Can a Poisonous Snake Be Poisoned to Death by Its Own Venom?

"Yanyan, what did you say?!"

The next second, the room's door suddenly flew open, and a fierce gale swept through the courtyard!

When he saw the figure clearly, he found a tall, thin old man, straight as a javelin, with sunken cheeks, dark green hair and beard, and eyes that gleamed like emeralds. Dressed in a simple gray robe, he stared fixedly at Dugu Yan.

When he saw Dugu Yan's black hair and eyes that were no longer emerald green, forming a stark contrast with his own, Dugu Bo froze on the spot, lost in a daze.

Until...

"Grandpa!"

Dugu Yan's coy cry snapped Dugu Bo awake.

Coming back to his senses, he excitedly grasped his granddaughter's shoulders. Yet he handled her as though she were porcelain, not daring to use the slightest force, merely sending his soul power through every meridian in her body.

Dugu Yan said nothing and simply allowed her grandfather to do as he pleased.

"It's real, it's really real... But it's still not enough, still not enough..."

By the time his soul power finished its circuit, Dugu Bo's expression had become incomparably agitated.

He muttered to himself, nearly shedding old tears.

When he finally recovered, his eyes seemed to bloom with two streaks of green light as they fixed upon his granddaughter.

"Yanyan, tell Grandpa..."

"Grandpa!"

Before Dugu Bo could finish, Dugu Yan interrupted him.

This time, Dugu Yan's expression was grave. She no longer resembled the quirky, mischievous granddaughter he knew.

The change made Dugu Bo's heart tremble, and an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose within him.

Then, in the very next moment—

"Grandpa, how much longer are you going to keep this from me?"

At that moment, Dugu Yan stared straight at Dugu Bo.

Like Yu Tianheng and Ye Lingling, she had guessed that the green color of her hair and eyes meant there was something wrong with her body. She had also guessed that Ouyang Ling's water cannon technique was likely a variation of Deep Blue Purification.

Though she found it hard to believe, perhaps she really had been poisoned—poisoned with something she had carried since her mother's womb.

Thinking back to her grandfather's eyes, hair, and beard...

That meant her grandfather had been poisoned too!

Then what about her father, who had died so early? Could he have died from poisoning as well?!

On the way here, Dugu Yan had thought about many things.

She did not know whether her guesses were right or wrong, which was why she had come to Dugu Bo for confirmation. "Grandpa, tell me. Have I been poisoned by the Jade Phosphor Snake Poison?"

When the question was asked, Dugu Bo still wanted to deny it and make excuses. But when he saw his granddaughter's gaze and recalled the night his son and daughter-in-law had died, his heart twisted like a knife. In the end, the back this Titled Douluo had kept straight all his life, at this very moment...

Bent!

"Yanyan, you've grown up."

Dugu Bo sighed with deep emotion. "Since that's the case, Grandpa won't hide certain things from you anymore."

Next, he told her everything.

He revealed the truth about the Dugu Clan, including the cause of Dugu Yan's parents' deaths, as well as every detail of his and Dugu Yan's physical conditions.

That day, the grandfather and granddaughter spoke at length.

"Yanyan, Grandpa harmed you. I harmed your parents too!" Recalling the past, Dugu Bo was filled with remorse. He had truly brought disaster upon later generations!

"Grandpa, Yanyan doesn't blame you." Dugu Yan comforted him. "This is our family's fate. It isn't something Grandpa could avoid simply because he wanted to. Isn't that right? Besides, we have a solution now."

That was right!

The moment Dugu Bo heard this, his spirits lifted.

He hurriedly asked, "Yanyan, tell Grandpa quickly. How exactly was the poison in your body cured? And the poison in you hasn't been completely removed yet. If you continue cultivating, it could still worsen."

Dugu Yan did not panic when she heard that.

Remembering what Ouyang Ling had told her, the address he had given her, and the promise she had made earlier, Dugu Yan—who knew her grandfather's character well—immediately gave him a half-lidded look and said knowingly:

"Grandpa, if I tell you directly, you won't go cause trouble for that person, will you?"

A person?

Dugu Bo's heart stirred. If it was a person, that made things easier!

As for Dugu Yan's question...

"Of course not." Dugu Bo denied it without so much as a blink. "Since that person can solve your problem, why would I cause trouble for him?"

