Blue Silver stood beside him holding a bowl of porridge, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. She made no move to help him out.
Lin Fan scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh. "I didn't think I could get hurt just lying down... I really am out of shape. Once my eyes are better, I'll have to work out."
Bibi Dong answered solemnly, "You really should. At this rate, I doubt you could even beat me."
"Right," Blue Silver chimed in. "Forget being a hunter. You probably couldn't even beat a doctor like me."
"Hmph! You two... I can't let that slide!" Goaded by the two young women, Lin Fan protested, "Once my eyes are better, I'm taking you both on!"
He was a grown man, yet they were saying he couldn't beat two girls around eighteen.
What man could put up with that?
"Haha..." Bibi Dong and Blue Silver covered their mouths and laughed softly together.
"All right, we'll stop teasing you." After laughing, Bibi Dong turned serious. "Xiao Lan said it might be a lingering effect of your head injury."
"As it happens, we went looking for herbs to treat your head while we were away. Once the Village Doctor finishes preparing them, we'll bring them to you."
"Good, good." Lin Fan sounded grateful. "That's thoughtful of you."
"Now eat your breakfast. Xiao Lan and I will go see how things are coming along."
Bibi Dong and Blue Silver left Lin Fan's quarters.
Blue Silver asked excitedly, "Saintess, you said you found the herbs. Does that mean you really found the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well Lin Fan mentioned?"
Bibi Dong smiled. "We did. With me leading the way, how could we fail? Impressive, right?"
"Impressive. Very impressive," Blue Silver praised her sincerely. "As expected of the Saintess."
Bibi Dong smiled and patted the back of Blue Silver's hand. "I know how you feel. The teacher might send people there again in a couple of days. You can go with them then."
"The sooner you reach maturity, the sooner you can stop living in fear at Spirit Hall."
Blue Silver nodded. "I want that too. Once I reach maturity, I can finally relax."
"You have no idea how I feel at Spirit Hall now. Even with the Pope's orders, I'm terrified some junior of a Titled Douluo will kill me."
"That's what you're worried about?" Bibi Dong glanced at her. "Who in Spirit Hall would dare touch you?"
Blue Silver sighed softly. "No one dares now. The Pope has given the order, and the elders know who I am. But Spirit Hall is enormous, and there are so many Soul Masters. Someone is bound to be tempted. I can't stay inside the Pope's Palace courtyard forever."
Bibi Dong nodded.
She knew Blue Silver had a point.
A transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was an irresistible temptation to any Soul Douluo on the verge of becoming a Titled Douluo.
The most important part of that breakthrough was the ninth Soul Ring.
Anyone who obtained a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and its matching Soul Bone would leap in strength, becoming a match for a Titled Douluo three or four levels higher.
"Don't worry," Bibi Dong said firmly. "I'll convince the teacher. You'll be able to leave in a few days."
Blue Silver looked at her gratefully. "Thank you."
"No need." Bibi Dong sighed. "You've seen for yourself. There are hardly any people my age in Spirit Hall I can talk to honestly."
Blue Silver heard the loneliness in her words.
As Spirit Hall's Saintess and Qian Xunji's personal disciple, Bibi Dong was surrounded by elders, worshippers, and bishops. There was no one her age she could speak her heart to.
"Dong'er," Blue Silver said softly.
"Hmm?"
"You still have Lin Fan, don't you?"
Bibi Dong froze.
Blue Silver smiled at her. "Lin Fan may not be able to see, but he can listen. Whatever you tell him, he'll listen carefully. And you don't have to act like the Saintess around him. You can say whatever you want."
"He'll help you make sense of anything that troubles you, too."
Bibi Dong nodded. "Yes, there's Lin Fan. I can say anything to him, and talking with him puts me at ease."
"It's a shame I can't tell him I'm Bibi Dong—the Bibi Dong from his stories."
"Don't rush," Blue Silver said. "That day will come."
"Father, Uncle Golden Crocodile!" Qian Xunji arrived at the Worship Hall with the Immortal Herbs. "What Lin Fan said has come true again."
Golden Crocodile asked eagerly, "What happened?"
"I followed the clues in his novel and learned of a place called the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well," Qian Xunji explained. "A few days ago, I sent Bibi Dong and a team into Sunset Forest. They found the well and brought back the Immortal Herbs Lin Fan spoke of."
He went on to describe the changes Bibi Dong, Yue Guan, and the third member of their party had undergone.
Then Qian Xunji took out the Blazing Sunflower Grass and Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma Yue Guan had brought back and showed them to Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile.
Golden Crocodile took them and examined them. "This one is rich in fire-attributed Soul Power. The other looks ordinary, but it's filled with pure Soul Power."
"How can something that isn't a Soul Beast possess Soul Power like one?"
Qian Daoliu said nothing at first. He slowly rose and walked over to Qian Xunji.
"Everything Lin Fan says keeps coming true. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Immortal Herbs, Soul Beast Transformation... This man is more important than we thought."
"Then the future child of the Angel God must be real too."
"But you and Bibi Dong both know the future now. What do you plan to do? Marry the Blue Silver Emperor, or find someone talented within Spirit Hall?"
Qian Xunji did not answer at once. He walked to the window and looked outside.
"Father, the Blue Silver Emperor has excellent bloodline talent, but something about her still feels wrong to me. The other possibility is Ling Yuan. She's only level eighty-nine, and her talent is somewhat lacking, but her Martial Soul's attributes are more compatible with the Angel Martial Soul."
"So I intend to give her this Blazing Sunflower Grass. It should raise her Soul Power to level ninety and improve her Martial Soul aptitude and constitution. That might work."
"Yue Guan also said there are even finer Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. We could save those for the child yet to be born."
Qian Daoliu nodded. "That's a sound idea. If talent falls short, treasures can make up the difference."
"Come. Let's talk to Lin Fan and find out what circumstances led to the child's birth."
Qian Xunji nodded. "Yes."
"Oh, Father, Yue Guan still has several Immortal Herbs he plans to use on Lin Fan. From what I've observed, Lin Fan's mental strength is unusual."
"He may be even more extraordinary than we thought."
"Tell me," Qian Daoliu said.
As they walked, Qian Xunji told him about Lin Fan coughing up blood and shared his own suspicions.
They reached the entrance to Lin Fan's quarters just as Qian Xunji finished. Qian Daoliu stopped and slowly looked up at the sky.
"Your suspicions aren't wrong, but I don't think they go far enough."
"Perhaps it was a backlash—the price of seeing through fate."
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