By the time Gu Han returned to Karma Pavilion, it was already evening.
Xiao Wu was on the first floor, sorting through several commission records they had received that day. When she saw Gu Han push open the door, she immediately went over.
"You're back? Are you all right?" Her gaze swept quickly over Gu Han, and only after confirming that he showed no signs of injury did she let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine."
Gu Han sat down by the table. Xiao Wu handed him a cup of warm water. "I ran into some unexpected circumstances, but it turned out to be a good thing."
He briefly told her what he had seen in Withered Bone Forest and about his encounter with Dugu Bo, leaving out the dangerous details of the fight and focusing on the agreement he had made with him.
Xiao Wu's eyes widened. "Poison Douluo Dugu Bo? The Titled Douluo who's incredibly skilled with poison?"
"Mm. The backlash from the poison cultivation inside him has already begun affecting his bloodline." Gu Han took a sip of water, his expression thoughtful. "If we can solve that problem, he'll be a great asset to us."
"But... do you really have a way?" Xiao Wu asked with some concern. She knew Gu Han had many secrets, but Dugu Bo's poison had been a problem for that Titled Douluo for decades. Even the healing-type Soul Masters of Spirit Hall had been powerless to help.
Gu Han smiled faintly, but didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "How was things here today?"
"We got three commissions." Xiao Wu opened her record book. "One was from Granny Wang on East Street. Her cat ran off, and she wanted us to help find it. Like you said, I figured that counted as a 'weak causal connection,' so I charged ten Copper Soul Coins and accepted. I'll go look tomorrow."
"Another was from the steward of a Soul Master family in the inner city. He wants us to authenticate an ancestral Soul Tool. We've arranged to visit the day after tomorrow."
"And the last one..." Xiao Wu paused. "It was someone wearing a cloak. They didn't show their face and said they wanted to meet you in person. I told them you weren't here, so they left and said they'd come back tomorrow."
Gu Han nodded. "Well done. Finding the cat will be easy with Karma Sight, and authenticating the Soul Tool shouldn't be difficult either. As for that mysterious person... I'll handle it tomorrow."
He got up and headed for the stairs. "I'm going upstairs to rest. You should get some rest early too."
"Wait." Xiao Wu called after him. "You... are you really going to help Dugu Bo get rid of the poison? Could it be dangerous?"
Gu Han turned around and met Xiao Wu's worried gaze. His voice was gentle but firm. "Some things have to be done. Don't worry. I'm confident."
Over the next two days, Gu Han handled Karma Pavilion's daily commissions while repeatedly thinking through his deal with Dugu Bo.
He knew what Dugu Bo cared about most. It wasn't his own life or death, but his granddaughter Dugu Yan's future. The girl, who had inherited the Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison Martial Soul, should only have been six or seven years old, yet the seeds of the poison had already taken root inside her.
In the original story, Dugu Bo had been unable to remove the poison from Dugu Yan, leaving him gloomy for years and making his personality increasingly reclusive and eccentric. It wasn't until Tang San appeared and used the Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to solve the problem that Poison Douluo willingly became an ally.
Now, Gu Han's task was to bring that part of the story forward.
But he couldn't simply say, "I know where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is, and there are Immortal Herbs there that can cure the poison." That would be far too suspicious. He needed a reasonable explanation, a reason that would convince the suspicious Dugu Bo.
Early on the morning of the third day, Gu Han got up before dawn.
He sat quietly in a meditation room on the third floor for half an hour, bringing himself into peak condition. Then he took a jade box from his Storage Soul Tool. Inside were several medicinal extracts he had carefully prepared over the past two days, mixed with a trace of Ultimate Ice from the Heavenly Frost Sword. It couldn't eradicate the poison, but it would be enough to temporarily suppress the backlash and serve as preliminary proof.
"I'm heading out," Gu Han told Xiao Wu before setting out once more for the west gate.
Outside Withered Bone Forest, the morning mist had yet to fully lift.
When Gu Han reached the agreed meeting place, Dugu Bo was already waiting there.
Today Dugu Bo wore a dark green robe and stood beneath a withered tree with his hands behind his back. He was still gaunt, but his stance was straight, like a spear coated in poison. When he saw Gu Han appear, his green eyes swept sharply over him, as if trying to see right through him.
"You're punctual," Dugu Bo said. His voice was still hoarse, but there was less hostility in it and more scrutiny.
"An agreement should be kept on time," Gu Han replied calmly, stopping ten paces away from Dugu Bo.