"Really?" Dugu Yan looked somewhat suspicious.

"Absolutely true!"

"Then take me with you when you go find him."

"No."

Dugu Bo refused without even thinking.

"Why?"

Dugu Yan immediately widened her eyes, her face full of indignation. She even threatened him outright. "Grandpa, if you don't take me with you, then don't expect to find out who that person is or where he lives."

Dugu Bo earnestly tried to persuade her.

"Yanyan, I'm doing this for your own good."

But Dugu Yan remained unmoved.

"Grandpa, I have to be responsible for someone else too."

Just like that, the grandfather and granddaughter found themselves at odds.

After a period of stalemate and argument, Dugu Bo could only compromise in the end. Dugu Yan stated that, to keep him from going back on his word, she would bring him to the man's door herself. He should not even think about shaking her off—she was too clever for that!

Dugu Bo: "..."

Yanyan had seen right through him.

Meanwhile,

Ouyang Ling had already returned to the residence. The moment he stepped inside, Porcupinefish Douluo appeared before him.

"Grandpa Porcupinefish, you came."

"It was most appropriate for me to come. That old poisoner's venom may be formidable, but before me, ninety percent of his methods are useless. If he dares attack you, I'll stop him immediately. Once we reach the outskirts of the city, Snake Spear will be waiting for us. With the two of us joining forces, he won't even be able to escape."

Porcupinefish Douluo spoke in an exceedingly calm tone, as though he did not regard Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, as a threat at all.

And that was indeed the truth.

How could two level ninety-four Titled Douluo lack confidence when facing a level ninety-one Titled Douluo whose abilities had been crippled by ninety percent?

"Then I'll have to trouble you. But if he doesn't intend to kill me, there's no need for you to reveal yourself rashly."

Ouyang Ling nodded and thanked him.

He was confident of succeeding, but he was not blindly confident. If Dugu Bo truly intended to force the matter, then he should not blame Ouyang Ling for being impolite.

"How could it be trouble?"

Porcupinefish Douluo shook his head and vanished from sight.

Afterward, Ouyang Ling instructed the servants and maids to tidy up the main hall and prepare pastries and tea as they awaited their honored guests.

About a quarter of an hour later,

Knock, knock, knock—

When the front gate was knocked upon, Dugu Yan's voice also rang out. "Little Ling, we're here!"

The moment Ouyang Ling heard it, he thought, They're finally here!

He stopped the servants from going ahead and went to open the door himself.

Porcupinefish Douluo had informed him through soul power transmission that Dugu Bo was outside and had come with Dugu Yan. Since a Titled Douluo had come calling, he had to show proper respect.

Thus, when the gates of the residence opened, besides Dugu Yan, there stood an old man dressed entirely in green. However, the old man's complexion seemed rather poor, and the calm expression on his face looked deliberately put on.

Ouyang Ling: "..."

Did Dugu Bo not know he was the one asking for help?

As expected, strength was what truly mattered.

Though he thought that inwardly, Ouyang Ling immediately welcomed them with his actions. "Dugu, you're here."

Then he looked at Dugu Bo, performed the courtesy of a junior, and said, "Senior Poison Douluo, please come in."

"Oh?"

Green light flickered in Dugu Bo's eyes as an amused look appeared on his face.

"Kid, you know me?"

"Poison Douluo's venom dominates the world. Everyone knows of you."

Ouyang Ling flattered him without changing his expression.

Dugu Bo wanted to say more, but Dugu Yan did not give him the chance. She forcibly dragged him into the main hall, cutting him off.

The corners of Ouyang Ling's lips curled upward as he closed the gate.

Once host and guests were seated in the main hall, Dugu Bo swept his gaze over the pastries and tea on the table and gave a sinister smile.

"Kid, did you guess we were coming, or had you already prepared for this long ago?"

"What are you talking about, Senior?"

Ouyang Ling neither fawned nor acted arrogantly, pretending not to understand. Some things could not be said openly in front of Dugu Yan.

Just then, Dugu Yan murmured, "Grandpa!"

Dugu Bo sighed helplessly inwardly and could only let the matter go for now. It seemed he could only handle today's main business first.

"Kid, how did you cure Yanyan's poison?"

It was a perfectly normal question, but Ouyang Ling did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Senior, do you think a poisonous snake can be poisoned to death by its own venom?"