Dugu Yan: A forced melon isn't sweet! Dugu Bo: If I don't twist it, you won't even have a melon!

Revealing the truth.

Dugu Bo felt a strange sense of relief now that it was out in the open.

He let out a long, trembling breath and pulled Dugu Yan into his arms.

"In these final days, let Grandfather fulfill all your wishes."

Dugu Yan stared fixedly at Dugu Bo, trying to find a single crack in his expression.

All this talk of "not much time left" and "the poison of the martial soul"...

It had to be a ploy Grandfather cooked up to motivate her because he thought she was too cowardly when it came to her feelings.

None of this could be real!

However... even though she scrutinized him with burning eyes for a long time, his expression never wavered in the slightest.

That look of sorrow was impossible to fake.

At that moment, Dugu Yan's heart died.

She let her entire body weight collapse against Dugu Bo, going completely limp as she lowered her gaze.

"Forget it. A twisted melon is never sweet."

"Since Ye Lingling and Lin Yan are about to confirm their relationship, I have no reason to step in and steal him away."

"Having Grandfather by my side for the days to come is enough."

It wasn't that Dugu Yan was being pretentious; it was simply that after accepting her grandfather was nearing his end, she no longer had the heart for romance. It was better to just let Ye Lingling have him.

But while that was what she thought, Dugu Bo did not.

Dugu Bo gripped the young girl's shoulders, his face stern and righteous as he spoke.

"Foolish!"

"A twisted melon may not be sweet, but if you don't twist it, you won't have a melon at all."

"Everyone dies eventually; if you don't enjoy life while you can, when are you going to do it?"

With that, he turned his gaze toward the unconscious Lin Yan.

"You brat, stop pretending!"

"This old man bears you no ill will. As long as you treat Yan'er well, I won't hurt you."

Dugu Yan was stunned, and she followed Dugu Bo's gaze.

The young man lying on the ground slowly lifted his eyes, sat up, and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Lin Yan!"

The girl was surprised that Lin Yan had been feigning unconsciousness.

Though, thinking about it, it made sense. Being forcibly abducted by a Titled Douluo without knowing if he had malicious intent, playing dead was a perfectly reasonable choice.

Dugu Yan looked at Lin Yan and said apologetically.

"Um... I'm sorry. Don't worry, just treat this as a visit to my home. I won't force you to do anything."

Lin Yan did not respond to Dugu Yan, but instead fixed his gaze on Dugu Bo.

"Senior, are you poisoned?"

Dugu Bo did not answer, but his silence was clearly an admission.

The grandfather and granddaughter hadn't hidden their conversation, and since Dugu Bo had assumed Lin Yan was eavesdropping while faking unconsciousness, it meant that in Dugu Bo's mind, it didn't matter if Lin Yan knew the truth now.

The air fell silent for a moment before Lin Yan spoke again.

"Then, Senior Sister's martial soul is also a Jade Phosphor Snake. Does that mean she also..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone present understood what he meant.

Dugu Yan realized it in a flash, looking up at Dugu Bo in disbelief.

"Grandfather..."

"Am... am I also..."

Dugu Bo heaved another heavy sigh and said, "In the future, find a remote city to live in with this brat. Reducing the frequency of using your soul skills can, to a certain extent, delay the onset of the poison."

"What? I... I don't have long to live either?"

"Mm..."

Dugu Bo did not deny it.

Since they both possessed the Jade Phosphor Snake martial soul, Dugu Yan naturally could not escape the fate of being backlashed by the poison.

This was one thing he could never hide from her.

Upon learning the truth, Dugu Yan's heart turned to ash.

No wonder her body occasionally felt numb and itchy; no wonder she would feel incredibly weak from time to time, requiring Ye Lingling's healing soul skills to recover.

So, everything had left a trail to follow...

Unable to accept the reality, she fainted on the spot from grief.

Dugu Bo was not overly surprised, for he had once experienced this himself.

When his son, Dugu Xin, died from the poison of his martial soul, he too had once collapsed from excessive sorrow.

The air fell silent for a moment.

