Genius or Madman?

"Why... bring her up?" Dugu Bo's voice was hoarse.

"To wake you up."

Luo Yan said, "Look at you. You're much more human now. You have things you fear, things you want to tear apart. Isn't that far better than sitting there waiting to die?"

Dugu Bo said nothing. Slowly, he leaned back against the rock, his chest heaving violently.

Several blue-black lines still crawled across his face, but at least he no longer looked quite so insane.

"What exactly do you want?"

Luo Yan raised his head and glanced at the sky. "How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?"

Dugu Bo repeated it, a cold laugh squeezing from his throat with weak mockery. "A Second Ring brat like you thinks you can make a deal with me?"

"Whether I can or not?"

Luo Yan smiled, his voice beneath the mask like a blade soaked in honey.

"You can barely stand, and you're still picking your partner? Old Poison Serpent, times have changed. You're the one sitting on the ground, while I'm squatting here talking to you."

Dugu Bo's face turned even greener, but he could not speak.

Because Luo Yan was telling the truth. Right now, he was like a snake dragged from the depths of the mountains, with a blade pressed to its vital spot. No matter how venomous he was, he could not spit out his fangs.

"Your precious granddaughter's Martial Soul is the Jade Phosphorous Serpent."

Luo Yan spoke unhurriedly. "Just like yours. But her poison is still too immature. Whether she'll have a chance to break through in the future depends on fate."

Dugu Bo's gaze darkened. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that I can take her Martial Soul a step further."

Luo Yan raised a finger and gently waved it. "Not just hers—yours too. You know better than anyone what has trapped your family for all these years. What I can give you is a chance to shed your skin."

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Even the sound of the Ice and Fire Dual Excellence Well seemed to have been swallowed by the mist. Dugu Bo stared at him.

"Why should I believe you?" he asked quietly.

"You don't have to."

Luo Yan shrugged. "Keep sitting here and wait for your poison to flare up again. Endure it over and over, until one day you truly can't take it anymore and die on some lonely night."

"Then your granddaughter will be left clutching your bones, becoming another snake that never reaches maturity—hunted, killed, and unable to even get a proper grave."

Dugu Bo's breathing suddenly grew heavier, but Luo Yan's words were like tiny worms crawling into his ears. No matter how hard he tried, he could not shake them off.

"You..." he rasped, as though gritting his teeth. "What do you want?"

Luo Yan did not answer immediately.

He rose to his feet and walked with his hands behind his back to the edge of the Ice and Fire Dual Excellence Well. He glanced at the two-colored spring water, then turned back.

He never removed his mask.

"I want you to owe me a favor."

He spoke lightly. "No matter where I am in the future, as long as you're alive, you must do one thing for me."

"What thing?" Dugu Bo asked.

"I don't know yet."

Luo Yan smiled. "I'll tell you when I think of it."

Dugu Bo fell silent.

But here and now, he could barely keep his own life under control. What right did he have to be picky?

"Aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word?" he asked softly.

Luo Yan gave a scornful laugh. "You value loyalty more than anyone."

The mist from the Ice and Fire spring slowly rolled over, covering him.

"I've given you the deposit. I'll be back."

Dugu Bo only had time to see that gray figure sway within the mist before it vanished.

"Old Poison Serpent, I look forward to your choice."

The voice still lingered where he stood, soft and close, as though it had come from directly behind him.

"The night wind is cold. You'd better hold on. If you die here, I'll have made this trip for nothing."

The final note drifted into the mist, carrying a trace of poorly concealed amusement.

Then even the laughter was gone.

Only the water of the Ice and Fire Dual Excellence Well continued to gurgle through the gray-white haze.

Dugu Bo remained seated against the rock.

His entire body was already soaked through. He could not tell whether it was cold sweat or mist.

The blue-black lines on his face gradually settled, as if they had lost the strength to rage.

He closed his eyes and let out a long breath before slowly lowering his head.

At some point, his right hand had clenched into a fist.

He remembered using it to clutch the mud.

Several times while that brat had been speaking, he had wanted to move, but he had not even been able to lift his hand.

Yet now, his palm was hot, as though someone had slipped something into it without him noticing.

Dugu Bo slowly opened his fingers.

A piece of paper lay inside. He gradually unfolded it and saw words written on it:

One: Isolate the poison. The backlash will still remain in future generations.

Two: Fuse with the poison and make it part of life.

Three: Sacrifice yourself. Transfer Dugu Yan's poison to yourself, and exhaust your life force.

Four: Perish together. Abandon your Martial Soul.

Choose. The next time we meet, I hope to hear your answer.

His hand suddenly trembled.

"A Second Ring brat."

He gave a low laugh, one that sounded worse than crying. "You even dared to put the affairs of the Dugu family down on paper."

But he could not think of any other choice.

He had spent nearly half his life considering how the Dugu family's poison could be cured.

He closed his eyes and folded the paper, his movements extremely slow, afraid that if he used even a little too much force, it would turn to ash.

Then he tucked it into his robes, pressing it against his heart.

He raised his head. Daylight had already begun to seep down from the top of the cliff, a thin layer shining upon the mist and illuminating countless tiny droplets.

They hung in the air like rain that would never fall.

"Either he really is a genius, or he's... a complete madman?"

He had seen many people in his life. Some wanted to kill him, some wanted to use him, some had knelt and begged him, while others fled the moment they saw him.

But never had anyone squatted before him while he was dying from a poison outbreak, smiled like that, then folded the suffering of several generations of the Dugu family into a sheet of paper and placed it in his hand.

Those four paths, especially the third.

Sacrifice yourself. Transfer Dugu Yan's poison to yourself, and exhaust your life force.

Just looking at that line made his hand tremble again.

Because it touched upon the thought he had always buried deep in his heart, one he had never been willing to mention to anyone.

Of course he wanted to save Yan'er.

Of course he knew that his generation was the one the Dugu family's curse should end with.

Yan'er should not become like him. If not for that girl, he might have died long ago.

Died in some cave, died beside the Ice and Fire Dual Excellence Well, died on some mountain road where no one passed.

Now, this brat who did not even dare show his face had written out the death he had hidden in his bones.

"You think you understand me."

He spoke hoarsely, as if addressing someone who had already vanished. "You're only a Second Ring. What gives you the right?"

The mist slowly dispersed.

The edge of the Ice and Fire Dual Excellence Well regained some clarity. The two-colored spring water continued to churn at an unhurried pace, as though nothing had happened.

He suddenly laughed.

"Fine."

He said, "I'll wait for you to return. If you can truly solve this, I'll become sworn brothers with you on the spot."

"You shameless bastard, got any suggestions? Whose fun should we go ruin?"

A gentle breeze blew, and a voice sounded in his mind.

He rolled his eyes and kept walking. "You've got the nerve to speak now? Down there, my hands were shaking with fear, yet you stayed completely silent. What, did you enjoy watching me risk my life for your amusement?"

Aha did not answer him.

Only an extremely soft laugh drifted from his left ear to his right, then scattered into the forest.

"I don't need your praise."

Luo Yan said, "I only need you to tell me where the fun is next."

He took a few more steps, then suddenly stopped.

"You're not thinking of sending me after Xue Qinghe, are you?"

He lowered his voice. "Qian Renxue must be investigating me now. Damn it, Aha, do you just love watching this? Watching me get chased all over the city by a fake crown prince?"

He sighed. "Forget it. Asking you is pointless. You'd be thrilled if I got beaten to death in the street."

"Go back and write books? That's way too boring, isn't it?"

"Hiss... hey, what if I go back and have some fun with Tang San?"

"Yes, yes, yes—let's do that!"