The Poison Bone Douluos' Fury

Gu Rong folded away his bone wings and gave Dugu Bo a cold glance. Without another word, he turned and flew toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Dugu Bo remained where he was. He looked down at his charred left shoulder and the hand that still trembled faintly. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's poison was in chaos inside him; he would not be able to fight again anytime soon.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled a green elixir from his robes and swallowed it to suppress his injuries. Then he became a streak of green light and fled in the opposite direction.

In the end, this ambush had cost them dearly and gained them nothing.

Spirit Hall, Pope's Palace.

Xiao Ran set Yan down on the steps, then collapsed beside him.

Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo landed moments later. Yue Guan's legs gave way, and he dropped to one knee. His Soul Power was utterly exhausted, his face was white as paper, and blood still seeped from the wound in his chest.

Ghost Douluo stood beside him, expressionless, though one pale hand hovered behind Yue Guan's back, ready to support him.

Bibi Dong descended slowly from her seat. Her heels clicked against the marble floor, the sound echoing through the hall. Her gaze passed over the unconscious Yan, moved to Xiao Ran, and finally settled on Yue Guan.

"Yue Guan, who did this to you?"

"Your Holiness, that old man Dugu Bo brought Gu Rong to hunt down Xiao Ran. We had no choice but to fight back."

"I... failed you." Yue Guan did not raise his head.

Bibi Dong was silent for two seconds. "Go tend to your injuries."

Ghost Douluo dipped his head and helped Yue Guan away.

Only Xiao Ran, the unconscious Yan, and Bibi Dong on her high seat remained in the hall.

"Xiao Ran," Bibi Dong said.

"Here, Your Holiness." Xiao Ran weakly raised a hand.

Bibi Dong looked at him. She asked nothing, saying only, "Take Yan for treatment."

Two maids came forward, lifted Yan between them, and dragged him out.

Bibi Dong looked at Xiao Ran and spoke again. "Why was Dugu Bo hunting you?"

Leaning against the steps, Xiao Ran caught his breath before answering bluntly. "Before I joined Spirit Hall, I stole a lot of Immortal Herbs from him. He's been hunting me ever since."

Bibi Dong's brow twitched. Every Immortal Herb at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was worth a fortune. Most Soul Masters would never even see one, yet Xiao Ran had dared to steal them.

"And Gu Rong?" Bibi Dong continued. "Why was he hunting you?"

Xiao Ran looked up at her and hesitated. "Well... I met Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect once. Later, I tried to kiss her, but I didn't manage it! Then Yu Xiaogang told on me! When Gu Rong found out, he came after me like a madman."

Bibi Dong went still for a moment.

She looked at Xiao Ran, something hard to define entering her eyes.

"I'm telling you, I didn't get to kiss her. I was this close." Xiao Ran sighed with obvious regret.

"You tried to kiss Ning Rongrong?" Bibi Dong cut in, disbelief edging her voice. "Ning Fengzhi's daughter?"

Xiao Ran nodded. "Yeah."

Bibi Dong was silent for two seconds, then gave a soft laugh. The smile was faint, but it was unmistakably a smile—the kind one gave a fool.

Bibi Dong shook her head and leaned back. She had assumed Gu Rong was hunting Xiao Ran over something serious. Instead, the boy had made a move on Ning Rongrong. But on second thought, Yu Xiaogang had told on him? What did Yu Xiaogang have to do with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

"Why was Yu Xiaogang in contact with Ning Rongrong?" she asked.

"He's her teacher, at least in name." Xiao Ran curled his lip. "He does call himself Grandmaster."

Bibi Dong tapped a finger against the armrest. Yu Xiaogang had become Ning Rongrong's teacher. She had not seriously thought about him in years. Hearing his name now stirred little in her, only a touch of surprise.

"Enough," she said coolly. "Go rest. You are not to leave the palace for the next few days."

The maids helped Xiao Ran away, and the doors closed behind him.

Bibi Dong sat alone in the hall, her gaze resting on the mural across the ceiling. The boy had set his sights on Ning Fengzhi's daughter, and Gu Rong had personally hunted him down. If word got out, relations between Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would likely sour beyond repair. But something else concerned her more.

"Someone, come here."

"Find out what Yu Xiaogang has been doing lately. Especially what ties he has to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"Yes, Your Holiness."

Her subordinate withdrew. Bibi Dong closed her eyes, her finger still tapping lightly against the armrest.

Yu Xiaogang... That man had gone to teach Ning Fengzhi's daughter. Hah.

After her subordinate left, Bibi Dong sat alone for a long time.

Moonlight slanted in from outside, stretching her shadow into a long, narrow strip of black. She closed her eyes and unconsciously brushed her fingertips over the inside of her right wrist. A faint old scar lay there, almost impossible to spot without looking closely.

She had gotten it years ago when she had used Soul Power to force that Soul Bone to fuse with her. The pain had lasted three days and nights and nearly killed her. Yu Xiaogang knew nothing about it. By then, he had already left Spirit Hall without looking back, taking his theory that "there are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters" with him.

Later, she became Pope. Later still, she heard that Yu Xiaogang had gone to Nuoding Academy as some sort of guest lecturer. After that, she stopped making any effort to learn news of him.

One offhand remark from Xiao Ran today had dragged all those old memories back to the surface.

"Hah." Bibi Dong opened her eyes, the faintest curve touching her lips. "Grandmaster? Teaching Ning Fengzhi's daughter?"

She rose and walked to a palace window. Night wind slipped through the gap and set her sleeves fluttering.

"If Ning Fengzhi knew what that good-for-nothing was teaching his daughter, he'd probably want to kill someone."

She put Yu Xiaogang out of her mind, returned to her desk, and picked up an intelligence report on recent events in the Heaven Dou Empire. Two pages in, she stopped at a single line.

"Heaven Dou Crown Prince Xue Qinghe has visited the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect frequently over the past three months?"

She stared at the line for a long time.

It was no surprise that Xue Qinghe was close to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The imperial family had always had countless ties to the Upper Three Sects. But those frequent visits over the past three months coincided exactly with the period when Yu Xiaogang had been seen around the sect's rear mountain. Bibi Dong folded the report and tucked it beneath a stack of documents.

"Coincidence?"

She murmured the word, then shook her head and continued reading the remaining reports.

In a side hall of Spirit Hall.

After being dumped back onto his bed, Xiao Ran fell asleep at once. He slept so deeply he did not even dream. When he opened his eyes again, daylight filled the window. It was already noon the next day.

"Peace and quiet for once." Xiao Ran rolled out of bed and opened the door.

A maid stood guard outside. The moment she saw him, she bowed. "Lord Xiao Ran, His Holiness the Pope said you may move freely within the palace, but you must not leave the grounds of the Pope's Palace."