Dugu Bo looked at the unconscious Dugu Yan, closed his eyes in despair, and let two lines of tears fall.

Such was the will of heaven!

To think that he, a dignified Title Douluo revered by thousands, could not even protect his own kin.

It was laughable that his loved ones were dying one after another because of him.

He looked up at the sky, a mocking smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

His expression seemed to ridicule the unfairness of fate, while also mourning his own life.

However, at that very moment, a cry of surprise from Lin Yan suddenly came from not far away.

"Wow! This is an immortal herb: Earth Dragon Golden Melon!"

"This is the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb!"

"This is the Love-Sickness Heartbreak Red!"

Dugu Bo followed the sound and saw that Lin Yan had risen at some point and was wandering among the flowers and plants he did not recognize.

Every time he passed one, he would let out a cry of surprise, as if he had discovered some rare treasure.

"Kid, you recognize them?"

Lin Yan turned back.

He feigned a look of shock.

"Senior, the plants in your herb garden are all immortal herbs!"

"Immortal herbs? What do you mean?"

Dugu Bo looked blank, and Lin Yan likewise put on a look of slight confusion.

"Immortal herbs are just that! Aren't these herbs planted by you?"

"No, when I first discovered this place, these flowers and plants were already growing here."

"I see. I was wondering why you would guard so many immortal herbs while still enduring the bone-gnawing pain of the martial soul poison."

The two exchanged questions and answers; Lin Yan displayed just the right amount of surprise and confusion, perfectly playing the part of a child who had stumbled upon something wonderful.

Yet, Dugu Bo caught the underlying implication.

"You mean to say..."

"That's right. Several of these immortal herbs can completely resolve the toxins within both you and the senior student."

As soon as these words were spoken, Dugu Bo's body tensed.

He no longer cared about Dugu Yan's unconscious state; after placing the girl gently on the ground, he walked straight up to Lin Yan.

"Kid, you had better not be deceiving me!"

Lin Yan's expression remained calm.

"Senior, whether I am deceiving you or not, you need only ask Clan Head Ye to know."

"Clan Head Ye?"

"Explain yourself clearly. What is going on here?"

As events proceeded along their intended track, a smile appeared on the corner of Lin Yan's mouth, undisguised, as he explained.

"I was a guest at the Ye Mansion today, and while conversing with Auntie Ye, I happened to read through the Ye family's records."

"One of the volumes contained information regarding these immortal herbs."

"Look, this is the Fragrant Silk Immortal Herb. The fragrance it emits forms an invisible pink light barrier; within its range, all toxins are neutralized and rendered ineffective by the scent."

As he spoke, Lin Yan walked into the range of the pink light barrier and looked at Dugu Bo.

"Senior, try attacking me with your poison."

Dugu Bo frowned slightly at these words.

He, a Title Douluo, was being asked to attack a child?

What if the information the boy provided was wrong?

"Senior, there is no need to worry. If you are afraid that attacking me might hurt me, I will step back a bit further."

Lin Yan sensed Dugu Bo's concern and, after speaking, quietly stepped back until he was almost at the edge of the light barrier before stopping.

With that, Dugu Bo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At this distance, even if the information the other party provided was incorrect and that pink light barrier proved useless, he would still have enough time to retract his attack.

Thinking of this, a glimmer of green light appeared in his hand.

"Kid, you'd better be careful. I'll intentionally slow down my speed, but if it becomes impossible to handle, you must dodge in time."

Although Dugu Bo's attitude toward Lin Yan was quite poor, he actually held no malice.

Especially since the other party was a man of the Crown Prince, he had even less reason to make a move, but...

If these immortal herbs were truly capable of curing the martial soul poison afflicting himself and his granddaughter, just as Lin Yan had claimed...

"Rest assured, Senior. I have great confidence in the contents of the records from Clan Head Ye."

Lin Yan emphasized the records Ye Rou'er had shown him once more.

Although Dugu Bo might not care about such things at this moment, afterward, he would be able to use this as a more reasonable excuse to explain and claim the immortal herbs for himself.