Dugu Bo's Invitation

Early the next morning, the gatekeeper at Blue Tyrant Academy received a jade-green invitation.

It was a small card, but the paper looked as though it had been soaked in snake gall, and its edges gave off an eerie glow. The elderly Gate gatekeeper stood at the entrance holding it, his face nearly as green as the card. His fingers were still trembling when he handed it to Liu Erlong.

Liu Erlong opened it and took a look. Her brows rose at once.

"Dugu Bo?"

At the mention of that name, the room fell silent for a moment.

Ma Hongjun had just taken a bite of his steamed bun and nearly choked. "Poison Douluo? He's inviting us to tea?"

Bai Jin lounged against the back of his chair. "A Titled Douluo inviting us to tea. What an honor."

Tang San took the invitation. It bore only a few lines, written in a brusque tone: The matter of the poisonous ingredients sold in the west of the city concerns my reputation. Noon. Misty Rain Teahouse. Bai Jin, Tang San, come.

Xiao Wu frowned at once. "Why did he ask for Little San by name?"

Tang San did not answer immediately. He held the invitation beneath his nose and sniffed it lightly, his gaze darkening. "There's a trace of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison on it, but no Killing Intent. It's more of a warning."

"A warning not to be late?" Oscar asked quietly.

Bai Jin stood and stretched. "A warning that the tea might not be safe."

Xiao Wu's expression soured further. "And we're still going?"

"Of course." Bai Jin sounded as though it were obvious. "It'd be a shame to pass up free tea."

At noon, rain streamed down the thin bamboo blinds hanging outside the second-floor windows of the riverside Misty Rain Teahouse. It drummed against the green tiles in a rapid patter.

Dugu Bo sat at the innermost table.

He had changed into a dark green robe, but his face remained as gloomy as ever, as though someone owed him three hundred years' worth of medicine money. Three cups of tea sat on the table. Their surfaces were perfectly still, without even a wisp of steam.

Bai Jin entered the Gate and sat down at once, picking up a cup.

Tang San's eyelid twitched. "Senior Bai."

Bai Jin had already taken a sip.

The corner of Dugu Bo's eye twitched.

Bai Jin smacked his lips. "Nothing special. Are you Titled Douluo all this stingy?"

Dugu Bo sneered. "Aren't you afraid of poison?"

Bai Jin set down his cup and smiled with utter sincerity. "I am. That's why I kept it far away from me."

Tang San saw it clearly. Before the tea reached Bai Jin's mouth, an exceedingly thin layer of Soul Power separated it from his lips and teeth. It was no simple defense. It was as though the distance between the poison and his body had been stretched until the poison could never reach him.

Limitless.

Dugu Bo stared at Bai Jin for a moment, then turned to Tang San. "Boy, what have you noticed?"

Tang San did not sit down. He glanced at the tea, then at an orchid by the window, wet from the rain.

"The tea contains Jade Phosphorous Serpent-Tail Poison. Not much—it's mainly a test," Tang San said slowly. "The real trouble is the incense burner. Corrupt Blood Vine powder mixed with Coldheart Grass slows the circulation of Soul Power if inhaled for too long. If a Soul Master thinks the tea has poisoned them and focuses on forcing it out, the incense poison will enter their meridians instead."

Dugu Bo's gaze changed.

Standing behind Tang San, Xiao Wu quietly let out a breath, only to grow more nervous.

Bai Jin applauded. "Excellent. You saw through a Titled Douluo old man's little trick. You've earned an extra chicken leg at lunch."

Tang San gave a helpless sigh. "Senior, that was no little trick."

Dugu Bo snorted. "You do have a discerning eye."

As he spoke, he tapped a finger on the table. A wisp of green smoke rose from the incense burner and suddenly took the shape of a Snake Shadow, darting across the tabletop toward Tang San. It was not fast, but its venom was vicious in the extreme. Tang San was about to step back when Bai Jin raised a hand and lightly tapped the table with his index finger.

