Shrek will one day use the pretext of detoxifying you to enter our medicinal garden in Sunset Forest and steal every Immortal Herb there. He'll even use them to help Shrek's Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others improve their strength!"
"And in the end... he'll take our Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well for himself, turning it into his own possession and using our Dugu Family as a stepping stone!"
After hearing Dugu Yan out, Dugu Bo stood rooted to the spot, stunned.
The indifference on his face had been replaced by shock.
He stared at Dugu Yan, his voice trembling slightly.
"Yanzi, you just said... that Qin Feng knows we have a medicinal garden in Sunset Forest?"
"He even knows about... the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well?"
A storm raged in Dugu Bo's heart.
The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was a treasure bestowed by heaven and earth, and his greatest secret. Even Prince Xue Xing didn't know the details.
Where had that young man named Qin Feng learned of it?
And would that brat Tang San really sink so low as to use detoxification as a pretext to steal his Immortal Herbs and treasured grounds?
With his hands behind his back, Dugu Bo paced across the open ground surrounded by medicinal plants, his aged face shifting between dark and light.
"Grandpa, what Young Master Qin Feng told me absolutely can't be false. He described every detail of the poison in my body with perfect accuracy. That's not something he could have learned through hearsay."
Dugu Yan tugged urgently at the old man's sleeve. Her beautiful eyes, usually brimming with arrogance, were now filled with worry.
Dugu Bo stopped and irritably flicked his sleeve.
"Yanzi, this matter is too serious. The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well is the greatest secret of my life. Even Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family only knows this is a medicinal garden. He has no idea where these springs come from. Where could a callow youth, still wet behind the ears, have learned about it?"
The old man's voice was low, and he couldn't dispel the suspicion in his eyes.
To him, the whole matter was far too absurd—almost unbelievable.
"But what if it's true? What will you do if that Tang San really comes to steal our medicinal garden, Grandpa?"
Dugu Yan stamped her foot, refusing to let the matter go.
Dugu Bo sighed. Though his resolve had wavered somewhat, the dignity of a Titled Douluo still kept him from readily believing a young man's claim.
"Hearsay is no proof; seeing is believing. I've roamed the Douluo Continent for all these years, and I've never been scared off by the words of some junior. Since you think he has the power to see through everything, I'll go and test him myself today. If he's nothing but a charlatan, I'll make sure he learns the consequences of deceiving me, Dugu Bo!"
As he spoke, Dugu Bo grabbed Dugu Yan by the shoulder. His figure suddenly transformed into a streak of green light and shot toward Heaven Dou City.
Heaven Dou City, the East Palace's private residence.
Qin Feng was still sitting at his leisure in the luxurious rosewood chair, a fresh cup of spiritual tea in his hand, its steam curling into the air.
As the sound faded, a sharp whistle suddenly cut through the air above the courtyard.
A sinister green figure abruptly appeared in the open space at its center, bringing with it a bone-chilling cold.
Dugu Bo landed steadily with Dugu Yan, his gaze immediately locking onto Qin Feng, who was seated in the pavilion.
"Are you Qin Feng?"
Dugu Bo stepped forward, his aged face full of arrogance and scrutiny.
He had no intention of wasting words. He stamped his foot, and the immense pressure unique to a Titled Douluo crashed down on Qin Feng in the pavilion like an invisible mountain.
Under the pressure of his Soul Power, the marble paving cracked with a sound as if it could barely withstand the strain.
"Grandpa, stop!"
Dugu Yan jumped in fright and anxiously tugged at Dugu Bo's arm.
But Dugu Bo remained unmoved. He simply wanted to see whether this young man, whom his granddaughter had praised to the skies, could keep his composure under thirty percent of his Soul Power's pressure.
Faced with an oppressive force strong enough to make an ordinary Soul Ancestor collapse to his knees on the spot, Qin Feng showed no sign of panic.
The young man rose slowly to his feet. Not even a crease had appeared in his clothes.
A deafening dragon's roar suddenly exploded through the courtyard, accompanied by the clear, soaring cry of a phoenix.
Two dazzling beams of light, one gold and one blue, surged from Qin Feng's body, tearing Dugu Bo's Soul Power pressure to shreds.