Ye Lingling: You're My Fiancé???

Lu Xiao's courtyard gate stood half-open, and a rich medicinal fragrance rushed out through the crack.

Ye Lingling's nose twitched slightly, a trace of curiosity appearing in her eyes.

She raised her hand and gently pushed open the wooden gate, revealing the scene within.

At the center of the courtyard stood a bronze-colored cauldron taller than a person. It was filled with clear amber medicinal liquid, countless rare herbs floating on the surface. Milky-white steam rose slowly, blanketing the entire small courtyard.

Lu Xiao frowned tightly, his bare upper body submerged in the medicinal liquid as the pale golden fluid slowly circulated around him.

Du Busi stood beside the cauldron, continuously tossing rare medicinal ingredients into it. Xiao Wu stood quietly to one side, silently watching Lu Xiao.

Upon seeing Du Busi, Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan hurriedly bowed.

"This junior, Ye Lingling, greets His Excellency Body!"

"This junior, Dugu Yan, greets His Excellency Body!"

Du Busi raised his hand and steadily tossed the Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Ginseng into the bronze cauldron. The scalding medicinal liquid surged with rings of golden ripples, and a faint dragon's might spread outward!

He glanced sideways at the two girls and merely gave a faint "Mm," before casually tossing a milky-white lump of paste into the cauldron.

Ye Lingling saw the heavenly treasure and could not help crying out, "Thousand-Year Dragon Marrow Gel!"

The instant the Thousand-Year Dragon Marrow Gel melted into the liquid, the entire cauldron of medicine turned a pure golden yellow.

As the golden light flowed, the faint cry of a dragon could be heard!

Du Busi sized Ye Lingling up twice before speaking. "I didn't expect you to recognize this thing!"

Ye Lingling bowed slightly and explained, "This junior's family happens to possess a piece of Thousand-Year Dragon Marrow Gel, about the same size as yours, Senior!"

Hearing this, Du Busi's expression turned strange. "Did you just say your name was 'Ye Lingling'?"

Ye Lingling nodded.

"So you're Ye Lingling."

Du Busi looked at Ye Lingling, pointed at Lu Xiao, and smiled. "If you came looking for this brat, then you'll have to wait a while!"

Ye Lingling nodded. Looking at Lu Xiao enduring his discomfort inside the cauldron, she asked curiously, "Senior, can Captain Lu... withstand such violent medicinal power?"

A confident curve rose at the corner of Du Busi's lips as he answered casually, "Of course he can!"

Looking at Ye Lingling's slender frame, he said, "I see that your constitution is rather weak. I'll give you a prescription—take good care of your health!"

As he spoke, Du Busi handed Ye Lingling a sheet of paper.

Ye Lingling was slightly stunned. She respectfully accepted the prescription and thanked him. "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Excellency."

Du Busi waved his hand casually, his gaze returning to the medicinal cauldron as he said nothing more.

Half an hour later, a dull explosive crack suddenly rang out from within the cauldron!

Buzz—

A low tremor erupted from deep within Lu Xiao's chest!

The golden medicinal liquid, which had been flowing steadily, suddenly began to boil violently. Surging dragon-shaped currents wrapped around Lu Xiao's body and drilled madly into him.

Lu Xiao's tightly shut eyes suddenly trembled. His teeth clenched hard, savage veins bulging across his neck and forehead. Beads of cold sweat mixed with the scalding golden medicinal liquid and dripped from his chin.

Crack, crack—

A series of crisp, dense bone-cracking sounds rang out without pause. This was the most agonizing stage of bone tempering.

"Lu Xiao!" Xiao Wu's expression tightened, her pink eyes filled with heartache and worry as her hands clenched tightly into fists.

Watching Lu Xiao endure the excruciating pain without uttering even a groan, Dugu Yan felt as though her heart were being painfully clenched.

Despite the intense pain, Lu Xiao remained fully conscious. He circulated the Body Sect's Innate Secret Technique, actively guiding the vast medicinal power to temper his torso bones.

Beneath the skin of his chest, faint outlines of bone gradually emerged. His originally grayish-white skeleton slowly became coated in a warm, lustrous golden glow.

The level of medicinal liquid within the cauldron visibly fell by more than half, while the source essences of all sorts of rare herbs were madly devoured and absorbed by his torso bones.

Buzz!!

A second, heavier shockwave erupted.

A ring of pale golden, invisible force exploded outward from the bronze cauldron. The white medicinal mist filling the air was instantly scattered, and every blade of grass and tree in the courtyard bent and trembled slightly.

Lu Xiao suddenly opened his eyes, a streak of golden light flashing through his dark pupils. His Bloodline Power spilled out on its own beyond his control, stirring layer upon layer of waves across the medicinal liquid.

He straightened his back and stood amid the golden medicinal liquid, the lines of his back abruptly becoming broader and more rugged.

The twelve main bones within his chest had been completely tempered. A layer of fine, dragon-scale-like bone patterns appeared over their surfaces, making them several times harder than before!

When Xiao Wu, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling saw Lu Xiao's toned, well-proportioned body, their cheeks instantly flushed red.

Du Busi smiled and tossed over a bath towel. "Why aren't you wiping yourself off already?!"

Lu Xiao looked at Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, a trace of confusion in his eyes.

He took the towel, dried off the medicinal liquid, and got dressed.

His simple black fitted outfit accentuated his tall, lean figure.

Lu Xiao stretched his body, and his chest bones gave off a crisp, pleasant series of pops.

Du Busi looked at Lu Xiao, who was in excellent condition, and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad!"

Dugu Yan looked at Lu Xiao, then turned to Ye Lingling beside her. She lightly nudged her arm and signaled with her eyes for her to speak.

Ye Lingling gave Lu Xiao a slight bow, her voice gentle and cool. "Captain... there's something I want to ask you!"

Lu Xiao instinctively assumed that Ye Lingling wanted to ask about the engagement contract.

Du Busi and Xiao Wu were still in the courtyard. This involved private matters, so it was inconvenient to discuss it in public.

Lu Xiao kept it brief. "Come with me."

Ye Lingling glanced at Dugu Yan beside her. Receiving an encouraging look from her friend, she took a deep breath and followed behind Lu Xiao.

Lu Xiao led Ye Lingling to his room.

Ye Lingling seemed to realize something. She hesitated outside the door, her face full of conflict.

Seeing her hesitation, Lu Xiao said, "Come in. It's not like I'm going to eat you."

Thinking of the poison backlash within Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling bit her lower lip and lightly stepped into Lu Xiao's room.

Lu Xiao casually left the door ajar, then turned to look at Ye Lingling standing by the entrance, somewhat restrained. "Sit."

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Ye Lingling's body trembled slightly. Remembering what Dugu Yan had said before, panic instantly filled her eyes.

"Lu Xiao, I..."

Before Ye Lingling could finish, Lu Xiao slowly said, "You don't need to take that so-called engagement contract to heart. From beginning to end, there was never any need to take it seriously."

Lu Xiao had already understood Du Busi's intentions on the way back.

But with the branch of the Ancient Tree of Life inside his body, he had no need to worry about the third-stage issue at all!

Ye Lingling's clear ice-blue eyes widened slightly, her face blank with confusion. "What... engagement contract are you talking about?"

Lu Xiao furrowed his brows slightly and simply unfolded the engagement contract before Ye Lingling.

Seeing the familiar handwritten signature on the paper, as well as the lingering aura of the Nine-Hearted Begonia Martial Soul on the document, Ye Lingling's mind went completely blank.

Her lips parted as she confirmed it word by word in a soft voice, "You... you're my fiancé???"