The green smoke stopped.

Only three inches from Tang San, it seemed to have struck an invisible wall. It twisted and struggled, then dispersed into a faint haze.

Bai Jin smiled. "Once is enough. Keep testing us and you'll look insecure."

Dugu Bo's expression darkened, but he made no further move.

He drew a list of medicinal ingredients from his sleeve and slapped it onto the table.

"Someone's selling poison in the west of the city under my name, and gathering ingredients from an old quarry in Sunset Forest." He looked at Tang San. "An ordinary apothecary wouldn't know what these ingredients are for. Take a look."

Tang San picked up the list and read through it, ingredient by ingredient.

Corrosive Bone Orchid, Coldheart Grass, Blood-Pattern Incense Vine, Blackleaf Lingzhi.

None was particularly rare on its own, but together they resembled an incomplete formula. It was not meant to kill. It was meant to torment the mind, magnify Killing Intent, and select those who could endure it.

Tang San looked up. "This isn't meant for ordinary people."

A cold glint flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes. "That's why I came to you."

"What do you want from me?" Tang San asked.

"To see whether you can survive smelling it to the end."

Xiao Wu's face changed.

Almost instinctively, she stepped in front of Tang San, anger already burning in her eyes. Xiao Wu liked to fool around, but when Tang San was involved, she had never been one to listen to reason. Even with a Titled Douluo seated before her, she did not retreat half a step.

Tang San put a hand on her shoulder and gently shook his head.

He knew Dugu Bo was testing him, and he knew the test was dangerous. But when it came to poison, the greater the danger, the less he could afford to show fear.

Bai Jin laughed. "Old Poison, with that attitude when you're asking for help, you're fit to die alone."

A vein jumped at Dugu Bo's temple. "I have a granddaughter."

"All the more reason to build up some good karma," Bai Jin said.

An odd silence settled over the teahouse.

At last, Dugu Bo gave a cold snort. "The old quarry lies on the southeastern edge of Sunset Forest. The poisonous miasma is thick and there are few Soul Beasts, but lately people have been going in and out frequently. If you're going, you'd best not bring too many."

Bai Jin stood and rolled up the list.

"Thanks for the warning."

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes. "Will you listen?"

"No."

"..."

Watching the two bicker, Tang San felt a little more at ease.

Dugu Bo's poison was terrifying, and the title of Titled Douluo carried immense weight. Yet with Bai Jin sitting there, it felt as though he held the entire teahouse steady. His was not an overbearing presence, but a calm assurance that made danger take the long way around. Tang San had seen Zhao Wuji's might, Flender's shrewdness, and Yu Xiaogang's composure, but Bai Jin was unlike any of them.

His strength defied all reason.

And yet he could not be bothered to put on the airs of a powerful man.

He reminded Tang San of certain old monsters from the Tang Sect. Most days they looked like men with nothing to do, but once they struck, their opponents did not even have time for regret.

Bai Jin pushed the remaining half-cup of tea toward Tang San and grinned. "We'll take a whole bunch of kids. It'll be lively."

Tang San looked at the poisoned tea and silently took a step back.

Bai Jin turned. "What are you afraid of? I'm not asking you to drink it."

Dugu Bo watched their retreating figures, lightly tapping his fingers on the table. Amid the sound of rain, his expression finally held something besides gloom.

People came and went along the street outside, but the teahouse's second floor felt cut off by a veil of poisonous mist.

Dugu Bo rarely took an interest in young people. Most so-called geniuses, in his eyes, were merely ordinary Soul Masters who were a little younger and a little more hot-tempered. Throw them into a Poison Formation, and they would be crying for their parents before three breaths had passed.

But Tang San was different.

The boy's gaze had been far too steady as he studied the poison—too steady for a child of twelve or thirteen.

As for Bai Jin...

Dugu Bo recalled the cup of tea Bai Jin had drunk without ever truly letting it touch him, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Tang San."

He murmured the name to himself.

"Interesting."