They stared at each other for a moment, silent probing filling the air.
At last, Dugu Bo spoke first. "You said you could cure the poison in my body. Where's your proof?"
Gu Han didn't answer immediately. Instead, he activated Karma Sight and carefully studied the deep black causal thread on Dugu Bo. Two days had passed, and the cracks in the thread seemed to have grown deeper. The black aura was especially thick around the heart, showing faint signs of eating away at his life force.
"Senior, the poison in your body didn't come from outside. It originated from your Martial Soul itself," Gu Han said slowly. "The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor is a top-tier Beast Martial Soul, but its poison is too tyrannical. As you cultivate, it gradually seeps into your organs, bone marrow, and blood. Once enough poison has accumulated, it begins to turn against its host."
Dugu Bo's eyes shifted, but his expression remained unchanged. "Anyone who knows a little about poison knows that much."
"But do you know why the poison is inherited by your descendants?" Gu Han continued. "Because it has seeped deep into your bloodline and altered your life essence. Your granddaughter Dugu Yan should already be showing the early symptoms of poisoning. Sometimes at night, she becomes short of breath and feels tightness in her chest. When she circulates her Soul Power, there's a faint stinging pain in her meridians."
Dugu Bo's pupils suddenly contracted.
He had never told anyone about Dugu Yan's symptoms! Even the healing-type Soul Masters from Spirit Hall only knew that he was poisoned. They had no idea his granddaughter had been affected too.
"Have you been investigating me?" Dugu Bo's voice turned cold, and a faint green mist began to rise around him.
"There's no need to investigate." Gu Han shook his head. "I saw it with Karma Sight. The poison thread connected to your bloodline has another end tied to your granddaughter."
He raised a hand and pointed at Dugu Bo's heart. "The poison has gathered most deeply here. Whenever it rains or the moon is full, it flares up like ten thousand ants devouring your heart, leaving you in unbearable agony. The only reason you're still alive is that you've been suppressing it with Soul Power. But that's no different from drinking poison to quench your thirst. Every time you suppress it, the backlash grows more violent."
Dugu Bo fell silent.
Every word Gu Han said had struck right at his pain. The nights he had endured the agony alone, the despair that rose in his heart whenever he saw his granddaughter's innocent smile, the exhaustion of searching everywhere for renowned physicians only to return disappointed time and again...
"You said you could cure it." Dugu Bo's voice was a little hoarse. "How?"
Gu Han took out the jade box and opened it. Inside was a pale blue salve that gave off a cool aura and carried the fragrance of several medicinal herbs.
"This is Ice Heart Paste, which I prepared from the extracts of six cold-natured medicinal herbs and a trace of my Ultimate Ice Soul Power." Gu Han held out the jade box. "It can't eradicate the poison, but it can temporarily suppress the backlash and ease the pain. You can try it."
Dugu Bo didn't take it right away.
He carefully probed the salve with his Soul Power, and only after confirming that it contained no hidden poison or trap did he reach out and accept it. Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison made him immune to most poisons, but it also made him instinctively wary of anything from outside.
"Do I take it directly?" Dugu Bo asked.
"Apply it to your chest and use your Soul Power to activate it," Gu Han said. "It'll feel painfully cold at first, but after a quarter of an hour, you should feel less pressure around your heart."
Dugu Bo stared at Gu Han for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, his smile tinged with self-mockery. "I've lived for over seventy years. Never thought I'd be putting my life in a young man's hands for a test today."
But he didn't hesitate. He undid his robe, spread the Ice Heart Paste evenly over his chest, and circulated his Soul Power.
A bone-chilling cold seeped through his skin and pierced straight into his heart. The icy sensation clashed violently with the searing poison in his body, making Dugu Bo grunt as a sheen of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
But he could feel the burning pain that had long plagued his heart slowly being suppressed by the cold.
After a quarter of an hour, the cold gradually faded, replaced by a long-forgotten sense of ease. The pressure around his heart had indeed eased, and even his breathing felt much smoother.
Dugu Bo slowly let out a breath of stale air and fastened his robe again. When he looked at Gu Han, his expression had changed completely.
"This is only a temporary suppression," Gu Han said at the right moment. "To eradicate the poison, we'll need to find two things: a supreme fire treasure that can neutralize Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison, and a natural treasure capable of restoring the life essence the poison has corroded."
"You know where to find such things?" Dugu Bo asked.
Instead of answering directly, Gu Han asked, "Have you ever heard of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"
Dugu Bo shuddered.
Of course he had heard of it! It was said to be one of the three great treasure basins, a wondrous place where the utmost cold and the utmost heat converged, giving birth to countless Immortal Herbs. He had spent years secretly searching for clues about the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but had never found any.
"You know where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is?" Dugu Bo's voice brimmed with barely contained excitement.
"I don't know its exact location." Gu Han shook his head. Before Dugu Bo could show his disappointment, he continued, "But with my Karma Sight, I can see that the source of the poison thread on you points vaguely northwest, about three hundred li from here. There's an extremely dense life force there, along with energy fluctuations of two opposing extremes. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is likely there."
It was the explanation he had prepared long ago. He couldn't give away the truth outright, but he had to offer a plausible lead.
Dugu Bo closed his eyes and sensed the area carefully. A moment later, he opened them, his eyes flashing brightly. "Three hundred li northwest... deep in Sunset Forest!"
Years ago, he really had discovered a strange place in Sunset Forest. There, two opposing energies of cold and heat converged. But at the time, he hadn't been strong enough, and the place was occupied by a powerful Soul Beast, so he hadn't explored further. After becoming a Titled Douluo, he had gone back to search for it, but could never find the entrance.
Now, at Gu Han's words, all the clues fell into place at once.
"If it really is the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, it must contain an Immortal Herb that can cure my poison." Dugu Bo looked at Gu Han. "But why are you helping me? What do you want?"
At last, they had reached the key question.
Gu Han replied calmly, "Three things."
"First, if we find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, I get first pick of three herbs inside."
"Second, after the poison is cured, you must help me three times, so long as it's within your abilities and doesn't go against your principles."
"Third..." Gu Han paused. "I hope you'll become a guest elder of Karma Pavilion. You won't need to stay here. Just let us list your name, and occasionally come by to keep watch."
Dugu Bo didn't agree immediately. Instead, he turned the three conditions over in his mind.
The first condition was fair enough. Without Gu Han's guidance, he might never find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The second was a little delicate, but the restriction that it couldn't go against his principles gave him plenty of leeway. As for the third condition...
"Guest elder?" Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "You want to borrow my name?"
"Karma Pavilion handles matters of cause and effect, so it's bound to touch on some people's interests," Gu Han said frankly. "Having a Titled Douluo watching over us would save a lot of trouble. Of course, I won't bother you with ordinary matters. I'll only need you to step in if we run into an enemy on the level of a Titled Douluo. That's already covered by the 'three times' in the second condition."
Dugu Bo mulled it over for a long time.
Gu Han's conditions were quite sincere. He wasn't taking advantage of his desperate situation, but had instead shown him respect and given him enough freedom. And if he really could cure the poison and save both his and his granddaughter's lives, that kindness couldn't be measured by any conditions.
"Fine." Dugu Bo finally nodded. "I agree. But only if you can truly take me to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and the Immortal Herbs there really can cure the poison."
"Of course." Gu Han smiled. "There's no time to waste. When do you plan to set out?"
"Now." Dugu Bo had always been a man of swift action. "I'll go back to my residence and make arrangements. Meet me outside the north gate in an hour."
"Works for me." Gu Han nodded. "I also need to go back into the city and prepare."
The two parted ways.
On the way back to the city, Gu Han felt conflicted. He knew this trip to Sunset Forest would completely change his relationship with Dugu Bo, and would also let him reach the enormous treasure that was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well ahead of time.
But opportunities often came with risks. In the original story, powerful Soul Beasts guarded the area around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and it was Dugu Bo's territory. Although Dugu Bo hadn't discovered it yet, his keen sensitivity to poison meant he might already have set up some defensive measures there.
More importantly, what reason could he give for knowing so much about these Immortal Herbs?
"Looks like I'll have to do my homework in advance," Gu Han murmured, quickening his pace.
An hour later, outside the north gate.
Gu Han was already waiting there with a simple pack on his back and the Heavenly Frost Sword hanging at his waist.
Before long, a flash of green light swept past, and Dugu Bo appeared in front of him. He had changed into close-fitting clothes suited for travel and carried a medicine basket on his back, clearly prepared for a long search.
"Let's go." Dugu Bo wasted no words. He rose straight into the air and flew northwest.
Gu Han circulated his Soul Power and followed close behind.
The two figures soon vanished into the distant sky.
Sunset Forest, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
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